"Tastes just like Maharani," said one diner at the new Cafe TajMahal on a recent evening.

That's because husband-and-wife team (and owners and chefs) Kabir Chowdhury and Nosneara Nitu were partners in Maharani. They bowed out of the King Street restaurant (Nitu's relatives remain Maharani owners) to open their own modest spot in what was a Korean restaurant in the food cluster at the bottom of St. Louis Heights Drive.

The no-frills room (glaring fluorescent light, secondhand tables and chairs, two small chandeliers sporting red and orange bulbs) reflects the food: The pan-Indian cooking is rustic, served on melamine dishware, and garnished with lots of chopped-up lettuce.

But there's enough on the menu to satisfy your coriander-and-cumin cravings if you know what to order. If you like garlic, TajMahal's version of palak paneer (spinach mush and cheese cubes) will be a winner. Lentil pakora — those fried fritters that are often oil-soaked hardtack — are moist and tasty. Order karahi fish and you get sea bass filets sizzling on an iron plate, and smothered in bell peppers, onion and Chinese parsley. Vegetable samosas are crisp outside, and warm and smooshy inside and even better are the lamb versions, stuffed with nicely spiced shreds of meat.

If you don't feel uncomfortably full, do order dessert. The carrot halva, a bowlful of the shredded veg, could become your favorite Thanksgiving side dish; and gulab jamon, spongy cheeseballs in honey and rosewater syrup, are a textural sweet treat.

When Bombay Indian Restaurant opened in 2006, it raised the bar for Indian cooking in Honolulu. Everyone has their favorite Indian spot, from el cheapo take-out Indian Bazaar across from Old Stadium Park to India Cafe at Kilohana Square, but no matter which spice combo you like, there's no disputing that Bombay puts the most care and finesse into its food (or decor).

It's because of Bombay that one can't help noticing on a weekday night at TajMahal that the lamb kabob is gristly, the Joy-of-Cooking-yellow curry sauce of the mattor paneer (peas-n-cheese) is a disappointing one-note, and the lamb curry is separating — no smooth bisquelike consistency as at, yes, Bombay.

But if you don't feel like driving into Waikiki, are on a tight budget, or have simply never been exposed to a higher level of Indian cooking, TajMahal holds its affordable own among the also-rans.

RESTAURANT NEWS

The annual Little Kitchens is back at the Hawai'i State Art Museum, 5:30-8:30 p.m. June 13. In the culinary lineup are Mix Cafe, Soul de Cuba, Green Door Cafe, Town and Grand Cafe & Bakery, among many others. Includes a silent auction to raise funds to send Slow Food O'ahu members to the food confab Terra Madre in Turin, Italy. Tickets are $60 and are available online at www.honoluluweekly.com.

Uncle's Fish Market & Grill on Pier 38 is now open for dinner, serving until 9 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays. Owner Bruce Johnson owns Uncle's sister company, Fresh Island Fish, a wholesale distributor that shares the building with the restaurant. This guarantees never-frozen fish for the eatery, recently recognized in Food & Wine as among "293 Outstanding Places to Eat in 40 Cities."

If you're up in the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento area and 'ono for Island food, check out Keanu's Island Kine Food & Catering in Vacaville, Calif., owned by Deedee Castillo Ward and her husband, Ivan, and extended family, formerly of Kaua'i. They got a five-out-of-five forks review from The Lunch Bunch in the Vacavilla Reporter, and a No. 1 rating from www.Tripadvisor.com. They serve everything from lumpia to teri chicken, mango tacos to hekka. The address is 500 E-1 Elmira Road, Vacaville; 707-448-1213.

The long beloved Maple Garden Chinese restaurant at 909 Isenberg St. in Honolulu, across from Stadium Park, has been taken over by Janet and Richard Lam, owners of Yen King restaurant, formerly at Kahala Mall. Maple Garden owner Robert Hsu, widely known as a gracious host to faithful customers over several decades, passed away after a long illness last fall and the family quietly turned the restaurant over to Yen King earlier this month. The restaurant's specialty is dry-fried chicken. Hours are 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily; 732-5505.

Have you had Jeanne Vana's pizza at the North Shore Farms tent at the Saturday Kapi'olani Farmers Market? It's worth the wait in line: Crisp thin crust, wonderful pesto-tomato topping with house-made mozzarella cheese. Vana reports that Condé Nast Travel gave them a mention in the May issue in their Ultimate Hawaii Guide and her new red tomato variety was the winner of a recent blind taste test by the Slow Food Convivium held recently at Nalo Farms.

Romano's Macaroni Grill is opening a second Isle location, in Queens' MarketPlace on the Big Island, in November.

Gourmet Cooking Hawaii recently introduced a Thursday evening culinary party hosted by chef Elmer Guzman. Held the second Thursday of each month, or on any evening with advance reservations, Guzman guides a small group in cooking a gourmet three-course meal at the Servco Home & Appliance Showroom in Mapunapuna.

Makaha Resort & Golf Club's new surf-themed restaurant, Nalu Grill, offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, a full bar, and live entertainment on weekend evenings. The restaurant's decor features memorabilia, photos and surfboards of Makaha surfing legends, including Buffalo, Rusty and Brian Keaulana.