Cardamom Indian Bistro in West Berkshire

Have visited this restaurant on a number of occasions now and food and service consistently excellent. Would really recommend for food that is a little different from mainstream Indian restaurants.

The food quality here is fantastic with real flavour. Great variety and everything is presented well. Staff are very friendly, service is good and the restaurant is well priced. Would definitely recommend if you are in the area!

Got a takeaway from here once. I got a chicken korma and rice and naan bread. Hands down the best takeaway I’ve had, and at a fair price being a student was fantastic would deffo go again and recommend to friends!

Not cheap and a long way to catch up with othersToo many onions in vegetables and sauceMixed seafood dish was 2 prawns and not much elseMentioned it to owner but merely said the fish had been chopped too finelyNot likely to return

Fantastic authentic food. Amazing service. Friendly owner and staff. Nothing not to like here! Get along and treat yourself......you won't regret it 😊😊

Had an absolutely delicious starter, main course was the best I've had at anh Indian

We are local and have heard great things about the food and friendly staff decided to try it for ourselves. The owner seemed to be extremely friendly and welcoming to those he knew but I'm afraid as newbies we didn't seem to get the same treatment, despite being polite and friendly. Others were welcomed with handshakes and smiles and were ushered to the most comfortable tables. No such warm welcome for us I am sad to say. No smiles or niceties. Seems a rather short sighted approach when we might have become regulars too, given the lovely food...

Lovely restaurant with friendly staff, food was spectacular. I'm a massive critic about a Jalfrezi and they cooked it wonderfully, everything was served with care, all the food was presented well. Lovely spaced seating so not too close to the table next to you, prompt service from waiters which makes the experience much better. They dont do delivery, but you can order in advance and collect to take home. Will be visiting again in the near future!

Simply brilliant, fantastic food, great host.

I have lived in Pangbourne for the last 3 years and have tried all of the Indian takeaways. I can honestly say this is the best by far. We have eaten in on serval occasions and the staff and the manager are always friendly and polite even to the point I witnessed the manager making a staff member sit down and have something to eat while he continued to serve.The food is the best I’ve tasted in a long time and the takeaways are to the same standard.Mark

We order from here frequently as we live in Upper Basildon (we are local) the owner is always friendly and has a chat with us when we collect our dinner. We get a free drink whilst waiting if our order is not ready or it is busy

Had a fantastic meal Saturday food and service very good with some specials I’ve not seen before so a nice change

Me and my friend Dave randomly chose this location to eat last week on a funky Friday. Never though the food was going to be so good 9.2/10, I've got no words for it. I will be coming back for my little cousins 19th Birthday with Lesley.

Cardomoms was recommended to us by family friends, we had a warm welcome and the service was attentive.

I was recommend this establishment by my Wife who has had multiple takeaways from Cardamom Indian Bistro. The staff are very kind, and I was pleasantly impressed by the choice of authentic Indian curries here. Will be back soon!

Nice spacious surroundings. Pleasant vibe. Good food 👍

This is the best South Asian food for miles. The fresh taste and quality is exceptional. Highly recommend this place. We had lovely Lamb tikka and the samosas’ were so fresh. Mains were full of flavour and quality.

Dropped in for dinner on Tue 25/06 and had a biriyani as recommended by the waiter. Delicious, packed with flavour and tender lamb.

An overnight in Pangbourne while walking the Thames Path.On the recommendation of our hotel receptionist we wandered over to Cardamom.

Cardamom is not your typical curry house, it is not decorated in traditional sense and you wouldn't get the sense that it was a curry house from the outside. However, all that goes away once you sit down to eat. The curry here might be up there with some of the best curry I've tasted. The typical Indian curry menu is put to the side in this restaurant but in it's place is an authentic and flavoursome menu.

Great food and friendly service

Had a takeaway on a bank holiday, great food especially the Lamb Murg. It was quite hot though, full of chillis though it wasn’t rated as hot. I understand that the dishes are on the hot side throughout. Had to wait 45 mins for the food, 10 mins

Wow! Simply the best Indian food we have had in a long time. The menu had some really interesting and different options as well as the usual favourites and it was all cooked with individual care and attention. Can't wait to go back and can't imagine going anywhere else now!

The menu had some really interesting and different options as well as the usual favourites and it was all cooked with individual care and attention. Can thoroughly recomend the Chicken Chettinad and Railway curry while the kids favourite-go-to Korma was also excellent. Service was not the fastest but all well worth the wait. Can't wait to go back and can't imagine going anywhere else now!

A friend wanted to go out and lives in Reading, he booked to come to the Cardamom, on entering our initial impression was that it was a bit informal however we were greeted with a smile and shown to the table.

Visited on a Friday evening. We were staying in Pangbourne and chose this place as was the only one that explicitly cater for vegans (according to their website). We were not disappointed. As the food is made to order, nearly all the veggie options could be made vegan. We had a lovely rogan and dhansak, accompanied by chana masala and chapati.

Great relaxed family atmosphere. Great friendly helpful service. It was great to be able to try some traditional Bangladesh home cooking along with “our” traditional Indian food.

We went here with friends and were looking forward to a lovely evening based on previous reviews. We arrived at 7:30pm. Drinks and popadoms were on the table by 7:40pm so we were happy with how things started. Our order was taken at 8:15pm and the food didn’t arrive until 9:20pm (nearly 2 hours after we arrived). I spoke to the manager/owner at the end regarding our experience. I told him that as a group we were disappointed with how long it had taken to receive our main course and he said that ‘the locals are aware of how long it takes to receive the main course and that next time we would be aware of how long it takes to receive the food as they cook the food from scratch’ I thought this was very presuming as it’s highly unlikely that we will be returning. He asked me if I enjoyed the food and I said ‘it was fine apart from the cold rice and burnt naan bread’. To be fair to him he did offer a free shot to each of us after I had spoken to him. I’m not a huge spirit drinker and asked if I could have a beer. His response was ‘this guy is unbelievable’. I found this extremely rude and unprofessional that he made this comment in front of my wife and friends. I was hugely disappointed and certainly won’t be returning!

Great food here. Really unusual menu with some fantastic flavours - I loved trying things I'd not seen anywhere else before! I didn't come here for ages because I thought it might not be any good as they share the venue with the cafe during the day - but I wish I'd come earlier to enjoy it sooner!

The food took a long time to arrive, but there were thirteen of us so I appreciate this. The food itself was fantastic. I would definitely eat here again. The best Indian food I've eaten in years...honestly.

Amazing food, great ambience and friendly staff would definitely recommend!

In the last month I visited twice in two weeks, I am always so impressed by the quality of the food. It’s very different to other Indian restaurants I’ve visited, it has a great dining atmosphere that really adds to the whole experience. Along with the helpful and warm staff that served us. It’s definalty a place I will be visiting again, with family and even on business. Great work guys, hope to see you all soon!

This restaurant provides the best Indian food I have ever had, simple.

Poor food and treat their staff disgustingly. Tried to go out for a lovely meal and heard the manager screaming and shouting at his waitresses who were rushed off their feet and were doing their best also whilst with a smile on their face. Won’t be recommending and won’t be coming back.

The presentation of the dishes are amazing and the food even better! Fresh, tasty and delicious. Would recommend to anyone who wants to be blown away especially the vegetarian options eg. Veggie biriyani and aloo gobi

The food tasted amazing, I especially loved the prawn Curry. Everything tasted so fresh and the flavoring was beautiful.

The food was excellent, fresh ingredients and amazing service. Highly recommend the lamb and prawn dishes!

Definitely the best, with great variety!!

Just a great place to chill and have a tasty and quite meal. Would highly recommend to anyone in the area.

Excellent food and service from this restaurant, I was honestly surprised by the quality of the food, the chicken jalfrazi was creamy, well balanced and superb. I certainly will be coming back in the near future.

Always enjoy the food here at the Cardamom and Abbs the owner always tries hard to insure his staff are polite and his food is fresh and fragrant. We live locally so it’s nice to know where we go to get decent Indian food. Other ones about are pretty average in comparison. Just hope it doesn’t get too popular as I think it might loose what it has now .

Noisy due to a large and boisterous double birthday party but the staff tried hard to compensate . Good food and lots of it

Absolutely amazing food and Staff. Quick service ! Highly recommend

We decided to eat in on Wednesday 3 April - 5 in our party, only a couple of other people in. We ordered poppadoms, shared starters and some onion bhajis, the mango chicken, chiken tikka, chicken bhuna and chicken tikka marsala.

Just had our 2nd visit and what can I say, The Best Indian food we have had; we have been to Goa 15 times: and we have just loved the food at cardamom, terrific; can’t praise them enough, we will be back very soon and bring friends, fab , well done exceptional:

I went for my first visit to Cardamom last night with a friend, what a joy. I love a curry and you will not be disappointed. The Kerala Murg was exceptional, served on a lovely white long dish, it smelt wonderful. The flavours were amazing and my friend had the Dhansak which was equally as delicious. The service was superb, the owner Abbs was very friendly indeed and the young lad who served us was very nice too. I can’t wait to return and bring my husband. We will certainly be recommending you to our friends. Fantastic place and a great idea to have a cafe in the day and an Indian at night. Congratulations and thank you.

This place is amazing , hands down the best Indian meal I’ve had , from the moment this was booked to the moment we left after our meal we were treated exceptionally well , we had a vegan within our group so as soon as we had our menus, the manager (I think his name was Abbs) came over and informed our vegan guest of what meals she could have and also the chef can adapt some meals to accommodate, this was very pleasing , keep up the great work and will definitely be back very soon!!

we love coming back to CARDAMOM. Great owner, attentive staff, simple but yet delicious dishes. A bright spot in Pangbourne village.

Second visit! Fantastic! Food was great and there was plenty of it. Had the chicken Kerala Murg for the first time and I think i'll be ordering it on my next visit. Great service, great food and reasonable prices. You can't go wrong.

Such clever idea....a café by day and an amazing curry house by night....two different setups.

We tried out Cardamom after reading favourable reviews on TripAdvisor. I'm so glad we did! We probably wouldn't have gone there had we not - it was empty when we arrived and wasn't obviously an Indian restaurant as it is a cafe by day and a curry house by night.

Worth the drive out to Pangbourne Great atmosphere. Fantastic food ,very fresh,great service and well priced.

Delicious food. We took some friends to this restaurant and we were all extremely pleased. Every dish was lovely. And the service was very quick, efficient and courteous. And a nice buzzing atmosphere. From about 7pm on a Friday, the place was full. So you may need to book. Great to see this venture succeeding. A great addition to Pangbourne.

A place to enjoy excellent Indian cuisine, with flavours unlike any other curry house in or around Reading. Dishes we opted for included Nilgri lamb chops, tandoori mixed grill and Bengal Bream - all were excellent, and went down well with a pint of Cobra beer! Coupled with a relaxed atmosphere & great service...makes for a thoroughly enjoyable evening out at a lovely setting in Pangbourne.

Went for dinner with my teenage son and had a great meal. Food is really good quality, an interesting menu and friendly and efficient service.

My friend and I opted to get take out from Cardamom and the food was great! We had a few minutes to wait while the food was freshly prepared and had a drink at the bar in that time. The service from Mel was above and beyond and I would definitely recommend the restaurant.

Thursday night takeaway. Fantastically fresh and “clean”-tasting food, beautifully spiced, and a little different from the usual high street “curry”. Will definitely be back!!

at first bit confusing its cafe st Louis but also cardamon

Without a doubt, the best curry I've had in the UK. Order the tiger prawn saag- packed full of flavour and spices. Not swimming in oil and heavy like many other places I have been. Friendly service and reasonably priced. Highly recommend!

Very nice restaurant with excellent food. The menu was good, went with a group of friends and there was something for everyone. The staff were friendly and polite, and the atmosphere was great. Will definitely be coming back again.

OK, so the name is misleading as it is more obviously called Cafe St Louis........this is also the Cardamom Indian restaurant. Figure it out as it is well worth it.

Easily one of the best Indian meals I’ve ever had. The service was excellent, the food was fresh and fabulous.

First visit. Wonderful, attentive service. We were explained the menu/dishes so decided to share 4 different plates/sides.

restaurant nearly empty yet service very poor ,food expensive ,no alcohol license soft drinks price 2.95 for a small coke no ice or lemon no water offered.Plates not cleared before next course arrived,a lot to learn about peoples wants. Rice very spicey,, rest of food good, lamb chops tough.toilets not disable friendly steep step .DID NOT REALISE HALAL

We called in here last week, after hearing of the interesting "cafe by day, Indian restaurant in the evening, format. It works really well - decor is relaxing as others have said, and the service is attentive and friendly. The Tandoori Chicken was spot on - well marinaded, juicy and tender; the Kerala Murg, another chicken dish, was exceptionally good. I'm sure we'll return to try out some more of the menu options!

Cardamom is unusual as it is on the premises of a day time cafe bistro. This means the decor is light and comfortable - in my experience Indian restaurants tend to be full of dark colours and uncomfortable leather chairs.

Good food, friendly, affable, trusting (we left for an emergency without paying and they kept our food warm) staff - one of whom is qualified in chemistry. Not sniffy about a doggy bag. Will return.

Nice little cafe on the Main Street, service was excellent and so were the refreshments. I was a little sceptical as it said it was an Indian Bistro but essentially it was a simple cafe

Very tasty dishes freshly prepared. Excellent service. Has to be the best place in town. Quite a transformation from the day time coffee shop.

After a lovely take away meal from Cardamoms, we visited as a family to see if the high standard of the food was The same eating in. We were not disappointed. The menu is refreshingly different from so many standard Indian restaurants, offering some really interesting and very tasty different dishes, although there is still a reasonable selection of the old staples.

I visited with an old friend recently. We are both great fans of Indian foods.

What a delight this restaurant is. Service is impeccable, and the food is just amazing. We eat lots of Indian food and this is definitely in the top 3. Superb flavours, and very fresh. The chicken is very moist and tender. Husband had the mixed grill and enjoyed every mouthful. We are going to visit again for sure and would recommend to anyone who loves excellent tasty food.

Every dish had a unique and distinct flavour, and we felt as though every mouthful was there to be savoured. It was a delightful evening and I will definitely make sure I am in the area again, just so that I can dine at Cardamom.

Where do I start? Crisp poppadoms and generously distributed chutneys to start. My main was a butter chicken (not officially on the menu but the owner was more than happy to accommodate to my favourite dish). The chicken was tender and delicious with a perfectly steamed pilau rice to accompany it.

We decided to visit Cardamom having seen news of its opening on social media. Whilst not local to us the initial reviews suggested it would be worth the trip, We were not disappointed. Choosing from a varied and well balanced menu our meals were well presented, flavoursome without being overtly spicy and generous in portion size.

This new restaurant maintains a limited menu, compared with many, but in doing that it has ensured that the food they deliver is of the highest quality. We have had a couple of takeaways from them so far and I have tried my bechmark Chicken Madras and also one of their specialties on both occasions the curries were excellent. Only downside is that it is a little more expensive than most but you get what you pay for.

Went on a recommendation and it wasn’t wrong. Great food and service. Some food on the menu we haven’t seen anywhere else and it was worth it. Will be going back very soon, can’t recommend it enough

The best Indian meal we have had for a very late no time. Amazing food in a really nice environment. Very relaxed atmosphere and friendly service. Well worth the trip from Basingstoke and we can’t wait to go back.

Visited again last night for the second time and took friends i had recommended the restaurant to. All 3 dishes again were not only nicely presented, but excellent in terms of flavour and spices.

First visit last night. We really loved their dishes, nice to try a different style of Indian cooking. Very friendly staff...see you again Sam!

I had visited this restaurant due to a friends reccomendstion whom lives within the area. Well I cannot fault it for its fast and efficient service. The food was extremely tasteful and was served with good presentation.

A lovely change from your typical takeaway restaurant. Well presented and tasted delicious. Would recommend to anyone.

Just returned home from a great evening, lovely food, lovely staff. I’d highly reccommend to anyone looking for a welcoming, authentic place to eat in Pangbourne.

My wife and I had our first meal at Cardamom last night and the food and ambience was really good. The menu offers a different range of food to the average Indian restaurant and we can highly recommend it. Our food was delicious and the service was efficient and friendly. The restaurant has only been opened since the beginning of May and shares premises with a bistro that operates during the day, with the restaurant operating there during the evening. We will certainly be going back - try it, we don’t think that you will be disappointed.

The best ever service, with the best ever food. I will definitely be visiting again with my friends. I recommend this place to everyone.

Had a takeaway on Saturday Poppa dons was soft. Biriany didn’t have almonds and sultanas in it just rice and meat. Was £10.00 more that usual takeaway. Don’t know if he took the 20% off. If he did it would have been £20.00 more.

Went here last night and had a lovely meal, one of the best Indians for a long time. Don’t be put off by the fact it’s a cafe in the day the food is fantastic, freshly cooked and good service

Four of us went to Cardamom last night and we all really enjoyed the meal. We had two starters between us, four main meat dishes, vegetables, rice and nan and we couldn't finish it all despite big appetites! The dal was a little thin but otherwise we couldn't fault the food. Great to have an Indian restaurant in Pangbourne that serves such delicious, quality food.

Was unsure about a curry house taking over a cafe just for the evenings but tried this place last night and the food and service was great. An excellent addition to the Pangbourne eateries. Will visit again for sure.

Hi All here ....my wife and I went to last night’s “soft opening” and anyone wondering if this works it certainly does !!!! The atmosphere is refreshingly untraditional (obviously because it’s in the St Louis cafe) and that helps you to focus you on the AMAZING food which is heartily recommended !!!

Great meal and fantastic service. Easy parking over the road. Go to place for people staying in the George hotel.

I was recommend this resturant by a friend, and travelled all the way from Basingstoke to try the food here. The food is simply amazing and worth the long drive to taste. I have ordered the Vegetarian Madras, Cabbage & Kale bhaji and Saag Aloo and it was simply Devine. The menu has a lot of choice for vegetarians and vegans and the staff have catered to my needs by recommending me some good Vegetarian dishes to try. Was very impressed and would return soon!

Dined here Weds night starter and mains were beautifully presented and food was delicious. One criticism- no draft beer and a small bottle of Cobra was £4.25 - come on guys I can get a full pint at Miah’s for almost the same price. As I wish to bring a few of my colleagues next time can u sort this?

I went to order takeaway with my friends and I was impressed with the food and service they provided. One of my friend was vegetarian and allergic to few things and the staff went that extra mile to help her. The food was great and money friendly for students like us. I will defo be going there again.

We popped in without a booking for food. We have experienced this owners food in the past and it has always been fantastic. Pangbourne is very lucky to have this team serving food to the area

We dined here on Wednesday night and were very impressed with the quality of the food and the service we received.

Went on a Tuesday eve, quiet but understandable. Service abit slow but it was ok as with a friend. Young waitress took order, didn’t ask if we wanted rice or veg - then someone else came to retake the order. Food hot but chicken in my dish seemed dry, and so was my friends in his dish. Owner arrived again chatting so friendly but had the mint chocolate with the bill, and it wasn’t a proper after eight! Overall friendly service and food ok.

My husband and I go to many indian restaurants (he is vegetarian so choice is always bigger) and we were really impressed with the tasty food. Would highly recommend the tandoori mix grill, meat was cooked to perfection! Abbs and his staff are so welcoming and friendly, we will definitely be paying a visit again soon. Ps. Try the home-made ladoo, just the right level of sweetness!

We had one of the best Indian meals we have ever tasted. The Tandoori Chicken was moist and delicious. I had the Negrili Lamb Chops then the Nazacat Chicken Grilled, this restaurant has an original Tandoor Oven which makes the meat soft and moist, the spice mix was really flavoursome.

Came out with a couple of mates big into our curries. We were recommended to visit Cardamom from a friend and was well worth the travel. The staff are really welcoming and top people with a lot of knowledge and were happy to cook to my friends request which was not originally on the menu. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal, the flavours were incredible (And highly recommend the chilli naan!!) We will be back and highly recommend to try a pudding after a few tasters! See you soon !