Ashoka Indian Restaurant in County Durham

Fabulous food, great atmosphere and attentive staff especially Brigesh A great combination that works really well, so well we had to return the following evening. So if in in Seaham it's a must do...

Tried the restaurant for the first time on Sunday evening. It was very busy but the service was excellent. We had three courses from the a la carte menu. Each was exceptional. For me the bhuna chicken on puri was the star dish. That said we only left a small piece of naan! The desserts are ice cream based and are very good. Looking forward to another outstanding meal very soon.

I've received Takeaways for 4 years, always great food and service- love you guys 👦 ❤

Everything we have had from here has been freshly cooked and so tasty every meal we have had has been beautiful. We normally get a takeaway from here, or go for the happy hour between 5pm and 6pm its a lot cheaper for mostly the same food.

Service and food great, staff friendly and happy to help, portion size good can’t fault place

Lovely restaurant, clean , bright, friendly staff, even though it’s a busy restaurant we were swiftly served our food, starter then the main course, all of our food was delicious I had the chicken tikka madras with garlic rice and Nan bread couldn’t fault it although I have had better, would i return possibly but would like to try other places and yes I would recommend this restaurant.

First time at this restaurant, and the best restaurant we've been to for a while. No complaints from any of us. Food and service excellent. All the members of staff we are polite and friendly with a professional manner at all times. Yes, we will most definitely be back.

The interior was pleasant, very much like a Goa'uld mothership. Looking at previous reviews I’d have expected this place to be excellent but that rather more points to personal preferences I suppose, although I can be objective in my reviews as I am quite the curry enthusiast and visitor of many, many establishments serving spiced delights. So then let me begin: The menu: Nothing different from a standard curry house here, same as what you’d expect anywhere. All the usual stuff to cater to the wants of the local population I guess. I’d love to see a place serving good, traditional home cooked Asian foods but I suppose business needs to make money and they cater to demand. The food: Nothing special, in fact mediocre in comparison to many other places. I get the impression this place sells itself as quite the exclusive dining arena and reading previous review, people seem to follow hype. Portion size, although in reality healthy and normal, was really quite small. I had a chicken dish and in comparison to most other places I’ve been to, the amount of chicken was sparse. I’ve received way more protein in a take away curry. The naan bread was light, yet delicious, rice was cooked well. Overall, for the price and its reputation, it doesn’t quite live up to what I’d expect, I’ve had better, more authentic and delicious dishes from a take away. Another thing I noticed. I understand it’s traditional in the north to consume alcohol and almost considered odd if you do not, however upon informing the server id like water with my meal, it appeared to confuse the young man. These places must make a lot of money from alcohol sales but hey I shouldn’t be made to feel bad because I’m not a poison enjoyer. Why can’t I get a nice cup of spiced black tea with my meal? I’ve only rated two stars because I can say with honesty that for the price and the amount of food I got, it really isn’t up to much. I’ve had far better for far cheaper in Shields and even from a take away. That said, the place was packed and seems very popular so they’re doing something right so check it out for yourself and, if like me you’re not impressed, go somewhere else next time 💪🏻

Very good,very efficient and friendly staff they always have time to speak with you and give their opinions on what to eat

Best Indian we’ve had for a long time! We were staying in Seaham for the weekend and this was a fabulous find! Lovely people, fantastic food (best keema naan we’ve ever tasted) and all for a great price. Really enjoyed our visit and hope to be back!

Amazing. Not often I find a great Indian. But my this restaurant is great. Food was beautiful. Adapted to my taste and great service.

Great atmosphere and staff were so friendly even though it was a busy Saturday night. Food was terrific. Well presented and plentiful. 10/10

What a lovely surprise food was lovely service very good lovely friendly staff plus the restaurant was spotless. Would highly recommend this Indian restaurant 5*****

Ashoka is a lovely place to eat out. The service is always great & the staff are always friendly. The food is really tasty and the portions are good. The happy hour menu is a fantastic price. I would highly recommend giving Ashoka a visit if you are in the area.

Great early evening meal with a good selection and friendly staff

Called in on a Monday evening (happy hour). I had garlic mushroom on puree for starters, lamb chilli tikka masala with mushroom pilau. My wife had onion bhaji with chicken dupiaza. Both were utterly delicious and the service was not just professional but very warm, friendly and chatty. The staff in the kitchen were obviously enjoying their shift too - we were sat near the kitchen. This isn't a criticism as happy staff produce great results - and Ashoka serves really nice food. This is our fourth time here - we aren't locals - and every time has been spot on. Three pints of Cobra, a garlic naan plus the above = a bill for under £55. So add great value to the great food and great service - thank you for a great night at the Harbour.

One of the only Indian restaurants I can go to due to having a severe peanut allergy. Made to feel so welcome and the owner explained all the dishes suitable for me. Would highly recommend to all especially those with food allergies.

Nice curry, service was very good. However experience was ruined a little as a family with 3 toddlers turned up all with devices cranked up full volume. Who brings a 3 year old to a curry house on a Friday evening? Other customers quite disgruntled who wanted an evening meal without Peppa Pig blaring in the background.

Fantastic restaurant. A very warm welcome, by friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff. Food was delicious, served on hot plates, good portions and beautifully presented. Lamb was so tender. Was such a great evening that we returned two nights later and were not disappointed. Delicious food and great atmosphere. Thank you

Last minute decision to try and get a table for dinner on a Wednesday evening in late August. We were lucky there were a few spare tables as it was getting busy with bookings! Food lived up to expectations and did not disappoint, really tasty and portion size for children were perfect. A really tasty dinner in a great location, absolutely recommend!

Ate here for the first time, and it was such a treat Really great staff and welcome Great choices Our waiter very kindly recommended I change my main slightly, in the nicest possible way, and he was spot on

Didn't get any food so I can't comment Service was poor Didn't get any service Headless chickens Nobody knew what was going on Glad there is a better Indian restaurant in town

Great place lovely food and great staff can't do enough for you make you feel welcome

Warm welcome and an expansive menu, all patiently explained. Starters and food were superb. Harali and chicken tikka paneer were excellent. Great food and great service, not to be missed when visiting seaham!

It was a 21st Birthday ...have been on 3 occasions and enjoyed everything I had to eat....in fact it was to much for me..so they gave ma a container to take the rest home. Lovely setting and brilliant staff..thankyou Ashoka.

Good food and very attentive staff

We’ve dined in restaurant previously. Great atmosphere staff are lovely. Meal in house what beautiful. However tonight my partner ordered takeaway for one and was massively disappointed. over priced tasteless food. Towa was very greasy and bland.. Infact every dish was bland. Only decent thing was the onion bhaji and popadoms which isn’t really a good thing!

Always come to Seaham for fish and chips and decided to have a change and try here… WOW! Absolutely unbelievable! Completely blown away by our experience it’s definitely our first visit of many!! Food was delicious couldn’t believe how fast it came too lovely staff had a nice bit of craic with the manager too

Me and my fiance been the last 3 fridays and food, atmosphere, service have been fantastic best in seaham tried others. Also at min getting bit of a face lift in bar area parking ok across the road all around the Tom

Absolutely amazing food service second to none

Great food ,great place,another great visit......

Great food in plush surroundings. Brilliant staff. Plenty of parking close by

All our food was great but the lamb tikka towards and peshwari naan were amazing.

Pleasant venue and the staff were welcoming and attentive. The food however was below expectations. My gold standard is a Dhansak but in the case it was just chicken in a spicy brown sauce with a small slice of pineapple. Side dishes were overpriced, plain pilau £4.50 and a pretty modest portion, Pickles charged per person but arrive shared. Won't be going back.

Ashoka is an amazing dinner spot! The service was fabulous and the food was perfect. We noticed the fresh and diverse ingredients all the meals were made with. 10/10!

Went here with my wife for the earlybird special. We were welcomed at the door and service throughout was exemplary. Our 4 course meal was fantastic , super tasty and filling. Fully recommended !

Went for 1st time Friday and was great food, ambience, staff be going back Terry

Great restaurant offering a wide range of Indian / Bangladesh food. Waiting staff were very helpful, described some unfamiliar dishes and offered recommendations. The food was delicious. Would visit again.

Ordered a takeaway from here tonight. I have been ordering from here for well over a year. Best food I've ever had from here tonight. I always order chicken madras. Spice was bang on and food was the most delicious you have ever provided. Hats off to the chef!!!

Myself and hubby have just had our tea here and it’s a restaurant that never fails to deliver, we’ve had the teatime special which is £15.95 per person and we need a lie down now we are that full . Can’t wait for our next...

Excellent Indian place friendly and considered staff. Great place if you look for somewhere different.👍

This place never lets you down. Just a superb restaurant with great food, service and ambience. A great spot for groups and couples and everyone;s food was highly rated when we visited.

The Food was tasty but the portions are tiny unfortunately Edit just been back and the portions were loads bigger.

Make sure to check your bill before you leave as I was severely overcharged and was refused a refund!!

On holiday in Seaham and popped into Ashoka. Lovely takeaway. Fab tandoori chicken and peshwari naan. One of the nicest I have ever had.

Good early evening menu, reasonably priced and tasty good quality food, well served by the attentive staff

My first visit today and I really enjoyed the food ,the prices are reasonable and the place is definitely a cut above. Would highly recommend and look forward to going again.

Stayed in the local area was discussing where to go when someone said about here and it was Really!! Good we all enjoyed everything we ordered and the staff was fab 🙂

Top class Indian restaurant. Brilliant food and Sevice all for a very good price. Highly recommended

This place never lets you down, if anything it’s even better than its usual excellence. Let’s start with the superb staff, polite, responsive, speedy and very sociable. Then the food, quick, piping hot and delicious. My lamb melted, the naan crisp, a sauce I could...

Absolutely gorgeous 5 of us all had something different and all said the same I had chicken tikka tawa I never take leftovers home but I did this time

I never leave reviews but this place deserved one! service was great and the food was amazing!! I couldn't fault anything and I'm very picky! I would definitely come back again and recommend to anyone who visits seaham

As always our food and service was excellent, especially the help and advice from Sahid to try something different for myself.

We were recommended this restaurant by our air b&b host and we were not disappointed. The service was excellent and the food was absolutely delicious, really well cooked and amazing flavours. Highly recommended!

Food is amazing, having lived in the midlands for over 20 years it’s great to find a restaurant that serves amazing Indian cuisine

Beautiful place and the manager was very very polite helping my daughter making things with the napkins specially with the hat

Juz had another fantastic takeaway from Ashoka. Keep up the brilliant work guys. Sooooo tasty

Food was well presented and served quickly. However, after a positive set of tasty starters, the main courses were very poor. Not very spicy for a curry. They were supposed to be mid in heat and flavour, but we were disappointed in both the curries we ordered. Keenly priced for a happy hour menu £15 per person for starter, main rice and a naan to share. Added an extra drink to the bill which we didn't notice till after we had paid. Won't be back in a hurry.

We have moved from Halifax which is close to Bradford and Leeds. my husband loves curry and I like his curries but find if we eat out or order in a curry I can either take it or leave it. We have eaten lots of...

Fantastic food, served by wonderful hosts.

Staff really friendly an quickly delivering An food fresh as always

Heard so many good things and being a curry fan decided to give Ashoka a try for my birthday. A nice atmosphere and our starters were lovely however felt let down by the mains. Lamb madras sauce was lovely but the lamb was chewy and quite tough. Service very was poor. Sorry Ashoka but I have to be honest and was very disappointed 😞

Absolutely delicious food fab service

Had a fabulous birthday meal here. Food was very tasty.

One of the best Indian restaurants in Co Durham. Food amazing and very well presented and service first class. Would highly recommend

Just had lamb Rogan Josh, pilau rice, garlic naan and pompadons delivered. Absolutely gorgeous. Will definitely be ordering again from here.

Always my best Indian for miles

Still great, everything spot on

I would never normally raise an issue like this online however, Ashoka Seaham have really disappointed us tonight, been here many a time spending £300-£400 for a group of 6 or more previously and we have been very happy with everything. Booked for our anniversary...

I would never normally raise an issue like this online however, Ashoka Seaham have really disappointed us tonight, been here many a time spending £300-£400 for a group of 6 or more previously and we have been very happy with everything. Booked for our anniversary for the two of us tonight. Initially after ordering we were really impressed after they had taken notice of an allergy suffered by my partner (which is rare). We had our starter was asked if everything was ok we replied yes at that time, our mains arrived and mine inparticular was really nice, my partners on the other hand and the naan bread was not up to par, it was charred and dry to the point.of inedible (like chicken had been say for a week) and the keema naan had barely any meat in it. At the point of paying for the £100 bill we advised we were not happy with one main and the naan. We were greeted with hostility and argument even after advising we were happy with the original service and ONE of the mains. The server we spoke to who we were originally very happy with basically argued with us saying we called him a liar because he stated he asked if all was ok during the main which he didn't. I will never step foot in there again purely because anything that is raised they argue in the middle of a busy restaurant to the point where you feel so embarrassed you have no option but to pay your bill and leave. Ashoka Seaham you need to learn the meaning of customer service. I would like to add we had told 2 previous servers the food was not as we expected 1 walked away and 1 just basically told is "this is how it is". Our anniversary meal is ruined and I will ensure everyone I know does not go to Ashoka.

Incredible food, excellent value for money, fantastic staff 👍

Well worth a return visit. Food and staff were excellent.

First visit but hopefully won't be the last. Excellent food and service. Easy parking.

We had headed out in the hopes to get a walk in table elsewhere tonight. We were out of luck or so we thought! The best thing that happened was that the place we were headed for was fully booked. Tried this place instead and...

Staff are always very helpful and friendly lovely food definitely recommend it

This was our first visit, had read the reviews and recommendations and the restaurant certainly lived up to them and exceeding them. Can not fault anything, the service was excellent and the food was the best Indian meal I have ever had. The flavours in...

Absolutely loved it. Food was great, service excellent. Highly recommend it.

Best Indian food around here & fabulous friendly staff

Lovely place with friendly staff and a well priced menu that does not let down on flavour or quality. I will definitely be visiting again. They have plenty of vegan options and are very happy to help with menu choices and compromises.

Food amazing service was spot on a little pricey but highly recommended 👍

High quality Indian food and always friendly service. The way the dishes are served looks good but is difficult to plate up with the heat of the bowls. Portions could also do with being a little better but always a nice reliable Indian option in seaham if you fancy a change from Samrat!

Great, friendly staff despite being unavoidably late. Food is amazing with lots of choice.

Beautiful food at a beautiful location. Recent refurbishment completed upstairs too 👌🏾

I heard people saying that the food here is unreal. I am usually the type to go for Italian but this restaurant blows them all out of the water. I got mussels to start which were fresh and so tasty. I then got the tandoori...

Whilst the food at the restaurant is first class and the staff friendly, the portions are incredibly small for the money. Tonight we ordered, among other dishes, a main course Bombay Aloo which was no more than one diced potato in a spicy sauce for...

Excellent meal all round- great for, great service. Visited whilst in area for family event, recommended to us by them, did not disappoint.

One of my favourite places Food constantly good 👍 Try it definitely recommended 👌

Dropped in here as I was passing one evening Pleasant friendly staff Thoroughly enjoyed it and will most definitely be going back

The best Indian around for most dishes. Simple as that. Go and enjoy.

We were up in the area looking for a decent meal / pathia. This place had great reviews - can see why! Whole experience awesome. Highly recommend A+ 👍

The staff were wonderful, I have a few intolerances and they were happy to let me know what dishes I could eat and suggested a lovely dish for me which is my new favourite. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was lovely. Couldn’t recommend it enough.

I’ve lived in seaham for just over 8 years and recently fancied an Indian and headed to Ashoka. The restaurant is clean, tidy, the staff are very friendly and accommodating. The food is phenomenal and if your ever visiting seaham then make sure you head...

Great location. Great food. Excellent service.

We were recommended Ashoka by someone who lives locally but I'm afraid were completely underwhelmed. The Chicken Dhansak was far spicier than the Rogan Josh which was basically a chicken and tomato dish more suited to pouring over a pasta dish. Not once were we asked if the meal was okay until when they collected the plates, when told no comment was made. In addition to this we were asked had we finished when still eating 😧. Make your own minds up🤷🏻‍♀️.

We were recommended Ashoka by someone who lives locally but I'm afraid were completely underwhelmed. The Chicken Dhansak was far spicier than the Rogan Josh which was basically a chicken and tomato dish more suited to pouring over a pasta dish. Not once were we...

Went on Saturday and had probably the best Indian dish I’ve ever eaten, the chicken tawa, absolutely sublime 10/10

Always great food and great service

Shocked that after a legitimate complaint about one meal ( gristle galore in tikka chicken could not be eaten ). The management didn’t see fit to come and see us after we explained politely and no adjustment on the bill !! The waiter, I hasten...

Great food at an affordable price. Nice and friendly staff

Gorgeous food. Happy hour is a bargin! They also do takeaway which is awesome!