Pooja in Wellingborough

Place is dirty, old and hygiene looks poor. Food was cold and stacked with oil. Probably worst indian food i have ever tasted. Rude and ignorant servers/host.

If you love Indian sweets, this is the place for you! I always find the staff friendly and helpful. The sweets are fresh and well priced - well worth a visit 😋

The sweets sold there are very old. They don't taste as good as they used to be. The restaurant is been closed (glad I did not eat to upset my stomach). Will never visit there again.

I put order Sweets for business function(Diwali event at company site) 2 days in advance and sent email with timing of delivery with precise function time. this was confirmed in email. However when i didn't receive order on time then decide to call on provided number and they dont have clue regarding my order. they told me to call me back after find out what happen to my order and why not deliver. After couple of calls realised that they didnt send my delivery and they dont know about why order not process. Finally they process my order but realized that one of item which i ordered not in stock and asked me to choose one of available items. I said that i put order 2 days in advance and you confirmed that and now u didnt deliver order and now u dont have one of item which i ordered and they said that all in their terms and condition and also told me that why i didnt call earlier so blaming me on that they missed my order because i didnt remind them in morning. how ridiculous that as didnt say in order confirmation email that i need to remind them. Anyway finally they send delivery with order amendment just about to time when function going to start so just we got lucky as i called them to find out about my order otherwise that was going to miss.No apologies or refund or anything on this case. only positive thing and i said main thing is that all sweets are good and people enjoy but ordering and service not on mark which need definitely improvement because people put order with hope that they receive good food with service and their function depend on your food so keep service upto mark

I was really looking forward to going to this restaurant for ages, so I finally took my manager when he came up for a visit. The staff were very friendly, and the drinks were fine. However, the food seemed to be a bit bland. Don't get me wrong it was very nice, but I was expecting something a bit more spicier when I ordered my meal, as did my manager.

We used to live in Kerala, and I have to say that Pooja is the closest We've ever come to authentic Indian food in the UK (and we've eaten in Indian restaurants the length and breadth of Britain). We first discovered it by accident, when we got lost in the town. Such serendipity! That evening, we were the only non-Asian people in the restaurant, and as we were to discover, this was not at all unusual. We've been to Pooja dozens of times over the years, and in fact, we're visiting the UK in a few weeks, and will be going again. The food is nothing short of amazing - we love the variety and diversity of the menu... and the fact that they make rose lassis! The staff are lovely and helpful, and the food is exceptionally good value. We've also used Pooja's catering service a couple of times, and would have no hesitation in recommending it. When we lived in the UK, we'd also visit once a month for a shopping trip, to stock up on their frozen curries, burfi, and other sundries. Pooja is truly a little bit of India in the Midlands!

Very poor quality food was very greasy. They always try to overcharge. Unfriendly service. I would strongly avoid!'

A real rival to some of the best veggie Indians in London (Diwana, Drummond Street, Euston). Well worth a visit.

The food is not the tastiest gujarati food i have had. its overly greasy and I have no idea which year the items used in the dishes would have been fresh in. The restaurants in Leicester are much better

Much better than average Indian vegetarian restaurant in a back alley. The starter has some very niceclassic street food, Sev batata Puri is my favourite and the doosas are perfectly acceptable. Only tried the mains once and quite enjoyed Kadai Bengan Aloo and Chana Masala with Bhatura. A pity that they have discontinued the Thalis. Service is very willing. Note - this is only open in the evening Tuesday to Sunday.

The location is difficult to find. The food is okayish. Some of sweets are good as they are palatable and not as sweet. On the whole if you like Indian veggie food it is worth a try.

This cafe wins no points for setting, views, or plushness. It's a seating area next to the sweets counter and is not posh. However if you are a fan of out heron Indian food, you will love it. The food is outstanding. Definite musts for us are chilli paneer and the dosa. The range of food is extensive and the service good. Takes a bit of finding, don't go on a rainy night without directions like we did on our first visit! The location seems unlikely, tucked up an alley behind a car wash, but DO NOT be put off by this first impression. The food makes up for it!

The food in this restaurant is the most delishous food you will taste. I am quite fussy, and tend not to like quite a lot, but this place is amazing. Nothing I don't like. The staff are friendly in the restaurant. I love this place!

I have eaten here 7 or 8 times and the food really is superb, i am a veggie but lots of my friends and relatives are meat eaters and all reckon it is very good. Dishes you won't find in a regular indian and loads i had never tried before are included in the large menu.... That is the plus side, the down side is that the restaurant itself is very grubby, cold and unwelcoming has no atmosphere at all, the seat covers are all covered in dirty stains, the floor is tatty lino and the decor dreadful. It has become so bad, that i have had an offer to go dinner there soon and talked them in to going elsewhere.. The sad thing is, if they rolled up their sleeves and did the work themselves, it wouldn't cost a fortune to make nice (as long as they employed a cleaner too, to keep on top of things) . If you live nearby, order a takeaway.

The restaurant is difficult to find - it is at the side of a warehouse that dwarfs the restaurant. A better name sign would help. We travelled seven miles to reach it. The tables were set by someone who didn't know how to set a table - definitely a left handed person as the cutlery was the wrong way round. Also, not enough of it, nor even glasses for water. The food is purely vegetarian and Asian. If you haven't tasted this kind of Asian food before it is a little strange. A lot of an Indian type of cheese that we weren't familiar with. The waiter, however, was unable to explain the dishes. Something that should be put right without delay. He was also, the only waiter for around 30 customers. The restaurant filled up as we were leaving. We were a family of six people, two of them children. One child loved the food the other tried small amounts of various dishes, and didn't like any. The four adults enjoyed the meal but were somewhat mystified as to what we had eaten. Would we return ? Maybe, they have a lot to learn. Totally lacking any refinements, very basic.

Our recent visit to pooja with friends to introduce a nice vegetarian restaurant ended up me being embarassed. As we walked in i saw a notice on the door put by food authorities rating pooja as "poor in hygienic" and has to improve.The taste of the food has come down to what it was 2 years ago. The food tastes good only to a person who doesn't know Indian food. Its like a one man show, the same person cooking/helping in the kitchen and serving. Most of the food we ordered was very disappointing except for batata puri. IF they are concentrating on catering, its best to close the restaurant. This will be my last visit and never going to recommend it. I really feel sad to tell this as it was the only restaurant i was going to for last 7yrs.Last thing to mention, their packed sweets are the worst!!! available in the shops.

Had a brilliant meal here last night, when we arrived the restaurant was empty and the lights off, but as soon as we walked in the waiter turned them on and showed us in, drinks and starters brought promptly, as were drinks refilled (although you would expect that as we were the only ones in there at first), mains also brought out very quickly - everything tasted beautiful and presented very nicely, thoroughly enjoyed the food and will definitely be paying another visit. Three starters, two mains, two chapatis, four soft drinks = £23, not bad at all and some of the best food I've tasted! Afterwards we were browsing their shop/sweets counter and were given a free sweet each, also filled a small box of sweets and it only cost £3! Have recommended to all of my family already. The poor reviews on here recently annoy me - if you're going to travel 60 miles just to visit a restaurant on a Sunday night, surely you would ring in advance to book a table/double check opening times, as its such a long journey? You can't give a one star review if you haven't sampled the food, what do you expect, for them to fire up the ovens and start cooking just for one table when no one has been in all night? And as for the samosa shape complaint - really? What does it matter if they're not perfect triangles, they're hand and homemade, freshly cooked and taste fantastic, what more do you want? Processed crap from a supermarket? And the complaint about a dish being tomato based when it shouldn't be... Different regions of South India cook to different recipes!! Visit here, buy their ready meals, sample their food - and if its a bad experience, every restaurant and chef is bound to have an off-day occasionally, but he was right on score for us!!

Phoned to make a booking, I thought it was odd the owner did not take my name or phone number. When I arrived with family I was told there is no booking - You did not make a booking. I had driven 15 miles to the venue. His wife sorted it out and gave us a table. It was very crowded. There is only one waiter - taking orders, serving and clearing up. There must have been about 40 customers. He got orders wrong for some. I had ordered Samosas and Paneer samosas arrived. Worst shaped Samosas I have ever seen. There were three of us. Apart from starters - each persons order arrived separately, not all at same time. Hence whilst I finished my dosa - my friends Rava dosa did not arrive for 15 minutes. Do not order Massala Mogo Chips - nothing but Mogo( Cassava) in Tomato sauce with spices sprinkled on it.Massala Dossa and Rava Dossa were excellent. Crispy potato pakoras were as they should be and very good. The service was slow as there was only one poor waiter covering all tables. Will I go there again? Yes for Rava Dosa and Massala Dosa

Staff not at all friendly, orders unfulfilled and food that claims to be authentic but lacks inspiration and care. We visited this restaurant with high hopes despite having read about its very poor venue (essentially the side of a warehouse) but left utterly disappointed. The food, whilst close to authentic Indian food, was uninspired, missing a lot of the essential spices; for example the spinach paneer didn't match the description and consisted of blended plain spinach with plain unseasoned paneer - something we had to throw away. Food from the sweets section is nice and quite authentic so long as you stick to the penda or kaju kathri. I would not recommend visiting here again.

If you want to try authentic indian food then this is the place to go. This is my local indian restuarant and as a vegetarian I love it as I can eat absolutely every dish!! The food is very flavoursome and exceptionally good value for money. The only downside is the decor and their is only one waiter so the service can be slow if you go in peak times. If you want a cheap meal out and good indian food then try here.

This place is a total gem, its not the prettiest place but the food is devine, a true reflection of what my friends from india eat. How ofter do you go into typical indian resturant on the high street and see indian families sat around? Never thats because they know where pooja is!! The food is excelent value as theres no meat and is just the tasties thing you will ever try. They also have many of their dishes frozen to take away for another time and traditional indian puddings mmmmmmmmm just go

It was a perfect sunday evening and we thought to close it with a much heard about Pooja.We travelled around more than 30 miles to reach Pooja and finally made it at 8:30 pm.As expected it was hidden behind the Car wash.The thought of food made me excited....to my horror and shock we were told IT'S CLOSED!!!!!! i enquired that their website says they are open till 11 and we are far earlier than that. The man said...we have no customers....I was furious and asked again..what do you think we are???? he refused to even open up the shop to get some ready food, forget to even cook for us. I assume the guys were the workers lot...but what a shame that the owners are not even bothered!!.I tried to tone down a bit requesting that it would be 60 miles return journey with no food, but the man had blank expressions. I told him on his face... would never ever return to this place where such in-human customer service exists.I wish i get the owners number.. i would surely tell them our dissappointing tale.So that night... after travelling 60 miles in total.. came back home and cooked!!!!! (as everything else was shut by the time we returned)

another visit to our local and best vegetarian restaurant. A bit fed up with cooking we had a great meal with the usual fresh and delicious food at a very reasonable price.In the adjoining shop you are able to buy frozen meals 2 for £6, samosas and yummy savouries and extremely high calorific value sweets that have to be sampled!

another visit with friends and was a bit disappointed that the thali meals are no longer available, but we had a great evening despite this , excellent food and reasonable prices.

I have been to the Pooja 3-4 times now and each time it's been excellent.Trying to convince meat-loving friends to try this restaurant is tough, but honestly, they have such a wide range of different dishes, you don't notice it's vegetarian.Prepare for something different, this is a million miles away from your average tikka masala or balti!Very reasonably priced too.We'll be back and recommend to anyone.

My partner and I went to Pooja's for my birthday and the food was excellent. I usually go to their takeaway shop for my Samosas and crispy bits - I love this shop.Back to the dinner it was all vegetarian and I am a big meat eater but it was beautifully presented and very tasty. Again if your a veggie you must try this restaurant.

This is by far the best tasting Indian food I have ever had.As a veggie it's amazing to be able to pick absolutely ANYTHING from the menu, I'm not used to having that much choice!It isn't the most intimate of venues, has that classic "eating in somebody's dining room" vibe but don't let that put you off. The food and service are both outstanding.I quite fancy working through every item on the menu, the food is certainly cheap enough!If I was taking family or friends out in Wellingborough, this would be my number 1 choice every time. Just be sure to check the opening hours as we turned up for a Sunday Lunch and it wasn't open!

a wedding anniversary treat was a lovely meal at Pooja.Although the restaurant may be missing candles and ambience, the food is fresh,tasy and authentic.Service was prompt and friendly and the portions generous, a vegetarian delight in Northamptonshire which seems lacking regarding veggies!Very good value all round.We also bought some frozen curries from the shop which cost x2 for £5 which proved equally delicious!!

Firstly this restaurant is lovely cuz ur made to feel at home. The place is welcoming and nicely decorated and has great windows. The place just feels right.The service was brilliant and the food was tasty and beautifully presented. We were a party of 6 and the food was served in a timely fashion. Having eaten lots in India I felt I was getting a taste of the real thing. The menu is well rounded and changes often (I was told every few months). I will defintely return. Great to see the chef out talking to people too! It's homely resturant where you can relax with all your family and you don't have to worry about the food and service as it's second to none!!! Gone try it yourself you know you wana i recommend this to all as they also cater for the whole family and they are famous for doing pure vegetarian INDIAN wedding catering as well you ask what you want and they will deliver to highest standard at a very reasonable prices as well!!

we eat here a couple of times a month and we are always very very happy with the food. the service is very friendly and we are yet to order anything we didn,t like. i would recommend pooja to anyone vegetarian or not.

A bit off the beaten track tucked away behind a car wash. We were introduced to the Pooja by friends 3 years ago and we keep going back for more of the excellent food. Pure vegetarian Indian restaurants are very rare in the UK from my experience. The range of food is very wide and is all so new and exciting !Delightful and amazing food. The restaurant/room itself isnt great, but the food is worth it.

My wife and I have been visiting The Pooja for many years and have never been disappointed. The food is the genuine item (the people who run it are Indian wedding caterers) and very different from the usual Bangladeshi "Indian" food you find elsewhere (you can see the menu online at their website). The decor is nothing special however the food is fantastic and the staff always friendly, plus the prices are low.The front of shop has a counter where you can buy pukka Indian sweets/cakes and savoury snacks. I recently bought a selection for my Indian colleagues in where I work in Cambridge for Diwali (they were feeling homesick) and they were all very impressed with the food and were amazed that it was possible to buy authentic Indian food here!

Fortunately, the bad press surrounding their hygiene case doesn't seem to have affected the popularity of this rather good little restaurant. We ate there last weekend as part of a group of 13 and had a marvellous evening. It is true to say that the service isn't the best and the place itself not the most interesting but the food makes up for it. Go there in the right frame of mind, drink a few Cobras, and you'll have a fantastic evening. The food is stunning.

Pooja is our local Indian vegetarian restaurant therefore we often go there.It is located next to a car wash and is hidden away from the main road next to a warehouse. Although the exterior is not really inviting or appealing, it is ok inside. It is modest looking and a larger version of somebody's dining room so capacity is small. Parking can be an issue at busy times. The food is good...we try to order something different each time we go as there is so much variety. My favourite is the chilli paneer.Pooja is let down by the service provided. It's usually one waiter for the whole restaurant. He appears to have other duties and spends most of his time in the kitchen rather than looking after customers. Therefore service is slow but we do not mind when the food is good.Pooja is well known for its thriving catering business rather than the restaurant. It also has a mithai counter which has a variety of mithai to pick from. It is also a mini shop selling other dry and frozen/chilled foods.I would definitely recommend this place.

Was recommended this place by a friend for proper Indian and thoroughly enjoyed what we picked up. Even got our car washed next door while waiting for our order!

This is a great place. Tucked in behind a car wash just outside the central shopping area in Wellingborough, you probably wouldn't know that there is a restaurant, takeaway and sweet shop lurking just a short walk away. Pooja are mainly caterers, but you can dine in for not too much. The food costs between £2 and £6 per dish; drinks are reasonably priced too. What you don't eat, you can ask to be put into takeaway containers, so there is no excuse not to try lots of novel and exciting foods, not all of which are heavily or hotly spiced. You'll find many Indian families eating there which is always a good sign and it is best to book at weekends. The restaurant doesn't open late and as far as I recall you need to be seated by 9pm at the latest. Service is courteous, but not overly swift on busy nights. On a quiet night, expect food to start arriving within about 10 mins from ordering.

I have visited this restaurant several times and feel I should add my positive comments to those already posted here. This restaurant is really good value for money and serves authentic Indian vegetarian food that is truly tasty.I am aware of the negative press that another poster has noted but I have never encountered any problems with the food service or general hygeine at this restaurant.The decor is simple, the service a little erratic but overall a charming experience and seriously good food at a sensible price.There are frozen meals in the freezer in the shop. Take one home with you when you leave along with some desserts from the counter.All in all a good place to go to eat.

Pooja is in a converted warehouse so the exterior is not the most welcoming. Inside is not lavish but its nice and simple. The food was the wow factor it is just out of this world, fresh and well presented. Even if you're not vegetarian its a must to try. Excellent flavours and not over facing. Brilliant value and friendly attentive service. You wont be dissappointed.

FROM the BBC News site 25/11/11"Directors of the Wellingborough firm admitted three food hygiene offences before town magistrates on 19 May.Kishor Modha and Raxa Modha were fined £27,000 and must pay council costs.'Considerable failings' Wellingborough Borough Council discovered the unregistered warehouse in July 2010. A fire alerted the authority to the fact that the building existed.When environmental health officers entered they found old and fresh rat faeces, gnawed food packaging, plus paw prints and tail marks in soot on food and shelves.The warehouse was being used to store food and food equipment but was not registered with Wellingborough council as a food premises."Fancy a rat-madras? Then pop along to Pooja!

My best friends are two of those visitors from planet veggie, and, as they will freely admit, fussy with it. I do have some sympathy, as why should they suffer the inevitable vegetable lasagne or mushroom stroganoff, while B & I have a veritable smorgasbord of deelites to chose from in comparison whenever we all visit eateries that supposedly also cater for the vegetarian?So, whenever my partner & I and Phill & his "missus" go out as foursome to a restaurant we invariably end up at Pooja, an authentic Hindi vegetarian restaurant in Wellingborough. Run with an easy going charm by your host Majood (apologies for probable incorrect spelling), Pooja, meaning "worship", was originally and still does derive it's main income from a catering business, serving a substantial local Indian population, and supplying numerous curry houses in the area. The restaurant was started when the owners decided to recreate the home cooking that they missed over here, knowing a large Hindi community lived on their doorstep.Upon arrival be prepared to be underwhelmed by the location - seemingly a room stuck on the end of the catering business as an afterthought, next to a car wash! The service is friendly, but can be a bit haphazard, and the larger your party, the more hit and miss it becomes. Don't be put off though, because the food is well worth any occasional gripes with the service. The restaurant is usually full of mainly Indian families and can get rather noisy, but that just lends to the atmosphere. You'll need to book at weekends.Me and Phill usually share one starter, and our partners usually share another. Ours is the simply scrummy Chili Paneer (should be obvious) mopped up with Mogo Chips (wonderful chips made from cassava root). My main course now varies between three staples - in no particular order of preference, firstly we have Kadai Bengun Aloo, which actually does not appear on the online menu below, but I know it as "No.74" from the restaurant menu. It is essentially a potato & aubergine curry - exquisite! Those of you more familiar with the ubiquitous Anglicised curry houses that abound in our towns will probably be unfamiliar with at least some of the dishes. The cryptic descriptions do not give much away either. My favourite is "Indian cheese with mixed gravy" (Paneer Kadai). This is a derivative of "No.74" where the cheese replaces the potato. Their conception of "gravy" is not at all similar to ours!My second "staple" is the less filling but still very tasty Rava Onion Masala Dhosa (onions and potatoes and spices in an Indian pancake). The Dhosa pancake in the South Indian section of the menu is a house speciality and needs to be tried. Thirdly comes Hakka Noodles from the China Gate fusion section of the menu. For once the description "Noodles with vegetables in sauce" is fairly accurate, but does not really do it justice.We never have room for desserts, but Pooja is well known for its seemingly infinite variety of Indian sweets, which you can buy over the counter to take away.This is the menu, also available on a takeaway basis. The prices maybe a bit out of date (Majood should be told!), but if you add 30p to everything, you're about there, and it sure is value for money:http://www.poojacaterers.co.uk/menu.htmIf you love Indian food, try the real thing, not the Anglicised version, and you will be pleasantly surprised by the taste explosion that awaits your tongue. Pooja does not rely on making everything taste largely the same as is the case with the usual High Street curry house, nor does it assume that the English only think a curry is "real" if it's so chili hot it blows your tongue clean out of your head. It doesn't have to you see, because the majority of its clientele are Indian. The emphasis is on flavour, not chili heat, although of course some dishes are hotter than others. All in all a thoroughly wonderful tastebud experience, well worth a visit even for us carnivores!

There is nothing fancy about the location of Pooja. Though we live in the centre of the town, we discovered it by chance tucked behind a hand-car-wash, next to a run-down warehouse and in the back of Pooja's large catering business kitchens and counter/shop. Indeed we had been into the shop once earlier before we realised there was a dining area at the back.The food is extraordinary, all totally vegetarian, flavours sublime. We find it very agreeable despite being carnivores by habit and enjoy not feeling 'stuffed' after eating (which can be so with a normal high-street curry).The food is not the normal 'Indian/Anglo' curry so some may not 'understand' the food right straight-out. It is subtle. The deserts/sweets (known as mithais) are utterly stunning too. The shop sells them for takeaway and they are good value. They also sell fantastic Indian handmade decorative gift boxes of many shapes and size which are not expensive so stuffed with mithais they make a charming gift.I find the staff agreeable and very friendly - welcoming and kind to kids. Of cause 90% of the customers appear to be of Asian decent so you really need no more recommendation as the offering's quality and authenticity than that. But it is a funny old place, not immediately impressive until the food rolls-out. But if you don't enjoy it I am sorry - for you.

Whilst visiting England our friends took us to the Pooja for a meal. They explained that the setting wasn't very much but that the food was brilliant. They weren't wrong - on both counts. The 'restaurant', a room really, is accessed through the entrance to the catering section in a building which is really hidden unless you know where you're looking.As a vegan it was an ideal place to eat but even my meat eating husband said it was one of the best curries he'd ever had - and he's had a lot :-)

Definately the best vegetarian Resturant in the county and the most authentic indian cuisine available. Simple in decor, but the food just delicious.

The best Indian vegetarian food in Wellingborough (and possibly the county) by far. The service can sometimes take a while, and the decor is basic and unpretentious, but the quality of food more than makes up for this. This is not standard Indian fare aimed at Western tastes, it is wonderfully flavoured, authentic vegetarian dishes, and mostly you will find the restaurant filled with Indian families enjoying a night out so it can sometimes beabit noisy. I would encourage anyone to try this restautant whether you are vegetarian or not, the dhosas are amazing.