Indian Cottage in Portsmouth

I have lived in and near Portsmouth for many years , today was my first time eating at Indian Cottage . This is one of the best curries that I have had in Portsmouth / Southsea / Waterlooville area. Curry , full of flavour and spice with a real depth of taste. Succulent tender chicken . It was fantastic. Garlic Naan bread , delicious . A great combination of both pillowy soft and crispy in the parts where it should be. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole meal. The service was fabulous . This is a great place for a curry . I will certainly be returning .

Waiters have no idea how to speak to customers, they don't even understand the menu when asked describe a dish. More delivery drivers in and out than customers.feels like your in a takeaway, not a restaurant. Food very simple no style,table service , is rustic...such a shame as this place once had a great reputation....something has changed. If you like hearing a phone telling them they have an online order, then great...but not what I wanted during my meal. Better restaurants only a short walk away...didn't take any pics as nothing worth a photo.

I went there Saturday evening having booked earlier that day.The table wasn't laid and we waited 25 mins for drinks and menus and even linger for cuttleey. The service wasn't great. Both my son and I were up all night being sick; we had chicken. My husband had lamb and was ok. I will never go there again. I used to go there drequently before the pandemic and last qent there before last night in 2020 when one of the waiters was sick in the toilets whi h put me off. This was us giving them another chance but never again!

First back for ages,Take Away, ordered Wild Chard Grilled prawn Chef Special. Very disappointed 3.5 Prawns in a sea of sauce. The remainder of the order was ok but found it very pricey. Service was professional and friendly.

My family and friends have used the Indian Cottage for over 20 years and have had some wonderful memorable meals there. Unfortunately due to change in staff and the change in service we have not booked in the last few years. Our reason was justified last night on a rare Christmas Eve visit that was terrible. Booking was fine Howe the service was awful. The waiter spilt cake on the table that was never cleaned up. Our cutlery was dropped on the table for ourselves to pass around. The food in my opinion is below their old standards and as for the afters it looked as though the ice cream had been defrosted and refrozen at a later date. So disappointed overall at the drop in standards and we have been aware and noticed changes for the worst over the last few years. I hope things change and it returns to what it used to be. Shame if we have to start using an alternative venue. Come on Indian Cottage, step up , offer some training for your staff and make your customers feel special again. Until then we will find a different restaurant but hope for positive reviews in the very near future. Good luck.

I usually judge these Bangladeshi run curry houses based on how good their Lamb Karahi turns out. If they get this right, they get everything else right too. And their Lamb Karahi was just as I wanted. Splendid. The decor is nice and the staff care about what they do.

I have had a fair share of take outs from here, as well as a few meals in their restaurant. Food is mostly on point. Mains are reasonably priced, starters seem a little overpriced by comparison. The service is ok; at busier times, waiting times for a takeaway can go up to 1hr. But for quality of food, I cannot fault Indian Cottage.

Great spot. A hidden gem. The guys are always really nice and the food never disappoints.

Lovely food with generous portions, if a little on the pricey side for an Indian. Good atmosphere and service.

Lovely ‘authentic’ Indian restaurant with White linen napkins and real candles. Excellent food!

How dare they call themselves Indian! This restaurant is an out an out Bangladeshi run and as such has little concept of cuisines of India. It would be wonderful for clients who do not know or understand Indian cuisines and think the food here is wonderful and award this restaurant 5*s. The food was bland, tasteless and banal. No need to go into detail. We will not be visiting there again and recommend no one else should.

Lovely meal . Feel a bit rushed but no worries. Food was excellent

Best Indian restaurant in the city

We visit the Indian cottage every time we visit family in Portsmouth. The food is amazing, I've had a number of dishes from the menu and I'm always impressed and leave feeling stuffed. The atmosphere is always friendly and welcoming. The service is always top notch with the staff always courteous and attentive.

Excellent food and service but, I have to say, quite pricey. But then, you get what you pay for.

We have just waited for a meal that we were told was arriving in 35 mins. 65 mins later and now gone midnight, we have just cancelled it as it was still not even in transit.

Nice Indian restaurant located on Albert Road food was very nice but place definitely needed air conditioning as it was hot inside

We have been sitting here for over an hour and a half and are still waiting for our meal. We’ve asked twice how long it’ll be and keep getting fobbed off far too long for a half decent meal

A great place to go for a curry. The service is really excellent and the staff are very polite and friendly. All the usual dishes you would expect to see on a run of the mill Indian menu and some unique house dishes that definitely set them apart from other Indian restaurants. Pricing is very reasonable and you get plenty of good tasting food for your money. The atmosphere inside is good but some of the tables are a little close together.

Chicken was horrible. Overcooked, stringy. Awful.

It was so lovely and I would go back again xxxxxxx

Very disappointed Orderd a curry to be delivered @ 6:40 / 6:55 £29 never turned up till 7:30 and not very hot food was ok after re heating but will go els we're from now on

Always pleasant recommend booking as can very busy at times meaning that food can take a little longer to be served, but is always great tasting food.

Wne ther with family last week and a very noisy crows turned up continually swearing and none of the staff approached them Tregaron their langusge

Really nice food waiters very halpfull.lovely clean. Defiantly recommend.

very good !!!we ordered with psrtner the second time and it was delicious chicken with pistachios and tandori! we recommend it to everyone

Added a sneaky 12.5% service charge into the middle of the receipt with some name that wasn't clear so we wouldn't notice. I've checked, there's nothing on their website or menu about adding a charge. What's worse, they knew we were organising a cash tip for them but they said nothing so they ended up double tipped. When we questioned them the next day, they refused to refund. Thought tips were optional? It's not like they were cheap either. Shan't be going there again.

We came here for a dinner with my two kids. Food was delicious, children was taken account and service was good overall. Place was clean, food served quickly and complimentary popadoums brought to our table straight away. Staff was very friendly. Highly recommended!

Been here a few times in the past couple of years and the food is always good. The staff are attentive and the food comes out fairly quickly. The starters and poppadoms are delicious. The one downside is the restaurant is always too hot to the point I’m sweating by the time I’ve sat down and ordered, but otherwise a perfectly pleasant evening!

Great takeaway, but eating in is a bit hit and miss... our order came out wrong twice on the same occasion... we gave up and ate it, so won't be going back... takeaway yes.

Wonderful Goan Chicken 😍, Mixed kebab, Bhaji and pilau rice. Their best yet. Sooooo tasty, beautiful meat. Thanku. Jane, Kassassin Str.

The waiting staff were really attentive. The food was freshly cooked and delicious. Would definitely go again

Didn't even get it boxed up it was that bad, won't be back EVER. No mice but the chicken could've been mouse it was that rubbery and gamey. Absolute state, worst curry I've had in months

The food is delicious and their service is efficient. It can be a little crowded and the venue isn't ideal for those with limited mobility as the toilets are reached by a steep set of stairs. Nevertheless we had a very pleasant evening.

Me and my girlfriend have visited Indian Cottage 3 times now and have loved every visit. We have tried different curries on the menu every time and each meal was just as lovely as one another. The food always comes out very warm on a hot plate and the service is very quick. Poppadoms are also complimentary. The atmosphere and setting is also very nice and makes for a very romantic evening. Definitely recommend for anyone who loves curry.

Nice restaurant, good tasting food.

Really unfriendly throughout. We had 2 little boys and were there for a family meal. Only customers in the place. Food was average and service was rubbish. Seemed to much to ask to have a jug of water!

If you want indian cottage food go and get it as if you order online your get something from there partners.weve bin using indian cottage for 22 yrs an Trust me what we got tonight was not indian cottage disgraceful.

Best Paneer Chicken in Southsea

Awful food, arrived freezing cold, the curry was like a puddle! No taste disgusting

I don’t generally leave reviews but after this evening’s experience I thought I must = 1 poor - 5 good Service: 2 busy evening but not packed very rushed obviously trying to turn the tables and sort Just Eat orders Food: 4 I’ve had better but still nice. The starter was lovely and I’d have been happy with portions as a main was also out very quick. Main course was a little bland but it was a masala dish. Other: 1 Everything was going fine until a MOUSE decided to join us for dinner. Yes you read that correctly Mickey Mouse’s new club house is located in Southsea. Mickey was simply strolling round the restaurant. Manager didn’t seem to care and the waiter thought it was in our naan bread which was hilarious. We could have cleared the place but decided to simply inform the staff. Not so much as a thanks or a slight discount. Environmental health have been informed.

Food was enjoyable but was ruined by the terrible service. Very disorganised. I had to ask for plates to be removed after waiting 40 minutes. Wasn't asked if the meal was OK or if we wanted anything further. Had to wait 20 minutes for the bill to arrive after asking for it. Certainly won't be returning in a hurry. Improvement needed.

Such a good curry! Great flavours and perfect portions. The waiters were so attentive and sweet and I just loved the decor. I heard that they are very busy on the weekends and I'm not surprised! Highly recommended.

Me and my partner was staying local for a night and decided to give Indian cottage a try. Upon arriving we was seated very quickly but then that’s when things started to go wrong. We waited 20 minutes to get a drink order in then had to ask for a menu after sitting for 30 minutes, they took our order straight away. We waited for a long time to then be presented with a bill which wasn’t even ours as we hadn’t even eaten and then asked how long our food will be as we had been in there for approximately 2 hours. They then said the kitchen had lost our order and would do it straight away. So after we finally had our food (which is the only good thing we have to say about the restaurant that was actually good) we asked for our bill which took another 25 minutes to get at which point we was angry and not happy so asked if that would discount our bill. Our bill was close to £60 and they took £5 off. So my opinion is don’t eat there as it took over 3hrs to get 2 main courses and terrible customer services.

Very helpful staff, nice atmosphere, good food.

Trying to find some garlic in my "garlic nan" and found a hair.... Korma wasn't creamy as described. Samosa was good. Onion baji was old and tuff.

So let me start by saying that this review is in no way here to criticise the food as the food is very nice and has been for some time but….. after calling tonight to arrange a delivery (something in which I have done often from here over the years) I was dumbfounded to be to told the price over the phone. When asked to break it down for me and that it seemed to be £12 dearer than what it usually costs(£15 usually), I was told yes prices have gone up. Now I’m not a mean person and I understand price hikes as much as the next person, inflation etc but from a curry to go from £5.95 to 14.95 in the space of 2 weeks is a down right Liberty. I’ve never and would never pay £15 just for a curry alone without sides from a takeaway and I cannot see how This establishment can continue to charge these prices as the majority of people simply won’t pay it. I don’t know wether it’s greed or they are suddenly getting there spices from the sheik but sort it out in it, otherwise you will go bust within six months through no customers

Received a take away this evening - chicken totally raw - rang the restaurant - not their problem - ring Just Eat. Raw chicken as everyone knows is extremely dangerous - this place should take this extremely seriously but not sure they have. Naan bread also raw - the dough was uncooked.

Tonight I ordered a takeaway for myself and five friends. The food was excellent. It arrived within 40 minutes of ordering . The delivery driver was so polite and friendly. Thank you Indian Cottage I will be using your takeaway service again.

Mediocre food very poor service

A pleasant Indian restaurant with a good and varied menu

Great food . Great service , great price . Highly recommend

I ordered a takeaway which I waited 20 mins for, popped to pub for a pint...my favourite golden curry has closed so I thought where next. I usually like lamb or chicken vindaloo, has to be on bone, slightly acidic, proper vindaloo not just gravy and chilli. I ordered the Lamb Lal Mass (on special menu) and would say probably best curry I've had for long time. Meat tender, enough kick for me, great flavour. I will be back and now my goto for takeaway

Excellent menu here and good service

Lovely relaxing atmosphere. Varied menu and well presented food. Very attentive staff. Ate early evening and it was fairly busy.

We had a great meal here! Can’t fault the good food. However when it came to the bill everyone in our party put in £26 but still we ended up £26 short! Staff here clearly can’t add up and we ended up being over charged! Such a shame and really annoying! This has left a bad taste on what was other otherwise a good evening! So be warned make sure you keep a track if splitting the bill and don’t fall foul like we did…

Rediscovered this restaurant and so pleased that I have - food is wonderful, service and welcome is lovely and all at a reasonable price

Very disappointed 😞 four of us ate last night. Three of us have all been unwell with bad stomachs. Staff are usually great and the food has always been good. But it failed on this occassion.

very good food and friendly staff

Nice food but service not that friendly ☺️

As traditional Bangladesh / Indian restaurants go, you can’t go wrong with this long established restaurant , staff are friendly, prices fair and food always tasty

Amazing food, amazing staff and amazing atmosphere!!! The food was really tasty and fresh. The naan in particular stood out for freshness. All food ordered was full of flavour and of a high quality. The staff were friendly. Best Indian I've visited in a while and will definitely return.

The waiters and staff are super friendly in here ! Very warm comforting atmosphere! The food was perfectly cooked, memorable and tasty! You definitely have to go here!!!

Worst Indian I've had in a very long time. All of the chicken was chewwy and clearly not fresh at all. Dread to think how old it was. The service was awful when I reported the issues. Staff kept saying there was noone available to help until Wednesday and actually hung up on me!

Just perfect! Excellent service and great value for money, portion sizes are spot on. Very attentive staff, we will be coming back again when the area.

My boyfriend and I are currently on a staycation in Portsmouth and wanted to try some local small run businesses. We chose this place at around 9pm on a Friday night and entered asking for a table of two. We had not booked however when we looked in could see empty tables and thinking it's quite late we'd give it a try and get a table. The waiter at the bar looked us up and down as my boyfriend asked for a table two and proceeded to tell us they were fully booked. He did not check the booking diary sitting on the bar which most resturants do when they get walk-ins to see if they can squeeze people in. I believe we were discriminated against. Needless to say we chose another place and received much service that night.

we visited yesterday the food was delicious especially the pistachio chicken we recommend

One of our favourite restaurants. Hadn't been for a while, but wasn't disappointed as the food was as tasty as ever. The chef tweaked the dishes at our request and he got the flavours spot on.

Food was delicious! Very attentive staff. Lovely ambience and feel to the place. Would definitely recommend!

Friendly staff .. Awesome food ..

Yes this is more expensive than your main stream curry house, but if you can afford the extra I advise you to do so, there is a clear difference with so much flavour with correct balance of spices , or you can try my home made Scotch egg.

Best Indian in Portsmouth. Friendly service. Quality ingredients. Free local delivery . Looking forward to the restaurant opening again 😀

Ordered a lamb curry for take away. Tasteless, no salt, no heat. Major disappointment.

The Indian Cottage used to be considered by many (including myself), to be the best Indian restaraunt in Southsea, alas I am sorry to say that recently having had two takeaways on separate occasions during the second covid lockdown the standard has dropped to the extent that I will not consider using this establishment again, specifically it was evident that the food had been reheated , however ironically the tandoori mixed grill and lamb shalik was physically cold when I got it home - Home is a 3 minute walk from the restaurant! Very dissapointing to witness a formerly respected establishment treating their loyal paying customers with what can only be described as disrespect.

We arrived at the restaurant wearing a mask as requested by the government in any restaurant, bar or shop. When we had sat down and taken the masks off one of the waiting staff then came and said we had to leave our masks on until we physically had food or drink on our table because they had regular checks from the council...... We did as we were asked but then throughout our whole visit witnessed people walking in and out without masks on at all including going out for a cigarette and to the toilet. People walked in with their jumper just pulled over their face and those that bothered to wear a mask took them off as soon as they sat down before food or drink arrived. The waiters wore their masks half way down their face and the hand soap wasn’t even antibacterial. Overall the food and drink is irrelevant it is the most unsafe place I have been in the last few months and we were totally singled out. We will not only not be going back during covid time but I will not ever visit again. We raised all of this with a waiter who just kept saying it was because the council were checking on them, however the rules they enforced on us were not even close to being met by anyone else....Stay away and avoid.... there is a reason the council are regularly checking them.

We went to the Indian cottage Saturday evening, when we arrived about 7 o'clock it was fairly empty which we thought was because of social distancing but as the evening went on it got real packed with no social distancing at all, we were not asked for track and trace, as normally the food was very good but we will be giving this restaurant a miss until things hopefully get better.

Este es uno de los mejores restaurantes indios que hemos visitado. El servicio fue excelente, con la comida llegando rápidamente pero con una espera lo suficientemente larga como para saber que estaba recién preparada, y el personal fue amable. Aunque estaba tranquilo, el restaurante aún tenía un ambiente agradable. La comida era excelente, y los cuatro estábamos muy satisfechos con nuestras opciones. ¡Tan sabroso!Volveremos pronto y recomendamos una visita.

He estado yendo desde 1996, hasta hace un año no me puedo quejar, ahora el Sr. Mockta lo ha dejado ir por completo, ¿por qué no participar en el comer fuera para ayudar? El personal refleja la falta de entusiasmo del Sr. Mockta por Southsea. Es muy decepcionante, triste, triste, nuestra última visita.

Great food, great service and friendly staff

Ordered via just eat arrived ahead of time. Very tasty. Good protion sizes. Will use again. Im stuffed thanks. Madras rice I had a cider

Mi esposa y yo hemos sido clientes habituales de este restaurante durante los últimos nueve años y siempre nos ha impresionado la calidad de la comida, la excelencia del servicio y el ambiente general. Probablemente hemos comido allí al menos 50 veces en el pasado.Reabrió hace un par de semanas y finalmente pudimos ver cómo se las arreglaban después del bloqueo.Pedimos una selección de artículos que cuestan alrededor de 30 libras para llevar. Debería haber sospechado cuando fui a recoger nuestro pedido, aprox. 7 minutos después de llamar y encontré mi pedido esperando en la barra.Problemas principales:Mi pollo Jalfrezi contenía cuatro cubos de pollo en una salsa dominada por cebolla. Absolutamente sin sabor en absolutoLas gambas silvestres asadas a la brasa de mi esposa consistían en 3 gambas pequeñas en una salsa supuestamente aromatizada con azafrán, pero nuevamente, predominaba la cebolla y nuevamente insípida.Una ensalada de cortesía (?) Era arenosa, probablemente sin lavar y muy poco atractiva¿Qué debería haber exactamente en el arroz Pillau? La nuestra era básicamente basmatiToda la comida olía a un restaurante que intentaba reducir sus costes y aumentar sus márgenes. No puedo estar seguro, pero yo. Creo que los dos empleados que vi eran nuevos y presumiblemente también lo eran el personal de la cocina. Este fue uno de los mejores restaurantes indios de Southsea que, casi de la noche a la mañana, parece haberse convertido en uno de los peores y no volverá.

40 pounds for to average Currys and 2 cokes and despite having only 6 customers in the restaurant it took a very long time to bring the food and produce the bill and when we got the bill they wrote in the total 29 then chased us down the street to say we haven't paid enough and when we looked at the bill was a different total much better Indian restaurants on Albert road alone for less price better service and a better overall experience

Wonderful food and great service as usual. However, not doing enough to adhere to social distancing. Tables need to be spaced further apart. As of 11 Jul 20 tables were in same position as pre-lockdown. While we were there, staff did position couples or groups 1m or greater from each other but empty tables remained in touching distance and should have a notice saying "not in use" to make customers feel safer. We made our stay as short as possible. Indian cottage is a wonderful restaurant so please show support and mention your concerns about social distancing.

Do not order from here!!!! I ordered a delivery from here and when I went to pay on card the fella on the phone said it didn’t go through. When it did. They’ve took £15 from me and completely denied it. Refused to pay me back and said I was wrong. Very very poor from this restaurant and I will never use from here again. I strongly recommend not using this place. I’ve reported it and hopefully they’ll wake up and pay me back my money

All good, delivery, food.... Etc... Lovely.... Thank you

El mensaje de TripAdvisor del 29 de marzo hizo que mi esposa y yo revisáramos los detalles sobre qué negocios seguían operando en estos tiempos difíciles. . . . . . y mi esposa descubrió que Indian Cottage estaba haciendo entregas controladas. . . . . . obviamente, es un poco difícil completar esta revisión "estándar". . . . . . De todos modos, los hemos usado dos veces en 6 días ya que la primera vez fue muy agradable, así que repetimos. Las entregas se realizaron dentro de los plazos establecidos y bien manejadas por el personal, con comida de calidad en porciones generosas, ¡así que no tenemos quejas! !

Excellent take away this evening, thank you in these very uncertain times. Hopefully we’ll enjoy another meal very soon.

We are very demanding about our curries and tend to have our favourite restaurants. We used to visit the Indian Cottage regularly, but hadn't been for a while. Returned last night and pleased to say, the food was very good. Well balanced cooking, with plenty of flavour and spices. Everyone was happy with their meal. Will happily return.

Cené aquí anoche con mi novia para una cena temprana, ella comió el cordero biryani y yo comí el cordero dhansak, ambos estaban deliciosos, el vino era un poco caro para el rojo chileno barato pero disfrutamos la cena de todos modos, Sanjay nos cuidó muy bien, gracias a todos y en particular al chef!

Favourite curry house for the last 10 years. Never a bad one!

So a group of 12 celebrating a 60th birthday. One menu too share until chasing the staff for more. Drinks done one at a time, by the time the 12th person got theirs you're almost finished with your own. Attentiveness from the serving staff was poor, very poor. Everything needed we had to ask for ourselves.Food was nice though but not exceptional, very hot though and everyone got what they ordered which was good considering the size of the order.I'd heard a lot about the Indian Cottage but I'll not be back in a hurry. Far friendlier places just along the road from here, and food equally as good if not better.

Tuvimos una comida para llevar para cuatro, que estaba disponible para la recolección dentro del tiempo recomendado y recibimos una bienvenida lo suficientemente amable. Antes de salir del restaurante, el pedido se verificó dos veces, lo cual era tan bueno como faltaban algunas partes.Las porciones de comida eran generosas. Sin embargo, los bhajees de cebolla estaban exagerados y un supuesto curry suave estaba más caliente de lo esperado, mientras que las madras eran muy suaves. Mezclarse con salsas?Los precios razonables eran buenos.

This is a great curry house, with all the right components for a delicious meal out, but we got a shock when the bill came with our four drinks totaling £19.80, two beers and two soda waters. When we asked if it was right, did the soda water really cost the same as a beer, they said yes. Feeling the sting of £9.90 for two soda waters, we left without tipping. £50 for two mains, two beers and two soda waters is too much 🥺

Very bad food after I’d heard how wonderful it was not to beThought I’d give this ago unfortunately all the hype was wrong looked all great in a nice good quality carrier bag the madras I had was super hot You could not taste any flavours the garlic naan bread should’ve had extra garlic that was bland and the cucumber writer was chopped up cucumber with a dollop of yoghurt on no care taken at all.Very bad show boys I live in Albert Road as well shame

Not sure about the food, but guys you need to update your timing on Google when you operate. Been here 2 weeks ago, when we happened to travel to Portsmouth to shop in a mall. Me and my friend was hungry and been to this place as Google says it is opened on Saturday, we reached there around 2pm, but strangely it is closed... Boom disappointed. Guys, kindly update your timings correctly. Hope to visit you soon again and I believe to get some food this time.

Awesome food. Thanks guys. Wide variety. Good prices. Great telephone manner for take aways and very polite delivery driver. Much respect.

Love a ruby murray from here. Lovely jubley.

This is a fantastic restaurant. The food is fresh and plentiful. I have eaten here a couple of times and have been impressed with the service, knowledge and care for the customer. Highly recommended.

We are still waiting. 2 hours from ordering they delivered one lot after 1.5 hours which was missing loads of the order and now still waiting. No refund no apologies nothing. Awful service. Hopefully one day we will get food. We will never use them again. Awful

I usually love Indian Cottage, but tonight I feel let down, the food was very chewy lamb curry and the onion barge was burnt the first time , they remade and still no better, but still charged me for it !!!!!!!