Babar Elephant — Restaurant in Lancaster

Not really sure from where to start ? After browsing few Indian restaurants in Lancaster we decided to go Babar Elephant due to some good reviews and serving cocktails there. At arrival car park is huge and restaurant located in a nice and quiet place in between Lancaster and Morcambe. Going inside into the restaurant you will definitely get a very unpleasant smell we found it coming from their very very dirty carpets which anybody can notice with their bare eyes and nose. After seating we were given drinks and food menu but could able find any cocktails in their drinks menu despite adverting in their own website which is very misleading. However I asked to the waiter about it but they answered they don’t do. Moving on to the staters, we ordered prawn puri and mixed seafood sizzlers. Prawn Puri with small prawns on a deep fried bread covered with really red food color, not sure why they make it red? However the prawn tasted sweet and in my whole life I never tasted sweet prawn puri and it’s tasted very bad. Seafood sizzlers consisted of lots of tiny prawns, half of king prawn and the white fish they described on their menu could hardly be found through your naked eyes, you must have to get assistance with microscope to find those white fish there, a very disappointing start.

For mains we ordered BANGAL HAANDI SPECIAL with okra Bhai, tarts daal and steamed rice.

Bengal haandi special cooked with some raw onions with gravy and some unrealistically bad tasted rough spice mostly black pepper I guess which will burn your mouth, okra Bhaji (traditionally stir fried or deep or shallow fried) was not a bhaji dish definitely. It was kind of bhuna dish with diced okra, raw onions and gravy a very unauthentic dish poorly tasted. Only edible things was tarka daal and white rice. Thanks Babar Elephant to provide us such a...

Can’t leave a review for the quality of food as we could not eat there. We attended a family birthday meal. It was a large group of 29 people. To ease booking we all pre selected our meal choice and let the restaurant know in advance. Everyone had to pay a deposit for the meal. It was booked for 7pm we arrived at 6:40 were shown to our table and the last of our party arrived at 7:05. After checking to see where the food was having waited till 7:50 we were all handed menus…. When we explained there had been a mistake we have all pre ordered we were told that pre ordering was too complicated, it was better to have another look at the menus and order again. On asking how long the food would take the waiter just shrugged and said he wouldn’t say.. when I asked for all ball park explaining I had three children with me and it was getting late for them, he just said I’m not going to tell you it will be an hour because when it takes longer you will complain about it. At this point I decided it would be best to leave. Totally unprofessional. The staff were really weird about us having empty chairs at the tables too, they kept pestering to condense our tables down and move friendship groups apart. All in all a total let down for what’s supposed to be one of the nicer restaurants in the area…… Everyone else was re-ordering as we left around 7:55, as of 8:45 they still had not had any starters arrive. We won’t be returning. Oh and to top it off, they also got the overpriced...

This is a great Indian restaurant which you should certainly try if you have not eaten there before. It offers takeout and eat in, which is in a large "farmhouse" style restaurant. Prices probably in the high middle of the price range with cheaper options in Morecambe and Lancaster if you want them, but don't be put off by the location which offers good car parking and easy access from Lancaster and Morecambe. The Babar is part of a small chain that has other restaurants across the North West and serves really good food.

The staff in the Lancaster restaurant are really friendly. Several times I've been in and been offered complimentary drink or food (not saying you will, but it's a good indicator of a good place in my book), and they are good when you are having a special occasion and look after you well.

There is something for everyone on the menu and I really recommend the Blussi if you want something tasty that's not going to blow your head off. All the hot curries are also excellent, with the naga naga being a really tasty curry. They will also be happy to give you tastes of various things, and have been known to bring out various options especially if they are not busy.

The decor is nice, clean and suitable for larger...