Rajpoot Restaurant in West Dorset

Fantastic meals; great Indian food with a modern twist. Atmosphere and service was superb.

Absolutely fantastic. Delicious food, excellent and friendly service- a splendid evening. Thank you for hosting us for a birthday meal.

Went here for a meal on Saturday. Lovely restaurant, the staff were great and the food was amazing. Great value for money as well. Highly recommended

Really enjoyed our visit to this restaurant. We are staying in the area and found it by accident. So pleased that we did. The food was excellent. Very tasty and freshly cooked. Fabulous nann bread. My husband particularly enjoyed the mixed meat and fish grilled platter.

Food was great but did not have the Halbut dish which was my Wife’s favourite dish

Went New Year Eve, great atmosphere and just amazing food, very attentive friendly waiters, been here many times they never disappoint 🤩

The food was fresh and delicious. The menu was much smaller than typical traditional Indian Restaraunts in this country. We asked the chef to make a vegetable Korma, as it wasn't on the menu, and he did so willingly. Staff were attentive and polite. I will definitely return.

Very good service and it was really appreciated that they sang happy birthday to my husband and presented him with a cake and candle thank you ☺️

Disappointed with the food. King Prawn Bhuna had no spice at all, very bland.....and Chicken Tikka masala had very little. Wouldn't go there again. Lovely service though.

We have eaten here many times over the years and always considered it a bit special and out of the ordinary way to 'go out for a curry'. The service has always been a little iffy, either slow or rather indifferent waiters but that was ignored because the food was so good. Have they got a new chef? We've been twice in the last 6 months and both times all our normal dishes were so hot and spicy they were ruined. Our friends also chose their normal and found them ruined by over heat. I always chose tandoori lamb but now I can't eat it because it's too hot and this time I picked a biriani as I thought it would be milder but it's obviously the same lamb used and again was far too spiced. Friend picked their usual vegetarian pakoras and couldn't eat them either, far too hot. Very disappointed. We will pick the Thai over the road or the Masala further down next time we go out for a meal.

Called to make an order at 22:00 an hour before they closed. Was so rude saying he was closed. He wasn't he answered the phone! He was busy. Any way he just put the phone down on me never said see you or anything. Avoid.

Wanted to order takeaway but wanted £10 delivery for a 6 mile trip so didn't order We had a takeaway from another Indian 2 mins away from this place who delivery was free

Great meal for four of us last night. The service was really friendly and the food was excellent quality. Thoroughly recommend the seafood sharing starter, really great quality and good value.

My wife and I visited this place with some friends . I have to say we were all blown away with the quality of both the food and the service . Amazing. I highly recommend making a reservation and giving this place a visit 👍👍👍👍

Amazing Food! Will be back for many more visits! **Updated Review:: Went back again recently (21st October 2023) and despite other recent reviews from others we once again found the waiters very welcoming, friendly, helpful and the food was piping hot and delicious! Meal including poppadoms, pickles, side dishes and the main)plus four drinks (all alcohol) including 2 Sambuca shots was only £62! Plus the Lit Rain water feature at the back is very cool too. The best Indian restaurant in Dorchester (and better than Bournemouth ones hands down)

Nice vibe. fantastic food. Clearly all home made sauces etc. service very good also.

Terrible, bad food and service definitely wouldn't recommend to anyone

Service was poor. We ordered some poppadoms and dips with our drinks and although we ordered a good 10 mins before the table next to us, theirs arrived first. We were then served our starters. Mixed platter looked good and was tasty. The fried Chilli squid was just laughable. Rubber bands in a basic chilli sauce. From a restaurant that describes itself as fine dining, this most certainly was not. We move onto the mains, the biryani was flavourless, lamb bhuna mediocre, however the lamb was tender, the korma looked like nuclear fallout, and the madras was watery. A madras should have a nice thick sauce, with lots of flavour and depth. This was more akin to a spicy bolognaise, lumpy watery not good. Probably the worst Indian meal I have ever had, and I don't say that lightly.

I've given them the benefit of the doubt with a 3 star review. [a] Average quality food - very plain with the basic ingredients [b] Considering we were the only people there , service was at best slow [cl Very limited menu We wouldn't visit again

The food was of the e highest quality. I am of Indian origin and I have eaten in Indian restaurants all over the Uk and all over India. This was as good as I’ve eaten anywhere. We traveled from Liverpool a chanced upon the Rajpoot, we will head here again when we are here again. Compliments to the chef and owner.

On the whole good tasty spicy Indian food. Service and ambiance are OK.

We have been here a few times, the food is lovely, although the menu seemed rather limited. The service was out of sorts this visit. We didn't like sitting on the long bench seat on the far wall, we were sandwiched between a family whose children were a pain and the father was virtually sat on my lap and a table of 8, they were extremely loud, so we could not hear each other speak.

The food here was always very good, as they do aim to provide a fine dining service, however, when you look at the facade of the building in the daytime, you think that the place must be shut down, as all the woodwork is in such a poor state of repair. We haven't eaten there since, as they don't seem to care about what probably is a listed building?

I haven’t been to the Rajpoot for a while and was really looking forward to it. However having read some mixed recent reviews I was worried it had changed. I shouldn’t have! I’m also 5ft 7 so had no issues with the ceiling height, though can’t understand why that would effect your dining experience sat at a table and quality of the food. Anyway, met at the door showed to our table and was served with our poppadoms and tray of very tasty pickles. Service was great. I had duck tikka which was so good! Well spiced and so tasty. Also had the rajastani lamb special which was was well spiced with succulent chunks of lamb. I did have a side of mushrooms. All in all great experience and thankfully the qualify of the food has not changed with, 5 stars! Will be back and especially for the duck tikka.

Had a veg Buryan which was nice if a little salty but the lamb dansakh I think the salt cellar fell in it. The salt was overpowering yuk

Delicious fish and meat platter from the menu at just over £20. A tad on the pricy side, but you get what you pay for and in this case it was money well spent.

Although they have all the standard dishes, I recommend trying their specials. Really tasty, not heavy - strongly recommended

Disappointing frankly. Not very welcoming. My halibut main was good but the prawn biriani had only 3 prawns and a huge mound of rice. The vegetable curry with it was watery, tasteless and contained boiled chunks of vegetable. But worst was the flies which the waiter cheerfully chased around with an electric zapper while we were still eating. Won’t be going there again!

Very tasty food. Well presented good portions for the price.

The Rajpoot never fails to deliver. The food and service is exemplary.

This was our first time at the Rajpoot, the food was excellent, the lamb I had was tender and cooked perfectly. The service levels were excellent and we were made to feel very welcome as soon as we walked in the door. We are not local to the area but will definitely be returning to the Rajpoot on our next trip down to Dorchester. For any curry lovers out there give this place a go, you won’t be disappointed.

Having been to Rajpoot many times, unfortunately this will be my last visit. When we arrived, we were treated casually, without a greeting or smile. We made our order and when it was served, we were expected to pass the dishes around to each individual, rather than the server knowing who ordered what. We were also expected to put the finished plates together for collection. Altogether, we felt as if we were expected to show it was a privilege to be there, rather than them valuing our custom. The food was excellent, but if a business cannot value its customer, then it doesn't deserve its business.

Lovely food, restaurant needs a little tlc. Would definitely go again if on the area.

Very nice moment! Good finest indian food. I recommend this place.

Lovely traditional Indian Tandoori restaurant, with a good selection of dishes.

Seven friends had a meal here mid-week to celebrate our friends retirement. The staff could not have been more attentive throughout and the food was exceptional. Everyone had chosen a different meal and accompaniments and they all commented on the quality and how delicious their meals were. Highly recommended and will be back there again soon!

Love the food here, we haven't been for many years due to living overseas. Highly recommend!

Food was good, service was fine. Problem was ceilings are 6ft so anyone over 6ft can't stand upright.

Nice and clean food ,price,service all good if in the area would not hesitate to use again

Nice clean restaurant the staff were pleasant well mannered but not of the top and the prices were reasonable .Our food was well presented and tasty and if in the area I would not hesitate to eat here again .

Me and my boys loved the food the service was great will be our new once a month treat.

Really wonderful meal! The staff are so attentive and the food delicious, a good choice and so tasty, it’s excellent value for money as well. Quite busy so I’d book! I can thoroughly recommend thank you we’ll be back!

Just popped in on the off-chance and enjoyed the experience very much.

Great Indian restaurant with very good curries.

Third and last time we will eat at Rajpoot. No greeting of any warmth and waiters clearly uninterested. No spark, sort of gormless service. For example, this time our starters arrived before drinks, and wife made clear she wanted extra spice chilli in her main course, they didn't do this and didn't even acknowledge this fact when informed let alone make a quick apology. My Bhuna dish definitely lacked the usual flavours you get from this dish, but was in fairness absolutely of quality found elsewhere. Overall the food was not for us the main problem, but we only want to spend our money in restaurants who make us feel welcome, I am afraid to say this is not one of them.

Toughest lamb shank I’ve had in 50 yrs. A bit rubbish. I had to prise it off the bone with a crowbar and chew it like a pit bull. Won’t be eating there again.

A modern Indian restaurant with some interesting variations. Staff were very accommodating. Food was excellent. Highly recommended.

The menu had lots of choice. The food was delicious and the portions were generous. The restaurant was not full but there was a nice atmosphere. We have been to Rajpoot before when the food took a long time to get to the table, but this time we did not have to long to wait. The service was friendly and attentive. Overall a great dinner and great value.

Excellent food as always in a good atmosphere. Friendly staff.

Took my two sons to this restaurant who like an Indian meal, and both said it was the nicest Indian meal they have had

Thats how Curry it should be...

Loved it. Food was amazing and very reasonably priced. Very friendly welcome with excellent service and staff. Great menu and all four of us Thoroughly enjoyed our meals. Big thumbs up from us all.

An interesting restaurant. The traditional Indian dishes are available but there is so much more. It is basically a more contemporary take on Indian cuisine. Adventurous and unusual dishes make this a more stimulating but still delicious experience than run-of-the-mill Indian restaurants. Very friendly service too.

I wish I had seen all of the other negative reviews of rajpoot before I went. We also found the food bland and flavourless.. The lamb was tough and everything was mediocre. Very disappointing. Won’t return

We were so lucky to get a table for four at short notice. The food and service was excellent as were the condition of the premises.

Fine Indian dining. Definitely a long way from usual curry house cuisine.

The présentation, the food and the staff were excellent. I recommand the restaurant

Was staying in the hotel over the road so was very convenient. The food was lovely, service very good and polite too. There was a big birthday party on in the main part of the restaurant but everyone was getting served despite it. No waiting.

We went here early in the evening and were seated straight away, a table for 2 in the window without reservations. The service was okay but not outstanding. The food was less than impressive, we were from out of town so maybe we are used to the Indian restaurants in the Midlands that are better value for money and have a far deeper flavour to them and seem to be fresher ingredients as our dishes seemed a little musty if that makes sense. The reason for my previous comment is that as we sat eating a steady stream of people came in and some were greeted like friends . I always say make your own minds up as everyone's tastes are different.

Have been several times recently and has improved over previous years. Good good and service prompt

Excellent menu with great quality food cooked to perfection. Attentive staff who were delightful and welcoming.

Our go to Indian takeaway. Lovely food and reasonable prices.

Tasty, Professionally presented food and at affordable prices. Staff super attentive and value their customers. Environment was so quaint and absolutely perfect. What a great little find!!!!!

Food was sublime, especially the pan seered duck and masala mash. Friendly service.

The evening started well and the staff were very nice , when ordering 2 of the Party of 10 ordered meals that were not on the menu , they were quite happy to do this i ordered a Ceylon ,, and the other was a...

The food was delicious. It was a very busy night so service understandably slow. However we were sat underneath a leaking roof with a hole in it. Everytime the wind blew we had drips and debris fall onto our table. Not nice and should have closed that table. That being said it would not put us off going back but I will be selective on what table they put me at in future

I will never buy an Indian takeaway again, its well worth eating in the restaurant, the food quality is so much better and the ambience.

Excellent everything .Family birthday party.Bad experience prior to walking in to Rajpoot no booking ….greeted with happy smiling faces first class service nothing too much trouble topped off with top quality food Chef …superb .Food so tasty and lots of it topped off with a...

Excellent food and service, slightly different food choices allowed us to try something we hadn’t tried before and it was excellent.

Disappointed as the reviews were good. The sauce on my biryani was watery and bland, mushrooms out of a tin, little effort.

Our experience was uncomfortable because the restaurant was cold. I appreciate that living costs are high at the moment but we would have stayed longer for dessert and coffee if it had been warmer inside. However the food was good and the staff attentive.

Disappointed New Year’s Eve meal. Unfriendly greeting on arrival, and we were seated in a part of the restaurant outside the main dining room which had no atmosphere. We felt as if we were in a corridor, staff and guests constantly entering and exiting just...

Disappointed New Year’s Eve meal. Unfriendly greeting on arrival, and we were seated in a part of the restaurant outside the main dining room which had no atmosphere. We felt as if we were in a corridor, staff and guests constantly entering and exiting just behind us so we had a draft the whole time. Our first waiter barely spoke to take our order. We felt the menu was fairly limited and the food turned out to be a bit bland and both the chicken and the lamb a little tough. Despite having booked a table, we were asked to finish our drinks in the bar as there were others waiting for a table. We had only been there 50 minutes, and the bar was more of a waiting room for the takeaways - there were no seats available. We ended up downing our drinks and paying, effectively we were asked, albeit politely, to leave so they could have the table back. Overall a disappointing experience and I wouldn’t go back.

Lovely meal and very friendly staff, would highly recommend

Very disappointed this year as we visited for our annual Xmas eve lunchtime meal. We have been doing this for many years so it was a special occasion as it always is. As the only customers, we felt like we were an inconvenience. The restaurant was cold, had no music, no Xmas lights turned on and was busy with staff obviously preparing for the evening. Food was nice but the three of us left very disappointed. Shame as we have been eating there since 1990!

First time trying this restaurant and we were impressed by the food. Biriani was very tasty and the jalfrezi was spiced brilliantly. Really enjoyed our meal and will definitely be returning.

First time ordering from here, really disappointed. They were abrupt and almost rude when ordering, but I just thought they maybe busy and in a rush. Prawn tikka masala had shells on the tails, which was a complete faf. That as well as a lamb tikka masala, and king prawn madras (no shells) all had very watery sauces, and not the tastiest I’ve had. Sagaloo was awful. On the plus, the popodoms and dips were good. Delivery driver was absolutely lovely. But won’t be ordering from here again.

First time order, rude and abrupt staff, thought the busy so let it go. All sauces from all 3 dishes were watery and not very tasty at all. Prawn tikka masala came with tail shells on, which was annoying, sagaloo was awful and inedible. Popadoms...

Had the madras it was bland and the chicken was tough and watery , The curry’s here use to be good and the last two I’ve had have been extremely poor , I can definitely say I would never eat here again .

We had got a takeaway and ordered a madras , chick pea and aubergine curry , the madras had zero flavour , almost like some cheap curry paste was used , the chicken was tough , like it had been defrosted incorrectly, both meals were...

The food was nice but on arrival they were not expecting us and seemed to be closed, I feel that they should stop advertising to be open for so many days and hours if this isn’t practical and commercially viable and concentrate time and effort during the more busy periods. I would only recommend attending in the evening as I’m sure the atmosphere and customer service would be to a higher standard during these working hours.

The staff were very welcoming and we were sat quickly there was a good crowd there the food on the whole was good. One of our popadoms was not fresh it was bendy not crisp the others were fine. I would revisit.

Table of 10 people - food quality poor. Husband ordered a jalfrezi something he has on a regular basis and what arrived bore no resemblance to a traditional jalfrezi. The waiter explained that Green chilled are left out because customers complain….. a good idea would be to ask the individual customer! We waited a very long time between starters and main , we expected a wait with a party of 10 but waiting staff could and should acknowledge that, check the customer is ok! Instead they walked up and down the aisle ignoring us! When our mains arrived we had to then ask where our rice and naans were. An expensive waste

Good reliable Indian restaurant. Comfortable dining, excellent service, good food.

A great evening out - 6 old men celebrating a birthday - a very pleasant experience

Really excellent food and good service. Well recommended for curry fans.

Purchased a takeaway from Rajpoot Dorchester have been there on many occasions to eat in as well as takeaway, walked in the place was filthy the floor as you came in was disgusting, I peered into the seating area and that was the same, The...

We had a table booked at 7 and it took till 830 to get our food! We were all starving and asked twice where our food was had to say we will walk out before it turned up. The service was terrible we had empty glasses and had to wave several times or go and find someone to come to the table to get more drinks served. Some staff were impolite and didn't gave any concept of customer service. Would not go again or recommend unfortunately.

Extraordinary food - we live coming here. Excellent service, although new waiter needed to relax and smile!

There was no welcome when we arrived, nobody about for 5 mins. to greet us or show us to our table. We really enjoyed the food. Presentation different from your normal Indian restaurant as our choices came on our own plate - so less "sharing".

We hadn't visited The Rajpoot for quite sometime, but decided to visit recently, we had starters , main course and dessert, all enjoyable and tasty. The staff were attentive and welcoming , looking forward to our next visit

Great food stylishly served. The waterfall at the back was interesting

The waiter who served us was very rude. He snatched the menu back from me after I had ordered and was very hostile & obviously in a rush. I have to say the chicken byriani was delicious and had a great taste of different flavours. However my naan bread was burnt and not edible. But what let the place down was the mould in the ladies toilet. Absolutely disgusting. By this time I'd ate my dinner, it made me think if the rest of the place was like this. Quickly left after this.

Great food as always and presentation adds a little extra to this restaurant in Dorchester. We were one of the few in to dine on a Thursday evening so service was very quick and attentive.

Found this restaurant whilst away on holiday. Very nice food and reasonable price, would visit again if in the area.

Had a takeaway from here while on holiday in the area. Despite this being the most expensive Indian takeaway I have ever come across, it was just very average and unremarkable food, with fairly meagre portions given. Nothing at all wrong with the food, just...

We ordered our dinner here last week and were not very much satisfied with the taste of the food. Curry was too spicy despite we asking them to be in Medium spicy. Biryani Rice was in okay quantity but we will not order again here if we are staying at Dorchester.

Lovely atmosphere, great service and food.

Excellent food and service at reasonable prices. Would go back

Having previously had a very good experience at Raj Poo we were looking forward to visiting again. Unfortunately on this occasion we were dissapointed with both food and service. Vegetarian dishes lacked seasoning,spice and flavour and when we addressed this with staff nothing was done to rectify it. We asked one of the older more experienced waitors about the lack of spice and flavour in the vegetarian food to which he responded 'that's just how it comes', even though this wasn't described on the menu. Young male waitors were very sweet and polite but lacked customer service skills and were not helpful in the way you'd expect in a higher end indian restaurant. It felt like the restaurant was lacking management or anyone with any people or customer service skills.