I'm giving first place back to Royal Taj. After less than stellar experiences at Guru Palace (60 and Gilbert) and Taj Mahal (McDowell and Scottsdale), Royal Taj is getting back my vote for the best Indian Restaurant in the valley. In case you haven't followed my reviews, I'm an Indian food connoisseur and have been to nearly Indian restaurant in the Valley. In my opinion, Royal Taj, Guru Palace and Taj Mahal are in the top 3 Indian restaurants in the valley. I'm not one of these clueless guys who judges a restaurant by how many selections were offered at the buffet. It's about quality not quantity and I don't eat at buffets because you are getting the watered down spiceless stuff they serve to the mainstream.
The food was truly outstanding and I think word is finally getting around because the place was packed. The Chicken Tikka Masala got the perfect blend of creaminess and smoothness to the curry that Guru Palace and Taja Mahal lacked. The palak paneer is the best in the city and it's truly unique in that they don't mix cheap pieces of broccoli and pure into a soup. It's the real deal..real spinach with no filler. The naan was excellent as always. Everything is pretty good on this menu.
Again, the only knock on this place is its ambience. It's a hole in the wall but then against so are most Chinese and Mexican places (the good ones anyway) so if you are truly about great Indian food come here.