Mahdi Lounge in Rother

The best curry ever. Amazing staff

The food and service was excellent, one of the best Indian / Banglideshi meals I have had in the UK. Worth visiting Rye just to try it out. It was busy on our visit (Thursday evening) so may be worth booking in advance for weekend visits.

Nice family run rsstaurant, very generous.

Amazing food friendly atmosphere and very good service

Did not like the dinner menu at our hotel and Decided on a curry at Mahdi Lounge. The staff were attentive and we had the best curry ever - exceptional flavours.

Absolutely fantastic evening 4 of us, treated to try a couple of new dishes, that hopefully will be going on the menu soon as they was delicious. 1st class service very friendly family run business

What a gem of a find whilst on holiday. Top service and attention and a very warm welcome. The food was true Indian flavours. My husband said his Lamb Tikka Vindaloo was one of the best ever. A really top experience and fully recommended

Wow. What an experience. Probably the best Indian food I have had. My partner and I couldn't fault it. Superb food, service, and atmosphere. The lamb chops were lush, staters fabulous, the chutneys delicious. A definite next time we are in Rye booking.

We were staying in Rye for the weekend and had a wonderful meal full of flavour and would certainly recommend a visit if you’re in Rye. The staff are very hospitality and keen you ensure that you had have a wonderful experience

The best Indian meal experience ever! The service was exceptional and very friendly. All the dishes were delicious. We visit a lot of restaurants as we travel around the country and this was definitely the best.

The chicken sizzler had meat that was very tough and difficult to eat, I left most of it as I was wondering how the6 may have achieved this hard rubbery texture… the options were not a great thought

This is a great place to go for a special occasion. The staff are attentive and efficient. The food is fabulous. The décor is also lovely.

Although the restaurant was busy, they managed to find room for us without a reservation, so it would be worth dropping in on the off chance. Fabulous meal, beautifully presented, and so much of it! We would have liked desserts but couldn’t fit any more food in. Starter was poppadoms, with 6 different dressings. Then we both had a biryanis: him the house biryani with a mixture of meats, me the vegetable biryani. Both were great.

friends who I take there wish they had an Indian of this quality where they live. Consistently great food and service. By

Lovely visit tonight. We've just moved to the area and have a tradition of visiting a lovely Indian on our first night in the home. Tonight was fantastic. Excellent service from all the staff and great food. Mixed starter could have benefited from being slightly bigger but was tasty and the message written on the plate was a good extra touch. I opted for the Lamb Jalfrezi and it was flavourful. Wife had the chicken biryani and she said it was great. We will be back😋😋😋

One of the best Indians in the area. Have visited here multiple times and the service and food are always fantastic. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys an Indian.

Lively place, with a very interesting menu. Superb food and helpful service. Unexpectedly good for a small Sussex town, so we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Welcoming, efficient staff. Excellent choice of food cooked to perfection. We make a point of coming here when in Rye. Don’t hesitate!

We are currently visiting Rye and just had an excellent meal at the Mahdi Lounge. We went as a family (with two children aged 12 & 10). The staff were very friendly and welcoming and the food was delicious. We started with popadoms, followed by starters of chicken tikka / onion bhaji / samosa & prawn purée and then mains of korma and lamb bhoona. We do eat curry fairly regularly but we all agreed that it was the best curry we have had in a long, long time. So tasty as well as being very well presented. Just disappointed we live far from Rye and can’t go back on a regular basis! Thank you!

Sadly the waiter and chef had no idea about allergen needs and would have provided food that would have made my partner unwell if we didn't have the knowledge ourselves. Menu looks good if you don't have any allergies but we had drinks and left, having been told various dishes were dairy and gluten free, when clearly they were not

This restaurant is superb. We went with friends and two children who enjoyed the experience as much as we did. Service and food are both exceptional. The restaurant was very busy but the quality of the food never slipped. I had a Panir and tomato curry which was absolutely delicious!

Beautiful place with amazing food and brilliant customer service. Fully recommended

A return visit to one of the best restaurants I know. Always busy (table reservations essential at peak times) but great food with beautiful presentation and impeccable service ensures a delightful meal. I don’t think it appears on the menu but we were recommended to have the garlic and chilli keema Nan bread - well worth a try!

We celebrated my husband's birthday here while we were on holiday. A lovely restaurant, attentive, friendly waiters plus the best Indian food I've ever tasted.

Now Rye is packed full of classy eating establishments, and you might therefore think twice about heading out to a simple curry house for a bite. Do yourself a HUGE favour, though, and give The Mahdi Lounge your serious attention, especially if you relish inventive cooking, stunning, subtle, balanced flavours, generous portions and wonderfully attentive service. It’s all good, but if you’re after recommendations, you absolutely must order the ubiquitous popadoms for the clever pickles they come with (let them know if you have a nut allergy, though…almonds are involved in at least one of the pickles). I’d also give serious consideration to the Naga Chicken, which is hot but sophisticated. The super-creamy dhal or the wonderful saag paneer works well to balance all that chilli thump. Best dish on our table though- a one pot biryani- like dish (Dum Achni, I think it was called) served in a sealed clay pot. You’ll be wanting the lamb version. For goodness sake- when you’re out and about in Rye- give Mahdi a chance to excite your tastebuds and fill you up with wonderful things.

Visited here as a party of 9. From the minute we entered everything was fantastic. Staff are so friendly, polite and helpful. Food was amazing, couldn’t fault it. We arrived at 6pm, by 6.30 this place was packed out, so would definitely advise to book if you plan to visit

Popped in here for a very quick dinner before catching our train. Lovely staff seated us super quick and brought out some delicious dishes. I'd highly recommend the meat samosas, coconut rice and lamb madras - all standouts!

We had a lovely meal here. The restaurant is lovely and the staff are very friendly. They have a good selection of dishes to choose from and service is about right - not rushed or waiting too long. The food is excellent and portion size is generous. It was quite expensive but an excellent meal.

THIS place was a very good find I love Indian food and this place has never failed in any area from service to quality. I highly recommend you try it. I visited quite a few times with my partner and 2 children we love this restaurant. The owner knows how to deliver.....

Absolutely beautiful food and 1st class service. We will be returning soon.

I had a booking with a group of friends. We were warmly greeted at the door and asked if we had made a reservation. We were primptly asked if we would like anypoppadoms and dr8nks which these arrived swiftly. Being a Saturday night, we made sure we had reserved a table 8pm and secondly, as we were a big group. We arrived in plenty of time for our booking and were happy to wait for the table. The restaurant was full, which is lovely to see I the current economic climate. The fine detail of fresh flowers on the table and in the waiting area added a personal touch and ambience. The staff were very helpful with talking trouugh the menu and especially the lovely young lady that asked us what heat and spice level we were used to. She had a great knowledge of the menu and was able to talk us through the dish, and suggested that if we like the sound of a dish then they could ask the chef to cater for thier own level of spice as the dishes were made fresh to each individual order. The food was of. Excellebt quality and great portion sizes. As well as the presentation was outstanding , and going the extra mile was aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The dish wee had was a mixture of the lounge specials Dum Akhni, Dum Gosth, Lamb Chop Bhuna, and salmon tikka with a mixture of vegetables side dish and nans We all shared and loved the great food. Will definitely be visiting you again, soon rather than later. Thank you so much for a lovely, enjoyable evening.

From the minute we stepped foot into the restaurant we were greeted with the warmest of welcomes! We were promptly asked if we would like a drink and popadoms and these were swiftly given to us. Staff were knowledgeable about the menu and were able to tell us of certain dishes could be made without ingredients as all good is cooked to order! The food was unbelievable, the chicken in both the curries and chicken tikka starter was delicious and it melted in the mouth! The excellent service continued throughout the meal as were we regularly checked on and asked if we needed any more drinks when our glasses were getting empty. All the food was brought out quickly and we didn’t have to wait long after ordering although the restaurant was very busy. If you want a delicious curry, this is the place to come! Our whole experience at Mahdi Lounge was amazing, it was definitely worth the hours drive! We can’t wait to return and bring family with us so they can have a great experience as well!

From the minute we stepped foot into the restaurant we were greeted with the warmest of welcomes! We were promptly asked if we would like a drink and popadoms and these were swiftly given to us. Staff were knowledgeable about the menu and were able to tell us of certain dishes could be made without ingredients as all good is cooked to order! The food was unbelievable, the chicken in both the curries and chicken tikka starter was delicious and it melted in the mouth! The excellent service continued throughout the meal as were we regularly checked on and asked if we needed any more drinks when our glasses were getting empty. All the food was brought out quickly and we didn’t have to wait long after ordering although the restaurant was very busy. If you want a delicious curry, this is the place to come! Our whole experience at Mahdi Lounge was amazing, it was definitely worth the hours drive! We can’t wait to return and bring family with us so they can have a great experience as well!

It was my husband's birthday and we were looking forward to having a lovely meal at Mahdi Lounge to celebrate. Sadly we had to wait a long time for a table and an equally long time to order. Also, I am dairy intolerant and was under the impression that they had a variety of dishes for me to order, sadly, there was only one rice option as all the others contained dairy. When our food finally arrived it was tepid and with very little flaviour. The staff, when asked, also had no idea if dairy was in any of the pickle and chutney presented with the poppadum, as a precaution I didn't eat them and was charged anyway. Disappointing evening all round and not the birthday celebration we had wished for. We won't be returning.

Oh my goodness, my new favourite Indian restaurant. The dish they serve in the clay pot is quite sensational, the flavours and spices are really intense and the meat succulent, I hope I can get my local to do this.

It was really so nice place and the employees are very friendly. The price is a little bit expensive but it was nice

Sunday lunchtime. Really beautiful restaurant and the food is probably the best Indian cuisine we have had. Will definitely return.

Didn't book but managed to get last table..what a gem of a restaurant..highly recommended...

Delicious food best curry I've had in a very long time.

Got a takeaway. Very good and value for money. Lovely veg curry and biryani great jalfrezi and good dhal. Wish we had gone back here instead of Marcos.

Loved our meal here! It wasn't on the menu, but I mentioned really loving achari curry, and the staff made something special - one of the best curries I've had in a long time. I'll be back!

This is a five star independent restaurant from start to finish situated in Ryes main high street. We were greeted so warmly on a Friday evening and despite not having a reservation were quickly seated. The owner came over and also greeted us and gave us some recommendations from the menu. I have the say the service was excellent. Attentive without being invasive. The food was beautifully prepared and tasted exquisite. I would definitely return!!

Food is ok and not very matching to the Indian standards

Disappointing. Small portions. Bad value for money

Great curry in a friendly atmosphere. Well wortj a visit.

We absolutely loved everything about Mahdi! Very warm welcome, the restaurant is spotless (white tablecloths and napkins too), and the entire meal was truly delicious. We also loved all the dips that came with the fresh papadum flat bread. Great overall experience!!

Highly recommended. Best indian restaurant ever. Food is so delicious.

We absolutely loved everything about Mahdi! Very warm welcome, the restaurant is spotless (white tablecloths and napkins too), and the entire meal was truly delicious. We also loved all the dips that came with the fresh papadum flat bread. Great overall experience.

Fabulous food and presented in a high-end way. There were 3 of us enjoying a Monday evening curry and I was delighted that I had booked a table in advance - the place was packed and people queuing for take-away meals. Best dishes, the special lamb dish and the lamb balti warmed to Phall strength using fresh green chillies (offered as a substitute to chilli powder by the restaurant owner when he took our order). Well worth booking.

Best Indian meal we have had for years. Staff welcoming and efficient. Tasty, well presented and if lived closer would make it a regular eating out place.

Brilliant service and amazing food

Really nice meal. Friendly and helpful hosts. Good price. A cut above the standard local ‘Indian’ (Bangladeshi specialities here). The chutney selection which clearly didn’t come from the cash and carry was the hint that the meal would be good… and I wasn’t disappointed.

This is just the best Indian Restaurant I've ever eaten in. Every visit we pay to Rye includes a visit here to eat the incredible food. Just top dollar throughout, Owner, staff waiting, and kitchen

Excellent food even better service.

What a fabulous place, The staff looked smart, service was great and food ,well what can I say ,tasty, very tasty ,would 100%recommend this place to have a great Indian 👍🏻

Fantastic food, service was excellent, explained dishes we didn't know about and we didn't feel rushed.

The staff welcomed us to the restaurant and showed us to a lovely clean table near the window. Menu were provided promptly but we weren’t rushed. We’d had some recommendations and these were fully explained to us. The food was absolutely delicious. Service was efficient...

Outstanding food in a lovely environment

Fantastic food Fantastic service

Fantastic. Since the beginning until end. All perfect. The staff really hospitality professionals. The food amazing. To repeat.

Very good dinner on a Monday night in Rye with smiling and courteous service. Would go again. Good choice on menu and helpful advice from waiter.

A warm welcome and very attentive service. Stylish comfortable surroundings. Absolutely delicious food, and beautifully presented.

Decent food but rubbish service. The waiter kept trying to stir my curry bowl leaning right across me. Had to slap his hand in order to discourage him from doing it again. The boss kept encouraging me to have a pint of rather expensive larger....

The best Indian restaurant I’ve ever been too. The presentation is wonderful. The China s gorgeous. Vilroy Bosh. They are all very smartly dressed in gold jackets and very attentive.. The food perfect!. I can’t wait to go back again!

Absolutely terrible…….they brought out the Bombay Aloo and ten minutes later I had to ask when the rest of the meal was coming. They rushed out a bowl of salad and then waited another five minutes for the chicken shashlik and keema naan. The chicken...

This is an excellent restaurant. The service was extremely attentive, with a whole team waiting on us. The manager was especially courteous. The food was beautifully presented, delicious and portions were a good size. The air con was also very welcome on a hot day....

I don’t normally feel passionate about curry restaurants, but this might actually be the best curry I’ve had. From starter to dessert. I don’t leave comments ever. That’s how good it is. Service bang on!

Lovely food, great service and very friendly staff, highly recommended! Fantastic location and easy to park.

Treated ourselves to a meal here this week, after a long time. We were greeted so warmly by the owner. The food was beyond exceptional, absolutely the best meal I’ve had in a long time. The service from the more junior waiters seemed a bit disjointed, one handing the menu and less than 10 seconds later, another wanting our order! I’m all for efficiency bit that was a bit rushed. That said all waiting staff were pleasant and we had a lovely meal. Will be back for sure.

Take away portions pitiful. Local customer been using this restaurant for years, but keeps getting more expensive, with smaller portions tin foil containers only 2/3rds full. Completely understand that prices rise at these difficult times, but cutting portions and quality at same time is ripping...

Have been using this restaurant for years however it keeps disappointing. Takeaway portions were pitiful. Small tin containers only 2/3rds full of tarka dhal. Vegetable curry that came with Biriani was curry water and again only 2/3rds full . Biriani was ok but that’s it. Come on Mahdi please don’t sell local/ loyal customers short

Food was out of this world. Food was absolutely delicious and presented beautifully. Staff are super friendly and attentive.

Wonderful service and really great curry. Clean restaurant and a good offer of drinks. Thank you, we will return. Highly recommended.

Warm welcome from the staff. The restaurant was very clean and had a lovely atmosphere. Excellent service and delicious, beautifully cooked food. Indian fine dining for sure. The portions were generous.

We ate some of the specials and the food was nice and the service friendly. We’d definitely go back again. We didn’t need to book but probably would in holiday season.

Although already busy, the staff were extremely accommodating and we were able to get a table of three seated extremely quickly without booking. They were busy however, so booking during peak times is probably a good idea. The food was impeccable, some of the best Indian that I've had the pleasure of experiencing. Poppadoms with a great variety of dips and sauces, could have done with a few more onions which I'm sure would have been provided if we'd asked, but we were eager to get to the main event so no points deducted for the smallest gripe. Starters and mains were equally as delicious, with my entire party full to the brim, wanting to eat more but unable to fit any more in. Fabulous food and hope to be able to visit again soon, the only downside was the beer which, although on tap did taste very metallic, which retracted from the experience somewhat. If the option is there next time I'll probably go for a bottled drink or stick to water, but the food more than made up for it. Thank you to the fantastic staff who made the experience as memorable as it was, although I didn't catch anyone's names there wasn't a bad apple amongst them and everyone was extremely accommodating. My parties dietary requirements were straightforward, but the restaurant appeared to be incredibly flexible towards individual needs judging by their menus and overhearing requests from other tables which is always reassuring to hear. I'd recommend a visit to anyone in the area with a taste for good food with a little spice, and look forward to my next meal at Mahdi Lounge.

Unbelievable service and food was amazing, we came to Rye for the weekend and this was recommended, the best we have ever had.

Food is always delicious and on time. Once they were running a little late and actually went through the effort of calling me to let me know it would be a bit late. Polite staff and good service 👌🏼

Saturday evening superb food and service highly recommended 👍

Visited with a friend last night for dinner. From the owner to all the staff they were fantastic. Stunning food, staff always on hand to help with drinks, food was top notch. Highly recommended!

Great food,, very helpful & friendly, comfortable.

Excellent service top notch meals would highly recommend to anyone visiting or living in area. Will definitely be returning asap 😀👍😋.

Very friendly and welcoming staff. My family were unsure of what to choose and the staff were very helpful with their recommendations. My family had meat options and I had the vegan choices and was able to have a vegan side as a starter and requested an off menu item ( lemon rice) which was extremely flavoursome. Thank you for making our visit so enjoyable. As someone who is very particular with Indian food I found the food perfect. Even my Dad who is not usually a lover of Indian food was impressed. I would 100% recommend this restaurant and will definitely be returning again.

This was the best Indian meal we have had for ages, great food and great service. Highly recommended.

Very clean,excellent decor, wonderful food and really good and friendly service. Thoroughly recommend

Great food with great service. Good looking restaurant with a fine choice of dishes. Definitely recommend (July 2022) 10/10 yet again for this fantastic little restaurant. I wish I could express in words how joyful eating here is. Yet again, great service and truly fantastic food. This place is a must when in Rye. (April 2023)

Loverly food, friendly staff. Thoroughly recommend

We had a lovely meal at Mahdi Lounge. The service was excellent and the staff were very friendly. They were very accommodating to us being vegan and talked us through the menu and our options. They even tailored some of the options to make additional...

This restaurant was recommended to us by some locals we had chatted to at The Waterworks micropub and it disnt disappoint. Service was excellent and the food was delicious

An outstanding evening at Mahdi Lounge!! Family run business with a personal touch, 5* Michelin presentation as well as taste! Owner served us and made the experience so personal! Would definitely recommend and will be back very soon. Worth the travel! Worth the experience!

Absolutely magnificent! Stopped here whilst out on a day off. 100% glad we did! Food was delicious and presented at 5* level. The family who run the establishment were so friendly and kind. Would recommend to anyone near or far! I will return.

From entering the restaurant to ending our fabulous meal was just a fantastic experience. The menu is inspirational with so many unusual flavours and options as well as offering the traditional curries. The chutneys served with the popadoms were fantastic flavours especially an almond and...

A busy Friday night and every seat was taken, including a party of 16 just as we arrived. Somehow the kitchen coped with the pressure delivering excellent food without any delay. Phal is a dish which is easy to get wrong but the chef got...

Excellent food and service. Extremely busy but managed to fit us in. Would recommend booking ahead.

Not been for some years but I'm glad I went this weekend!. All I'm going to say is...... Absolutely superb, masters of cuisine.

We booked in for 1830 on Saturday 25/2/23 a table for 2. A nice warm greeting was followed by wonderful poppadoms, a magnificent array of pickles, and draught Cobra. The main course was outstanding for both of us, the Naga Chicken as good as any...

We both had tikka masala, portions were generous and yummy. Loved the selection of poppadom dips especially the coconut. Good atmosphere too

Tasty good food served by friendly polite and helpful staff. Great place to eat.

I would rate this place 4/10, and 4 is for the decor the rest is rubbish, service lousy, food appalling and the prices are exorbitant, do not go there at all costs

First time eating there. Fabulous food and friendly staff. Would recommend. 👍.