Raj Restaurant

First time back in Bristol in 7 years and Raj was at the top of my list — they didn’t disappoint. Their early bird special made it even better. I had my favorites– prawn puri, chicken tikka jalfrezi and sag aloo. All were delicious and well spiced.

This is my favourite Indian restaurant in Bristol. This gem of a place is in a basement and is somewhat hidden away. I’ve been coming here for over 15 years and the food is consistently excellent.
The chicken madras is my absolute favourite but over the years I’ve tried just about everything on the menu — it’s all good. Highly recommended.

Middle of the road Indian food, in the middle of a small road in Bristol. Rather close to the center, the location seems to be one facilitating late evening, post-​pub session feedings. Not a place I would recommend for a romantic meal with a partner or a nice curry with the parents. But I imagine quite good for a meal after boozery, as coyly advertised in their after 10pm «Night Owl» menu of starter, main, and drink for 15 quid.
We came here bearing a Taste Card and we called ahead and clarified our intentions. It was set in the basement of a building, in a white-​washed brick tunnel, set with booths and low-​ceiling vaults. Red carpets and very friendly staff welcomed us, but our food took quite a bit of time to come. We had been warned away from this place by my partner’s colleague, saying it was not authentic enough and that it catered to a more British taste audience. However, the food was flavorful and had the standard Indian variety of dishes. For once I went sweet rather than savory and my Chicken Pasanda was fragrant, creamy, sweet. The lighting was a bit low even for our couple’s date night out meal, making it romantic it just looked a bit bleak and hard to see the menu.
What I didn’t like about it is their poor understanding of how the Tastecard worked (at best) or a blatant refusal to apply the appropriate discount (at worst). It made us a bit suspicious when they would not give us a receipt and we basically had to argue for like a full minute to get it… Even then it was a hand written one as he wouldn’t offer us anything else. Also, at the end of our meal (around 9pm) there were many drunk looking people coming in and it was time to move out to make room! Like I said, not a great family place but I can see it’s certain appeal.

I ate at Raj a couple of times on a recent business trip and really enjoyed it. My colleagues and I had a variety of tandoori and vegetarian dishes. Everything was tasty and the portions were plentiful. The pappadums were outstanding — fresh and hot. (The ones we get in the US are always cold and taste a little preprocessed and stale, like they came right out of a package.) The early bird menu, which runs till 7:30, is a great value — a starter, a main, and a side at a very reasonable price. Service was quite good, too.
The only down side — the second time we ate here, we were not offered the early bird menu. We had to ask for it. I noticed other tables nearby were not getting the special menu, either. Not cool to offer a nice menu but then not make it available to people unless they know about it.

I ordered prawn dupiaza which was nice but lacked more sauce as it didn’t come with hardly any! This was a shame as it had a nice flavour. The biggest let down though, was the wait for our food. Regulars got served quickly and received there food half an hour before us, even though we had placed our order before them! Good, but attention to detail needs to be addressed. Not the best in Bristol, but probably consistent.

I enjoyed the food I ordered from the menu which was a tasty salmon\spinach dish. Its a nice friendly restaurant. Slightly let down by the long wait for the food though. Other diners who had ordered same time as us were leaving as our main courses arrived! That was a bit weird.

Amazing food lovely service, great atmosphere. If I was going to have 1 Idinian take away in my life I would choose the Raj Kings Street Bristol. It’s that good!!!

The food was fantastic! The staff was so helpful from helping keep a two year old happy to boxing up food so a family could leave quickly. I would go back in a heartbeat.

This fantastic Indian restaurant is hidden in the basement next to the Bristol Old Vic in the heart of Kings Street. Negotiate the steep stairs and you’ll find yourself in a dark, velvet-​clad tunnel, with a bar and waiting area leading to the restaurant, where there are large booths around the edges and wooden tables in the middle.
Whenever I’ve eaten here I’ve had the please of sitting in a booth which although quite dark, is great for a more private dinning experience. The staff are friendly but are a little difficult to get the attention of when the restaurant is really busy (usually on a weekend).
The food has always been of a high standard here and when I was once given the wrong order (far to spicy than the Korma I had expected) the waiter was apologetic and the correct dish arrived in front of me after a short five minute wait.

Awful. Just Awful!
I don’t know where to start. Appalling and slow service and below average food!
I made the mistake of visiting here last weekend, and was first sat on a table literally next to the kitchen door — I honestly couldn’t hear the person sitting next to me above the din of plate washing and shouting chefs. Thankfully we did ask if there was a chance of moving to a quieter table and the wincing-​from-​the-​noise waiter did oblige. It took an hour for our food to arrive, my chicken was overdone and chewy, then the waiter didn’t seem to understand why we didn’t want the bill when we still had over a full glass of wine each left! The end of the bottle was sploshed into my glass, we put cash down which was left uncollected for some time on the unrequested bill.
I did not leave a tip and I will never go there again.

If you enjoy dining in cosy, cavernous spaces illumined by candle light, The Raj will satisfy your aesthetic sensibilities. And if you are a fan of Indian cuisine, this restaurant is guaranteed to appeal to your tastes. The menu offers a wide range of authentic Indian dishes, all reasonably priced and oozing with delicious flavours, and the service is friendly and efficient. My favourite dish is the Chicken Rogan Josh; a rich, hearty platter, it never fails to meet my culinary expectations. The Raj is a popular venue, and tends to get very busy during weekends and holidays. If you prefer a quieter dining experience, I would advise eating at the restaurant during the week and outside holidays.

Wey, everybody loves a curry after a night out (well a lot of blokes do) and Raj Tandoori is basically the place to go for this. In some ways this is a compliment, but in others it’s a criticism.
When you walk down in to the restaurant it feels slightly cheap and underwhelming. Just what you want to see as a boozed up beer hound, as this is an indication of the possible cheapness of the meals.
And in this respect you won’t be dissapointed. It’s a bit of a bargain in comparison to your more refined Indian restaurants. But that is the difference. This place is a curry house, not really a reataurant. The food is pretty bland and geared towards our unsophisticated British pallette’s. Don’t go here for a nice evening meal with the girlfriend, this is the wrong Indian. Try Myristica accross the road for that.

In amongst the bars of King Street is Raj Tandoori. In a Grade II listed building it it grander and a bit more expensive that your typical Indian take away. Well placed for a pre or post-​theatre meal. It’s decorated to feel warm and cosy, Although at times it does feel a bit like someone’s slightly bland front living room. Not something I like but not hardly offensive. It’s very much a family business, they pride themselves on their service and take pains to be courteous and observant.
The food that comes with it is fairly standard Indian, and really reasonably priced for this part of town. If you want something a bit different you’re better off heading to Bauhinia in Clifton. All the food is free from artificial colourings, which is saying something for an Indian restaurant. Mains are are around usually less than a tenner, depending on what you want and the wine list isn’t too badly priced either. They’re not afraid to give their food a bit of flavour, probably to get you guzzling more Indian beer. The Raj is a city centre, a bit bigger and better than its cousins in the suburbs.

If you like a Friday or Saturday night curry experience — i.e. somewhere lively with a big group and a few beers thrown in — this is an excellent choice. It’s on King Street, though be warned that it’s in a basement so it’s pretty easy to walk straight past (look out for the signs in the pic — that’s all there is bar a doorway and a menu).
I’ve only been here on the spur of the moment on a weekend night when I’ve been out with a group, so I can’t vouch for it during the week, or as a venue for dining for two, but it’s always busy. And as it’s in a large basement, there’s a healthy hustle and bustle and possibly one or two who’ve had one or two too many.
The food’s also very good, and they have a special deal where you can get cheap grub before 7.30pm, though whether the atmosphere will be quite as good then, I’m afraid I can’t say.