Namaste India — Restaurant in Belfast

Disappointing Experience – Felt Unwelcome from the Start

We were visiting Belfast on holiday and loving every bit of it—until we stepped into this restaurant. Unfortunately, this place completely soured our evening and left a bitter impression.

From the moment we arrived, the attitude of the staff was cold and uninviting. The person at the reception made us wait over 10 minutes for a table despite the restaurant being mostly empty. That should have been the first red flag.

We started off with a modest order to sample the food—some drinks, chips, and samosas. Nothing unreasonable. But the waiter looked at our order and scoffed, actually saying, “That’s it?”—as if our presence wasn’t worth their time because we didn’t start with a full meal. The way we were treated after that—rushed, looked down upon, ignored—made us feel deeply uncomfortable and unwelcome.

The service remained cold and dismissive throughout. No one checked in on us. No one cared. Eventually, we felt so uneasy that we just decided to leave, even though the food and drinks were still untouched on the table. And here’s the most telling part—they didn’t even bother to ask why we left everything behind.

Despite all this, we still paid the full bill out of respect. But that’s more than the respect we were shown at any point during our visit.

We’ve never experienced such behavior at any Indian restaurant before. It genuinely makes us question if they are running this place under the banner of “Indian cuisine” just to draw in customers without offering even the basic warmth and hospitality Indian culture is known for.

Belfast has been beautiful, and the people we’ve met here have been warm and kind—but this one place made us feel like outsiders for no clear reason. If you’re looking for good food and a welcoming experience, I strongly recommend you skip this one.

We may have been just one table out of many that day, but the treatment we received felt like outright discrimination. No one deserves to...

We turned up at 5pm as a party of 9. Alarm bells should have rang when we were told we would have to bring one of our own highchairs as they only have the one in store. We arrived and had to tell front of house we needed the highchair and when I went to remind them again they were scrubbing it so in my head that means no one bothered cleaning it from the previous day.

We were finally asked what we would like to eat at 5:25pm. No smile from the waiter, a straight faced "are you ready to order" was all we got. We then had to ask if we could order drinks. We waited for what seemed like eternity on our food and it finally arrived at 6:15pm nearly an hour later. The food came out in multiple batches just over 5 minutes after each other meaning the people who had the first batch would have been earing luke warm food if they waited for the rest to arrive. Most of our party was happy with their food when it finally arrived but one person had korma and mentioned it didn't really have any flavour. We ordered a few Nan breads and had to remind the staff that we had ordered them which again were brought out in 3 batches. Not a single apology was given. A straight faced "it's coming now" is what we received. What made this worse was when I had to asked for a plate for my food as the waiter didn't bring enough on the first run. I wouldn't mind if it was busy but there was 4 tables in.

I went to the loo to find there was no loo roll available. Thankfully I didn't need it but when I mentioned it to the staff member I was told "there is a toilet at the other side of the restaurant".

Generally we would visit Indian ocean in Holywood. Its authentic, they have poppadoms on arrival and the staff love to see people come to their restaurant. I've never had a bad experience there. I came here as it was recommended. I will not be back and will be recommending that people...

We had one of the worst dining experiences we’ve ever had — and it was made worse by how unnecessary it all was.

We stopped by this restaurant during our trip to Belfast, excited to try the food. Instead, we were met with cold stares, dismissive service, and an atmosphere that made us feel like we weren’t welcome from the start.

We were made to wait 10 minutes for a table, even though the restaurant was mostly empty. Once seated, we placed a reasonable starter order — a couple of pints, samosas, and chips — just to get a feel for the food before ordering more. The waiter looked at our order and scoffed, saying “That’s it??” in a tone that felt judgmental and uncalled for. That moment set the tone for the rest of the visit.

We tried to overlook it, but the vibe never improved. The staff didn’t check in, didn’t smile, didn’t care. It was so uncomfortable that we left everything — food, drinks, the works — untouched on the table. We didn’t even want to sit there a minute longer. Still, we paid the full bill without a word and left.

No one asked why we left our food. No one cared. It was as if we were invisible from the moment we walked in.

We don’t know if it was discrimination, arrogance, or just indifference, but it was enough to ruin what had otherwise been a beautiful day in Belfast.

This place might look like an Indian restaurant, but it doesn’t represent the warmth or hospitality Indian culture is known for. We left feeling insulted and confused. I wouldn’t recommend this...