gagan palace

gagan palace
33 S White Horse Pike
Stratford, NJ 08084-1520
(856) 627-6200
www.gaganpalace.com

i love indian food so much i can't even tell you. it's my favorite. my favorite favorite indian restaurant ever is aamantran in toms river, but now that toms river is no longer a stone's throw away from me, i had to find a suitable backup. a coworker told me about gagan palace last year and i figured what the hell, i might as well try it. turns out, it's pretty decent (i've been there a number of times by now).

the menu is organized like any other indian menu you've seen - organized by type of meat or preparation, vegetarian, etc. the prices are a little lower than other places i've been - 9.50-11.50 per entree (for a chicken saag, for example), and the buffet is some ridiculously low price that i'm not even sure about. today i made it out of there and paid $11.55 for my meal, a special order of onion kulcha, a pitcher of mango lass, tax and tip. awesome!

the food is good. it's not the best, but it's definitely good. some days the buffet tastes very fresh, and some days it's under seasoned, or has a scorched sort of flavor to it, as though it's been sitting there too long (the saag particularly). when i've ordered from the menu, i have never had a freshness issue, but in general the sauces at gagan palace feel a bit heavy to me. we've ordered a variety of appetizers in the past and they've all been very good, made to order, and the naan is nice and fluffy and crisp and freshly baked.

as for the decor, it's sparse and sort of like a really dowdy italian restaurant. sometimes it's really cold in there, particularly during the day. at night it tends to be a bit warmer, probably because that's when they have the most business. it's never been so crowded i've had to wait for a table. the guys who run the place have very strong accents, and if you're not used to them, you might find that sometimes communication is a bit difficult. everyone is very polite and accommodating, though, and service is quick when ordering from the menu. i have found that it takes forever to get the check if you wait for it while seated, so i've started going right up to the register instead of waiting for someone to bring it.

so if you're a total indian addict, like i am, this place will hold you over until you get yourself to aamantran :-) it's totally passable, and for the price, it's worth it when you need a quick fix.