We came by the Purple Poppadom on a family visit and it was far and away the best food we had in…read moreour four days in Cardiff. It serves elevated Indian cuisine that is beautifully made and creatively presented. This isn't your standard Indian take-out. The dining room is casual but stylish, the cocktails were terrific and the food top notch. Service was very welcoming and efficient. Had we been hungrier we would have gotten the tasting menu with the wine pairings. Highly recommend.

This is easily one of the best meals I have ever had, anywhere in the UK. This is Indian dining…read moredone well! Go as hungry as you can so you can try everything! For starters, we had the Aloo tikka chat (5*), the Bombay chat (5*) and the creamery (4*) plus poppadoms with the trio of dips. For mains our table had: Chicken Nawabi - easily the best dish I have ever tasted. The chicken bhuna in this dish is NEXT level. 5 stars does not do this plate justice! 5* Tiffin sea bass - their signature dish and also delicious! 5* Nadal khozi curry - fragrant, deep flavours. Probably one of the best curries I've ever had but it had tough contenders in the other plates! 4* Raman Akhbari - the lamb leg with mash. Amazing. 5* For dessert we had chocomosa anand and the grilled pineapple dish. Do not think you can share played as the portions are small. The little choc filled pastry delights were melt-in-the-mouth crispy parcels filled with warm melted chocolate, on a bed of caramelised banana. These guys are outstanding. Do not let the exterior and street fool you. This is memorable.

See, they are at it again! It's the multiple name game being played on Albany Road... come on down!…read moreBut at least the Tandoori Mahal Balti have integrated all of their names into a string that helps identify it for what it does, which is more than can be said for Yaus House, Chinese Kitchen, Chop Suey etc etc... In fact, they have practically created a sentence, how coherent is that? All they need do now is throw a verb at it, and Bob's your Uncle, (or, Kumar is your first cousin once removed, who you might be marrying if your parents can scrape enough dowry together to make love a reality!). Bah boom! Excuse my slight consternation... but I feel that someone should tell these businesses about the importance of clarity and unique identity... Ah dam it.. they all need a lesson or two on branding! It's becoming increasingly important to distinguish one business from another. With the advent of the internet and subsequent emergence of social media, where user content is paramount, it is easy for a business to be misrepresented beyond all recognition, and banished into the realms of obscurity, purely and simply because people will easily give up trying to make sense out of the disparate information, and will order their takeaway from the simply defined business with a coherent description of what's on offer. The irony is that multiple mentions should actually affirm the business, but if they are all saying different things and using variations on the name, it makes a nonsense of everything! That aside, Tandoori Mahal Balti is a rather fine traditional Indian Restaurant and takeaway, that is very reasonably priced. Service is great, and the staff are as friendly as you like. The Good Eating Guide have seen fit to award them with a certificate of 'Outstanding Achievement' which is displayed in the window alongside the 'Roll of Honour' certificate from Master Chef, (whatever that may mean!)

I don't know how impartial I can be about Indian restaurants, as I always favour the ones that have…read morea tandoori oven, which the Himalaya Tandoori Restaurant obviously does! In fact, it ticks most of the Indian cuisine boxes! And, if you read the signage, you'd be excused for believing that this Tandoor house was at least three different businesses.. but at least you would appreciate the range of food on offer! The main hoarding sign reads Himalaya Tandoori Restaurant, whereas the protruding sign is entitled New Himalaya Balti Cuisine, and if you let yourself loose on the internet... well... you'll scoop up a few other variations on the same theme... bless 'em! Like so many eat-ins that offer a take-away service in Cardiff, Himalaya Tandoori Restaurant is doing everything to ensure the upkeep of throughput. The recession has seemingly hit this town hard... or the people of Cardiff seem less willing to trust in the future, and so they have tightened their belts accordingly. People are eating out less these days, and small low end restaurants like this one are seeing a significant dip in custom, perhaps with the exception of the higher end establishments. Usually patronised by people on a low to midrange income, even the take-away side of small restaurants have been severely affected. Thankfully the Himalaya are doing okay, and are offering enough special deals to coax their loyal customer base to prize their wallets from their pockets. Students get a 20% discount if they eat in, everyone can eat as much as they want for £6.95 between 6.00pm and 11.00pm on a Sunday, and they offer a whooping 30% discount on menu prices for take-out meals when you come to collect. And the food

I haven't eaten in here (I have never visited inside the shop in fact because my boyfriend went to…read morecollect it) but I had some food from there under duress. He really wanted it - however, had I seen the state of this place (which I saw when I came to take my pictures for this week) I would have fought a lot harder. So, given that, I was surprised (and am further surprised having seen quite how dingy it looks) how nice the food was. It was quite stodgy but absolutely delicious. Definitely not a light meal for the weight-conscious. For a blow out, though (which we all need sometimes) it was great. Don't let the, quite frankly, skanky - sorry, but I can't think of a better word - exterior put you off. The food's pretty good.

Cottage Tandoori is a really popular Indian takeaway on Splott Road. It is a particular favourite…read moreof mine for a number of reason. Firstly, I tend not to go to any Indian takeaway or restaurant that hasn't got a tandoor oven, (and this one clearly has, or else it would most likely be called something else...!?!). I love all the food that is made in a tandoor oven, with my particular favourites being tandoori chicken and nan bread. This option will set you back less than £6.00 and is the second reason why I like this takeaway so much... the prices are really competitive! Lastly, the portions are massive and so you really get value for money. I have, on more than one occasion, ordered one meal for two at Cottage Tandoori; something that is entirely feasible unless you are excessively hungry, or just plain greedy! (Although it has to be said that the food is very moreish!)

My biggest problem with Panama is its uninspiring decor - I would eat in rather than take out if…read moreonly it wasn't so ugly. If you don't care too much about the look and feel of your eating environment, however, or if you prefer takeaway, Panama is a really good choice. Their chef was trained in Bangladesh and dishes up cuisine originating both from India and north east Bangladesh. His very own onion bhajis and veg samosas are well worth trying, and both the biryani and tandoori dishes I've had from here have been very tasty. If you're after a bargain, you can go for a huge set meal deal for one, costing £10.95 - it includes pappadom and chutneys, choice of a starter, choice of a main course, plus pilau rice and any naan bread. And if like me you avoid eating in and grab takeaway, there's a very decent 15% knocked off the bill - while for students there's a *further* 10% discount with an NUS card! Bargain.

Well I do love a curry an this is up there in my top 5. I love that its cheap, had huge portions…read moreand do amazing biryani. Its apparently been there now since 1976 and is still going strong. I think its let down by the decor of the restaurant itself. If they funked it up I think they could easily get away with charging higher prices so maybe its a good thing. Service is very friendly, I guess that they have lots of regulars because the waiter was chatting away to couple of tables like they were family friends. Take-Away available but you have to pick it up.

We are so glad we stopped by here. Upon walking in, we were promptly greeted and told to sit…read moreanywhere. After ordering, our food came out very quickly. Since I could never pick just one dish, I opted for the Chai Street Thali. The taste of the daal and the curry took me right back to India.

Really nice modern but authentic Indian spot with tons of vegan options. I stopped for lunch and…read morefound it hard to choose from all their nice-looking options. I decided I'd ultimately get the vegan thali (£13.90) so I could try a bunch of dishes. The thali came out in about 10-15 minutes, and let me say that this was a very high-quality thali -- none of the dishes seemed lazily thrown together, or like cheap versions of a better dish; I apparently got their A game. The main dishes included a delicious daal, a spicy veggie curry, a very spicy chole (chickpea curry), and a spicy potato curry. This was served with white basmati rice, bread, and pappadams. Huge amount of food and all delicious. Very comfortable environment, good service, and a super central location. This was a great find.

Great food and lovely staff. Dine in or order a takeaway from there most weekends. Best Indian…read morearound.

This place is heaven!…read more I think that Mint and Mustard is my favourite Indian restaurant in Cardiff... it's certainly up there in the top three! If it weren't for the fact that there are some other amazing Indian restaurants in Cardiff that employ the same visionary and innovative methods that Mint and Mustard have become known for, then they would be a clear winner! It's stiff competition, but Mint and Mustard are definitely neck and neck for the top slot! What inclines me to choose this restaurant and not the others is that I love the people that work here. They are so genuinely friendly and eager to please, (but not in an obsequious way), that it's really easy to relax and enjoy yourself here. It's no wonder that they have had awards heaped on them for their food. They create really imaginative, top notch nosh for the discerning palette, and the word compromise doesn't seem to be in their vocabulary! They use the best of the best ingredients, and everything on the menu is utterly deliscious!

For modern Indian cuisine in Cardiff, Mint and Mustard has firmly established itself at the top of…read morethe bill. I heard so many people raving on about this place before I got around to trying it, as it's had loads of reviews and media attention. Chef Anand George has had massive success since setting up business in Cardiff in 2007. In 2008 he won both the House of Commons Tiffin Cup and the South Asian Chef of the Year. In 2009, Mint and Mustard became the first Indian restaurant to be named 'Best Indian Restaurant' and 'Best Restaurant in South Wales' at the South Wales Echo Food and Drink Awards. With expectations high, the place could easily have been a disappointment - but the food was divine and the service was excellent. I had the veggie Bombay Chat for starters, which is full of interesting flavours, and the delicious Allepy fish curry for main course, which is flavoured with coconut milk, ginger and mango. They also serve up some really interesting desserts, something which most Indian restaurants are hopeless at, so it's worth leaving some room for something sweet. One choice is an exotic, delicate Rose Petal Crème Brulee, and another is a Tandoori pineapple with saffron and fennel. Mint and Mustard deserves every bit of its fine reputation - and now its neighbouring sister restaurant, Chai Street, also offers a cheaper, more informal daytime Indian eatery where you can enjoy authentic breakfasts and lunches.

The décor in here may not be anything to write home about, but boy is the food good! As a…read moreWhitchurch resident I've long been aware of this hidden secret, and always delight in introducing friends to the best Indian meal they've ever tasted (I imagine it would even rival New Delhi). The food is all well prepared and always appears incredibly fresh. I'm particularly partial to their prawn biryani and the samosas are delicious (if perhaps just a tiny bit too spicy), but I'm always open to trying out new things off the menu. However I do have one big qualm with the India Gate, which is that when collecting a takeaway, the food is never ready on time (usually 10-15 minutes after the time you were told). Yet time issues aside, the India Gate promises a great Indian meal.

How very disappointing indeed…read more Ate from this place due to others telling me it was good, how wrong they were! Either that or the place was just having a bad night! I did not enjoy my Prawn Pathia at all, it was very watery, bland and only had a few prawns in, this was quite poor considering the slightly inflated prices compared to other Indian restaurants. I think you can always judge an Indian on its poppadums and naan bread, well there were two big fails there by the India Gate! The poppadums were so very thin and insubstantial with the naan bread pretty dry, tasteless and unappetizing. Basically I have had much better Indians for a cheaper price and will not be visiting again.

Absolutely amazing food loved the curry. Service was absolutely outstanding aspecially when i had…read morering string and the employees had to bring cold water for my bum and 3 rolls of toilet paper ass I was stuck on the toilet for over 3 hours. Ambiance was calming, so silent I could hear my diarrhea splat on the toilet bowl. 10/10 would recommended to my boyfriend Ben.

Balti Empire is one of five high-end Indian restaurants that joined forces about three years ago,…read morethereby creating a unique alliance, with the common objective of raising the standard of Asian cuisine. Serving pan-Asian and Bangladeshi cuisine that is unsurpassable; these five restaurants have clearly taken the best ideas and advice from the pool, and applied them to arrive at a winning formula. So, not only have they achieved their aims admirably, they have also been rewarded with the recognition that they deserve. Regional credits include 'Indian Restaurant of the Year' from the South Wales Echo and the same from the South Wales Argus. The look of the restaurants have also contributed to the overall appeal, and has certainly gone some way toward helping them achieve such high acclaim. Again, they have taken the best of the best, and arrived at a look that is tastefully contemporary, and very much their own. Balti Empire is a sombre and elegant looking place, painted in muted tones, and adorned with refined artwork, providing a sophisticated back-drop to an evening of fine dining. I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough!