Spice Lounge in County Durham

The tired and run down decor is very off putting and makes you wonder if the kitchen is in the same state. However, the food was delicious and the complete opposite to how the place now looks. So disappointing as it was always a fabulous place to eat. The food arrived quickly but the rest of the service was poor, considering there were more than ample staff, who would rather stand and chat than bring any drinks.

Ok many reviews mention the 'experienced' chairs, and yes they have seen better days. Maybe 'shabby-chic' if you were to push it a little. But we visited, for the first time, to enjoy the food and drink and not to critique any aspects of interior design. The food, wine and staff were fantastic.

Food was nice but the surroundings leave a lot to be desired, the owners need to invest in some new chairs as they are falling apart and are embarrassing

beautiful food but dear me the seating what can i say apart from please get some new chairs this so let’s down what should be a wonderful dining experience

Food was delicious but the restaurant is a bit shabby. I felt like I was eating in a greasy spoon

Excellent food and I mean excellent. Best curry for ages but decor especially seats need a bit of sprucing up.

We visited on 31/08/2024 as a party of 4 and I feel I need to write this as information for other potential customers. We were very disappointed with our visit to Spice Lounge. After being seated on what can only be described as chairs that were on their last legs, literally, all the coverings were peeling off and then to find out when we left the uncovered fabric had left black stains all over the back of my partner’s white jeans. We placed our order but due to an excuse that they had lost our order (if they lost it why not come and speak to us earlier) it took over 90 minutes to be served and it was only after we asked where our meals were as people were being served their meals that had been seated and ordered after we had. I would suggest better training for the staff, as when we asked about different drinks they had we were met with a shrug of their shoulders and a blank look. Once the food arrived it was lukewarm and tasted very different to any dish I’ve had at different restaurants/takeaways of the same dish. I had a Bhuna and it tasted sweet and fruity with no spice and we had a chicken Korma which the chicken was dry and chalky, the keema nan was raw in the middle as the bread was still soft dough and covered in oil, not something I’ve ever seen, we told the staff and they said they would tell the kitchen but no reason was given to us as to why. Upon the table being cleared the member of staff thought it would be good to stack the plates in front of myself dropping each one on top of the other causing any food left on them to splash on myself after mentioning this I was looked at as if it was my fault for sitting there. We received the bill and never received a discount until we requested it due to the length of time it took to receive our meals and the sub standard food, I thought this was poor customer relations. As I mentioned before the staff need extra training just to get them to a level that may be acceptable. I would not recommend this restaurant and will not return, anyone that is considering going I would suggest to look elsewhere.

A absolute gem of a place. Great food, staff are 👌 and the owner makes every one feel so welcome.

Ignore the fact it needs a make over, the food is really lovely and tasty. The staff are really pleasant too. Give it a try...

Called for a takeaway early on a Saturday evening recently. Ordered a Half tandoori chicken on the bone for £10. What I got was a thoroughly burnt chicken on the bone. I eat this dish regularly, it is my favourite, so I know they are supposed to be reasonably well done as part of the cooking process but I can’t actually believe someone would look at it in that state and then think it’s ok to wrap up and send out. Unfortunately I don’t live local and didn’t unwrap my burnt offering until I got home so couldn’t do much about it. I just hope it was a one off and no one else gets the same surprise. This was genuinely the worst I’ve ever had, a total waste of £10. I will have to think twice before going again which is a shame as I have used Spice Lounge fairly frequently up until now.

Great food on Monday night as usual, this place really takes some beating. Issy and his staff work very hard and are always friendly and welcoming.

Ordered a takeaway, the usual one I get, and have had many times before, this time it was not good at all. The mixed kebab starter was completely wrong, and the jalfrezi (phal hot) was so tame anyone could have eaten it. Will give them a miss next time and try somewhere else.

Tasty Indian food,we had a takeaway, both meals were delicious,with great service! We love it.....nice French red, wine served here!!

Total disappointment. Staff basically through things at you at your table. Got impression the girls want you in and out. Came at you in groups, very intimidating. Food tasteless

It's best to book but they'll fit you in if they can. Always quality food and big portions. Highly recommended! The hanging naans are perfect!

A warm welcome when you walk through the door. A very selection of starters, we had the poppadoms with a pickle tray. A great selection of main courses, rice's and naan breads to choose from, and it didn't break the bank.

The Four Stars are for the Delicious Food. However: Uncomfortable, Tired & Threadbare Seating affected Our Mood Our Table, for Two Elderley Folk ; One Rotund & requiring Sticks. Was Squashed twixt two adjacent groups at a distance less than Two Bricks. Never the less the Staff were Wonderful, Smart Helpful & Polite. Regrettably : Not so the TOILET Facilties which were in an Unacceptable Plight. There are Disabled Facilities that required 'Hands Washed' when going IN as well as Out. The undercoated Entrance Door had more 'Prints' than Scotland Yard : PLUS a WET Floor as Slippery as OWT!

Never had a bad one in about 15 years.

This place allows underage girls to work here

Absolutely beautiful food would 100% recommend this restaurant. Portion size is very generous. Staff are very nice and helpful

A cold wet Wednesday evening in BA and 5 years since our last visit to this restaurant and it is clearly struggling, like most of the town centre, to survive. The food and service were excellent with some interesting variations on the standard “Indian” restaurant menu favourites. If you’re in the area do visit- you won’t regret it!

Lovely ,welcoming ,staff great ,food is good very comfortable surroundings.

Usually go at least every month cobras always spot on and on the menu there is a lamb chop main called Bangla chop Buna until I went to this restaurant I have never been to any Indian restaurants that does a lamb chop main and Belive me I order it every time and they also do the best Nan breads try the lamb chop main you won’t be disappointed and also Issy the owner comes to the table and makes everyone welcome

Great staff..Great meal except for plain nan. Resembled a flat crisp...no stretch..just crumbled..staff informed of my disappointment. Apology given but the lack of a fluffy stretchy nan spoiled our experience a little

Good choice of dishes, very reasonably priced, staff very efficient. Only 3 stars as the staff are not allowed to take cash tips, and don't receive any gratuity payments made by card.

Beautiful food, as always and fantastic staff.

Absolutely disgusting customer service! Young girls front of house, with poor attitudes. Asked for the bill to be split due to been in a large party, to be told you’ll have do it as we’ve had people leave and not pay for popadoms before.. (we’re not hard up for 90p), when challenged followed then by, we are busy doing other jobs (about 5/6 of them stood looking at each other! )Then walked away mid conversation saying “you have the menu”, some items not even on there! Clearly forget that the customers pay there wages and keep the restaurant in a business! Even followed us out of the restaurant, and ran back in! Bits of kids just out of nappies!

A good charity night. Plenty of good food with spaces between courses. Very pleasant.

A well renowned favourite in town that is tried, tested and approved by all locals

Totally overpriced and maybe the chef was having a bad night but the food was awful! I have been in hundreds of Indian restaurants over the last 40 years and this was honestly the worst meal I have ever eaten. I'd seen many nice reviews and was looking forward to it, but won't be giving it another chance! Main courses at £16 including rice was not as tasty as Wetherspoons! The drinks were so expensive we only had one each.

Having heard mixed reviews, I was dubious about visiting this restaurant. I shouldn’t have worried. The food was excellent and the staff were brilliant.

Had a lovely night with the wife

I dined here about 7 year ago and enjoyed the food however I was very disappointed in our visit just recently. We attended a special birthday and we were really looking forward to it as we enjoy Indian food. As myself and my husband were not drinking, I ordered 2 pints of Diet Coke and was charged £9 for both drinks!!!! £4.50 each for a pint was unbelievable!!!!! We ordered a shared starter of a sizzler and I was disappointed in it, I was expecting a large sizzler to receive a dish just slightly bigger than a soap dish between us two!!! To be charged £14.95 was outrageous! We then ordered a Chicken Dansak and a Chicken Tikka Masala which arrived not piping hot. The boiled rice came in cereal bowls and again not piping hot! We did not want to make a fuss and spoil it for the person who was celebrating their birthday. We were hugely disappointed which was a shame.

Me and my friend like to come here once a month ish. Great food and service. Manager and waiter especially. But tonight was so nice as there were valentines balloons scattered around and me and my friend were brought a parcel and a red rose each at the end of our meal.. Its was such a lovely thought and i really appreciate it. It will also be the only Valentines gift we get. So thank you !!

It's been a while since we've been but it's still absolutely fantastic. Excellent, quality food and service from Issey and his staff. We won't leave it so long until next time.

Delicious with a good variety of chefs specials. Everyones dish was very tasty, nice full flavour and good portions. Waitresses were great to banter with. Would definitely go back.

Usually very busy, recommend booking. Nice food, recently appears to have improved decor and place was nice and clean. Parking available close by and is usually free after six which is opening time. Also does takeaway, but doesn't seem to impact on food preparation times. Highly recommended, frequently visited, never disappointed.

Great food with excellent service.

Attended a charity fundraising quiz. Great food and friendly staff. A great fun evening!

Seen some mixed reviews on this restaurant but thought we'd try it anyway and glad we did. The food was very nice, full of flavour, fresh chicken and came out quick. The restaurant was nice and clean with friendly waiters and the bill was very reasonable. Definitely recommend and will return next time I'm in the area 👍🏻

Lovely food as always great service

Great night. Staff were really good. Food was great had a really good night.

Beautiful restaurant really nice setting Food was so tasty Will be definitely returning to try more dishes Staff were very nice and polite

Great service and food would highly recommend

Ordered from here tonight the food turned up early great start the wife and daughter had chicken korma rice and chips I had chicken pathia normally a tomato based spicy dish but that’s not what I received it was a sweet mild dish like a korma not a pathia keema Nan was a joke as were the chips

Last night at 8.25pm we went to Spice Lounge only to be told they were closing. We use this restaurant often and to be turned away very rudely means we shall never go again. The attitude of the two members of staff, was terrible sneering at me when I told them I wouldn't go back. Would I go back - no not even if I was paid to go.

We have been going to this place nearly every single week for years. Lovely food every time- however we will never go back! On Saturday we arrived 15 mins late for our booking and when we walked in the owner had A go at us saying he was just about to give our table away due to being late. He had a terrible attitude about it. We are in and out within a hour every time and always leave at least £7 tip for the waitresses. In the 50 mins we were there not one person came in for a table of 4 so who he was going to give our table to is beyond me whilst also having 7 other 4 seat tables empty the whole time we were there. On our way out I asked him to clarify his comments and again disgusting attitude and told us he has plenty customers and didn’t need our business. Yes on a weekend there is a lot of customers but through the week when we usually go there’s never more than 3 tables in. I don’t understand what his problem was and it’s safe to say we will never be going back

Fantastic food, very busy on a Friday.

Excellent food here, staff were polite and the place has a good atmosphere.

Excellent food and service. Highly recommended.had gorgeous onion bhajis and jalfrezi. Mmm

We had 2 take aways over the Christmas season, both times the food was delicious. Cannot fault it. It would be nice if they started to do the specials nights again. Happy new year

Had a meal here last week with my wife and a friend.We have eaten here several times over the years and I must say,the food last week was as good as I ever eaten.Lovely,spicy chicken etc,very friendly staff.Highly recommended.

Disappointed is the only way to explain the meal tonight. Last time I really enjoyed the King Prawn Purée so thought it would be good to have a main of this. I was going to order a King Prawn Bhuna and Purée but was told they did a main King Prawn Purée. Great I though then I picked it up and got home. It's not a main it might have a few extra prawns (I'm not sure they claimed it did), but it's not a main more a large starter. Rang to check if if the order was wrong and told no that's right. The tub the food came in was only a third full and this included the Purée which had gone soggy. Picture attached to show the portion. If the person on the phone had even pretended to care that we were disappointed with the meal it would have been nice but he could not have cared less. Then just said that's how it is and hung up. Very rude and after the last time I had been could not more of a different experience. Will not return mainly due to the way we were treated. I have had other takeaways been disappointing in the past but the way they handled it was so different I did go back.

Ordered two main portion king prawn puree( take away) and am absolutely disgusted with the size ( no bigger than the starter version ( apart from a couple of extra prawns) not only were these the tiniest main courses i have seen but the rest of the order was wrong too! We ordered 4 puree and only got 3, ordered poppadoms with mango chutney and got no mango chutney, instead we got the dip that comes with onion bhajis. What upset me most though was the customer service when I called to complain, the rude person I spoke to said there was nothing they could do and then put the phone down on me! I did love this restaurant but unfortunately will not use again! Saffron will be getting all our business.

Ordered two main portion king prawn puree and am absolutely disgusted with the size ( no bigger than the starter version ( apart from a couple of extra prawns) not only were these the tiniest main courses i have seen but the rest of the order was wrong too! We ordered 4 puree and only got 3, ordered poppadoms with mango chutney and got no mango chutney, instead we got the dip that comes with onion bhajis. What upset me most though was the customer service when I called to complain, the rude person I spoke to said there was nothing they could do and then put the phone down on me! I did love this restaurant but unfortunately will not use again! Saffron will be getting all our business.

A party of 8 visited on a Sunday Night the restaurant was quite. Good food and drink had by all. We all enjoyed our food.

The quality of the food is amazing, service is great and good value for money. This is the best curry house in the county.

On the street level it looks a bit small and pokey but it opens up in to a very large dining area which is very well appointed. (and just as well as it was very busy even early on a Saturday evening. Food and service was great but best of all was the personal attention of the owner who went out of his way to ensure that we would not only have a great meal but gave lots of tips for maximising the visit to the wonderful Bishop Auckland. Popidoms were VERY fresh - which is often the guide to what's to come. Mains were excellent. Good choice for vegetarians.

Tasty food, lovely flavours, burning arse the next day but would definitely go again.

I have visited this restaurant many times before and that was why I booked a table for four on Saturday 7th August. We had booked Kynren and wanted to take our friends to the restaurant beforehand for a lovely meal. We have all got many years in customer service and we all eat out at least once or twice a week and this is the first time in a long long time that I’ve felt the need to speak up and complain. I booked the table for 6:30 allowing us plenty of time to have a starter and main before heading down to Kynren. We all believed this would be more than ample time. We took our seats in the restaurant at 6:20, we were asked if we’d like poppadoms before drinks orders were taken. The poppadoms arrived immediately but it took some time before we were asked what drinks we would like, the three ciders and one lager took quite sometime to arrive at the table, the starter and main orders were then taken…I would say it took until 7:25 for the starters to arrive, our drinks were low and no one asked us if we wanted more so we had to call someone over to ask for more drinks. By 7:50 I was getting concerned that our mains had still not arrived so I asked one of the girls if our mains would be served next as we had to leave at 8:20 for Kynren, she said she would check for us, she came from the kitchen and said ours would be next but they did not arrive to the table until 8:10 and in all honestly they felt like the dishes were being thrown at us on the table, one of the mains came out as the wrong dish so that had to go back, we didn’t really have any time to enjoy the mains and I had to pay the bill before finishing then we all had to run to Kynren and unfortunately we ended up missing the start of the show. We all truly felt that allowing two hours to be served a starter and main each was enough time but we were left very disappointed and angry. There was no service at all from the staff, no one was being attentive to whether we needed more drinks or even to ask if the food or anything else was ok. After spending nearly £110 we all left having had a really bad experience. No customer service, staff were not attentive, more focus seemed to be on serving the take out customers than the ones in the restaurant. Also a new knife and fork for the mains should have been brought out instead of us having to re use the ones from the starters! We will not return to this restaurant again.

Ejoyed my time here with my family.food was lovely will call again.

Had a lovely meal in here on Saturday night 28/6/21, then the owner came across and talked to us a good while about whiskey, and the staff are very good.

First of all, I'll start with the negative. There were no Covid measures in place, ie. customer details and Covid test and trace square zap thing for the App. There were no open windows, so relied on the air conditioning being good. However, the girls serving were absolutely delightful, especially Ebony who will go along way in customer service. We had excellent lamb balti and chicken tikka pasanda, with vegetable pilau rice, all of which were delicious. A small selection of British desserts could be added to the menu to round off the meal. There were none at all. We look forward to returning.

King prawn curry was very poor chopped them into small pieces not good value for money ,stuffed paratha bread terrible didn't eat it, won't ever be going back.

Always lovely food and drink, with fast friendly service.

Visited tonight for the first time in about 5 years. Moved back into the area and was really looking forward to visiting as it was my go to Indian restaurant. Evening didn’t start well having to pass through a nicotine fog from about 6 smokers gathered outside. They returned to their seats a short time later. Several of their party continued to walk up and down the restaurant and enter the toilets. No masks in evidence. Indeed one of the waitresses seem incapable of wearing her mask correctly. Rant over , now to the food. Oh dear what has happened here ? Not so much as gone downhill but tumbled off a cliff edge , Totally agree with the other reviewer who suggested “Uncle Bens “ rice. Overcooked and bland. My wife’s special mixed grill consisted of chicken which was chewy and stringy. Along with what looked like two lamb kebab starters. You serve lamb chops as a starter, why not include them. Served in a bowl and smothered in sauce. Far too salty . Credit to them they offered a replacement which again was totally over salted. No one actually enquired if that was ok. My chicken balti was full of nice tandoori chicken however again the sauce was over salted leaving a nasty aftertaste. On the whole probably about 3/10 nice onion Bhaji and naan . Absolutely gutted how much it has declined whilst I’ve been away. Time to find a new “local” Indian restaurant. Shame.

Fantastic meal again it's a very very good Indian restaurant in our opinion 5star *****

Second visit to this restaurant as the first was really good, this time was the complete opposite, service was very slow to say the restaurant was only half full, a long black hair found in my starter which the waiter identified immediately as female because the chef is male so couldn’t be his then the mains arrived after another long wait, incorrect dishes which led to the waiter sifting through the food with a spoon to identify what it was. Shame really it was a decent restaurant with a good reputation but for the money they charge the food needs match the price

Lovely food but very disappointed they are not doing the Sunday deal anymore for eating in. Cost me a fortune but the food was very good

I only give one star because, Terrible service, curry & nan bread was awful no taste at all & the rice I’m sure was uncle bens. Bad.

Came here for my mams birthday. Food was unreal but far to many people inside . Social distancing was not followed as I had people brushing past the back of my chair while eating. Also the toilets where grim but the over all pub was lovely and clean

Fabulous food, lovely night out xxxx

It was a very busy evening as it was the government's 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme; but the staff were very apologetic and the food was well worth the wait. Even without the scheme it would still have been very good value for money. As a family group we were on holiday staying in West Auckland and we were all extremely satisfied with our meals and would highly recommend.

Just eaten here on the eat out to help out scheme. Great service,friendly and helpful. The food was delicious and came out quickky, especially loved the sizzling chicken tikka, great sauces, good portions. Will definitely be back for more.

If you want good Indian food and a decent atmosphere, you can’t go wrong with this place. I’d recommend the garlic chilli chicken balti.

Totaly enjoyable night, food amazing & staff very helpful. ... my sons first time at an Indian so was even more enjoyable... and he thought it was fab... thank you spice lounge staff.

Wouldn’t bother no answer for bookings nothing waste of time

Visited on Friday 24/07/2020 while visiting sister for the first time in 6 months. The covid check details were taken and we were shown to our seats. Service was done in a timely fashion. 4 of us ate main course only a bottle of red two beers and two pink gin. The bill was £95 in total which I felt was reasonable. The food was hot and tasty. I would definitely visit again

Lovely food and friendly staff never disapointed

I called up to book a table around 2 hours in advance after we were given the rare & impromptu opportunity of a babysitter so we could go out and celebrate my partner’s birthday. First time out since lockdown etc. so we were very excited! Looking forward to a hearty meal and a few drinks.When we arrived at 8pm, there was only one other table occupied, who left about half way through our meal. We ordered our food and a drink to start. The food came and that was the end of their service. We were given no opportunity to order any other drinks at any stage through the meal. Nobody once came to check how things were, and instead of being offered the dessert menu we were given the bill (without asking) as soon as the plates were whipped away. I get that it’s been a hard time for businesses, and I get that they wanted to close up shop and that our custom on its own wasn’t worth their time. Were it not for that I’d be giving less than three stars. I also should say that the food was nice - we’ve had better but it was a good meal for sure; no complaints there. But it could have been handled so much better. I’m a bit irked that they took the booking so late in the day and yet didn’t mention that they’d had no additional bookings and may have to close up early. Or at the very least, that there was no communication or real service at the time. Just a quick apology would have gone a long way. It’s a shame, especially as it was a birthday celebration, that we found ourselves done, dusted and back out the door within 45 minutes of our arrival. Uncomfortable and disappointing. I wouldn’t have expected them to stay open til their advertised 10pm closing just for us, but just bit of service, another drink during the meal and the option to have a dessert - it would have made the difference between a one-off and potentially a long term customer. I can’t see us ever returning sadly.

Nice food, seemed in a rush to get us out as we weren't offered more drinks or dessert and the bill was presented unbidden. We put this down to us being the only ones there and a desire to lock up. May have to come back and check.

Atmosphere will improve when we get back to the new normal. Food just lovely thank you

Brilliant food and great service never disappoints

One of the better Indians in Bishop Auckland. Would go back.

The food was a mixed bag. The lamb tikka was tough but the onion bhagi was nice. Poppadums were good but the starters were on the table before we had finished the poppadums. As they took the starter dishes away I asked for a break between courses but the waitress didn't respond. I had a feeling that the main course was ready to serve & 2 minutes later it was being plonked on the table rather roughly. On the whole the food was average.There was no rush to get us out of the restaurant so I don't understand the need to rush the food. It doesn't make for a pleasant dining experience. We paid, didn't leave a tip & wouldn't go back.

Just enjoyed our annual Curry Night at the Spice Lounge. Once again, everything was excellent, the food, the service and the atmosphere. Many many thanks to Issy and his team for another wonderful evennt.

The food is always very good, however the service requires attention. The young staff clearly would rather chat amongst themselves than monitor the customers.

Fantastic food and Izzy the owner is a fantastic host, only sorry we could not visit more often.

A location close to various parking areas is a good start, which it has.A varied menu, the menu caters to most lovers of spiced meals including fish dishes and meat.My only fault found with Spice Lounge was the accessibility for disabled and wheel- chair users.There is no ramp access, no space to move around in the vicinity and the toilet facilities are a definate no-no.If this problem was identified more, with consideration to a disabled person then I see more customers attending.

As ever lush food hospitable hosts and very charming decor

Fair priced, excellent service. Downside is only one lager on tap.

Regular visits to the spice lounge, never had a bad meal. Got to know the owner well and he always makes time to talk. Brilliant choice of food and drinks, Wednesday and Sundays are excellent value for the offer. Looking forward to our next visit already!

The food was terrible and the management even worse. The king prawns were like chewing on a wet flip flop and the ‘meat’ in the garlic special was not edible nor recognisable. We politely raise the issue with the waitress who was great and she went to the manager to explain our concerns. He wouldn’t even acknowledge the complaint and made his waitresses feel uncomfortable and it was clear they were used to issues like ours. We went over to explain the issue and seek resolution. But he aggressively told us to get out! The worst customer service I have ever experienced and the worst food. A simple apology would have done.

We had to complain because the food was disgusting. The king prawns were like chewing on a wet flip flop. The ‘meat’ which was unrecognisable was chewy, fatty and bland. We politely raise the issue and was offered a repayment. Given how bad the food was we decided against replacement and the waitress (who was excellent) went and spoke with her manager. After 5 minutes he didn’t acknowledge the complaint and the poor waitress you could tell felt awkward as he wouldn’t doing anything about it. All he had to do was apologise and offer a resolution. Something like ‘your drinks are on us and we hope you come back so we can show you how excellent our food is’. But no, he actually said ‘just get out!’We had been very nice about the issue but he made out we were sexist (truth is he hid behind the waitresses putting them in a uncomfortable) and kicked us out. Food was absolutely disgusting. Management was even worse.

We called in to order a take away on November 1st. The food was exceptional as always. My main reason for posting a review though is to highlight outstanding customer service way beyond expectations. We took our take way home on the bus having had a a few drinks in town. Having got home to Evenwoood, we found that one meal was missing. I phoned the restaurant and even though they don’t do deliveries they brought the meal to the house along with poppadoms, pickles, rice and a voucher.I can’t say thank you enough or recommend this place more highly.Thank you, thank you and thank you again.We live in Derbyshire but will back to visit in December and will be sure to visit and spend our voucher. I have always felt that this is a fabulous restaurant but tonight’s response to a mistake was truly first class and proves that not only the food is in the top league but the people too. If you’re in Bishop go to Spice lounge.

Ate here many times. Never disappointed. Staff always friendly

Brilliant place, food and staff !!!!

Excellent food great staff highly recommended

Gin & curry night. Brill once again yesterday x thank you to all.

We went here based on a recommendation and we weren’t disappointed. The food was fantastic and the service was very good too. We would definitely go back again