Sonar Bangla in Welwyn Hatfield

This is our go yo place and has been since 1998. The food is of the highest standard and a good portion. The staff are swift, efficient and friendly. The place is clean and a welcoming environment. We usually have Tandoori or Tikka Chicken and occasionally a Chicken Korma. Over the years, l have tried most of the dishes, and they are all perfect.

Been coming for years to 'Sonar Bangla' and has always been one of my favourites. Each time I have come it has consistently got worse unfortunately. Came a week ago and food was ok but service was very rushed and hurried throughout the meal. Got a bit silly when they were hurrying us by picking up plates with food still on them and felt embarrassed to say we haven't finished yet. I probably will never come back and feel dissapointed more than anything as I have lived here for 20 years and like to support local businesses. Paying £90 for me and my partner for an average curry is not peanuts these days so I expect time to enjoy the experience and not be hurried out the door. A reminder to restaurants that I can easily eat at home if its JUST the food i am going for. It's time to enjoy my friends company and catch up and take our time not scooted out the door . It was not late to be clear but they were quiet at that point so wanted to go home. Asking for a coffee clearly was a eye roll moment. I will go back to another better place a few miles away where it is consistently good.

Wow wow wow. Chicken Tandoori and vegetable rice. Absolutely taste sensation. The food is ALWAYS 5 star as are the staff.

It was good to have amazing Indian food again! We traveled from Arizona to see family. Glad we came here. Thank you.

Just had a take away from here and, have to say was a little expensive but, delicious would do it again.

Great food, great service. Was really happy with the service and the quality of the food. Really tasty and was a great business meeting.

Great food and excellent service

Food is average but expensive, their price unjustifiably reflects the area. Service is what you would expect. If it was price inline with quality, I would rather higher

Perfect, perfect, perfect EVERYTIME. Enough said. Drops the mike and orders a coffee.

Average food for an extortionate price, feel absolutely robbed and taken advantage of because of its location, £7.00 for coconut rice? £6.00 for water? When queried the member of staff walked off, very unprofessional. This curry house is taking advantage of the local people, wouldn’t mind if the food was decent, it was average at best. Such a shame as I’ve been here before years ago and enjoyed it. Will not be returning.

Beautiful restaurant, happy and friendly staff, food was absolutely amazing, will go back

The food is proper here! Highly recommend for you to come try it if your within the area

I have been going here since 1998 so that should tell you how much I love this place. Great food, staff, and environment. Just perfect.

Nice food and friendly, efficient staff

Brilliant place for a great curry yes it might be a little bit more expensive than you normally pay but my personal choice well worth it there’s a very old saying you get what you pay for.

Exceptional atmosphere, food and service! Thank you!

THE FOOD IS TERRIBLE, 1.5 HOUR WAIT BUT THATS IRRELEVANT WHEN THE FOOD IS SOOOO BAD. THE ICING ON THE CAKE WAS MY WIFE TRIED TO ORDER A TEA BUT THEY DID NOT HAVE ANY TEA WHEN WE ASKED FOR A CUP OF HOT WATER CLAIMED TO HAVE NO KETTLE!! TO BE CLEAR THE MOTIVATION OF THIS REVIEW IS NOT OUT OF SPITE NOR TO WARN OTHERS BUT TO ENCOURAGE THE CURRENT OWNER TO MAKE A CHANGE. YOU CAN NO LONGER GET AWAY WITH SERVING THIS BELOW AVERAGE FOOD IN A VERY DATED RESTAURANT, THE STORIES OF WHAT FOOTBALLERS HAVE ATE HERE 10 YEARS AGO MEAN NOTHING. REFURB, NEW CHEF AND NEW MENU IS NEEDED DON'T BANK ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY!!

Best Indian food place in the area, the staff and the owner is really nice. The food is 10/10 every time. Highly recommend.

We arrived at 7:30pm and got our food at 9pm. The service is very slow. They took a drink order but never brought them to us. The service may be better if you are in a small group (there were 8 of us) but this is our second visit now, and each time we have waited over 90 minutes.

Good service, nice chilled vibe, & yummy food, cooked well

Not at all impressed with this place. Found very unwelcoming, not good service and after spending £150, they wanted to kick me out because they wanted to go home.

So far we have waited 1 hour and 50 mins. We have called and it is on the way. We live a 5 min drive away. Never again.

Sorry but the food here is only moderate,lacks the authentic taste.Only eat here as a last resort.

Local curry house. Perfectly acceptable.

Beautiful restaurant with great customer services. The owner is extremely passionate and knowledgeable of his menu. Friendly staff and beautiful decor. Must try the tikka biryani and chicken chat!! Highly recommended.

Absolutely disgusted with this takeaway.I just ordered the chicken tikka masala and was the most bland dish I have ever eaten and to be honest you would get more flavours from a tesco microwave meal.then to put the cherry on the cake paid £3.95 for 2 onion bhajee's this place is over priced and the quality of the food is extremely poor. WILL NEVER EAT FROM HERE AGAIN AND I CERTAINLY WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND IT TO ANYBODY. Update After a terrible experience over a year ago decided to give it a second chance My mistake same bland food as before CERTAINLY WONT BE GOING BACK

One of the best indians ive had. The chicken tikka masala is to die. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for an indian. The manager Hasan also was very welcoming and took great care of me and my family.

Went with my partner both of us have stomach upsets plus very strange to be serving a small bottle of coke with flat coke from another bottle in the glass AVIOD AT ALL COST

Great Place to go Fantastic Food, friendly and welcoming Staff Great Service

It is an age since I last dined here as I was disappointed with the service we had on our last visit. This visit restored my faith in the restaurant again and I had an enjoyable meal and the food was delicious.

Wasn't overly impressed for my first visit, forgot my starter,and it wasn't what I ordered, and the main was slightly cold.

Great service and delicious food definitely I have chicken Tikka Pasanda always delicous

AWFULLY SALTY, WOULD NOT GO BACK, RUDE STAFF AS WELL

Great takeaway tonight to celebrate platinum jubilee. Couldn't fault iit made our evening.

If my sister hadn't been paying for the meal I would have walked out without paying worst Indian I've ever had

What a diamond find. The food was scrumptious and plentiful, compliments to the chef and his kitchen. The front staff are knowledgeable and friendly. There is also parking to be found, which to be fair, is a rare. Thank you for a very special evening.

Nice🥰🥰....😍😍perfect😍😍 I love it😘😘😘❤️❤️♥️♥️💖😍

আস সালামু আলাইকুম, প্রিয় জনাব, পবিত্র মাহে রমজানের শুভেচ্ছা জানাচ্ছি। এই কল্যানের মাসে আল্লাহ সোবহানাহু ওয়া তায়ালা আপনার এবং আপনার পরিবারে অসীম কল্যান দান করুন। আমীন। আমার ছোট একটি ব্যবসা অল্প কিছু পুঁজি নিয়ে ব্যবসাটি করি, এখান থেকে যা আয় হয় তা দিয়ে সংসারই চলেনা । দোকানের উন্নতিতো হচ্ছেইনা, বরং অনেক ঋণের বোঝা কাঁদে নিয়ে আছি। আমার তিন সন্তানের মধ্যে বড় ছেলেটা অনার্স পড়ে, মেঝ ছেলেটা নাইনে পড়ে, ছোট মেয়েটাকেও স্কুলে ভর্তি করেছি, তাদেরকে উচ্চ শিক্ষিত করব বলে। জানেনই তো মধ্যবিত্তদের আশা অনেক বড় থাকে। কিন্তু জনাব ঋণের বোঝা কাঁদে নিয়ে আমার মা ও স্ত্রী সহ এই ছয় জনের সংসার চালানো আমার জন্য দুরুহ হয়ে গেছে। তাই সম্মানিত জনাবের কাছে আমার আকুল আবেদন আপনার যাকাত ফান্ড থেকে আমাকে কিছু সহায়তা করে বাধিত করিবেন। প্রিয় জনাব, আমি কখনই চাইতে আসিনা কারন লোক লজ্জা, আমি যে মধ্যবিত্ত। লোকে দেখলে মান ইজ্জত সব যাবে এই ভয়ে কারো কাছে যাওয়া হয়না। সবশেষে এই ডিজিটাল অভিনব পন্থা বেছে নিয়েছি। সম্মানিত গুনধর আল্লাহ সোবনাহু ওয়া তায়ালা আপনার মংগল করুন। প্রিয় জনাবের কাছে দাবি জানাচ্ছি টাকা দিয়ে সহায়তা না করতে পারলেও দোয়া করবেন যেন আল্লাহ পাক আমাকে ঋণ মুক্ত করেন। আল্লাহ পাক আপনাকে বেশি বেশি যাকাত দেওয়ার তওফিক দান করুন আমীন। সম্মানিত গুনিজন আপনাকে এতক্ষন ধরে বিরক্ত করার জন্য আমি আন্তরিক ভাবে দুঃখিত।দয়া করে ক্ষমা করে দিবেন। আল্লাহ আপনার মঙ্গল করুন। আমিন। এই রমজান উপলক্ষে আল্লাহ রব্বুল আলামিন আপনার জীবনে অসীম কল্যান দান করুক। আমীন। প্রিয় জনাব, অনেকের কাছেই মেইল করলাম, কিন্তু কোন রেস্পন্স পেলাম না। স্যার এইভাবে মেইল করে বিব্রত করার জন্য দুঃখিত। আপনার এবং আপনার পরিবারের সামগ্রিক কল্যান কামনায় মোঃ মোজাম্মেল হক আমার বিকাশ এবং নগদ নং ০১৮৪৩৪৭০২৭৯

First time I’ve ordered from this company and they missed items off out takeaway menu. Their response was, if you use us again we’ll give you a discount but how likely is that lol

1st order and they missed food I have paid for and there response was . Discount next time. How about I get what I pay for

Went this weekend with close friends, been going for a while. Went to wash my hands in toilet, waiter comes out of toilet cubicle and went straight to serving plates without washing hands, this is disgusting hygiene.

Another excellent meal this evening great staff great food excellent service.

Food excellent! Friendly and informative staff. Offered suggestions that would best accompany dishes and they were right!! Nice clean, spacious decor. Definitely going again!

Poor - order incomplete and late

Waste of time, food was rubbish and the service was appalling. Avoid at all costs

Lovely food and atmosphere. Curries have nice depth of flavour and the chef's will cook to your heat level

All of us have been using this restaurant for years. They are willing to change dishes to cater for all taste buds, quick to suggest a traditional dish, and excellent with their service standards. The food is very very good, and a number of well known celebs/sports stars come here, even when they aren't staying local. One bad take away does not warrant putting others off an excellent Indian (Bangladeshi to be precise) restaurant. Our children have started to use this restaurant as their go-to now!

Not very nice had to send dish back, not like it used to be.

Excellent food, great service. Would definitely recommend

Nice food,good experience,thank you for fitting us in last minute

Over the last years I have dined in house and had take out at this restaurant and enjoyed the food. Sadly in the last year the quality has dropped off the scale to the lowest possible level. Every aspect of their food is poor from the little cartons of mint sauce to their standard dishes that every good Indian should be able to get right. Even the little cartons of onions we like 3-4 days old. I don't usually complain about food but when it gets as bad as this you have to do something to protect your fellow citizens. Even if this food was priced lower it would still be inedible, so I cannot complain that it was over priced (even though it was by about 10%). I suspect it wasn't even cooked in the restaurant kitchen but maybe someones home, or pre-prepared dishes were reheated. WHATEVER it was, it was disgusting, and whilst we ate 60% of it, the remainder went in the bin. I never throw away my Indian takeaway food... and often enjoy it the next day. Not so here. Whatsmore the guy who took the order had a bit of an attitude. There were no FREE popadoms with our £70 order, so we paid for some and asked for some chutney and lime pickles neither of which were delivered. All we go was days old onion that was all yellow and sweated and some yellow sauce that we neither minty nor sweet... just yellow. We had a Sag Paneer unfortunately. Clearly the person that made it didn't have a recipe since I can't be sure if it contained either spinach or paneer. It was like a green wall paper paste. FFS. OVERALL A TOTAL DISASTER. I look forward to when Cuffley might again have a decent option for Indian or South Asian food... until then please try the Fish and Chips or a Shish Kebab. One star is too much.

Nice atmosphere and good food. The only criticism is as it got busy we had to wait a while to be served.

Been a local for 8 years. The price is far too high for the quality.

went there for the first takeaway during lockdown and was the best food ive eaten in all cuisines in the past 3 years amazing and friendly service done all they could for customers

Dishonest - Vouchers are a Scam Do not trust this restaurant and DO NOT BUY THEIR GIFT VOUCHERS! I won an auction for £25 of Sonar Banglar gift vouchers at a school charity event (paid £18 for them), but when I tried to use them this weekend them the manager said they could only be used Monday to Thursday; this was despite there being no such restriction printed on the vouchers and despite my wife having been advised the previous week, by a member of staff, that it was fine to use them for delivery at the weekend. The manager said that I would need to pay an additional £5 to cover the delivery - so in effect, if you buy £25 of gift vouchers for Sonar Bangla, you can only redeem £20 of them and the restaurant creams off 20%. I put this point to the manager and he became increasingly agitated before hanging up the phone on me. Will be speaking to Trading Standards on Monday.

Nice menu full of variety of flavours.

Won't be going back to here ,food nice but rude staff and not very welcoming there

Decent enough but the chicken was tough in my vindaloo

Food is excellent, but restaurant guests suffer when the kitchen is busy with take aways

Have been ordering take away from here for over 22 years. We decided to go and dine in on a Meerkat Movie Offer which is 2 4 1 on starters, mains and desserts. We booked our table in advance and even called on the day and left a voicemail to confirm we were Meerkat customers. We sat down ordered our starters only to be told after that the 2 4 1 would only be available on Main meals (breach of agreement they have with Meerkat Meal Customers). The Madras wasnt edible for 2 of us as it was too hot (the manager excused it and apologused by saying they wont always know if this is the case unless a customer complains because some fresh chillies are hotter than others(this tells me they dont use regular suppliers or chef simply isnt knowledgable enough) There was also no meat in the dishes, 1 whole curry literally had 6 small lamb cubes (the dish was around £8). We kept quiet and swallowed it, didnt want to make a scene. The owner seemed really friendly but it's only when we got home we realised how conned we were and the manager's friendliness was simply a form of distraction for the bad food and illigitamatr sale. We shouldnt have paid for 2 of the starters, the madras spice literally ruined the whole meal for 2 of us as we couldn't taste anything after that. It's a shame that after 22 years I was so disappointed that I wont go back now. This is what happens when Businesses become greedy. I feel sad to have wrote it but also upset that I hadn't tackled the issue at the time as I didnt want to make a scene

Good food and good value with meerkat meals / tastecard. Nice restaurant with parking nearby. A bit rushed by the waiter who seemed keen to be rid of the 6 of us.

I’ve been going here for 20 years now. It’s the only Indian restaurant I’d go to. Can trust them with the food and service.Hassain (manager) is a lovely guy, does the best for his customers and can rely on him and his staff to give you the best dining experience. Even on the weekend when they’re busy. The food is delicious- can even do some dishes that are not on the menu for you. If you have any issues, Hassain is quick to fix them and ensure your meal is perfect. Prices are good (compared to others in the area!). You get what you pay for.I will always choose this Indian restaurant. When I go on holiday, I always crave this restaurant as soon as I land back in the country, I know can’t go wrong with it.

Really enjoyed our night fab food very attentive staff ..second to none will definitely go back again

Great consistent food, attentive service when eat in and it's at it's very best when you do this. Take away may get the odd mix up in orders

Great food, great service, very attentive!

Booked table for quiet celebration meal, food was bland, the naan was burnt and staff were really surprisingly rude. Manager literally pulled the tablecloth out from under us while we were still drinking. Spent alot of time laughing with regular patrons but treated us very coldly and seemed in a massive hurry to get us out of the door. Have been going there for years and always enjoyed the food and service but wont go back again now.

The best Saag Paneer I've ever eaten, amazing genuinely gracious service and a wonderful manager who went above and beyond to make sure our experience was impeccable. Definitely would not hesitate to return.

Best Indian ever and as soon as we arrived to our friend's home we went there immediately. The food is out of this world and the staff are lovely and really looked after us.

I have excellent food. Manager and the staff are very frendle. 😁

Absolutely awful service!!! Ordered a delivery and after an hour I found out that the driver had not even left yet. I asked to speak to a manager as I was told the delivery would be 30-40 minutes, the ''Manager" was extremely rude to me over the phone and decided that the solution was to cancel my order and put the phone down on me!! Shocking Service!!

Went for dinner with a large party of friends. The food was excellent, the staff were friendly and, headed by the manager, Hassan, were really keen to please. Nice ambience and good sized portions. Lovely place.

Food good. Service is so bad. Told delivery 1hr. 2hr late still no curry.

Excellent customer service, the food is always great.

Thank you for a very relaxing evening, the meals were of high quality there were 8 of us in our party and all enjoyed the experience which made the occasion more special.

We booked a table for 2 for 19:30 we were seated at a table at 19:45 Hrs. Staff were not helpful and food average for price

Friendly staff. .food not bad either

one of the better Indian establishments in the area.

The food is very good and tasty and the staff are very friendly and helpful. My only complaint is you can tend to feel rushed to finish your meal in busy periods.

I use to religiously order takeaways & dine here although the quality of food was a hit & miss.

Good service and excellent food. A soothing atmosphere and I would definitely return in the near future

I have never eaten such a tasteless curry. The chicken was tough and clearly had not been cooked in the dopiaza sauce as it had no flavour of spices

Have enjoyed the Sonar Bangla now for 20 yrs. Having recently moved from Cheshunt to Birchington-on-Sea, it is a real bonus to enjoy a fabulous meal at our favourite restaurant on a visit back for Mothers Day tomorrow. Hussain and his staff always make your visit special, chef and staff tonight delivered us an amazing meal, have to drive back up more often. Great also to see friends we have met through our visits to the Sonar there tonight. M n J.

Lovely restaurant and staff are always pleasant. Would highly recommend. Great customer service and amazing food!

Great Curry and quality service, I have curries all over and this one is spot on.

Fantastic food and nice people.

Great quality with friendly service.

Great staff food out of this world .worth a visit

amazing service mouth watering food blown away by the service

Great food and a really nice restaurant. Can not fault it in any way.

Service is excellent and so very friendly & the food is FANTASTIC, so tasty such geat dishes to choose from and staff happy to explain about the different dishes if you are unsure. The owner Hussain, is the driving force behind this great resaurant,working with his staff to ensure you enjoy a great evening with Delicious food.

Customer Service wasn't great. We were served with lack of interest and a touch of attitude, and inability to explain their own dishes on the menu. The food was on the bland side, tasteless. But the next day left me worse for wear with stomach aches and sickness. There are few other restaurants in the area which I would be more inclined to go to in the future, this will not be one of them again.

Not been here for a while moved out of the area back now still great food coupled with very good service will now be my local once again.

awful place DO NOT GO HERE! ordered food which did not arrive, then tried charge me double the amount for there mistake of going to the wrong address. have zero customer service skills for what is supposedly a classy establishment. will never try order from such vile people again!

Food was good but the time we had to wait for our meal once we ordered was close to an hour!

Excellent food and service. Always a pleasure to be back.

Have experienced many Indian restuarants and this is by the far the worse. We ordered a take away and waited for the food in the restuarant. Whilst we waited we wasnt offered or asked if we would like a drink even though we were waiting longer than what he had said. The restuarant was busy which is always a good sign I was therefore looking forward to our food. I couldnt have been more dissapointed both currys were extremly bland. The microwave curry in tesco has more taste and im being serious here. The rice and salad was no way enough for two people even though we were assured we had plenty. I really dont get how people have rated this restaurant with 5 stars the only thing I can think of is that the people in the area really do not know what a good Indian food is suppose to taste like. Will most definately not be going back.

Was talking to the manager while waiting for my food. I told him the restaurant had good reviews and thats why I was there. He said he didnt believe in reviews. After eating the food I'd had to agree. It was the most bland tasting indian I have ever tasted. No spice what so ever and the rice serving was barely enough for one person. If you know good indian food you'd know this place is terrible. First time and last time I eat from here. I honestly dont understand how this place has got so many good reviews. Obviously people in the area dont know a good indian curry!

Lovely clean place great service.

Love this place!!! Food is brilliant every time! Staff very friendly and recommend lovely dishes.

Best curry in my opinion for miles around.The service and staff quality are unbeatable.