The Baker Street Mall has a new tenant and new and delicious smells are wafting out of its doors beckoning citizens to come in and try a taste of India. Taj Mahal opened Friday, June 18 in the spot in the mall formerly occupied by Smitty’s.

Syed Talat owns the restaurant and he encourages everyone, especially those who have never experienced Indian food to have their first taste at Taj Mahal.

“Come and try the flavour of India. Our food is cooked in a certain way by an experienced cook and it tastes really good,” he said. “Our food is medium spicy, it’s not too spicy and it can be made even less spicy if someone asks.”

Any dish with the word Tandoori in its title means it has been cooked in a cylindrical clay oven called a Tandoor. Talat says anything cooked in the special oven has a unique flavour from that process. The restaurant also offers Chai, a tea made with different spices. Desserts include Gulab Jaman, which is balls of flour and sugar drenched in a syrup.

Arshad Mohammed is the chef at Taj Mahal and he has 15 years of experience cooking Indian food in Montreal, Calgary and New York.

The space Taj Mahal is in is large and Talat said they welcome meetings, parties and occasions at the restaurant. They can also do catering.

The restaurant is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day and people can also call for take out. The phone number for the Taj Mahal is 250-489-0606