Stopped in for lunch just before closing time and couldn't have been more welcomed by our server. Delicious huge portions (we took leftovers to our hotel and enjoyed the next day) with yummy naan. Across from noisy Eat Street, so extra quiet indoor seating. read more

Super well located in downtown Rotorua & delish Indian food with a large welcoming dining area. Friendly staff & a huge varied menu offering lots of traditional Indian including wonderful curry dishes & vegetarian options.. We tried the Tikki masala & chicken Tikka. The rice was absolutely light & fluffy. Great Naan! They also give you your choice of spice heat which we really appreciated. Btw take away is also available in case you want to dine in. read more

Great Indian food, fine ambiance and friendly service in Rotorua behind Eat Street. We ordered chicken tikka masala, biryani, saag paneer and garlic naan. Delicious flavors. Friendly staff- they opened a bit early for us as they spotted us waiting outside the restaurant. Patiently explained certain dishes to us and offered a pitcher of water on our table. read more

Great service and wonderful food. The vindaloo was the favorite at our table. The prices were reasonable and the location was very convenient with lots of parking. read more

I'm an American and visited while on holiday. I actually brought the menu home with me so that I would remember to write this review. The reason being, this was teh BEST butter chicken I've ever eaten in my entire life. It's a month later and I'm still thinking about how delicious my meal was. I cannot say enough about how good this was. I highly recommend this place. read more

Excellent experience. Food was good. My friend was vegan and also super-averse to anything hot, and they sorted out an option for her. When she tried it and still found it too hot for her, they took it away and made her a whole new dish that was mild enough for her. We got there right on closing time, but nothing else was open, so they cooked for us, and just quietly got on with their cleaning and packing up, leaving us in peace to eat together, not rushing us to finish up and get out. Incredibly kind and friendly. read more

Delicious Indian across from Eat Street; so a great location. Service was so friendly! We split the butter chicken and the lamb saag, with butter naan. It included basmati rice. The butter chicken was really good, tomato-y and creamy with complex spices. The lamb was so tender and well seasoned. We gleefully used the last of the naan to wipe up every last drop of the sauces. If we lived in Rotorua, we would be regulars! read more

Great food. Friendly staff and fast service. Vegetarian section of the menu. Close to Lake Rotorua and Queens Gardens. read more

Lovely India - Vegetarian sag aloo with mushroom, paneer & potatoes, naan and rice - Indian Near Me - Rotorua, BOP

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Lunch here was great. Butter chicken was excellent! We walked in 5 minutes before they were scheduled to close but the owner was welcoming and friendly and said that we could stay to dine in. Much of the surrounding Eat Street restaurants are a bit overpriced, but this establishment was great! read more

This review on only on one menu item - onion bahji. This is one of my favorite Indian dishes and I've tried them at many places. Sadly this version wasn't as good. The bahji was served in various pieces (little nuggets) and may have been reheated as they were not piping hot and very soft. There wasn't much flavor but it smelled great. The third star was added because the employee was kind and the food didn't take long to prepare. read more

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The only place open after 11pm in Rotorua apparently. It's not bad though. I had this lamb seekh kebab curry and it warmed me up after a chilly night of looking at glow-worms. The curry was pleasing an flavorful, though I don't know that I'd go there if all the other nearby places were open. read more

I was impressed by my first real meal in New Zealand. I'm not sure why I was shocked at having great Indian food in the land of Kiwis much less Rotorua at that. There are so many Indians in NZ that good food should be in abundance, right? Not always the case. As a Chicago native, I have been underwhelmed with the quality of Indian food in my home city. I often feel like quality and freshness are compromised in the preparation of most dishes when dining out. There are only two restaurants in my home city that are the exception. Now, Chicago's entire population is double the entire population of New Zealand, so that should tell you that 2/100's of restaurants is a pathetic percentage, and hence my surprise at how good the food at Lovely India was. For starters, it was the delicious aroma lurking outside that drew us in. Most of the places we had stopped by were full for the evening and no tables were available. Almost at the point of despair, we walked by Lovely. Honestly, the aromas reminded me of my mothers cooking and I knew that it was a good sign. Luckily for us, there was no wait and quite a few free tables when we walked in. This wasn't the case for the duration of our meal because it got increasingly busy as we were wrapping up. To start, we ordered the mixed pakoras: Chopped vegetables mildly spiced, dipped in batter and deep fried. These were so good and comforting to eat on a chilly night in Rotorua. For our mains, we chose 3 items to share. The first item that my husband and I ordered was the Chicken Tikka: tender morsels of boneless chicken marinated overnight and roasted in the tandoor. The chicken was tender, succulent and the flavors spot on. I am so glad that we chose this item to share. The second item was the Daal Makhni: lentils stewed on a slow fire, garnished with ginger and coriander. This daal was as good as some of the daal makhni I have had in the best Punjabi kitchens. We didn't leave a bite on our plates! The last item we shared was the Aloo Sabzi: potatoes cooked in a fine mild puree of fresh spinach, herbs and spices. This too was finger licking good! We ordered plenty of naan, which was fresh out of the tandoor and made sure to eat every last bit of this before we departed. I also opted for the Mango Lassi as a treat and it did not disappoint. It was sweet and tangy with the right thickness, exactly what a good lassi should be. I thought our service was good, which says a lot because I don't have much tolerance for bad service. I thought the employees were courteous and attentive. I didn't mind if the food took a while to come out because it just meant that it was being prepared to order instead of defrosted and reheated in some microwave. All in all, I had a great experience at Lovely India and it made my time in Rotorua more memorable. read more

Wow! For $10 the lunch special is the best! Naan bread was very tasty with the curry. Service - 5 stars, excellent Decor - 4 stars, clean and classy Taste - 5 stars, food excellent Value - 4 stars, can't beat their lunch specials read more

I was visiting friends living in Taupo. We went to Rotorua for a day. We were both in the mood for Indian food, and there is QUITE the plethura of indian restaurants near Lovely India. But this was the first one we found open. I am so glad we chose Lovely India! The food was fantastic, the service was fantastic. The food was so great - while driving through Rotorua the next day, we went back! I tried a different dish, that was equally as fantastic! I'm so glad we found this little place. My time in New Zealand was short, but this was certainly one (or 2!) of the best meals I had while there! read more

The worst Service any one can imagine. Took more than hour to serve starters and another hour to serve mains. Food was served without cutlery. I saw few people walk away as they can't wait until food served. read more

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Best indian food you can get in rotorua with great service. Don't miss this one. And beat price.

We turned up about 7pm on a Saturday, were seated... and then we waited and waited for a menu... and waited... then we got up and went somewhere with better service (Mc Donalds). It was half full. read more

Convenient location in the heart of "Eat Street" near Government Gardens area. Food was pretty good. We had pumpkin filled samosas, chicken tikka, coconut prawns, butter chicken (their specialty and very rich), lamb madras (coconut curry) and garlic butter nan bread. Food was very tasty and plentiful. The nan bread was outstanding. Our family of four couldn't finish all the chicken and lamb dishes. Only drawback was we ate on Christmas Day and they assess a 15% surcharge on holidays. read more

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Excellent food and service! Everything tasted delicious! So many types of Naan to choose from. read more

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On our second day in Rotorua we ventured away from Eat Streat and stumbled over this gem. Very tasty dinner and friendly service

Totally enjoyed our visit, great food, great spices!! Service was very helpful and knoledgeable about the menu

Great food right off the touristy area. Couldn't have asked for a better meal or service.

They have a buy 1 get 1 half off coupon in those brochures for tourists visiting Rotorua. Otherwise we wouldn't have considered coming here because the entrees range from $17-25. The portions aren't that large, but the flavor is rich and they don't skimp on the proteins such as lamb or cheese so you do end up having enough to eat if you order one entree per person. Naan and rice need to be ordered separately but it is good quality. However, the garlic naan could have been more crispy. read more

I would give 10 stars if I could. We are vegan and they were very helpful in choosing dishes. The aloo matar was hands down the best Indian dish I have ever had. Service was wonderful and it's in a great location. EAT HERE! You won't be sorry! read more

A nicer restaurant than the Indian Star. Food wasn't spicy when we ordered MILD which was good. Food tasted good. They kept opening the door and keeping it open which made me freezing, because they put us by the door. read more

Was good. The lunch/ dinner special for 10$ or 18$ is good value for money (curry, rice, naan). For a romantic dinner you might look elsewhere. read more

We stopped by the isite at Roturua to see the lake. This Indian restaurant had lunch special. It was really delicious. Not too expensive. Great location. read more

Lovely India has great nan, especially with olive, and very tasty food. Nice atmosphere. When I asked for mild, that is what I got. Saag with lamb was good. read more

Disappointing, service average, wine and beer both warm so we did not drink them, we were enticed in at the promise of take away prices but this did not eventuate either. Food was average and expensive. read more