Salkaara — Restaurant in Wales

I really don’t like to do this, however I feel so disappointed and almost £80 down I felt compelled to leave this review, I’m also confused after reading all the other reviews (unless they’re not for Bridgend specific?)

We were looking for an Indian last night and had a few choices and also fancied a drive, so we opted for Salkara in Bridgend as we’ve been to the one in Llandaff in Cardiff and has always been a lovely experience the few times I’ve been. In fact I’ve recommended it to friends in the past.

However, you really can’t convince me this restaurant is run by the same people? The atmosphere is dire, actually there is none! The Cardiff restaurant is very intimate, Bridgend is a big open space with no charm or character.

The starters ( I had lamb chops) were strange, nothing with it, just meat on the plate and where the lamb had been cooked the white boiled bits were sitting on top (yes I know these were marinated) and I’ve never had a lamb chop that looked close to white before. My friend had the kebab and again was just meat on a plate, a bit of sauce underneath, not the presentation on the pictures or the starters I’ve experienced previously.

I had the Dansak for main, that was lacking flavour and what felt like frozen bits of chopped veg. Was barely no spice.

The rice and the naan were both nice and the glasses of wine were reasonably priced.

We walked out and not two doors down was an Indian packed and lively, I felt gutted we didn’t go there. We chose Salakra based off the Cardiff experiences and left extremely disappointed.

Another thing to mention, you get the tiniest pots of sauce to go with your poppadoms, not much of a problem as this is the same in Cardiff but last night it just added to the frustrations. We asked for an extra 3 pots to go with the giant basket of poppadoms, which, to be fair they didn’t charge for and not something I usually worry about.

I wouldn’t recommend this Bridgend restaurant to anyone, I hope the one in Llandaff isn’t like this now.

Strange Indian dining experience that I don’t wish to revisit. Underwhelmed and disappointed...

Absolutely superb! Randomly walked in to here as it was the only Indian open at 3pm on a Tuesday, and we had some time to kill. Wasn't expecting to have the best Indian I've had in a while! This place is a perfect example of a small menu done to a very high standard. I eat ALOT of Indian food and this place served me the best onion bhaji I've ever had. Naan bread was also excellent! The lamb rogan josh was full of flavour, and the lamb was cooked to perfection. Bombay Aloo was different from what I'm used to, and that was also delicious. The service was excellent too. Extremely pleasant hosts who were happy to converse and also took good care of us without being over the top. Strongly recommend this to anyone wanting a high-quality...

Really superb Indian cuisine. A cut above all others in Bridgend. Not greasy in any way, more traditional Indian foods. Best bahjis I've had and the jalfrezi is exceptional, totally different from any other jalfrezi I've had and superior. Nan breads are extremely light and not greasy. Great service and staff. Looking forward to going again. Had a sit down meal 27th Jan 2025.

Kind of don't want to tell anyone how good this place is, as it will get unbelievably busy once you know how truly good it is.

Nice one all at Salkaara-

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