Spice Island Restaurant in County Durham

As a group of lads we do the bottomless brunch here a few times a year, always great service and the best cocktails for miles. Got well looked after by the lads a couple of weeks ago and will be back soon!

Been here a few times with no complains. Tonight just seemed even better than usual. The staff are friendly and helpful. The food was incredible! Definitely worthy of 5 stars!!!

The best Indian food for miles around. Just had staff party and all were very impressed. Food very tasty great choice for everyone Thankyou Babul

Absolutely amazing food, and attentive staff, really friendly. Highly recommend. Will be coming back. Food outstanding.

Booked a table for 8 people in the cocktail bar for 6PM, 25 Nov 23 (my birthday) on arrival there was no table ready, table then given to a party of four girls whilst we were waiting by the bottom bar (I heard the waiter say he thought there was 8 of them), I complained as our table had been given away and we were moved upstairs to wait (for a new table) outside the cocktail bar, my first drink finally arrived at 6.45 PM - 4 more of our party’s drinks arrived at 6.55 PM. At 6.59 PM we were still waiting on two drinks. As we had a table for dinner booked elsewhere we had to leave at 7.10 PM and two of our table didn’t get drinks at all. In short no cocktail bar table and over 60 mins to get a drink for 7 of us, 2 very rushed drinks for me and my daughter, and 1 of us didn’t even get a drink (my brother in law didn’t get his drinks). Will not use the cocktail bar again, and most definitely would not recommend it to anyone, which is a shame as I have eaten here several times and really enjoy the food, however on this occasion it was very poor service and the place is clearly over booked and cannot deal with the volume of customers.

We booked a table for 6pm, our table was given to someone else. We eventually were given a table but still waiting for drinks 50 minutes later. We use this restaurant quite a lot and this is the worst experience we have ever had. The staff are running around like headless chickens and just coming out with excuses.

The menu was a little different to your average curry house but it was actually fun to try something new! They have options to create your own curry or you can opt for more of a tapas style instead which was a nice touch. I have a severe nut allergy and I was so relieved to see that the menu is nut free! I didn’t have to worry about anything and it also seems they cater to all dietary requirements including plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. Food was delicious and the waiters were attentive, there is an iPad on the table so it’s easy to order drinks! Cocktails were great too 😍

We visit here about three times a year and have never been disappointed Edith either the food, service or atmosphere. As I live in Bradford I’ve a good understanding of a decent curry and this place is up there with the best Bradford has to offer

Had a fab time at bottomless brunch, food was amazing as always and great selection of drinks which were all very nice and we got plenty, not always the case at some bottomless brunches I have been to in the past. The waiters were amazing too, Nick and Pa were great, always making sure we had drinks and that we were happy. 10/10 service! Definitely will be back.

First time here for bottomless brunch. Had an absolutely amazing time. Me and my partner Julie Absolutely loved it…. Amazing food and some really nice well-made and put together cocktails. Thank you too HARLEY !!! . What a gentleman and made us feel very welcome. Can’t wait to try the other items of food and the different cocktails. We didn’t get chance to try! Definitely will be back. Thank you so much. ..

This is the best Indian restaurant I have ever been to. Food is absolutely delicious staff are lovely, helpful and professional. Service is excellent and all in a beautiful setting. We go every month when possible we like it so much. Honestly cannot find any negatives. Absolutely recommend 👌

The staff were really friendly and helpful, the cocktails and the drinks system (ordered via a tablet on the table) were great and fun to use. I had the Punjabi Mojito, which is a perfect take on the original and a great aperitif before an Indian meal! The food was equally brilliant. Grilled chops as a starter come with a hot sauce so you can take as much as you like. The menu has symbols to tell you how hot each dish is. I normally find most dishes to be under-spiced, but the Madras (indicated as the second hottest dish on the menu) was absolutely perfect: rich and hot but not a challenge! I suggest that when they say the Vindaloo is one for the brave, it probably is! But my prediction is that I would enjoy it with a sweet lassi on the side.

It was a casual meal ,but also a birthday dinner very helpful staff and lovely tasty food and I must say the cocktails were lovely

Such a great experience on our first visit to Barnard Castle! Staff were efficient and friendly, the atmosphere relaxed and the food really hot and absolutely delicious!!! Highly recommend!

Really not sure why this place gets such good reviews because this has to be one of the poorer curries ive had, and ive had alot. The whole tablet experience just doesnt work for me and im not sure what there trying to acheive by it, looking around most tables only had to call the waiter over to assist with it anyway, my tablet looked like a 12 year olds phone with a massive crack on the screen. I also found the menu confusing, I just think there trying to be too clever for no reason, same for the mixed toilets where I thought id walked into the ladies untill the girl said she had originally thought the same walking in on a bloke. I also like to order my starter first then main after, this system doesnt allow for this. Once ordered the food came quickly, the rice portions are very small and my curry was nothing out the ordinary, just ok, nans were nice. What really made me give this place a low review was when I witnessed what I assume was the head waiter come out of the toilet and walk straight back to the restaraunt without washing his hands....if id not already eaten my food I would have cancelled my order and left, if a waiter on public view is behaving like this what are the Kitchen staff doing?

First time at Babul's restaurant, but I have had takeaway before. Service was excellent. Our server was polite, funny and personable, I wish I could remember his name! There were four of us, all techie dinosaurs, so when it came to ordering, thankfully he helped...

Been a big fan of the food this restaurant has always provided but this latest change in menu for me personally is a big disappointment in not only the choices, took me ages to fine a meal I looked forward to ordering, which is now...

Great for couples and groups. Very innovative way to do things. Modern twist on things. The food presentation was great and tasted amazing. My partner even goes so far to say it’s the best Indian he’s ever had. High praise indeed for him! He had...

Beautiful food lovely staff and excellent service. Best Indian food we have ever tasted. 3rd visit in 2 months and will be going back again soon

First time at Babuls in Barnard Castle and it won’t be the last. Best Naan bread ever and amazing curry too. Will definitely be back 👌🏻

Dropped in on spec and got the last unreserved table (so booking is advised) Innovative tablet system worked well. Food was excellent, everything with a subtle modern twist. Highly recommend.

Fantastic experience once again. Great food. Great service. All in all top class yet again. .

We went for the bottomless brunch. The food and service was excellent. This was our second time for BB and will definitely be back 🍸🍹

My partner & I were staying in the local area and wanted to treat ourselves to a nice takeaway after a 7 hour drive to our destination. We spent some time on Google and came across Babul’s who were very recommended. We ordered two biryanis,...

We ordered Babul’s for takeaway, everything was lovely! Quick service and the food was hot even after a half hour drive back to were we we’re staying. Chicken tikka masala was delicious!!! Balti was very flavoursome but very hot! The reason for my 4 stars...

Wonderful. Great food superb service and worth every penny. A massive thanks to Sam ,Teagan( spelling) and John. Looked after us so well. 3 blokes on a reunion that enjoyed the food and the banter. A dairy free korma was a little disappointing though. But...

Messy, confusing Menu. Loud, intrusive clubbing music. The second course came out in dribs and drabs before the first course was finished. Disinterested waiters. Hassled to vacate the table. The food was good and reasonably priced but the whole experience was negative. Never again!

We visited early evening as a family for a meal. Food was ok, naan bread was really good as were tikka bites! Curry nice but nothing special. However, we found the restaurant too noisy. All tables were required to shout at each other to converse...

So we arrived a little earlier this evening, unfortunately all tables was booked from the girl inside which slightly put us off after being told it was a 30 min wait however after sitting for 15 mins we decided to call and got told we...

Visit to barnard Castle caravan club. Due to the awful weather we decided to treat ourselves to a takeaway. You won't be disappointed. EXCELLENT Food the best curry we've tasted. Don't miss out!

Choose to eat here as opposed to Bengal merchant based on the reviews and very glad we did. Really like the simple menu without all the over complicated "chef specials" dishes. Really nice food and good value.

Really tasty food and good value. Friendly and efficient staff in a great atmosphere and lovely surroundings .Would definitely recommend a visit, just wish we’d had time to stay and use the cocktail bar it looked amazing.

A great night out, starting with cocktails upstairs then a lovely Indian meal. Great food, good variety of choices. Lovely friendly staff and a great atmosphere.

This Restaurent was recommended by our holiday cottage owners and it didn’t disappoint. Having had a takeaway the night we arrived we thought we would sample the good food in the Restaurent itself. Food great, atmosphere warm and relaxing, service excellent - can’t fault it....

Ate here with friends last night. A brilliant & varied menu with excellent detailed information about dietary requirements etc. friendly & helpful staff. The service was excellent, very efficient but not rushed. Great atmosphere, chilled & relaxed. The food is delicious, good portion size &...

Great food & friendly staff. The cocktails are amazing & I would certainly recommend the porn star martini. Lovely evening

Great atmosphere, lovely staff and gorgeous food. Bakewell spritz cocktail was so good! Wouldn’t recommend the alcohol free aperol spritz but apart from that perfect :) Also they don’t take tip on card machine.

Highly recommend this great restaurant. Warm welcome, lovely surroundings and ambiance, and delicious selection of vegan small plates/tapas style dishes. Offer of three plates for £12 is great value, we chose six between the two of us and were very satisfied. Delicious variety of flavours...

My daughter held a fundraising event there for 23 people so it was a big crowd. Service was excellent and the food was extremely good. Enjoyed by all of us there.

Had a very tasty meal in this indian restaurant. Not the usual type of menu and I loved the way you chose your meat/veg then type of sauce. The on table ordering was handy too. What impressed me the most was the cocktail bar upstairs...

It was the best service, food and decor we have had in a while. The staff here are so helpful and attentive. Really impressed with it all can't fault it. Trying to think of a negative but there is not one thing I can think...

Amazing, attentive staff, and the food was fantastic, great value for money and the atmosphere was lovely, we will be back 😀

An excellent experience. Very friendly and efficient staff and loved the iPad system to order drinks and your food order.Food too was top rate.

A warm welcome was followed by excellent service . King prawns to start were very tasty however the Balti was the very best I have tasted anywhere. I chose a Peshwary Nan and mushroom rice, both were excellent. Highly recommended, looking forward to another visit...

Stunning food, excellent service. Loved the iPad thing to order drinks and let them know you’re ready to order/the bill. Best Indian food in a long time!

Lovely brunch in Babuls, with amazing cocktails. Staff were really lovely, every single one of them. Becca served us and she was excellent.

We had an excellent evening. The waiter was very helpful and friendly and the food was very good. Would highly recommend this restaurant.

Charming little bengali restaurant, serving decent curry in a clean, modern environment. My Madras was a touch spicier than im used to, however it had plenty flavour and was very good.

A group of us visited for the first,and last time. Drinks.Why can't we order them through a human ? It defeated the object when a waitress came to tell us one of the beers was off and took an alternative order. Anyway 2 of the...

Just returned from having not only an amazing meal at Babuls but great service from the staff which really brightened up a rainy Monday night. Hats of to the lads Pa & Sam for their attention to detail prompt service and laughing at my jokes!!...

Absolutely first class restaurany. Wouldn't go anywhere else in town. Great service and atmosphere. Lots of variety in choice of dishes.

Food was mid, bar staff very rude, made me and my friends feel uncomfortable as we were being pointed at and clearly judged.

Great you could order on line. You could track collection time. All dishes well prepared and of a high standard. A really good experience. I would thoroughly recommend.

Babul's, 9 Market Place, Barnard Castle DL12 8NF (+44 1833 630575) It was minus 5C outside. The thought of pulling on heavy coats, jumping in a cold car and making even a short journey in sub-zero temperatures through twisty, country roads did not appeal. However,...

The staff were helpful and friendly, ordering was easy. The menu was easy to identify any vegan choices and the food was delicious. Really glad we visited.

We ate from the lunch/brunch menu, available till 3pm. We had a naanwich with lamb, a curry bowl with rice and paneer bhuna, a bowl with rice and chicken jalfrezi and a naan loaded with fries, chicken and smashed onion bhaji. We shared 2 large...

What a place! Top decor, chilled vibe and out of this world food that has choices from your standard curry house fare to authentic south east Asian recipes. The Podhina Zaal is out of this world!

We were really excited to visit Babul's on our visit to Barbard castle as we've heard a lot of rave reviews, so we booked a table there. The standard booking is one 1hr 45 min, so we allocated an hour and a half for our...

Dismally poor customer service. Treated like children having booked the Bottomless Brunch. Told we were late arriving and therefore couldn't have all our drinks - despite the fact the table wasn't booked by anyone else later. Drinks could only be ordered every 15 minutes BUT...

Great range of food featuring regional flavours not seen in most Indian restaurants. Prices and portion sizes are also good but drinks are expensive. The experience was slightly soured by some careless service (wrong meals brought out) but overall a great experience. Booking is essential.

Bit of a faff on to order. what is wrong with pen and paper? Friendly helpful staff. The vegetarian food is decent quality using fresh veg. Not a bad price point

My partner and I visited Babuls as we were going to see Jimeoin at the Witham centre that evening. I called before to check they offered gluten free options which they did. Their menu was very easy to use and showed all allergens clearly. The...

Excellent food, excellent service, excellent staff, excellent night. Rex and the team, while being thoroughly professional and polite, were all very friendly and approachable. This gives the whole restaurant a relaxed atmosphere which is a pleasure to be in.

My wife & I was on holiday here at eggleston a few miles from Barnard Castle. On our 6th night we just walked passed the restaurant then turned around and popped in to see if they had a table! The manager said they were fully...

This little gem of a restaurant was quite busy for a Tuesday, but staff a plenty to assist you. Ordering was on an I pad which was easy to understand and your requests were attended to almost instantly. The rest rooms were upstairs but very...

We’d decided to try Babuls as we’d not been before and we’re so glad we did. We called in on the off chance before our visit to the Witham. The food was utterly amazing, service was fabulous and I have to mention Tegan who informed...

Absolutely delicious and we felt very authentic. Great vegan and vegetarian choices. We loved everything about it. Staff very friendly too.

Thought this was a very good Indian restaurant that had great customer service and very good food well presented.

Amazing takeaway curry. Fabulous quality food. Easy to order online and lovely staff when we picked up our takeaway. 5*****

For something a little different and special Babul's brunch and lunch menu if perfect. The service is excellent and the food amazing. Really recommend it.

Absolutely fabulous meal and service, the staff were very friendly and helpful. Despite being very busy they managed to fit us in without a reservation, it was well worth it. Having two people in the party with food allergies didn’t cause any issue at all,...

This is one of those restaurants which puts a time limit on your meal - in this case, 1 hour 45 minutes for a couple. Probably enough, but it’s a bit unwelcoming. The food was very good - the high-tech ordering system works well and...

very nice place, food is superb, great music and friendly staff. Barnard Castle main street, for a tasty curry with a modern twist, highly recommended. Thank you so much guys for your kindness

Had a meal and some cocktails in Babuls this weekend and had such a great time. The food is always lovely and we really enjoyed it on this visit. We have ate at Babuls in the restaurant and had takeaways several times before this. But...

Nice surroundings. Excellent service all the staff friendly and helpful . Some interesting and delicious dishes which we haven’t tried before . Will definitely be back

Excellent value curry . The staff were brilliant and the curry was spicy .probably the best curry i have had and i am from bradford. Can not fault the food Thank you

Fab cosy restaurant with amazing selection of dishes; very accomodating for veggie/vegan. The mango daquiri was delicious , the cocktails are well presented and well priced and we liked the tablet method of ordering drinks. Friendly service at all stages of our visit. Even though...

Me and my friend attended the bottomless brunch yesterday afternoon. The food was amazing can’t fault it one bit although the service wasn’t as good, during the 90 minutes you were supposed to get 6 drinks but we did only get 4, nobody was coming...

We had a lovely meal at Babul's last night. The restaurant is lovely and modern, has a fab cocktail area upstairs (my Cosmo and my daughter's Passiontini mocktail were great). The food was delicious and all the staff were friendly - really good service. We...

After being very pleased with a couple of take-aways, we took visiting friends along to eat in, and we're delighted! The meals were up to the high standards we had experienced already, and both the setting and the service were excellent as well. We will...

On holiday in Barnard Castle we got Babuls takeaway two nights in a row, it was that good. It’s very ungreasy. Particularly like their small vegan plates, 3 for £9. They don’t deliver, you go and collect. My only criticism would be that the second...

Although I’m not normally a big fan of Indian food, I have to say I really enjoyed our meal at Babul tonight. In fact, it was possibly the best Indian meal I have ever eaten! Friendly service, nice decor, and a really well laid out...

Managed to grab a table at short notice! Staff as always friendly and welcoming. Zak is a truly great guy and always takes time to speak with his customers and that’s fab. Our food as always was faultless. The king prawn vindaloo was fiery but...

Delicious, original and reasonably priced dishes, some of which you won't find elsewhere. We particularly enjoyed the tandoori lamb chops, but everything else was good too. The garlic rice was excellent and the vegan dishes were very enjoyable. Totally recommend and we will be making...

We called in on a quiet Sunday night after receiving a recommendation from the staff at the 3 Horseshoes Hotel and also based on Tripadvisor. We started with the Cobra pakora, which was light, fresh and really delicious. After that the chicken rogan josh and...

My husband, teenage son and I visited after school pick up (515pm) and were made to feel very welcome as soon as we arrived, loved the ordering system with the tablets and the cocktails that quickly followed. The food was excellent and the staff were...

What can I say, excellent food and outstanding service. Every single member of staff was so polite and looked after us all very well. Highly recommended. Thanks again all at team Babuls, spot on. Xx

Very friendly and quick service. You order drinks on a tablet and when you are ready to order food you click on the order food button on the tablet and within seconds the lady was here to take our order. The food was one of...

I have just enjoyed a lovely meal and I have eaten the best curry I have ever had. Well Done to everyone from servers to cooks. THANKS

Had another fantastic night here, cocktails perfect, service brilliant and the curries outstanding. Great service by Zak to move us to where other groups were eating so we weren’t on our own and such attentive staff. Fabulous meal - the best place to visit in...

We are staying in a little cottage at Barnard Castle for a couple of days and after a long day of walking decoded on a takeaway rather than going out again. Babuls won the toss ......the food was gorgeous, plentiful with great portions. It was...

Four of us dined here, booked on the strength of its reviews as we didn’t know where to eat in Barnard Castle. We are all lovers of Indian food. We were all amazed at the high quality. Very rich tastes, soft and delicate meats beautifully...

Great service and fantastic flavours. We tried on the off-chance without a booking and they squeezed us in. So many curries are colourful and sweet so it was great to have such lovely flavours.

The restaurant was well decorated, food was delicious, yummy cocktails and the staff were friendly and helpful. Really enjoyed our meals.

We’ve eaten here a few times, consistently great food, friendly service and lovely to have a lot of vegan and vegetarian options.

Really nice restaurant with a varied menu and excellent food. You order drinks and ask for the bill on a tablet which saves having to attract the attention of staff. Several of us had the 3 small vegan plates offer and others had curry, rice...

We visited Babul last night with friends. The four of us had various curries with king prawns, each having either chips or rice to accompany their curry. The portions were generous, and we all enjoyed the meal and the ambience there. Though our friends had...

Outstanding Brunch with top service - great value for money. Visited for the bottomless brunch and it was amazing. The loaded Naan was fantastic and the Keema burgers are to die for !!!

Had the best lunch ever with family at Babuls. Food amazing, cocktails amazing, staff fantastic. The loveliest of restaurant by far

Our first time having the bottomless brunch. We would all highly recommend it. Worth every penny. Food was amazing.