Bengal Lounge in County Durham

Had my 10th take away from here tonight, got home the bag was full of curry. Bad start all around. Gone to dish out the food and both Lamb Madras had 5 small pieces of lamb in and the was like sauce like water, with black and white small round bits in it and one had part of a tomato in... very strange indeed.. Full of spice and no flavour at all.. Rang up the shop to complain and was offered money off my next order. Me "No thank you I am not eating this I want my money back please so I can purchase a curry that i can eat " .. And was told that this would inky happen if I brought the curry back. Which is 10 mins out of my way. I asked if I could just send a video and images of the food, as they can not resell it and it would save me 20 minutes round trip. And was told NO i had to bring the food in myself they wouldn't even send a driver for it. I was home in my pj's and absolutely appalled by this service. The girk in the phine was lovely, but the manager on who would not even come on the phone himself, was absolutely out of order for making me leave my home again just to bring back this ROT. Unfortunately I did not take any images of this poor food, which I realised on my way home. The first 8 timez ordering were ok curries but the 9th time I ordered I got it delivered and it was all spice and no flavour and not much meat again around 5 small pieces. I will not order from here ever again after this experience... I get that chef's have a night off and the stand in chef can be not as good. But this was honestly the worst food I had ever had out before me in my whole 40 years of life.. Same for my partner also. We have never had such horrible food and such poor service , I have never been treated how I was from this company tonight. I felt bad for the lady on the phone who was just the messenger, lovely lass .. But management are rubbish and have bad attitudes towards good honest people. Do not order from here... There are much better curry places nearby . And i will make sure I order from somewhere else in the future

Don’t know what’s changed but takeaway tonight was terrible. The nan bread was mushy and undercooked. The onions in the curry were raw! Never known it like this in the 25+ years we’ve been customers. Had it changed ownership?

Another absolutely delicious meal from Bengal Lounge. This has got to be one of the best Indian restaurants/takeaways in the area. Thoroughly recommend the chicken hariali, the korma and the lamb murghai but you won't go wrong with any dish you choose. 5 stars to the chefs

We had an amazing curry. Bengal Lounge is a wonderful Indian restaurant and takeaway with traditional Asian dishes at reasonable prices. Lovely helpful staff and a clean, well maintained dining area. Thank you for a lovely evening.

Loved our food and service easy 5 stars from us

Very busy night which possibly lead to the extremely slow service, great pickles tray and nice starters with amazing mint sauce A very tasty curries and nice garlic naan served with the smallest bowl of rice which unfortunately was not enough for one person.

I can't comment on the quality of the food as we never got to eat There were four of us ,my turn to pay , But they only take cash!!! Who carries £100 plus in cash these days We went elsewhere Come on get up to date with the cashless society

I’ve worked away all across the country and bengal lounge takes some beating! Top drawer👍🏻

The is a small but well serviced restaurant - if you are in the area and fancy a 'cheeky' curry - this is the place to go Great staff - nothing is too much of a problem Good selection of food on the menu suit all tastes. Worth a visit - best on the town

Deceptive from the outside, a really decent Indian restaurant. Pleasant staff, food is very good with an extensive menu. One small complaint is that they only accept cash which in this day and age is a little challenging. Fortunately an ATM a few shops down , but there are charges to withdraw money…. So most people unaware of the ‘cash only policy’ will start the evening a little peeved. The food and staff make up for that but I would ask that they reconsider this policy…. I guess the taxman would also desire this as well😂😂

I ordered from Bengal Lounge on 28.06.2024. Our order included Chicken Tikka Madras and Chicken Tikka Dopiaza. Upon opening the food, we were shocked to find that the chicken in both dishes was raw. This is completely unacceptable and dangerous. Attached is a photo that clearly shows the raw meat in our dishes. We are deeply concerned about the risk of food poisoning from consuming undercooked chicken. This kind of negligence in food preparation can lead to serious health issues. Given the severity of this situation, we will be pursuing compensation for any illness that may result from this negligence. I urge other customers to exercise caution and consider our experience before ordering from Bengal Lounge. This has been a highly disappointing and concerning experience.

I ordered from Bengal Lounge on 28.06.2024. Our order included Chicken Tikka Madras and Chicken Tikka Dopiaza. Upon opening the food, we were shocked to find that the chicken in both dishes was raw. This is completely unacceptable and dangerous. Attached is a photo that clearly shows the raw meat in our dishes. We are deeply concerned about the risk of food poisoning from consuming undercooked chicken. This kind of negligence in food preparation can lead to serious health issues. Given the severity of this situation, we will be pursuing compensation for any illness that may result from this negligence. I urge other customers to exercise caution and consider our experience before ordering from Bengal Lounge. This has been a highly disappointing and concerning experience.

lovely, however collected and when got home didn't get naan bread! I appreciate mistakes can be made however not the first comment I have seen stating this and wasn’t too busy either. quality of food was good though, just maybe check your food if collecting before getting home as we only ordered 4 items so didn’t think this would be forgotten.

I dont know who has taken over the kitchen at this place but if i was the owner id be seriously considering getting the old one back. Your restaurants food quality has fallen off a cliff. I will not be returning custom untill you advertise you have new kitchen staff.

Take away was lovely, highly recommended.

Meals arrived minus nan bread. No big deal but in times of austerity every penny counts. Jaipur tasted more like Jalfrezie. Disappointed.

Excellent authentic Indian restaurant that serves massive portions which are well prepared and cooked to perfection. The wines are paired perfectly for each dish and I would recommend getting the rioja to go with the duck. There are lots of combinations to try. The only downside is that they only accept cash, which you can get from the cash machine next door to it

Visited last Friday evening for my Son's birthday and what a lovely night we had. Food was excellent, reasonably priced. Atmosphere was great and wasn't overly busy, just nice. Service was excellent and staff couldn't do enough for us. We all had a lovely evening and will definitely dine there again in the near future.

Had a great meal, loads of food and the service was very good. King Prawns were huge and delicious. Wear something cool as the restaurant was very warm.

The biryani was fantastic, one of the best I’ve ever had, so often ive had biryani and there just isn’t enough spice and so it becomes a bit boring- not the case here. So flavourful. The tarka daal was also brilliant.

What a great meal.. wonderful staff and naan is so good.

We visited for the wednesday night special menu. So worth the money, you get loads of food and the portions are massive. Waiter suggested something I have never tried and it was stunning. First time visiting & would definitely go back

10 of us ate here on friday after the funeral of a dear friend. Food, service and aptnosphere was excellent and would highly recommend going to this place. Gets very busy very quick so matbe a good idea to reserve a table. Well done. 10/10

Birthday celebrations. A party of 24 of us dined here this evening. The staff were welcoming and attentive and met our every need. Poppadoms and great pickle trays were served before our tasty starters. Mains were then served with accompaniments, all guests together, and nobody was left out or had to wait. All the meals were fresh and tasty and all our party was left full and satisfied. Great service and top quality value food. I will return when visiting from Bradford. Excellent.

Experienced and friendly staff😊🔥

For the third time our meal was delivered with a main and naan bread missing. Phoned to advise and asked if we wanted a free one next time instead no apology or concern shown??? Is it really worth the risk.of waiting 90 mins for a delivery to then have to wait another 60 mins for them to bring the rest of your order. Sadly a place to avoid.

Went midweek. Food wasn't as good as usual, not sure why because normally these would have been 5s.

We have our friends from the Netherlands staying with us, always enjoy a visit to Bengal Lounge, never disappointed, thanks 🙏

I've ordered from here before and it was beautiful. .maybe I bad night tonight I don't know? Won't be going back again meal was terrible? King prawns like rubber one was well it didn't look taste or even have the texture of a fresh king prawn ,popperdom had an unusual taste and I've been stuck on the toilet now for an hour ....since I ate them sorry like but I won't be coming back ...give the delivery man his dew tho he was quick and polite only thing about the experience worth mentioning. ..never again 😢23 quid and I'm glued to the bog seat

Lovely food and attentive staff

Terrible meal. Chicken dreadful had to spit it out cause so bad. Delivered far too quick to be fresh

Great find! Award winning and local approved - will definitely return.

Delivery was 2 hours late, ordered at 6pm it arrived at 8pm. Food finally arrived for the WHOLE BAG to absolutely stink of cigarette smoke, absolutely disgusting. What a waste of £30 and a Saturday night takeaway. Been here many times and loved it. But seriously think you need to have a word with whoever thinks it’s acceptable to smoke around customers food🤮🤮

First time here and very impressed as the food was 1st class and a reasonable price. Looking forward to going again when in the area.

First time ordering here, and the vegetarian food was delivered fresh, tasty, and even with a smile. Will definitely be ordering from here again, and would defo recommend to others.

Been twice now, first time gave them benefit of doubt, but both times have forgotten something in the order so I've had to go back and collect it meaning the rest of food is cold. The little man with the top knot had a shocking attitude about it as well, definitely recommend if you want to spend 50 quid for a cold meal that tastes same as a tesco ready meal and then to get terrible customer service when you complain. Guess they're expecting you to just pay for an item and be happy to not receive it so they can up their profit margins. Go to red chilli in shildon, foods better and they always look after you.

One of the best local Indians around. Definitely needs to accept card transactions though

I don't really know where these negative reviews come from . Indian is one of my favourite foods I've eaten them all over the Country including Bradford . To me this restaurant is up their with the best of them . Great food , lovely staff just excellent all round . My wife is a good cook and is very fussy where she eats , she recommended this place to me a good few years ago All I can say is we have never had a bad meal here and you get what you ask for so don't listen to reviews that are any other

Having gave up with a delivery been of poor standard missing salads chutney substituting king prawn for micro shrimp. not the price mind. we arrived fairly quiet starter was very good main meal curry not what I ordered less chicken than the usual Tikka was over cooked dry. came to this place for over 10 years

Very disappointed, lamb tikka was tough and undercooked, everything very greasy and chips dry like warm-ups. More than half went in bin, won't be visiting again!

Food and service were excellent.

Myself and my family have visited regularly, however recently when ordering a takeaway I found glass in my curry. Upon calling to inform the restaurant requested I take it back, despite it being after 10pm I drove back to show them. Their response was very disappointing, there was no apology, and the gentleman became quite defensive. I explained I was concerned there may be more in the batch, and wanted to make them aware so they could dispose of any potentially contaminated foods, he said there wasnt a need as there was no glass in their kitchen. He eventually offered a refund however I would have preferred an apology. It's a shame after so many visits we won't be visiting again, when some better customer service and understanding would have made all the difference.

I had food here whilst staying nearby for work. The staff were friendly and welcoming. I was a bit surprised that they had a sign saying cash only, which I only spotted once I was pretty much at the bar area. Although they said I could do a bank transer, which I did at the end. I asked the staff about food intolerances, as I have a few. They were really good, and confirmed what I had ordered was suitable. They came and checked the dips with me for the poppodoms to make sure I was ok with what each was and what was in it. They said 1 dip I couldn't have and 1 they said I shouldn't have as they weren't sure. That's a good level of checking, more than I've had in some other places. The food was very tasty, good sized portions and served quickly. Would come again if in the area in the future.

Visiting a friend in the area and came here to have a meal over catch up. This little gem of a curry is fairly hidden from the main roads but what a place it is. The Venue is very pretty with the staff extremely welcoming. We were met and sat and offered drinks while we browsed the menu. The staff were kind to share with me their recommendations on best dishes based on what I was looking for and didn't fail to deliver. The food was well presented and came out very fresh and hot versus other places I had been. During the meal, staff would come check we were happy and wanted more drinks periodically. For the money, the food is reasonably priced and look forward to revisiting on my next return to seeing my friend.

My partner and I decided to try the banquet night which is poppadom with dips, choice of a starter a main and rice or nan £14.95. Banquet nights are Wednesday and Sunday and are very popular so booking is recommended. We chose Bhuna prawn puree, potato shamin starter, vegetable jalfrezi and vegetable dansak mains, vegetable pilau rice and mushroom pilau rice, in addition we had a side of vegetable vindaloo and Cucumber raitha. The distinct flavour of the Prawn Bhuna was to die for and the quantity would have been enough for a main, the potato shamin which were dumplings served with a mint sauce how ever were just too bland and failed miserably so would not order again would probably go for garlic mushrooms instead. The three curries were all vegetarian by choice and were all individually flavoured and unique and would definitely order again. Both the vegetable and mushroom pilau rice were light and full of flavour complementing the meal. My only negative was the lack of a sweet menu to finish off the meal other than that staff were attentive and pleasent to deal with. They only take Cash and we only spotted this half way through the meal, fortunately on this occasion we actually had some cash on us which is rarity. We intend to try them out Sunday as well. They are licenced and the prices are reasonable.

I haven’t been in house for a meal yet but the the food and takeaway service has always been great it’s just like most food places now getting far to overpriced for what it is. Shocking amount of money you have to spend for 1 person to get a bit of everything. No set meals anymore as they make more on individually pricing things. Greed at the end of the day. No need for the extortion

What can I say perfect as always

It was our first visit but it will definitely not be our last. Fabulous food & excellent service at a great price.

Lovely meal, good staff. A quiet night. Oh, and a lovely meal too.

Excellent meal with generous portions. Staff very friendly & efficient.

Disappointed with food, seating, toilet facilities & the fact they only accept cash! We visited as a group of 8 on New Year’s Eve. The food wasn’t the best quality, there was plenty but I have tasted so much better in many other Indian restaurants. The toilets were what can only be described as a slip & slide. The floor was greasy and all of us who used the toilets that evening were slipping and hoping not to fall. Not good for healthy & safety. Seating was cramped, looking like they were trying to accommodate more people than the restaurant could safely seat. We were right by the door making it very chilly each time the door opened. The fact that they only accept cash is a little silly, especially as most people don’t carry much cash these days. Luckily there is a cash point at a shop a little further down. Still not ideal though as Themis wasn’t explained to anyone upon booking. We had high hopes as it advertises itself as one of the best curry houses in the uk. I would disagree with this.

The best Indian food on the town

Cant really give 5 stars, first time we been there. It was good, but need more visits to verify consistency.

Really great quality food. Good service

Beautiful food would highly recommend

Ordered at 7 delivered at 8.30…no salad with 3 starters & a side dish missing which was to be served with a main dish, leaving the meal very dry…very disappointed…we will think twice before ordering again.

Lovely food and great service. Just had my wedding anniversary party there. The staff couldn't do enough for us. Everyone appreciated it.

Excellent Indian restaurant with a number 5 hygiene rating. Food delicious x

Very poor and tasteless I ordered a chicken tikka jalfrezi but the chicken was dry and there was no flavour at all in the sauce. This is a basic dish how can they get it so wrong 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Fabulous food. Helpful waiter who knew the dishes. Prompt and polite service. Would recommend

There is no-one more supportive of the Bengal Lounge than us. Have been regulars for years, both dine in and takeaway. However, twice this week I've had cause for concern. At a dine-in the service wasn't up to the usual standard. Food was excellent though! Then after ordering a takeaway banquet for collection there were 2 concerns. Was told the bill came to £13.20, and with cash only that's exactly what I took, only to be asked for £13.45, twice. Managed to find a lone 20p piece in my pocket so that was 'sorted'. Then, when unwrapping the package at home, there were no poppadoms or Mango Chutney. As before, the food was excellent as usual, but I'm hoping this is only a blip in the BL's usual fantastic service. Won't stop us going back!

Our friends were keen to order the 'banquet', which was a mistake for us, being a limited choice of uninspiring dishes. Tasty in parts, and good naan bread, but an unexceptional restaurant that we are unlikely to revisit.

Meat in meal was very poor, the chicken was dark on one side indicating overcooked and had to cut off lots of inedible parts. Sauce was quite tasteless. Only one popadom with the pickle tray! The Nan and rice were acceptable. Very disappointing for a first visit

The food was fantastic tasty well presented great atmosphere Really great staff. Got to be the premier place for indian food

Do not order food from this restaurant. Absolutely diabolical from sending the wrong food to bad customer service when trying to speak to them to resolve. The food you get is not what you have ordered but they will argue that it is and there was gravel in the naan bread, aswell as Pink chicken. Ordered tikka and it wasn’t, was just plain chicken however again they argued it was. And ontop of all that overcharged us massively and again arguing that they hadn’t updated their online prices so beware or being robbed aswell. Hugely disappointing from a restaurant that 5 years ago was decent, and sympathetic, however I wouldn’t feed my dog in there now. Disgusting telephone manner from the scivvy who answered the phone aswell. On the whole avoid this place like the plague.

Excellent service, portions huge, mixed grill meat was a bit dry

Awesome food. Already booked in for next week too

Ordered 2 nights in a row now, great food, good service would highly recommend, best bhajis ever 😁

A last minute visit from outside the area. Very pleasantly surprised. Clean, modern, tasty and great service. Recommended.

Placed an order in the day for a half 5 pick up. I arrived in the shop and wasn’t allowed to pay with my card. I visited months ago and the card machine was broken then! And it’s still broken!! No, cash only and dodging tax!

Always fantastic. Food is unbelievable, great value for money! We have tried many indians and always compare them to this little gem. Nothing beats.

This has NOT been an isolated incident We stopped ordering food from here some time ago however, thought we will give them another chance. OMG!, food delivery was completely substandard and not at all fresh! Lamb was tough, chicken awful to say the least. After...

Great little restaurant. Friendly staff and lovely food with varied menu. Good sized portions and good value.

Fantastic curry. Great service. Definitely recommend this curry house

I’ve been using Bengal lounge (as well as a handful of other Indians) for takeaways for the last few years and without doubt this is the most consistent for quality and quantity. The most recent order of chicken chat starter and chicken madras main course...

Wow. Excellent staff, friendly, courteous and informative. Food is outstanding. I challenge any curry fan to eat here and not enjoy it. For me this is the best curry house in the Northeast. Hot and spicey make it nicey.

Order placed online 6:39pm, advised for 805pm. Phoned 835pm to chase, was advised still in kitchen, then had left, then what was my order, then it's in the kitchen, then said to the other staff I was "going off it" when I was totally calm. Then advised not cooked yet, and would be half-hour. Not good enough, awful phone person, won't be ordering again for long time, until they're more organised.

Lovely food lovely company great and attentive service. excellent value for money .

Long wait and missing items from order Food ok but nothing wow

Constantly lied to about the delivery. Apparently it was with the driver for 2hrs

Pre ordered a take away for xmas dinner. collected a little early and the meals were ready for collection when i arrived. The food was excellent and beautifully cooked and offers a great alternative to having to cook xmas dinner. great value for money and nice large portions. thank you again BL. appreciated.

Best Indian in aycliffe hands down no contest. Don't go anywhere else.

Late. Always late. Rang and they said hadn't left kitchen. Told them just eat app says with delivery driver. They checked and said yes with driver will be 10mins.... everyone else has eaten already (various deliveries) and as usual we are still waiting for Bengal Lounge.

normally the food is great, but their delivery service is in serious need of assistance, and the staff need to stop giving customers false information.I am sat here having telephoned them three times and my delivery is an hour late... If you are ordering a delivery think twice, as even as a regular customer they cannot deliver on time.Even though the food quality is good , they have no idea of what customer service is, and they can not deliver on time so do not rely on them, perhaps after my report to trading standards they may start delivering as per the agreement they make on line

Excellent food, reasonable prices with efficient service.

It's quite a while since we tried Bengal lounge having become bored with the standard and tough chicken.I would have normally gone into Darlington for a takeaway but their standards have now plummeted the depths cheap chicken boring inconsistent flavours and ingredients.So we decided to...

boring no spices this is two out of three wont be going again. curry starter bland tikka chicken dry ,micro shrimp in the prawn dish asked for king prawn

Cash only which is a bit annoying in these unprecedented times but the staff are friendly and the food is delicious.

Very good night lovely staff with great atmosphere and quality food 👌

Visiting from Wigan celebrating our 31 years Wedding anniversary, we experienced the best Indian food & service. Would definitely recommend restaurant was spotless clean, friendly & everything we ordered tasted amazing. Thank you, we will definitely visit you again 🥰

Food arrived late and stone cold. The Nan bread was still raw the chips were hard and cold. The garlic mushrooms had no garlic and were covered in nuts not good for but allergies. Would not recommend at all waste of money!!

Fantastic food and great service for both an eat in restaurant and a take away

Had a meal there for 5 people @19:00 on Saturday evening and the place was almost empty. The food was OK, nothing special though just OK. Note they accept cash only! One young couple who arrived for dinner without booking had to drive to a...

Perfect place to stop for dinner if staying nearby.

Partner loves his curries from here.

Amazing Indian food, some of the best I’ve tried. We regularly come here and it never disappoints. Lovely staff. Would recommend booking as it’s quite small.

Service very good very polite and friendly,food great quality, I'm a lover of Indian food and this is best in county Durham

Enjoyed a plentiful meal just the right amount of spice. Carparking around the back of the restaurant doesn't look inviting, but worth the walk round to the front which overlooks onto a green.

Clean modern decor, nice food, polite and friendly staff

Visited here from south shields and hope to return soon ( very nice )