Deepam South Indian in Cheltenham

I’ve read a few reviews on here and I’ve realised most of the reviews in the last few months have been very poor. I just wanted to let everyone know Deepam Is now under new management since May this year , so unfortunately it's all changed . I used to be a regular before the new takeover and the food was so good and tasty and you can see reviews from over 6 months ago and older the reviews have been great. Unfortunately some people are still under the impression it is still the old management because the name still stands however it is not, there’s has a been a new management in place and after reading these recent reviews it’s such a shame to see the name being tarnished. Please have this in mind!

I would not recommend this place to anyone, not even my worst enemy! The food was absolutely terrible. The paratha tasted like it came straight out of a packet(yes they are serving packet paratha .not fresh !), and the chicken was clearly frozen, rubbery, and completely tasteless. We ordered a thali, hoping for some variety, but every single item was stale and bland.and it’s definitely frozen and re heated .The only thing we could enjoy was the tap water, and the staff’s customer service was the only redeeming quality. If you’re considering this place, save yourself the disappointment and go elsewhere! To the management: Please don’t call this a South Indian restaurant if your chef can’t make authentic South Indian dishes. The funniest (and saddest) part was that we ordered beef biriyani, beef ularthu, and chicken roast—and all the masalas tasted exactly the same! It was obvious the onions and spices weren’t cooked properly, resulting in a disgusting, flavorless mess !!

Our recent visit to Deepam Restaurant left us thoroughly unimpressed. Despite the friendly and attentive service from the waitstaff, the food itself was truly disappointing. We ordered a fish thali expecting authentic flavors, but instead received a bland, unsalted frozen tilapia fillet alongside a lackluster spread of lentil curry, aviyal, beans upperi, and rasam. How could they serve a thali without sambar? Unbelievable. The letdown continued with the beef ularthu and chicken fry—both dishes used the exact same masala, with no attempt at variation. The beef biryani was outright terrible, lacking the richness and depth we were hoping for. And to top it all off, the chicken lollipop came with only two pieces per portion, and the taste was forgettable, to say the least. It’s a shame that a place with a name like “Deepam” markets itself as authentic, yet fails to deliver anything remotely satisfying to a South Indian or Sri Lankan palate. The waitstaff was the only redeeming quality, but unfortunately, their friendliness couldn’t make up for the awful food. Save your money and your taste buds, and look elsewhere if you’re in search of genuine South Indian flavors.

No music, bad food, bad drinks. Don’t bother

Me ands some mates decided to go for a nice Indian. However, we got a disappointing experience.The atmosphere was awkward and had a weird vibe with no music and practically silence. The service was slow taking about 25 minutes to be asked what we would like to drink and a further 30 to get food. We also had to ask 3 times for some poppadoms as a starter which didnt arrive. We then said to forget about it but was then suprised a minute later with some poppadoms….. when the food arrived it was plated poorly and didnt look incredibly appealing. We all left dissatisfied and disappointed after having cold and bland food which all left us feel slightly queasy after. If you want a nice indian in Cheltenham dont go here.

Perfect little restaurant! It’s a shame it is so quiet.

Very poor customer service lack of communication lady took our order then came back 20 minutes later saying they dont have enough meat so they will give discount without asking us if we want anything else instead also she served us in cold plates food got cold easily

Very nice Indian food in town with excellent service.

Very good food and I enjoy the food..

Worst stale food here , we gave 32 pounds for nothing. The food took much time to arrive. Initially, they gave us burnt dosas and then when we asked to remake it, they gave us the dosa which tasted like hell, literally stale potato filling. I must say the standards have gone down. Kindly improve on your food quality please and do not make people sick with your stale food.I wouldn’t even give 1 star to this restaurant. Do not recommend this restaurant.

A video has been posted on Facebook this place has maggots crawling all over the floor🤢

went for a dinner experience only just to find maggots on our table!!! would give it 0 stars if i could let alone to mention it wasn’t just one it was multiple lives ones DONT EAT HERE it’s not worth the potential poison and the manager couldn’t even care to come to the front of the store to see what happened just left it to the waiter. shame to see this especially after the new revamp waste of money if you ask me when they can’t even keep it clean

Just went to Deepam’s in Cheltenham. Wow what a huge disappointment. Only got as far as getting papadums and sauce tray. They didn’t give enough plates so we took the papadums out the plate and put them on the table. Only a few mins later notice there were maggots crawling all around the place where the papadums were. Called the waiter and he says do you want to move tables. Nothing about the maggots or how they got there. The manager didn’t even come out the kitchen. Well we left and will not be returning. Plz be careful if you do choose to eat there.

We went for dinner, a team of 8 people. Let me start by the good points. The lamb ularthiyathu and chicken chettinad tasted good. I won't say the chettinad was authentic. Chicken 65 pretty average. Egg fried was okish. Nan was hopeless. Chicken biriyani was spoiled by excess amount of rose water. Didn't taste anything like a proper Biriyani. Now i want to say about their bad practice. We ordered Porotta, unfortunately we were given Frozen porotta, the brands you buy from supermarkets which is cheating. You don't get Curries or Nan from supermarkets and reheat and sell as restaurant food. Its embarrasing to reheat and sell supermarket food at restuarant price.A pack for Porotta normally cost 1.29 for 5-6 pieces and you are seeling this for two pounds. Your customers doesn't necessarily understand your practice as they may not be familiar, bu that doesn't makes this right. Disappointed.

The Thali is a great option, offering a variety of flavors. However, the service can be quite slow. I recently tried their new Sri Lankan menu, but I wasn't impressed. The sambol was lacking, and the hopper was served cold.

South Indian??? tasteless, greasy and not fresh. We used to come here before and it was OK but now it was awful, very much disappointed, we were 6 people and we left all the food in the plates. We came with friends from Kerala south India and it's a shame they call this South Indian food. We are not coming back.

Really delicious South Indian and Sri Lankan food.beautiful place for dine in and definitely going back again

Very tasty. Good portion, affordable price. Excellent services. Highly recommend the Uzhunnu Vada, Tandoori Chicken and Chicken Chettinad.

I booked a table for Sunday 12:30 over the phone but when we went there they were closed. We were told that they never open before 4pm on Sunday! It clearly shows that it opens till 2pm and then again opens at 4pm. Besides the person who took the order never mentioned about it and just said that the booking is confirmed!! I was so embarassed as I invited friends for a treat. I am not sure how good their food may be but if they don't keep promises then it is hard to support their business. I was utterly disappointed.

Deepam is one of my favourite Indians in Cheltenham. I love that they are south Indian so really offer something different to the others. The menu is extensive and inexpensive, service fast and food fantastic. I struggle to fault them.

Was really looking forward to this place but what a disappointment. Firstly, in an empty restaurant they made us sit in the corner table, where it was extremely warm. Ordered the dosa and thali with masala tea and cola, dosa was really cold as for the thali, they gave half a pappadum, the payasam was spoilt you could see the curdled milk, the chapati was thick and not cooked at all.

Customer service is great and the food is amazing.....

Updated July 2024: While the decor has had a positive makeover, it's been done to quite a cheap standard with wobbly tables and empty utensil carriers. There's clearly been a change in ownership/management. The quality of the food has dropped significantly, going from one of the best curries in Cheltenham to below average. Poppadoms seemed pre-packed, cold and thick like supermarket purchases. Curry was all oil, more oil than sauce. Naan was pretty good. Service was never the strongest point but has managed to decline too. We needed to ask for cutlery as there were only 2 spoons and a single napkin supplied on the table. There was some odd behaviour with drinks. Seeing half empty pint glasses being used to top-up fresh beers going out to tables. Hopefully these were just ones poured badly earlier. 2021: This place might not be much to look at but the food was excellent, best Indian I've had in ages 👍

Saturday 20th July, 7pm. Walk in to support new restaurant/management. The menu was confusing, however, the waitress was happy explain. Not busy, only 2 other tables of diners. We ordered starter, mains, and sides, and the food was tasty. Then the SHOCK - they presented the bill, with card reader machine, before we had finished eating, or finished our second round of drinks! Through sheer disbelief my husband tapped the card reader and paid, and we felt too uncomfortable to finish our drinks. I was stunned and asked the waitress why we were presented a bill before finishing our mains and asked if they didn't offer dessert? She LAUGHED IN MY FACE.

Really bad experience.food preparation and presentation is very bad. Taste not good. Not recommend for people, those who like food.

Worst experience ever had..The lady who serves the food was very friendly.food was below average, i would not recommend this place to any one….dont go to this restaurant if you are hungry….

Used to love this place. Went in tonight, place was very quiet. People before us left a lot of their food on the plates and when they were leaving gave me the look that food was not good. Food was realy not nice, portions super super small. Like chutney, literally 2 teaspoons in a tub. Nan bread was undercooked sprinkled with cheese that wasnt even melted. It was cold. Rice tasted old and stale. No flavour whatsoever. I am sat at home now, feeling sick. Feel like I'm gonna throw up. Absolutely never again. And do not recommend this place. I feel like we were given leftovers from other people plates, it was that bad. I never leave reviews, but I felt like I had to tonight. Would not eat their food even for free now. Awful awful awful. AVOID!

Great food and the breads were amazing. Will definitely visit again.

South Indians cook some food which they believe is Indian... It's a good place to host a party that they give all the freedom to do anything like your own place.

South Indian (Tamilnadu/Kerala style) food was quite good, the sambar was delectable and we even got an extra bowl of it complimentary!! However the Veg Biryani was a huge let down 👎 I would recommend to stick to South Indian dishes here and you are good. Service was quick and tht two ladies managed the whole restaurant by themselves... efficient!

Amazing experience! If you thought south indian kitchen will leave you hungry, think again. You should skip several meals before visiting this amazing restaurant. Everything is so tasty, you cannot restraint yourself from having all of the dishes. And price was great along with good staff. Highly recommended 5******.

As ever the food was superb and excellent service. Great choice on the menu and all cooked brilliantly. Also delicious mango lassi. Thank you

Visited last night with friends who had been before. Must admit, upon entry I had reservations but the waitress was lovely. We had Poppadoms, a range of curries, rice and naan bread. My chicken balti was different but really tasty, rice was perfect and my naan was really light and fluffy. I wouldn’t hesitate to come again.

Really good garlic chilli chicken and biryani, delicious!

Food was lovely, and staff are very nice!

This hotel serves South Indian food. The food is delicious and authentic. Try their dogs, briyani, fish moli, chicken Chettinad, munnar curry sambar, Kerala paratha, lassi and vadai. Since this is a South Indian restaurant, don't order naan or roti as they are North Indian food.

This hotel serves South Indian food. The food is delicious and authentic. Try their dogs, briyani, fish moli, chicken Chettinad, munnar curry sambar, Kerala paratha, lassi and vadai. Since this is a South Indian restaurant, don't order naan or roti as they are North Indian food.

Food was great, best Indian starter I've ever had...

Food is great but restaurant feels like a waiting area for the takeaway. No ambiance whatsoever.Staff lovely

Wonderful experience, Mr Varghese was extremely welcoming and food was quite good.

Superb food & service. Will be back soon!

We went there tonight for dinner and we're very impressed by the food and hospitality. My toddler was very hungry, the lady was kind enough to get him a popudum until the food was arriving which calmed him down instantly

Simply the best most authentic Indian food I’ve had in years in the UK. As an Indian I look for Resto’s that are authentic and take pride in making good food. Hands down one of the best ever. No watered down versions or mixed versions that are confusing.

Lovely friendly staff. We had a great meal and tried many dishes. Would have liked a little more of each dish that came though overall happily enjoyed them all.

Love this place. Really good dosas. Totally nice family team running it, very friendly and attentive. And great value. Fantastic to have an authentic South Indian eatery of such good quality in Chelt!

Good, need to improve heating facilities. All national must be treated equally same as local national. Otherwise ok. And searv with heating facilities food get chilling soon.

Really authentic south Indian food. Really loved the chana chat! Just like being in India. Nice family run business... Definitely going to order again. Highly recommended

Visited as a party if 25 to celebrate a colleague’s retirement. From the initial booking through to the meal itself, the restaurant was very easy to deal with and nothing was too much trouble. Despite us being a large group, the food was brought out in a timely and efficient way. The food quality was excellent and throughout the evening the service was efficient without being overbearing. Thank you for making the evening a great success.

Best South Indian takeaway in Cheltenham. The best Butter Chicken definitely.

Excellent value for their freshly cooked and served Thali treat. The Mrs had chicken and I had the tilapia version. It can be 15-20 wait before this is served but we’ll worth it. It may help to order in advance if one is in a hurry. And oh, there was enough on each serving for two and enough of each bit of South Indian side dishes with the obligatory rasam to clear one’s sinuses , warm the body on a cold December midday. We shared the payasam but brought one of the platters back for later. A largely understated place decor wise but you won’t be disappointed in the quality of proper South Indian food from these Kerala people who happened to have owned the original HillTop restaurant in Gloucester. Excellent hosts too. Give them a try. You won’t be disappointed.

Excellent food and quick, helpful personnel. Probably, the best Indian restaurant in Cheltenham. I recommend it!

Best place for Indian food specially the South Indian food in Cheltenham and Gloucester. Located near to Regent Arcade and it's on High Street. We ordered Ghee Masala Dosa and Vada that was delicious 😋😋 They also have takeaway available with them. Must visit place if one like Indian food.

Amazingly genuine South Indian fare, which is quite rare to find in the UK! We ate with delight and especially enjoyed their thalis!!

Good food. Nice and friendly staff. Had masala dosa, uzhunnu vada, mushroom fried rice & paneer chilly, would recommend them all.

The best biryani and masala dosa in the area. I have ordered from Deepam for years and it’s always good.

Alhamdulillah. We're informed that the food served is halal as they buy their meat and chicken supplies from halal meat supplier. We bought one mutton briyani and one chicken briyani (take away). Delicious and spicy, just the way we like it. One of the best tasted food we have eaten during our trip to the UK this week. Highly recommended. Would love to eat there again. Location is close to Citrus Hotel where we stay for the night, within walking distance (2-3 minutes).

Staff were so lovely. Food tasted yummy! Went the extra mile and food was delivered in the time that we expected.

يقدم اكل هندي لذيذ ومتنوع يستحق التجربه

Goon quantity, cordial staff, tasty dishes!!! Gulab jamun and paysham was excellent.

Helpful and curtis's staff .Food was good and fresh. Good experience.👍👍

First meals here we all enjoyed particularly the fish curry which was delicious.. combined with excellent service with a smile 😊

Good traditional South Indian cuisine with a home cooked taste, served by warm friendly staff. Highly recommended!

We've had several takeaways from Deepam. Excellent every time. They've arrived early or on time with lovely drivers. Food is delicious. Recommend the Dhosas in particular. Our favourite Indian in Cheltenham. Highly recommended.

The food was delicious . Veg Thali was authentic . Dosai was great . Shwetha great us great service and she was extremely friendly

Lovely food n arrived within 20 minutes n we ordered 1 poppadom and we got 4. Masala dosa always amazing from here

Wonderful food and staff totally recommend 👌

Authentic Indian food. Very delicious and nice service. Loved ghee masala dosa👌and payasam👌

Really nice. Came out of pub opposite and decided to come here. Very good food. 6 of us and 6 clean plates. Different tastes between us but everyone happy. Highly recommended.

I ordered a king prawn biryani and two pershwari naans. When I came to dish out the food I was one naan short - I had paid for two. I emailed the restaurant and I've had no reply. Won't be using them again, especially after the last review mentioned the hygiene rating! Meal was nothing special and the veg curry was the tiniest portion I've ever seen.

This is a fairly new arrival and I've now had two meals here - both very good with well-managed traditional cooking and spice management. Chilli paneer - Indian style cheese with pepper, oniaon and spices was really good as a starter and vegetable madras also recommended. Fish Moli and chickpea dishes also impressed. Though the decor is basic this is a very good restaurant.

If you are after a massive vindaloo after a night on the tiles this may not be the place for you. If however you want a really good quality curry which tastes fantastic with good customer service then I would highly recommend this place. My husband likes a mid to hot curry. I like medium and the children fairly mild. We got what we ordered and it was delicious. Fairly priced. You don’t have a massive plateful but rather just the right portion size with really quality meat. We are just visiting but I would visit again if we came this way

We had a great dine in experience that we visited again during our long weekend stay in Cheltenham. The staff were friendly and courteous with good service. The food was good value and tasty. The Masala Dosa was delicious as was the orange coloured chutney.

Cannot speak too highly of Deepam South Indian restaurant. Polite efficient service and the masala dosa with ghee is still a stand out light lunch. Perfect with a half of draft Cobra! The restaurant is very pleasant to be in having moved location to the high Street, near the vine pub and and the strand. These guys really need a boost having subsisted on the delivery market for the last 12 months, so please keep one of my favorites going and give it a try!

Found this place during lockdown for deliveries and we can not wait to dine in. The food is consistently top-notch, delivered real quick and all staff have been friendly and knowledgeable about their food. Highly recommend!

Two weeks ago, they got the take away order wrong so offered us a free main course when we reordered. Tonight they stated that the order would be 30 - 40 minutes. I phoned on 3 consecutive occasions to be told it was on its way, 2 hours later, still no food. Pushed for refund, but then stated we couldn't have the food. Appalling!!!!! I will never use use them again.

Just love it. The best take way in Town

Possibly the worst tasteless slop I've ever tasted, never again. Will stick to curry corner from now on.

New location at the top of the High Street. Simple decor but the food was brilliant. Great selection of starters and main dishes. The Devils Dish chicken curry did not disappoint! Really friendly staff and at £30 per head for loads of food and beer it was great value. Looking forward to a return

Recently moved to a new restaurant here having been a takeaway in a previous venue.Pretty standard menu for the most part but a few intersting bits. Masala Dosa was great, curries were well flavoured not too greasy and spot on portion sizing. Decor/ambiance all quite basic and draft beer was not great at all, advise stick to bottled. £25 per head for starter/curry/rice/bread. Pretty reasonable.

One of the best meals we’ve had in a while. Had an absolutely fantastic meal. Poppadoms, curries, naan, coconut rice and a lovely pint of Cobra - loved every bit. It’s a really nice little place with beautiful food and brilliant service. Will definitely come back again!

We had a takeaway and it was delicious - masala dosa, naan, curry - all amazing. Would HIGHLY recommend!

Massive feast..Recommended restaurant😋😋

Absolutely delicious and refreshingly different. 15 minutes late but was hot and was peak time on a Saturday night

The food was very good. The meal was 35 minutes late.

Deephams is the best and has never disappointed!

Hemos estado recibiendo comida para llevar de Deepam durante varios años y la comida siempre ha sido deliciosa. Recientemente comimos en su restaurante recién inaugurado, la comida seguía siendo perfecta: pedimos algunos de nuestros favoritos eternos, incluidos masala dosas, kadala curry, chilli paneer y biriyani, muchas opciones para vegetarianos.Servicio atento, amable y rápido también. Volveremos pronto.

Came earlier than expected but that’s fine. Nearly every dish’s was delicious - but the onion bhaji wasn’t so fab.They have changed the shape from flat to round which means the portion was smaller and they weren’t cooked enough. Apart from that....yum!!

Bland, watery sauce and tough chicken. Wouldn't recommend

Ha sido tan decepcionante haber visto 10 como el precio de una jarra de Lassi. Normalmente 6 libras o más. Ni siquiera está incluido en su menú. Nunca más. . En la última visita le pusieron un precio de 6. Nos hizo esperar una hora para la comida. Mal servicio y comida no tan buena. .

Delivery was good, driver spot on. Korma had no coconut flavour at all and was not mild, tikka masala was a darker orange than red, korma was overly spiced the masala wasn't really a masala. Starters were a mix of spicy to mild. Naans were very soggy, coconut rice was overloaded with coconut it was dry. Not the worst takeaway but not the best room for improvement. Our usual Indian is closed on Wednesdays and so tried something new shame as the promise was good, reviews seemed positive but have been found lacking on my order. Will be a while before thinking about using these guys again.

Tarka dhall was stinky and fermented, other 2 mains tasteless and bland. Bread ok. Will never order again.

Only teeny tiny downside is they forgot an item from the order and we didn’t realise until we got home - but as it was only rice we weren’t overly phased. Food was excellent as always

Food was delivered quickly, but some of the items (potato, coconut chutney) were stale and has gone off, probably because it was a hot day. Not happy at all.

Excellent! Food arrived hot and was super tasty. Will be reordering very soon

Great food and service. Especially love the chilli paneer.

These guys are the best!! The chefs are so talented and must put a lot of love into the food they make, it’s so delicious and the delivery driver even remembered me from when I ordered at my old place. If you want the best Indian food ever, go to Deepam!!

Mr. Deepam thank you thank you thank you so much for re-opening the restaurant. I been missing your food very badly. Now am o e big happy costumer. With such a delicious food. Today's food been extremely good and very very tasty. Couldn't ask for more. Thank you again. And I will see you very soon again.

Definitely my new favourite Indian takeaway in Cheltenham. The food was hot, delicious and the biryani was the best I've ever had. Will definitely be ordering again.

Best Indian we’ve had in Cheltenham!

Great authentic southern Indian food. Apologies to the delivery guy, I had no change for a tip. Would highly recommend