Curry Traders Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Nusa Penida Subdistrict

I’m writing this message out of deep disappointment and frustration following an experience at Curry Traders today.

We walked into the restaurant hoping to enjoy a meal. Upon entering, the manager didn’t greet us or make any attempt to accommodate us. Instead, he bluntly told us, “It will be late” and “There are no tables available,” despite the fact that several tables were visibly open at the time. Within moments, a white couple walked in behind us and asked for a table—and without hesitation, the same manager led them directly to one of those very tables.

This wasn’t just poor service—it felt like blatant racial discrimination.

We are Indian, and we were appalled to see such a dismissive and unequal attitude, especially in a restaurant serving Indian cuisine. To be denied a table while others were seated right behind us simply because of their appearance is not only offensive but speaks volumes about the restaurant’s values and who they choose to welcome.

It’s especially painful to be made to feel unwelcome in a space that profits from our culture, our spices, and our heritage—yet seems to disregard the dignity of Indian customers. We know our rights, and we know that hospitality should be rooted in respect and fairness, not prejudice.

This isn’t just about one meal. It’s about being treated as less-than because of who we are. And it’s not okay.

I hope the management at Curry Traders reflects seriously on how they treat their guests. Discrimination—subtle or overt—has no place in any restaurant, especially one that claims to celebrate the very culture it just dismissed.

We won’t be returning, and we’ll be sharing our experience widely so others are aware. Until the restaurant acknowledges and addresses this behavior, I would advise others to reconsider supporting a place that practices selective...

Firstly - the curry/food itself is amazing. You will enjoy it. We went twice during our stay. The chicken tikka is particularly nice. We tried lots of dishes from the Ceylon, beef rending, butter chicken and lamb rogan Josh and the potatoes. All lovely.

There are only two things that let the place down.

1. staff - it’s nearly impossible to actually order anything!!! They all congregate at the till and ignore you. We saw more than one table get annoyed with waiting and make a complaint about the service. Such a shame when the food is so good. We waited a good 10 minutes before we actually got menus and this was only because we went over to ask.

2. I’ll say this might have been a one off but after our meal I went to the toilet but it was occupied by a staff member from the kitchen. When I went in they had peed all over the seat. Luckily I’m a guy and so didn’t need to sit down but I thought this was very poor…I also noticed they had nice fancy towels to dry your hands with and a bucket to put the used towels into. Let’s just say this bucket had just been changed was empty and the sink was dry so the kitchen staff member had more than likely not washed his hands…not ideal after you’ve just eaten food that they have been handling.

Overall I’d say it is worth a visit if you like a curry however the owner/manager could really do with setting some basic standards for the waiting staff as it does detract a little from the experience especially when you are paying top dollar compared to other restaurants on the island however this isn’t likely as he comes across as quite cold / unapproachable and does ignore people stood in the door waiting for a table…perhaps they are simply learning...

I was so excited to treat myself to a nice Indian meal but unfortunately this was a little disappointing for the very high prices. The korma was not at all creamy or very tasty however the naan bread was really nice (and expensive!). I also found it shocking that you have to pay for filtered tap water, this is the first place I’ve eaten where you don’t at least get a glass of water with your meal, it is especially bad given the prices and the fact that it is a restaurant serving Indian cuisine. Most of the staff were absolutely lovely and helpful although there was one woman who just seemed to spend her time giving people dirty looks. Found it very strange how the owner crammed everyone together around the bar to eat, explaining that the restaurant would get full as it does every night, but less than 1/3 of the proper tables were filled by the time we had eaten and paid so it seemed bizarre that we were made to eat elbow to elbow at the bar 🫤

*edited this to add a picture of the owner’s initial response to this review. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see the whole comment but you can see the personality shinning through in the first few sentences. Nice that he had second thoughts and decided to be less of a narcissist in his second attempt...