Good food in the heart of the city. We were visiting from overseas and looking for a place to eat…read moreand stumbled across this gem!

Booked a table for 2 on a Saturday night, when we arrived the place was absolutely packed with 4…read moreother couples waiting by the door...thankfully we booked ahead we were seated within 5minutes of arriving. I loved their photo wall by the entry, so cute! Also the decor all together was colorful and cute! We ordered 2 curries and a tandoori sampler, the food was really good. The tandoori sampler was okay, nothing special I wouldn't order again, but the curries were delicious! The lamb dhansak was the best I've tried in Bristol and the chicken tika marsala was also really tasty, will definitely be back here again for the curries!

What a fabulous final supper in Bristol. We'd had a significant Sunday roast mid-afternoon and…read morewondered if we could muster another meal before turning in. This place was able to seat our party of 6 at 8:30pm with no issues (including 2 small children). The dishes were each toothsome and well-seasoned - callouts included the lamb Jalfrezi and chicken Cheemeen Mappas from Kerala. Get the Pani Puri and have the server apply the first couple mint and tamarind waters to get the order of operations just right. The Cobra and Malabar IPA were both refreshing, chilled beers, and if you come early enough for some masala chai then take advantage. We all left well nourished, tired, and delighted! Great meal in Bristol's old city.

A fantastic new business specialising in Indian and Indo-Chinese street food alongside the standard…read morecurry dishes you would expect to find in any Indian restaurant in the UK. We visited on a weekday evening and took advantage of an offer which allowed for 5 street food dishes. Each of the dishes on offer sounded fantastic so we decided to choose two and ask our waiter to select three other dishes. Alongside this we also ordered a standard curry dish and some rice (a feast of a meal for two!). The food arrived quickly and was presented perfectly, the waiter explained what each of the dishes were. Every single dish was amazing; complex and deliciously flavoursome. Of particular note was the Gobi Manchurian which is crispy cauliflower coated in a soya garlic sauce, one of our surprise dishes and not something we'd have probably ordered but wow! a phenomenal taste and something we'll be sure to order next time we visit. The decor is provided by vibrant Indian street art and allows the atmosphere to be casual yet still feeling like you're out somewhere special to eat. In conclusion, if you're looking for Indian food in central Bristol, I can wholeheartedly recommend Dhamaka. The mix of street food whilst still doing excellent traditional curry dishes means there is something for everyone, even the ones who don't like sharing!

I'm going to rave on a little more than the previous reviewer as I absolutely loved it. The best…read moreIndian food at delightful prices nearly as good as the all-encompassing Thalis (but with meat, meat-eating fans will be happy to hear). Although in a similar way to the thali, they do have metal tiffin tins to take away. Genius. I like that you can taste the individual spices in their food, cumin seeds etc rather than the flavours all being muddied up together like in some 'authentic' restaurants. You can also tell they use fresh veg. The peshwari naans (although veg free) are to.die.for. full.stop. and my mate had a chilli cheese one (Mexican??) which was special.

Ganesha is doing something quite different and perhaps even daring: it's serving up authentic…read moreIndian cuisine unlike most you'll find in other Indian restaurants in Britain. There are quite a few dishes from Goa and Kerala on the west coast of India, including some delicious fish dishes, and some North Indian specialities as well. The staff take the time to explain their menu (with pride) so you can ask any questions before you order. Take-aways are delivered free within a 4 mile radius if you spend £15, or you can get a 10% discount if you collect. Three of us ate there for the first time last Friday night, and the place had a nice, busy buzz to it with plenty of customers and background chatter. We started by sharing a Masala Dosa, a pancake with potato and a couple of chutneys, which is quite large so far too much for one. For main, we shared a few dishes so we could try a variety. We had Aleppy King Prawn, one of the more expensive items on the menu, which was cooked in a delicious coconut, coriander and mango-flavoured sauce; Goan Fish Masala, which is a distinctive-tasting dish cooked in a clay oven; and Murg Makhani (Butter Chicken), which is a creamy, mild dish from Northern India. We also ordered a couple of vegetable side dishes and naan breads, all of which were delicious. It's fantastic to see an Indian restaurant serving up real Indian desserts, too, such as the syrup-soaked Gulab Jamun, and Kulfi (Indian ice cream with exotic flavours such as rose, coconut or mango) - and I was disappointed to find myself far too full to fit any in. If they're as tasty as Ganesha's main courses, they'll be worth leaving some room for next time!

First impressions was the location seemed abit out of the way and didnt expect it to be very busy…read moreinside. But they had every table full with a nice atmopshere. Ive heard this place was really good so looking forward to trying it out. We went here for a group meal and the there was about 20 of us....so i expected the service to be slow but they were really good. It didnt make a difference that it was a large the food still came out quick. Nothing was wrong. And everyone complementing their meals. I shared a mixed grill tandoori and it was really tasty. The nann bread were crispy which i really like compared to other curry houses nanns! The staff made checking to make sure our meals were ok. Good food & wine!! Will be returning :)

Raj Pavillions is by far the best curry house in Bristol in my opinion. I have been here twice,…read moreonce a year ago with a small group and last night when there was 20 of us. I have been raving about this place for a whole year but struggled to find a good time to go back until last night. We had popadoms with the usual pickles to start. And for main I had the Lamb Asadi, I have been thinking about it since my visit last year and I have to say it was just as good last night. Asadi is a dish with olives and Feta, which you might think isn't your typical Indian dish but served in the Bhuna style sauce is incredible and works so well. We shared a mushroom rice (although we could probably of had a one each) and a Raj special Nan, it was all cooked to perfection. All for around £15 each, which is great value I think. The staff are really friendly and coped really well with our rowdy bunch, they were quick and efficient. The decor is clean and modern with an Indian flavour, I particularly love the mural of the Indian landscape across the back wall. To eat in, take away or delivery everyone should try the Raj Pavilions you won't be disappointed.

im not really a fan of indian cuisine, but this changed my whole view on it alone, the best service…read moreive had from a restuarant in a while, worth every penny

Great food. Took biryani…read more Saag paneer. Had a recommendation from the chef. Enjoyed it.

There's nothing like wandering around your city and stumbling upon a new joint. I used to pass this…read morelocation when it was a Frenchy cafe, but to see it transformed into a cool Bollywood-esque Indian restaurant was cool. To see the Observer award and the eco-focus made me want to try it even more. We got the chicken curry thali - possibly the only meat on the menu?! which comes with dall and many side dishes. I also ordered the Mumbai sampler of samosas, pakoras and pickles. It was all very good. The crowd and server/s were relaxed and only 'interrupted' by the tiffin takeaway crowd. If you don't know about that eco-friendly system check out more here. http://bit.ly/gDQrew. That is the coolest thing I've seen for a long time. (In India these are delivered to people all across the cities on bikes with such precision that there have been operations mgmt studies on how they achieve it.) It could be the freshness, or some organic allergy, but the food didn't agree with me 100%, however, I think this is an amazing place. Try it! Parking could be troublesome as the streets are narrow and it's a residential area.

It's a while since I've eaten at the Thali Café in Montpelier, preferring the ease with which I can…read moreget to the Easton one, as well as the people watching opportunities there are from the couple of pavement tables. That's not to say that the Montpelier Thali Café hasn't got a charm of its own - it certainly has. Being the first one in this ever-burgeoning chain, a lot of creative energy went into the place. The décor is pretty unusual, uber-kitsch, and colourful, and the setting is as intimate as Bristol dining gets, often feeling like the rest of your family, (if it's a large one), have descended on you for the evening. Great! The food probably needs no introduction... it's English style South Indian food at its best!

I always have a very high expectation from UK in terms on Indian food. After India, the best Indian…read morefood I've have had was always in the UK, especially London. This Bristol restaurant unfortunately falls extremely short of good food. Their curries are forgettable and not delicious at all. Feels like another Indian restaurant run by a bunch of Bangladeshi guys. Service however is quite good. The servers are very attentive and for arrived quickly.

This Indian restaurant on a quiet side street in town is a good little find. The interior is…read moreluxurious, attempting to recreate old colonial splendour, taking inspiration from British architects who worked in India. It opened in 1999, and has an atmosphere and understated splendour that is quite unique compared to most of the restaurants in the city centre. Their menu is fairly long, with a variety of both vegetarian and meat dishes, clearly separated. I had an unadventurous Nilgiri Korma, which is essentially a korma with a twist of rose petals. It was unexpectedly good though, and as per usual with Indian restaurants, I left absolutely full to the brim. They have an excellently stocked bar as well, which is a nice feature in the main dining room. If you're going to see a show, they do a few pre-theatre promotions, and I highly advise this place to begin a pleasant night of culture.

The Madras Express is a curious name for a business owned by a Ugandan Indian of Gujarati descent…read more (Madras is in the South East of India and Gujarat is in the North West.) That aside, everything else makes sense. With an extensive menu, tandori oven, take-aways and deliveries, everyone is more than happy with what they do. This is an exceedingly popular restaurant. Ali, the owner, is a chatty kind of fellow. He tells me that the Tandori Chicken is the most commonly ordered dish and that he's not related to the Ugandan family of Gujarati origin that owns the Sweet Mart on St Mark's Road - but they are friends. Ali smiled when he revealed that he hadn't even visited India until 2000, but that he went at an inauspicious time, explaining that he was there when the massive earthquake hit at the beginning of 2001. I listened stunned as he continued to tell me that he had found a 6 year old Hindu girl whose family had all perished, and that he decided to bring her back to the UK. There ensued a long tussle with Social Services until eventually they granted her access. She's now fifteen and studying for her GCSE's. What is most astonishing about this tale is that Ali himself is Muslim. The food tastes even better when you know that!

For those of you who enjoy a good helping of hearty Indian cuisine from time to time, but can…read morerarely afford the luxury of eating out, luck may be coming your way. The Madras Express, a relatively new curry house, is currently doing an eat in buy one get one free deal from Monday to Wednesday on all main meals, naan breads and rice. I had to double-take when I saw the offer and hastily proceeded to arrange a group outing to the restaurant. Our group arrived on a Monday evening and alarm bells rang as we walked into a practically empty restaurant. But the ringing soon began to subside as we sat down to pints of Kingfisher, a deliciously refreshing Indian Lager, and tucked into our obligatory poppadom starters. The toppings were copious and varied and our appetites were well and truly whetted. A few more customers began to show up after a while, and we were impressed with the friendliness and attentiveness of the waiters. The main courses arrived in good time and were beautifully presented. Given the nature of the offer, we were not expecting exquisite food. Nevertheless, we were pleasantly surprised by the sheer quality of the dishes. I had a Chicken Karai which was oozing with sweet, subtle flavours and packed with juicy vegetables. The meat was succulent and tasty and my garlic naan was cooked to perfection. We all agreed we would have been happy to pay the full price for such culinary perfection. But a deal's a deal!

If you live in the Coombe Dingle area (which I'm sure you don't), I'm reliably informed that this…read moreis the best (and only) curry house in the area. Their motto is "we supply the glasses and you supply the fun", which alludes to the fact that they are a BYO with free corkage, though I've only had a takeaway from here. And very nice it was too. I always think you can judge a curry house by the quality of their pathea and mine was really, really tasty (they're often rendered inedible through overspicing) and what I stole from other plates also very nice. I can't judge the eat in experience, but the staff were very friendly when I picked it up giving free chocolates to my nieces (and no they didn't share). There was, however, only one group there at the time but this was quite early evening (about 7pm on a Friday night) and that free corkage is a pretty good deal, espeially as there's a convenience store next door that stocks booze.

If you find yourself living in Westbury area the takeaway options will be quite limited. But be…read morethankful that when you do find one the quality is not diminished! Neeshad Balti is a great little takeaway, and if curry is your thing I think you will find yourself coming back for more. I found this through friends in central Bristol swearing by this place, making the journey out of town to come here, that effort alone made me think it was worth while checking out, which I duley did and I was not dissapointed!

After a rather heavy weekend, a friend and I decided we'd pop into The Clove for a takeaway curry…read more Although we'd passed the restaurant several times before, we both admitted we were discouraged by its mildly showy yet totally unexotic aesthetic. In addition to this, The Clove is pretty expensive. However, given that it was Sunday, and the other local Indian restaurants were closed, we thought we may as well give it a go. We both ordered a Vegetable Rogan (£5.75), Pilau Rice and Peshwari Nans, and hoped for the best. Fortunately the food hit the spot, although we were utterly famished and would probably have taken equal pleasure in a MacDonalds. The problem was the service. Not only was it too much of an inconvenience for us to pay separately, but when we asked for a five pound note to be changed, the waiter was most vexed, almost refusing to part with his precious coins. Only after our prolonged looks of disappointment did he reach into his till, clearly displeased. Whatever happened to customers' rights, eh? Not impressed.

I have two rules of thumb when deciding how good an Indian restaurant is. 1, how hot is the chicken…read moreMadras. If it's too hot, then it is clearly trying to cater for the lager swilling curry heroes, who like to prove how masculine they are by displaying how numbed their taste buds have become to anything other than more lager. And 2. Do they serve butter chicken and if so, do they make it using coconut milk. If the answer to this 2nd question is yes, then I can tell instantly that this is a place that likes to cut corners, as butter chicken isn't supposed to have coconut milk in it (yet it invariably does in half arsed establishments). The Clove restaurant and takeaway off North Street certainly fails in both. The butter chicken I had there recently tasted like a Korma (and was therefore made primarily from coconut milk). Disgusting. And the Madras I had there the time before was just a plate of chicken in a hot but tasteless sauce. Not good.