Helmsley Spice in Ryedale

Absolutely Incredible! 5 Stars I recently visited Helmsley Spice in York, and I can't recommend it enough! From the moment I stepped inside, I was greeted with warm, friendly service, making me feel right at home. The menu offers a wide variety of mouth-watering dishes, all packed with authentic flavors and fresh ingredients. Every bite was a delight — the spices were perfectly balanced, and the portion sizes were generous. The ambiance was cozy and inviting, with a relaxed atmosphere that made for an enjoyable dining experience. The staff were attentive and knowledgeable, offering great recommendations for those new to Indian cuisine. Whether you're a fan of classic dishes or looking to try something new, Helmsley Spice delivers on every front. If you're in York and craving high-quality, flavorful Indian food, this is the place to go. Will definitely be returning!

We haven’t visited Helmsley spice for about 7yrs so decided to give it a go it’ll be longer than 7yrs before we dine here again - the place in non authentic no table cloths no little tea lights nothing as you would normally get at an Indian restaurant- the place is cold and dismal looking an the tables are so close together you get the sardine in a tin feeling ! The food itself isn’t much better lamb chop starter came which was absolutely covered in partially raw onion an I think peppers I had to dig the 2 very scrawny chops out which were again covered in a thick red marinade what are they trying to hard I asked myself ? The main I ordered was meant to be mild an sweet it was so spicy I couldn’t eat it my lips were burning off an I don’t mind ‘ abit ‘ of spice it’s what Indian foods about but this was just too hot - the keema rice tasted of grease an mutton - an then the cauliflower bahji well if you like crunching on soil go ahead an order yourself one ;) oh an the little waiter should remember his smile before going to work ;)

Called in on Wednesday evening, whilst staying near Helmsley. Very friendly staff and excellent food.prices good too

Very nice food and staff. We had a takeaway whilst staying in the area. Food was perfect and would recommend

Great Indian restaurant - would definitely recommend. Really good range of options & lovely staff. I really enjoyed my vegan food - especially the rice with lychee and banana.

A group of 18 of us went. They managed it well and everyone's order came correct and hot. Impressive for such a big group at a small restaurant.

The food and service were absolutely first class.

Delightful staff, lovely food. It is an easy place to eat solo. Interesting menu, lots of choice and a friendly environment

The best naan bread I've ever had, and I be had a few naans in my time, the staff are spot on, but the food is unreal

It was OK but nothing special. I had king prawn biriani, did not seem to have the subtle flavours this dish normally has Accompanying veg curry pretty basic. Service OK but hardly welcoming.

Had a take away, and it was fantastic

We recommend this restaurant to everyone! We had not booked but there was room for us to be treated well. The food was delicious and not exactly expensive.

Visited as a group of 4. The naan is outstanding; seriously the best I’ve ever had. The curries were delicious 🤤 We couldn’t finish it all as portions were very generous and they happily provided us with takeaway boxes. The service seemed a little slow, but I think they were waiting for everyone to eat all of their poppadoms before bringing out the starters. Once the last person gave up trying to save her poppadom to eat with the starters they brought the rest out fairly quickly. 100% recommend if you’re staying in Helmsley. Be warned though it is cash only and on the night we visited, the cash machine in the village was out of order!

My friend and I visited Helmsley Spice this evening. The food and service were excellent.

Brilliant Indian restaurant. Food excellent, service excellent. We didn’t book as sometimes it’s in the moment and everywhere else was booked so we were left with Helmsley Spice as our only option. We were very glad we came across this gem by accident and will definitely be going back by choice. Also we left a wallet, but no panic they kept it safe for us. Just a note, it’s a cash only business no card payment, but the prices are very reasonable.

Lovely food my husband left his sunglasses in the restaurant. They were found and returned the next day. Fabulous!! Lovely original dishes excellent service

We had a meal in the restaurant, although there was clearly brisk business on takeaways also. The staff were friendly and incredibly efficient, considering they were quite busy. One of the best Indian meals we've had for some time. Flavoursome, just the right amount of spice and not overly rich.

Had a family take-away. Food tasty and well prepared, and ready within half an hour. Arrived to pickup and was told “cash only” so had Togo and find a cash machine to enable payment.

Couldn’t fault the food. Much better than the average Indian restaurant.

Me and some friends were staying at Studford Lodge for a few nights and decided we needed a curry so chose this place for a takeaway… I didn’t know what to expect but the food was absolutely fantastic and they cooked it to exactly how we wanted.. Thank you

Decided to try this Restaurant and was absolutely brilliant , Service and good top class food will definitely be back again Would recommend to family and friends

Nice local curry house, service isnt the best and forgot to bring us our drinks order at the start. Food was nice 😊 This place is cash only meaning that if you have no money and the only cash point in Helmsley is down which is across the road you're buggered.

Went on a Monday needing a good feed after a hard days walking in the Moors. Clearly very popular for a takeaway and the naan was absolutely outstanding. Think we probably ordered wrong, flavours a bit hit and miss with what we got. Very extensive menu. Would still recommend but probably ask the server for a recommendation on dish.

We had a great meal here, the food was so tasty, and probably the best naan I've ever had. Looking forward to visiting again when we're back in the area.

What a lovely surprise. Tasty food and plenty of it. Staff friendly and attentive.inexpensive meal,but very good quality.

Don't get a takeaway we got one tonight it was horrendous all there was totally wrong on as well..... Phoned up to complain and the number off Google say number not valid. Won't be using them again

One of the best Indian meals we,ve had for a long time the staff are very caring the food good quality and large portions, we,ll be back

Great guys, ordered the night before closing and popped over the road for a dink whilst waiting for my take away. Turned up after their official closing time which was my fault and the restaurant and kitchen was closed which I knew was my fault not being there in time if I read the opening hours etc. correctly. Made a phone call the following night and the establishment honoured my previous order considering it was was my mistake. Thank you To confirm I had the rogan josh with a plain rice and it was fantastic, real lamb, not like the "mutten dressed as lamb" from other establishments visted previously. Thank you, will be looking to dine in the restaurant in the future from the takeaway experience. Keep up the good work. Thank you Andrew

Visited Helmsley Spice last night as didn’t want to walk far in the pouring rain ( we were staying next door at The Feathers). We were not disappointed and can honestly say it’s one of the best Indian meals we have ever eaten, and we’ve had a few over the years. This place is CASH ONLY but there is a cash machine metres away so no problem there really. The place was almost empty so we got a table straight away. The menu is vast and varied and prices quite reasonable. They have sea bass on the menu as well! We didn’t have starters. Poppadoms and pickle tray was lovely. Poppadoms very crisp and light and the pickle tray was lovely ( and plentiful). The chilli sauce particularly was delicious. Mains: Lamb biryani - faultless. Huge tender pieces of lamb accompanied by a vegetable curry. Chilli chicken - again, delicious. Big chunks of marinated chicken in a flavoursome and spicy sauce. A fresh and fluffy garlic naan finished off what was a wonderful meal. With a large glass of wine and two big bottles of Cobra the bill was £56. Staff were polite and attentive. Will definitely visit again when staying in Helmsley.

Best Indian (Bangladeshi?) meal we’ve had in a long time - really friendly accommodating staff and excellent freshly-made food. Good size portions with generous amount of meat/prawns/paneer in each, and delicious sauces that were all different - not the usual generic job you usually get. Naans we’re also excellent, as was the dhal - in fact everything was top notch. The décor toilets etc might be thought of as a bit tired, but who cares when the food is THIS good…. We shall return!

Brilliant onion Bajhi delicious curry and excellent service making for a wonderful evening with my bestie will return if in the area

We visited on a Tuesday night having booked over the phone in advance. When we arrived we saw a sign saying they were only accepting cash and apologising for the inconvenience. We hadn't been told about this when booking the table. Judging by other reviews, it sounds like they never accept card, so more communication on this would be helpful. The cashpoint up the road wasn't working so we had to buy something from the Coop and get cashback. When we returned we were the only customers and for the entire time we were there, no one else came to eat in and 2 people collected take aways. We discovered by overhearing one of the take away customers that there were no naan breads due to the tandoori oven not working that day. This wasn't mentioned to us, we had to ask when ordering. The food we had was mixed, the spinach curry and sag aloo were both good, and the poppadoms came with generous amounts of tasty pickles, but the chicken balti had very dry chicken and the parathi was quite tough. Overall the food was average, but the service was quite poor. The food was quite slow, surprisingly given we were the only people there, and we had to knock on the kitchen door to pay the bill. I imagine going on a Friday or Saturday night would be a better experience, but we generally felt the service could have been more attentive.

Ignore the olde worlde decor, and enjoy the food. The service is very gracious and helpful. The naan breads were freshly made and outstanding. The main courses were superb and very plentiful - go when you are hungry, or ask for a takeout of what you can't eat, which is what we did. On the downside, it does take a while to prepare the food but, if that means it is freshly made, it is worth the wait.

Really nice food, they did miss something from the order bit quickly rectified. Had the tandoori mixed grill with naan bread. Will be going back again

Great service and lovely food. First time in a long time I have seated rather than takeaway. Not their fault but not a fan of fan heaters

Lovely food and friendly staff. The quality of the meat was really good. Just ensure to take cash as this place is cash only, there is a cash point a 2 minute walk up the road next to the coop. I had a jalfrazi that was great very spice though, the waiter did warn us it would be.

Great food. One of the best Indian restaurants I've had the pleasure of dining in. Great choice of food to satisfy everyone spicy pallet.Service was really good without being too imposing. All four of us had something different and all said how fresh the food was and how you could taste the spices rather than the usual overbearing of heat. Will definitely be back when next in the area.

Highly recommend Indian Restaurant in the North York Moors. Lovely array of dishes cooked freshly to order. They dont accept cards so make sure you take along cash. Mint sauce was bright green which was a little weird but overall meal was lovely

Ordered our food and drove to collect. Only when we went to pay were we told 'cash only' - quickly followed by directions to the ATM. Prices were high enough to cover bank fees, so can only guess why it was cash only. Small error in order was resolved quickly. Took food home and were pleasantly surprised with the dishes. King prawn puri was delicious and a good sized portion. Curries were also good sized with plenty of chicken tikka. My Phaal was actually spot on and not just a medium curry with more chilli powder! My score is reflecting the need to move to 2023 and allow debit card payments.

Really nice meal and friendly service. Would highly recommend the chefs specials. Had the sizzler which was really nice

We ordered a Takeaway as been recomended. Phoned in and we collected 30 mins later. Subllime Vegatable Rice big chunks of Potato, Onion, Green Beans. Chicken Tikka Rogan Josh tender & huge portion. Mustard Chicken again lots of Chicken & lots of mustard other half loved his dish

We had a fantastic meal here. The staff were really friendly and helpful, and the vast choice made choosing really difficult. But our choices were really good, and everything we ordered was delicious.

Great little Indian Wide choice of different dishes They appear all freshly cooked with big portions Service is a bit slow, but that’s coz they were busy Well worth going to We just walked in but we took one of the last tables, so booking may be advised Beware- cash only. It nearly caught us out!

The food here is wonderful and there are a long list of vegetarian options as well. The service is very relaxed and the restaurant always popular. I wish there was a branch in Malton!

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal as the service was great and the food was delicious. The portions are very large so don’t order too many side dishes - you will struggle to finish it. Chef’s special sauce is a welcome addition to the pickle tray.

Dirty tables, cobwebs around the restaurant, wires dangling from the walls … Food was basic and everything tasted the same. I’d certainly never had a chicken tikka that tasted like this before. And they only take cash. I wonder why?

Absolutely one of the best Indian meals we have had . Great welcome by manager , dishes recommended lived up to expectations and beyond . Fantastic place look forward to our return visit 👍😊

Lovely food, friendly staff. Cash only !

The food was beautiful here. So filling! We got a table straight away and we're served quickly. My meal were spot on!

We got a take away Indian meal here about a week ago, and it was the absolute best Indian food we have ever had! We ordered the chicken Jalfrezi and the plain naan bread and a pilau rice. The naan bread was pillowy, soft, and...

Ordered takeaway food tonight from this little gem, absolutely mind blown, food was 1000% on point! staff friendly and very courteous..... I'm a foody and have travelled the UK... and been just about everywhere, and this Indian by far beats any of the rest I've been to hands down! I suggest you ignore the pompus rats leaving any less than 5 star reviews and also those little rats moaning about cash only...I support any business that takes cash... as for the ones moaning and also the tax man, stop being jealous NON$ES! There is nothing worse than a rat supporting a cashless society! Spot on food, we both loved every bite, and next time I'm down this way, I'm going for round 2! Thank you 👍👍

I am very picky with Indian food but the meal I had at Helmsley Spice was absolutely gorgeous from the pickle tray to the main. I had the pickle tray, then the Onion Bahji and finished with Butterchicken and Special Fried Rice, cannot knock anything at all, everything was so so tasty, and service was excellent, polite and did not pester. Thank you to all for a lovely meal and evening. Will definitely be back.

Great carry out. Good size portions and very reasonably priced. Chicken saag dhall is highly recommended.

By far the best Indian me and my husband have ever had. Quality ingredients, efficient service and great value for money we will be back!

On holiday for a few days came for a curry only couple in restaurant no welcome no interaction with customers no check back had to leave table to get bill not good food àverage

The food was the BEST curry i have ever had. My mate also agreed,amazing flavours and friendly service.....Definitely worth a visit when in Helmsley.....top notch!!

Excellent service, friendly staff, authentic food, what else you need?

Our food was all delicious, they made an effort to cook one meal without garlic for someone with an allergy and the service was great.

Delicious food, very friendly service

After reading previous reviews we decided to have a takeaway rather than eat in. I can see how it would be annoying dining in and being surrounded by people wanting takeaways so am happy we made this decision. The food was outstanding. The Helmsley spice...

The menu is worrying large, never seen so many dishes listed, and the food came very quickly, but despite these warning signs, the food was all at least good, and in large portions, and the garlic naan and tarka dal were excellent. Beer was rather...

Best Indian food I have had in a long time, really tasty and the nicest naan I’ve ever eaten! Speedy and friendly service. Definitely recommend.

Amazing, highly recommend best curry house in Helmsley. Have been here a few times lately and never disappointed. Quality of food is very good and the guys are always happy to help with recommendations as well as being friendly. Service was awesome, food delicious. Great...

Delicious! Lots of variety and some dishes I’d never tried before. Lamb was perfect, melt in the mouth. Huge kudos to them for being the only place serving food until late - a real saviour at the end of a long day. As others have pointed out, they only take cash. I’d also suggest that they get some jugs for tap water for the table - having to ask for a glass of tap water every few minutes felt a bit embarrassing (turns out I can’t handle my spice as well as I thought haha!). But otherwise great!

One of the best Indian meals we have ever had! Very attentive service and lovely traditional interior. We can’t wait to go back. Thanks guys 😊

No complaints about this Asian restaurant. The decor is a bit dated but the service was good and our food had just the right amount of spice. Generous portions. The bottled beer was expensive

Went on a Monday evening and had a great meal. Very well looked after by 2 brothers. Also got some local tips from them.

Very good menu and food but be careful, it's cash only!

We ate 18.30hrs on a Monday night, the 2 waiters were kept busy with 5 tables already in, and takeaway pick ups...busy! The deco is certainly dated, and they do advertise well the fact its cash only....but the food is amazing! Two of us shared...

Wow!! Safe to say we have had our fair share of Indians over the years but this one is something special! Authentic and tasty would 100% recommend.

Introduction: Helmsley spice is known for its unique blend of spices and flavors, which tantalize the taste buds and leave a lasting impression. As a food lover, I always enjoy exploring different restaurants and trying new dishes. Recently, I had the pleasure of ordering from...

I had dinner here while staying close by. I didn't have a reservation but was welcomed and quickly shown to a table and a menu presented. The menu offered all I expected of a decent Indian restaurant and as I had things in mind on...

Food is consistently great, I did collect an order on this particular evening early on, so I can't comment on atmosphere. On this visit the colleague working seemed to wake past my daughter and a few times to talk to what looked like another colleague eating on a break??? Anyway, awesome curry

Excellent food and service. Definitely we'd go back.

Warm welcome, great service from the waiter. Pickle tray was lovely & all of our mains were delicious. We will definitely be back… fully recommend Child friendly as well

Faultless. Thank you Helmsley Spice. We ordered a huge order for a works function and Helmsley Spice were more than equipped to fulfill it. I collected the order and the gents were super helpful loading my car, they were more worried about Spillages than I was (not my car!) The food was all tasty & the meat was very good quality (no grizzly bits). I tend to find rice quite boring but this was wonderfully flavoursome. Around 150 people all gave praise to the food and many said they would now use Helmsley Spice as their take away at home.

They did not mention it was cash only when I ordered. Other reviewers have posted this as "odd". It isn't odd: we all know why businesses only accept cash. Not paying tax isn't a cheeky win, it's theft and it's theft from those least able to afford it.

Proper nice curry as good as curry gets excellent service lovely polite waiter what more can you say 👍

Great tasting food and staff are friendly, CASH ONLY.

Food was good, with a very broad menu, but dining in was a little disappointing, with fairly run -down decor and cash-only payments.

Wide range available with some interesting dishes I haven't come across before. Generally the food is good but not exceptional. The interior is dated and they seem to only take cash for payment.

Coming from Malaysia, we are very familiar with food from various cultures. And that sometimes makes us very selective about what we like and love. There was an apprehension when we saw the only Indian restaurant in Helmsley, a quaint little town in Yorkshire. By this time of the trip, we wanted an Asian meal desperately and hence the visit to Helmsley Spice. And what an experience it turned out to be. The food is cooked from scratch by an award winning chef from what we heard and he proved it very well. All the dishes were spot on. From the biriyani, to the tandoori and the various vegetable curries, each one was delectable. And to top it off, we had asked him to spice it up. The key secret word for that was 'Madras'! . They have been around for 11 years. I hope they continue for many more! Well done.!

Friendly and attentive service in cosy friendly atmosphere, traditional surroundings and clean dining area. Low beams in this old building give some character and set it apart from other Indian restaurants. Busy Friday night at 2030 with many takeaways flying out, some of which I heard had been mixed up and orders were coming back. No such problems in the restaurant as all meals came out in good time. Food is excellent. Just really nice, fresh, non too spicy (curry, peshwari nan, onion bhaji, pilau) with cold cobra in large 660ml bottles. About average on price. £40 for two curries, 2 rice, 1 nan bread, onion bhaji, 4 poppadoms and pickle tray. £20 for 2 bottles of large and 2 bottles of small cobra.

Dual menu pricing which is confusing. Given takeaway menus to order from when sat in, asked for printed menu and was told is none so ordered off the takeaway menu. Bill was heavily inflated and was told as it was sit in prices. Fair enough, can understand but when asked for a sit in menu to see and look at prices, again it was not available so the prices were just made up! Lamb surcharge was also cited for another reason of bill and menu prices not updated. £118 for 7 bottles of beer, 4 curries, 2 puppodams and pickle tray, 1 rice, 1 bread and 1 side a little steep! I have enjoyed many a good meal there in the past over years and the food is REALLY good but working in the trade myself this put me off going again as i dont like been ripped off! Cash only as the business model says it all aswell... Just print some new menus and this issue is resolved?!

My family of 5 and I thoroughly enjoyed our night. We were very well looked after and the food was excellent. They only take cash which is a little disappointing though. Highly recommended.

Only a 4 from me .. excellent food but they forgot my naan bread s !! 😜

Lots to say ... some good ... some just curious and you make your own mind up ... Staying in Helmsley and dinigs options were limited as hD done fish'n'chip thing, and other places were booked up, or serious price, or just 'Don't want to go there' by various family members... so Spice it was ... This place only takes 💸 💰 ... but there remains an ATM 30m up the road... so that's OK ... apparently no card payment is a 'temporary problem' , which local advice indicates is a permanent temporary problem ... Also menus are 'out of date' / show 'take out' and not dine in pricing ... and no priced drinks tariff made evident ... Those are the curiosities and were pre-identified through perusal of TripAdvisor reviews ( which are the usual mix of 'Brilliant!' and 'Avoid at all costs!' ... that's TA for you 🤔)... The good bits Pitched up at 19:15 and asked for table for 4 with no booking Not a problem Staff were attentive, polite, friendly and prompt with menu and taking drinks order Drinks as ordered, poppadoms provided and fresh from fryer ... crisp and tasty 😋... usual pickle mix ... 4 mains provided, with rice and nan within 15 mins ... All food well cooked and presented, and served to table with minimal fuss ... as ever, table never large enough to accommodate all dishes and drinks ... part of the joy of 'all out for a Balti'.. All food correct, very tasty and all plates cleared 😋 Towards end of meal front of house staff (3) were struggling with volume of in-house and take-out patronage ... .. but remained polite and respectfully apologetic for delay in providing bill ... Ticket was £72 for popps, 4 mains, 2 rice, nan and 4 drinks ... £18 a head which was v reasonable so happy to add 10% and round up to 4score... Ignore the iffy reviews on TA ...well worth a visit ... if we are ever back this way, we'll go again😀

My wife and I went for dinner at Helmsley Spice, very friendly staff, very helpful and the food was amazing. We were visiting Helmsley from Scotland for a few days and regularly go out for Indian food in Scotland and this was by far the freshest tastiest food we have had, fantastic. Thank you.

Take a way meal. Brilliant, freshly cooked and not expensive. Highly recommended. Stayed locally in Motorhome so ideal for takeaway.

Booked for early sitting 6-30 meal was brilliant staff so friendly Definitely recommend. Can't wait to go back

Nice Food but Be Aware! At the time of writing, the restaurant only accepts cash, although I did see someone negotiating to pay by bank transfer. Only accepts cash? How odd! Also, at the time of writing there is a lamb surcharge. This isn’t shown on menus but pointed out when ordering. Menus not reflecting the actual price? Just as odd as cash only! Food was nice though, and the portions generous, even for me, as I eat like a JCB apparently. Nice pickle tray with the Poppadoms, and the Poppadoms themselves weren’t greasy. Nor were the onion Bhajis, which unlike the other dishes ordered had a nice kick of heat. The Chana Palak (a Chef’s recommendation, I chose chicken, so no call needed to the IMF) was served together with the rice, adorned with a tomato and was very tasty. The dish was described as being medium hot, however it was on the mild side of medium in case you fancy giving it a go. Denise decided upon a chicken Balti, again, on the very mild side of medium but yummy, nevertheless. We shared a side of Aloo Gobi, which didn’t disappoint either. To sum up: Generous portions of fairly priced appetizing food the heat (chilli heat) of which is dialled down. The loss of stars is due to the unfathomable business model, cash only in the new contactless world, and the menus not being adjusted to reflect the price of lamb, makes no sense to me at least. I’d visit again though; I really enjoyed the food and service.

Excellent food excellent choice excellent service

Extremely friendly service good menu really tasty food and value for money

Be warned they only take cash. I drove 20mins to get this after putting in a phone order and didn’t take my atm card. Would be helpful if they mentioned it when you call to place the order! Food smelled lovely though.

Been here a few times and always a good curry. Everyone in our party commented on the quality of the food. It misses out of the five star as its cash only and although the staff were really helpful, they were overstretched when we were in resulting in slower than average service.

Overall, it is worth a visit, but there was a few not so good points for us. We had to wait an hour to actually start eating. Starting from 10 minutes when they forgot to give us a menu. Ordering food we were said that the recent Putin's business means their suppliers raised prices and lamb is sold at king prawn's values. The place is surrounded with the fields of lamb but ok. My husband used it as opportunity to choose king prawns, but I like the taste of lamb, so chose that. And judging how hard it was, it was born well before Putin. Don't order lamb. Order more poppadoms, because they are served with a _lot of tasty sauce. Except of the truly horrible Captain's Choice with lamb, the rest of the food was delicious. See the video I attached with sizzling plates! The first waiter, who forgot to give us the menu, quietly moved. The other guy was very smiley and served us really well, so got good tip :) Great management. We came in just before 7pm and got a table without booking. In 20minutes the restaurant was packed. I saw a few people waiting for takeaways, sitting on chairs in main hall among the eaters. They mentioned 15 people pre-booked this rather small place (by the way -mind the wooden beams!). Do book your table early. And, probably, look elsewhere if you are concerned about Covid.

Excellent meal. Good sized portion. Very Tasty

Really good for value. Huge portions and very tasty!

New years eve, fabulous food and great service.

Excellent food and service. Consistently authentic, well prepared, fresh dishes at reasonable prices. Attentive service, clean and comfortable restaurant.