Diya Royal — Restaurant in England

We’d heard good things about this restaurant so gave it a go for a special family occasion, but unfortunately were left disappointed against expectations. The restaurant shares the building with the small pub next door, and it’s through this pub that we had to enter on the evening. That wouldn’t normally be a problem but on a Friday night it was busy with ‘party goers’ and despite having a reservation we had to order a drink while waiting. It is a bit of a ‘locals’ pub but fortunately there was a table free towards the rear so we were able to keep ourselves to ourselves for twenty minutes.

Eventually we were welcomed through to the restaurant. It’s a lot larger than it looks outside and the main area has been decorated nicely however the toilets could do with some similar attention. We had a table for six in a small extension to the side. The table was spacious and the room was clean enough, although it seemed to lack a little of the atmosphere in the main area. Nice popadoms were brought as we looked through the menu but there was no spicy dip.

There’s a good variety of drinks both by the bottle and on draught, plus the prices were all reasonable. The food menu is really extensive, offering Indian classics as well as Gurkha and house specialities. This was nice and made it a little more special than your normal curry. Starters were served in good time and were all decent sized portions.

The main dishes were a little more underwhelming. Despite requesting for additional spice on some dishes they remained mild, however the mild dishes were actually served rather hot. For non-spice lovers this resulted in a difficult meal to stomach! The special Nepalese rice was really good and there’s a comprehensive range of breads offered too.

It may be because the restaurant was busy that evening but the staff came across rather blunt throughout our stay, to the point of making us feel a little unwelcome. We had to chase in order to get our initial order taken and it was very slow for plates to be removed after the meal, but there were no pleasantries exchanged while we were being served.

At the end of the meal it took an age to obtain the bill and it ended up being completely wrong as a number of tables had been mixed up. This did eventually get sorted out but it was a long winded process. I’m hoping we just got unlucky with the whole experience on what was a busy evening, so I’ll give it another go at some point, but otherwise I’d avoid...

I had never dined at Diya Royal before but had always wanted to give it a try after reading alot of positive reviews about the overall dining experience offered. When my friend suggested booking a table I jumped at the chance. Some people think Diya Royal is mainly Indian cuisine, this is not true, Diya Royal is Nepalese cuisine which is influenced by Tibetan, Indian, Chinese and other parts of Asia. We had a table booked for 8.30 and on our arrival we were given a warm and friendly welcome from all the staff and were seated promptly even though we were 10 minutes early. The restaurant was very busy and had a healthy, vibrant atmosphere which is always a good sign. We both ordered a starter, my friend ordered the Nepalese style sweet and sour chilli chicken with peppers, the balance of chilli, sweet and sour flavours was perfect, which in my opinion was excellent and I highly recommend you try. I ordered the Fish Sunkoshi which was freshly marinated deep-fried crispy tilapia served with green chutney. The fish was cooked perfectly and the dish as a whole was full of flavour and tasted delicious, the green chutney really lifted the dish and gave it a  freshness. For our main course we ordered the Nepalese special fried rice between us and the Piro lamb, which was Spicy Nepalese lamb tikka curry with fresh green chili, garlic coriander and mixed peppers. I ordered the Saag Jhinga, which was a freshly prepared tiger prawn curry with fresh baby spinach leaves – Gurkha style. This was accompanied with Paratha's, which I can only describe as a cross between puff pasty and a flatbread. I would have been happy just to have three or four Paratha's just to dunk into my curry sauce!!!! An amazing culinary experience with a great variety of Nepalese cuisine to choose from at a reasonable price. I will definitely be back for seconds.....and you...

We had a most wonderful meal last night at Diya Royal, still Kempston's one and only Nepalese restaurant. The service was quick, efficient and friendly, and the atmosphere in the restaurant is buzzing, complete with colorful and detailed decorations and Gurkha-themed memorabilia. As it is joined to The Griffin pub, the bar is stocked with all the beers, ciders, wines and spirits anyone could ever need - which also includes Cobra beer ON TAP. We decided on the Peregrino merlot from Chile, a full bodied red wine with plenty of dark fruit accents. For starters, we had poppadoms (made fresh on site, of course), and I asked for the breaded salt and pepper king prawns, which came with seasoned diced vegetables, burnt garlic and garden-fresh green chillies. It was TO DIE FOR. The accompanying chutney dips for the poppadoms (mango, mint and onion) were also made and prepared on site. For my main, I went for one of their house specials, the Gurkhali Khasi - a slow hundy cooked Nepalese lamb curry with frsh coriander and spring onions. The lamb was so tender it practically melted in the mouth. My accompanying mushroom rice (shock horror, wouldn't have seen that coming!) was also splendid, and not dripping with ghee as is sometimes the case. They aren't slouches when it comes to Indian food either, as my partner decided to play it slightly safe and went with the chicken tikka masala, which was smooth yet bursting with flavour. I'm advised that she'll be more adventurous next time though! The prices are highly competitive, especially considering the portion sizes. The chocolates that came with the bill were milk chocolate mints, rather than dark chocolate mints. We were delighted with that, too! You can bet that we'll be back again soon enough. There's a lot more to sample from that menu, it's practically a given that a second and third visit...