Tamarind Bay in Exeter

Had an amazing dinner experience at the tamarind bay. We didn't book ahead but we were still allowed to stay. It's quite small and they open by 5pm and close by 11pm so I'll say definitely try booking before going. We had the chicken biryani and naan I think but I'll attach pictures. The food was tasty but it took a while to get ready, I'm guessing because they had to make everything fresh. They also only had one server that particular day and she was so busy but she remained polite. Good experience and will definitely go again. I can't remember how much I spent🫠but I'll say almost or if not up to £50-ish for 2 people.

Food fab 👌 Service lacking, inattentive, we had empty glasses staff had to be called over, Drinks order forgotten But food came out promptly once our order was taken and a very good standard

I don't know how this place isn't 5 stars. I only order take away but we haven't once been let down. The food is mouthwateringly good, which doesn't do anything for my waistline, but it is spot on for a Friday night delivery. The flavours burst, decent size portions and tender chunks of meat (they do do veggie options) and it is clear they take great pride in the flavours they seek to deliver. Rich and sumptuous, a culinary delight! I love this place and the staff go that little extra mile when you add the human touch. Thank you to all at Tamarind, I'm so glad you're our local 😊

It was ok. Not very big portions and quite expensive

Went to Tamarind Bay last night for early dinner. From booking the whole experience was superb. We arrived and we were greeted by Olivia who was just charming and very professional. The food, the staff were outstanding and the best Indian we’ve had for some time. We will certainly be returning. We even brought home what we didn’t eat and it was still absolutely delicious. See you soon S&B

First time at this restaurant. Food was absolutely delicious, definitely the best Indian I have had. Staff were very friendly and welcoming. Will only be going to tamarind Bay from now on. Thank you.

Great service, great food and great staff. Never disappoints 😋🙂

After having takeaway from here and now sitting in, I feel best placed to leave a review that covers everything. The takeaway is always really well cooked, still hot, and an extra poppadom sneaks in now and again. We've had the takeaway on numerous occasions, and it's always been the best takeaway in Exeter. The food is really tasty, more authentic flavours and stronger spices than some Indians I've tried. But still not too spicy for the English palette. The quality of food and portion sizes also make it very good value for money. When I collect our takeaway, the restaurant always looks like a really nice place to be. So my partner and I decided to eat in. It was a really great experience. Don't be put off by being on a busy road. You don't hear it, and it's quieter during dining times anyway. Somehow, eating in, the food that we thought was the best in Exeter tasted even better. They topped their own food! It's also great for vegetarians or vegans and gluten intolerant, which our table was. Plenty of choice! The service was perfect. It's clear the staff enjoy their jobs and work in a nice place as there was a very happy vibe and they were all getting along and enjoying themselves. When we had our service that positive happiness continued, and the person serving us couldn't have been more friendly and professional. The hand cleaning wipes magic is worth eating in for alone! You'll see what I mean... We will definitely be returning to eat in more often.

Good delivery time, but meal was dreadful, curry was very bitter ordered a chicken madras and probably the worst I have ever had

Got say I really enjoyed my Dhansak one of the best I've had.

Great restaurant, our favourite Indian restaurant in Exeter. The food is always excellent 👌, great service, staff are polite and friendly

Not sure about food but very long delivery time, they said 45 mins for delivery but took nearly 2hrs although I have clearly explained over phone I have 2kids under 5 and I am just 5 mins away from restaurant

Visited on Sunday evening with my daughter, not too busy there, amazing food and a lovely pint of cold cobra, friendly and welcoming staff, we think that they are possibly the best Indian restaurant in exeter, highly recommended, will definitely visit them again 😊

Tasty, fresh food, and several menu choices. Our server was Will, who did a great job.

Excellent food .Best we have tried

Take a way. Really good app to place order with a time line so you know when it's ready. Food was great each curry was very tasty as were the sides. Staff always pleasant and welcoming.

We had an amazing meal on Monday, they even let our very well behaved dog Jack join us so we didn’t have to leave him in the car this made us very relaxed.

We dined here this evening, 25-02-24, we were very disappointed in the food / wine quality! Wine advertised on menu as Italian merlot,actually from Chilli, so a lot less quality wine for nearly £17 a bottle... starter came out cold..and a king prawn tandoori had 6 prawns on a platter of onion for £16... Manager not helpful, but had to say, younger serving staff were lovely,even when Manager was not so nice! Would not recommend, try another curry house, don't know where they got there rating from...

Really delicious food and excellent service for our party of 14. Nothing was too much trouble, food came promptly and was hot (as were the plates - a good sign). My chicken Katmundu was superb (not just spicy but very tasty too), plain rice was amazingly fluffy, an excellent tarka dhal and garlic naan. The chef is a credit to his profession, and the staff are a delight. You couldn't ask for more!

Excellent Indian food and really attentive staff. Food was served swiftly and was hot. Would highly recommend.

Food and service very good but although not their fault the noise level was too much, needs some acoustic treatment also chairs and tables too close together so quite cramped. A takeaway would solve that thought.

We had a lovely staff Xmas meal here yesterday. The food was amazing! Probably the best Indian in Devon. Excellent service and good price and portions. Couldn’t fault anything. The Naga curry was delicious as was the Chilli and Cheese Naan breads 😋 Thanks from The Music Depot team

Went here last night for the firs time and really enjoyed it. 5 of us booked and the orders were taken quickly and served one of the best curries I've had, Katmandu (Phaal). Everything came hot and very spicy. It became very busy but the girls who served us were very good and deserve a lot of praise as they were serving and taking telephone orders. Will be returning but maybe try something different next time.

5 stars for the food, 5 for service, 5 for price, 4 for atmosphere. Thumbs up from me 👍

A total disaster. Ordered a takeaway and half of it was missing, I didn't realise until I got home which is a 25 minute drive. Called up to complain and their attitude was disgusting. "What do you want me to do about it?" they asked. Offered £2.50 off for two starters that we paid over £10 for lol, what a joke. The meals were below average too, soft damp naan, watery curry, so I won't be returning. EDIT: In response to your reply, I wrote the review because that's what reviews are for. It's not a good look to insult people for expressing their opinions on a bad experience, yes of course I have better things to do and would rather not have to write a review at all. I would have liked to have enjoyed the meal that I paid for. The salads and mint sauce are a large part of a chicken tikka starter. There's 4 things - chicken, onions, salad and mint sauce. Together they make a lovely combination, but just the tikka and onions alone are just average. So the meal was ruined, and a refund was requested and denied.

So welcoming. Very friendly staff and the food was outstanding.

I ordered 2 chicken tikka starters and the salad and mint sauce was missing. I didn’t realise until I got home that the order was wrong. When I rang up to to complain the staff apologised but then asked what I would like to do about it but was only offered £2.50 off my next order.

Some of the best Indian food you will eat. Whilst other have cut down, to save costs, this place remains as good as ever, with very good quality ingredients used and a good range of dishes, both traditional and new. I can highly recommend you give it a try!

Great food and very friendly staff. The curries are lighter and less oily than any of the other local curry houses. Food has always been great when I've eaten in or ordered to take away. Recommended.

Telephoned for a delivery, 17:00, as food was previously of a very high standard but sadly customer service skills very poor, not listening to customer and speaking to fast mistakes made, I asked to slow down and repest twice, hung up before I had finished thanking them and wishing them a good evening. Delivery arrived , incomplete, girl taking order not listerning! will not be returning and standard of food has dropped. spend your money elsewhere.

Always great service from the guys here, it’s my go to if I’m caught late at work. Quick, friendly service and the best tasting food! See you soon.

The quality and taste of the food here is amazing. They seem to struggle a bit on busy nights getting the orders out but this is understandable for a new and highly popular restaurant. A vast improvement over the restaurant it replaced.

Very disappointing evening ! Poor service - had a long wait for main meals and when they finally arrived there was a 5 minute wait between mine and my husband's, probably due to the large number of takeaways being prepared and collected. I've always enjoyed eating here but this evening's food was bland - wonder if the chef has changed? We won't be going again.

Had a fantastic meal here for a Friend's Birthday. Could not fault anything (not that I was looking to) 👍👍

A truly first class experience. Excellent food served by friendly and interested staff. One of the best Indian restaurants I have ever been to. Thank you.

I phoned in to discuss a possible takeaway order. I asked about a very specific and difficult dietary need that I have and Tamarind Bay were great at accommodating this. They listened well to my explanation and understood my needs. I have not had very good receptions from other Indian takeaways in Exeter when I have asked about my dietary need and so was pleased to find Tamarind Bay. My order arrived really promptly and I was pleased to find it seemed to fit what we discussed over the phone. Will definitely use again!

Excellent takeaway! Outstanding food and fantastic customer service (even though I misordered) I will definitely be ordering from here again.

Best Curry we had in a long time we will be going again soon 🍲🥘

Ordered a takeaway and it was 2 hours late, phoned to complain and they offered £10 refund, but never received the refund after calling them twice. Really bad service I’d never use again.

I have eaten here twice. The first time was a takeaway and it lacked spice. It was still decent but forgettable, let down lacking sufficient spice. Dined in a second time with a large number of us and it was excellent, proper heat and spice. Just the service started to struggle a bit not taking orders correctly though they were very nice and friendly. What was pleasantly surprising was the cost. Really good value.

Not been here before but food was fabulous, great service even though they were very busy, only one table empty. Such a good atmosphere, a real buzz to the place. 5 of us all had different meals but all agreed it was delicious 👌 Will definitely be back, thanks to all the staff for making our night 👍😃

Popped to Tamarind Bay for the first time with the family and especially for my sons 18th birthday and his first ever Vindaloo!! We normally go to Denleys in Topsham but having been there a lot recently and on the basis it was my sons 18th, I wanted him to experience a more authentic sauce which Denleys dont do. Overall, it was good, and we spent £250 for 6 people, plus I tipped £20 due to the happy occasion and decent service. The only let down was the Vindaloo itself, which was pure fire with zero taste!! I have eaten Vindaloo for 30 plus years so it's disappointing that many indian restaurants (Bangladeshi, Pakistani), including Tamarind Bay, now only seem to focus on the novelty heat factor treating Vindaloo like some kind of alien or novelty food when in fact it's supposed to be a very hot tasty dish including vinegar and potato. Vindaloo is a dish influenced by the Portuguese (who occupied Goa in the 16th century). Sadly, I won't be going back to Tamarind Bay for a Vindaloo, maybe something else, but definitely not a Vindaloo.

great quality of ingredients,service& customer service,as well as varied,unique,number of dishes and combos, First takeaway in 47 years to be more than twice a year go to, &Enjoying meals 4-7 times a month for last 6 months, amazing as such a fussy eater. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to keeping up top quality standards all way around, have surprised even myself with expanding my food pallet beyond tandoori chicken, my only previous indian based meals!

Our first visit to this venture since the Quo Vadis days and we were not disappointed . Excellent service and exceptional food. I can see why it is so popular and although the other side of town for us, we will be regular customers. Excellent all round, thank you

THE BEST IN 30 YEARS! Having been a student in East London in the late 80s/early 90s, I have been fortunate to have enjoy the most wonderful dishes that Brick Lane offered. Nothing has come close to those delicious experiences… until now! Been chasing another wonderful Chicken Biryani for decades and Tamarind Bay’s was just fantastic! This evening, we enjoyed other amazingly tasty dishes too. Thank you!

Great food,been a few times,but would like to hear indian music

Delicious food and great drinks selection. Great portion sizes too! They also accommodate for vegans.

Delicious food with some interesting options on the chefs specials.

After trying a few Indian restaurants in Exeter this is by far the best!

It was one of the best curries I had. we also used them on justeat fantastic 👏

A bit small and a group was loud however staff moved us. Good food well worth the visit.

Excellent meal at a reasonable price. 8 of us had 2 x set meal for 4. Delicious!

If you enjoy your curry cold and watery with microwaved rice and naan bread then Tamarind Bay is a 5 star establishment. If however, you appreciate good food, I would recommend you don't even touch this place with a bargepole. We ordered a takeaway from Tamarind last night and it was the worst curry we have ever eaten. I called the "restaurant" to explain the issues with our meal, but rather than offering sympathy and the common courtesy of a replacement, I was instead greeted with a stinking attitude. We could not eat the curry's as they were so bad, so we threw them in the bin, to which the man on the phone insisted he would still like photos of. I couldn't believe the cheek. Eventually the man on the phone reluctantly said the best he could refund was 50% of the meal, which in my opinion is an insult and comical. Despite this promise, we haven't received a penny yet and have had our messaged ignored/avoided. Unfortunately 1 star is the minimum I can rate Tamarind Bay, but to be honest it doesn't even deserve that. If you were thinking of dining here I hope this makes you think twice. You're better off ordering a curry at Wetherspoon's, better food, half the price and at least the chef's there know how to use a microwave properly. P.s. Still waiting for a refund.

Food taste was spot on & quality excellent this is my favourite place for spicy food.

Not good sadly, collected order told it would be 17.25 . Took 20 mins longer drove this home and had the wrong order. Had to take it back and wait again for our order no compensation no free drink no offer of reduction next time and then to top it off the lamb was tough tough tough!

Service was excellent, very friendly and catered excellently to us with a small child with us. Food was delicious with excellent portion sizes. Would definitely visit again!

Nice quiet small restaurant, lovely staff and good food. Fairly long wait time but worth the wait

Tried this restaurant for this first time & it was lovely, the food & staff were just great. Food brought out quickly & piping hot. We will be returning very soon.

Great food and great staff - a brilliant addition to Heavitree

Orderd chicken madras , tikka Masalla both curry’s were stone cold and madras had no spice to it , also garlic Nan was burnt with very little garlic taste

1st time going there, and had a great evening, lovely food and service.

Sadly I have to post a very negative review of Tamarind Bay. Up to this point, I have always had excellent food and service. Last nights experience was so poor, I will never be returning and would urge everyone to go elsewhere, as there are many other excellent Indian restaurants in the vicinity. I ordered a simple home delivery take away at 6.39pm via their website, I was accepted and given an estimated delivery time of 7.39pm. At 7.50pm it had not arrived, so called the restaurant. A nice young lady said that it was in transit and should be delivered very soon. Another 40 mins passed and no food arrived, I tried to call them to chase and there was no answer from either number. I left a voicemail, and the call was not returned. In fact I spent 20 mins with an endless ring, so I popped down in person. I spoke with the manager who left me feeling fobbed off and came across as not caring about the service provided. First he said the food had just left and when challenged about being told an hour previously it was in transit, he said they were short staffed and ‘you know what it’s like’. Instead of being apologetic, he was defensive and did not seem to care at all. I suggested given the delays, not answering the phone that he refunded the meal. Eventually he refunded me half the cost of the take away and promised it was around 3 minutes away. I returned home and the take away took a further 20 minutes to arrive. Sadly the lamb was dry and the rice was luke warm, and by 9.20pm I had gone past eating. Truly a horrific take away experience from a customer service point of view and food quality. Having had a take away every few weeks since opening and recommending to friends and colleagues, I will no longer be recommending the restaurant and in fact will be telling everyone about my poor experience. Sadly, reading the other google reviews, other customers have had a similar experience here, so this suggests there is an ongoing problem, rather than a one off issue.

Brilliant! Great food, great service, great value... well recommended 👍

First time order on Deliveroo - under an hours wait on a Sunday evening. Ordered king prawn rogan, garlic rice, garlic naan and some sides. The best Indian I have eaten around here.. full of flavour, and good amount of prawns. Would recommend 👍🏻

Always perfect! Best curry house in exeter

when collecting the order the restaurant was very loud echoey and small, not somewhere i would want to eat out. the chicken in the currys was nice, not some rubbery stuff you get from other places. on starting to eat, the curry was nice, tikka and balti but got sweeter and sweeter as it went on to nearly unbareable towards the end. dont think i will be returning

Sorry but got the wrong food . Probably the worst Indian I've ever attempted to eat.

Really lovely. Had a take away tonight one of the best around Exeter 100% will be ordering again

Nice food. Service good 👍 Not a fan of curry but good restaurant. Good night.

Really tasty food, good price and good service. Would recommend

Was nice. I wish you luck with your business.

Lovely evening we all had a great meal 9 of us

Best Indian meal, ordered 4 times from you I've never had a bad meal yet!!

Heard good things about this restaurant, and it lived up to the recommendation. The food was excellent with some amazing flavours. I had the Chat Massala with Peshwari naan and pilau rice. Absolutely delicious! Friendly and helpful staff. Throughly recommend.

We visited Tamarind Bay last week for the first time, we thought the food was really tasty with plenty of Vegan options for us and the service was good.

This is by far the best Indian restaurant in Exeter. I have ordered regularly since it opened and the quality of the food is always of an exceptional standard. The service both for dining in and home delivery first class. All the staff are polite knowledgeable and professional. I am vegetarian and their dishes are always cooked to perfection, varied and mouthwateringly excellent. Well done Tamarind Bay Exeter.

Great food, relaxed atmosphere and top service. Well worth a visit.

Fresh veg and ingredients. All good 🙂

Absolutely delicious food, friendly staff and decent portion sizes. Couldn't come close to finishing! We will be back

Went with friends last night (7 of us in total) and it was fabulous. Chicken Pathia is my all time favourite and theirs was the best I've ever had. They jazzed up my friends chicken jalfrezi to vindaloo hot and my other half had a lamb shank which we all said we will try the next time we go. Oh and they have air conditioning, which is yesterdays heat was an absolute godsend Price wise we all thought it was very reasonable.

Fantastic food. Friendly helpful staff Pleasant atmosphere. Definitely going again

Unfortunately a bit forgettable. Exeter still hasn't nailed the curry house seems to be they all have good and bad days. There was nothing wrong with the meal but it's a shame people fined it so easy to create a rave review about something relatively ordinary and the odd inclusive poppadom is a thing of the past (like cash) Not upset just definitely not excited.

Great delicious food, lovely helpful staff. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit

Great curries and friendly service. Cannot believe it took 8 months to visit something so good on the doorstep.

Excellent food and excellent service. They coped really well with our table for 13.

Really good takeaway, never been before. Arrived when stated it would. The chicken in both of our currys were a bit over done and one sauce wasn't warm enough. With those improvements I'd rate it the best Indian in Exeter! Will order again

Excellent food here. I will order from here in the future. Highly recommended. Excellent online ordering form, excellent delivery driver, quality food. Fresh, well balanced, not oily, a great meal. 100% A*.

Excellent service, delicious food and very reasonably priced. We will definitely be returning in the future.

Absolutely delicious food and friendly staff. We came here for my mums birthday and the food was incredible. Great flavour and great portions. Will definitely be back and 100% recommend!

We order takeout regularly from these guys and it's always excellent! The butter chicken is the best!

Everything is so tasty. If there is an ingredient you don't like, there still so much to choose from that it doesn't really matter. Very friendly staff. Comfortable eating in too. And a review should always have "Would you go again?", to which my answer is a resounding "Yes!".

Great service and absolutely delicious food but portions on the small side especially the chicken pieces in the main meals.

Lovely curries large portions, friendly waiter, who came from the area I lived in London, had a great conversation, would go back definitely.

Good food and amazing customer service. I screwed up an online order (accidentally ordered from a restaurant in Taunton with the same name - doh!), but they quickly rustled up some food for me and even knocked some money off too as they felt sorry for me despite the fault being all mine. Thoroughly recommend them.

Dinner with work colleagues was a delight. The food was exceptionally good. Very tasty. An excellent selection, so difficult to choose from so many incredible sounding dishes. Wonderful food, coupled with exceptional service from start to finish. We were kept well topped up with sundries and drinks. Our waitress was brilliant and we were very well cared for. I personally would have liked to see more alcohol free drink selections on the menu but that certainly isn't a deal breaker. Just an observation from a non drinkers perspective. I felt so full, I waddled home! I would without a doubt return again and would be more than happy to recommend to anyone.

Thank you for the amazing service dealing with 20 of us last night for my husband's 50th birthday, amazing food and good time had by all, would highly recommend and will be returning.

Great food and fast delivered food which was still piping hot! and they gifted a free bottle of wine because it was my birthday. Thank you

Delicious food with super freindly staff, would definitely reccomend

Best curry we’ve had in Exeter! Caught the restaurant on a quiet evening, service was exceptionally friendly and the food was great. Full of flavour and spice, a welcome addition to Heavitree. Great to see lots of vegetarian specials, it can be quite difficult to find Indian restaurants that consider people who don’t eat meat. Would also like to say a special thanks to our waitress. She was super friendly and very attentive and welcoming! There was barely an empty glass or plate on the table before it was spotted and cleared which makes a big difference to the experience. Looking forward to our next visit :)

Moved to Exeter from Birmingham (a curry epicentre) about 2yrs ago and have been searching in vain for a decent curry all this time to the extent that we didn't think such a thing existed. HOWEVER ..... Wow !!!! Tamarind Bay ticks all the boxes, every meal we've had has been sensational - as simple as that. Feel like we've finally found The Curry Holy Grail and look forward to many more meals from this establishment.