India Palace has recently become more, well, palatial. This wouldn’t have been hard; the original location in the same strip center stopped just short of dumpdom. But in making a lateral move, they have decided to pull out most of the stops, many of them pink, and if the result isn’t exactly super-haute (it’s about all those images of the Taj Majal—and the pink), the dining environment has certainly improved.

The food, however, has not. Memorable meals in the past included fish masala, a dish that can easily go south if all is not fresh, and in freshness the kitchen still seems to excel. But if a rigorously thorough inspection of a recent buffet is any indication (Indian restaurants have elected to do this to themselves), the excitement has diminished in almost direct proportion to décor enhancement. Vegetable samosas were stuffed with potato alone and lacked any detectable spicing, a boiled egg curry was altogether bland, and a chicken curry didn’t up the ante, nor did the only modestly moist tandoor rendition. Saag paneer is expected to be more comforting than exciting, and such was the case; there are few expectations surrounding beef meatballs, so they were mostly met. An aloo baingan of eggplant and potato in “spicy gravy” perked up the taste buds a tad, and though it wasn’t challenging, the very pretty, fresh and crisp cabbage masala rose refreshingly above the fray. A dal was decent, but it’s hard to go wrong with lentils.