Mela in Swindon

Very enjoyable food was had with 3 meat samosas for a starter (tasty and quite spicy) and mains of lamb shatkuri (lovely mutton breaking apart). Nice that the chef himself came and asked how we were enjoying the food :) Well-recommended !

My hubby and I went last Saturday to the Mela. We had Shetkura curries. It was piping hot and freshly cooked. Nice to see the chef chatting with the customers. Only niggle was the waiters tried to clear plates too quickly.

Came for a family birthday. 8 of us had each had a different dish Excellent food and service. Would defiitely visit again. Highly recommended

Delicious food and excellent service. The staff made every effort to make us feel welcomed. Would highly recommend for a social night out.

Another really excellent meal here. Since they launched their new menu a few months ago we’ve enjoyed trying some new dishes as well as revisiting old favourites. Definitely order the chicken pathia puree as a starter! The owner is so friendly and welcoming, and the chef is always open to feedback. The meal deal on a Wednesday and Thursday is fantastic value as well-just £13.95 for starter/main/rice or naan.

My partner and I have just moved into a new house, and Mela have absolutely saved us while we are still without a working kitchen! The food is so tasty (and well-priced) - we end up ordering enough for two meals every time and it always tastes even better on the second day. The delivery is fast and reliable, and the food always arrives piping hot. Would absolutely recommend - has quickly become our favourite place for a takeaway :)

Food quality very good along with portion size. Nice vibe with families and couples alike. Attentive friendly staff. Good prices. Acoustics good for hearing yourself talking across table, unlike Biplob where its bad.

Take out this Is what 10,30 gets you for mix kebab. It was poor to say the least. not much of a mix just what you see. Absolute rip off. If your kitchen is closed and don't want to make it. Just let the customer know.

Mela never fails to disappoint. Had a lovely experience tonight in the restaurant. The staff are friendly and attentive and the food was delicious!

We had a wonderful meal and the staff were very warm and helpful. I would recommend this restaurant if you are looking for curry in Swindon.

Great food and service at this restaurant. Our go to restaurant for Indian food if in Old town for drinks. Great selection of dishes.

If you can't drop in then the takeaway is damn near just as good. Order direct from the restaurant, they have a cracking discount on at the moment too.

Came to Mela for mine and my parents anniversary, not a massive curry fan but I have to say the food was delicious! Lots of options to choose from regarding menu choices, I couldn’t fault it what so ever, the service was on point very friendly staff and very welcoming, would 100% recommend and definitely will be retuning.

Great food and brilliant portion sizes. Would highly recommend. Will definitely be coming back

Delicious food as usual. We been twice after new management. Food was lush. Will definitely back soon.

We attended the Mela which is now under new management for a birthday party. We were a large table of 18. The staff were polite and really nice to the kids. They helped us find two extra seats when there was a mix up with the booking. They were expecting 16 of us. The food was delicious. Maybe the one of the tastiest dishes I have tried from an Indian restaurant. The garlic naan bread was lovely too, full of flavour. Drink service was fast and the food came out with good spaces in between each course. From the 18 of us.. There was not one complaint or issue. That's a tricky skill for any restaurant. Thank you

Had been to Mela for the first time on a visit from Oxford after seeing their meal deal on fb..The ambience was great,prompt service and food was yum 😋 will definitely be one of my favourites in Swindon now 😋

Great food, friendly and helpful service, especially for the first time Indian food. We will be back soon. Thank you so much

I didn't order it hot and it ruined the curries service was slow food was average rating and to many chillies

.. and it won't be our last. Their chicken shatkuri was top notch as was the chicken supreme. Well worth checking out !

Very delicious food in Swindon town. This was our 1st visit after new management and food was very delicious and friendly staff as well. Will definitely be back.

Delicious food as usual. Staff are very friendly and nice atmosphere. Specially chicken chakmai was delicious. Will be back soon.

Not very tuck away Indian restaurant. We had wonderful time at this gem of Indian restaurant. Very tasty food and big variety for vegetarian and non vegetarian. Chicken tikka was delicious. Excellent service and clean cosy dishes. Value for money

It was quiet as we went just after opening, but it is my favourite Indian restaurant for dinning in. My sister had Chicken Rogan Josh and I had Chicken Mazbani, we both had a mushroom rice and shared a sag aloo. Usual poppadoms to start...

Absolutely our go to Indian restaurant. Always a lovely welcome but the food is second to none. The chef is one great cook. Some dishes I have never seen elsewhere. Give it a go you won’t be disappointed.

Love this restaurant.Delicious food as usual. Friendly staff and very nice atmosphere. Will be back there soon.

Best Indian restaurant in Swindon. Good food as usual and very friendly staffs We will be back again.

Brilliant meal again, prawn pathia starters, garlic chilli chicken mains, the garlic chilli chicken is spot on in our opinion. Top service from Charles too. (Thank you Charles) We'll be back.

Best and only genuine Indian restaurant with authentic Indian taste not a typical so called 'curry house' .I must say that the chef(him) of Mela has got magic in his hand. It is very much clear after having food that why Mr. Porimol is award...

5 out of 5. It was our second time visit at Mela. Food was lovely and staff was very friendly. Chef came to us and asked how was the food . Very nice atmosphere as well.

Chose this place as the Jewel in the Crown was full. Did not book but the service was slow, the poppadoms had obviously been previously cooked as they were chewy. The Jewel in the Crown down the hill is far superior and had authenticity whereas...

Enjoyable evening Superb food friendly staff very attentive worth visiting great to talk to chef parking close by

Used to be regular until we had a takeaway which was awful. We heard it was under new management so decided to give it a go. Nan bread absolutely perfect, tandoori mixed grill yummy too. We'll be back.

We visited the Mela for a family meal. I can only say the staff and food were excellent the best Nan bread I’ve ever tasted. All our curries were delicious can’t fault it in any way. Its a new owner who knows how to treat...

Very nice food, nice looking interior and the currys were delicious. Nice atmosphere. Would love to go again right now.

Thank you for going above and beyond tonight and bringing the most delicious bahjee! You food is sensational, but your customer service is 5* 🙏 I'm really grateful!

Pitched up here in the evening of 13th August by chance. We've used the take-away service so thought 'Why not?' AC was working, (good start), and the meet and greet was nicely done. Drinks and nibbles order was quickly taken and delivered, the chutneys were...

Me and my mates used to come here for our Christmas curry but one mate moved away. He visited recently so we decided to follow the tradition and go for a curry again! We hadn’t been in a while and must say, it’s amazing! We...

If you do one thing in Swindon, try the food here. Unique flavours. It's the best fish curry we've had. They were very accommodating with my toddler and also the staff was very chatty.

But not the last. Great food Mongolian prawn curry was amazing, husband said his madras was the best he’s ever had. We will definitely be back

Not at all happy, the only positive was that it was still warm No flavours, the naan was also not falavourable will not use again

Booked a table for 3 for 7.30pm. On arrival we were the 2nd couple in the restaurant but it then got busier. We waited well over 30 minutes to order, over 30 minutes for our starters and watched as others who had entered the restaurant...

Pre- booked a table, arrived on time, ordered from menue - got mains served after 2 hours. The restaurant wasn't busy. Been frequent customer here for >10 years Why did we stay? .... because we remained hopeful, but my should have trusted our instinct.. Big...

Food quality is impeccable however, I am not sure how they are heating the restaurant because it was subnormal temperature and upon advising of this while paying the bill, no acknowledgment nor apology, completely blanked our feedback. This made for an uncomfortable meal because I...

we were heading to our normal curry house and the menu here caught our eye so we thought we would give it a go. we were very pleasantly suprised by the choice of dishes, particularly the fish dishes. we ordered the samosas and chicken momos...

29th of October 2021 I Arrived with my family thinking we would have a nice dinner at 6.30 pm with our 2months old baby and 4,5-year-old daughter... It took over 2hours for the main course to arrive. My daughter was so hungry they never came...

It took an hour for starters to arrive at a table of 6 people. They were nicely presented when they arrived, though, and generous portions. Unfortunately, the main course curries were full of oil, and so greasy they were unpalatable. Service extremely slow, even on...

Excellent service, delicious food-a really enjoyable experience! A real blend of spices and flavours. The portions are very generous: We had 4 mains and 4 vegetable side dishes between 6 adults-there was plenty left for another meal or two.

We have been to Mela for years. We have never been disappointed. It was the 1st time we visited the restaurant since lockdown. It is as delicious as usual. We were there on a Wednesday night for our wedding anniversary. It was quiet but we...

THE BEST IN TOWN.... SIMPLY AMAZING FLAVOURS... Guys do not miss this Restaurant if you want to have authentic Indian cuisine.....The Biryani’s are authentic flavor packed... The chef recommend made my Chef Ravi are just So mouth watering & Chef does Indo Chinese cuisine too...

Love the Biryani here! Staff are friendly and love the mango Lassi! The waiter was very nice and gave us a insight to what each dish would be like and how it would taste. Very helpful

2 and a half hours wait for delivery. Chase after an hour and Told they had the order, then chased and they didn’t have the order, ordered again, chased again, oh we think our driver has the order. Driver lost. Driver turns up. Food cold....

My wife ordered takeaway to be delivered on our wedding anniversary new years eve for a treat. Food was ordered at 19.05,Mela said would deliver at 20.20, at 21.00 went on app to say food not delivered, message came back it would be delivered at 21.30. Well by 21.50 still no food. Rang Mela, no answer, left message to say cancel order. We ordered a pizza. Whilst eating the pizza there was a knock at the door at 22.45. It was the food we ordered at 19.05. Will never order from them again. Absolute joke. Ruined our night!!!! Would give 0 stars if I could.

Ordered a takeaway due to lockdown from Mela Swindon and it seems we were given the weekends leftovers, I have used many Indian restaurants in my time and being Indian myself know what a curry should entail but this was totally a waste of money and quality of food was poor won’t be ordering from here again.

Fantastic service and wonderful food, couldn’t fault the service at all, food came in good time and the staff were attentive

Ate at Mela on Bank Holiday Monday and while I had eaten there once before this was the first time for my wife and daughter. The food was simply excellent and couldn't be faulted. I had Chef Ravi's Mela Special Biryani and is was the best I have tasted with melt in the mouth lamb and two types of chicken. My wife wanted to try something different so went for the Lamb Coriander Tikka which came out on a sizzling bed of onions. This again was gorgeous not only to taste but to look at as well. We will be returning.

We ordered for delivery on the recommendation of a friend, and were absolutely blown away. Delivered piping hot, 20mins before the estimated delivery, and every single item ordered was fantastic. One of the best Indian’s we’ve had, and we’ll definitely be ordering again!

The food was absolutely delicious. Very fresh and tasty. Great choice on the menu. Best Indian I’ve ever had!!

Great service, Cobra on tap and the portions were excellent. Garlic Chilli Chicken and Chicken Balti were really tasty as was the sauce for the vegetarian dish. The problem was the actual vegetables. Apart from the potatoes the other vegetables were diced frozen veg and frozen peas. Not what was expected.

Where do I start, oh the ghee i know it's a staple and used in all curry but jesus I had a thick curd of it on all the lids and curry . Tinned mushrooms with the mushroom rice, I mean really is it worth it. We went for a mix something new murgh jaisalmer all heat, ghee and bereft of any flavour. My lamb royal, there was nothing royal about the lamb tough as old boots. Common theme very watery sauces. Chicken chat puri , rota greasy like you wouldnt believe. This isnt a cheap curry house I deliberately picked it as I naively thought at those prices, it has to be decent, boy I was wrong. Check out the oil on the lids and the uniformly sliced tinned mushrooms. To be fair no expense spared on the bags

First time we had a take away from this restaurant (on a Thursday night) and the food was amazing! Chicken tikka, chicken garlic chilli, special mela fried rice, all these dishes tasted different/better/full of flavour, amazing! so from now on we are changing our old curry house to this place to have curry on a Thursday/Friday night! I am actually got excited we have found this place lol

The food at Mela is by far the best; and I’ve tried a few! Their Sag Paneer is absolutely amazing, along with their wide selection of mains and sides. The staff are very friendly and always helpful in suggesting alternative dishes.

Another great meal at the Mela with great service. Afraid we always have the same; some tasty Onion Bhajis followed by Chicken Karai and crisp Mela Naan Bread (don’t go for this if you like the soggy stuff). The only thing that would make this better would be some lettuce salad and a lemon wedge served with the Bhajis. We’ll be back.

We came here after movies.We didn't take any chances and booked the table in advance. Which in my opinion was wise decision because place was quite packed when we came in after 20.00.My partner recommend this place and it wasn't empty one.Food and service were really nice. I like Indian cuisine and in Mela they do it as they promise, contemporary.Portions were adequate and we didn't need to leave with empty stomach.We are looking forward to returning to this place with our guest's from abroad.We can recommend Mela and it is for sure one of the best Indian restaurants in Swindon.

Well walked in last night. Busy but managed to get a table. Poppudums and bits great. Ordered a chicken vindaloo , chicken jalfezi. Mushroom rice and pilaf rice . Dishes came out well presented but the star of the dish was very very sparce and over cooked and tough. Shame as rest of meal was fine. Good service

> Speed of service is awful, we waited over an hour for our dishes to be served. In total, we got there at 8 and left at 11 and we only had 2 courses. > Rice portions sizes. Some of us ordered the same rice dishes, they brought out the rice but did not inform us they were two portions in one dish for sharing. So I had already emptied my rice onto my plate, only to have to scoop it back off when they told us later. We then ordered a single portion of rice and when it arrived it was only a tiny bit smaller than the double portion, so it's a total rip off. The money we paid for a double portion is ridiculous as it's hardly bigger than a single.> Tried to order various coffees that were listed on the desert menu only to be told that they don't do any of them, only filter coffee. Take it all off the menu if you cannot provide it.> We chose the Mela as the last time we visited they did huge Naan's but they now extremely small.Very disappointed and will not return again.

We hadn't been to the Mela since the change of ownership and were pleasantly surprised to find that, if anything, the standards of food and had improved on an already excellent restaurant. There is now a much wider choices on the menu and food is served promptly by attentive staff.

Well, what can I say. We have eaten at Mela a few times over the years. Tonight’s meal was excellent. We started with Chicken Tikka and Onion Bhaji’s both were very good. The Bhaji’s were light and tasty. The Tikka was succulent and well spiced. For mains we had a Lamb Jalfrezi and a Chicken Siri. Both were well cooked and delicious. We had pilau rice and a roti which complemented that mains very well. Portions were generous and the staff were friendly and not over attentive. We have friends coming over from America next year and if they are up for a curry we will be off to Mela.

This was a re-visit for a lunch time. The food here is excellent, and there is a lot of it. It is a little pricey - but very good flavours.

Having heard a few bad reports in recent times I was reluctant to eat here but boy am I glad we did. I had the Goan Chicken Curry and it was probably one of the best curries I have eaten in a long time. The rice and the peswari naan were also delicous. I always bring curry home with me - not this evening, it was too good not to eat there and then.

Have ordered from here before and the food was lovely. The food tasted fresh and was one of the best indian takeaways I've had in Swindon. Ordered again and it was awful. The dishes were either tasteless or very very salty. It is a shame because I won't be ordering again. It is too much of a risk to get such a bad meal for nearly £40.

Can't really grumble with this place. Average food. Average price.. tad salty but I'd go back when passing

Fab food with masses of flavour in good sized portions. Attentive service and a nice buzzy atmosphere.

We went in just after opening on a Sunday evening, we chose to have the set menu for 2 as we couldn’t decide what to have ... It all came very quick , the service was excellent and all the staff were very friendly & cleared each course very quickly. The food was EXCELLENT..... we were also offered a free drink afterwards. Highly Recommended

Forget the rest, this is undoubtedly the best curry house in Swindon at the moment, I have been eating Indian food for 35 years and have been to all the restaurants in Swindon and where I now live in Melbourne and this is top of the list, clean, fresh perfectly cooked with great flavour you will not be disappointed here if you are a connoisseur of good Indian food

The food was ok. Starters were the highlight, served in a modern style and tasted very good. The main course was more standard indian cuisine. My wife’s chicken was a touch dry and mine had a strange coating but tasted ok.

Went with my team here and really liked it. I have been living in swindon for an year now and did not know about such a great place to eat at. A must try if you are a fan of Indian and Indo-Chinese food.

I am a massive fan of the Zaika Valley but the service is hit'n'miss and they are a little arrogant, the Mela is across the road and a friend asked to try the Mela.

I think a while back the Mela closed or something, but now it’s back with a style. I’ve always liked it, and the other night was no exception; the onion Bhajis were very tasty, our Chicken Karai had some great flavours and the right amount of spice accompanied by the Mela Special Naan which we particularly liked - crispier and more flavoursome that Plain or Keema. Great service throughout. We look forward to our next visit.

We were wandering round the old town in Swindon looking for somewhere to eat and decided to try Mela. We were very happy with our choice - the food and service were great. Only criticism was the music which in our view could do with an update!

We absolutely loved it! This was the best Indian meal I’ve ever had and I don’t just mean in Swindon but anywhere. It was amazing. The lamb was melt-in-the-mouth tender. Everything was perfectly spiced and full of complex flavours but nothing was ridiculously hot. The chicken momos were really tasty. The chicken lollipops looked stunning. All the sides were perfectly cooked. Bombay Potato is often hard - this wasn’t, the texture was perfect. Our mains were gorgeous. Even the pilau rice was exceptional. The naans were smaller than some places - dinner plate sized - but very tasty. The dishes were all beautifully presented. It was more like fine dining than a typical Indian. I did though wonder why three out of four mains arrived ready plated whilst my husband’s dish was presented in a separate dish. Next time we’ll ask for all mains to be in separate dishes so that we can more easily share. This wasn’t a problem just a bit unexpected in an Indian restaurant.

Service, food, second to none. Thouroghly enjoyed the experience. Looking forward to returning again soon. Very happy to recommend.

Had a lovely evening, great food, great service but £3.50 for a line and soda!!!

Curry Club visited Mela. Early arrival from work, immediately welcomed and looked after throughout our stay. Great menu offering including some Mela specialities, our personal choices varied and the food was consistently excellent. Recommended

Following a retirement drink in Old Town, a trip to Mela was always going to be our final destination. A colleague had pre-warned the restaurant that there may well be a dozen, or so people coming in. However, over double that eventually turned up. Not only did the Mela staff make room for us all, they served up a fantastic meal for us. Thank you for looking after us.

We usually go to a different Indian but our last takeaway was a little disappointing and so we decided to try somewhere new. We were in old town swindon trying to decide where to go and chose Mela we were not disappointed. The restaurant is very welcoming and smart . The menu has a good choice and is well priced.

One of the best TRUE curry places in town and we keep going back. My family and I prefer more authentic, not the late night after pub stuff which tends to be bland. I’m not sure that others know the difference sometimes. With the newer management in the last year, this place is good. It’s not London 5 star fab, but it’s definitely 5 star Swindon and Swindon has a lot of curry houses. We like to be able to taste the bouquet of herbs & spices in the dish. That moment when you bite and one of the spices explodes briefly but then blends back into the flavour of the dish, refreshing. This stuff is authentic, I can’t say it enough. My partner, who has studied curry for years chooses this place. If you don’t like the real thing or are looking for the westernised version, go somewhere else. Love it.

WoW - the food was just the best. Friends had told me how good this restaurant had become so I just had to try it and I was not disappointed. Restaurant was busy so service was not quite tip top but it never spoilt our evening. Highly recommend the Mela for an extremely tasteful Indian.

Simply beautiful food, greylat ambiance and service. Special thanks to the manager Charles for his amazing hospitality skills!

staff couldn't do enough, they were attentive and very polite. I asked for extra onions for our poppadoms they brought out completely new dishes of everything. Curry (Chicken balti) was to die for. Toilets were clean too. My party all thought how lovely it was.

Used to go here years ago and sadly it went down hill, but is now under new management. The food is flavoursome and the staff are really friendly and welcoming. Great place for groups or as a couple.

Had an OK curry here last week. Didn't start to well they never had our booking and this was after I actually went in the restaurant two weeks before to book a table for four! I was not impressed and no one seemed to be to fussed.

I visited with a mate on a quiet Monday but by 8:00pm it was pretty full.

Eaten here 3 times so far and thoroughly impressed each and every time. Service, decor and food are excellent. The menu steps away from your standard Indian menu, there are dishes within it that I have never heard of. You read the menu with interest to understand what the dish is comprised of and make your choice, to date every dish chosen has been superb. Generous flavoursome portions and excellent value for money, quite simply the best Indian I have ever had. Highly recommended.

A frequent visitor, we went last night and always the curry was amazing, can never fault this place, a must go

Visited around 8pm on a Sunday night. The restaurant was around half full. I had passed before and chose a restaurant close by as Mela was empty that night which on reflection maybe my judgment call was unfounded. So sat down promptly and drinks arrange it was onto the extensive Menu. I went for some poppadoms and pickle tray, then lamb chops for starter and the Panjim Fish curry. The lamb was very well cooked and tasted fantastic and the Fish curry was completely different to any I had tried before but very much worth it because it was delicious. The only reason it was not a 5 was the service which was good but don’t bring your starters immediately after bringing the poppadoms give people time and then when I ordered the bill they made mistakes with not adding everything which was unusual but I had to ask a couple of times before things were sorted. I would recommend you don’t let those little glitches put you off as the food and surroundings are excellent so give them a try.

What a fantastic restaurant. Menu varied and interesting. Staff attendant and accommodating. Food fantastic. Prices reasonable. Would definitely recommend.

I recently celebrated my Retirement with friends and colleagues at the Mela . They accommodated 40 of us with forward planning but there were no restrictions on menu choices and, given the amount of diners and food to be served , the service was excellent. The food was amazing and I would definitely recommend it Thank you to the staff of the Mela for helping to make my evening memorable .

ordered 2 vegetable Curries and both were red gravy but taste was sweet. the biggest dislike which I had for the resturant is No highchairs for baby to seat. it was seriously very tuff to hold baby and eat food. dinner was completely spoiled

Everything has changed since my last review. The premises have had a make-over and the menu has a greater range of options. The prices have inevitably gone up, but I still think the price of our dinner represented good value for money. Presentation on all our dishes was great. It's a much more upmarket dining experience now. Lots of choice and good descriptions about the various dishes. They've kept the traditional favourites but added some different, interesting ones to tempt you away from your usual order. A good choice veggie and fish options, as well as meat. Service is excellent. We will definitely return.