The Indian Courtyard — Restaurant in England

It's rather disappointing.

If you are into eating very lightly spiced Indian food, then give this place a try. However, if you are more into your hot curries, then don't even think about stepping over their threshold.

The food that was served was well cooked and presented, but like I said, if you enjoy some spice in your life, you'll definitely feel short-changed.

It is also on the pricey side with micro transactions on everything...

Would you like a poppadom while you wait... kerching

Would you like dips with the poppadoms... Kerching

Would you like rice with your curry... kerching

A naan bread maybe... kerching

Before you know it, you are in excess of £20 a plate before drinks...

Once you start to add drinks, you are looking at over £40 ahead, even if you are only having soft drinks.

Personally, I will not make a return visit, as a family of 8, with young children, it got ridiculously expensive very, very quickly. There are Indian restaurants in the area that offer much better value at an equal or better level of quality, with a much wider range of spice to suit everyones pallet. Not just little old ladies and babies.

Edit, a response to the owner.

Thank you for your reply. On the evening, I did ask when ordering if all the food was mild. The server said yes, I asked if it was possible to order off the menu as vindaloo is my favourite curry. I was told this was not possible. On the advice of the waiter, I ordered your hottest dish, the name of which escapes me now, and if that could be spiced up. The waiter actually gave a chuckle before moving on to take more orders.

When the first table check was carried out, I told the waiter that the food was well cooked but was very mild, almost bland. A second table visit from another server ilicited the same response. Neither of them offered to change the dish or to "spice" it up.

With reference to the price, yes, everything had a clear price tag, but you missed my point. Individually, the prices do not seem unreasonable. A main averaging around £15 a plate. But that is just the main dish. With rice, it is now coming up on £20 a plate, add a bread, and the price is going up again.

Traditionally, I have found that when offered poppadoms to eat while you wait, after your order has been made, they are given complimentary and not added onto the bill.

I would have questioned this at the time, but on this occasion, my daughter was treating the family, so I was unaware of the additional charge until we got home. This, however, is not the reason I would not return. The reason why I will not dine again is simply the restricted spice pallet available...

We dined as a family of 8, as a return visit. We were asked to sit upstairs which we preferred. The only issue with seating upstairs was the window blind did not prevent the sunshine from blinding a couple of our family members...but staff were attentive to this and the sun had dropped within 15 minutes.

The food is tasty and varied. Whilst we chose not to have starters this visit- we have tried the starters menu and enjoyed it immensely during our previous visit.

The restaurant doesn't offer a vindaloo dish; however, staff told us that their focus is on taste and quality. This did not disappoint. They offer a different approach to Indian food- as well as varied street food. There are other Indian options locally for people wishing to enjoy a traditional menu.

However, this was our treat for the family and we chose to dine here. We saved up to offer our family an unlimited choice and were happy to pay slightly higher prices here. That said, prices are in line with other restaurants in the area.

Service isn't included in the bill and we chose to pay extra for this because the food was served quickly and the service left nothing wanting.

Staff were also very happy to recommend dishes for individual palettes and catered for our preferences by including spicy accompaniments as well as cooler ones.

We ordered dessert (they offer pistachio ice cream or a coffee) We chose the ice cream and this was enjoyed by all.

We will...

Updated yet again 7th June 2025 A year later I have to do another review. This restaurant just keeps getting better. The lamb biriyani we had tonight was ambrosial and better than any Michelin Indian I've been to. Please try it, you won't be disappointed and it's not expensive. Main courses are under £15. It's exceptional.

Updated - revisited on 8th June. I've upgraded my original score to a 5. Had a fabulous visit this weekend and the food was divine. The chicken 65 was stunning and soft and perfectly cooked, same with our chicken curry, the chattinad. I had the salmon starter again and it was delicious. Service was faultless. It's honestly a gem of a place, I highly recommend.

We had a really lovely evening at The Indian Courtyard and I would definitely go back. The service was lovely, nothing was too much trouble. The atmosphere was buzzy and chilled music. Food presentation is immaculate and the crockery is gorgeous. The reason I can't give a 5 for food is because the chicken we had in 2 dishes was overcooked. First in the chicken 65 it was too chewy inside as it had been fried too long (taste was delish). Then in our chicken curry main it was really very dry, although the sauce was very nice. Nothing else was overcooked, the lamb was melt in the mouth and the fish was beautifully soft. But both chicken dishes were over, which...