Karapincha Cheltenham in Cheltenham

Shame it was so quiet, sadly the whole town seemed the same :/ 4 of us met here for an evening meal after finding via Groupon. The food was delicious and the staff friendly.. restaurant itself was a bit cold but a lack of customers didn't help that aspect :/ Wouldn't hesitate to go back . Thank you

A really lovely evening with absolutely lovely, very accommodating staff…neither of us had had Sri Lankan food before and it was authentic, fresh and delicious….clean plates all round. I can’t recommend the prawns enough!!! The menu seemed limited at first glance but it was more than adequate in hindsight (a relief not to be bombarded with too much choice for a change). The wine was also very good. Thank you team Karapincha xx

I am deeply disappointed by the food I received from Karapincha, which claims to serve authentic Sri Lankan cuisine. Unfortunately, it was far from it. The Chicken Kottu was bland, soggy, and completely lacking in flavor—a far cry from the vibrant, spicy dish it should be. The Hot Battered Cuttlefish was overly sweet and vinegary, with no balance in the sweet-and-sour flavor profile, making it almost inedible. The Pol Roti (coconut flatbread) was undercooked, bland, and had little to no coconut flavor—barely resembling the real thing. The so-called “Sri Lankan-style Chicken Curry” was the biggest disappointment: it was nothing more than boiled chicken in a watery broth. This is not a curry by any standard, let alone Sri Lankan. Overall, the food was a disgrace to Sri Lankan cuisine. It lacked authenticity, flavor, and quality, leaving me completely dissatisfied. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking a genuine Sri Lankan dining experience.

Delicious food and great service. Recommend

I have been here before and is always really quiet for some reason. Tonight was no different. The food was really tasty and generous (chicken Kothu) and the service was friendly and helpful. Hopefully this place will pick up or we may lose a gem in Cheltenham.

Awful food & place. No atmosphere, unhelpful, miserable waiter & inedible food (apart from Chocolate Brownie dessert). When I said I didn't like food he said "you chose it" - other cuisines try to help & explain what dishes are. Very small menu, very little to choose from anyway. Not surprised only one other couple in there.

Planned to go here for lunch, it said it was open on maps but it was actually closed. Please update your opening times.

unfortunate the option to order was 7pm was available, but the delivery didn't arrive until gone 8pm. food was good as I'd expect

Light and airy restaurant with good food. Cuttlefish was interesting, followed by a good medium hot lamb curry.

We visited recently and wow great staff very attentive and informative when asked about the food. The food quality was excellent the flavors were delicious, the wine options were perfect and complimented the food perfectly. A great night was had by us all thank you, I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough a definite must do.

Really good and tasty food. Definitely something different. We are not that familiar with SriLankan dishes so this was a great experience to get us into this context. Menu is fairly limited, not a massive choice so 4 not 5 stars for food. Service was delightful. It was a Wed. When we went and there were only 2 other tables so it lacked a sense of atmosphere. Will definitely go again in a few months.

I had a date night there and it was just perfect

Food was delicious 😋 absolutely recommend and will order again

Went here as Korean place round the corner didn’t have staff Goat curry and cashew nut curry were delicious and very generous portions!

Absolutely delicious food and a lovely service. There were plenty of vegan options on the menu and it was lovely to see a vegan specific section. All options were clearly marked so I could see what was available at a glance. The chickpea starter, roti, cashew nut curry and okra curry were divine. Will be back soon!

The waitress is good service. Good food. Good price. All is good.

this was the perfect place to have a lovely english breakfast, lovely people, spotlessly clean and superb poached eggs on toast

curries were barely warm. breads were cold and dry

We visited the Karapincha with some friends, who like us had not tried Sri Lankan food before. We ordered a selection of dishes, so we could have a taste of everything. The food was delicious and along with great service, made for an enjoyable evening. I would recommend trying the Karapincha

We had a lovely evening. The service was brilliant and the food was wonderful. We'd never tried Sri Lankan food before, but we'll definitely be back for more. Every dish was absolutely delicious.

Great find. Definitely one of Cheltenham's better resturants! The food was delicious and fairly priced too

Amazing food and service. The food was so unique and the taste individual to each one. The service was very good too!!

Excellent experience. Really tasty food and great service. The pork and cashew curries and roti’s were outstanding.

Lovely little place but sad looking. Waitress a delightful young person but waits hovers when finished as wants to please but some may feel uncomfortable. Food on Groupon delicious. Limited but enough. Needs revamp. Felt bad eating so much for the little they must get from Groupon. May go back

Very tasty meal and generous portions

Lovely food, friendly staff with very good service. Price is also very cheap that made my jaw drop when I saw the bill.

This is not a review of the food I had a Groupon voucher for this restaurant. I book on line for a table at midday. I had an email confirming the booking. We arrived at midday to discover the restaurant didn't open till 5pm. I used the contact form on the site. I then got another confirmation of a non existent booking. I spoke to someone at the restaurant who muttered about it being fixed.

Delicious freshly cooked meals packed with flavour in a clean restaurant with brilliant service. What more could you want? Plenty of veggie and vegan dishes too.

Stunning food, the chef was helpful and very friendly. Absolutely recommend this restaurant to anyone.

Absolutely loved this place. Everything was cooked fresh and so delicious. I'm definitely recommending and look forward to coming back.

Delicious food! We had the dahl, goat curry, and veggie kothu. The flavors were unexpected and complex, a different take on the dishes we knew and a lovely new dish in the kothu. Highly recommend this restaurant!

Excellent food very delicious thank you!

Good food, adequate service, 40 pounds for dinner for 3 people

Very friendly greeting on arrival Could select where we wanted to sit. Menu gave enough choice even though it is small. Recommend the cuttlefish starter and prawn curry for a main course. The service was not intrusive and very efficient. The restaurant and wash room are very clean. We went on a Groupon deal which was very good value. The only very small issue is the dessert choice was strawberries or vanilla ice cream which was a small choice. Highly recommend this restaurant.

The food was really good, there was a lot of it so we took some home. The waitress was young and inexperienced but did her very best. It's a dificult one to say if we would go again, the food prices are reasonable but the drink prices are very expensive.

Fantastic delious food. Being married to a Sri Kankan and missing the wonderful taste of Sri Lanka. I now have a place to come. Great service.

We enjoyed a fabulous 3 course Sri Lankian meal at Karapincha Restaurant Cheltenham with family. The cusine was very tasty, well presented and the service was excellent - definitely worthy of a visit.

Amazing food! Highly recommend. We will see definitely be going back.

Lovely meal, lovely service. We really enjoyed the coconut roti, the dahl, chicken curry, cuttlefish, devilled pork and the goat curry. We were all incredibly full at the end!

Outstanding food!! Great portions, hot, unbelievably tasty, one of the best takeaways of my Life!! Thank you for making my birthday so enjoyable 😋

4 stars as massive wait between courses,decent food though!

Brilliant food, authentically Sri Lankan. Highly recommended

Lovely tasty food and generous portions.

Bought a Groupon voucher to try something different from a restaurant that looks a little uninviting from the outside. Well, what an absolute gem. Warm welcome from waitress who was busy looking after the whole restaurant with just one other Family run and absolutely delicious. Menu slightly reduced for Groupon, but plenty to choose. Amazing starters and mains of chicken Kottu & black pork curry. Only ice cream dessert but to be honest, portion are large, and took everything not eaten, home with us, for others to try. They now want to go,so just bought another voucher. Slow service,but just what we wanted. Not rushed. Everything at a good pace. Can't wait to go back.

Great food - absolutely delicious with friendly efficient service. Definitely recommend.

The food was okay, it didn't feel very typical but it wasn't bad. It wasn't excellent. Very slow and clueless service.

We used a Groupon voucher here which provides you with a starter,main and dessert. There was plenty of food. We especially enjoyed the vegetable rolls for a starter, the Cashew curry for a main and strawberry ice-cream for dessert. We also tried two drinks as shown which were really different.

Greeted warmly by our waitress. Tables are well spaced and set nicely. Food was authentic and delicious. A lovely experience from start to finish.

I love this place, go-to dining in Cheltenham. If I have a first choice or default, it's here :)

Great food and lovely place to eat.

The food was excellent; really authentic, fresh and flavoursome. There was also plenty of it! The staff were exceptionally helpful and friendly and went above and beyond. We visited as a family of five (and have all spent time in Sri Lanka) and we were very impressed. By going in a larger group, we were able to order a selection of dishes and each enjoy a little of everything…delicious ☺️ I don’t have good pics of the food, to be honest, as it looked and smelt so good that we all fell on it before I thought about photographs 😆

Food full of oily. Rubbish food

Please do not be put off that the restaurant looks quite empty - it’s comfortable and clean. Wow what a delicious meal! We love Sri Lanka and the food. Well, the chickpeas and chicken starter were just amazing. Then we had cashew curry and black pork and couldn’t fault the food at all. We had to ask for takeaway boxes, as there was too much for us. Would highly recommend and will definitely go again. Please try it!

Great Food, our 1st visit, and not disappointed. Right next to Weatherspoon's so a cheap pre drink too. Some of the drinks are expensive but £28 for a top quality Cremant bubbly was a bargain. Cuttlefish starter & goat curry excellent. Shame they don't do coffee after the meal but a minor gripe. See you again (Thursday) :-)

Really tasty food! And lovely service - would recommend.

Excellent experience dining at Karapincha! 4 of us visited on a Sunday evening and enjoyed the friendly staff, prompt service and fantastic food. Highly recommend the cuttlefish starter and lamb curry as a main. As it happens I did have a voucher for a discount, but happily would have paid full price. Fully intend to return in the future to sample the tapas menu. Thank you very much!!

Delicious food, very friendly staff. Had the beetroot recommended and it was really good. A brilliant place to go.

5 stars, brilliant food and excellent service, thanks again!

Our first time eating here and the food was amazing! So fresh and really good portions. We are definitely going back.

In Cheltenham for my daughters graduation. Arrived early for our 7pm reservation but that wasn’t a problem. Given a choice of tables which was nice. Menus delivered very quickly and drinks order taken. Bit of a wait before our food order was taken. Food was delivered promptly and we were amazed at the quality. Chick peas were exceptional as was the deep fried cuttlefish. For mains we had the pork curry and the prawn curry with rice and roti. The curries were exceptional and the rotis great. Service throughout was friendly and attentive. We would highly recommend a visit

It was a Wednesday and so it was quiet. The waitress advised us that there were two items unavailable, which was absolutely fine. She was very attentive and swiftly brought our drinks and took our food order. The food was absolutely delicious. Aromatic with a kick of spice in some dishes. They cater for the British taste buds but you can request the dish to be spicier. We thoroughly enjoyed every single dish. The food was cooked beautifully and it was fresh. We had a lovely evening. Thank you!

Delicious food. Had the black pork, goat and okra curries, coconut sambal with pol roti and tumeric rice. Every dish was superb. We had the beef rolls and fish cakes for starters and they were great too especially the fish cakes. Definitely recommend the goat curry, it was really superb. Definitely coming back here.

Really friendly welcome, fresh flavoured food, well balanced goat curry and Cuttlefish was delicious. good service . Atmosphere was good , wrap up as I found it a little cold. I shall definitely be visiting again 🌸

Superb tasty and ontime delivery. Thank you Karapincha 🤗

Absolutely delish at a reasonable price

First visit to this new restaurant last evening. I was unusually by myself so a bit unsure where to eat in Cheltenham. Was going to a performance at the Everyman Theatre so was looking in that vicinity. Came across Karapincha which had a few people already there at 6.30 but plenty of tables and the Black Pork curry on their outside menu caught my eye. I was made very welcome and offered a variety of tables. My lager, curry and rice came quite quickly and were delicious - my only disappointment was that I couldn't quite finish it all! Very nice waitress and whilst not a romantic atmosphere, it was perfectly pleasant. I shall be recommending to friends and taking my husband next time!

Nice meal as always. Would be good to have a couple more vegan options like a pineapple curry or something but it's always great. The Dhal Parippu is awesome. I often order when I'm feeling a bit under the weather and feel it sorts me out :D

The menu is a little limited, with one dish unavailable and only ice cream for dessert, when I went. The staff seem kind but a little unsure. I would have preferred some light music as the atmosphere was a bit empty.

Excellent food, good value and great, friendly and efficient service.

this sri lankan restaurant is the no.1 to go, good food, friendly staff

Great food, shared fish cutlets, cuttlefish and spring rolls to start. Goat curry for main. Friendly service, shame they didn't have any mutton rolls left. Def recommend

The food was very good. Selja, our waitress was awesome....personable and friendly. The restaurant was very clean and had some excellent photos of Sri Lanka posted on the walls. It was a very nice evening out.

fodd and service was excellent .Good portion size .

Wonderful visit on a late Sunday evening. Superb food and even better service by the 2 members of staff. Black pork was tremendous as was the prawn curry.

I have visited several times, most recently with a group of 21. We pre ordered egg hoppers and ordered the rest of our meals on arrival. The standard of food was as great for the large group as it was for couples. With only a small team of staff, I thought that they coped fantastically well with such a large group. Food, as always, was delicious and reasonably priced.

Amazing food in great portions too.

Such delicious curry and amazing service! My partner and I were feeling very hungry in Cheltenham at 10pm and even though they were close to closing, they were very welcoming and cooked us amazing food very quickly! Would recommend for anyone after delicious authentic Sri Lankan food!

Second time visiting this excellent Sri Lankan restaurant in central Cheltenham. Impeccable friendly service and advice on menu choices. Great food at a very reasonable price in the current trading environment. Would highly recommend.

You will not find a better curry! This is top class food that you would find in Sri Lanka. Not just cooked fresh at some point. But on the day. And it’s fantastic value for money. The photo is of a very special lobster curry. £22! Wow.

We came across this restaurant on a weekend trip to Cheltenham and thoroughly enjoyed our meal here. The portions were generous, the food was appealing and flavoursome, the atmosphere calm, the service friendly and attentive, the price reasonable and the toilet spotless, which is always reassuring. So interesting to talk to the waitress and learn more about Sri Lanka from the photographs on display.

We had a fantastic meal, service was excellent. Thank you very much

What a find!! Had an overnight stay in Cheltenham and found this gem of an independent restaurant. Food was incredible, service brilliant and the owners just delightful. Highly recommended

We walked in pretty late on a Saturday night and were greeted by a lovely host. The food was absolutely fantastic and reminded me of home in South India. Would highly recommend, especially if you've never tried Sri Lankan food. Great value for money, and massive portions!

Absolutely delicious! Taste explosion, sadly no pol sambol but the flavours of my chicken curry and divine lentils made up for it. Absolute firm favourite now!!

Outstanding food as always. Love it!

We had a wonderful time in this restaurant. All home cooked traditional food. The waitress was very helpful. They 'tweaked' my meal to suit my taste. Can't wait to go again!

Food was just luke warm. Didn't taste like a curry. Was very disappointed

Service excellent, food fabulous,! Try the Devil’s Chicken as a starter, it was very tasty, chicken and Prawn curries loverly. 10% discount given on the bill Monday to Thursday and was a pleasant surprise. We live in York, this restaurant in our city would be full every night, yet it was quiet. Very nice clean and spacious venue. Great for post work get togethers and Birthday party’s. Get booked in, have fun!

Never delivered but logged it as delivered

So yummy okra curry was 10/10 and the battered cuttlefish my friend got looked great. Good vegan options

Absolutely amazing food at great prices. Honestly amazed there wasn't more custom. Would like nothing more than to live near enough for this to be a regular. If I'm ever back in town, I'll be back.

Delicious food. Will order again. Yummy. Good spicing of each dish.

Our first visit and experience of Sri Lankan cuisine. The food was so tasty, starters quite spicey, and very generous portions! We had the cuttlefish and devilled pork for starters and the goat curry and prawn curry with yellow rice, coconut Sambal and coconut roti for main. We were so full that we asked to take the left overs home! The cocktails were also delicious. Very reasonable priced. The hosts were attentive and welcoming. All in all a lovely night! We will be back!

Food didn't arrive. Restaurant refused to deal with it and gave me the number for the just eat customer services, which is the number for the call centre that deals with restaurants and not online customers. They restaurant hung up. Terrible service having ordered and also eaten in many times before. Won't be going back again.

Had the chicken khottu and curried goat with rice and rotti. Was one the most amazing meals I've had! So fresh and tasty. Service was amazing, lovely chatty and caring staff. Just wish their sign was more visible and not so tucked away so more people would go there. Definitely deserve the custom!

Ordered a takeaway through deliveroo from here. The delivery came 1.5 hours late and every time we phoned the restaurant the lady who answered put the phone down on us. The order finally arrived and 2 items were missing. Reported on deliveroo and it said ‘not eligible for refund’ so called the restaurant and the same woman answered and she would not acknowledge the missing items. Before we could explain properly she once again out the phone down on me! Average food and terrible service. The 2 curries that did arrive were drowned in exactly the same sauce. Would not order from here again.

Food arrived on time but not hot. Barely warm

Wow! What a hinden gem! Food that excite the taste buds, go check it out you will not be disappointed, this restaurant is well worth a visit, excellent recommendations, every dish we tried had it's own place for taste. Very reasonably price. Good atmosphere, Good for friends and family meals, Coconut Vodka not to be missed!!

Second visit to Karapincha. Didn't disappoint. Lovely food - cutlets and mutton kottu. Very generous portions.

Great! Driver on perfect time. Polite, quick and friendly. Food absolutely delicious - thanks