Babar Elephant in Lancaster

Absolutely incredible food and wonderful service, went for a birthday meal and the staff made it a great experience, catering for allergens and making everyone very welcome- thank you Arash

Ordered a take away and the food was excellent.

Babar Elephant Morecambe Road Lancaster LA1 5JB. Tel: 01524 388670 Date of Visit 31st August 2024. Well, here we are again at, for me at least, one of the best, if not the best, Indian Restaurants in the area, The Babar Elephant at Lancaster. Housed in, to my mind, one of the most beautiful buildings to house an Indian Restaurant. A converted barn which still holds many of its original features. Warm exceptionally clean and comfortable, this place can hold up to 200 people on two floors. A private room is available for your office parties or functions for up to 100 people. The food here has always been consistently good, well-staffed, service on point, but yes, delays can be expected when busy, and it does get busy! Three of us descended on this place on a Saturday evening and it was quite busy at 7pm so it is advisable to book. We chose from the extensive menu, Starters of Poppadom’s with one of the best pickle trays you will find, with Lime pickle and a Chillie pickle which I ordered as extras along with the usual suspects of Onion and Mango chutney. Starters we picked were the mixed Starters which consisted of well spiced juicy and very tasty Seek Kebab, Onion Bhaji Chilli Chicken and Lamb Tika, all of which were perfect in every way, but the Onion Bhajis were the best, Crispy nuggets of pure deliciousness right the way through. My friend’s wife had the Saag Bhaji which I have never had but had a taste, and there is a good chance that I will have that next time. My friend had the Naga, Naga and asked if they could do half and half chicken and Lamb, no problem, was the answer and that’s exactly what he got. he reports that it was delicious and well worth the trip into the historic town of Lancaster to sample it. Whilst I went for their Nepalese dish of Himalayan Ghost, melt ion the mouth Lamb, which I have to say was absolutely delicious, again perfectly spiced and lots of it. I added Mushroom rice with this dish, and it was a perfect accompaniment along with a Peshwari Naan to mop things up, the Peshwari was fine but could have been a little bit sweeter for me. So, all in all, another consistent visit to the Barbar. Prices in keeping with most other establishments at about £40.00 per head but that included a coupe of pints of Cobra and a glass or two of prosecco. Parking no problem whatsoever as there is a large private car park. Well worth a full 10/10 this time. Just to add, they are part of the growing Elephant Restaurant group with other restaurants in the area, all of which are to a high standard.

Food delicious staff friendly lovely atmosphere. It was The Soul and Motown night

Always great food and great service.

Went with a friend and we both did not feel well after eating here

Food was lovely. Staff were very attentive. Pleasant atmosphere.

For the money we spent we didn't feel we got good value at all . The portion sizes were very small for the price . The food was very nice but not worth the price .

Great restaurant, always visit when in the area Would highly recommend 👌

Lovely restaurant with great food. Staff attentive and friendly. Would definitely return when next in the area.

Fantastic ,food, staff ,and ,service A1, all round

Had a takeaway tonight excellent customer service, great attention to detail, I don't like spicy food staff suggested a mild sauce to go with my tandoori chicken meal, lovely tasting & def be back 10/10 😋

We family went for dinner. We faced really a very bad experience. We had been served non vegetarian instead of repeatedly mentioning to the staff that we are strict vegetarian. We felt really disappointed by this negligence. Would like to give negative scoring star. Totally unacceptable!!

I don’t like to pick favourites, but this might be it! I always enjoy every visit, the food never disappoints. Even though the staff were having to tend to a large birthday party during our recent visit, they still managed to be very attentive to us. Very friendly!

Definitely the best Indian restaurant in the area with great food and fabulous service :) xx

food was really nice, and staff were attentative

Delicious curries. Great service and beautiful setting 👌

Best in town but probably best in the county. Have visited several times, both dine in and take out and it never let us down. The food is of highest standards, very delicious. The menu offers a wide selection to every taste. The staff is wonderful and does absolutely everything to keep customers satisfied.

Absolutely beautiful building and decor, incredibly polite and welcoming staff, a hands-on owner that comes and says hi and mucks in, and superb food that came out quickly. Absolutely fantastic place, I just wish I lived closer so I could visit often!

Never had a bad meal here. The food and service are always spot on.

We went for my mothers 50th birthday celebration. The food was just wonderful the service was impeccable. It was like a military operation. Wonderful evening.

Got a chicken Mumbai. Should have had onion peppers and spices, which it didn't. Tasted like korma or masala. Was sweet, and there was coconut in it, was also luke warm.

Food was tasty, right temperature, fresh. We had a mixed grill and an Himalayan ghost, that were brought timely. Large portions. The restaurant was very well staffed. Waiters and runners are attentative and quick. I would only say that the sauces for pompadoms could have thicker consistency.

Excellent staff, Excellent food Excellent atmosphere. Just a dining pleasure, with staff that can't do enough for you and complimentary drinks at the end of the meal.....if we could have moved in we would. Brilliant as always.

Delicious food, fantastic attentive service! Even got a pint of Indian beer in the house!

Great food. Most Staff very attentive one or two a little slow to bring drinks but otherwise great service. Friendly atmosphere. We were a loud group and none complained

Lovely and very polite staff. Food was fantastic and even got complimentary ice cream from the staff

Worst experience!! Don't recommend at all. Ordered - 1.chilli paneer - Tasteless and sweet 2. Garlic mushroom puri - ok 3. Paneer Indian Tikka masala - never heard Tikka masala being sweet gravy and coconut off limit. Horrible taste 4.Madras vegetables - too much hot. It was like eating chillies. 5.Bhindi masala - it was ok 6.Garlic naan was ok Overall, not a good experience. Would not recommend it.

Visiting from out of town and ordered for take away based on great online reviews. Staff were friendly and the location was nice. Food was poor at best. We've been to India twice along with Sri Lanka and other countries near by. Eaten at dozens of Indian restaurants. Food was bland and unappetizing. Paneer masala that would normally be orange and made with tumeric and chilli was made with what seemed like cherry sauce from a bottle with ground coconut. Just one example. We actually thought about driving back and returning the food but didn't figure it was worth the effort. A very disappointing end to a day where we had been looking forward to a good meal based on their online profile. We don't recommend.

Excellent Indian food great surroundings highly recommended

Excellent food and service. Poppadoms and dips, 2 x starters, 2 x mains + 2 boiled rice, 3 pints cobra and a 0% cobra £75. Definitely recommend.

Been multiple times for various occasions and without a doubt have never been disappointed when eating in. Food is yummy. Staff are very welcoming and always making good use of time (replenishing drinks and taking away dirty plates etc). Atmosphere is great. My only criticism is the online ordering lets it down massively. Multiple times now we have preordered our food online and reserved a pick up time but when we get there and pay for the order we have had to wait for half an hour each time. Staff have been very apologetic of this and have offered a free drink whilst waiting but after a long day at work all you really want is to get home with the food and in something comfy. In these moments I do think it probably would’ve been quicker to eat in and had it only of happened on one occasion it wouldn’t have been that much of a problem..

Excellent food and service, everything was really tasty and staff were really friendly and attentive.

Had a most enjoyable evening at the Babar Elephant At Lancaster. The food was delicious and the building itself absolutely gorgeous. There's also a private room with its own bar seating up to 70 people !!

We were visiting Lancaster for the weekend and came across Barbar Elephant for somewhere to eat. Fantastic from start to finish, service was outstanding, food was great and reasonably priced. Would 100% recommend this restaurant, you won’t regret it!

Just been for a meal with my wife the food we had was outstanding great staff very friendly and attentive from getting welcomed at the door and shown to our table to our order being taken to the gentleman who served us with our food who recognised us from our past previous visits don't know his name but has a ponytail

Lovely interior and good service. Nice choice on menu. The only negative I have is that the food wasn't hot enough. Had to ask for curry to be warmed in the microwave

Super helpful staff and delicious food.

Written many reviews as we dine here often and have done for many years. It still is our favourite place to eat locally with consistent quality Indian food and amazing service. Tonight was no exception, yes it was busy but that’s the sign of a popular restaurant! The ambiance is lovely with happy diners and happy faces enjoying their evening out. Can recommend the Murgh Tanger Chicken as one of my favourites, my son loves all the different Korma dishes tonight was the lamb korma succulent lamb he enjoyed with the special egg fried rice. We love the pilau rice and along side we have a garlic and cheese naan bread and some ryita. Great drinks priced sensibly …. And the Sauvignon blanc moko is a steal at the price ! We are always greeted with a smile, service is with a smile and nothing too much trouble. This is consistent for regular diners and new clients ! Try Barbar Elephant I can guarantee you will love it !

Wonderful atmosphere good food service a bit slow otherwise five stars

Brilliant night great food wonderful staff a must visit 😀

Not been in some time. Very disappointed. Service was slow which we would have accepted as staff shortages can't be helped but a warning of delayed service would have been appreciated as we would have tried somewhere else. Oil used for poppadoms etc in need of a change. Onion bahjee well over cooked probably in same oil. 1 hour later we had to ask about mains. 2 meals out of4 were ok. My daughters balti had no sauce just oil in bottom of dish. My vegetable curry sauce to go over my vegetable rice was a dish of tasteless vegetables with no sauce . No one was about to discuss issues during the meal so just decided to pay and not return. On payment we mentioned disappointment but their response was you should have told us at the start. We said no one was about to tell. I don't usually do reviews but too many issues and their lack of apologies, I felt I wanted to air our personal experience.

Lovely meal. Lovely staff. Highly recommend.

We go once every couple of months it's a busy venue, but the service is amazing. The food is always perfect and has so much flavour. Would recommend to anybody wanting a indian.

Visited for first time today and will be going again, good food and service, no table hovering by staff

Phone my order in 50 mins ahead but collected got home very disappointed cost £18.95

Amazing good in a fantastic setting Service with a smile 😃 at a good veggie range

Nothing wrong with the food, just very tasteless and bland

The staff were great, friendly & professional. The atmosphere was nice with the stained glass windows. The food wasn’t great though, very bland and not a lot of it. I suggest you look for a new chef because if the food was anywhere near as good as the service it would be five star.

Had a great experience dinning out with my mum tonight we had delicious food and were plenty left to eat. Staff were funny polite and friendly one imperial naz and a gentleman who made our visit a bit more special 😉

I highly recommend this restaurant inside was warm and clean , table set properly. The staff were good the that welcome us to the table made us laugh and checked in how our food was and it was delicious. One staff impressed is naz he was very friendly talking to us about India and also put our coats on for us . Which left us feeling like queens 👑 nice gentleman

This is our absolute favourite restaurant and we always go for all the family birthdays as well as many nights in between! The food is sublime and the ever evolving menu is exciting and tasty and flavoursome! Went tonight for husbands significant birthday and as always we are greeted like royalty! Seated at a great table … the service was exceptional with highly trained staff who are polite and smile ! The new Himalayan curry has to be tried ! My husband thought it was fantastic .. and would definitely order again ! I had the king prawn balti delicious and a big portion! My son had the lamb korma which he loves ! All in all huge thanks to the staff at Barbar Elephant you make an occasion more than special !

From the moment we walked in the door the service was great. And the food was fabulous. Nice that they checked I was fine with hot food and I really was. Had a sambar I've never tried before but it was tasty. And hot. I would definitely recommend, I will be returning!

Another lovely meal, great food great place & staff are a all very friendly, excellent all around.perfect every time we go.look forward to going again

Haven't been before but I love a curry so I went for the Babar Handi Special. Definitely not special, and quite possibly the blandest curry I've ever had. And I don't just mean no spice – I mean no nothing. No garlic, no salt, no herbs, no flavour. The “garlic” naan was similarly lacking in any flavour or indeed garlic. Also, the rice portions are tiny for the price they charge. Says a lot when the mint at the end is the best bit.

Service fantastic. The staff are really on it and are so welcoming and friendly. Great atmosphere. Food amazing. Absolutely loved the jalfrazi and the garlic chilli chicken, veg and mushroom rice also very yummy. Definitely be back very soon as want to try more on the menu. Loved it!

5 people all food was just warm nothing piping hot, men's toilets stink and felt sorry for people sat by them, sorry but will not be going back

As always, a good meal enjoyed by all.

fantastic place fantastic atmosphere , fantastic food and the staff 100% helpful . i am disabled and they could not help me enough . very friendly staff that make you welcome from the get go .

A great place to go to spend time with people over a sensational meal. Set in a stunning building, with wonderfully polite and courteous staff.

One hundred per cent recommend this restaurant. Food amazing and staff excellent. Best Indian we have ever been to and will definitely return.

Just got a take away lovely red hot delicious

Babar Elephant Morecambe Road Lancaster/Morecambe LA1 5JB Tel: 01524 388670 Date of Visit: 17th January 2024. Here we are, to my mind the best Indian restaurants for miles around, The Babar Indian at Morecambe. A member of the Elephant group. This very comfortable 100 0r more seater is a treat to be eating in. Wednesday night and it was busy. Spotlessly clean, not a fingerprint to be found on the glass panels that divide the spaces. spacious, comfortable and it has just undergone a make over with a new lick of paint. The service is spot on. Arosh and his team run a well-oiled engine here. Smiling, helpful and happy to serve you. And of course, it would be nothing if it was not for the food which seems to get better and better, Poppadom’s with a generous pickle tray, Sheek Kebabs, hot, perfectly spiced and so tasty, Chicken Naga-Naga Soft succulent chunks of fresh chicken in a tasty spicey Naga sauce. A light fluffy pilau rice and the freshest of Peshwari naan’s All washed down with a nice cold pint of Cobra. It’s a bit top drawer for prices, but hey, if you want to dine in comfort you have to delve deep into the pocket, having said that £36.50 was not too much to ask for the quality you get here. A large car park right outside, next door to the ALDI. This place ticks all the boxes and has done for a long time, of course, there will always be someone who cannot be pleased but I would think that they are few and far apart. So, it’s a solid 10/10 from me.

Brilliant service, staff and food. Couldn’t ask for any better and would highly recommend to family and friends. Arash, Soif and Naz couldn’t have made this experience any better! 10/10 from me. Thank you all from Babar Elephant.

Absolutely amazing experience I've had at this place with my friends. Top service from all staff and will definitely be visiting again soon.

The Babar Elephant is most definitely the best Indian/Bangladesh restaurant in the whole of Lancashire. The food is absolutely divine everything from the poppadoms to the signature dishes. The staff are most pleasant and attentive and the surrounding, well, I don't know where to start. So very beautiful. The ideal place for any occasion from a family meal to a romantic wedding. Ample parking with a private room and bar with terrace upstairs. THE place to be !!!

Cannot recommend more highly. Amazing food, amazing service, never been let down by this place, outstanding!

The place is beautiful and the staff were very friendly but what let it down was the food as it was so salty it over took from the other flavours, otherwise we would have given it more stars.

This place was an amazing building in a lovely location. Staff were very friendly and welcoming. However, the food we had was very salty, sadly. It overpowered the other spices and flavours, otherwise this would have been five stars! Nobody came to check on the meal, but we let them know.

Ordered a takeaway. Was lovelu Highly Recommended

Great food and great atmosphere. The Himalayan ghost lamb was delicious 😋

The food and service here is excellent. The staff cannot do enough for you. It's a lovely venue and amazing delicious food.

Not really sure from where to start ? After browsing few Indian restaurants in Lancaster we decided to go Babar Elephant due to some good reviews and serving cocktails there. At arrival car park is huge and restaurant located in a nice and quiet place in between Lancaster and Morcambe. Going inside into the restaurant you will definitely get a very unpleasant smell we found it coming from their very very dirty carpets which anybody can notice with their bare eyes and nose. After seating we were given drinks and food menu but could able find any cocktails in their drinks menu despite adverting in their own website which is very misleading. However I asked to the waiter about it but they answered they don’t do. Moving on to the staters, we ordered prawn puri and mixed seafood sizzlers. Prawn Puri with small prawns on a deep fried bread covered with really red food color, not sure why they make it red? However the prawn tasted sweet and in my whole life I never tasted sweet prawn puri and it’s tasted very bad. Seafood sizzlers consisted of lots of tiny prawns, half of king prawn and the white fish they described on their menu could hardly be found through your naked eyes, you must have to get assistance with microscope to find those white fish there, a very disappointing start. For mains we ordered BANGAL HAANDI SPECIAL with okra Bhai, tarts daal and steamed rice. Bengal haandi special cooked with some raw onions with gravy and some unrealistically bad tasted rough spice mostly black pepper I guess which will burn your mouth, okra Bhaji (traditionally stir fried or deep or shallow fried) was not a bhaji dish definitely. It was kind of bhuna dish with diced okra, raw onions and gravy a very unauthentic dish poorly tasted. Only edible things was tarka daal and white rice. Thanks Babar Elephant to provide us such a great evening.

Best place in Lancaster with friendliest staff. My mother had a fall so I instead picked up a takeaway. They insisted on giving me a free bottle of wine for her. Classy move and put a smile on her face during a difficult time.

Fabulous curry. I had Himalayan Ghost. Hopper to start. Friendly staff. Good prices .

The best in the area hands down. Great service and food.

Probably one of the BEST INDIAN IN LANCASTER TOP NOTC 5 star every time

Absolutely brilliant food , service Excellent, atmosphere perfect its definitely the place to eat.

We have had two really, really bad takeaways from this place. The first one, a few months ago, was disgusting. But thinking it may just have been an unfortunate choice from the menu we decided to give it another go yesterday evening. Wish we hadn’t...

My wife booked baba elephant for my 60th birthday, there was 18 in our party. I have to say it's a beautiful place, warm , with friendly staff who are all polite and very helpful. I met the owner and what a really nice person...

There’s now doubt that this indian restaurant is one of the finest all round experiences in the British Isles. The service, attention to detail and indian cuisine are exquisite.

I've eaten in some of the best restaurants and had amazing food . But this place the service is second to none,, the warm welcome the constant attention to detail and customer needs is amazing, the value for money and the amazing dishes produced fron the kitchen is wow

My boyfriend took me here tonight for my birthday , the restaurant is beautiful and warm the staff are amazing and so friendly ! The food was brought out fast amd hot it tasted lovely . I cut stress enough just how nice every member of staff are ! They went above and beyond for us. Thank you to everyone who works there we will treasure out elephant forever !

Excellent place. Spotlessly clean. Well cooked and presented meals.... We live in Ayr Scotland. We'll worth travelling .....

Delicious food, wonderful service. We can't wait to go again

Superb meal, attentive and friendly staff. Highly recommended all round!

Very busy place but the service is attentive and the food is absolutely fantastic, the waiter give us some recommendations and it was great. Very tasty food , it get quite busy so gods may take a bit long but it worth the wait

Lovely food but it's lost its ambience as it was all too quick & slick & out you go. Didn't feel comfortable or welcoming. Shame as last time it was nice.

Really lovely experience. Great, friendly staff. Food was delicious. Nice area to relax with drinks before of after the meal. Would definitely love to go again.

Visited for the second time and thorough enjoyed our meal,fantastic menu,very attentive and polite staff,the decor is the nicest we’ve seen in any Indian,we will definitely be back and would highly recommend eating here

A really wonderful experience. We tried the restaurant on a recommendation and we were not disappointed. The service from entering the restaurant was superb only topped by the delicious food.

Love Barba Elephant. Never had a bad experience there. Food is great, fresh and service is efficient and friendly.

A table of 9 including 2 very little girls. Food was amazing, service was outstanding. So much care and attention to the party, but over and above for my 2 little granddaughters. Absolutely faultless.

Amazing food lovely atmosphere brilliant staff that you can have a laugh with. All in all a lovely evening. Thank you

Had a beautiful meal here. The food was delicious. Arrived without a reservation, but the staff were very accommodating. Will definitely be back when we are next in the area.

Picked up a takeaway, ready on time and absolutely delicious food!

Very nice and accommodating experience during our visit. Friendly staff really enjoyed our family meal. A special birthday request met - a lovely end to a lovely day!

We turned up for dinner mid week at 8pm but u fortunately picked a night when a large party had booked in. Food although tasty (and consistent here) was slow to arrive (around 1 hour).

Collected order. Order made for a set time, still had a 20 minute wait when we got there. Missed part of our order. Poppadoms were disappointing, curry lacked flavour. Will not order from them again.

Beautiful food, very attentive staff and great value for money