Bala Spice in Gwynedd

Great little restaurant, lovely food. Very polite and helpful waiter. Food was hot and did not take long to come. Excellent value. Have to bring your own alcohol and cash only but there’s pubs that will serve drinks and a cash machine a few yards away.

We were staying in Bala and needed somewhere to eat. We decided on Bala Spice. The restaurant was extremely busy but we managed to book a table for 6pm. Friendly and efficient service and tasty food (decent portion sizes). We couldn't fault a thing. Nb this is a cash only establishment and while they sell soft drinks if you want to drink alcohol they operate a bring your own policy.

Despite some of the negative reviews, but on recommendation, we decided to give Bala Spice a go. It only takes cash and they do not serve alcohol - but you can take you're own. Service was good - attentive and quick. The menu offered a good choice of dishes and our food was quite tasty and hot. The peshwari naan was lovely. The decor does let it down. It's not inviting - very basic and sterile, and there is little atmosphere. Overall, it's a quite nice restaurant if you fancy a curry.

Excellent happy service, absolutely fantastic tasting meal, ample portion size, brilliant value for money. The Bali spice restaurant is comfortable, well lit and staff are polite and friendly

Best curry I've ever had. Take no notice of any negative reviews Definitely will be a regular here,was recommended this place and didn't let us down.👌

Great food, excellent service, and great value for money. They are a ‘cash only’ business which we should all be supporting!!

We'd booked a party of 10 with 5 hungry swimmers who'd swam the length of the lake earlier in the day. The cash only and BYOB aspect of the restaurant was quite clear (Stori along the road do 1 litre take out bottles - hint). The staff were great, everyone ordered something different and the food came out in good time considering it was 10 different dishes. My curry was awesome (can't recall the name but it was a special with some kind of squash in it), and everyone else really enjoyed their's. I really don't know how some people could leave a bad review, it was a great little restaurant that was packed on a Saturday night!

Visited here a couple of times during our stay for Whitsun week. Staff always very friendly and welcoming. I've never struggled to get a table even during busy periods. Good variety of dishes on their menu. As an avid fan of Bengali and Indian cuisine over 35yrs I have experience in the good the bad and the ugly. The food from Bala Spice is excellent. Whether you order standard dishes such as Tikka Masala dishes or speciality dishes such as the Shatkora they all get served prompt, hot, plenty full and delicious, all at a reasonable cost, especially as the restaurant is not licenced. With the Co op just access the road, this gives you plenty of choice without running up huge costs on restaurant priced drinks. The waiters and even the kitchen staff are very pleasant. I speak limited Bengali and the chef came out to greet me and ask for feedback on his cooking. Thoroughly recommend Bala Spice and I will return on my next visit to Bala.

Good was ok but terrible service. First of all..... cash only!!! I went to the desk to ask where the nearest cash point was.... ended up asking locals who were eating there as i was left standing there for 5 mins.... even though the staff saw me through the window of the door. Got cash, came back, sat down. Waited 10 minutes to get served. Didn't asked if we wanted drinks, so I had to ask for them for drinks. Whilst waiting my partner noticed a big patch of mold on the ceiling above us!! Finished our meal....there were no staff in the main restaurant so it would have been easy to dine and dash. I didn't have the full amount on me so the waiter let me off the rest. The meal was edible but not great. The lamb was a bit tough.

Having picked up a leaflet from outside the Bala spice, and going to look at online menu, we decided on the set menu B for 2, priced at £27.95, having been seated and looking at the menu, imagine our surprise when the exact same meal on the menu was priced at £45.00! Disappointed at the massive difference in pricing, we promptly got up and left the premises, misleading and unfair on any customer

Hadn’t been for a while but we’re very impressed as change of staff two very pleasant young men. Who dealt with us very attentively.

We ordered butter tikka chicken with garlic rice , balti , mix grill and few poppadoms with pickle tray, the total of this meal was £50. Would it be fair enough if meal would be nice but that was just vile🤮 We are from South Yorkshire, we do have Indian takeaway probably once a month but that was the worst Indian ive ever had. It literally put me off from having it ever again. My butter chicken came as 2 layers , layer of see-through grease on bottom of tray and very yellow curd looking cream with floating chicken. Chicken inside was weird, weird shape and like a rubber! After 1st bite I felt sick as chicken shouldn't have rubber texture and taste of nothing. The butter curry tasted off. I've had loads of butter chicken curries in my life but that was nothing like any other! Sweet and sour, cream was a bit like cheese , curded. Awful taste. My partner said his balti it's like a meat with Ketchup, it had a weird texture and colour, he's 100% sure it was a Ketchup 😂 The mix grill was also weird, I've never seen anything like it! Can't even tell you what meat was it as it was round looking meat but it wasn't mince , it was round ball looking meat, chewy and rubbery. How the fck meat can be rubbery and chewy if was on grill? That meat never seen a grill!!!! We were hungry so we did give it a go but only one or two bites each, rest went to bin. So yeah I felt a bit angry that I've spend £50 on meal which went straight to bin. I've had Indian takeaway in London, in Birmingham, in Blackpool, in Cornwall, Liverpool, Sheffield, and everywhere else but that one in Bala wasn't a curry. Whoever cooked that need sacking !!!

I have eaten Indian food all over the world and I can say that this restaurant is the worst and most expensive I've ever had, it was atrocious.

Exceptionally over priced and an awful night sleep after. Service was ok in fairness. But I would avoid again until prices come down.

This is a great local local restaurant serving high quality east Indian cuisine. The food is delicious and reasonably priced. The service is excellent and although not licensed they are happy for patrons to bring their own beer or wine. We visited twice in a week whilst on holiday and thoroughly enjoyed both occasions.

Food was delicious, portioned well and came out quick - Tender meat and full of flavour. Recommend the tandoori mixed grill (lamb was so tender) and the chicken rezza (requested spicy) was out of this world. Rivals any curry house we’ve tried in Mcr. Family friendly, the gentleman serving us took the kids to meet ‘the chef’ and they came out with a lolly. Great experience, well recommended.

It's not the worst as some people have poorly reviewed. Although also not the best! The dishes are slightly more than you'd pay, but let's face it, Bala is a tourist destination. The lamb dish I ate was good and full of flavour. Bring your own booze. The really nice people made this place for me and I had a nice evening.

Incredible food! Honestly one of the best curries we’ve had in a long time. Hussain and the whole team were such great hosts. We were really well looked after. Our nearly 2 year old loved her first curry! Highly recommend.

Terrible service … please dont waste your money…they dont have a chef plus There was a rat inside the place.. when ask the owner he said there was no Rat and we are wrong

Is it ? Wouldn't want to try. Collected takeaway. £28 😀 4 pops 3 diff tubs of dips. 1 main 1chips 1 garlic nan. Pops defo 2-3 days old. Main was compressed chicken, bland and poor quality garlic nan thin and burnt. Could mistake for a chapatti. Chips half decent. Enough said.

The most expensive Indian restaurant I've ever been to.... 2 mains, 3 starters, 6 poppadoms,1 rice & 2 nans. 4 small glasses of coke £71.55

Fab service and tasty food! Lovely people who work there and good extensive menu. We had starters mains and sides and all was lovely no complaints on the food or service at all. Not the most homely or welcoming interior but don’t let this put you off. Also a little more expensive than other Indians we’ve been too. Cash only which is fine and bring your own drinks although we just had tap water.

My partner and I were staying in the area, and came here for dinner after a long hike. The staff were very friendly and recommended delicious dishes. The food was impeccable and possibly up there with the best Indian food we have had. Portions were huge and we took home a bag of leftovers. It is cash only and BYOB but there is a Spar with ATM just a couple of buildings away. Would highly recommend coming here and we will be visiting again 😊

Pleasant environment and friendly staff, delicious food. Two of us went on a Saturday night, really enjoyed the curry and Bala.

Really nice curry in the traditional BIR style. Lamb was the best I have ever had. Rice was great and Naan bread also. Bring your own alcohol, which is fine as quite a few convenience stores in the same street. Lovely owner

Myself and my teenage children had a lovely meal here with friends from the Bala Lake Railway. The food was excellent .

We had a takeaway for 9 of us and we alll considered it to be decent quality food at a reasonable price.

Very good food here - more interesting than a lot of curry houses, and very flavourful. Not expensive, either. My only criticism would be they don't serve Lassi. The interior is basic but clean; it's worth noting that there is no alcohol served here, and...

Been a regular visitor to this Indian takeaway for some years now whilst on pleasurable Summer Camping trips. But WHY have they increased their prices by so much ? £11.00 for a Main dish and Rice dishes from £3:00 with no reduction for Take Away....

Midweek takeaway while on holiday. Good choice of food on menu and reasonably priced. Our order was ready to collect within 30mins. The food was very nice and hot, with good size portions, there was ample for 2 people, the nan bread was twice the...

Very disappointed Food was very bland and greasy Nan bread was not to great neither Very expensive for the quality of food

The food was abysmal- a thorough disappointment. I am loathe to leave a bad review, but I’m seeking to prevent other holiday-makers from suffering the same fate. We shall not return, ever. I wish I could be more constructive, but the food was simply devoid...

Went here for a Saturday night meal with my partner, Didn't realize you had to take your own drink , ordered king prawn curry , chicken biryani, my biryani came the king prawn turn out to be a chicken tandoori. Waiter didn't seemed bothered they...

Lovely polite staff good service food was tasty and portion size was fine if you drink remember to bring your own alcohol

Visited a few years ago and it was excellent. Decided to eat here the other week while on holiday. The place could do with a good clean and spruce up, the staff looked scruffy too. The food was OK nothing special, in my opinion was...

Really enjoyed our evening. Must try once, you will fall in love with the food. Good customer service. Family business ran by love and care.

You can always judge what the food will be like at an Indian restaurant on the quality of their popadoms and pickle tray. And I must say it was the the dankest of scrans. The Nawabi was amazing, and the portions were massive- great value...

This was a bit of a last resort as we couldn't get in anywhere else which was possibly a sign. I have had my fair share of curries over the years and this has to rank up there among one of the worst I have...

Before I start, I should say that I live in West Yorkshire, an area that is blessed with many great Asian restaurants. This should not detract from the fact of how poor the takeaway food was from this establishment whilst on holiday. We had three...

The food was excellent. It is an Indian catering for British taste, however couldn’t fault the taste it was very nice. Large portion size and good value for money. Ordered and collected all on time without any problems. Be warned however it is currently a...

We had a take away and when we went to collect several of the items were wrong or missing. The food we did get was really tasty though so just double check your orders on collection!

Takeaway was ok. 3 chicken dishes ordered all had extremely dry chicken but flavour was good. Husband ordered lamb biryani, the lamb was amazing but the veg curry was watery. I feel it’s extremely overpriced to eat in considering the surroundings and decor.

Terrible. Undercooked lamb with texture of a rubber tyre. Curries that tasted like nothing from the subcontinent. Perhaps the only indian restaurant in Bala so you may not have much of a choice. You have been warned.

Lovely meal, enjoyed by all the family. Chicken chat was particularly good but all dishes were enjoyed. Not too much oil as in some Indians - tasted good and fresh. Service was good. Recommended.

We were a little concerned on arrival. The place was empty, no drinks licence so we bought our own, and we weren’t really expecting anything too great. But we were very pleasantly surprised - the staff were very kind, and the meal was very tasty and plenty of it. Thoroughly recommend it.

Basic place, bring your own booze. Service is good and it was one of the best currys I've had. Cash only place though no card payments.

Simple, honest, tasty Indian cuisine. The lamb balti (made with Welsh lamb) was the best I've ever had, and the whole family enjoyed their meal. They catered for our daughter's request for a less spicy dish well, and she was delighted. Don't be put off by the basic decor.

Really nice meal today at Bala Spice (we think they missed a trick not calling it Bala Masala). Great service, fantastic food and huge portions. Left very happy and full. Our waiter said it was his first day on the job and we thought he did great and was very nice and friendly.We will be back when next in Bala.

Me and my girlfriend went for an evening meal at Bala Spice. There was no welcome, no atmosphere and the food was very overpriced for the amount we ordered (£50 for two people 😳). But, the food was very tasty and appealing.

Food is super overpriced very expensive for a smaller order. There isn’t much atmosphere, however food was tasty and appealing.

We ordered a takeaway and loved it. Consider ourselves knowledgeable curry eaters and this experience was up at the top - fantastic! They accommodated the vegan in our group and all the dishes were very tasty. The chicken pieces were generous in size and quantity and they included complimentary popodoms! Definitely worth a visit.

In Bala there are a few restaurants but we fancied an Indian, went off the cuff not checking any reviews. Waw Waw Waw amazing service, food…. this is a big say for me…. Might be one of the best Indian meal I have ever had . My husband and myself tend to share so we had popadums, fresh, hot and crispy, then a mix starter, fair by play an extra plate was given with out it being asked for, mains was a South Indian garlic chicken chefs special, amazing, with a chilli on top it was the best mushrooms pilau and keema naan both lovely, I e we outdoor consider travelling from home just for for the food (30 miles)Bring your own alcohol was fine, glasses and ice given

Every time I’m stay in Snowdonia I call here for food. It never fails to disappoint. Lots of veggie and gf options.

The waiter was polite and welcoming. The food was delicious. You can take your own alcohol which was a bonus. We hadn’t booked and they managed to fit us in around other bookings. 10/10

Today I went to this place the food was amazing and very delicious the staff were very kind I would love to go again some time

Amazing food! Ordered chicken tikka masala, chicken pasanda, plain rice, chips to share between two, nice size portions. I liked how they sliced the chicken instead of big chunks like last time I had curry from here. 25 minutes wait on a busy Saturday night, cash only. Staff was helpful and friendly. Will definetely return, thank you.

I found the ambience with the black tables and red chairs pleasing to the eye. The staff were vey friendly. Beware - not licenced and cash only. We enjoyed onion bhajis and minced meat samosa as starters. Mains were Bombay special chicken and Tandoori mixed massala. The Bombay chicken was sweet enough while the massala came with lots of coconut and was a little sweet for my liking. One huge plain naan made to perfection between us was ample. We will return if in town again though.

Really enjoyed our takeaway, the lamb was particularly nice, good portion sizes too! Will definitely return on our next trip.

We thought we would try a takeaway on our last night at a nearby holiday park. We are so glad we did! The food was fantastic, tasty and huge portions. We had the set meal for 2 and felt it could have fed 4 of us!! From phoning the order through to collecting at the time given was prompt and hassle free. We'll definitely pay Bala Spice another visit the next time we visit Bala.

Went to bala spice after a hike up aran fawddwy. the Welsh lamb and sag balti was immense meat was tender. Loved the fact you could take your own booze. Good food 👍

Royal Tikka Bhuna, tasteless. Butter Chicken, sauce curdled. Tandooro Chicken Malagata, underspiced. Mushroom Rice, tasty. Starters, OK. Not good value for money.

Five of us had a takeaway from Bala Spice 16/9/20 - only two of the meals were OK. The butter chicken tasted of nothing, the Tandoori mixed grill was tough and the Chicken Jalfreze had no 'heat' at all. Overall it was over -priced and disappointing.

Food was so tasty, came quickly, really fresh and hot. Nice staff you have to buy your own alcohol but that was totally fine there are many shops in Bala that you can get some from. Would highly recommend!

Delicious meal and nice atmosphere. Its Bring your own alcohol and there are a few places to buy close by like the Co-Op and a bargain booze type place. Its cash only at the moment but theres a cash point opposite I needed a Gluten free meal and was not disappointed.

We'd enjoyed takeaway dinners from Bala Spice before when staying by the lake for a break, but had never previously booked a table for a sit-down meal. Which was very good. The restaurant is clean, basic, well spaced out, and the service was perfectly fine -- and the food was terrific. Very traditional 'British' cuisine, big portions (I couldn't finish my nan bread), with well-cooked meats and tasty sauces.Next time we visit, we'll eat there again. Recommended.

great set meal for 4 lots of food and variety great choice of food and very reasonably priced beautiful

Bring your own alcohol and cash payment only. The food was very nice and the interior basic. The prices however are 25% to 40% above what you’d pay at your local. The best and only Indian restaurant in Bala says it all.

£33 for 1 Onion Baji and 2 mains with rice to take away. Chicken was dry too. I’m always worried when an Indian says an order will be ready in 15 minutes.

Food was excellent. So refreshing to have an independent establishment who has clearly focused on "taste". Honestly the food was excellent and there was plenty of it! We like our food and cook everything from scratch and rate this as a very worthwhile visit, so much so we may visit again tomorrow. Very pleasantly surprised!

Pretty poor. No effort goes into the interior of the restaurant. Very dated and scruffy. Food was poor too. We ate there three years ago and I remember it being a bit better. Won’t return as it is now which is a shame as there isn’t much to choose from in Bala anyway.

My wife and I visited Bala Spice and it’s true to say that we were not totally impressed. We found it quite expensive for what we had, the bill came to £50, and that’s with bringing your own drinks, not sure why the owners did not take advantage of the Governments ‘ Eat out to help out’ scheme, which would have made the cost more reasonable.The food was ok, especially the Nan Bread, but nothing out of the ordinary. However, the service was pretty poor. There was one young girl serving the Restaurant customers and also managing the take away service, which just didn’t work, they really do need to look at their front of house staffing levels.We waited 30 minutes for our order to be taken and a further 30 minutes to have our starter served. The young lady doing waitress duties was forever running her hands through her hair, and then served the food with her thumb on the food. A dirty tea towel was used to hold the plates of food when serving, due to the plates being hot, hygiene is really not their strong point.Sad to say, we won’t be visiting again.

The food was good although the order was a little mixed up and one of the rice dishes was missing, but there was 11 of us. Would recommend

Despite the food being pretty good, the decor and the service disappoint. There is no atmosphere whatsoever and you wouldn’t even know it was an Indian restaurant inside. Had to ask for glasses for the drinks we brought and the waitress basically looked like she didn’t want to be there. Zero welcome. Needs a lot of work on front of house

Food was ok but but setting the world on fire, did give us extra which was a nice touch. Rice was good same with naan fries

Had a very enjoyable meal here this weekend and can say the food was tasty and fresh. The restaurant doesn’t have a license so take your own beer, wine etc. Yes the food quality was good but it was quite costly even for the basic dishes, compared to many places. The bill soon added up. Imagine if we had paid normal drinks prices in the restaurant rather than getting two 660ml bottles of Cobra from Spar for £4 prior to entering. Generally good and friendly staff too!

Should have known when arriving at 7.30pm and the place we empty something was wrong. The restaurant is in dire need of some decoration and the service from the waitress was the worst I have received ever. I could list all the issues but it would be "war and peace". Sorry but I can't recommend even if the food was quite good........try another restaurant.

We are a family of 4 on holiday from.the south east and wanted a good curry on holiday.The kids ordered Tikka masala and Korma which were both so sweet they couldn't finish them. I had the Bhuna which had no taste whatsoever and just tasted like a casserole.Maybe we are spoiled back home with tasty indian takeaways who know how to make more authentic dishes but this place definitely isn't the real deal.And not cheap either at 60 quid, cash only of course...

First of all, the presentation of the restaurant was appalling, uneven floorboards and the restaurant reeked. We ordered “lamb karahi” yet we were given some lamb tikka pieces in some cheap tinned tomato sauce.We came to Wales on holiday and were craving some Indian food, this was the closest one and the reviews were encouraging but they were all lies.

Overall a good experience. Currys were nice, not as authenticly spiced as the best curry houses in Bradford / Manchester which is the 5* benchmark. Mushroom rice was exceptional. Naan, top quality. Service solid. Good bonus that you can take own alcohol in. Would recommend.

Good Indian food but they are not licensed so take your own beer and wine. Good size portions and tasty food. Worth a visit. Our meal was takeaway so can’t comment on service etc.

A group of 5 of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals here. Arrived quite late in the evening but the staff were very accommodating and made us feel welcome. The food was very tasty, good variety of choice and portion sizes.

Amazing curry!! The chicken was so tender in both the chilli masala and the madras. The welsh land was also cooked to perfection. Everything tasted really fresh and full of flavour! There was no one in the restaurant and it is BYOB so we were a bit dubious but so glad we decided to dine their!

We visited tonight as we are staying in a nearby village. When we arrived we had to find the waiter in the kitchen. He sat us in the window and left us with the menus. After around 10 minutes he came to take the order. (I cannot believe that 1 popodom is £0.95) We ordered and waited around 30 minutes for the curries .... That is fine as we assumed a good sign that they would be fresh When they were served (lamb Karachi and a Garlic Chilli Chicken) the sauces were bright red and the same ... The only difference being a few more chillies in the lamb dish .... I'm not sure you could call it lamb though as was chewier than mutton ... Nobody came to see if the meal was ok or clear the plates .... The waiter was sat on iPad playing Candy Crush .... In my opinion I would avoid and pop over to the CO OP over the road and get a microwave curry ... It will 10000% be better that the rubbish we had tonight for £44.05!!

Visited tonight the service was terrible the food was ok lamb Karahi very chewy and tough! 1 of us had a bottled beer BYO, my partner ordered a large diet coke the soft drink arrived but I had to ask for a bottle opener and glass for my beer approx 5 minutes after the soft drink was served.

We dine here once or twice a year and rate the flavours very highly.The service is good and the standards are consistently high.I've tried many things on the menu and have never been dissapointed. My girlfriend favours the chicken shashlik and thinks it's the best ever.We will definitely return next time we are in the area

Visited during a recent stay in Bala. We ordered a takeaway for four of us. All four dishes were really nice. The chicken was cooked to perfection. Chicken tikka balti was the groups favorite meal. Naan breads on the small side would be the only downside.

I went to the restaurant for a take away, having been told by some locals that this was one of the best ‘Indian’ restaurants in North Wales. I purchased two starters, two mains, three naans and was given two complimentary popadoms, with onion salad and dip. Firstly I was surprised that the bill was over 35 pounds for this amount of food, no discount for take away - which has been my experience in every other Indian restaurant I’ve ever been too. Fair enough I thought, the food is meant to be excellent. However this was not the case. The popadoms were not fresh and tasted slightly stale, the yellow dip (I can’t remember what this is called) was watery and tasteless, definitely the worst I’ve ever had. The onion bhajis were dry and tasted very much of dough, rather than onion and spices. The meat in the lamb pasandra was chewy at best, inedible at worst. Again I was very surprised when the menu makes such a big deal in referring to locally sourced produce, I know for a fact Welsh Lamb tastes better than that - it just needs to be cooked correctly. The chicken madras was definitely much more Madras than chicken and I found myself fishing for the odd piece of chicken in a container brimming with sauce. In summary a costly and very poor meal, if I hadn’t got changed and had a drink then I’d have taken it all back. I certainly don’t intend to repeat the experience when I visit Bala again and I would strongly advise any potential customers to give this restaurant a very wide berth. We were the first customers of the day so there could be no excuse that the restaurant was busy.

This curry was good, but taste varied to many other similar curries.The place was cash only which isn't a problem, but it's worth telling your customers before you place your order. Unusual to find an indian where you take your own alcohol, but hey it was decent. Happy to bring our own.The decor could be improved to be more inviting, but hey good food, good prices.

Average. The meal was quite bland but portion size ok. Very plain decor inside. Over priced for quality. Cash only. Flat drinks.

Not as good as the 4* ratings we read. Portions were decent but lacked flavour and soft drinks are out of a bottle, so they were flat. I don’t mind paying decent money for quality but this was poor at best.

Fast service, friendly staff. Generous portions. We ordered the Chicken Korma and Chicken Jalfrezi, basmati pilau, naan and poppadums, delicious sauces, lovely pieces of chicken breast, highly recommended

Decided last Minuit to go into town for dinner from the camp site, first impressions from the outside weren't too impressive but we decided to give it a go and boy was i glad we did, I am a lover of indian food and this has to be the best i have ever had, we will be back!

I'm not sure how this place gets such a high rating people must not know what a good curry tastes like!

We were a group of 13. A few had a set menu for 4 which was good value and with well received dishes!

The Bala Spice were fully booked when we arrived but happily accommodated for us in the time they had. The food was absolutely gorgeous and the service great. The owner is very friendly and accommodating

Judging by some of the earlier reviews, this Indian Restaurant has come on a long way.

Bought a takeaway for two adults, cost around £25.

Best restaurant in Bala! We went there 2 times in one week👍. Don t forget to bring your OWN alcohol because they dont have A lincence😎

A fabulous group meal- fresh cooked food so superior to normal Indian restaurants. BYO drinks was a bonus. A superb evening meal enjoyed by all.

What a great place, good selection of food with good service. The restaurant is bring your own booze (which is fine), there are a few shops/supermarkets in walking distance and the staff helpfully put my bottled beer in the fridge until needed.