Gurkha Restaurant in North Devon

Half the buffet missing, flat coke, staff were nice but still charged full price knowing full menu not available and my lad ate nothing... Will not be returning, which is a shame as heard good reviews... Food wasn't the standard Im used to, no pleasure in giving a bad review, hate to be down on small business but up your game considerably!

This restaurant is nothing but okay most people say that it’s so good and friendly staff but the food is actually so bland my family was so disappointed because we know what good Asian food tastes like and this came nothing close the toilets was so cramped up and the door couldn’t even close and there were barely any options of food and what there was tasted 🤷‍♀️

Unfortunately the reviews take us to this place .. food was so bad, poorly service and toilets was dirty I can believe this place has 4 🌟 stars

well although outside looks out dated and gives the dont go there look, i would have to say for a small all you can eat buffet it is very nice, staff very friendly. its my 6th time here and always the same service.

The food and the service is amazing, please don’t judge this book by its cover! I’ve seen alot of reviews that only mention the atmosphere but the fact is they focus on the quality of the food and the wellbeing of their customers. It’s a-bit rough around the edges because they don’t over charge you :)

This restaurant offers a variety of dishes - Chinese, Indian, Thai, Singapore, Indonesian - all self service from a buffet. The restaurant itself is run down and in desperate need of refurbishment - the ceiling is mouldy and hanging down and the whole place is really tired with old sticky tables and shaky chairs. The food is really poor - there’s not a big selection and none of it is as it should be. I’m not into bad reviews but this place is poor. I really would have been ok with it if it had been reasonably priced - for buffet for two adults and one drink each was £37. I wouldn’t recommend it sorry.

Loved it and the staff Always look after me and have done for many years

Well all I can say is if you fancy getting food poisoning this is the place to go, everyone up all night repeatedly projectile vomiting. What a lovely experience especially for my children! I hope it closes the hell down if this is the type of crap it's doin to its customers!

Visited here whilst on holiday, if you have eaten Chinese or Indian food anywhere outside of Devon you will not be impressed. The food is very bland and poor quality - the fact that locals seem to recommend to eat here makes me question the extent of Asian food they have sampled. Do not waste your time or money, maybe we are spoilt with the wealth of Asian food in the West Midlands that triumphs this in every way.

It felt like Gordon Ramsey from "kitchen nightmares" was going to walk in at any point. They only serve an all you can eat buffet which is the reason we went there. All the buffet food was hot and freshly put out, they regularly restocked it. The food was rather disappointing as it lacked flavour. The name the Gurkha implies it is Nepalese but it was more Chinese. The place mats are very tired so is the table cloths and all need replacing or removing and the place wouldn't hurt from a spruce up.

We visited this restaurant on Friday evening with our family of 7 from 5 to 50 and everyone loved the food. There was so much choice and was constantly being topped up with freash food. The staff was lovely and helpful. Would 100% recommend and will be returning

Terrible this is NOT an Indian restaurant It's a buffet style Chinese with a few dishes with a bit of curry sauce Worst restaurant iv ever been to

Awful. We ignored the bad reviews on here and just listened to the good ones and instantly regretted it apon arrival. The place looks run down and awful from the outside. The buffet was tiny and there was hardly any food there. For £15 per person we could not believe the lack of options/ food. We ended up hardly eating any of it as it was awful quality and wasn’t nice at all. My stepdad then found a thick long black hair in his food too. The chicken korma was absolutely awful and we left very disappointed. There were very minimal options for desert and the Swiss roll was still half frozen and not defrosted fully. The ceiling is brown and has damp marks all over it and the place is not well looked after. We would not return there.

Witnessed food being taken out of white plastic containers then poured into the self service dishes for customers. Reheated old food. The chicken balls looked and tasted like they'd been reheated in the microwave. Chicken korma had an odd milk taste to it, the other meat dishes were uneditable. Tinned sliced mushrooms. Chips tasted ok. But I could see the frozen bag of them in the kitchen. The kitchen looks disgusting as well as the ceiling and seated areas in disrepair. I won't be returning and certainly wouldn't recommend eating here.

I feel bad saying this but this was the worst most disgusting place with the most disgusting food I’ve ever been to. It was recommended by quite a few locals but I don’t think they have ever left ilfracombe and tasted real, or nice food or food that’s acceptable to serve. We checked out the menu outside and the selection looked great but there wasn’t barely a single thing off the menu in there. The food was honestly awful awful awful I felt sick it was so bad. Staff seemed lovely but they need to wake up. Would not recommend if you want to stay in good health. Walls and ceilings had damp/mouldy patches and the tables and seating were old and sticky and the glasses were not clean. This was my partners birthday and it ruined it.

Lovely visit, staff made us very welcome. They explained how it worked, and got us our drinks very quickly. Very good selection of food on offered, all piping hot. We will visit again.

I’m sorry to say this is one of the worst restaurants we have been to. The food was awful, it looked awful and didn’t taste much better. Half of the trays were empty. Ordered drinks they still hadn’t arrived by the time we were almost ready to go, so had to cancel the order.

We come here every time we come to Devon which is usually atleast once a month sometimes a few times a month but always make sure we come here. Lush food, friendly staff. The chefs know what me and my partner like and when they see us in the restaurant always makes sure to fill up what we eat. If they ain’t too busy they sometimes make me a special dish which they don’t serve very often which is much appreciated

You get what you pay for.... Not impressed with quality of food.

I don't generally leave poor reviews as even when food I've had isn't great its never been bad enough to warrant bad feedback. But this place. Well. 1st off the waitress on the bar was lovely. Friendly and approachable. She came and took a drink order almost immediately and explained the self serve buffet. It was a selection of Chinese and Indian. I am absolutely the most unfussy eater. And will always find something. Here it was basically the rice. The meat dishes were honestly revolting. I thought I had chicken korma but not entirely sure. It was basically chicken in double cream and really sickly to swallow. The chicken balls tasted like they were fried in really old oil. And had a taste that u could smell as u chewed. Duck.... I did go back to inspect it as I'm genuinely not convinced it was even duck. The place its self is also quite shabby looking. That part I could have ignored if the food wasn't so diabolical. I was shocked there was a large party of people that seemed satisfied food wise. I mean it's cheap. £12.99 pp I think. But it was revolting. Watery cold and tastless. Mushrooms were edible rice was fine. But none of the meat dishes were even passable. I'm shocked to see 5 star reviews. Actually gobsmacked. I'm not from the area so unsure what the competition is but I would honestly say avoid this place unless desperate and starving. Sad to write this. But it's the truth

Relaxed,no rush to get you moving Freindly staff.

Super fast service and just walked in off street. Had egg fried rice with chilli mushrooms. Very tasty food and good service.

Cant speak of food quality as we didn't stay to eat. We asked if there was plenty of vegetarian dishes and was told there was plenty, only to see a whole row and a half of meat dishes. More over the atmosphere was weirdly Hot Fuzz, must have all been locals the night we visited. Not happy ones. The waitress however, was very pleasant. We ended up in the local weatherspoons where noone coldly stared at us on arrival as if we were all outcasts.

Our Favourite place to take Family and Friends when they visit us,sea air makes them hungry!So much choice.The outside does not do it justice, the food and staff do!

A great all you can eat buffet at a reasonable price, our daughter loved all the different experiences, bit untidy outside but interior was lovely and kind people serving and clearing away efficiently, loved it.

Food was excellent. Extremely good for the balue of money. Great mix of Indian and Chinese. Staff were very friendly too. It has wheelchair access and a good sized disabled toilet. We were able to park on the street tight outside. £12.95 all you can eat for an adult. I think kids around half of that.

Love this place really great value for money and a huge selection means there's something delicious for even the fussiest eaters. It's not a 5 star building but that's just part of it's charm. Highly recommended.

Retro All You Can Eat.. Love It....

A pleasant restaurant. The food was good and for a buffet the dishes were replenished a little and often ensuring it was always fresh. The outside appearance doesn’t do the place justice but once through the door the staff were very friendly and helpful. Good value and good food.

Food was poor quality and flavourless. Building looks run down and in need of some TLC. Lady that welcomed us was nice and welcoming.

Food was decent but service was outstanding.

Once inside, got a very friendly and helpful welcome. First time here so was explained how it works and shown to our seats. Although small, there is a good choice of food, all warm and full of flavour. Good prices but could have some background music to break up the silence.

Very nice and very reasonable price

Fantastic food ,staff very nice .Great value

The prices are reasonable. The food on the buffet trolley ok. Just not warm/ hot enough. The decor refreshing bright and cheerful.

Looks very tired but. Once in the door very friendly staff, small fresh quantise of food on display regularly replenished loads of choice great value great service. Will definitely use again. So it’s 5 stars from me.

Great little restaurant - it's an "all you can eat buffet" with a great selection of Nepalese food. It's all pretty basic but the food is great and it's a great deal.for what you pay.

Had a very pleasant dinner at Gurkha. Really good spread with multiple options for starters & mains across veg & many meat options. Mainly Indian & Chinese cuisine, served by very friendly staff. Improvement areas: Salad & Chutney bar was severly under-stocked. Note: They are open on Sundays contradictory to what Google Maps says.

Very tasty food, great selection and friendly staff.

Lovely buffet food really fantastic selection x great value for money x lady on was extremely friendly and helpful x next time back in Ilfracombe would definitely come again

Had better food from Nepalese restaurants before, so quite disappointed with food quality. There was hair in one of the pakoras. Chicken items were chewy and a bit stale. The veg chowmein was the only thing palatable. Not going to visit again.

Very lovely food the staff were very kind and friendly people the food was absolutely delicious I recommend the Gurkha who visits Ilfracombe absolutely 💯 delicious 😋

Excellent Service, Excellent Food and I Would Highly Recommend Anyone To Eat Here 100% ☆☆☆☆☆

Eat all you can buffet ( mixture of food) they do Chinese , Malaysian, Indian even roast potatoes and chips, and desserts available, they have a bar I believe they also serve tea and coffee....cater for children too

Very friendly we go in every year when we visit my daughter who lives near they always make u welcome and remember you too

Took my mum here with my husband and the staff were all friendly. I would recommend maybe playing music in the background as the restaurant was very quiet. We found that a lot of the food didn't have much flavour and there wasn't that big of a selection of food for a buffet. Though I know this may be down to Ilfracome being a small place so this may be reflected in the amount of food available due to wastage. I would happily go again if these minor points were improved upon.

Great food slow service at times but definitely recommend 👌

Excellent food great choice.. thanks.

Lovely, friendly staff...food is poor

Not great, would not return. Poor quality offerings. Scruffy looking place

What a lovely and friendly place really made us welcome. Highly recommend it .food was absolutely amazing and great price

Food always good friendly staff and eat as much as you want set price meal of 10 just over each

Very tasty food. Serving mainly Indian and Chinese all you can eat. A must try

I go here 2 or 3 times a week when I'm in Ilfracombe the best restaurant in town

Please don't be put off by the exterior of this restaurant, it's a little dated in an old building, but the food and service were both really great. All you can eat buffet, the food all seemed fresh and the chef was filling up the gaps quickly and with not too much food so you know it's not sat there for hours. A good selection, the onion bhaji were so fresh and crispy, the duck with sauce and pancakes really tasty and I couldn't get enough of the lamb madras, lots of flavour. It's nice to be able to try dishes you might not otherwise order, which my daughter in particular enjoyed doing. Service was good too, very friendly waitress, you can see into the kitchen which was gleaming, and the chefs had very clean whites. Very pleasantly surprised and would happily eat there again. Really good value at £12.95 each

If I could give 0 stars I would. Don’t waste your money here there are plenty of nice restaurants around the area even Wetherspoons is better.

Great value restaurant. Eat as much as you like buffet. Large selection of Indian and Chinese dishes. Good food. Don't be put off by appearances, the decor is part of its charm! Very friendly service.

Good choice and variety of well cooked, flavourful,Asian food to suit all tastes. Helpful staff and good value for money in these increasingly expensive times. Decor could do with a revamp, following some ceiling water leakage damage. Waitress very friendly and chef's workwear and cooking immaculate .

Must go more regularly. Great food and great service!

Good value eat all you want buffet

Food was lovely, staff were polite and friendly

We go to the gurkha whenever we can! It's my favourite place to go, the people are lovely, They always ask how family and are so caring. We love the food and cannot wait to go back again!

Great food, great staff, great value

Its a great little all you can eat buffet style restaurant. With a great spread of really nice asian dishes. Definately have at least one plate of gurka curry, or alternatively the lamb madras is good both wash diwn well with a pint of cobra😉

All you can eat buffet. Was meant to be Indian but they had some Chinese dishes too. Food wasn't great but did go at the end of service.

Don't waste your health, time or money. This place is an absolute joke. Food is sub par and made me unwell. Just looking at the place I should have known with the damp patches on the walls and ceilings. Do your self a favour and go elsewhere

Superb choice of Seafood, i grab all the prawns 👍👍👍staff are Friendly and helpful, great place. 👌Love it, go try to eat more than two plates fulll🙄🙄

Very tasty food and extremely good value for money... considering you can eat til you drop! 🤪

Really good prices but the quality of the buffet was variable. Best dish was sweet chilli mushrooms, worst was chicken korma

Bit salty not enough spice Nice staff shame about the food!

Ate here during our stay at Ilfracombe as all resturants in town were booked up. Were greeted by friendly staff, food was tasty and plenty of choice.

Great Asian food place! For a buffet all you can eat place the quality of the food is tip top! Reasonably priced and the staff are very welcoming, polite and attentive. A place well worth a look if visiting or staying in Ilfracombe. Definitely recommend this place and I'll definitely be heading back when I get the chance!

We have just had the most amazing meal here and are booked to come back again next week . Thank you for such a lovely warm welcome . We took the family tonight all 6 of us and had a celebration 60th and 34th birthday dinner and yet again it was amazing food and amazing hospitality. Thank you thank you we will be back again 😃

My son chose to come here… he’s got a big appetite. So all the family went along…. Food quality was v good. £12 each for over 10s is a little pricey but everyone had their fill and enjoyed the food so I’m happy. Don’t expect a candle lit table though.

We visited for dinner as a family with 2 children (6 year old and 3 year old). We were initially put off by some of the reviews before coming and the outside looking a little run down but were pleasantly surprised. We were welcomed by friendly staff. It was an all you can eat buffet style dinner which was great for the kids (no waiting around). The food was lovely, an ice cream pudding included..very fairly priced too! Glad we gave it a try!

Lovely food and delicious beer as always

Don't waste your health, time or money. This place is an absolute joke. Food is sub par and made me unwell. Just looking at the place I should have known with the damp patches on the walls and ceilings. Do your self a favour and go elsewhere

Food not great, badly organised!

Great place for families ,good food , layed back atmosphere and friendly staff

One of my favourite places to eat

My friend and I have just stayed in Ilfracombe for a few days, from Thu 22/07 till Mon 26/07. Since it is a holiday season, and we are still in C19 times, it was difficult to find places to dine in, as many cafes were closed, due to staff isolating, and the rest of the cafes and restaurants were booked up for days and even weeks ahead. We decided to come to this place, as it was not booked up, was open every evening, and we fancied Chinese food. We booked ahead, for Sat 24/07, just to make sure we would have a table in the evening. Once we arrived, we were allocated a table and a hand written menu, with no prices against the dishes - !! - was placed in front of us. When we chose what we would be having, our waiter (? or chef - he did not introduce himself) wrote down '1' against the written name of each dish we ordered. Each of our portion of noodles with beef teriyaki [we had the same] was dished out immediately from the metal container, just like on the photo above. Both the noodles and beef were not in separate containers, as one would expect to be served in any restaurant. Noodles and beef on the side were presented to us together on a small size plate. The amount of food on the plate was just enough for a child! Both the noodles and beef were salty and overcooked. Goodness knows how long it had been since both dishes were cooked that day...Then we asked for BBQ spare ribs and were served a dry collection of 4-5 ribs, again, overcooked and salty. The food was substandard and very second-rate. On leaving we had to pay £23.90 for a very small and inadequate meal. Again, we were not presented a proper itemised bill, with prices against everything we had. I would not dream of sharing this experience – as not normally complain, - but the whole affair simply infuriated me and here I am, sharing this with you. Steer clear from this place. Frankly, I am surprised some people gave it good reviews!

I don't know what happend, we were there 2 years ago and the food was very good. That's why we came from Croyde Beach just to eat in here. But we were so disappointed with the food this time. The sea food seemed unfresh and the sweet and sour chicken was tastless. I know that's a family business and the pandemic was not easy for restaurants but it was horrible food this time and we were feeling sick all the way home yesterday.

Excellent food, brilliant value for money. Great service and very helpful Thank you for a lovely meal

Fabulous choice if foods, a shame it wasn't open last September hopefully will be this time September 2021.

We decided to visit here as the nearby take always seemed to be really busy on a rainy friday night. We were really disappointed. The place badly needs decorating,dont think it's ever been done since it opened and the polystyrene ceiling tiles look gross. Every one has water damage orange stains. The whole place looks really run down. Our first visit to the buffet found nearly every container was empty apart from a bit of sauce or gravy in the bottom. When the cook filled it with fresh food he didnt replace the container just poured the food into the remains. The set and sour chicken was squares of chicken in a bright red sauce,no peppers or pineapple as usually found in a sweet and sour. The colour was amazing but couldn't taste any flavour in it atall. The chicken karma was just lumps of chicken in a creamy sauce,no spice atall. The two of us felt nothing tasted of anything and the whole experience is not something we will repeat. Such a shame.

The food is amazing and it's a very nice atmosphere, will definitely eat here again if I'm around the area

Great tasting food with wonderful staff. Really enjoyed it.

Although the premises is a bit drab and plain, the food totally makes up for it. This is such a great place to sample the best of Asian food. The staff are friendly and helpful and the food was topped up regularly and was hot and full of taste. Money well spent if you want a great meal out.

We visited this buffet on a recent Sunday evening, very few people in at first, but the buffet was excellent and not restricted at all due to the lack of early diners. The food was cooked adjacent to the buffet and kept updated by constant attention from the Chefs. The food was prepared as neccesary and not like the 'production line' system at larger buffets. Very enjoyable meal with excellent and personal staff.

Love the foods, reasonable price

Lovely food, friendly staff, perfect

Took my brothers who were doing some work for me, tasty food, good price friendly service, help yourself buffet. Something for everyone

Not good for me or the wife nearly all the food was full of mushrooms

AMAZING FOOD,, AMAZING ATMOSPHERE..FAMILY RUN BUSINESS.. VALUE FOR MONEY BLOWS YOU AWAY..enjoy take away..or eat in.. all you can eat.. within reason lol

All you can eat buffet/hotplate ,fair price and the food was very very good.

Opened my taste buds to new flavors and fulfilling platers.

Our hotel was real close so decided to try this place out. Puja the host was extremely friendly and very funny making us feel very welcome. The food was excellent with a great variety of Chinese, Indian, Malayan, Nepalese and Thai. Having previously sampled many of these dishes we were pleased to find the food here very authentic. Good quality god in abundance at a very reasonable price. Would highly recommend this restaurant.

Read the mixed reviews but thought we'd try for ourselves. £36 later we came out hungry as all 3 of us could not find anything we liked other than the chips. Staff were friendly and it's a clean restaurant but the quality and taste of the dishes was not for us. Would not return or recommend

A warm friendly welcome at the door is as good as this place gets, from there on in it’s a steep downhill.I arrived about 8:45pm so not too late I thought as it’s open until 10:30pm. There was what seemed a wide selection of foods, Indian and Chinese, but on closer view most were on the last servings, a bit dried or thick sauces. It wasn’t really hot food either but I was hungry so gave it a go. As I was struggling to finish chewing through my first plate I heard another customer complaining, clearly a local and a regular he was saying how, “it’s very poor again tonight, no this, no that” I suspect though he will be back next week as there seems to be no competition, so they will get away with it. Decor inside was very dated, dull and a bit ‘sticky’, the ceiling tiles were absolutely grim. It would’ve been interesting to see the food hygiene rating but it wasn’t displayed.

Bland. watered down, chewy chicken, just awful food. Cold plates. Cannot understand all the good reviews?! But they do have friendly staff