Makalu Himalayan Sherpa Restaurant — Restaurant in Colchester

Having visited Nepal once and India twice, and having in-laws from India, I can confidently say that this is excellent South Asian cuisine.

They serve pretty much everything mild for the Western palette, so don't worry about the spice level.

Some menu items are far better than others.

Things to try:

Malai chicken tikka (outstanding) Malai kofta (excellent gravy) Imli eggplant Paneer tikka masala Paneer tikka Salmon tandoor Tandoori chicken Tandoori chicken tikka Paneer kulcha Lachha paratha (thinner than the no other naan) Chicken sha phaley Raita

Things we didn't love: Mango lassi (not made-to-order) Lollipop chicken (didn't taste like it was made-to-order) Paneer chili (only spice is chili flakes) Baigan bharta (no pieces of eggplant, it's mixed into the gravy) Saag paneer (too salty for my taste) Daal makhani (too salty for my taste)

I would also like to address some of the negative reviews:

One person gave a low rating because they found a whole clove in their food and were worried they could hurt themselves. There may be some unintentional bias going on here. Adding a few whole spices to certain dishes is a normal part of South Asian cuisine, so it seems kind of unfair to write a negative review that hurts a local business based on that. Would you write a negative review of an American restaurant for having bones in their fish? Or a movie theater for having kernels in their popcorn?

Also, to the other reviewer that said the food was too spicy, I find that really surprising. Perhaps you are conflating spiciness, as in heat, with spices as in flavor. The food is definitely very flavorful, so perhaps if you're used to bland food it might be overwhelming for you, but the heat level is pretty much zero unless...

I will start by saying that we have ordered from Makalu three times. The first two times we were very impressed. I can’t remember all the stuff we got, but the coconut lamb curry is to die for!

Now, this place is just a bit pricey. But if I’m getting a meal I absolutely love the price is worth it to me, especially if there is enough to fill me up. Actually the last time I got the lamb curry I think it lasted me 2 meals.

Tonight was the third time we ordered food here. My husband was making some tikka masala for dinner but we didn’t know what to do for a vegetable, so I suggested getting some sides from Makalu. I ordered the Daal Soup and the Lasuni Gobi (fried cauliflower). I was very disappointed to discover when I got home how insanely small the portions were. There were maybe 7 small pieces of cauliflower, which was $10. And there was only a one-cup (no that is not a typo…. one cup… 16oz) container of Daal, which was $7. We ordered papadums as well which were good and fairly priced. I am very understanding of the fact that food costs are rising and I always tip well, but this seemed unreasonable, especially with vegetables and lentils. Overall I paid about 25$ for what was listed above, which did include a 4$ tip.

We will certainly order the things we know we are satisfied with again from here, but I’m just bummed. Leaving a three-star review for...

This is one of my worst restaurant experiences to date. Before heading to the restaurant, we attempted to make a call to make sure it was open during this festive season. After receiving the confirmation from the owner that he could reserve a table for us, we decided to head there for dinner. Shockingly, when we arrived, we were left to stand aimlessly without any efforts from the lady server in serving us. It was only when we ASKED her repeatedly to take our orders that she was willing to stop and listen. After waiting for almost an hour to receive our food, we were served the wrong dish without any prior notifications. The chef gave a very poor excuse that they ran out of fried chicken chili so they gave us dumplings instead, claiming that the taste is the same. This is absolutely ridiculous because they are two different things! Furthermore, the owner even has the audacity to say that we insisted of dining in as they only do takeout- this is so wrong because we were not informed of this beforehand. The whole place is oily and filled with smoke due to broken exhaust. We couldn’t take it any longer, packed our food and left the restaurant with disguise. I don’t understand the high reviews given but if you wish to be served as proper guests, please...