Dakwala Bombay Canteen Newcastle — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

This was our first time visiting Dakwala. It will not be our last time!

My partner and I were well and truly blown away by the experience here, having ate in many different Indian restaurants, i can say without doubt this by far and away the best that I have visited.

We had a table booked for 5pm, arriving at the restaurant the front of house host showed us to a widnow table and took our coats, he was very informative and helpful. He showed us the menus, and explained there was still the option for the Valentine menu, and gave us some details of this. He gave us both a recommendation for cocktails as they are 2 for 14 and he recommended the Dadar Phool, which of course had to try!

We gave the Thumbs up Cola and Limca a try too, very tasty.

We had decided before arriving that we wanted to try the tasting menu, shown in the photos is everything we had from this menu, three courses of brilliantly cooked Salmon, Chicken and Lamb.

The black Lentil Dahl was brilliant we really enjoyed this one.

Our host and server, Gaurav, was great, he took time to explain some details of some of the foods, such as the coriander and mint chutney, also suggesting specific ingredients that we could use should we like to make this at home. He was very helpful and friendly and did make the evening special.

All in all the meal was a great success, thus restaurant, even being so young is off to a great start, clearly as the whole place was packed out, this gave a vibrant bustling feeling with adequate background noise adding to the atmosphere.

When I booked online I was promoted to specify if this was for a special occasion, so I had suggested that it was for our anniversary, I had forgotten about this request until it came for us to receive the bill, we were presented with a small cake and Candle and wished a happy anniversary from Gaurav.

A lot of restaurants offer for you to suggest things when booking and then neglect your suggestions upon arrival, I feel that the staff at Dakwala should be highly praised for taking the time to remember small details such as this one 👏👏

Well done to all Staff, we will be coming back...

⭐ Birthday Lunch at Dakwala Bombay Canteen – Honest Review ⭐ 📍 42-44 Grainger St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 5JG

It was my birthday, so my wife and I decided to visit Dakwala Bombay Canteen—a place we’d been curious about for a while.

🥘 Food Review:

One of the things I truly miss about Indian cuisine in the UK is a proper Thali experience. This restaurant has done an excellent job of identifying that gap and introducing authentic Thalis for lunch. We tried two:

🍛 Mutton Thali – 8.5/10 • The portion was generous and nicely presented. • However, the mutton was a bit tough, and the curry lacked depth in flavour. • Still a good overall experience, just not the standout dish for me.

🍤 Prawn Thali – 9.5/10 • This one was a winner! The curry had excellent flavour and came with two big king prawns. • Slightly on the pricey side, but the taste made up for it.

📝 General Comments: • Salad was basic—just leafy greens, and not very flavourful. • Papadom and Pookada (pakora) were included but could be improved—especially the pakora, which was a bit too oily. • I feel they could cut down on some extras and focus more on improving the core items—a little quality boost would go a long way.

🎉 Birthday Surprise:

The staff surprised me with a brownie and candle, and even sang Happy Birthday. The best part? They didn’t charge for it. It was a thoughtful gesture and really made my day!

⸻

🌟 Overall Rating: 9/10

A delightful lunch experience, authentic Indian flavours, and thoughtful staff made this birthday meal special. With a few tweaks in quality, this place can easily become a go-to spot for Indian food lovers...

After reading a good many reviews on here, we were super excited to try out Dakwala in Grainger Market for my daughters birthday meal. I'm always on the lookout for traditional Indian food as I miss India only for the variety of food and the flavours. However, my excitement slowly faded and I was left unimpressed by the quantities and taste of each dish. It was definitely not value for money. For drinks, we ordered Mango lassi for the kids and a cocktail each for the adults. It wasnt worth the almost £10 - £11 per cocktail.

For nibbles, we ordered the pani puri and chaat bombs. I was hoping for a typical street flavour with the pani puri as I am obsessed with this dish. Unfortunately it failed to deliver. It was saltless, and the pani (water was too diluted). The amount of filling that was given was too little to be enjoyed. The only decent plate was the chaat bombs - which we then ordered 3 of. With the small plates, we ordered Koliwada fish - there wasn't any taste of the koliwada flavour. But I can't fault the vada pao - it was spot on and the star of the show. 👌 The real disappointment came through when we received our main courses. The quantity of the dish and the taste to the price of each was extremely shocking. From the fish curry to the railway lamb curry, to the dum biryani and finally even the kids meal - I couldnt give you a decent review.

We paid £180 for 4 adults and 1 child which in my opinion is not value for money - only because of quantity and quality.

All in all, I may go back only for the vada pao and the...