Cardamom Black in Harrogate

Excellent restaurant not cheap but food lovely and decor brilliant

We had a booking of three for 4:00PM. To our shock, the building was completely closed, no one was there at all. We waited in the cold for half an hour. No message was left on the door or anything. I rang the company number from the website but there was no answer, went to voicemail. Then a man called from a unknown mobile number and then he said the chef was not coming. No apology received, he just made excuses not recognising the need to be open and to turn up for the booking.

I stumbled upon Cardamom Black after being turned away from somewhere else and I am so glad this was the case! There was a big vegan menu - quite unusual - and a lot of choice on there! I ended up with a lot of food! Also, a really good mocktail! The service was great - very friendly and chatty and made me feel most welcome. It turned out to be one of the best meals out I have had in a very long time! Delicious flavours - highly recommend to vegans and non vegans alike!

Booked a surprise birthday meal for my wife here with 25 people, and Cardamom Black didn't disappoint. Firstly, a big thank you to Jess who was in constant communication via email once the booking was made. No question was left unanswered and her responses were prompt even responding on the day of the meal when there was a slight change. We have visited before and absolutely love the food, this time was no different, all well prepared and tasty. The staff made the event special with great service, each member of the team was friendly and attentive. My wife loved the occasion and Cardamom really went all out to make her feel special. Thank you all at cardamom black!

Came here for an engagement celebration 18 of us in total, they put us up in the top right corner on 2 separate tables, it would have been much better if they put the table into a U shape. We sat down around 6, came for the order around 6.30 someone took starters someone else took mains. By 1935 food started to come out, no order at all my mains came first, drunken prawns, the alcohol just swished on my plate and wouldn't light, so it got taken back and brought back out again, where a pathetic flame was present, unfortunately this did not burn off the alcohol sufficiently and a couple of the prawns did not taste great and had a mushy consistency. My starter still hadn't appeared. My friends who ordered the sizzle plate unfortunately had no sizzle and the meat was undercooked. One person ordered the chicken bhuna which was nice but her starter never turned up at all and another ordered onion bahjis but they were frozen in the middle. We had lots of missing dishes and only one person said sorry, they really seemed like they couldn't be bothered.my starter eventually came but it looked very much like my main and tasted very similar again with one of the prawns been a strange consistency. Unfortunately we won't be returning

The food was delicious. And the staff were very polite and looked after you. Can highly recommend will definitely go again.

Went here for dinner, really nice restaurant serving delish Indian food and fabulous service, 1 star deducted as they had no bar staff to mix cocktails due to Eid. Definitely recommend.

Jamil, what a guy. Food perfect everything perfect what an experience

Jamil the waiter is apselutely amazing and he is so good

We attended the cardoman black Indian restaurant for my husbands 73 birthday last night jammelle our waiter was very attentive and gave great service the food was excellent and he made my husbands birthday special .He even got him a complimentary whiskey .I would recommend it to anyone .

Lovely atmosphere, great staff and really good food, definately recommended

10/10 food and the service from Jammy and Arif was amazing. Definitely coming back in the near future.

Amazing food amazing service, the staff were exceptional and looked after us for our anniversary.. they went above and beyond and also had a complimentary dessert to celebrate our special day. Will definitely be coming back thanks to the brothers for looking after us 🙂

Great atmosphere and good to match

Fab service and hospitality from Eman Our first visit and happy to say we will return. Food and service excellent.

Service was attentive at first but tailed off. Although all waiting staff were busy, there didn’t seem to be enough for the number of diners in on a Saturday night. The restaurant is stunning inside, and there’s a wide variety on the menu to choose from. The meal was most promising at the beginning, with delicious starters which were beautifully presented. Time taken for starters and mains to appear was just right. Sadly, just before our mains arrived, two couples (dining separately on the tables next to ours) started discussing loudly how disappointed they were with the food, called for taxis and walked out. This was not noticed/dealt with by staff. This rather ruined the atmosphere, not least because the abandoned food took a while to be cleared away. My special biryani was disappointing. Had to complain about the totally overcooked poached egg on top which was replaced (I declined to have the whole dish recooked). The dish’s ingredients were listed as king prawn, freshwater prawn, lamb, chicken and mushroom. King prawn was hidden and in the singular. Only about 4 other small prawns. Lamb was the main ingredient. The monkfish and king prawn saag was better. We were given a discount when we came to pay and the manager appeared concerned to hear about the egg.

Absolutely fabulous meal in this restaurant to celebrate a birthday. The service is excellent and the quality of the food is amazing. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff and all four of us were treated as valued customers. I would recommend the Cardamom Black very highly for a tasty and value for money meal experience.

We can't sing the praises of this wonderful discovery as high as they deserve. An elegant, modern and sophisticated decor with extremely competent , friendly and attentive staff. The food is excellent and copious. Love this place. Our new home from home.

Amazing! The food was so delicious and the service was literally perfect! Thank you Raihan for looking after us and recommending which dishes to get. The place is so unreal and we really enjoyed our time there. Will definitely be visiting again!

I absolutely love the place, I can't fault a single thing with the food, every single item is cooked to perfection with love. The set of staff are extremely welcoming and super interesting. Mainly Mo Ali, he's a friendly guy who's made me a returning customer due to his fantastic charisma and bubbly personality. The restaurant itself is absolutely beautiful and will set you back as you step in due to the beauty of the environment. 10/10 experience on all of my visits. Would highly recommend.

Fantastic food and service. We made a last minute decision to eat here, glad we did. From the moment we walked in, the waiter (Jamil) was very attentive, overseeing our every need. The food was delicious. We had various dishes and shared between us. We only had time for a main dish. Will definitely come back.

Always really good quality, good menu variety, good delivery time, though it should be as they charge for delivery regardless of order value. The only criticism is that - even for what I repeat is very good quality, they are expensive.

We had a really lovely dinner this evening. The staff were so friendly and helpful. The food was excellent and the venue was really good. We had a wonderful experience and would definitely recommend!

Waited nearly two hours, fobbed off by restaurant who then stopped answering, and it never turned up. So much for a Christmas treat for us.

I have waited over 2 hours for my food and when I tried to call the restaurant and they never answered I did get hold of them just after 2 hours and they did sort it and got it here pretty fast after they called and apologised for the food being late

Never turned up after over 2 hours waiting.

Not a great visit this time! We’ve been here many times over the years and the food and service always good. The peshwari naan was the best we’ve ever had! 4 of us this time, lamb was tough and chewy, the sizzling fish platter was on a bed of mushrooms???? and the 24hr marinated chicken was at best 24mins marinated and was tough and a watery sauce. The naan was floppy and almost wet the whole thing smacked of the kitchen not being bothered! Service confident as always but wasn’t bothered with our feedback when offered. The place is looking tired with covid stickers still about and the toilets need a serious makeover. Sad to be writing this because it’s always been great! Went to Spice Culture the following night and it was outstanding as always! Sorry Cardamom hope you can get your mojo back!

Without any doubt whatsoever, THE BEST Indian food I've ever tasted !

The food was of a very good quality. I have no complaints and would recommend them. The downside was the lateness, especially when the app told me that the food had arrive and it was a good 40 minutes before that was true.

Excellent dinner, good vegetarian and vegan options, friendly service, highly recommend.

Superb food, great place, amazing and friendly staff.

Excellent Indian restaurant. Really good food. Really friendly staff. Attentive and helpful. Raihan was especially good, helping us to choose the most interesting dishes. The food was well spiced, and the portions were just right. We were visiting Harrogate for our wedding anniversary as we do most years. We've been to loads of Indian restaurants across the country, and this is going straight into our top ten. It's housed in a really interesting building that used to be a theatre. We will definitely go to Cardamon Black again.

2 hour wait for food, chicken overcooked, which is no surprise after 2 hours. Given a free bottle of wine due to delay and then charged for it. New staff that have not got a clue, been going for over 10 years as was fab but will not be returning.

We ordered via UberEats and unfortunately the order hadn’t made it to the restaurant, as soon as the restaurant found out they contacted us, they managed to get the food to us within 15 minutes. Both the service and the food were fantastic would highly recommend.

Disappointing. Food was ok but nothing special. The sauces that came with 12 poppadoms were small. 4 of our party ordered the same dish but only 1 portion turned up. Waiters hadn't noticed. One of our party asked for boiled rice but was told they were all out. Pilau was dried and just brown. When we left it took a while to get attention to pay, even though we had coats on.

we didn't mind the delay as the guy that delivered was very polite, I work in the catering business so i am aware that problems can occur

We chose Cardamom Black as it was so close to the Theatre, so glad we did. Firstly what a gorgeous building, the decor was something else. Jamiel and his colleague were friendly but not over the top and looked after us. The food was gorgeous, my wife who only manages small portions left a clean plate. You won’t be disappointed….thanks Cardamom.

Always glorious food from here. mind you, we also eat in their restaurant.

Wow what a lovely restaurant. Great service and the waiters were so friendly. Food was beautiful. I can recommend the keralan seafood curry and peshwari nann. Wine and beer were also delicious and the decor so Beautiful.

So pleasantly surprised beautiful food best Indian in years and delivered 12 miles to where we live highlight recommended

Wonderful team, food, atmosphere, I had the Goan Fish Medley with lime and coriander rice and my friend had what she said was a beautiful visitation curry and a perfect cup of Masala tea xx not had a meal as good as this in ages xx thank you really made our friends catch up feel special x

We dined at cardamom black for my birthday on 20th October, I must say the food was absolutely amazing and the service and atmosphere was also amazing, Jamiel couldn't do enough for us and made my birthday even more special he was the best❤️ will definitely be returning thank you so much Karen xx

Fantastic experience. I went to Cardamom Black today with my Mrs and were met with fantastic customer service, especially by Jameel. Incredible friendly, fantastic food, well cooked delivered warm and on time. Complimentary food provided. Very well priced. Highly, highly recommended and will be going back for sure not just for the food but also for the incredible customer service provided by Jameel and his colleagues.

First time weve tried here tonight. We ordered a takeaway. Absolutely beautiful big lumps of chicken breast. The lads in there were great. Polite & helpful. Cant fault anything. We will be back. Well done 👍🏼

Great place and lovely, helpful, kind staff.

Very large restaurant in the heart of Harrogate. Food is above average and service wise excellent.

Great venue and service. Food a bit underwhelming!

food is gorgeous and service quick....10/10

So good, the food was amazing and the staff were patient and friendly. Expensive but worth it if you're going for a proper meal out. It was a great birthday experience. The smoked tofu on the vegan sharing starter platter was delicious.

Went to Cardamom Black twice last month. The first time the food was good, the grills & mains were tasty. Second time, the food quality really fell below than average. The staff served as the wrong food..and also gave wrong description about the mains..it was just waste of money in all honesty..

I was given chicken instead of prawn

Top class food. First time ordering and will definitely order from here in the future. Honestly some of the nicest curries we have had for a long time. Thanks

An amazing place and tasty food... Decent portions and friendly staff .. Definitely going back again 🫶🏼

If you are reading this and wondering whether to go and eat, you will not regret it! This place is amazing, lovely atmosphere and Emani and Forhot especially made us feel very welcome, service with a smile and just the best tasting food for sure! Whenever I am anywhere near Harrogate, I always call in for a meal with friends and colleagues (and I live miles away in Peterborough) I wish there was one closer so I could go more often, thank you for everything you do, keep it up!

Tandoori scallops were just out of this world! It has been many years since I have enjoyed such amazing Indian food to this level, just incredible!

Wow, an absolute gem of restaurant. Great variety of food, excellent service, exquisite vibe. Would highly recommend a visit, you will not be disappointed.

Second time we visited for a birthday meal, amazing service, food and atmosphere.

I recently dined at cardamom black restaurant and was blown away by the bold flavours of the dishes. The staff was super friendly and made the dining experience even more enjoyable. The cozy atmosphere added to the overall charm of the place. Definitely a must-visit spot for Asian cuisine lovers!

Attendented for a family birthday the food and atmosphere was amazing definitely will be back again! Was worth the journey

Had a fabulous meal last night. Staff were excellent, so friendly, welcoming and attentive. The food was excellent, absolutely delicious and the restaurant really lovely. Would highly recommend

Can not recommend Cardamom high enough, the food is just outstanding, the atmosphere is brilliant and the staff are amazing👌👍

Loved everything about this place. The restaurant looks amazing and has a really good atmosphere even though we went early evening and it wasn't full. The staff were friendly and very helpful. We didn't have to wait long at all for food or drinks. The food was really delicious, tasty and hot and looked appealing. The cocktails are definitely worth trying! The bill was very reasonable and they take cash which we always prefer to use. Would definitely recommend visiting this restaurant if you are in Harrogate

Had a family meal on Saturday night. The food and service were outstanding. Great ambience. As a vegetarian I was delighted at the large variety of food available. Speedy service and complimentary ice-cream afterwards. Great all round experience.

Great food great service. Real chips too.

It was a very nice evening, we were with a group of 15 (no-reservation) and service was nonetheless excellent. There is a wide variety of food and drinks. One of our group had some meat that was partially still raw, but that was quickly fixed. Do be aware that it is an actual indian restaurant, so the spices are present. For those with more sensitive tastebuds there are also some mild spiced options.

Popped in for 5.30 on a Monday when on a business trip. Decor is amazing. Staff genuinely friendly and attentive. Meal was one of the best I've had, full of flavour. Will visit again when next in area.

Great food but no free popodom although we did get the little dipping pots for them.

waited nearly 2 hours to be delivered Luke warm food. The driver said he got stuck in traffic. We still paid £6 for delivery and 50p for something. Spent nearly £50 on 2 main, 2 rice, 2 nans.

Expierenced an amazing meal out with my family at this establishment. My partner, little sisters, and dad were so pleased with the excellent food choices as well as the bar & waiter service. My dad, who recently passed away, loved this restaurant and was close with the senior staff. I'll be making sure to honour his favourite place in his memory. I can positively say that all members of staff were super friendly and polite and made the experience totally wonderful. I'd been a few times a few years ago but was too young to remember anything, so was unbelievably pleased that this restaurant and how it truly lived up to my expectations. It's definitely worth booking and eating in! x

Booked out for an extended family party, couldn’t have been happier. Great food, service, atmosphere and cocktails. Thoroughly recommend.

Came here for a 21st birthday meal and service was excellent form start to end. All the waiters were attentive and polite; never over bearing but always around should you need. Food came out around 15-20 minutes after ordering which was great. EXTENSIVE menu that had SO many options and even options to have your own cocktails made / personalise your curry flavours; so good! The food itself was a great portion size, piping hot and good quality ingredients- super tasty!!! We had a mixture of starters, mains, rice and sides and they were all lovely. We asked for a cake for the birthday guest which they easily accommodated and even turned down the lights and played a song which he really loved. Thanks so much guys for a special evening.

Just had a celebration meal for my birthday, what a wonderful restaurant this is !. The staff are amazing and the food is absolutely delicious. If every restaurant would offer this level of experience then the world would be a much better place. Well done Cardomon Harrogate xxxx

really tasty, arrived early. fantastic

My husband and I occasionally have dinners here, amazing service, amazing food and lovely people around. Thank you so much for good vibes.

We were well looked after. Service was very quick and there was lots of food and drink choices. Staff were personable and made our first evening out in Harrogate pleasant.

I had the pleasure of dining at this restaurant during a conference in March 2024. Situated conveniently, the restaurant offered a variety of reasonably tasty dishes. What truly elevated the experience was the friendly and enthusiastic demeanor of the staff, making it a delightful dining experience overall.

Maybe I’m not used to curry up north but the flavour was actually disgusting. My son didn’t eat anything fish was disgusting and fries black

Interesting venue, really nice food, friendly staff, fair pricing, would definitely go back if visiting Harrogate again.

Just been and had to write a review straight away. This place is phenomenal. Food is authentic, spiced beautifully, cooked and presented perfectly, service is bang on with smiles, the decor imo, is like a little indian palace. So glad we went there. The lads serving need a mention, you make the brilliant atmosphere and you work so hard. Thank you!

food consistently excellent from CB

Had a really great meal here, only reason it's not 5 stars on food is a bit of confusion when the non-veggie Bombay sliders were brought instead of veggie ones (fixed straight away with no debate though). Really friendly staff, interesting and extensive menu, good cocktails and the decor is amazing - like a sultan's palace. Not for minimalists!

Really good food. Will order again

10/10 - could not fault the delivery or food

Great meal with really varied menu. Excellent friendly staff

Delicious food and prompt service at reasonable prices.

Very happy after our dinner here! The restaurant is so beautiful and grand. All of the staff were so friendly and welcoming. The food tasted amazing. We arrived late at night hoping for a table, and even though we ended up being the last table of the night, they were absolutely amazing towards us. Highly recommend

Food was very good as usual, however the rice wasn’t delivered that we ordered and after 10 minutes of calling the restaurant I gave up as no one was answering the phone. First time using the takeaway service too so not a very good start.

Lovely place, very modern looking. Food was lovely, very tasty, naan bread is delicious. I had a chicken madras which was nice, my girlfriend had a chicken korma which was actually amazing. Price was OK. Would eat here again

Cardamom Black is sited in an impressive and expansive venue to be sure and there’s plenty of ‘bling’ here. This, plus eager staff create a good first impression, so what about the food? Whilst being fine it’s not as flamboyant as the lads running the show or the venue, which is a shame. Dishes are relatively inoffensive taste wise and lovers of authentic Indian food may come away slightly disappointed. All in all the restaurant fits nicely in Harrogate but the locals deserve more adventurous flavours.

Restaurant standard, takeaway food.

I have ordered twice from Cardamom Black and both times the food has arrived cold and with multiple items missing. The staff are argumentative rather than helpful or apologetic when asked to resolve the issue which just adds insult to injury. If ever there was an example of how not to run a business, Cardamom Black would be it. If you cannot provide the basics, i.e. good quality, hot food, backed with good customer service, you have to ask yourselves, what kind of restaurant am I running? My recommendation to anyone thinking of dining with Cardamom Black, would be, don't. There are plenty of well managed, competent eateries to spend you money with in Harrogate.

Incredibly dissatisfied with my order from Cardamom Black this evening, I placed my order at 18:39pm and my order arrived with 2 items missing and the food cold due to the order been 20 minutes late. This is the second time I have ordered from Cardamom Black and the second time I have had items missing from my order, this is not the service you expect when spending £50.00 on a takeaway for two. I contacted the resteraunt and requested a new order so that we could eat everything togeather and enjoy a warm meal. The restaurant was argument rather than apologetic and helpful, but grudgingly agreed to send our order out again. An hour and a half later we are yet to recieve our order. I would recommend anybody thinking of ordering from this establishment to avoid at all costs.

Incredibly dissatisfied with my order from Cardamom Black this evening, I placed my order at 18:39pm and my order arrived with 2 items missing and the food cold due to the order been 20 minutes late. This is the second time I have ordered from Cardamom Black and the second time I have had items missing from my order, this is not the service you expect when spending £50.00 on a takeaway for two. I contacted the restaurant and requested a new order so that we could eat everything togeather and enjoy a warm meal. The restaurant was argument rather than apologetic and helpful, but grudgingly agreed to send our order out again. An hour and a half later we are yet to recieve our order. I would recommend anybody thinking of ordering from this establishment to avoid at all costs.

It usually good from here. Picked up a takeaway that is stone cold and I ordered 4 poppadoms and got some crumbs. Really bad

Food excellent again. Fast delivery. Will continue to order from here! 😁

What a meal! Excellent. Everything was delicious. Thank you so much

Swift delivery and great food! 👍

Jut Eat app updated to delivered 25 minutes before it actually was. Restaurant was unobtainable to check on order. Called them 5 times and cut off every time. The ordering and delivery service really let down what was a fantastic meal.

Ordered the food then 50mins later it said it was out for delivery. I live 9mins away from the restaurant. 45mins later the food arrives. I knew what to expect before even opening it. Everything was cold. Not slightly warm, cold. The food itself was nice but it’s very disappointing that it was delivered stone cold.

Placed order at 18:19 and didn't receive the food until 19:55, it was stated that food would arrive at 19:10. Have ordered a few times from cardamom black and they are consistently late, caused more issues with this latest order as we had family over. Contacted restaurant via app and was told the delay was due to traffic. Which seeing as it was a Tuesday night at 7pm going from Harrogate to Pannal which takes 10mins max I struggle to believe this was the reason for a 45 min delay.