Empire Indian Restaurant in Cardiff

Always excellent here. Has been for many years

1st ever visit last Friday. Was a little sceptical as its not far from a large student area, and the vibrant Roath area but was very pleasantly surprised on arrival. Staff were very friendly and helpful. The food was lovely and it was fully booked at 9:30 when we were booked for. Nice to know of somewhere good to go within easy distance of where we visited. Marked down slightly as had a very long trip to get there and not as hungry and up for eating as could have been, so didnt try the other dishes. Will go again.

We visited Saturday night as this place was highly recommended by friends and family - it didn’t disappoint! We called to book an hour before, strangely it wasn’t noted but they had tables available anyway. The service was friendly and attentive with nice touches IE holding doors open and genuine check backs. Food was delicious, flavourful and just the right amount of spice. Decor is smart and clean with a nice atmosphere. We will definitely be back soon!

Having been highly rated, Bangladeshi and an old haunt of mine in the 90’s, I thought it was time to revisit. This was previously The Balti Empire and King Balti. It was a very popular restaurant in Cardiff and I haven’t been since 1999. I ate on a Thursday evening with no prior booking. The restaurant is modern decor, servers all dressed head to toe in black and it was immaculately clean and well presented. I was fussed over by the manager and his team as it wasn’t busy at all. I ordered two poppadoms, a garlic naan and some lemon water. The poppadoms were not fresh unfortunately and were very dry. Mint sauce and mango chutney was standard. For the main dish, I tried the lamb shank jalfrezi but madras strength and pilau rice. The rice was a little disappointing if I’m honest. Almost tasteless and bland. I’ve had much better. The lamb shank was very tender and melted in your mouth. The curry was very spicy, to my liking and plentiful. I took my time so I could really enjoy and appreciate it. The texture, smell and taste was divine. I couldn’t eat my garlic naan as I was too full. I drank a whole bottle of lemon water. I waited a good ten to fifteen minutes before having a mango kulfi for desert. I left a generous tip as staff were very attentive, courteous and professional. I had very high expectations but they weren’t fully met. Maybe next time I’ll be more fortunate.

Excellent curry Have been wanting to try this restaurant for a while and it was worth the wait. Really friendly and attentive staff. Beautiful food full of delicious flavour. Highly recommended and will definitely be returning...

Best Indian in Cardiff been coming since I was younger always the best service and the most amazing food !

Consistently great food and service everytime 🤍

Definitely the best place for Indian/Bangladeshi food that I know. We've been having takeaways from here for the last 15 years. Once we find a place we like we're fiercely loyal and this is that place. Great service. Polite and friendly staff and the food is delicious 😋.

Always very good food and lovely staff.

Easily the best Indian restaurant I've ever been to,the service was top notch and the food was absolutely incredible, really can't rate this place highly enough

Perfect !! And really good quantities ! So yummy, you have to try it !!!

Empire is a great fine dining experience and the staff are great, very welcoming and accommodating. The food is of a high standard and the service is exceptional. Truly a fine dining experience without the hefty price tag. For collections they offer complimentary tea or coffee while you wait and also offer a 20% discount for take outs. Couldn’t recommend anymore 👍🏽

This is NOT an Indian restaurant for sure. This would be best classified as BENGALI street food. The Chef is Bangladeshi. We dined in.. a party of 7. We had the worst dining experience ever. Everything was wrong with the food and drinks. We ordered the butter chicken, chicken pasanda, chicken masala, dal, 4 different types of naan, popadoms, shrimps, chicken biryani, empire fried rice, white rice, veg samosa, soft drinks. The shrimps were most certainly cooked from a very old frozen batch. It was “fishy” and had no taste. The portion came with two pieces. The chicken was the worst we ever had. It smelled weird and fishy and had no taste. The naan were no naan at all. They were like normal bread that had no taste. All the dishes.. ALL.. were very sweet and had raisins in them.. which is very unlike Indian cuisines. All the dishes were tasteless as the spices used are not authentic at all. The soft drinks were all tasteless and were barely carbonated. We changed them but ended up with even worse drinks. They were basically weirdly flavoured water. As for the table hospitality, majority of Indian restaurants would have provided complimentary nibbles like papadums and its sauces.. here they are charged. Who charges papadums?! Overall, I wouldn’t recommend.

Good vegan options, friendly staff

First time having meal at this restaurant, on arrival (group of 4 adults) we were greeted and seated by very friendly staff. We had Cobra beers served from the bar and shown to our table, the table cloths, napkins and cutlery was spotless, we had a variety of curries including one that had lots of hot chillies, mushroom, pilau rice, garlic naan bread and pishwari naan bread. The waiter was lovely and patient with us when we were ordering and he was very knowledgeable about the food on the menu. We had a fabulous champagne sorbet for dessert which was complete with a type of sparkler for the birthday celebration. At no point during our visit were we pressured to rush, unlike some other restaurants that want you not to sit a while after eating your meal . We used the loos before we left too and the ladies was immaculate and spotlessly clean. We had a good time here and will definitely return.

Fantastic food and service, Possibly the best curry I have had in years, very fresh and full of flavour

I had an amazing evening with my friends, and all of us enjoyed the food. Absolutely amazing food and lovely service. The staff were extremely helpful and attentive. The place is very cozy, and the atmosphere is really good. It's a bit expensive, but for the quality of food, it's definitely worth it. This is one of the best restaurants around Albany Road. I would recommend booking early. Highly recommend this place. Would visit again!

Really nice evening at the Empire. Food was stunning and the service from Sammy and his team was brilliant. This was my first time here, very clean and inviting restaurant. I will most definitely be back. Keep up the great work guys!

In my opinion it is the Best halal food restaurant in Cardiff. It has a magnificent ambience, variety in menu and a great taste. Tried their Chicken Tikka Karahi, Paneer Jalfrazi and Fried Rice. Highly recommended 👍🏼

Booked a table for 6 @ 7.30 and our table was ready. Drinks, Starters & Main Courses All turned up on time and were delicious. I’d particularly recommend the Lamb Bhuna which came with a particularly well marinated lamb shank. The staff were extremely helpful & attentive and the manager was friendly and knowledgeable. There’s a reason The Empire is still popular after 30 years. Lots of fun and Highly recommended.

I chose this Indian for a change based on other reviews, I was happy with the choice. The food was nicely presented, plentyful, and tasty. There were a couple of small issues for me, but I admit this might not worry anyone else, as this was a personal thing.

Absolutely amazing food and lovely service from Renuk and Sami, an evening we won’t soon forget. Thanks team!

We had a fantastic evening for my sons 13th birthday Saturday night. Nothing was too much trouble and the food was outstanding. Will definitely recommend and return very soon. Thank you for a lovely evening out with family.

The staff here were wonderful! So kind and were very chatty. Food was amazing too!

The best indian I have ever had! Ingredients were so fresh and tasted absolutely amazing! Atmosphere was lovely and service was great also! Highly recommend!

Best curry in Cardiff, the Empire Balti was delicious. Will be back soon!

We came in and ordered our food and the food was good but the service we had wasn't great at all. They were hanging around waiting for us to finish out meal and started to remove plates before we had finished. We will not be going back

Great service, great food, absolutely nothing to complain about

Straight away, the waiter took the drinks order, and great to know they had stella on the menu. Poppadoms were next, and a first for me was the coconut powder instead of your normal lime pickle. The powder on a poppadom was very nice and went well with the other condiments. Onion bhaji next (4 small ) and then we had our main meals which came out in good time and they tasted extremely nice. I would highly recommend the Kalia curry. It had a nice wet sauce with chunky onions and a lovely kick to it. Keema rice, garlic naan, mushroom bhaji, and sag aloo to finish the meal off (with an extra beer, I might add). I couldn't fault the food or the atmosphere, but it was difficult to get the staffs attention at times as there was a group of 20(ish), and they spent most of the time with them. Even when we asked for the bill, we had to ask three different waiters as the others shrugged us off and walked away. However, when they did come to our table, they were friendly, helpful, and polite. I wouldn't let it put me off going again (if I'm ever back in Cardiff) as the food made up for it. Great evening, with great food and company.

Amazing food and service, especially from Saiam. 🥘

So much choice, excellent service, food is delicious. Friendly and really knowledge staff.

Lovely , selection, atmosphere and service from the team and Saian

Amazing meal, very fresh and tasty. We will definitely be returning and highly recommend. The chicken for the starter and curries was very tender. The pilau rice was gorgeous 😍

Food was tasty and service was good . Would love to visit again

Wonderful place with wonderful food and very nice waiters!

When I went here several years ago (when I was also still a meat eater) I had a delicious meal that was priced slightly higher than the average Indian food, but very nice and worth it. I went here as a veggie last week, I had 2 x sides instead of a main - both were extremely small portions and also charging almost 7 pounds each! The cauliflower in the first dish was overly hard, the second aubergine dish was very meh, and for another 7 quid I expected a lot better. Both dishes tasted like they had the same sauce and just thrown together like an afterthought and a bit of coriander on top to make it look nice. Overcharged for a disappointing meal.

Visited here with a few friends yesterday.First time for us, and certainly not the last.Food was of excellence,everything was fresh.The menu had a list of dishes we'd not heard before.Cardiffs indian gem!

A truly horrendous evening! Visited with friends, witnessed our waiter picking something from his teeth and wiping it onto his trousers. Then, when I asked him to wash his hands before he served our food he told me I was TOO FUSSY! it got me thinking, well if he's picking bits from between his teeth in full display of the customers, then what else is he picking in the kitche n. Avoid this place unless you fancy something 'extra' With your food.

great indian place, food was delicious and the service was very fast - light at the table also unreasonably fun

Last Night. Amazing service and greeting on arrival. Every course was excellent. Stunning Lamb Chops, Captain Pathilla was off the scale delicious as was Tandoori King Prawn Masala. Beautiful Naan breads. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thanks

Five star Indian dining, we have been returning for a few years. What makes us return is the high standard food and service. The food is always delicious and fresh. We always comment on the freshness of the chutney trays and poppadoms. Starters and mains are always perfect combined with attentive service.

Our first visit, absolutely 💯 fantastic. Highly recommended.

Standard curry house, with a wide range of choice. Friendly service too.

I so totally recommend this restaurant. Not only is the food divine - fit for the gods- but the staff are attentive and friendly. If I could give this restaurant 11stars, I would.

Excellent food, best curry in a long time. Pleasant staff ,good experience

Called in there late tonight on the off chance for food after a gig in the globe, very welcoming and attentive, thanks Sami ( hope I've spelt it right) for the attention and waiting on his own until we had finished eating 👍

Best Indian we have had so far. Staff were polite and the atmosphere was excellent I did take off a star as we were left at the end waiting to pay for 10 minutes after the waiter said they'll be back with the card machine

beautiful venue, the staff were very welcoming and the food was to die for. Absolutely love this place

Sam and Siam are always very helpful and accommodating, and the food is consistently first class, highly recommended👍

Recently enjoyed a lovely evening here with a friend. Friendly, attentive service, relaxed atmosphere and most important of all - delicious food!

Fast service nice food specally chicken varaval and ghee rice captain good suggetion

Excellent food with quality service

Delicious food and great service. 5* all around

I got called a super star super happy about the service, our server was lovely

Amazing hospitality displayed, fitted a group of 12 no issues, food was amazing!

Saiam and his team provided excellent service, starters mains and desserts were provided in a timely manner and tasted absolutely fantastic. I would highly recommend, one of the authentic Indian places in Cardiff. Hidden gem.

Can't visit cardiff abd not go there for a good curry. Very nice place i will definitely recommend once in Cardiff and in need of a good curry. Go they you will not be disappointed.

We came here for a birthday meal and it was amazing. The atmosphere and service, they accommodated everything we asked for and went above and beyond, by giving a complimentary ice cream with candle for the birthday girl. I had the most delicious food and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Wonderful experience, food and service was fab, I would have posted a picture of our food but I ate it all , I was starving 😋

Always enjoy my visit to the empire! booked for a birthday celebration and wasn’t disappointed with the food or service, went out of their way to recommend dishes and provide the strength of Madras to suit your individual palate, also spoilt the birthday boy 🎂 Would recommend a visit.

Visited Empire for my anniversary dinner. The atmosphere was perfect for the occasion and most certainly had a bit of a cosy feel to the place. Service could not be faulted. They were quick to get us seated, and the staff were pleasant and helpful. The food was delicious. Having had experience of a number of indian restaurants but also having been a chef in one myself many years ago, I can confidently say the food hit the spot and the portions were good too. I would definitely recommend them and come again. Thank you to the team at Empire

About 1.5 miles out from the city centre but worth it as the foos was decent and jo crowds! Good choice for vegetarians.

Thank you so much for the wonderful hospitality and delicious food. We especially liked the green souce that came with the papadoms. From the crew of Handala the Freedom Flotilla boat sailing for the Children of Gaza.

Lovely meal during a short trip to Cardiff. Honestly the best food we had all the time we were there. Fresh, well flavoured, well seasoned, hot. Great service and nice setting too. Just a shame we couldn't take the leftovers with us as we were staying in a hotel with no means of reheating.

Gorgeous and generous food here, can't fault the food at all 😜

Poor Service Experience unfortunately, the service was severely lacking. From neglecting to change the cutlery after the starters to inattentive staff, it was a disappointing experience overall. After enjoying our starters, I expected the staff to promptly replace our cutlery with clean utensils for the main course. However, to my dismay, they neglected to do so. It was disconcerting and unhygienic to continue using the same cutlery throughout the meal.. One of the staff was good.the youngest was horrible And i don't know what spices(colours)they have used ,even after washing my hands with soap,i couldnt get ride of the yellow colour Overall, due to the disappointing service experience, I would hesitate to recommend to others. It's my sincere hope that they take steps to address these issues and enhance the dining experience for their future patrons.

Delicious food and great service. Thank you.

Came for birthday, excellent and amazing service, lovely staff will definitely come again! Thank you

Just got back from a delicious meal at Empire. Can I just say first how lovely and cool it was in there on a very warm evening! The staff were really friendly, the food was delicious, and I just happened to mention it was my sisters birthday. They were very kind and brought her a lovely dessert with a big sparkler in it and sang happy birthday, she also had a lovely gift. Overall a brilliant couple of hours and we will definitely go back. 10 out of 10.

Ate there last night, great food and great service. Will definitely go back. I would highly recommend it.

The Empire Restaurant - This restaurant has received the highest rating among all Indian restaurants in Cardiff. The restaurant offers a wide variety of Indian dishes that are both delicious and authentic. The ambiance is great and the service is excellent!

The food was really nice, but the service was a little slow. It was quite busy in there. My only grievance was that the area we were sitting in was very, very noisy, and it was hard to hold a conversation.

Lovely variety of very tasty curry dishes. Very friendly service and great atmosphere. Will definitely call again.

A little gem of an Indian if your visiting Cardiff this place is a must

Saturday night so very busy but we were shown to our seat straight away.Little wait for mains but not to bad on a busy day.

First visit to this restaurant, food was delicious, staff very helpful and friendly. Will definitely be going back

Lovely Indian restaurant very varied menu

Dinning in this Indian restaurant was a pleasure. Excellent food, good service

Great place to very welcoming Great staff

The place was empty. We were sat in a dark table. The food alright

First time at The Empire Indian, won't be the last. Pleasant welcome when we arrived and taken directly to our table offered poppadoms and drink order taken immediately. The waiters were very good & attentive. We had Onion Bhajis for starters, instead of the normal 2 large Bhaji you get 4 small Bhaji presented well on a long plate with salad and a small ramekin of sauce. The Bhajis were delicious, shame there was so little sauce, larger ramekins of sauce would be an improvement. Main courses were, Chicken Jalfrezi, Rogan Josh and Lamb Bhuna with pilau rice, Garlic & Plain nanny, all were excellent, spiced perfectly and we all cleared our plates. Only reasons why The Empire didn't get 5 stars was the toilets were cold with no hot water, very small portion of sauce with the Bhajis, slow bring the bill. A Very good Indian worth a visit

We came to the Empire on 30 December to celebrate my nephew’s birthday. There is always a warm welcome, the staff are attentive, the food is fresh, and always cooked and served to a high standard. My sister was undecided on what to order, so Sami asked the chef to make an off menu curry. It ended with the restaurant providing a small cake to sing happy birthday and a gift for my nephew. We won’t go anywhere else for Indian food.

It was a really poor experience first time we came to Cardiff and looking for good Indian food but when we came for dine in it literally takes like 1:30 hours to serve our food. Literally I haven’t seen any bed service like this. And the staff is really annoying and unfriendly… I suggest if you have a whole day for your food than you should try.

Very bed service It took 1 hour to serve food on table One staff is behaving rudely

Very very very very bad experience.we got our food after 1:30 hours. Moreover they even take around 30 minutes for provide just water. Even the staff is very worst.

Service is extremely slow. Waited for almost a hour after giving order. So unsatisfying.

The food is great and highly authentic. a great atmosphere for families, 10/10 recomment. Also very affordable!

Visited restaurant with family for a birthday celebration16th december. Table of 8 Waited an inordinate amount of time for our meal. Restaurant clearly couldn't cope with demand of people in restaurant which was obviously too overbooked whilst concentrating on takeaways as well. Lack of any attentiveness to us unfortunately. We did manage to have a meal and starter at the same time and eventually got home.😒😒🙄

I came here with my family for my birthday meal and was overly impressed with the attentiveness of the waiting staff. (I’d like to take a moment to send praise to Saiam, he was an exceptional host.) The food was phenomenal! From starter to main, not one of us was sad with our dishes.

Excellent selection of dishes. Great service. Helpful staff

Service and food was excellent . Delicious meal

Excellent food and great service and friendly staff

Amazing food with friendly service. Me and my partner visited here for the first time last night and will definitely be returning. Food was very tasty, waiters friendly and efficient. We had the 2 person set course which was a great price and a great ice breaker as we wasn’t sure what to try first.

Bad service and they cheat on the bill.

The food and staff were excellent. Aslo the price.

Fantastic service! Excellent/incredible food from the moment we arrived, our waiter was brilliant, thanks saiam! #empirebeback

Very good hire cut and friendly staff

Very good quality food, they deserve their place at no1 on TA!

Food was delicious, servers were friendly and fast, food did take a little while to arrive but was well worth the wait. Garlic chicken was 10/10, fantastic

Absolutely amazing food! The staff were mega friendly and welcoming. We turned up early as well and one of the staff let us come in which was great as it was so hot outside. We weren't long waiting for our food and there were no complaints. I highly recommend and would definitely go back. I wanted to lick the plate like a cat it was so good. I didn't leave a crumb:) They even gave me a china bowl to take home as it was my birthday!