The Royal Taste of India

Very nice curry restaurant in the market square, upstairs above McDonalds. Great menu, excellent naan bread selection (garlic one was tasty and very puffy — just how they should be from a tandoor). I had chicken jalfrezi in ‘hot’ heat setting. It was very tasty and the meat was good quality. It was not that hot, compared to the dish in the UK, which would be packed with chillis. That said, very good indeed. My wife had the rogan josh, which was also very good.
Service was good, local wine was reasonably priced and tasted fine. The ambience was also good, with modern décor and excellent service.

Incredible service and… oh my gosh… so memorably delicious! The Lamb Marsala was excellently spiced, tasty and wonderfully tender! We have been in Whistler for 3 days and have had dinner here twice… it is that wonderful!

Real good! Visited from Chicago and had my share of Indian food. This place is legit! I had veggie samosas, pulao rice, galic naan, butter chicken, shashee paneer, mango ice cream. Highly recommend all of them.

We read great things about this place and it lived up to all the rave reviews… I mean are there really any bad ones? This meal blew us away. We got the Prawn Korma and Butter Chicken. Both sauces were so good, that even after you got through all the meat and finished dipping your naan, that you would take you spoon and just start scooping up all that is left because you can’t let flavors that good go to waste. I could have drenched myself in these flavors. This is a Whistler must… as well as Tandoori Grill. Both were on the top of our lists for dining in Whistler.

Delicious, excellently prepared food. We had the chicken jalfrezi, chicken tikka masala and the lamb vindaloo. Attentive service. Lovely, friendly servers. A definite recommend.

This style of Indian was completely different than what I am accustomed to. The chicken tikka masala looked like marinera sauce. Very strong tomatoes base. It was tasty. The chicken korma was very mild but the flavor grew on me. The best thing we had was the kasmiri naan. It was sweet and buttery. Really great.

The most fabulous Indian food we have had in many years. This restaurant is worth the drive from Vancouver just for the amazing food. Every dish was a winner!!!

The place offers traditional and authentic dishes, outstanding Naan bread and daal as well as Canadian favorites like Chicken Tikka Masaka or Butter Chicken. Choose your level of spiciness or get a Mango Lassi, Taj Mahal or Kingfisher Beer to reduce the heat! Definitely the most authentic Indian restaurant in town!

We love this place! We discovered it 2 years ago on our first trip to Whistler with friends. My friends husband is British and he is always on the look out for a Indian place that serves British-​indian style curry. I had no idea what that meant until he ordered some items that he loved back home, but that were never really quite the same around the Seattle area. I have been to many places around Redmond/​Bellevue, but this blew my mind. We are all sad that this can only be found in Whistler. Not saying that Indian’s around here are not good, I still have my favs around here too, but this is a tad different.
It is simply delicious!!! We went back a second time to Whistler this winter and went there twice, we will also go back this summer for hiking and this place is a must! Try their Tikka Masala or butter chicken with garlic naan, perfect way to end the day.
Service was also quick, friendly and very helpful. We can only recommend it.

The ambiance was very good and the restaurant looked clean. The food however was meh. We asked for a mild spice level and still found that the food was too spicy for us to be able to taste any ingredients. Not very impressed with the service either.

The alu gobi is great. As is the Bombay Tea. (Cocktail.) The service is… interesting, at least off-​season it is, but the food makes up for it.

This was the best Indian restaurant I’ve been to and quite some time. Very great service and very timely. Much more elegant feeling than other Indian restaurants in the area. I received such great service and great food that I have ate here three times in one week

Didn’t expect much from an indian place in whistler and above a mcdonalds. This place blew my tastebuds off! Delicious! One of the best indian i have ever had. They were also voted best nan bread in north america, it was great also. Very clean and high end inside.

Food here is amazing! The taste is royal! And delicious! Recommend this place to everyone!

What a presentation and quality of food.
Never seen that friendly staff and great service
If you are spice lover try bullet Naan let’s see if you can handle that.
Wine tasting was so awesome. if you in whistler I recommend this
nice Indian food restaurant

Went here the first night of our vacation after a long travel day. We were greeted with smiles and given a table quickly. Service was wonderful while being very helpful. Food was exceptional! Will go again!

Food was outstanding, recommend the channa masala and the nan was excellent. Pricing is good too. My only minor complaint is that service at the end of the meal was kind of slow — food arrived quickly but took quite a while to get our check.

The Atmosphere:
TARDIS.
That was the very first thought that entered my mind when I walked in. Why? Time Lord magic. For those that do not watch Doctor Who (shame on you by the way), TARDIS is essentially the Doctor’s (main character) means of transportation, a spaceship if you will, disguised in the form of a 1960′s London police box. One of the biggest features of this spaceship is the fact that it is much larger on the inside than it appears on the outside.
Same goes for this restaurant.
The outside looks quite tiny, just two windows underneath a small sign with the name of the restaurant. Walk inside however, and it reveals a long corridor filled with seats, and another large table once you make a right at the end.
The design itself seems quite plain, but not in a negative way at all. There’s a bar near the entrance, and seats all around. The lighting is quite dim, but is complimented by candles on each table. Also, the white tablecloths help keep a good balance between «the-​lighting-​here-​is-​minimal-​but-​I-​can-​still-​see», and «oh-​my-​god-​what-​just-​touched-​me»… It is on the good side of things.
Service is quite friendly, but expected as we were in such a tourist-​y location; but honestly, one should never complain about having good service at a restaurant. Overall it is a nice atmosphere, that can entertain almost every crowd; playing it safe to not scare off visitors that may have an apprehension to Indian cuisine (on the surface anyways), while still keeping enough authenticity to not be categorized as some sort of a fusion.
The Food:
Quite a large selection when it comes to the menu, almost to the point of confusion for someone who isn’t familiar to Indian cuisine. I know many may find a large menu intimidating and it seems higher end restaurants tend to see it as a big taboo, but personally I find it fun to explore the vast selection… But that’s just me.
I ordered the Fish Vindaloo with a side of Basmati rice (playing it safe with something I know, since I was sick), and although it took a while, it was definitely worth the wait. The portions looked small at first, but by the end of the meal I was more than satisfied (thought I had room for dessert… Guess not). There were plenty of ingredients in the Vindaloo, and the spices really shined through; you can clearly taste the difference between a meal here, and let’s say your local Curry Express at the food court. There was an abundance of fish (as it should be), and it was cooked perfectly in the sauce, not too mushy, but soft enough to give off a nice texture after each bite. Although the rice was nothing spectacular, it was still a nice accompaniment to the Vindaloo, and the two blended very well together.
Since I went with a bunch of my friends, there was a lot more on the table. One dish that really stood out in my eyes (or mouth I should say) was the Garlic Naan Bread. Simple dish, but there was a distinct hint of garlic flavour that really brought out the bread. On top of that, when paired with a curry or another flavourful dish it simply exploded in your mouth… Call it a moment of savoury bliss if you will.
Overall:
I really wish that I wasn’t sick when I came to this restaurant, as I imagine the experience would have been much better; but I was, so we move on. Service was great, food was amazing, but if I had to pick on one aspect… It would have to be the washroom. First there is only one, which is understandable given the amount of space. However, the difference was night and day compared to everything else. It wasn’t very clean, didn’t match the décor of the rest of the restaurant; it just didn’t seem «finished». Since I was sick, I did spend a bit more time in there than usual, and it may be a small part that I’m picking on, but I just wasn’t comfortable at all. Something that can be avoided I guess…
Another note that I should mention is the price; it isn’t exactly cheap. I’m not saying it is expensive, but be expected to pay at least $ 20-​$ 25 CAD per person (not including drinks).
Final Thoughts:
The next time I’m in Whistler I will be back to give The Royal Taste of India another try. Again, a good selection on the menu, great food and service, but the washrooms could use a little work, and it isn’t exactly what you can call a cheap meal. All in all though, if you need something to warm you up after a good Ski/​Snowboard session on the mountain, drop by this place and you will not be disappointed.
— Malffej
From my «food bite» on my blog:

Royal Taste is an upscale Indian restaurant on the second floor facing the IGA Supermarket. It’s a great option for groups — there was no wait on Saturday night for 10! Overall, the food was good, the bill was reasonable, and we left very full and satisfied. Note: We ordered a ton of food because each dish was quite small.
I would recommend sticking with the non-​cream based dishes (did not like the Korma). The lamb, garlic naan, and curries were all delish. Random tip — Taj Mahal beer tastes kind of like tea. Pass.
Other than that, I recommend Royal Taste. Enjoy!

I’d say of all the places my friend and I dined at while vacationing and snowboarding in Whistler, The Royal Taste of India tops the rest. A hidden gem at Whistler Village’s leading edge, Royal Taste is the best value with their $ 7.99 lunch specials that feature a different menu item daily. We just had to eat here twice on our last visiting days — actually, three times if you count take-​out.
For freezing and sore body parts, there are no better remedies than hot Indian food to warm up the core. Their Mango Chicken and garlic naan would be my first choice meal if I ever crossed the border again. White, not-​too-​dry chicken chunks were cooked in an amazing mango sauce that tasted like heated-​up mango salsa. Their Chef’s Special Chicken Curry and Mutter Paneer are good picks as well — just be sure to it spicy hot, not mild, because it enhances the nuances of the dish’s flavor. Not but not least, their garlic bread is authentic and no slouch or mass produced imitation. I’d recommend spending that extra dollar to try their garlic naan.