The Banyan in Chichester

Without a doubt the most incredible Sri Lankan restaurant I have ever been to. It’s so unique. You won’t find anywhere else like this place in the UK for Sri Lankan cuisine. Beautiful food, generous portions, excellent service - we will definitely be back. Even living an hours drive away, we will drive back again soon just to eat here. To add to this, they also have a cafe in the building next door which we attended the following morning. Equally, an amazing setup. Great menu, dogs welcome and very tranquil. The perfect start to our morning! Until next time - 10/10!!

A must-visit! Our meal was incredibly flavorful and authentic. The decor is beautiful and adds to the warm, inviting vibe. Service was top-notch—friendly and attentive. Highly recommend for a genuine taste of Sri Lanka!

WOW.....What a place this is. Our friends invited us out to try this place with them, as we are all foodies. Iv had a lot of currys in my time but this was the best iv ever had. The portions were big, and the flavours were unbelievable. All off the staff were lovely and took the time to explain the food to us. A mixture of Sri Lanka and India. Amazing and would highly recommend to anyone 100%. 11 out of 10

Wonderful food but it was very quiet when we went shortly after its evening opening times. This was no bad thing really, as we went without a reservation and this place gets booked up quickly. Best reserve in advance.

Amazing food. Staff were so lovely and nice to hear about history of the restaurant.

Came here for a stag do, building is lovely and the food was great.

Came here for a stag do, building is lovely and the food was great.

Loving the new Sri Lankan menu. Amazing food

Great stop on the way to Goodwood Revival. Lovely Veggie Breakfast and coffee.

Great stop on the way to Goodwood Revival. Lovely Veggie Breakfast and coffee.

Really friendly, a really authentic restaurant! If you seek something unique with great food and service, look no further. Incredible flavours and exciting dishes.

Was not expecting much TBH, but was very pleasantly surprised. Nicely packed and labelled and the food was good. Well done

Another visit to Banyan Tree to experience the new menu. It was excellent. Blending Sri-Lankan and Indian cuisines. Couldn’t fault the meal or service. See you again soon.

ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. No other words. The very best takeaway we have ever had.

We had a take away this evening and were underwhelmed by the offering. Food lacked flavour and was very expensive. Very disappointing.

As Sri Lankans, we have searched throughout Surrey for a restaurant serving authentic Sri Lankan food. I can confirm we have found it here! The food was delicious and tasted just like back home! The atmosphere is homely, the staff are fantastic and there is plenty of car park space. Fully recommended! We will definitely visit again.

I’ve reviewed this place before, quite a few years ago and though the service was slow, the food was absolutely delicious; worth the wait! But Banyan has changed… firstly if you want to order a takeaway you can’t order over the phone but have to order online. This, despite being able to call and speak to the restaurant. They just won’t take orders over the phone, which strikes me as very short sighted and odd in this day and age when so many businesses are fighting for custom. And this would all be okay-ish if the online order system was reliable and worked , but we have tried on two separate occasions to place big orders (£150+ each) and not been able to (and then ordered over the phone at another place). Our most recent attempt (after calling yet again and yet again getting told you can only order online) worked. Eureka. However the food was slightly disappointing and certainly not as good as it used to be. Shame. But there are plenty of other good curry houses in the area, including The Bay Leaf in Grayshott and its sister restaurant Dilly’s in Haslemere.

We ate here on a Tuesday evening when visiting a friend in Midhurst. We all agreed that this was the nicest Indian and Sri Lankan food we had ever eaten. Delicious. Great portion size, friendly staff. Wish we lived closer so could visit again!

Pre-ordered before restaurant opened and they delivered bang on the delivery time. Very nicely presented food, a twist to the dishes than I'm used to but very enjoyable!

Stopped here for lunch with a small group. Not too busy at lunchtime. Choice of plenty of seating inside, but chose to sit outside in the sunny weather. Adequate lunch menu, well priced with good portions. Time from order to food served was very good. Efficient and friendly table service.

Have been for dinner three weeks ago and a takeaway more recently. In both cases the food has been quite exceptional.. It isn't particularly cheap but worth the extra for the quality. The ambience when we are eating in was OK but I think the staff could be a bit more welcoming and friendly. You are paying a premium here and it isnt just about the food. re the takeaway the website to order is very very difficult to navigate there are all sorts of traps to catch you and cause you to start again, More positively you need a hell of an appetite to eat a starter and main course plus rice as the portions are v generous. Its sad because the Banyan has got the difficult things( the food and the premises) sorted but now needs to work on the easy things

Always very good - nice owners and food is excellent

All the food was cold . 3 calls no answer . one of us has been poorly a few hours after eating ! would never return ! terrible service 😑

Excellent takeaway - delicious as usual

Fabulous place. From start to finish I loved this experience. The ambiance and decor is lovely and staff was very friendly and welcoming. That food is delicious with some of the best tarka dal I’ve had. Prices are on the higher side but the food lives up to it. Will be back.

Haven’t been back to Banyan for years as moved away from area but visited last night and was as good as ever. More expensive and less choices than “normal” Indian restaurants but more than makes up in terms of quality. Very very good and a level above almost all other Indian restaurants. A gem

This was the first visit here for all 4 of us - it was exceptional! Great decor, friendly staff, spotlessly clean and the food was amazing quality. Highly recommended.

Delicious meal, excellent service, and lovely decor.

We are local and have eaten many times at Banyan, often bringing friends and family for occasions too. Every meal has been delicious, incredible food, lots of options perfect for sharing and really nice size portions. Always feel very welcome and we enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the restaurant.

What a great place. Decor, Food, Service all 5*. Food was fantastic. A very friendly and efficient staff. Reasonably priced

Excellent, as always. Many thanks!

Driven past this place many times and thought it was about time we checked it out. Why did we wait so long? The food and service were excellent. My lamb starter (so often overcooked elsewhere) was cooked perfectly tender and full of flavour (marinaded for three days apparently). Mains were similarly flavourful and cooked to perfection. We’ll be back again soon!

At this point, word has already travelled wide and far that their food is unrivalled and I’d agree but it probably isn’t talked about enough, how truly excellent, their service is too. Really made the whole night a delightful experience. Most grateful! Jack

Absolutely delicious. Great packaging too.

Wednesday night curry for 11. All really impressed with the quality of food and service. Looking forward to some of the new menu options coming. Will be back

This was the first time we had visited for a couple of years when the restaurant was in the converted barn. The food used to be excellent. We went last Saturday for a bit of a treat and found the restaurant had been moved next door to the barn in what was once a pub and restaurant. It was quite empty which seemed unusual as one needed to book to get a table when it was in the barn. The upshot was that the food was nowhere near as good as it used to be. For example the Chicken Tikka was bright red with overuse of dye and had not been marinated, not tasty at all. Everything was very average the standard you might expect at Chilli Nights on Wey Hill. No longer a fine dining Indian restaurant. We thought we might take some home on the off chance of eating it next day. The waiter simply dumped some empty cartons on the table for us to sit there and scoop it in. We just left it. One thing which remained the same when it was the old Banyan was the price. BTW the photo illustration is inside the barn which it of course no longer is.

We are very limited for choice living in Haslemere so we decided to order from a little further a field, We ordered online and was estimated a time, the takeaway arrived well before the estimated time so we were really pleased with that. The food was piping hot and the quality and taste was outstanding. I have to say after having a takeaway from here I could not go anywhere else as they could not come close to the quality of the food we received. I can not recommend this company highly enough, coming from a family of chefs they have exceeded all expectations. Worth every penny.

This place has fantastic food. Very tasty with lots of interesting options and great quality. I've never been inside but had a takeaway a couple of times and every time loved the food. However, their prices for takeaway on the website and when you go to order food do not match. It's 40% more expensive when you start ordering food. When we called to ask on the phone about the prices the staff just bluntly replied that the website menu isn't up-to-date.....no apologies nothing. It's just not good enough to have wrong prices but also such a huge price difference when you put your order through.

Fantastic restaurant with pleasant surroundings, all of the dishes were just outstanding. The staff are extremely accommodating, possibly the best Indian meal we have ever had ! Although it is half an hour drive to get there for us , we shall definitely be going back ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pretty awful to be frank. Food wasn’t great, they couldn’t adjust the menu to suit either. Won’t be going back

Excellent, fresh and delicious meal.

A superb meal for the five of us, among whom a piscatorian. The variety of dishes, which all got shared around, was very good, and, as for the poppadoms, these were the lightest and freshest that we had ever tasted. Thoroughly to be recommended.

An excellent curry house! Well worth the trip

Delicious supper here recently. The ingredients are so fresh, which was a delight. We will be back....Thanks Banyan :0)

I have used and reviewed this place for years with 5 star reviews, by far my favourite restaurant of all time, had ALL of our special occasions here bar none... check, really. We had a dodgy one about 6 mths ago but thought maybe a one off after all the good times. Tonight on my anniversary I was refused a £150 order because they DO NOT TAKE CASH !!! True... seriously. Not only that the lady was completely dismissive.. dont care. Madhuban got my order, just unbelievable. Years of relationship with this place down the pan in one phone call. Feel quite sad that whoever has taken this place over has resorted to that. What a great place it once was. Feeling very disappointed.

I booked this restaurant as I liked the look of the barn type room pictured on the front page of their website, this is not the room you eat in. You eat in a low ceiling small dark room. They should definitely change their website photo as it is very misleading. Staff were lovely.

Asked for mild food and it was way to hot! Also some of the food items were missing

Highly recommended place to eat.

great food, love eating there and their deliveries. everything comes beautifully presented and labeled to prevent confusions. definitely recommend

The food is still excellent. But the prices have soared! I believe it is still worth it since the quality of the food is that good. The price increase seems to come about because every item such as rice is now separately priced which adds up. Still I will likely return ...

This was our second visit to Banyan after discovering it last year staying nearby for Goodwood FOS. Excellent food and service. Treated exceptionally well from the moment you arrive. Delicious food, couldn’t fault our dining experience.

What a wonderful place, most incredible breakfast and reasonable prices. Stunning environment with a beautiful garden. Dog friendly and the staff are just lovely. A must go!

Very disappointing - uninspiring food, no ambience and patchy service come together in what could be a nice restaurant

Delicious food, impressive presentation, good quality ingredients, lovely decor and ambience. Staff so professional and attentive, but not intrusive. Highly recommended and can't wait to go back, again and again!!

Fantastic dining experience, delicious food, Friendly staff members highly recommended!

We had a rare evening without the children and this was a spontaneous visit. Initially the restaurant appeared to be shut and, as there were no opening time details at the door, it was difficult to tell, but the door was open and we peered inside. It turned out it was open. It was a nice evening so we thought we’d have a drink in the garden. We couldn’t order a drink and have it served outside as there was only one member of staff present. No big deal, so waited and took our drinks outside. The menu is ok, limited and expensive (£15-17 mains £10 sides) but the food itself was very good. The mains were brought to the table whilst we were still on the poppadums so it got a bit crammed for space. Whilst in there a gentleman came in and asked to order a takeaway but was told to go and order it on the website and come back which seemed a bit odd. We’d taken our drinks inside for the meal but asked for some water which duly arrived without glasses. I could have necked the jug but would have been a little uncouth. Service charge was added automatically which i felt a little presumptuous based on the experience but, again, the food itself was very good. At almost £80 for one drink each, two mains, 2 sides, rice and naan it seemed a lot but having not had a night out without kids for months/years we weren’t concentrating on the price. I would imagine at a busier time there would be more staff on and more of an atmosphere and it is a lovely environment.

Absolutely amazing - best curry ever! :-)

Food was stunning! Definitely worth the extra £s

Absolutely delicious, lovely service and atmosphere

Great restaurant and one of, if not, the best curry I've ever had. Pat is a really great owner of this restaurant and would highly recommend this venue. Food was excellent, not too spicy and everything tasted really fresh. Fantastic service.

Amazing experience at this lovely restaurant. We were very walmly welcomed by a kind lady named Neasha, she sat us down for my husbands surprise dinner. She was extremely attentive and polite, made excellent recommendations of what to order and really made us feel at home. Now for the food.. I cannot fault it, it really was heavenly! The authentic flavours were superb, my husband loved every second of his meal. The service was outstanding, with each meal brought promptly to us, the dessert particularly the Chai Brûlée was scrumptious!! Definitely recommended you to visit, it's worth it and also the price was great for everything we got!! :) Thank you Banyan and thank you Neasha, we will be back for sure!

Really lovely food, the quality of the food also really good.

Absolutely amazing. We got takeaway for 9 people on a Friday night. We had a selection of starters, chicken, seafood and veg dishes and everything was delicious. Portions were very generous and delivery was spot on time. As the prices indicate, this is a cut above a standard curry house but the quality of the food really reflects the price. Highly recommend and we’d definitely order again! To note - you can’t place a big takeaway order online, the website rejected my card as the total balance was too high. I called/emailed my order/paid over the phone and that worked fine.

Such a great place. If you are a foodie you will love this place!

Food is excellent, really fresh and delicious. Delivery was prompt. Thank you.

Such a warm welcome, great authentic decor and attentive service with team member happy to recommend delicious food options. All good homemade and cooked fresh.

Amazing restaurant, delicious food, attentive service and great recommendations from our server.

Food was absolutely gorgeous and portions where really big.

Service was excellent and the waiters were so easy to talk to and weren’t afraid to make jokes to make me and my family comfortable. Music wasn’t loud and was at the perfect volume to be able to hear my family across the table. The food was incredible and they grind all of their spices in the restaurant, giving the curries the authentic curry taste that was to die for. It is a very underrated place but i could not recommend their food enough. One of the best restaurants i’ve ever been to. Very pleased and will go back there again!

Lovely venue, great food and service. Will definitely be back thank you !

Was really looking forward to eating here. It was a very average experience. Although empty we were sat right next to another table and in a walk way so had people banging into my husband. And constant people traffic You could literally hear everything the table next to us said . Made us not want to talk as no privacy. I ordered the bhuna which on menu said came with coriander. I asked the waiter for extra as I love coriander and was reason i selected this dish. The bhuna arrived with no coriander and I asked one of the servers for some and she said they haven't used coriander for 2years and it's an old menu . I based my choice on this and felt disappointed . Food was ok. Not that well spiced in my opinion and the chicken was tough. We felt it was overpriced too. Would not return.

Food was great, packaging was great. Driver was excellent. Delicious. Thank you.

110% recommend - absolutely delicious

Top quality food, will definitely order again!

Friendly driver, delicious food, great quality and enough to fill my growing son! Highly recommend

It is the first time that I was asked to pay a deposit to book a table for 4 people. I have been dinning everywhere in UK and not only in big cities I ever had to pay a deposit. Taking business elsewhere.

I visited with a friend for the first time since before the pandemic. The restaurant has moved from the barn into the pub next door, and I felt the atmosphere was much better, wonderful cosy feel and great decor. My friend is vegetarian and it was embarrassing that there was no vegetarian section on the menu. She had to choose side dishes, which I felt were overpriced at £9 each. I chose a prawn curry and this was expensive and mainly sauce with only about 5 prawns. We shared a bottle of wine and a portion of rice and had no desert, and still felt rather shocked by the size of the bill. Having discussed with friends since the visit, they mentioned that they don’t go there any more because of the price, despite the food being good. With a new Indian restaurant due to open in haslemere soon, and being in the midst of a coat of living crisis, perhaps the management may consider adjusting the price, especially side dishes ?

Banyan food and service was just deliciously, fabulous. Just wish I lived nearer to visit more often

Wow! Lovely intimate old pub environment with Indian cuisine. Plenty of parking. Good food, great wine list. If you like white, then have the SE Australian Chardonnay. Service with a smile; such lovely, welcoming and polite staff. Reasonably priced too. Wonderful evening. Highly recommend.

Birthday celebration. Group of 26 or so. Dined in a separate room. Food excellent. Large separate garden area with tables to drink at. Would eat there again.

Food was delicious. Especially the onion bhajis for starters and the lamb tikka. The mains were very tasty too.

An absolute gem of a Indian restaurant. We wanted something new so stopped in not knowing what to expect and we were blown away! Beautiful decor inside, super friendly and comforting staff and divine food. It was the perfect balance of spices with a nice heat but not so intense it took away from the overall luxury of the dish. We booked a table for two and brought our 3 month old son with us. The lady looking after our table was super kind and helpful and made us feel at home, she told us that Nathan was their youngest guest and that she also had a young baby at home so it was nice to have a chat and discuss baby topics haha. Overall it was a very pleasant meal and the aesthetics of the restaurant were really wonderful and set the Indian vibe.

Stopped for the third time on way to our caravan on the coast must say was nicest one yet .

We were staying nearby to be at Goodwood FOS, and Banyan was a short distance from where we were staying. We were able to get in last minute as we were happy to eat early, being a Friday evening Banyan was fully booked. That said the staff were amazing. Super friendly and attentive. The food took it to another level, and was one of the best Indian meals we had had. Incredible flavours from all the dishes we had. Banyan would come highly recommended.

Arrived to a closed restaurant with no information as to why it was not opened during normal business hours. This was Friday, June 17th.

Really enjoyable experience. Beautiful location, food was exceptional and the service was impeccable. I would happily return.

Fantastic dining experience, highly recommended! We have been wanting to come here for a while. The menu was so different to your usual Indian 'takeaway' We ordered so much we couldn't finish it! The staff were incredibly friendly and the food tasted fantastic. We will definitely be back again.

A very lovely restaurant with a relaxing atmosphere. The food was just beautiful and the service was excellent. I’m usually not the biggest fan of Indian food and have had some bad experiences with Indian restaurants in the past but the food served at Banyan was exceptional. I loved that so many dishes gave the option of being made mild rather than hot. Thank you for a lovely evening!

Just wow, the food and service here is amazing. A lovely restaurant with that small village charm Looking forward to our next visit

The Banyan has taken over the old pub. Food was amazing. Sounds like they have great plans for the whole place with an events space, private dining and a coffee shop!!!

Very weird experience. Walked in at about 6.20. Only one table of four was dining and after asking if we (I was with my two young daughters) could have a table for a quick bite the young manager/waiter told us they they were not taking walk in and suggested to book next time. Needless to say I don’t plan for next time, no wander why this place looks empty every time I drive by

The food is just delicious and the owners genuinely lovely people. Indian food is a passion of mine and I have to say that Banyan is just leagues ahead of other Indian Restaurants in the area. The flavours, spicing and variety of dishes means that...

It used to be really good - one of the best and most authentic tasting Indian restaurants I'd been to, and was one of our favourite restaurants in the area. But the last few times we've had it, it just hasn't been quite as good. They seem to have changed their recipes, as the curries now all seem very sweet (we keep trying different ones to find one that isn't, but no luck so far). No longer as tasty or authentic as they used to be. With our most recent takeaway, the chicken was all very hard/tough (almost like it was cooked from frozen) - so tough I could barely cut it, so ended up leaving most of it.

Being officially the first booking to return to their newly furnished restaurant where the old pub used to be, we were certainly made to feel special. The food was outstanding 👌 and we took home what we couldn't eat from the large portions they provided. The owner was very pleasant and hospitable, giving a good service to go with the food. Only disappointment is that the owner declined to put a picture of us on the wall as the first guests in the new restaurant... if you don't ask...

The bad news is that Banyan is no longer operating as a restaurant. the GOOD news is that they are still cooking and offer a good range of Indian cuisine. Ordering is made online from the takeaway menu and the food is presented in boxes...

The food was delicious and the owners of the restaurant and pub are great people. Looking forward to being able to visit the restaurant when up and running.

I’d heard such good things about this restaurant but was very disappointed. Very bland food ( despite asking for spice) and very small portions. Way overpriced. £9 for a side dish of potatoes/cauliflower with no taste! Such a shame

This is a great dining experience. It’s more expensive than most places, but the price reflects the quality. Very generous portions too. Definitely recommend

Really fantastic food, the staff were friendly and efficient. Really could not fault the whole experience and would recommend the Banyan to anyone without hesitation.

Consistently excellent. Lovely people. We keep coming back. The best curry we have tasted around here, and even in London!