Balti House in South Somerset

Me and my partner were away on holiday and found this spot Wednesday 31st July A true hidden gem if you ever want a Indian restaurant in illminster I would recommend this restaurant Waiter/chef a true pleasure to talk too not trying to get you to buy drinks Food absolutely incredible Also a true family feel to the place Only downside we live 160 miles away 5 stars throughout

Lovely food and friendly service. Lucky to have such a great place to eat in Ilminster. Super garlicy nan and tasty veg passanda.

Thank you to the staff members, very accomodating to food preferences.

Very good place, fantastic food

Nice relaxing place with gentle music and nice host and freshly cooked food

Great service very helpful and kind business owner.

Thoroughly enjoyed it! Will be back soon!

Delicious, Friendly, Fun. We had a birthday dinner celebration here. Everyone ordered something different and it was all delicious! Several members of our party have spent time in Indian and were impressed with the authentic taste. Restaurant decor was beautiful and the service was friendly and well-timed. Thank you for a wonderful evening, highly recommended!

Food always delicious, wide choice on menu.

Brilliant food and staff. Love the Indian music they always play

I tried the Lamb Tikka, the food was great, very tasty and well presented. The waiter was attentive and service overall was good. Overall a great meal and good value I will certainly be going back

Fanatastc food. I have no words to thank you . Had an amazing food, it really tast and delicious . Thank you once again.

Arrived about 5 30 PM and was immediately impressed by the decor and table settings Linen table clothes and napkins. The gentleman who served us both was polite, helpful and had an excellent approach. We live near by and hoped we had found a perfect Indian restaurant. I had a king prawn vindaloo which was chilli hot but lacked background spicing,. The prawns were nearly inedible having the texture of gristle. My pillau rice was acceptable but possibly made with a lower quality basmati rice, not Tillda My keema nann had a hard filling of lamb spiced meat in it and was awful. My wife had chicken Tikka which was fairly good she stated Her coconut rice did not taste of coconut. Another dish she had was poor and she didnt eat it. The pricing was well over the top taking into consideration that poor ingrediients had been used and the cook had no expertise. The lager was also had a strange taste. Unfortunately it failed to come up to standard. We will not be returning .

Good food, fair price, well worth a visit. We live 10 miles away but it is our favourite and worth ignoring other even though they are nearer.

I moved to Somerset from Birmingham and have been desperately looking for a curry that lives up to the ones from the curry capital of the UK. We’ve found our favourites here! Perfectly spiced, properly authentic, and really just bloody delicious! Definitely helps that the guys are so kind too. Thank you for a lovely dinner 😊

Absolutely loved it excellent food very impressed

Enjoyed a lovely tasty meal. Friendly and attentive staff

Great service and lovely curry!! 👍🏻👍🏻

Not sure why you would be telephoning me, along with a few other restaurants very strange ☹️. I live in the north.

In de UK heb je hele goede indian restaurants: dit was de allerslechtste 😡

Not busy when we went. Food and service very good.

Extremely tasty dishes ! I am not an expert on Indian food . Usually have it once every few years))) whist travelling to Cornwall it was a nice place to stop. And meal turned out as delicious! We ordered tandoori chicken shashlik and fish dish with some plain rice and naan. All was cooked up to perfection, beautiful and delicate taste ! Service was impeccable.

Had the phall extra hot was hot and very tasty, could spicier but maybe I'm not right!! Very good food, more than satisfying in all aspects naga naan was best naan bread I've ever had.

Good Indian takeaway. You can eat in if you wish but I did not.

You can't beat their chicken tikka wraps, scrumptious.

Fabulous although it's a bit warm in there.

There are 2 indian restaurants in our local area. Balti house has always stood out with the food and service, in the 10 years that i have lived locally. I cannot fault it at all. My favourite dish is Tawa chicken No other restaurant comes close with there version . I have been to others to find dissapointment due to them serving bland versions. BALTI HOUSE is the best with authenticity of there dishes.

Good food garlic nan a little greasy go for plain. Good selection of curries

Delicious meal. Regular customer of the Balti house..friendly, polite, and excellent food

Only ordered 4 naan breads, but when we got home discovered that they got the order wrong and had 2 peshawari when they should have been plain..

Really good!! Never disappoints. Friendly staff and food is catered to your needs according. Wednesday night is a perfect👌opportunity to experience and taste foods from across the Menu at a discounted price.

Lovely food and staff friendly , good size portions and tasted amazing we enjoyed our visit

Very average, service is pushy. £12 midweek deal is good value and their reputation is good locally. Don't order pasanda, I was served a doctored korma and it was frankly insulting and demonstrates a level of contempt and arrogance. Starters were bland, just heat. Sides and chicken dishes were ok. Dear Balti house. Sometimes you'll cook for a chef, one who's more Asian than he looks. I suspect you have it in you to do a lot better.

Brilliant lndian Cuisine. Hot, fresh very large quality portions.

Sadly we won’t be going back. The food over the last year hasn’t been the same. We completely understand that places have off days, but 3 bad takeaways in a row and we’re calling it a day.

Had a really lovely meal at the Balti House last night with my husband. The food was first rate and the service the same. We couldn’t ‘t believe what good value it was when the bill came. We would highly recommend!

Passing through Ilminster for one night en route to Cornwall, we were faced with the usual dilemma. What’s open, what’s a good place to eat. Balti House was well reviewed, and luckily for us it was open. We had a really nice Balti, one chef’s special and one vegetable Dhansak. Well worth a visit if you’re in the area

It's just delicious food, appealing atmosphere, helpful staff and brilliant service. We ordered (Chana Bhuna, Spicy Chicken Sag and Nawabi Chicken). Is you are looking for nice Indian food this is the place you must visit or have a takeaway from. 😋

Great food, we eat here regularly and it never disappoints. Delicious variety of food. Attentive and friendly staff. Great prices. Couldn't be happier to live near such a great place.

Visited this place many times.Food is always absolutely superb and staff very friendly.Wednesday night is gourmet night,starter,main course and 2 sides for £11.95.Great value for money as the portions aren’t small and absolutely delicious.Well recommended

We ordered a take a way to celebrate a birthday , the food was bland & all tasted the same despite ordering different dishes to share. When we collected the order and unpacked there was items missing from the order but they were not willing to issue a refund for the missing items. We won't be using them again.

First time here for well over a year. It's had a bit of a refurb, including adding a bar. The manager Mohammed is very pleasant and welcoming. The food (takeaway) is absolutely gorgeous and the chef was able to vary one dish for my wife's taste The Web site and menu has also been revamped, so you can now order online and collect later. Thank you Mohammed and the staff Bob

This was the worst Indian meal I've ever had. I chose the chefs special curry. It was under seasoned, tasteless and bland. We also has a chicken dish with pineapple!!. Again pretty poor, tasteless. The person who answer the phone didn't have a clue what they were doing, maybe a new member of staff. I'm surprised we actually received what we ordered. The only good things were the poppadoms. We will not be using this Indian again.

Awesome food as usual, good staff ,come here from east Sussex to eat ...

Scrumptious, Abundant and Healthy, Staff was very helpful in helping me decide what to order. Great for the Price. Service was excellent didn't have to wait more than expected.

I had a great time here having curry with friends, the food was great and tasty and lots! :-), you can't bring your own drink anymore, even though it still says it on the menu cards

Excellent meal & the service was great very friendly & we chatted with him about the spicy food we wanted & cooked just right would highly recommend

This restaurant is not on the High Street so I expect doesn't get the foot traffic it deserves. It has an extensive menu and everything I have tried is delicious. My sister and I eat at this restaurant whenever I visit her in Ilminster. Without exception, we have loved the food. We have both eaten in and had takewaways. We had chicken dupiaza and a korma this time. The staff are always welcoming and accommodating and helpful with their suggestions. I highly recommend you visit this restaurant when you are next in Ilminster and give it the support it deserves.

What a little GEM 💎 of a restraunt absaloutly blown away with the fantastic service we were cooked an original dish on the side as a gift the gentleman who runs it is fantastic! I recommend this restaurant to all who love fantastic Indian....I'm a difficult person to please given I run my own pub! Will return with bells and whistles on! Xx

I have never in my life been bothered enough to leave a review. But me and my boyfriend have meant to leave a review since we visited earlier this year and we finally got round to it to make sure this restaurant gets the credit it deserves. We stayed in Ilminster for a short time and had 2 takeaways from this place. I cannot put into words how unreal the food is. We live in Bristol and eat out a LOT and we always say ‘It’s not quite the Indian restaurant in Ilminster though.’ We are planning a weekend away to Ilminster soon purely to visit this restaurant and will probably visit both nights. I have never tasted food like it. If you live near this place, I envy you. The best takeaway we have ever ever had by an absolute mile.

Amazing food and very friendly service. Would definitely visit again if in the area. One if the best curries I've ever had.

Just had a delicious lunch at the Balti House

First order for a while, great food, although the chicken tikka mussala was quite coconut tasting?

Consistently good food and prices. Would recommend the dansak. Never had to wait a long time for the food to be ready. Staff always polite and friendly.

They forgot to put in salt. So overall not good, They forgot to put in salt. So overall not good, They forgot to put in salt. So overall not good,

Eaten in the restaurant a few times and had take away. Always great food. Would highly recommend.

Absolutely wonderful food. Flavours are fabulous. Not one to miss if you love a really excellent curry.

Amazing food, good customer service. Had a range of starters and mains. Loved every dish. My girlfriend doesn't eat chicken outside of our home but she loved every bit of this food too. Parking isn't great but Ilminster has lots of other parking close by. Would recommend all day long and I also was recommend going off route to get food from this establishment.

My partner & I ate at the Balti House during the August "eat out" offer to enjoy some some good Indian food with government backed discount - what's not to like ?! Well actually not very much was likable - but more of that below. It was good to see they allow you to bring your own alcohol as they don't have a license - but we only found this out when we arrived and were thus pretty disappointed that they don't say this clearly on their website - had I have known I would have happily bought some of my fav beer/wine. Unfortunately the food was a real let down - the starters were three bolws of different coloured gloop with some popadoms and my partners "vegetarian tikka masala" tasted like it had a bag of sugar poured into it - and the other dishes (a lamb balti and sag aloo) were mediocre at best. The bill was even more of a shock - it looked like we were charged a cover charge (just under £4) and the small bowls of rice were £4.25 (the menu online today shows £2.95 ?!) with two curries and two sides and only tap water as the drinks the bill was £40 ! Had I have been expected to pay £40 for this I would have made a real fuss but as it was discounted to £20 I didn't. Feels like prices were inflated to coincide with the "eat-out" offer ? Finally service was slow and miserable - so all in all - my thoughts: Even tho' you can take your own alcohol - it's not worth your time. Jools

Really good food, very good service from a fully covid clad waiter. No alcohol licence but you can take your own in with you which we did.

Amazing food very friendly And the ice cream Is delightful!!!! Best Indian in Bournemouth would definitely recommend

We’ve been to the Baltihouse a lot over the years, in family groups with friends and in large work parties and always found it a great place to go but this evening I was very disappointed. We arrived at 6.30 and all was fine, only one person was front of house but the restaurant wasn’t full and with Covid there was fewer tables. We had to wait quite a while to see a menu, after waiting again to give our order we ordered starter and main with a couple poppadoms, we had to ask twice for a glass and we didn’t have any serviettes. The food was as good as other times I’ve been there but it was just the slow service we got Which I’ve never experienced there before and it wasn’t just us we noticed, everyone was waiting a long time. We didn’t leave till 8.50 that was 2hr 20 minutes for a meal, I really don’t feel this was acceptable.

We stopped here on our way past on the A303 and we loved it. Do not expect fancy, high class surroundings, but do expect a fantastic selection of food, which was really good quality. There is no licence, so stop at the COOP nearby and get a cold bottle or two! Sweet.

Good food! Shocking service!After reading the positive reviews we thought we would give it a try despite alcoholic drinks not being served. Only one member of staff doing service as well as taking telephone orders do priority was given to the telephone and we were left waiting throughout. We had to ask for a drink and when I asked for the options was told ‘coke, Diet Coke and lemonade’.Food was very good despite finding two short black hairs which clearly were not mine. Maybe we were just unlucky but certainly did not receive the friendly reviews other people mentioned.

Fantastic food .and fantastic service as always. girly night out look forward to our return

I ordered the same dish as I would from any other establishment however the one from the balti house was fantastic Service fantastic and I got a very full belly Definitely recommend

Good food good service recently undergone some renovations takeaway options available with complimentary onion bahjis

From the moment we walked in we experienced friendly staff, although he was very busy our waiter Shiplo was always smiling & relaxed..nothing felt rushed. The food was excellent, this was the first visit for my sister & myself but we’ll certainly be back

Celebrated birthday with family at this restaurant. Delicious, top quality food served with kindness!

We've been a couple of times now since a friend recommend it. We love curries, including sampling a variety throughout India, and I can say the Balti House curries are excellent. The only slight negative is that some of the staff could be a bit friendlier! Seems to be very popular for take aways too.

BYO restaurant so we did, 60 pints of beer! It was a large group, the friendly staff were great and the food excellent value

Great food, let them know in advance if you want vegan food, they are more than happy to accommodate

Great service great food not to bad prices

We went for Sunday lunch with friends who have been many times before. A very warm welcome. Lovely white linen tablecloths and napkins. All of our dishes were superb. A lovely menu. So tasty. We will definitely return soon

This is a real hidden gem! Down a little side street in Ilminster, I have to be honest & say that it doesn’t look that welcoming. Bright, with fluorescent lighting and closely packed tables, it more reminds me of the ‘canteen’ curry restaurants In Malaysia or Singapore. The initial welcome too can seem brusque. But then the food comes....Good fresh poppadoms and spicy papads. Nice fresh accompanying onion salad and yoghurt sauce. The mango chutney has s a bit economy (no chunks!) but tasty enough. I am a bit boring and always order my favourites as a starter: onion bhaji and king prawn puri. Bhajias light & crisp. The puri fresh and hot and an excellent king prawn masala. I always think that the sign of a good curry house is that if you order 4 different dishes they are clearly different in appearance, cooking style & of course taste. The dishes here really all do stand out individually. Lamb tikka patia balti was sweet and sharply sour and a real depth of flavour. Chicken tikka masala balti rich and flavoursome and superior to most versions I’ve tasted. King Prawn Tawa was outstanding. Fluffy large naans including an excellent and spicey keema naga naan were excellent. It is Bangladeshi run so has no alcohol but BYo welcomes. The only down side is that it’s 150 miles from where I live!!But now I’ve discovered it, it’s a regular stop off en route to the West Country.

Absolutely amazing food. Same can be said for all the staff!! Really lovely evening. Thank you.

I ordered a takeaway and was very pleased with the food and service. Everything tasted very fresh, from the tomatoes and lamb in the rogan josh to the chicken in the Madras curry. Favourites were the delicious buttery tarka dal, the crispy poratha bread and the complimentary onion bhaji.

Well what a surprise, gem of a place for a troff - no licence so popped over to Tesco for larger - made the meal about half the price of a usual weekend cuzzer - spot on retro decor like being back in the 80’s - good freshly cooked to order yum

It’s a fairly small restaurant although it never feels like you’re tightly packed in.The service is with a smile and very efficient, waiters very friendly.Food is excellent, I’ve been a couple of times and the table has had a large variety of dishes. Not a bad word to say about any of them! The sheer amount of take aways they process as you’re eating in says it all.Bring your own booze means it keeps the overall cost of the meal down, great value and we’ll certainly be back.

What a lovely restaurant with delicious food. Little hidden gem. Such tasty fresh homemade food, plenty of choices and very welcoming staff. Quick service, very attentive waiter. Bring your own wine/beer great idea. Very reasonably priced. Will definitely be returning.

I don’t actually know if they deliver. Physically. Their Take-Out. I know you can Take-Out. But we ate-in. Our expectations were set early on, and Balti House delivered. BYOB, fish tank, classic Indian/Asian stylings. You definitely think you know what you’re getting into in this place. The service is great and the food is fantastic. My, admittedly, curbed expectations, were smashed. Still is what it is though. 4 stars.

Nice enough food but had to wait an hour for our starters to come, admittedly we were aware that the restaurant was busy fulfilling a number of large take away orders.

Just popped in with some friends (weds gourmet night -1 starter,1 main, side dish & nan or rice £10:95 👍 Take your own alcohol or buy soft drinks Food lovely ( as always) & great service

Amazing naan bread, light and fresh. Great onion bajhee starter. 4 perfectly cooked small bajhees, still enough to share. Super flavoursome food and service with a smile by Shiplu! 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👌🏻

Consistently tasty and freshly cooked food. The service we receive from Shiplu is always fantastic. He treats us like old friends. We are mostly vegetarian and there is plenty to choose from. Definitely our first choice for Indian food.

Little gem of a curry house. Unassuming, good food, friendly staff, good prices. Option to bring your own beer too 👍

The staff inside were very friendly and happy to accomodate to certain dietary requirements. The food was very tasty and well presented on traditional indian crockery. Definitely worth visiting again. 👌

Wide selection of food, dish I had was delicious. They also have a very good "bring your own alcohol" policy which is nice.

Party of 7 on a Saturday night, service was brilliant and as was the food!

Mouthwatering just thinking about the food I get (everytime) from the balti.

Had a great meal 3 of us cooked well and good size portions I had Balti special birianni Good and freindly service and very reasonably priced and BYO is great

Yet another lovely takeaway, moved to the area last year & so far eating in or takeaway the food has been perfect, also it's a nice little bonus to be offered an onion bgaji while you wait for your takeaway

Neither of the Indian restaurants in Ilminster has a liquor licence and again we were caught out not realising we would have to leave the table to go on an expedition to find a drink! The food was ok, the service was ok but again lacking in ambience not helped by the plethora of notices stuck on the windows.

We went to the restaurant at 19:00hrs on a Wednesday. The restaurant looked very tired and in need to decoration. We were shown quickly to a table, the table cloth was stained from a previous service but we took a seat regardless. Unfortunately one of the forks was badly soiled from a previous diner, disgusting and thank goodness we noticed. With regards to the food it was very average and basic and the portions were, in my opinion, small to say the least. Highlight of the experience, apart from leaving, was the Naan.

We are lucky to live fairly close by to this excellent Curry House. The Staff know what they are doing with the well cooked , nicely presented dishes. The " front of house " guy is happy to help with describing the curries etc on the Menu , he is kind and polite.

Really good food and very friendly staff

The best Indian meal I've had outside of India. Loved it.

We met friends there and I was disappointed. We ordered drinks I always have iced water with meals. So that's what I ordered. A jug of iced water. The waiter brought me a small glass of water with no ice. We ordered our food and again asked for a jug of water with ice in. He brought a jug of water again no ice. The water wasn't even cold. I ordered chicken pakora to start and it looked like something you get from Iceland's it wasn't covered in batter but breadcrumbs. And it was tasteless. I ordered mango chicken for main it was on the medium spice list and it was just sweet. Again no flavour or any heat what so ever. The dishes I thought were over priced. I have had better frozen meals than what was supposed to be fresh food. We won't be going back. Very disappointing.

We had a family evening at The Balti House with 5 of us. Naz was the perfect host and food was unbelievable. It’s always a great night here the food is fresh and hot tastes amazing and we always have a great time here.

A really nice little Curry restaurant A good quality curry although the service was a little on the slow side. Pleasant staff.