Le Raaj in County Durham

We dined for Mother’s Day lunch yesterday and we’re disappointed that there wasn’t an acknowledgment of Mother’s Day. However, the real disappointment was when we received the bill and discovered we’d been charged £25 for poppadoms and pickles, of which we didn’t stipulate how many we required. La Raj has always been on the pricey side but as the food is usually of excellent quality, it wouldn’t be an issue - we’ve also had numerous takeaways which you are required to collect and pay cash which isn’t always convenient. The price point is just to excessive and unfortunately, we won’t be returning.

Great night with some very good food and lovely efficient service. Style of restaurant is very modern with music to match. My son rated his experience very high and up among the best of Indian restaurants he has visited.

My hubby and I visited Le Raaj on Friday for the first time. We were impressed from start to finish. We had a warm welcome, all staff were friendly and attentive and Masum was professional and personable, giving our dining experience a personal touch. Looking at the food served at other tables and hearing other people's comments, it was clear that the quality of the food was top notch all round, but my onion bhaji and tandoori mixed grill was to die for! We haven't stopped talking about our lovely evening at Le Raaj and can't wait to visit again soon!

The lunchtime menu was very accommodating offering traditional India dishes with a modern, contemporary twist, layered with complex flavours. The service was excellent, attentive and the food arrived hot and well presented. All freshly cooked. Over all the restaurant clean, modern and our experience was memorable. Looking forward to the opening of their new Morpeth restaurant. Thank you for a delightful experience. Chris and Caroline

Came here for a birthday meal for my Dad and the service was absolutely amazing - particularly from Masum. I brought a cake with me for my dad’s birthday and it was brought out so that the whole restaurant joined in. Food was amazing as usual. Would recommend to everyone.

Food was beautiful, service good and very friendly

To dine in here is exceptional. Their team/staff are polite, welcoming and efficient.

The food was terrific, with exceptional service. It was our son's birthday. His girlfriend brought a cake and asked the staff to bring it out when we'd finished our meal. When they did, they dimmed the lights and clapped for him, then they offered the six of us complementary drinks. Brilliant!

Yesterday got a takeaway - my husband went to order and asked for advice due to dietary allergies (no tomatoes). Asked 3x times to ensure that the info was clear, and this was repeated back to us in confirmation and reassurance. We were recommended bhuna - which I always thought was a tom-based sauce 🤔? Anyway when we got home this sauce was one of the most tomato 🍅 based dish I've ever seen! Grrrr - so annoyed. Apart from the absolutely diabolical service, the lamb was tough and chewy. Would definitely NOT recommend the Raj

Thoroughly enjoy coming to Le Raaj for a meal. I’ve come several times now and each time has been a wonderful experience. Very friendly staff

Visited new years eve, the restaurant was overwhelmed. Service/kitchen couldn't keep up with the orders and was substantially overcharged on the bill. Was refunded later when the error was brought to their attention

Enjoyed a lovely meal here, great food and friendly staff. Thank you very much to Masum and the team for a wonderful evening.

Amazing food and staff are very welcoming

Outstanding food, service and night. The staff were very attentive and friendly. The food had so much flavour, the meat was very tender.. Would highly recommend.

Great food, great service, great place! Bit pricey though,but it's worth it.

Fantastic atmosphere, food and service

Fabulous meal and service as always. Great value from lunch time meal. We had our children with us and they had a great time but it's equally a great place to visit as a couple or with friends.

Disappointing Dining Experience at Le Raaj. The manager has been Customer Service Nightmare. Absolutely unprofessional and arrogant. Food has been a complete culinary disappointment and taste nothing like the Indian food. Inspite of being really clear with our expectations that food should not be sweet, lal mash- fish dish was horrible as well as chicken momo! When we enquired about the starters, he actually said it’s ok if you don’t want to order anything else! The place exorbitantly priced! We left with the main course! Save your money and appetite. This restaurant represents the worst of dining out - poor service, mediocre food, and zero respect for customers. I cannot recommend this establishment to anyone seeking a quality Indian dining experience. Absolutely would NOT return.

Great lunch today for my birthday- food excellent as always and staff were fantastic

Great food, amazing service i feel at home here as always

Food is alright, but service is shocking, prices are in small print at the bottom of the menu and then the bill is wrote by hand making it hard to figure out what is what. The lighting in the restaurant is like a dentist office and they play loud electronic music which doesn’t match the scene at all. Could be a great place but just a few things letting it down.

New years eve. Got greedy with too many bookings and staff couldn't cope. Very disappointed

It was all grand. My tip order lots of food and get a doggy bag get your own designer Le Raaj bag it looks awesome (it isnt plastic). 😂😜

Absolutely fab time this evening, for a meal out with my mum and dad. Big portions, tasty food and even better service. Was so pleased to see clearly marked vegan options and informed staff, Masum was a gentleman and made our night very special. We’ll be back for sure!

As a family, we decided to have an alternative christmas day lunch and booked here. What a treat. Our meals were delicious and the staff were really attentive and helpful. I can't rate it high enough suffice to say that that it is on our plans to return next christmas as well as a few visits through the year.

Thank you for a lovely night . Fantastic food, gorgeous surroundings , ( amazing glasses lol) a good glass makes a meal … we will be back

First time visiting. Cant fault the food, so nice. Service was fast and staff very attentive. We even were offered a drink, free of charge at the end of our meal. Not the cheapest around, but good quality. Will go back.

Food was exceptional. Service was top notch, especially from Masum. Easily one of the best Indians we’ve had. Thank you!

Recently visiting from United States. This restaurant had been recommended. The service was appalling. Long wait. Staff extremely unengaged. Food mediocre. After complaining at the restaurant they couldn’t care less. My opinion, give this place a miss!

I dined recently at this restaurant with a large group. Sadly we waited over 2 hours for a table after booking ahead. The staff could not have been more unhelpful and disinterested with no standard of customer service ! We won’t be going back to this restaurant!

Quality of food and service are excellent.

Everything here is 10/10 from the owners to the staff to the food! Beautiful restaurant with incredible food

As always amazing food and service

Lovely food and great service here last night. Thanks team.

Food was alright. A bit oily to our liking. Not spicy at all (perhaps adjusted to the local tongues). Did we enjoy? Not really. Will we return? No. We have had better Indian (staff was Bangladeshi) food.

Great food and friendly service 👌

I visited Le Raaj last night with the family for my Sister’s birthday. The restaurant is beautiful and the staff couldn’t have been more welcoming and attentive. The menu has a large variety of dishes including gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options. The food was delicious and the service was prompt. We will definitely be returning!

First time here looks good food lovely can't fault it 30pound for a bottle of wine a bit steep nice touch before we leave a free drink

We went along to Le Raaj tonight for a dine in experience and had a really lovely time. The service was excellent and the food was really tasty. The ambience was really relaxed and we really enjoyed the experience as a whole. A special thanks to Masum for being friendly and making us laugh!

Absolutely beautiful, the food service & ambiance. Will return again soon

Super tasty, great quality, hot dishes ...friendly attentive service ..always welcoming

Once again Le Rajj never fails to impress, me and my partner will only visit here for Indian food as it is so good and no where competes! Masum deserves a special mention as he waited on us hand and foot again, and always makes us feel like family when we visit. The service from him and the other staff is 10/10 and would recommend Le Rajj to anyone as once you eat here you will never visit another Indian resteraunt.

Once again Le Rajj never fails to impress, me and my partner will only visit here for Indian food as it is so good and no where competes! Masum deserves a special mention as he waited on us hand and foot again, and always makes us feel like family when we visit. The service from him and the other staff is 10/10 and would recommend Le Rajj to anyone as once you eat here you will never visit another Indian resteraunt.

Google does not have enough stars for le raj, it’s absolutely out of this world, we have eaten Indian cuisine all over the world and have found the very best in the north east of England wow, just fantastic

We've been going to this restaurant for many years. Only one word for it tonight unfortunately. Extortionate. £30 a bottle of yellow tail wine, which is £8.25 in Tesco. The menu has also jumped up in price considerably.

Amazing food. Try the Murgh Momo!

Loved the meal, this will be my go to Indian. Food quality was brilliant

Absolutely amazing!!! Food, service, atmosphere was top notch. Staff are very attentive and nothing is too much trouble for them. Loved the hot towel after our meal and complimentary drinks. The vindaloo if you like it spicy is amazing and the cheese naan is the best naan bread I've ever had. Gun powder chips are also a winner aswell. Don't have a bad word to say, everything was faultless. Will 1 million percent be returning. One very happy customer.

10/10 for all aspects at Le Raaj. We visited again last night to celebrate the birth of our second daughter. The staff were more than accommodating in meeting the needs of my grandmother who has dementia and will only eat certain foods. The staff also went out of their way with our 6 year old and included her in conversation. The food is always amazing, served in good time and presentation is fantastic. Rez and the team are so welcoming and we look forward to another visit soon.

Most amazing meal tonight, curried fish with spinach. Best curry I have every tried. Also amazing staff as always. Best curry house I have ever been to.

Had a family meal the whole experience was awesome,the food sublime the ambience perfect and the staff wonderful.One small criticism was the service was a little slow

Very good food, great service, and nice venue. Will definitely be back

Thoroughly enjoyed our meal and the staff were friendly and attentive.

Lovely food, staff were very helpful and attentive, nice atmosphere

We were driving past and it looked inviting so we were very pleased when there was a table free, the food was lovely and the staff very courteous, thoroughly enjoyed it

Absolutely fabulous! Food was amazing, so was the service and the restaurant. Will definitely be back.

Excellent meal and service, will definitely be back soon

Lovely restaurant with superb service, we'll definitely be back!

Visited here while on holiday from America! Very much enjoyed!! Will be recommending and returning if I ever come back to the area!!

Excellent food as always. Thank you to all the staff, especially Masum, for the outstanding customer service! We were very well looked after and will definitely be back again

The kid with the slicked back hair was the best order taker I have ever witnessed 10/10 would order again

In for food with work lovely meal and great service

Really enjoyed our lamb curries and extras. Good size portions and piping hot when served. Friendly cheerful staff. It's a clean and posh place suitable for special occasions. We will definately be back soon to try more dishes. Prices a bit high though.

Service was tremendous Food absolutely delicious Love this place even got a complementary free drink 😃

Very good service from masum. Unreal food. Chicken tikka maslala is to die for. Would highly recommend to anyone in the local area

Fantastic experience today at le raaj. Went to pick up some bbq packs, very impressed, looked and tasted tremendous. Both the kids got a j20 each on the house while we waited. Staff were amazing and more importantly so was the food!

Really nice food and service from masum and the team. Would come again and would recommend to everyone. Also a good price!

Once again a fabulous meal at Le Raaj. The service is always on point with friendly and polite staff. The food is delicious and you can always rely on the food standard being consistent. Never had a bad meal there and will certainly be going back.

We ate here last week. The food is excellent. Some may think it’s a little pricey but the portions are big. I had chicken tikka paneer for starters and lamb jalfrezi for main. The service is exceptional.

First time trying this curry house out. I always go to my go to curry first time which is a chicken tikka jakfrezi. My thinking if they get that right I'll be back to be more adventurous. And that I will!! My Jalfrezi was delicious with the right amount of kick and the chicken was big chunky tender chunks biggest I've had yet, very nicely done. The keema naan was so fresh absolutely no complaints and even my partners bhuna had so much flavour and I don't rate bhunas at all! Mix starter platter is a go top aswell if you like your meats. The menu didn't just offer traditional curries they have moved on and added lots more for me to adventure on which I will be. Thanks to Rez for looking after us, will deffo be a regular from now on. The decor and service are impeccable lovely friendly staff we got all our food served accordingly, no waiting no issues nothing wrong .

Rip off city overcharged by approx £30. Wrote review but nobody from this business got back to us. Menu lacking prices, seems to be a common theme of people being overcharged. Food was ok but not worth the extortionate prices.

We were visiting the North East Model Shop (next-door) yesterday and hadn't eaten since breakfast. It was almost 2pm, when The Raaj stops serving lunch but we popped in on the off-chance. They couldn't have been more obliging and made us very welcome. The food was very tasty and greatly appreciated. Thank you 👍

Good food, great service, lovely venue. Can't go wrong, give it a try

Nice food, good atmosphere and service but too expensive. Visited recently as a family of 5 one evening. We had a main course each (curry, rice with naan breads) and one round of drinks and the bill was a bit of a shock at nearly £210! As I said, good food in nice surroundings but we won't be back.

What a fantastic restaurant. The food was amazing as were the staff. Really nice atmosphere. My sons first Indian meal and what a great place to introduce him

First time at Le Raaj and it was brilliant. Food was so fresh and tasty. Service probably best weve had in a restaurant. Definitely recommend!!

they are robbing you blind here👎little competition means they can overcharge you for a mediocre meal and they know they're ripping you off - that's why they try to hide the prices on the menu. they don't even have lassi!!!!! got the lamb thali and there was barely anything on it and wasn't great quality. came out to over £160 for 2 starters and 4 main courses. you can drive down to bradford for far better curry and still save money including petrol. service felt nice to begin with but started to feel disingenuous once we realised what we were getting for our money. avoid.

Le Raaj continues to serve fantastic food in a great atmosphere. The choices are plentiful and interesting, the staff extremely good and the speed of service perfect. I'd never hesitate to recommend this restaurant to anyone

Don't think I will be coming back. Firstly I ordered a lamb naga they sent chicken so I had to wait for the meal that I ordered. Then the lamb was so tastless didn't eat it. The wife's chicken was dry. We was offered no discount and didn't seem bothered that I had not eaten my curry even after I told them it wasn't nice. It is such a shame cause 1 year ago it was one of the best in the north east. Such a drop in standards and service.

Everything from the poppadoms to the curries was faultless and the waiters were really attentive without being overbearing cant wait to be back

Had a great night food was excellent service was really good would recommend

One of the best Indian restaurants I have had the pleasure to eat at. Food was outstanding, even the side dishes were tasty and excellent. Service was friendly and attentive. Yes it is a little more expensive but well worth it.

Superb! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Awesome food expertly ran by Masum and his team. Complimentary drinks very kindly offered to us at the end of our meal for a friend's birthday. 😁 Definitely coming back again soon.

Food is amazing! Staff are so polite and attentive!

Food is amazing and staff are great really friendly

22nd may Food unbelievable massive portions Staff superb

Came on 22nd May. Party of 7. Food was so good. Atmosphere was amazing. Staff very attentive

We have been meaning to visit here for a while after hearing good reviews and weren`t disappointed. The atmosphere was excellent, the staff were friendly and helpful, and the food was fantastic! We loved the sizzling meats platter - very yummy. We will be returning!

Absolutely 💯 percent hospitality in le raaj especially Masum,he is an absolute legend. Enjoyed meeting you Masum,thanks

Outstanding service, the restaurant & toilets are immaculate! Felt like been on holiday the staff were so attentive... 2nd visit now and will return very soon!! Thank you for a lovely evening 👌👌

Great service from very friendly and attentive staff. Very large menu and the majority of items are Gluten Free. Quality of food was excellent. Drinks are pricey though, it wasn’t that warm in what is a very large room. Our first visit, but we will definitely be back.

We met a friend there for an evening meal. She's a regular diner at Le Raaj and it's easy to see why. The place is immaculately presented and spotlessly clean. The staff are very welcoming, friendly and helpful. The food was excellent and well presented.

Brilliant food, good atmosphere, great staff. Highly recommended.

What a fabulous restaurant. I went here while visiting my grandparents and the staff were absolutely wonderful. They made excellent recommendations for us all and made sure we all had food we would like. We will definitely be back.

Absolutely unreal best food in a long time excellent staff

Went here for a curry here on a Saturday evening, staff very welcoming and restaurant really nice. Food tasty but quite expensive. Ordered a prawn starter to share (only had 2 prawns in it for £10, did mention to the waiter and he said it’s more expensive as it’s seafood) and 3 popadums with dips. Then ordered 1 rice, 1 main curry, 1 naan bread and 1 saag paneer to share. Had 1.5 pints of cobra, bill came to £65, total.

No atmosphere, miserable staff!! Could have better taste and service somewhere else in less than what we paid. Too much staff but still no one came to ask if we needed anything else..totally disappointed!!

Been to Le Raaj at Chester Moor today fab food mish was a fab host so friendly nothing was a problem for him will defo be back xxxx

First visit and will not be the last , driven past many a time , thinking must try it. Very happy we did , lovely food and a great team , with a friendly professional service.

Had another great meal at this 'top notch' Indian restaurant.My husband & I love the food/service/atmosphere,the staff are always conscientious & immaculately dressed. We'd come here tonight & had a lovely bottle of champers/ lovely meal & went home full & happy 😊. We'll see u soon.Polly & Nicholas Pratt.X