Alishaan in County Durham

Tried this restaurant while we were on a hunt to find nice restaurants in the area. We ended up there by accident as the weather was terrible, snowy, slippery and it felt like a nice shelter. The aroma invited us in to dine. I was super impressed by the quality of food as it felt old and reheated. Nevertheless, the restaurant had good atmosphere, plenty of seating and good service.

Got my curry to take out and this is what I received 2 bits of chicken and half sauce nice curry but terrible amount for the price

Ordered a take away, Rogan Josh was lovely, however my partner’s dish had about 5 small pieces of chicken, onion barges were flat chips chunky and not crispy. An expensive take away

Fourth time at this restaurant, food was ok it’s been much better previously .. service was slow mixed kebab starter the lamb was a lump of fat unable to cut through it. They did remove cost from bill. Main courses chicken tikka balti was tasty however it contained only 4 pieces of chicken. Overall it was ok

Incredible food , beautiful Indian cuisine made perfectly and affordable! Really good service as well Definitely be coming again

Beware!!! You won’t be able to order starters alone, they want you to order at least 2 starters and 1 main course per person lol

The staff was very hostile and rude. Bad experience. Not again

My son and I liked the range of cuisine which was beyond the usual curry fare. Two courses and two mains for £50. Good service.

Lovely food, the staff were very pleasant and courteous. I live very close to their other restaurant in Fulwell which is also excellent.

Freezing cold. Put the heating on!!!!!

Second visit here, last time with my son and his 8 uni friends & this time just us and our son, both time amazing, great service. Lovely staff, amazing food, highly highly recommend xx Thank you so much xx

Lovely service very friendly, Gorgeous foods 🍛 5 ⭐ the place is spotlessly clean, would recommend.

Initial impression on entering this restaurant is very good. From then on things just get better. Excellent menu, some dishes new to us, attentive friendly staff and delicious food.

I was in the area for a work trip and was craving a curry and grilled meat and came across this place. Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the worst decisions. The starter I ordered made no sense it was like remains of someone elses food all thrown together, and everything was overcooked and lacked flavour. I thought let's order a curry as the chefs might be better as this. I ordered the signature lamb chop curr, and once I received i, I was shocked to find it swimming in a bed of oil. The chops were overcooked and almost as if they were old. The sauce lacked any flavou, and I ended up leaving about 80% of a £60 meal. I legit would find more flavour in a microwave curry. I provided my feedback to the manager who was very friendly and agreed to discount my bill. My feedback would be don't tone down the spices and flavours due to Western customers. Instead, celebrate what makes this food sing!

30th September 2023. No food. Nobody prepared to tell us there was no food. We were going to leave after 30 minutes but were assured there was some food. There wasn't. Gave up after an hour. Something had gone wrong but it was not handled well. Went to the pub and ate a packet of quavers. I am informed that this place is great when it has some food and believe this, but I am not risking a return visit. Plenty of other places have, yes you guessed, food.

Great food, excellent service will definitely be back

Not open at 2210 hours despite website indicating that they are open until 2330!

Nice modern and clean restaurant. All staff were friendly but the food was very bland.

Not as good as I remember. We were the only party in, they got the drink order wrong and I thought the food was just okay. Nothing special or to write home about.

First time here. Lovely food. Definitely go back . Highly Recommend

Disappointing return visit this week while I was working back in Durham. I found the food very average but the prices have soared. Later in the week I made repeat visits to Spice Lounge tucked away in Market Square - much better food and sensible prices.

Situated at the top of North Rd you're virtually leaving town centre so can be a bit of a walk depending on where you started your night but close to bus station. Great variety of food good prices and attentive staff. 9 of us enjoyed our meal and while service is always slower when you're in a big party we didn't feel that we were waiting too long

Got a chicken Tikka biriyani as a takeaway. It was bland to the core, to say the least. Dry pieces of chicken mixed with artificial colored rice and a disgusting gravy served on the side. Purely pathetic. It's nowhere near to what a good biriyani should taste like. Will never go back again.

Totally, it's not bad! And i do recommend the coconut flavour

Staff were extremely friendly. Food was amazing. Will definitely be back best curry I've ever had.

A really welcoming place, modern decor and extremely helpful and knowledgeable staff. Highly recommend

Lovely food and lovely staff. Professional and with a sense of humour.

We have visited here several times. Friendly staff, delicious food EVERY time! We have also recommended it to people and they all say how good it was. Some of the best Indian food I have ever had.

The food wasn’t up to much it was cold served on cold plates. Should have read all reviews before booking. The Raita was like water and tasteless, Rice was full on lumps all stuck together and hard

My work takes ne all over the UK and sometimes Europe. As a big fan of Indian cuisine I have eaten in too many Indian restaurants to count. Alishaan Durham is simply the best by far, excellent quality food with very attentive staff.

Visited this restaurant whilst on a weekend break in Durham. Service was great , nice atmosphere and spotlessly clean. I have to say it’s the best Indian food I’ve eaten and will definitely recommend!

Food gorgeous 🥰staff very very good 100 % we will be back xxx

Staff really friendly...First time in restaurant and loved it...food was top quality...

Arrived without reservation on Lumiere Saturday.and was fitted in to the very busy restaurant . Chose from the specials ,one duck and one lamb meal. Both were excellent as were poppadoms starter and peshawar naan. Service excellent . Very good experience.

I’ve been a regular of this place for a few years now and always had decent food until last night. We ordered the usual poppadoms starters and main. We ordered an extra starter just to try and the waiter asked us if we wanted the 3 starters on one hot plate instead of 3 separate plates so we agreed… you’ve worked this out all ready… yes the hot plate was the size you would get for a single starter and when I mentioned it the waiter was adamant it was 3 starters. So rather than cause a scene we just ate it but at the end of service I mentioned it again and the response was like they didn’t care. Very poor service and we won’t be spending money there again. Apart from that the food has really gone down hill and you can tell this by how empty the place is when you go in.

Had a lovely meal with great choice and good wine.

Yea it's OK just not exceptional

Some of the food was very good, like one of the specials. But the Raita was terrible and they forgot the requested pickles. The drinks were quite expensive and when we got the final bill, those were not itemised. We had no idea how many we were charged for and how much each cost. When we asked for the drinks to be itemised the seemingly senior waiter or manager pushed back saying they always presented the drinks bill that way (ie as a total sum without any itemisation or detail). My husband stated several times that he had never been presented with an unitemised bill like that. The owner then asked “Where are you from? (Implying that we were wrong an unreasonable to request an itemized bill). And when my husband said “England,” the man asked “Yes but England where?” (almost insulting us that we didn’t understand local norms). We couldn’t believe how resistant they were to a normal customer’s request to have their drinks bills itemized. Bad customer service. Good to OK food. Expensive drinks. Will not be going back again.

Ordered 2 dishes, prawn and lamb. Both of which contained maybe 4 pieces of meat. The sauce base of the curries was tasty though. Fries were not fries but quartered new potato’s and were dry. First experience has been very disappointing.

You’re guaranteed a beautiful meal at Alishaan. It never disappoints, everyone who works there are always so friendly. The restaurant setting is lovely too. We sometimes pick up our meal for a takeaway which is always a 10/10. Best curry house in Durham! You won’t be disappointed!

First time visit this weekend. Lovely food and great service. Will definitely come back!

One of the best curries we’ve ever had for takeout collection, staff were friendly 👍🏻

Table booked Arrived 2 minutes after that time Table not ready no problem sat in comfy seats with menus Taken to table Sat at table for 25 minutes utterly ignored. No drinks, not contact with staff members. Decided to leave. Gentleman at bar spoke to us, served us drinks and assured us that we would be fed. Ordered food. 15 minutes later same gentleman apologised and we said that we understand things go wrong no problem. 40 minutes after ordering food we left for good. Gentleman asked if we could wait 5 minutes. Award winning food takes more than 5 minutes to make. We said no. I understand that things go wrong. I understand that people make mistakes. I make mistakes, I do not understand our being ignored. There were a number of waiters just wandering around avoiding us. That is a management issue they were young adults with nothing to do. They did not even have any food to serve to people. The table behind us ordered a starter. I was offered this. It seemed rude to take it not least as my wife is allergic to prawns. As I nipped to the toilets she was reoffered the prawns. The table behind eventually got the prawns plus the really nice sounding house soup starter. Something went badly wrong tonight. It was not handled well. Just tell us that you cannot feed us, we respect that and return some other time. But no. We just sat there hungry. We spent 30 minutes on 1 bus and 10 on another and ate at home, not at Alishaan which is so highly spoken of.

We arrived in a busy Durham (students starting at Uni) for a meal at Alishaans. When we arrived at 5.30pm it was empty when we left it was packed out. It’s a very popular restaurant, and we can see why. Great location, smart interior, great, helpful staff and most important, the food was excellent. We had 2 courses each, a mixed platter Alishan, (tikka chicken, veg pakora, sheek kebab and a small bhuna prawn on puri) for my daughter and tandoori king prawn for me. For mains my daughter had tikka chicken Makhoni and I had the Tikka chicken Kharai. We had rice, chips, poppadoms and naan breads as sundries. All of the meal was spot on with the staff able to help with the choices. There is a sister restaurant in Sunderland too which is closer to our home but we’d have no problem visiting both. A great treat out.

A fabulous curry house, great service and wonderful food.

Delicious takeaway, great service, food was excellent and good portion size.

Delicious food, well presented, generous portions.. Welcoming and friendly staff..calm efficient service.. I really enjoyed the whole experience..just excellent!

I have eaten at many Indian restaurants in Durham. I regularly get takeaways too. Alishaan is my favourite by a long way. The quality of the food is top notch, service brilliant, professional and friendly. A special mention to the ever cheerful Samuel. My favourite waiter in the world. Go on Samuel 🍚🥘💥

First time here . First class location, First class service and food absolutely delicious. It's definitely worth the travel to get there. We will be recomending to all our friends

Fantastic meal , flavours were amazing 👌

Popped in on a Tuesday night to an empty restaurant which was great. Had onion bhaji which was brilliant to be honest. Very small but nice all the same. Main meal was brilliant, so I ordered something I've never had before with a garlic naan, again not the best naan, very little garlic on it. Beer is way too expensive. Just had 1 each instead of maybe 2 or 3 if cheaper. Staff were great and I would definitely go back.

Loveliest server ever. Couldn’t have been more helpful. Gave us free dips etc. Thank you lads!!

Lovely, thank you for the dips we really enjoyed! Recommend highly!

Been here many many times I would go any other Indian restaurant great value for money and never had a bad meal I would highly recommend

Lovely food, requires several visits to sample all it's delights.

Excellent food and we were not booked but still was able to get a table lovely people serving you and we will definitely be back

The staff are very friendly and the food is great! The only reason it doesn't get 5 star service is because the service is a little slow, although I suspect this is due to food being prepared fresh to order for the dishes we picked. Looking forward to coming back again

After a fantastic evening at Alishaan, this Indian has now taken over top spot for our favourite Indian Meal. The duck starter i had was tremendous - really tasty and cooked perfectly. The staff couldn't do enough for us, explained a few dishes to some of our group in more detail and kept the drink flowing for us all evening. Outstanding service and will certainly be back.

Have had a few Indian meals in my time but this was by far one of the best I have had 11 of us went at not one of us had any complaints All very happy

Have had a few Indian meals in my time but this was one of the best I have had 11 of us went and not one person was disappointed. Wasn’t over priced neither Can’t wait to go again

Sons stag do. Good food and good crowd.

Was our first time here but came with a party of 14 for my sons 18th birthday was fantastic thank you

Fantastic restaurant the food is amazing. It is real good quality an the best Indian food I've had. If ever in Durham an like Indian food then this is must go to

Very very nice. Service was perfect, staff are super friendly and make you feel very welcome. Atmosphere was great and food was excellent. Make sure you come to Alishaan if you are staying over in Durham.

Popped in on Saturday for my first visit with friends. Nice, airy interior good service and an interesting menu. All of the usual dishes are there, but, like most "Indians", the menu shows heavy Bangladeshi Sylhetti influence, so there a few interesting specials, and there is duck on the menu, which you don't often see. Anyway, us three older fellas had a very pleasant meal poppadoms and the pickle tray, starters (my obligatory bhuna prawn on puree was very good), main courses with the usual sundries, and a pint or three of Cobra. All for a reasonable £45 a head, including a tip. In my opinion, the curry capital of the North East is currently Whitley Bay, and I would say that the Aalishan competes with any Indian in that neck-of-the-woods.

We go about once a month. The food and service are terrific as always. Had most of what's on the menu and never been disappointed.

1st time here last night absolutely beautiful food done to perfection could t fault anything. Waiters were very kind price was very reasonable.

Went last night for my friends birthday, got our order wrong but were very quick to correct this. Food was lovely but had to wait over 30 mins just to get the bill.

Great food, service & ambience, highly recommend.

Decided to opt for a takeaway before heading home & we weren’t disappointed. Ordered a chicken tikka roshani & lamb roshani with rice x2 & peshwari naan, wait was around 30 mins so we went to the Bridge for a drink, we got 20% discount off for takeaway, the food was absolutely delicious, so tasty & plenty of it, we wont hesitate to return!

Great food great staff, great prices would have been a 5 but for the toilet was out of order. Not the fault of staff. Good location

Had a nice meal on new years eve we booked a table so no waiting staff were good place was nice and clean toilets need some work,menu was good plenty of choice not to pricey long wait between starter and main the only complaint is we never got poppadoms and dips at the start every Indian restaurant I have been in always give you them free of charge apart from that all OK will be back

Don't normally eat much Indian food but decided tonight I wanted to and it didn't disappoint. Best one I've had in a long time and we got there late but they fitted us in no bother All the staff were lovely too. Would definitely visit again.

Excellent food and great service by friendly attentive staff. Well worth a visit.

Excellent food, but very expensive.

Great food great staff What a good day

Nice room. Good lighting - soft but not dark. Linen napkins and tablecloths. Looks great. Food ok but quality of ingredients not high. The fish in the Fish Tikka was not very tasty and the lamb in the curry had no flavour at all. Orange Juice was cheap and nasty. I waited 30 mins after they collected my plate after the main course and still I had not been offered a desert or coffee... or anything, in fact. If you're only interested in how the restaurant looks then this is the place for you.

Had a great meal for my husband's birthday. Service is professional and very good. A rare Saturday night off for me as a chef myself. Compliments to the chefs. My lamb was beautifully cooked.The dish was was lovely. They provide salt and pepper at the table: it's not needed. Everything was perfectly seasoned. We very much enjoyed our evening.

Always great food and great service!

The food here was really nice, I especially liked the hariali. Peshwari naan was nice but could have had more filling and portion sizes were small, the rice was very small for £4.50, not really enough for 2 people. The staff weren't very friendly and the coke was totally flat so deducting a star for that. My starter plate wasn't clean which is why I didn't bother with poppadoms or a starter, the food hygiene rating is only a 4 also. I'd probably still go back though as the food was decent and there's not that much choice for Indian food in Durham.

We met up with my wife's sister & boyfriend in the Alishaan upon their recommendation. Décor is good and the atmosphere was good though the restaurant was not busy The four of us enjoyed a very good Indian meal. The service was attentive. I'm surprised at some of the other negative reviews

I had dinner here with my partner, I tried 2 curries, they were very tasty and full of flavours. I am very picky on indian food and this was just the way i like! Nan bread also was really nice. The decor is nice the one you'd expect in a indian restaurant.

Superb food, excellent service!

Lovely food, spacious place to dine, friendly waiters

If you have children DO NOT go here! If you do not then you will be still be greeted by the most miserable, rude unfriendly manager imaginable! A cross between the kiddy catcher and Voldemort with the warmth and friendliness of a frozen eel he made us all feel uncomfortable despite being the only customers in! This was supposed to be a celebration and was totally spoilt by his attitude! The menu is ok, however be warned the bill wasn’t itemised and was all hand written in illegible writing so you couldn’t tell what you were paying it for! We were therefore significantly overcharged! Food was the same as other Indian restaurants and I have had much better for a lot less. Given them one star for their younger serving staff who were smiley and polite despite having to work for mr grumpy! There are much better places to eat around Durham and for less money!

We enjoyed our meals,20 of us on a red.hot night,but they looked after all of us food very nice.

Food was fantastic 😋 👌. Staff was brilliant and veŕy nice atmosphere. 👍

On our weekend getaway in Durham we were lucky to find this Indian restaurant. Absolutely cracking food and great service. We will definitely be going back to this restaurant on our next stay in Durham. We would highly recommend you try it.

Loved the food and ambience. The person who took the order made sure the food we order matched our taste.

First time here, nice food, nice restaurant, however the manager was rather rude as due to unforseen circumstances a few in our party of 16 didn't turn up, I realise from a business point of view its polite to inform if you can't make it however it was a last minute situation that wasn't anything to do with the rest of the party who did attend, also it was an early evening booking,.6.30pm, and there was plenty of empty tables to accommodate walk-in patrons. The attitude was uncalled for and we did apologise numerous times, may think twice in the future before I book another meal here.

Delicious papadums with different dip sauces as a starter. Efficient service, visited with a large group.

Really nice, food was top notch. Service was excellent however priced on the high side but quality was well worth it. Would recommend and visit again

Had a great meal at Alishaan. The sheek kebab starter was the best I've had followed by a delicious dupiaza with perfect naan bread. Nice bottle of wine too, can't wait to go back.

Excellent and relaxing venue with wonderful service. I had fish courses with a grilled fish starter and a curry with fish and white radish. Delicious. Geoff had king prawn (tandooried on his request) Sagwaak. Fine pilau rice accompaniments & roti. Very highly recommended

Alishaans serve lovely Indian food.Had a great date night.The staff always professional and friendly.

Moving from a city to village we found most takeaways are bad food and high prices. I've had 3 meals last few month at alishaan the food is absolutely beautiful had no criticisms at all staff are good bunch can have a laugh with the lads on the floor. Be visiting again soon would give 6 star if I could

Absolutely fantastic!! I am a lover of indian food and this has to be one of the best meals i have had!! Food was so fresh and meat so tender. If i am ever in Durham again, i will defo be going back. £55.00 for me and my partner and not a penny wasted. Lovely staff, lovely food and lovely atmosphere.

Very nice food. Great atmosphere and great staff. However, £110 for 4 meals (2 shared rice's) and a Pint each is beyond excessive for what you get.

Lovely place. Meal spot on will be back

Lovely atmosphere and great food. Particularly like to thank Samuel, great customer service and made our evening.