Spice Room in Cherwell

The Spice Room is now closed and the building is up for sale.

Poor hygiene ratings have caused this place to close as of January 2024 what a shame it used to be a very nice place to eat. Hopefully someone else will take it over.

We have been ordering our takeaways from here around 2 times a month for a few years now. It was by far the best curry house in the area for us, however my husband recently got food poisoning from here and was very sick for a couple of days. He thinks it was the rice as it tasted different to normal. We then discovered their hygiene rating was very poor and has been for years. This is such a shame as we want to support our local restaurant but we can't bring ourselves to risk ordering from here again. Please improve your hygiene rating we'd love to come back!

Great experience, went for a birthday meal and was well looked after by the staff and chef.

Always a fantastic quality of food with friendly staff, weather eat in or take out

The best Indian takeaway we’ve had ! Have tried everywhere in Banbury and never found anywhere that was this fresh and great tasting !! Will definitely being returning, thanks guys 😌

Absolutely delicious! Had the vegetarian thali (lots of different small dishes) and every single one was a different flavour profile. All of them spot on. Very friendly service as well. Highly recommended. *****

Dinner for 2, I had the Kerralan Murgh, which the menu highly recommends (in caps even!).. and it absolutely delivered... It was a delight! Maybe one of the best Indian dishes ever (for me). Full rich and complex taste, great texture and a hotness that adds another dimension to the experience (the dish is normally 'medium' hot, I asked for a slightly augmented spiciness, which the chef very subtly implemented). My wife also enjoyed her vegitarian thali very much indeed. (So much so in fact, she posted her own 5 star review :) ) Great staff: quick, competent and kind with great humour! Lovely characterful location in a small town centre off the main road, and an agreeable interior. In short: a find that we much enjoyed and highly recommend!

Wonderful food and service. Well recommended!

When this place first opened up, it was very good food, with great service in a nice area. However, the food quickly downhill after a year and I stopped ordering when the place received a hygiene rating of 0. Furthermore, there is constantly a delivery driver parked outside the restaurant on double yellow lines opposite a junction with a blind corner, making it very dangerous for drivers coming out of the junction and approaching the junction.

Great tasting food, friendly service, good price

We went for 6 pm on a Sunday enjoyed a quiet, very delicious dinner. Service was terrific. It was worth every penny.

The staff was very friendly and helpful. The food came fast and tasted very good and good prices. recommended!

A bit on the pricey side but always very fast to deliver. A massive choice on the menu so there’s plenty to choose from.

Food was good as always but the service was poor. The main waiter really could not be bothered. Noticed very few customers in the restaurant and the phone hardly rang for takeaway orders. Now I discover they have a Zero food hygiene rating and even at best a few years ago it was only a two star. They need to address this ASAP as they will not survive with poor service and a zero hygiene rating. I notice they do not display the green hygiene certificate in the window any more.

We love the food and service here for takeaways. And yet, we have just discovered that Spice Rooms in Bodicote has had yet another worryingly low hygiene rating from Cherwell District council. Grade 1 out of 5 in 2019. Grade 0 in August 2022. I would love to be reassured by Spice Rooms, perhaps they can reply to this??

Ate there. Food poor. Checked and found that they have a ONE star food hygiene rating. Avoid.

We visited this very polite, professional and friendly Indian restaurant. They were very welcoming from when we first stepped through the door to when we left. The food was excellent, the table service the same. Courtesy drink on them at the end was a nice touch. Highly recommended.

just had take away was over cooked prawns and burnt chicken the prawns are unedible heve not had a meal for a while but this was terrible and we were looking forward to it.

love the food, love the service....shame about the view to the courtyard with old furniture etc, great for take away and dining in. we use this regularly thank you , an unexpected treasure in a village. no parking, just on the road

Very good food. Will be going again soon .

Consistently high standard of takeaway food and great service. The rezala chicken is delicious!

Visited for a meal while on holiday. We were seated in a table that was between the back door and the toilets so was a bit disruptive. The table for 4 was in a corner by a window with a stone ledge and very hot radiator pipes. So from a health and safety point of view it was not ideal. We ordered 4 poppadums and when the bill came we were charged £5.60 for it. Apparently it was the for the dips and pickles. The dips were not shown on the menu. Of all the places I have dined in, the dips are part of the poppadum order. I don’t mind paying extra but it should be included in the menu or the customer should be informed. We were served by 4 different waiters and only one of them (a short young man) served with a smile. There is no point working in hospitality if you cannot serve with an smile or have a pleasant manner. The place considers itself an Indian restaurant. None of the dishes were Indian, more Bangladeshi. The description is misleading. The food was good. My young children enjoyed it and do did we. Compliments to the chef. The cheese naan had melted cheese on it rather then stuffed with it. That was an interesting take. Diner experience may differ depending on what is ordered and where you are seated and who you are served by. But if it is just for the food you are after, I would recommend a takeaway since the service is lacking in finesse and professionalism.

Excellent service. God hot and cooked to order reasonably priced. Highly recommended

Food looked and tasted fine, but on advice of friends I checked the Food Standards Agency website for the hygiene rating and found it is a ‘2’ against a possible best score of ‘5’ - will not be using again until the rating is at least 4

Great food parking a bit of an issue

Found the host rather loud and overfaliar, but the waites were pleasant and efficient. The menu is extensive, but generally we found our meals rather bland and samey, except for one of our party, who prefers her food on the mild side and liked it! No desserts. When full this felt very cramped - not ideal in these times. Thumbs down this time, I'm afraid.

Great food, good staff and lots of choice. Take away service available. Portions are good.

Another great meal from The Spice Room. Delivered quickly. Never fails and the guys that work there are great. We are regulars now, dining in or takeaway. A little gem without the need to go to town. Thanks! :-)

Fantastic food. Stayed at a camp site not far and had this delivered one evening. Great choices available and delivery we within the time allocated. Food tasted great. The best indian takeaway we have had in a long time. Reasonable prices too. Highly recommended.

Great food and lovely family feel to the restaurant

Regular visitors from the canal, we have always looked forward to our walk to Bodicote and our takeaway from the Spice Room. However, tonight, we had a very indifferent experience. In theory we had very different curries, one a Dhansak, seemed devoid of lentils and the Garlic chilli chicken masala had an almost identical tasting sauce. Please don’t let standards slip as each dish should have a distinctive taste. Please revert to where we were two years ago.

one of the best indian meals i have ever had. The menu has so many unusual dishes plus the normal ones. A hidden gem will be going back as soon as i can.

Had a lovely curry. Great service and happy customer

Tried to order but got passed between 2 members of staff. Unfortunately the 2nd person I spoke to did not speak very good English and we struggled. Not helped by him talking over me as people left. Then got told it would take 1 hour 20 mins!!! Food nice but.... Unfortunately Unfortunately, d

What a lovely restaurant. Beautiful inside and in a lovely location. Eating in, the food was just as good as the take out – the take out, if you cannot go in, is seriously well worth it. Best Indian restaurant/takeaway in Banbury. The menu has many different dishes to normal Indian food establishments. Cannot recommend it enough. Staff so lovely too. Portal! Thank you! Very best wishes to all. Will definitely use again, in or take out!

Have been before and so impressed we wanted to come again. Popadoms and the most pickles I’ve ever seen are spectacular. We chose a main course each and shared a couple of side dishes plus rice and naan. The service is excellent and meals a feast to your eyes - beautiful plates and dishes add to the experience. We get to the bill and our waiter offers a drink on the house !! Which is very kind. Two couples drinks and food £87 Will definitely visit again

Delicious authentic Indian cuisine with good portions. Flavours are amazing as well as a selection of chutney and poppadoms. Couldn't reccomend enough, perfect both takeaway and dining in. Always our choice of Indian food in the local area.

Just moved into the area and had a meal at The Spice Room. Blown away by the service. I never leave reviews but this was on par with michillin dining service I've received in the past. Food was great, they have Cobra on tap. Can't say enough about this place!

Superb meal. Perfect night out with former colleagues. We love an indian meal and hadn't tried the Spice Room. Collectively we agreed to return. The service was fabulous, such pleasant staff. Food is highly recommended, flavoursome and of a good portion size too...They offer an extensive menu. Nice interior, clean and welcoming. Thank you! Looking forward to my next Banbury visit and a wonderful meal @ The Spice Room.

Amazing Curry. Had the biryani with everything in it. Was incredible. Also comes with a bit of veg curry. Very tasty

Lovely and delicious food and good friendly staff

Love it. Great food and excellent service

Called up to make an takeaway order, and was told it would be 45 mins. I got there 45 mins later to collect and was told it would be another 20 mins so I sat and waited along with 5 other customers in the restaurant and this is what I observed... One waiting customer with no face mask/covering (who used his hand to cover his mouth and nose), one of the staff welcoming customers into the restaurant had his mask on his chin (leaving his nose and most of his mouth exposed), and the other member of staff was constantly adjusting and moving his mask away from his face to drink. Another customer walked in without a mask and after giving his order was given a mask and sat down by two customers who’s noses were not covered by their ill fitting masks. But the most unsafe practice was the staff member who was ferrying back and forth to the kitchen to bring out the food orders, had a mask covering his neck/chin leaving his face fully open placing people at risk as he came out and shouted out names and then hand people their food. This totally unacceptable disregard for the law and people’s health is happening in many locations and collectively adds to exactly why we as a country have seen so much hardship, financial loss, constraint and death. The Spice Room at Bodicote, Banbury needs to review its practices and make its customers safety a priority!

We ordered a takeaway on Saturday evening following a busy day. When I phoned to place the order I was asked to wait whilst the person that answered the phone answered another call and I could hear him taking another order. Once he'd finished I placed our order, was told it would be ready in 30 mins. On arrival i was asked to sit and wait whilst they tried to find the ticket with my order on. There must have been 30 takeaway tickets on the counter which they kept rummaging through. I then waited another 15 mins for my order. On getting home one of the dishes (mine) was missing. It took me 10 mins to get through on the phone. I was then asked if I could go and collect it. I said no and asked for it to be delivered. It took 30 mins to arrive and by the time it did my rice and naan was inedible. It would have been nice if they had put in a fresh rice as a goodwill gesture. Sadly, not the best service or food from the spice rooms and I definitely think they couldn't cope with the volume of orders.

Brilliant restaurant great food

Fantastic. Had Sunday buffet for my dad's birthday. Lovely food and fantastic service. Would definitely recommend...

popped in for a takeaway lunch,greated by very friendly staff and hand sanitiser in entrance. very clean looking bar area.food was very well prepared i had a garlic chicken tikka boona and it tasted fantastic. i would certainly go out of my way to revisit.

Pretty average all round. Tarka Dal pretty tasteless, king prawn vindaloo a bit of a joke, 80% potato, and a tiny bit of chopped up prawn. Not like a real Goan Vindaloo at all. Naan was very thick and doughy. All in all quite disappointing, and will not be using again

Booked this on the back of reviews whilst staying on a barge nearby. Staff were happy to accommodate our changes to the times when delayed. Good measures in place for Covid although not running Eat our to help out. Vast menu and all dishes were very good and well portioned. Staff attentive. Main courses took a bit longer than we’d have liked to arrive but didn’t disappoint. Well priced.

With my folks down we wanted to go out and have a ‘proper’ meal as a family. Grandkids - the lot! The guys in the Spice Room were brilliant - extremely aware of the COVID rules, our table was spotless. The experience, service and ongoing assistance was brilliant. I have to call out the chefs too - front of house were A1 however so was the food. Every single dish was genuinely tasty, hot (Heat) and professionally served at the table. 100% going back!! Thanks guys

Absolutely amazing, friendly polite staff on the phone, delivery driver polite. Meal was the best we've had in ages. Will definitely order again.

Quite superb. Very friendly and helpful staff, and excellent food. Would recommend to anyone.

Eating at Spice Room is always a great experience. The staff are friendly and courteous and food is consistently good. Even in this time of lockdown, delivery comes promptly and with a complimentary bottle of wine.

Best Indian in Banbury fast prompt service reasonably priced great meal sizes you won’t be disappointed free complimentary drink which was a bonus

Fantastic place for an authentic curry. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. Jakir, Kamal, and Amin are great at what they do. I honestly couldn't recommend this place enough.

A friend recommended spice room in bodicote, booked a table for 6 people , have to say the food and service was very nice very impressed as I am fussy when it comes to currys as I make my own . My husband can be the same but all 6 of us very pleasantly surprised. The chicken chat starter very nice and the thali for main dish amazing especially the minted lamb curry . We will definitely be going back . Well done spice room boys

Fantastic service and lovely friendly staff. Very reasonably priced for great food and fantastic portion sizes for that price. Also they were happy to let us take the extra food home in a doggy bag for later as we couldn't finish it all. If you like Indian food with a good selection on flavours and friendly staff this is the place to go. Even gave us a free brandy each after our meal. 5/5 will certainly be returning again. Also does a delivery service.

We're spoiled for choice for a “celebration curry” round here, but the Spice Room is fairly close, has excellent reviews, and advertises gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options on its website. As we had a coeliac, a vegetarian and a vegan in our party, we decided on them. The booking was fine, a pleasant table, in a pleasant environment. The menu was disappointing - there were no gluten-free alternatives to wheat-based standards such as chapatis, naan breads etc. you can nip down the street to Sainsburys and pick up some really nice gluten-free naans. The vegetarian range was very standard. When we asked about "vegan" the waiter was lost. He waved vaguely at the vegetarian options, so I explained vegan food was dairy free as well as vegetarian, and he then pinpointed 2 dishes that fitted, both curried aubergine dishes. So, if you're vegan and you don't like aubergine, there's nothing here for you. When the food arrived it was OK, my tandoori was a bit dry, the vegan aubergine was *very* greasy (I *do* hope that ghee is the cheap "best vegetable ghee") To be honest, if we'd stayed at home and I'd cooked a couple of curries we'd have had a much nicer meal for a fraction of the price. At £16 a head it wasn't extortionate but it feels like a lot to pay someone to cook not very well and then wash up for you.

We had a work do of 26 people. Food was exemplary, excellent menu, good choice of drinks and very quick to serve orders. The staff were attentive and I will be going again!

Great food and service. Visited many times, always friendly staff and love the complimentary drink at the end of the meal!

Excellent food, service and lovely ambiance to the old pub conversion

The restaurant was not very busy but we went early. The staff were very welcoming and friendly. The food was really tasty and piping hot, probably the best Indian food we had in a while.

Very friendly staff excellent food well worth a visit

Excellent food. Reasonable prices

We just walked in but it was mid week so not to busy . Very helpful and friendly staff, very tasty food would definitely recommend.

The food is amazing but I prefer the Indian Queen, they charged £20 for 5 glasses of coke at over £3 a glass I felt a bit ripped off but besides that all around a nice cozy place with good tikka masala

The staff were nice but food not authentic Indian. When I said I had lived 7 years in that part of the world and never eaten food that tasted like this. The waiter said that they added sugar to everything because that's what English people like. If I wanted real Indian food, I should tell them when ordering not to add sugar. I have never heard such a thing. I wouldn't eat here again.

We ordered a take away from the Spice Room at Bodicote and the food was absolutely fantastic. Ther service when ordering and collecting was spot on!!

I can only describe it as an undiscovered gem. I challenged the staff to find me something out of the ordinary as I was fed up of the usual suspects when it comes to Indian cuisine. The waiter recommended a dish which seemed quite expensive, but he said if I didn't enjoy it, he would pay for it. Well I couldn't turn that down, and all U can say is "Wow" Ok had the most amazing dish ever! If you want quality, then go here. You won't be disappointed.

Beautiful food and excellent service

My friends and I went to the Spice Room last night and we had a fantastic time, lovely food and fun attentive staff, would highly recommend

Very clean restaurant with realy good and friendly service. Good advice was given too what the menu has available.The food was served very quickly all the ingredients were fresh and very tasty we found it delicouis if you like Indian food.We would truely recommend The Spiceroom for anyone.Good value for your money.

Had a chicken pasanda which was absolutely tasteless. The other meals our family had were of poor quality. I know this was a takeaway but even so should have been much better. Would not go back again as there are other Indian Restaurants in the area.

Very good food and friendly service ‘ they have started newly Sunday roast carvery ‘ really good quality meats and healthy steamed vegetable ‘ cauliflower cheese baked Yorkshire puddings and gravy ‘ you should visit ‘ need a advance booking for your seat

Disappointed dirty plate's no napkins and water dripping through the ceiling no atmosphere believe it or not food was ok strange sort of buffet

Excellent services and splendid food.

Lovely food, great service and really nice staff

Absolutely beautiful. From the moment you walk in the door you are treated fantastically. The members of staff go on and beyond any service you would expect. The food is absolutely beautifully laid out on the plate. I've never heard a bad thing about the spice room and I've never had any negatives either. They give the most brilliant customer service to everyone. The prices are average. As well as the sit down restaurant, they also do home delivery also and delivery times are no more then you would expect. Even having the items threw a delivery they are still beautiful, and taste great. Definitely my favourite place to go for a curry. Well done spice room 😀

Nice food and friendly atmosphere

Always a pleasure visiting Pice Room, staff are friendly and efficent. Drinks followed by popadoms, before the main. Mains come piping hot and more than enough to fill up on. I highly recommend

Perfect meal and reasonably priced

First time here, taken here by friends who have just moved into the area. Friendly polite staff, accommodated 4 of us, even though we hadn't pre booked. Nice cosy setting/atmosphere Tried the Mixed Grill from the main menu, at a cost of £14.95. Sent it back to the kitchen and left. Very disappointing food, bland, tasteless and of poor quality not too mention over priced.

Very average. I ordered a lamb curry which was excessively greasy tasted mainly of gravy. Can't recommend on this (admittedly small) sample.

This is the most local takeaway to me and the nearest place to eat out. I have been going here since it has opened. It does not disappoint food is amazing so tasty best Indian around. The staff are all so helpful and welcoming. Great place to eat for food and hospitality. I will always go back here! If you haven't tried it you need to.

If you are in the area and like Indian food, don't miss this restaurant. The food is excellent, and the staff efficient. They do so many takeaways that the restaurant sometimes feels a little empty during the week, but the cooking is worth it.

After hearing so much about this place I was anticipating the best curry ever. A random lunch time we ventured in and was totally underwhelmed. A cold restaurant, I understand it was only us but don’t open if you can’t offer the same experience. We ordered a hot curry and a mild curry. The presentation was superb and they looked very different but the hot one was mild and they were both bland. I left feeling like it was one of the worst curries I have had. So disappointed

Very good takeaway, tasty and good portion. Recommend.

Food good but the service was very slow and we were not looked after. Left in a cold room to had to continually ask for things. Because of this the staff seemed to ignore us totally to the point that they did not even speak to us.

Nice food as always but no one offered us sweets, coffee, drinks once we had eaten our main course we felt invisible and even had trouble getting the bill! Normally much better service than this

We have eaten here before, a couple of years ago. Glad we decided to again as food was delicious. Restaurant was very busy. We weren't rushed, staff were very attentive. The only criticism would be, and why I gave 4 stars, was because it would be even better if their staff smiled a little bit. They all looked unhappy. Great food, would recommend.

Food is lovely, would recommend!

Have eaten here many times and food is always good. Just disappointed to see their last inspection by Cherwell District Council on 8th August 2018 give them a rating of 1 overall, will not be back until this changes which is such a shame.

Much better than your usual curry house.

Very good food and friendly service ‘ they have started newly Sunday roast carvery ‘ really good quality meats and healthy steamed vegetable ‘ cauliflower cheese baked Yorkshire puddings and gravy ‘ you should visit ‘ need a advance booking for your seat

Another nice meal only reason why it is not five stars is that it was cold in there with heaters on you would have scored the full five stars

We ate here for the first time last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. My barometer that I use when going to a new Indian is to always order the chicken tikka main, with saag paneer. The food here was really delicious, and the portion sizes were very generous. The chicken was really tasty and not dry at all, and the saag paneer was great, lots of cubes of cheese, and you could taste the coriander running through it - yum! We also had the beef jalfrezi which I didn't try, but apparently that was also very good, quite spicy!!

Good food , good service. Overall a good experience

The place is charming, the service is lovely and the food is brilliant. One of the best indian restaurant ever tested.

A scenic place for a curry. Set in an old pub, which had been redecorated, it's a unique and somewhat more upscale feel for an Indian restaurant. The food itself is excellent. It had a slightly different taste than other restaurants in town... For example, the dhansak was not as sweet as at other places, but still excellent food and service.