Caraway in Redbridge

I visited this restaurant after almost 8 years, expecting the same great experience as before, but unfortunately, I was left very disappointed. We ordered: • Seekh kebab (1/5): Overly salty and tasted like frozen kebabs rather than fresh ones. • Chilli paneer (5/5): The only starter we truly enjoyed. • Butter chicken (3/5): Lacked flavor compared to butter chicken I’ve had elsewhere; definitely not worth the price. • Biryani (1/5): A complete letdown. It lacked flavor and authenticity. Previously, it was served in a hot clay pot, piping hot and flavorful. This time, it came in a small, open bowl, wasn’t hot, had too many raw onions, and didn’t taste like biryani at all. Overall, the food was bland and uninspiring. The chilli paneer was the only saving grace, but spending over £40 on a meal where more than half went uneaten felt like a waste. I had been raving about this place to my husband, but he barely ate anything because the food was so disappointing—and I felt the same. The service has also deteriorated significantly. The waitstaff seemed slow and uninterested, which added to the frustration. To make things worse, they’ve opened a mithai shop at the front of the restaurant, which ruins the atmosphere and makes the dining space feel cramped. Would I return? Unfortunately, no. With better-tasting food available nearby for the same price (or less), this place is no longer worth visiting. It’s sad to see how much the quality of food and service has declined compared to what it used to be. I can’t recommend this restaurant to anyone anymore.

We recently visited Caraway Gants Hill for my mum’s 60th birthday, expecting a memorable experience from a restaurant we once enjoyed. We had been there over six years ago, and back then, Caraway had a well-earned reputation for excellent food and attentive service. Unfortunately, this visit was a complete disaster from start to finish. The evening started with painfully slow service, and our food arrived at completely different times, making it impossible to enjoy a meal together as a family. Several of us ordered dosa, which came out cold and without the sambal daal it was supposed to have. My mum, the guest of honor, was served last, which felt careless and disappointing on such an important occasion. Earlier in the night, a waiter spilled a drink on my young nephew. Instead of taking responsibility, the manager on duty—Salek—tried to shift the blame onto my nephew. Salek, who seemed inexperienced and overwhelmed, struggled to manage the team effectively, leading to repeated mistakes. Drinks were made incorrectly several times and had to be sent back, and it was clear that the staff was poorly organized and unable to meet basic service standards. The worst part was that my husband ended up with food poisoning from our meal, which is unacceptable. We will be taking this further with health and safety authorities. Although the restaurant offered a 20% discount, it was insufficient to make up for the ruined celebration and the health risk we faced. Caraway Gants Hill has clearly declined in quality and no longer lives up to its past reputation. What used to be a reliable choice for excellent food and service is now a place we will avoid, and we cannot recommend it to anyone who values quality, professionalism, or even basic food safety. Our family left feeling let down, frustrated, and genuinely concerned.

Incompetent staff, Avoid at all cost

Popular restaurant in Gants Hill which is always busy with the local people. Ample seating with the restaurant good for birthday celebrations and events. Staff polite and friendly. The food is of a good standard, adequate portions sizes. Best to get multiple dishes. Parking within the area is limited, good access to public transport immediately outside.

Absolutely terrible. Disorganised, unprofessional and lackluster all round. Haven't been here for several years. It used to be great. Do not recommend and strongly suggest anyone avoids this hideous excuse for a restaurant. The best part of the night was leaving.

Biryani veered too much to the rice side of the rice/meat ratio. Have had better... and for a lot less in terms of cost. Had to ask three times about the drinks I ordered at the same time as the food. When they did finally arrive, which was just as we were getting to the end of the main courses, the milkshake reminded me of mildly flavoured milk rather than a decent shake. First and last visit.

We had an event at caraways and they did a really great job! Krish was very responsive and helpful in making our event exactly what we wanted. Food and service was very good and everyone said they had a nice time.

We were a group of 2 families with a mix of veg and non veg preferences. Starters: we ordered a number of veg and non veg starters, all very well done. Our favorite was veg Manchurian, mirchi paneer and chicken lollipop Drinks: we ordered non alcoholic drinks for the kids and run for the adults. No complains, we were provided with a separate glass of ice for the drinks Main course: again a mix of veg and non veg; dal caraway, paneer kadhai, laal maas (non veg) were amazing. Special shout out to laal maas which is a Rajasthani dish and very well made. We loved the food, service and the overall ambience. Would highly recommend, probably the best Indian cuisine in the area; and yeah we have tried a number of them in the 6 mile radius. Thank you

I came here about 4 years ago and was lovely. Sadly our return trip was not good. Food was very disappointing and overpriced. On my walk to the bathroom, I thought the place could do with a good clean. Everything looked grubby.

Was at a birthday party at this venue and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. The Indian food was as good as it gets. I have eaten here before and the high standard is consistent. I was with Asian friends on each occasion and it is safe to assume that Indian people would be reliable connoisseurs of Indian food. You will certainly not be disappointed if you eat here. It is genuine Indian cuisine.

One of the best Indian food you can find in London. Have loads of variety for vegetarian as well. Staff is very generous and respectful. Highly recommend.

Had a brilliant meal with excellent service Will be back soon

Today I visited the restaurant with my friends. We absolutely loved the food. But we did not like the service. It was pathetic. Kitchen supposed to closed at 3 pm but we have been told it was at 2 pm.

ordered biryani not worth for money. Waste of money

Really disappointing meal . Ive been going to this restaurant for the last 15 years . Today the food quality was at its worst. We literally had a spoonful of each curry - I would say it was inedible. I kept asking if it was new management or new chef . I even asked the manager if he was new - he said no he’ not new - i said i’ve never seen him before- he said he’s been there for 3 months. Sorry but I won’t be returning.

This was our first time at Caraway and the food was absolutely stunning so we will definitely be back again.

Beautiful mixed grill, amazing curries

Delicious food, will order again

Went there for a family meal during the 50% off promotion. Excellent food and great atmosphere... Their milkshakes are a must have.. The Kurkuri Bhindi and the Chilli Paneer were out of the world.. For the mains, the noodles and the paneer were top-notch.. Overall, my experience was as good as it could be.. I will definitely come again and I recommend it as well.

I went in there the restaurant was completely empty only 2 tables of customers I had 3 people and a baby and the waiter reckon there’s only one table available were there’s no room for me to park my baby buggy and the waiter started getting rude saying it’s this table or nothing

Caraway is always a safe option for good Indian food. The food is tasty and always consistent! I love the fabulous paintings inside the restaurant. I loved the Peshwari Naan and Chicken starter.

Excellent service, mouthwatering dishes,,the food here is just next level! Best Indian restaurant to go to!

Don’t want to give a single star to food bcz of worse experience small portion of starter and and karahi chiken was also not good this my visit and and last visit too

Regular visitor to this place.food is delicious, service is good and within budget

The service was good enough however the food has changed in taste to what I remember it to be. Even tho we had requested for a couple of our dishes to be spicy it wasn’t the case. Over all experience was ok. Would I come back anytime soon? Maybe not there’s Sahara grill across the road better spot in my opinion

I recently had a birthday dinner in the private room. It was nothing short of exceptional. The manager Ramesh, Ravi, and the rest of the staff did a fantastic job. The atmosphere of the restaurant, the service during the event and the food were 10/10. All my guests were very impressed with how well the staff catered to their needs, making the experience very pleasant. I would certainly recommend a visit to Caraway, and looking forward to my next visit!

I ordered petis pois, but didn;t get them

Food was not satisfied with the value you paid, and it was very expensive .plus cold It could be either change of ownership or Lack of staff. Would I recommend!

Worst food no spice no salt I got a bad stomach after eating there too small portions don’t waste your money on it

Very nice experience with caraway last weekend one of the best place in the area on duty staff was very nice heartly welcomed by RAJSHEKHAR PARMAR

absolutely horrible. are you sure your lamb is LAMB ? i very much doubt it, nothing fresh about any of the food we ordered. all i could see in the curries was peppers and onions, it was like find the meat in the curry competition !!!! all the food was terrible from starters to mains. how can you serve food like this. i was very sceptical in the first place as walking to it we see many restaurants full and very busy. this had 2 customers in other tables only. but it was late so decided to try it. not recommended at all. it’s very dark and dingy inside. toilets filthy and smelly. obviously we won’t be EVER going in there again.

Tasted amazing especially the chicken

I went during a Tuesday evening place was relatively empty and super peaceful the staff were super friendly and accommodating. The food was amazing I mainly had the non veg but some of my family who had the veg version said it was really good.

little spilled in bag due to overfill of container

Got referred to come here by a friend and got to say the food was delicious, as well as the customer service, will definitely be coming again

Went for dinner with my friend last Friday evening, the food was absolutely great and the service was exceptional. I would definitely recommend Caraway.

Very delicious food, professional staff, cozy environment. Highly recommended for couples and families.

We had my mums 85 birthday and the service was terrible and the excuse was we have 2 parties to deal with. The food was cold and not cooked it was sent back, the food was not even freshly cooked. That same night we had food poisoning if your thinking of have a party here forget it because your evening will be ruined. I will not be going back to Caraways again and I would not recommend it to anyone.

Food was out of the world, plenty of veg options. Highly recommend the mirchi paneer, alu papdi and dal caraway. Service was quick, and I loved the hospitality as we left. Felt like a 5 star restaurant

**Disappointing Experience** My recent visits to Caraway Restaurant have left me deeply disappointed and frustrated. As a lifelong vegetarian, I entrusted the restaurant with providing a satisfying meal, yet both experiences fell far short of expectations. On my first visit, the main course failed to impress, but I decided to give it another chance. Unfortunately, my second visit proved to be even worse. Despite ordering Kadhai Paneer, a vegetarian dish, I was served Chicken Kadhai instead. This mistake is not just a culinary oversight but a blatant disregard for food preferences and religious beliefs. To receive a non-vegetarian dish when specifically ordering a vegetarian one is unacceptable and disrespectful. It not only ruined the meal but also undermined my trust in the restaurant. Such negligence is inexcusable and has left a lasting negative impact on my experience and perception of Caraway. I cannot in good conscience recommend Caraway Restaurant to fellow vegetarians or anyone who values accurate orders and respects religious choices.

I love this place. Service was top notch, only a little slow but as expected for Saturday night. The drinks range is vast, they serve a range of cocktails and mocktails. The starters were tasty and i particularly recommend the noodles, kurkuri bhindi and chicken lollipop. Mains were also good, although we were very full from starters, Raan Boti was the best. We didnt have room for dessert, but the menu looked appealing.

Ridiculously expensive food, zero taste, worst portion size. The food is not even fresh

Went after many months , this restaurant has lost its quality, the food was really bad and we pretty much tried everything veg platter, non-veg platter , main dishes .. nothing worked. Lost a good restaurant. Skip it

Didn’t like the food and overpriced. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant. I don’t refer this restaurant to anyone. Disappointed

Really great foodie heaven, great service, super friendly staff, what more do ya need

Caraway is an old favourite of mine, and I used to come here frequently when I lived near by. In the area again and noticed they now do thali at lunchtime, which I love, so had to try. For those not familiar, you get a selection of little dishes of different things, with rice, nann, popadom and some fresh veg plus a dessert. I got the veg thali and my partner got the meat one. They were both delicious especially the dal. Really enjoyed the spinach paneer and my other veg dish too. The nann was so soft and tasty, all the elements on the thali were good and overall it’s one of the more premium thalis I have eaten. Worth coming back for! Our all time favourite dish here is Raan Ki Khurchan which we call ‘lamb lovers’ because of the description. If you have not tried it before we highly recommend.

Had an amazing time at Caraway for a family function, food was amazing - had a variety of veg starters/mains and ordered seconds and thirds it was so good. Staff on hand did a fabulous job with great service going the extra mile with requests. Will definitely come back and recommend to others. Parking was bit of a pain but not much they could do about that.

Quality of food very poor. We were on table 7. Mixed grilled was cold and chewy. Vegetarian kofta dish was tasteless no spice and full of sugar. Tandoori roti was burnt. Meat in lamb kadai were of poor quality. I have been to caraway many times in past but not anymore. Absolute shambles. Waiters trained to ask about food but not trained to take it positively regardless of good or bad feedback. Don’t even deserve 1 star.

The food selection is good (for vegetarians), but I didn't enjoy the taste of any of the starters that I ordered. Out of about five different starters, three had the same taste with only slight modifications, and in the samosa chat, they just added chole and samosas. In the avocado chaat, however, I'll suggest the one that has a unique flavor. I had to go locate the manager and ask him to show me the way to the table because there was no one to show me the way when I arrived at the restaurant. The woodwork, furnishings, and cozy lighting are all excellent.

The starters are nice, but the mains were all very bland.

Awful service from miserable staff. REALLY small portions(especially those starters) kebabs tasted microwaved. Over priced food for not great quality. Paneer was a joke (so stingy) chicken was slightly tough and the lamb possibly could have been mutton??? Just felt like a rip off and it ruined our evening. Don't bother going there....opt a little furtout where they have better reviews.

Having visited Caraway after many years, I was extremely disappointed. Clearly there has been a change of ownership and also a change in the quality of the food they serve. When we walked in, we were surprised to find the restaurant next to empty. Which, in previous times would have been unheard of on Friday evening. We were greeted with a less than warm welcome and ushered to our table. When the food arrived the Mirchi Murgh was warm, at best. Like it had been left to cool down for a while. My kids ordered noodles, which we requested not to have any spice but, was made extremely spicy. In all fairness the restaurant did remake the noodles. At this point however my kids had filled themselves up with papadoms. I requested the Mirchi Murgh to be taken off the bill and not to be sent back to the table. The service overall was sloppy to say the least and not what you’d expect from a quality eatery, especially when perhaps the restaurant was only 5%ish occupied. Safe to say we won’t be visiting any time soon and would you to stay clear too. There are far better establishments within a mile radius.

My best place especially the staff is very friendly ☺️

Had a great night at the Caraway for a colleagues retirement. They laid on a self-service buffet in a private room and allowed us to run our own music and couldn't do enough for us. Brilliant evening with fantastic food that I would happily go back for again. It was absolutely flavour over heat, which was great for those of us with more delicate palates.

forgotten half my food again - clearly incapable of running deliveries

Always enjoy Caraway. The staff are great and the food is lovely

Caraway is a good Indian restaurant. The dining room is spacious and stylish (and the Loos are modern and clean). The menu offers a wide choice of dishes and the food is delicious. Highly recommended.

5 stars service. We have now booked this venus 3 times for staff parties and we've had a wonderful time every time. The restaurant manager is very professional and easy to communicate with. The food is delicious and specific dietary requirements were catered for. The service is spot on and everyone has had a great time at The Caraway. Thank you

Caraway is an Indian resturant with many options to choose from. While the interiors of the place are quite well done, the ambience of the place is quite dull. Service is quite poor as well with usually 1/2 waiters only during lunch time. Food is quite good and would recommend trying kadhai chicken and rogan josh.

Food was good however the atmosphere and customer care in the restaurant was lacking. A simple smile and welcoming could be worked upon.

Lovely atmosphere and delicious food 😋

Not a good place , the service of food is very slow . Taste was okay . They also charged us for more drinks which we didn’t took and when we called back to confront them . Manager told that you can visit next time we don’t remember it now .

Nice food great decoration, always buzzing . We visited this place on Mother's Day . We waited for the table for a while . But as soon as we sat , everything went very smoothly . Our waiter Fayzal was very energetic , very good knowledge of menu and well recommendation about drinks that I enjoyed with curry .service has improved a lot since last visit .

I don’t know why the rating is not better for this restaurant. Our experience was excellent. We were delighted with the amazing service we received and the food was very tasty. One downside was the spice level, we asked for very spicy but it was mild at best. The drinks were good as well. Good selection of dishes, including starters and mains as well. I recommend to visit this place at least once.

having been to this place for years I have to say the service has really gone down hill. Need better staff and faster service with food and drinks. Understaffed.

Can I have invoice for my last order please. I believe I entered the details for my previous card when ordering and I got charged on my other card.

Perfect place for gathering with friends and family

We visited this outlet today for lunch, In a nutshell it was a meal of the worst kind. The service was non-existent, the waitress was serving two large tables, making the drinks in the bar whilst the manager walked about with no care whatsoever. The staff was carrying glass racks in the restaurant around us trying to lay the tables. the rack was filthy and a great put off. The food, well the starters we ordered (Caraway grill platter) could be best defined as food from a microwave. The entire meat was surely heated in a microwave.. was warn on the outside and COLD inside, nothing that a freshly made grill would be. the prawn was repulsive in taste, overcooked and cold. Horrid quality of service with food to go with it. The Lamb Rarra gosht.. was more salt than meat.. again it was clearly heated in a microwave as we saw it being done from our table. The dal was probably a portion for a child and again had a sour taste. The only saving grace were the drinks in part, the part which was bottled like the coke. The pina colada was 1 par drink and 3 parts froth of some sort. I would highly recommend to a local takeaway than this overpriced place. This place and its management needs to raise its game.. Poor

Time of delivery changed 3 times every time it got close to predicted time. All food was cold and some still frozen! Can’t believe waited so long and items missing!

It’s was amazing food. I really happy for service and everything.

Sometime weekend order comes late But Indian food is nice....

Cosy, good service can hear yourself talk not overly noisy.

Food was very nice. Considering it was Extremely busy, the food quality was very good.

Good food , good location good service.👍🏼

Hello do I get a receipt or invoice ? Thank you.

Great food but such slow service

Normally a good restaurant so ordered food and they sent us rotten smelly chicken biryani we are so upset no one deserves this kind of food so irresponsible staff called they arranged a refund as they know it’s their fault .please if u couldn’t maintain hygiene and standards don’t sell food to customers as their is health risk involved.Never again going here .

Food 10/10 Ambience 8/10 Service 2/10 Positives: Food is finger licking good, chole tikki to dal makhni taste is just amazing Ambience: Good ambience, dim lights and wood work and paintings all add a good touch to ambience Service: clueless, I booked my table in advance, no one to attend when you enter restaurant i had to practically barge in the restaurant search a server and ask him to call someone to provide me table. So one asked me if you have a booking or not just gave me a random table No one comes to take order till you put ur hands up call someone to take ur order I little mishap in bill as well which was rectified and corrected later So service needs a huge improvement. Rightaway. Becz their food is good, real good.

I saw a recommendation on Instagram and wanted to try this place so we traveled from Essex. We weren't disappointed with the food. Loved the dishes. We're vegetarian so we ordered the avocado bhel, chili mushroom, shahi Malai kofta, bhindi, hakka noodles, butter & cheese naans. Slightly on the spicier side but I love spicy so loved it after being surprised by the hit! The cocktails weren't great so had to send it back and was ok the second time around. Service though was very very slow however the benefit of doubt is that we visited on Saturday night after the fireworks for 5th Nov. Priced right as well. Ambience is good. Could lower the music sound though. Would definitely visit again.

We recently dined at this restaurant, and the experience was truly delightful. We ordered chicken tikka, malai kofta, bhindi, and naan, and every dish was delicious. I highly recommend this place to everyone. What made our visit even more special was the generous gesture from the owner, who surprised us with complimentary jalebi. Their kindness added a sweet touch to an already wonderful evening. This restaurant is a must-visit!

Beautiful caraway, great area where we sat. Peaceful, quite and staff are friendly. the menu is varied and not expensive and is a great gateway into indian cuisine !

Hellos!!! Wonderful hospitality and service fromTeam Caraway as always, whilst we were there to celebrate my Son’s birthday!! Yum yum food, warm friendly service and they also presented us with a birthday cake to complete the celebrations!!! Thankyou Caraway Gants Hill Vinit and Archana

Believe me when I say this ain't halal

Tarka dall tasted very smoky. Could not eat.

Ordered lamb chop masala, the lamb was not even cooked and few piece was just bone no meat

Can’t believe that I got to eat amazing indian authentic food with wonderful flavours. The spice and flavour in Bhindi do pyaaza and palak paneer 😍was like I’m eating at home and like restaurant level. Pav-Bhaji felt yum, as if prepared at home and I finally got good amount of jeera in it!!!! 😌 My friends in the end tried some deserts like Gajar Halwa, Brownie and Falooda, everything was amazing. Finally I have a place where nothing let me down.

All in all, just amazing. The feeling of eating homemade perfect taste food is something that I had here. Bhindi Do Pyaza was just yummm. Pav bhaji was amazing, pav were made crispy, felt as if mum made them. I will recommend the place to anyone who really wants to have indian - authentic indian food, for someone who has recently come into UK. Trust me, you’ll keep visiting the place once you taste the food. The managers and staff were so kind and polite, they wanted everything to be perfect. They really maintain amazing customer service.

All the vegetable dishes had too much salt. This is the second time this has happened in ordering from this restaurant. Very disappointed as usually food is quite nice and tasty.

Nice Sri Lankan (Indian) food. The atmosphere was pleasant and the restaurant was clean. The staff was also very pleasant. Delicious cuisine!

Good sized party venue. Delicious food. Friendly staff. Loved the chaat and paneer items. Recommended small party venue

The food and delivery was amazing 🤩

I was an advocate for Gymkhana having the best lamb chops in the world with its blend of spices... but I was wrong! Caraway has without a doubt the spicyest and most flavorsome chops in the world, wow! The food was amazing, it tasted delicious, I love spicy heat and it delivered, they also had mild dishes so don't worry if you are someone who finds black pepper too hot, there's something for everyone. To add to that the service was great and nothing is a problem, they will customize the dish to suit you. Last note on the food... whomever is in the back cooking is doing a fantastic job! Thank you! All those who served us did it with a smile and very attentive. I recent went to an Indian restaurant in London Bridge called 'Indian Gourmet' and the service left me feeling underwhelmed, here at Caraway you feel special and like they want you to have the best experience not just to get you in and out as fast as they can. The resturant decor was very nice, my only criticism is that given the nice decor the place wasn't squeaky clean and sparkling as you would expect. Possibly as they had had a party booking and not had time to clean thoroughly but the floor throughout was sticky, also seats covered in glitter. Just a little more freshness would make it a resturant people from the other side of Lobdon or even outside of the UK would travel to eat in. All in all a great experience due to amazing food, I shall definitely be back!

If you’re looking for actual Indian food which tastes like the food we get in India - this is the place to go! Hakka noodles - 5/5 Garlic naan and Dal Makhani - 5/5 Avocado Bhel - 5/5 Karari Bhindi - 5/5 Pani Puri - 5/5

Lovely Indian restaurant. Surprisingly cheap beer.

Great ambiance, delicious food and friendly staff specially Varsha she was so helpful and nice.

You can't get any better authentic Indian food in Essex. The DAL CARAWAY bags the first prize... Oooommmmmhhhhh It's out of this world... Worth visiting Best value for money.

Always attentive when taking orders, servers have a good dialogue with the chef and clear allergen info given making family dinners out less stressful!

I have been going to Caraway for years with my family and we absolutely love the food there. The paneer is one of our family favourites! Highly recommend for a good Indian restaurant

Great food and service as always. Had punjabi chola bhaturay and malai kofta hariyali and garlic naan. Will be back soon.

Unprofessional male staff, don’t know how to behave to a customer.