Gaja — Restaurant in Great Britain

I couldn’t not leave a review for this place.

I’d spotted the restaurant a while back (living nearby, it’s been casting a line at me every time I passed), but never got round to visiting. Then I saw someone rave about it on Facebook, booked a table for my wife and me, and off we went.

And wow. Just… wow.

We arrived for our 6pm booking (fuel before an 8pm comedy night) and the place was already packed. At 6pm! On a Saturday! My wife and I exchanged a look that basically said: this is going to be good.

We were seated, and before we could even unfold our napkins, poppadoms appeared like magic. We hadn’t ordered them — they just arrived, like the good old days when restaurants knew what you needed before you did. Then came a complimentary welcome shot (some sort of lemoncello mix). We’d planned a no-alcohol evening, so we politely declined… only for the waitress to reappear seconds later with a non-alcoholic version. Smart move. Even better, at the end of the meal they surprised us again with a long, refreshing alcohol-free shot of mixed flavours — a classy little touch that wrapped things up perfectly.

Drinks were served up almost instantly, and we skipped starters (we didn’t want to waddle into the comedy club later) and went straight to mains: my wife ordered King Prawns — and I mean enormous King Prawns, the kind that make you wonder if they’ve been hitting the gym — while I went for the trusty Chicken Madras. They asked if I wanted mine hotter. Of course, being the big man I am, I said yes. We added Saag Paneer and a Peshawari Naan to share.

Then — five minutes later — our food arrived. In a full restaurant. FIVE minutes. The staff were like ninjas: everywhere, but never in the way. I counted five of them gliding around the room as if they’d trained for a synchronized waiting event in the Olympics. Not a glass dropped, not a plate smashed. Honestly, I could have watched them all night if the food hadn’t stolen the show.

And what a show it was. Let me be clear: we are serious Indian food fanatics. It’s our go-to cuisine, we’ve been together 17 years eating curries all over the country (and beyond), and I thought we’d tasted the best. We had not. This meal was another level. Every single bite was bursting with flavour. I don’t think I’ve ever grinned my way through a plate of food quite like that.

The service matched the food — flawless. Staff checked in just enough, never hovering. The manager even came over, proud as punch, and told us about the chefs. Judging by their CVs, Bournemouth has struck gold.

Couple of final shout-outs:

I’m not the tidiest curry eater (naan + rice = battlefield), but the staff whisked in and wiped the table with stealthy precision, barely interrupting us.

Drinks? You’ll have them in under a minute.

The pickle tray? Little flavour bombs.

It’s now Sunday afternoon and I’m still daydreaming about last night’s food.

The verdict? Warm welcome, spotless restaurant, super-attentive team, thoughtful little touches (like those surprise shots), and food that will make your soul sing.

Just go. If you love Indian food and don’t eat here, you’re...

Great Place and Food, but Terrible Front-of-House Manager Bill No: 011458

My note to the management: You have a fantastic venue, serve excellent food, and have amazing chefs who also take on front-of-house duties beautifully. However, your so-called restaurant manager is terrible at her job—she carries a ton of arrogance and is extremely rude.

On the evening of 16th march, a group of us—nine adults and three kids—decided to dine at your restaurant. Many of us are also regular customers. One of us ordered a cocktail, but when it was served, it tasted too sour for her palate. She politely requested the bartender to make it sweeter. The bartender assured her to "keep" the original drink, and he would prepare a new one as per her preference.

When we received the bill, we noticed that the drink had been charged twice. We approached the manager (the young woman in question) to have it corrected. Instead of handling the situation professionally, she immediately started rolling her eyes and making faces. When she returned with the corrected bill, she rudely commented that we should have returned the drink, completely disregarding the fact that it was the bartender who had asked us to keep it. Even after we clarified this, she remained extremely rude. Despite the bartender confirming to the executive chef that he had indeed asked us to keep the drink, the manager remained unapologetic and continued displaying a bad attitude.

Staff like her either need proper training or risk driving away not only your regular customers but also potential future customers with their poor attitude and lack of customer service skills.

Note to Customers: If you don’t like your drink or food, return it immediately and ask for a replacement—even if they insist you keep it—because this young lady will surely ruin your perfect evening with her...

From the moment we walked it we were treated as if we had visited a 100 times. This in fact was my 1st visit as we were celebrating a birthday, (Definately not my last)16 of us in total. It's a small venue so apologies to the couples trying to have a romantic meal around us!!! We where treated to a complimentary glass of prosecco and soon had popodums in front of us. The front of house team are amazing, friendly, helpful and patient especially with such a large group. The starters came and went down a treat, a pot of yoghurt was placed on to the table so you could customise your own spice level if the food was a little to hot for you taste. The mains didn't dissapoint either. Compliments the chefs and back of house team. Not to mention the drinks, I asked for a drink not listed on the menu and it was there in a jiffy and I pretty sure my glass was self filling as I didn't get to the bottom of one before I was asked if id like another. We where asked to pre order due to the size of the group which made me think that the food may be pre made. I was wrong, the food was fresh and delicious. We ambked our way through our meal and where completely left to chat, drink and eat with out any pressure to move on with our meals or even leave once they had closed and pulled the shutters down. At roughly £35-40 per head it was a really cheap meal considering i was drink spice rum.

The restaurant is very well played out and I am reliably inform the bathrooms where lovely too.

Thank you for looking after us and making our...