Best Indian Restaurant in Seoul, at least that We’ve Found

Did you hit upon this blog post because you were looking for a good Indian restaurant in Seoul? Great! Indian food is one of Josh and I’s favourite cuisines, so we often try a local Indian restaurant(s) wherever we go. Having spent quite a lot of time in Seoul together now, we’ve tried enough Indian restaurants to have a preference. So far, Taj – Taste of India (타지) in Myeongdong is our number one choice! It was actually our most recent trip to Korea when we came across Taj (March 2022).

Myeongdong Cathedral view (명동대성당)

The reason we wanted to try Taj was the view of Myeongdong Cathedral, which is Korea’s first Gothic-style brick church. Located across from the Cathedral, one side of Taj boasts an excellent view of the Cathedral, with the N Seoul Tower in the distance!

Booking for guaranteed window-side tables

As it was this Cathedral view that made us want to visit Taj, we wanted to make sure we could get a seat with the view. We could do so by using Naver’s booking system since the restaurant kept one window-side table available for booking. (Hall-side table option also available). The other window-side tables are first come, first served.

Note: You need a Naver account to use this online booking system. In the ‘request’ section, leave a note on how many of you are coming (max. 5 people). I recommend contacting them to see if they can make a reservation for you if you don’t have a Naver account – there was no issue with communicating in English.

Posh end on price but very tasty food

With the pleasing view of the Cathedral on our side, Taj’s dishes really ticked all the boxes. There were plenty of options to choose from and what we went for was scrumptious.

I was so full after the mains, but the dessert sounded intriguing… As the experience with Taj so far was all so perfect, we just went for it haha. We already knew what Gulab Jamun was and it was very nice at Taj, but Shahi Phirni really surprised me. I absolutely loved this rice pudding!

The price of the menu at Taj was towards fancy dining, but we felt the experience we had here was worth it. Great food, a nice atmosphere with a view to look out at and friendly staff made for a quality meal out.

Small things that won brownie points

The dining experience with Taj exceeded our expectations but some of the things they tried to show us topped off the experience. Perhaps this is why I’m writing a separate post about this particular restaurant. haha

No single-use plastic hand wipes… unless requested

The restaurant seemed to want to reduce its negative impact on the environment. It did have disposable hand wipes, but these were only provided when requested. I noticed this as a lot of restaurants in Korea offered them by default when setting tables. It was often the case for restaurants serving international cuisines, not just Korean restaurants. (Recent news said disposable hand wipes containing plastics would be restricted by law for use in restaurants as early as next year. It’ll be great to see if it comes into practice!)

We don’t like using them when we can easily wash our hands in the bathroom… so we normally just leave them aside. It’s fine when people are on board about minimising using single-use products for comfort if there’re better alternatives. (If this was the case, restaurants wouldn’t also bother to spend money on these products…) But when not, I think it’s easy for customers to just open single-use hand wipes as they’re already set on the table – almost as a routine that we don’t stop and think about much. So, this was why not seeing single-use hand wipes out on our table at Taj left me with a good impression.

Furthermore, there was even a nice hand wash basin inside the restaurant by the counter! The bathroom in the building was nice and clean (with hot water on tap), and this additional facility just a few steps away from the tables really seemed to be a perfect incentive to not waste single-use (plastic) hand wipes.

Talking about a sustainable future…

Before I give Taj more brownie points, it wasn’t actually crystal clear what the restaurant’s ‘endeavour for a sustainable future’ constitutes in real life. Nevertheless, considering that I hadn’t come across a typical restaurant in Korea even attempting to show its willingness in sustainability, seeing any relevant sentences on Taj’s menu was just as impressive!

Taj stated they ‘continuously think about ethics in from consumption of ingredients to provision of their menu’, and that they ‘donate a portion of the price on the menu and expenses on buying single-use products, for the environment and animals’. The first part sounded nice and I agreed with the statement; but I wasn’t sure about what actions Taj had taken to pursue this belief. By comparison, the second part was more helpful in spelling out the actions they intended to take. I was interested (and wished) to find out more about this, for example, which charities they donated to and what those charities were doing for the environment. I might actually try asking the staff at Taj about that next time I have a meal there!

In a similar vain to the point just mentioned, one of the visible efforts they’ve made was Taj’s menu being printed on 100% recycled paper. This was mentioned at the bottom of the menu.

If you’ve tried Taj, let me know what you thought of it in the comment section. Alternatively, share with me many other good Indian restaurants to recommend! 😉