The Curry Cottage in Braintree

Just want to say me and my friend order food from here last night, and we can't thank curry cottage enough, in how good the food was... any one wanting food from here won't be disappointed, and the food portions were decent and very flavorist....

We only use Curry Cottage because its refreshing nowadays to actually find real spices are used such as Fennel seed, Cardamon pods and Cinnamon sticks etc. We have tried other Indian restaurants in Halstead, but have found their food quite bland in comparison.

The Curry Cottage has been in Halstead for many years. We don’t often eat out, but when we fancy good quality Bangladeshi and Indian food, we always head here. We were there last night and Sam and the team are always welcoming and attentive; nothing is too much trouble. Time is taken to cook the food, it is very tasty and a nice clean and good temperature environment. The onion bhajis are the best I’ve eaten. You can now bring your own alcohol which is very handy (remember too!). I have no hesitation in recommending the food and experience to you.

No parking. No alcohol. Food was lovely for most of us but the wait for food was ridiculous. We were in there nearly 3 hours, in there 3 hours not waiting 3 hours eating and ordering time is in that 3 hours.. We had to revisit the corner shop for more drink. Waiter struggled. Saving grace was my food was great but others in our group.....not so. Interesting that I got such a scathing reply but 2 others from my group put the same review and similar comments, 1 got a pleasant reply the other no reply. Thank you for a more understanding response. As I said my food was lovely.

We enjoyed a very good meal here tonight. Appreciated the help with menu choices and tailoring dishes to our tastes. Like the bring your own drink arrangements. Shame more restaurants don't do the same. Highly recommend.

Save some money on drinks and BYOB. Only £1 corkage per bottle! The food is delicious, the staff are so friendly. I have tried all the takeaways round here and this one never disappoints. Highly recommended.

Have been meeting friends here every month for the past few years and never disappoints. The food is exceptional, service fantastic and love the more recent option to bring our own alcohol - paying only for the food makes the cost so much more reasonable. Sam the owner is always friendly and happy to advise and suggest menu choices, even creating something off the menu tailored to your requirements if requested. We will continue to support this exceptional restaurant with our get together and would recommend it to anyone.

Visited on the 14/06/24 with the Great Notley Curry Club (GNCC) which is a social club of curry lovers that aims to meet once per month to review and rate curry houses across Essex. Though the scoring is ultimately subjective and at the discretion of the attendees of each visit, the scoring criteria is fixed and remains consistent to maintain parity and fairness as far as possible with the average score being used to inform the star rating awarded. As well as being a bit of fun for us and providing an excuse to meet up regularly, we hope these reviews will be of use both to other prospective customers and the restaurants reviewed. For details of the scoring and any comments in justification of the star rating given in this review please see the below photo.

First time and I would think only time here. I am not from the area and parking is not good, fine for locals who can walk there. Once we arrived we discovered they do not really serve alcohol, other than having a few beers in the fridge. After another walk down to the shop to get beer and wine we were able to take a look at the menu. A lot of choice here and my food was good including a nice dessert. Others in my group were not as happy and felt the chicken wasn't very fresh. It was fairly busy on the night but even so the wait for food was very long, this resulted in another walk to the shop to get more drink. The staff were nice enough but not very attentive.

During my trip 5 years back to the UK, I had an extremely disappointing experience here. Despite the Indian food tag, the cuisine served was far from authentic Indian food. Additionally, the service was subpar and contributed to ruining my day. To start, the paneer mentioned in the menu was not actual paneer but grated cheese, which was misleading. Moreover, the dal tadka lacked the aromatic and spicy fusion typically associated with this dish, instead containing raw garlic, which was quite unpleasant. While I appreciate that the owner has made improvements over the past five years and the restaurant now enjoys a good local reputation, my experience that evening was far from satisfactory. Having lived in Bristol for many years and being a fan of British-Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi food, I was quite disappointed.

Unfortunately it was very slow service indeed. Only 3 people working, one taking orders one running the tables one in the kitchen. Interrupted and delays to our food with takeaway orders going out. Bring your own booze is one that needs to be advertised better. Food wise a good effort and intent but the only thing special about the starter was how chewy it was. The coconut dessert was decent enough but my sugar levels had dropped so much waiting for the rest of the food I needed some sugar.

Sadly the wait time was really really long. 3 staff, one waiting, one taking orders, one in the kitchen. Interruptions throughout from takeaway drivers delaying us further. Ordered a special starter but the only thing special about it was how chewy it was. My sugar levels dropped so low with the wait I ended up having a coconut ice cream which was quite nice to be fair. The parking situation is enough to drive you to drink but then you enter the premises to find out you must bring your own😆. Locals maybe aware but we wasn’t so perhaps this could be advertised? Being a member of a curry club and a marking scheme this one unfortunately won’t be winning our end of year award.

Used to use them quite a bit but I ordered a delivery which was completely wrong, called up and got a load of abuse. I'll never use them again.

Had a meal delivered very promptly, the food was delicious. Will be back for more.

At a work do, very nice food friendly staff

Had a takeaway and food was delicious and good portions. Ready when they said it would be and staff were very friendly.

Service& food is exemplary. Had a take out vegaterian...great quality ingredients, very tasty.Pricing is average, sides can rack it up fast. It's an established favourite in the town for good reason. Decor could possibly be a bit fresher, maybe an update ? Good lively atmosphere, this was a Friday evening.

Working away and had a takeaway delivered. It was fast and hot, food was unreal. Would definitely eat here again best curries I’ve had. Recommend the King Prawn Shashlick Bhuna. Awsome food and service thanks guys thank you 👍🏻

So disappointed in the takeaway! This may be a one off but ordered a takeaway on their website and received a confirmation email at 19.55 for delivery time of 20.54. At 21.15 I called to find out where it was! They had clearly missed my order but said they were busy then asked if I still wanted it? Well yes as it is too late to order anything else! They said it would be 1/2 hour! 21.50 food arrived, by I assume a waitress! Well, she didn’t say anything- no hello, no here is your order and definitely no apology for it being an hour late. The food was actually mediocre (a shame as have eaten and had a takeaway from here on several occasions)! The Tarka Dhal was actually just a dish of oil with a layer of lentils at the bottom- not actually edible! Just very disappointed!

Great find which was recommended to me. Food was superb and all cooked fresh (so it does take a little longer) Best Curry House in Halstead!

Good food. Pleasant staff. We will return again and again.

Really cosy place, very quick with food and really delicious, every staff member was very helpful and owner polite and friendly, excellent service definitely going again and the set meal for two is great value for money!

Having fancied a curry all week, we turned up and was welcomed with open arms. After ordering, it was nice that we were updated with how long it would be until it would arrive. Upon arrival, the curry was exactly as described on the menu and it was gorgeous. I would thoroughly recommend this place to everyone. The service never fails to deliver.

As always Sam and his team excel in service and quality, food is always cooked freshly and the cobra beer is to die for

Have been here many times. Food is always good and service excellent. I think its under new ownership as menu has changed a lot recently .

Amazing food and very friendly staff I would 100% recommend!

Lovely experience especially the lovely staff and the food was amazing thank you for the hospitality and the lovely food definitely enjoyed it and I will be back to eat from there soon the lamb biryani is to die for !!!!

Amazing and welcoming staff and lovely food cooked to perfection. Everything was perfect

Such lovely people, food excellent and excellent value for money; very entertained by a group of ladies on the next table! Altogether a 10/10 evening… thankyou

Amazing !, beautiful balti and authentic currys. Top Draw, sensible on price also 👍

Curry was cracking. Food really nice and fresh. Friendly staff and eager to help.

I went for a birthday meal last night with my family ( we normally go to the cinnamon tree) The waiter who served us seemed impatient and not very accommodating at first , he made us feel he didn’t want to answer our questions and seemed a bit rude When the food arrived it was all Good , but we felt rushed , the waiter was clearing away the plates even before my daughter in law had finished her food , we felt rushed .. so our over all experience was food ok but service wasn’t We will in future stick to the cinnamon tree which has good food and good service

Nice good and quiet atmosphere! Recommended this place!

This is nice place, we have been a few times over the years, and the food is good value and very tasty. There is always a great atmosphere and the service is good too.

Good restaurant novelty priced. Authentic Indian cuisine with friendly service

Lovely staff. Fabulous food. Reasonable price.

Had dinner here with a couple of girlfriends. Lovely place service was attentive but not annoying food was delicious, sensible size portions and very fairly priced. Will definitely return. Would reccomend booking as it was very busy both with seated diners and take aways.

Excellent. Particularly good naan.

We were very happy with our Saturday night curry. We found the food very good it had plenty of spice and flavour. It’s very reasonably priced as well which helps in January. We will definitely visit again 👍

First time ordered from here and wont be the last food arrived quick and very hot food was lovely

Food was excellent as were the serving staff,however long wait between courses due to huge demand for take away orders.apart from that great night out

Good food at a reasonable price. Staff know their curries so always worth asking them to recommend something

My partner got food poisoning from here don’t recommend at all when we tried to contact them we was ignored

My husband and I had dinner at the Curry Cottage for the first time this evening. It was excellent! Everything was freshly cooked and the naan, onion bhajis and samosas were delicious. The Pardanishi Chicken was superb! To be honest, everything was delicious! The restaurant is spotless and the service was great. Sam, the owner, was very welcoming and it was a perfect evening out. It may have been our first visit but it certainly won’t be our last! Thank you to everyone at the Curry Cottage.

Great food,great staff and very busy which meant service was a little slow but worth the wait

One of the best currys I have EVER had.

Best curry house in the area. Authentic flavours freshly prepared and air conditioning.

Brilliant service...fantastic food..

Our favourite indian takeaway in Halstead, highly recommended

On ordering by telephone for Delivery , was very accommodating. When delivery came , some of order missing and was cold. So had to microwave it . Maybe they are sending too many deliveries out at once and no facilities to keep the food warm

Modern noisy Indian Restaurant. Excellent food and service. Lovely option where you choose the type of meat and the curry strength and the chef creates a dish just for you. Brilliant.

Friendly staff and delicious food. What more to ask for :D

Always fresh ingredients, delicious food, friendly helpful staff. Tables laid beautifully Lots of choice

Our favourite, always delicious food xx

1st time we've ordered a takeaway curry from Curry Cottage. Arrived on time, hot and very flavoursome. We will definitely be ordering again.

Had a lovely takeaway 1st time order tonight tasty and on time thankyou curry cottage

We are new to the area and it was a birthday treat, thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I would highly recommend.

Enjoyed a delicious Takeaway last night!!👌

First class food, great service and affordable prices; cannot wait to return here, to eat in, once this strangeness is behind us.

Hot, full of flavour, polite and on time. What more can you ask for.

We order from here all the time and the service is always second to none. Takeaway always arrives on time, still hot. Fantastic.

Despite it being a Saturday, me and my wife thought it would be busy, so therefore we were expecting a very long wait! They were excellent and couldn’t fault them at all! We got told an hour wait and it was delivered 15 minutes earlier than we expected. The staff were very helpful over the phone and the food was hot and delicious like always. Order from here and you’ll be amazed!

Omg was so yum, food was delivered quickly, it was very hot and tasty. Would recommend to anyone local to halstead. Lots of food in each portion (lots of meat!) staff were great and everything done well within the covid guidelines. Very Excellent !!! Xx

Having to have our wedding anniversary meal as a take away so couldn't come into restaurant if we could have we would have asked what have you done to the cottage special biryani it's changed slightly not as nice Mr H fav. Also you have changed the house special too noooooo!!!! It was my favourite but its very bitty no longer chunks of meat and masses of onions very oily. What's going on???? Upsetting......

We ordered from here a couple of weeks ago, was excellent food and the service was very good! Would definitely highly recommend if you want a top quality curry. Best curry house in the area!

Best curry restaurant and takeaway I've ever had and I've tried alot around most of essex

Quick service. Good value. Good food and selection.

Chef is a magician. Excellent food at a great price.

A gorgeous meal as always at Curry Cottage 😁 Sammy and his team went above and beyond for Garry and I with the chef's specials 😁 highly recommend them, we'll be back very soon 😋😁

Delicious food and great service! Highly recommended!

Really good friendly service and delicious food.

Having been slightly disappointed with their take away neighbours down the road in recent weeks (we all know as locals who I mean), I decided to give Curry Cottage a try. The lamb ghosht was to die for, as was another dish chosen by my wife . This is seriously good food and arrived before the promised time. Thoroughly recommend them

Our favourite Indian takeaway , delicious food and arrived lovely and hot! Would definitely recommend.

COLD & Charged MORE than the menu!! Collected rather than having a delivery to ensure it was hot but it wasn’t, and we only live 2 minutes away. Social distancing was RUBBISH with 5 people all in restaurant area, delivery driver coming and going as he pleases, ALSO don’t take any notice of any price list or menus as they charge what they want, our take away for 4 people was £10 more than the menu we picked up from them today but when we called and asked he claims they have had a price increases. Can’t say I was one of there best customers but certainly been in there MANY times before BUT this was the LAST ...

The best curry I have had for a long time very quick will definitely will be using again top notch excellent service.

Top curry chaps tonight. Raised morale. Onwards and upwards. Order curry from these dudes. Spot on.

Always have home delivery, been excellent over the past 20 years except last night wrong dish delivered, the previous time the guy who took our order was very rude and portion size of bhajis had reduced, very disappointing

Best Indian in the whole of Essex. This indian is just as good as the food when I went to Goa in India. The Tandoori chicken was fantastic and the vegtable pakora is from another world. Honestly If you havent gone here yet you havent lived. Bonus they do Delivery

Superb food, excellent service.. highest recommendation

I had a starter and a main course with side of garlic rice and fresh tandoori bread. It was fantastic! I felt like I’m in India or Bangladesh! Good quality food and price is reasonable. staff was respectful and friendly...

Visited whilst we were in Halstead. Nice room. Very friendly staff. Food was very good and prices reasonable Fully recommended

We were welcomed when we arrived.One of our party wanted a special dish which was cooked for her.All the food was delicious.The waiter was very attentive.The chef came out of the kitchen to make sure that the meal was to our satisfaction.

We always get our takeaway from Curry Cottage, which is why we was very disappointed this time. The food was cold and very very greasy, not very nice at all. Such a shame as normally good, but the last two times have been disappointing. I think we will try somewhere else next time now.

Looking forward to going back lovely food

Had one of the best currys ever in here. Even the popodoms are good. There were 8 of us in all and our food all arrived with no mistakes or hold ups. If you wanted something a little hotter (or not) that is no problem for them to do. We had plenty to eat and drink and it came out at £55 per couple. Good value we thought. Waiters are knowledgeable about the food and answered any questions we had. Very good all round.

Food very salty and could not eat. Very poor.

Just visited this restaurant and found it to be very good. The staff here very attentive and were helpful with explaining the dishes and recommending specials that fitted our choices. Great food especially the bharjis . Toilet facilities were poor but everything else well worth a visit

Excellent food best in halstead in my opinion

Me and 2 mates ordered a lamb tikka, chicken tikka saag and lamb bhuna late at night but kitchen was still open and food was incredible! Definitely going back. Best curry house in town.

Top class food at very reasonable prices served by friendly attentive staff, a great experience and highly recommended, also cobra lager on draught which is a bonus.

Excelent food, good menu choice with some dishes I had not come across before.

Average take away on the 27 / 09 nice on phone and fairly quick service. Take away arrived - sloppy and lamb tikka starter was like chewing on a brick. we have had better... shame. + two bags of wet salad yuk !

The best Indian restaurant in the area... Only by a whisker mind, but great quality food though the building leaves a bit to be desired and parking is a nightmare..on street only and double yellow lines for some distance....this is my favourite Indisn restaurant In the Halstead area....the Little India restaurant at Little Maplestead is a very close second.

Very friendly staff and very good food.

Great place, friendly staff, food is always consistently delicious. Elvis night is decent too

Went in little while ago for a katch up with friends and work colleagues. Have been few times in the past and food is always very satisfying and flavourful. Service was excellent, everyone was made feel welcome and had a feeling of little bit of special treatment as well. Service vise much better than other Indian restaurants in Halstead, in my opinion.Very good value for money. They went an extra mile contacting me directly as they suspected a bracelet found after the party was from our table, which was the case and was very much appreciated.Would definitely recommend and will be back.

We visited as three couples on a thurs night

Food was excellent and they were incredibly welcoming to our three- and five-year-old daughter's. Heartily recommended!

Very odd meal. In a restaurant which was empty, and no one came whilst we were there, we were unable to sit at the slightly larger 4 person table, instead we had to sit at one which was far too small. Our coats were no hung up. The ladies then were given smaller "lady" glasses for their large beers, the men large "men" glasses - not good. One of the ladies then got an awful and very public "frown" for ordering a second beer!! The cheese naan came with melted cheddar, I had expected paneer. The Sag Paneer also came with cheddar as the cheese, not paneer! Whilst the food was tasty, the poor service and strange ingredients mean that we shall not return.

Quality service, friendly staff and great food.