The Lochnagar Indian Brasserie in Aberdeenshire

First time in Lochnagar, and won't be the last! Last minute booking was no problem. Food superlative, service excellent!

The food is outstanding and the service is excellent. This was one of the best meals we had in Scotland, and the best Indian food we have ever had.

Staff really helpful, food was okay. Lots of fancy garnishes but lacking flavour. A bit overpriced as well.

Very delicious! And much variety :) Nice and cosy dining rooms, and very kind and friendly service. Thanks!

Starter was dreadful. Ordered scallops and tiger prawns. Scallops tiny, undercooked, tasteless and swimming around in green water. Tiger prawns were chewy tasteless over cooked shrimps. Unrecognisable really. They’d be better removing those from the menu as put us off completely. The curries were ok. Tiniest portion of chips tho and even tho we ordered different curries they both tasted the same. Place was mobbed and everyone else seemed to be raving about their food so maybe we were just unlucky. The service was ok and they did reduce the bill slightly. We never really complain and aren’t fussy eaters but the starters ruined it for us. The wine was good tho!

My meal was delicious Unfortunately the service fell apart after. We did get our left overs, which we asked. for. It took more than 30 minutes to get the bill. We eventally walked to the front desk to pay. Too bad the service led to an undesirable experience.

We had a really good meal here, definitely recommend it!

Great place for a curry. The food was excellent and the service was quick and friendly I would highly recommend it.

The staff patrolling back and forth on a tour reminded me of a prison meal. Very loud!

30 min wait for a coffee after asking three times and 30 min wait for the bill. Food is great and has recently improved but the service needs sharpening up. Staff are all friendly but appear to get distracted. Would go again.

I never really rated the Lochnagar, but thought I would give it another try as it is my local Indian restaurant. I usually travel to Echt Tandoori or Carron to Mumbai, as I have never been let down by the service or food. When we arrived, the 2 gentlemen at the desk did not make us feel welcome. I felt we were somehow putting them out by a)trying to book a table and b)ordering a meal. The starters were ok but overall if blindfolded, I would be hard pushed to taste the difference between the sauces on each of the mains. Overpriced for the quality of food and I will not be back.

You could really see that they put a lot of effort into their service. We came rather late for dinner but they still prepared food for us (absolutely delicious and good looking food on top of that!) and the service was brilliant - almost felt like we stumbled in some high society kind of place. Loved it!

We didn't dine in. Opted for a takeaway. Absolutely delicious.

Good food and reasonably priced, would definitely go again.

Ordered a take away whilst passing through the town, we had travelled miles so were starving, the food was inedible to humans, it tasted like a watery sugary soup had been poured over some reheated meat, it was honestly disgusting. To be fair the dog ate it though and seemed to enjoy it 🤷🏻‍♀️ they were very busy with glasses covering the whole bar waiting to be washed, it could have been they were more focused on the people sitting in the restaurant but i have never had an Indian that tasted so bad.

Wonderful Indian. Really great for vegetarian and vegan options and super tasty. Would recommend!

Had a carry out. Quality very good.

Excellent service Would definitely visit again Thank you.

Excellent curries! Probably the best Indian food we have eaten in a while and with so many interesting choices it was actually really hard to select (so we'll have to come back).

The waiters and all the restaurant team were nice and very attentive. The food was tasty and very flavoury especally the lamb biryani. 👍✨

Tasty food. Discreet, very nice and attentive waiters. Impeccable service. The best spicy byriani I ever ate.

Had a takeaway pre Covid and this is first time we had a sit down meal. What a wonderful experience we had. Waiters were well dressed, polite and attentive throughout. Food was 1st class, beautiful to look at and delicious to taste. Best Indian meal I have ever had. We will be back.

Didn't live up to expectation, we ordered a couple of starters which were tasty. I thought I'd try something different and went for the chicken shalimar, which was chicken breasts, stuffed with mince in a thick sauce, a boiled egg was also in the sauce. Whilst the sauce was thick and tasty the chicken was tough to cut and very very dry. At the point our plates were taken I was asked how the meal was and I gave an honest answer, I hadn't eaten the meat so obvious. I was told by the waiter he would tell chef. When I went to pay I was asked again if everything was OK and again I advised of the issue. The staff member apologised and the cost of that dish was removed from the bill. I was grateful for this. Overall a disappointing experience, the quality didn't live up my expectations...afterall this place was described as Ballaters premier Indian brasserie...

Surprisingly good food served in a nice relaxed restaurant.

We decided to visit this restaurant whilst staying in Ballater Caravan Park and we are so glad we did. Absolutely outstanding meal, everything was so delicious, fresh and fragrant. The dishes are beautifully presented and very generously sized. Such amazing flavours in the special masala curries we chose which had the perfect amount of spice. The vegetable pilau, Afgan pilau rice and the peshwari naan were the perfect accompaniments. We enjoyed it so much we made a second visit at the end of our holiday. The staff are so attentive and very hospitable. We look forward to returning to Ballater and dining here again in the future.

Fantastic meal. Fresh, beautifully presented, extremely tasty. What a find in Ballater.

Food was excellent tonight. Very interesting menu with something for everyone. Staff were very friendly and helpful, and service was great. What more could one ask for?

We eat here regularly but haven’t posted a review for a long time. It doesn’t look much from the outside but inside has had a refresh. The food last night was as good as ever. I definitely recommend this place if you like Indian food. The staff are very nice too.

Beautiful presentation and super tasty.

We ordered a carry out which was excellent. The afgani chana bhuna (vegetarian) was great and we only got through about 60% of the taaka dhal and 40% of the karahi chicken (plus 1 portion of rice and a naan) ..so we ordered another afgani chana bhuna, daal and naan for 2 nights later because we couldn't let the leftovers go to waste! It's very reasonably priced and it's not heavy and oily (which often Indian carry outstanding can be).

Went here for dinner tonight loved the free popadoms ordered veg samosa for starter amazing very tasty and fresh main was monkfish bhuna fried rice and garlic nan bread wow amazing not too spicy but full of flavour had pistachio nut ice cream I would recommend this restaurant to friends and family and will be back the staff are very friendly and professional thank you *****

Another very enjoyable meal. We tried a selection of veggie, chicken, lamb and fish starters and mains, all of which were excellent.

Delicious food, wonderfully polite staff and very class restaurant.

Great Indian excellent food good value

There is no information about allergens on the menu. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the restaurant for people with GLUTEN INTOLERANCE! When I asked, the waiter told me that the biryani with vegetables was gluten-free. Nonetheless Unfortunately, I had massive problems at night due to my gluten intolerance. I can exclude other foods that I ate that day. So I assume that products containing gluten were used in the dish. Cross-contamination would also not have triggered a reaction of that intensity. Therefore I can only say: NOT SUITABLE FOR ALLERGY SUFFERERS! For all non-allergy sufferers: The taste was great. The prices were good. Vegetarian options were available. The restaurant was well attended.

As an Aussie tourist, great food , price , helpful staff . Thank you

We were really well looked after, and the food was delicious, and so well presented.

Really impressive meal after a long cycling,, great dishes all round every flavour distinct very much home-made not formulaic. Bravo!!

Excellent food and service. Highly recommend !

Had a takeaway from here. Thought the starters were very bland and curry’s. Not much better. Bit of a disappointment for a birthday celebration dinner

Visited here during our holiday. Wish it was closer to home as it was fantastic. Food was excellent, good portions and incredibly tasty with brilliant service. Might squeeze another visit before we leave!

We had a set meal for 2 which was excellent

First time here. Definitely won't be the last. Up for the weekend in our Motorhome at the local site and decided to go for a sit down. Went at 6pm so it wasn't overly busy but steady. Staff were polite, attentive and professional. The starters and mains were served up piping hot and in quick time but not rushed. The presentation was lovely and the quality of all dishes was outstanding. Really couldn't fault anything. Starters were Prawn Puree and Chicken Pakora. Mains were Kathmandu Masalla Lamb and Tiger Special Chicken. Pilau Rice, Keema Rice, Cheese Naan, Keema Rice, Tarka Dhall side, Poppadoms and dips. All wonderful and very well priced too. Cheers Brash

Excellent meal. Friendly, good value and varied menu, including some we’d not experienced before. Definitely worth a revisit next time we’re here

Best Indian I've ever had! service is amazing and food is incredible

Had a great take away meal last night, minor issue with “puff bread” being undercooked, raita being just yogurt and spicy onions not being spicy. Go every time we’re in Ballater and this is the first time we’ve had any negative comments. Will use again as food is generally always good

Closed when it says it is open on here and on their website.

Another fine restaurant. Indian Brasserie. Fiod and services were exceptional. If i lived here, i would ve a regular. I asked for my dinner to be extremely hot and i got what i asked for which is very rare. Prices were reasonable as well. Highly recommended!!!

Very delicious food, quick service and very attentive. Reasonable price for the quality also

Decidedly average curry. Looked amazing, tasted very very average indeed. Chicken wasn't great quality. The Naan bread was below average. The whole experience was mildly disappointing.

The Lochnagar has been a favourite of mine for a good while now and it never disappoints. I spend a good while travelling from Banchory to Ballater just for take aways, a good 1.5 hour trip. I had the pleasure of a sit in at the weekend which was splendid, more so than usual, I always go for the madras and it was out of this world. The lamb shank off the bone is a real treat which my companion had. Amazing work fellas :-)

Had a meal there this evening. Staff were attentive, efficient and the food was delicious. Can highly recommend this restaurant.

We went out on a whim tonight whilst on holiday. The food was absolutely delicious and really attentive (but not invasive) staff. Would highly recommend.

My husband and I have take out from here every time we are in Ballater but given it was hogmanay, thought we'd treat ourselves to dinner in the restaurant. The fact that the food was delicious is no surprise but the level of service, especially considering the restaurant was packed was exemplary. I would never chose to eat Indian food at home and yet The Lochnager is a must visit for me. I ADORE the food. Thank you for taking care of us and helping to make Hogmanay 2023 quite perfect.

Having had takeaway from here lots of times, hubby and I decided to treat ourselves to dinner in the restaurant tonight ( hogmanay) We only booked the table today but were accomodated no problem. Exquisite food, fabulous staff..you can't visit Ballater and not experience the food here. 10 out of 10

Got a takeaway on hogmanay. Good service, didn't have to wait too long and it's been a while since I had an Indian this tasty.

Exceptional food as always. Never had lamb as well cooked. Staff very friendly. Also reasonably priced considering the high quality

I would say this place is one of the best halal Indian restaurants in the UK. We went two nights in a row. We tried lamb karahi and lamb tikka for our first visit. Second visit we tried chicken tikka masala and spicy lamb katmondu masala. Service is fantastic and the atmosphere is great. Just the two of us in the whole restaurant since it was not in busy season. We rarely go to an Indian restaurant since they are the only ones that serve halal, we decided to give it a try and it was a great one. A nice memory of staying in Ballater after visiting Balmoral Castle.

In Ballater for couple nights and decided to go for a meal. Went to Lochnagar and my god to say it was amazing would be an understatement. From the time we entered the customer service was fantastic. Then the food came and it was delicious. Would highly recommend and will definitely be back if we stay in this area again 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Great staff really nice food and atmosphere was good. Had a brilliant meal tonight with my wife and the service and meal was excellent. This meal was better than what we had in big cities so look out folks and visit because the chefs are serious about cooking

An absolutely fantastic meal tonight - venison and lamb! Dishes are so tasty, fresh and beautifully presented. Love this place! Can't wait to return the same week next year!

Service was very slow, took over an hour just to get starters, and when the food came, the lamb and chicken was dry. Curry dishes were nowhere near the standard we expected. The drink order was wrong, but we accepted it anyway (as it was not a big deal). We also noticed the treatment we got compared to other diners, with one of our party having food dropped on them and another getting hit on the head when the waiter tried to clear the plate. With no apologies rendered...I believed he even smiled. To the management- I'd recommend providing some unconscious bias training and customer care training for the staff. Not the best experience, sadly compared to when we first visited over a year ago (when the food was tasty, service was prompt, friendly, and we were treated like everyone else. If you find yourself here - I'd recommend the peshwari naan (fresh) and mushroom rice. If you are yet to order, save your money and leave🙏🏾

Fantastic meal and service exceptional

We ate in this lovely restaurant twice on our recent stay in Ballater. The food and service were excellent, we would definitely recommend it.

Dinner with friends. We all had different dishes and were blown away by the taste and quality of the food. The service was excellent. Little touches like hot towels for hands and refreshing oranges at the end of the meal made this a standout meal for us. We'll definitely be back.

Take out. Meal deal £27.95 Poppadoms, very nice spiced onions, 2 dips, pakora, chicken tikka starter. Choice of 2 curries come with 2 rice, nan, Bombay potatoes Excellent flavours but overcooked chicken & pakora, real shame.

This place was often busy so reserve a table ahead of time! I found the portions a bit on the small side. Recommend the okra side, the curry duck, and their signature Indian regional spicy dish. Wish the samosas and pakora had come with green chutney, or anything at all to dip them in. Get white rice over the pilau, it has food coloring in it. Order ASAP and the food can take time to prepare. Large menu, so maybe take a look before you sit down and order food with your delicious tall glass of Kingfisher.

Went with a group of 15 and all course and all meals came out together and individually cooked. Not start main dessert at same time I might add. The atmosphere was great, and we were all individually catered for. Did seem a little expensive, but 3 pints of beer at £5.50 a pint obviously adds to the cost.

Had a very tasty curry served by attentive and polite staff. Would recommend you book as it can get busy at the weekends.

I was looking forward to this dinner so much as I am a huge Indian food fan. The description of the monkfish and prawn dish, Shamodry Jall Katta had my mouth watering, but when it arrived my heart sunk. There were a few tiny pieces of monkfish and three small shrimp (can't call these prawns) in a runny sauce that was more like soup. The seafood was overcooked and tough, and the dish was so spicy I couldn't eat it at all. My husband, who normally orders spicy Indian food said it was almost too hot for him to eat more than a few bites. The waiter who took our order never asked how spicy I wanted it, and I take the blame for not picking up on that. I had to pick out the tough pieces of fish and shrimp and stir them into the rice with no sauce in order to eat what I could. Fortunately our friends had ordered a duck dish, Hash Mishty Tok and they shared it with me. However, the duck was very overcooked and tough as well. The sweet and sour sauce was quite good though. The service was not very friendly, and overall, it was not a good experience.

Portion size is very little for the price. As for the Indian restaurant it's horrible, I have had better Indian food in a British restaurant even weatherspoons serves better Indian food. Avoid this place if you are looking for Indian food.

Portion size is hideous for the price they charge.Forget that I wouldn’t mind if the food was good.We got served half cooked potato in the jalfrezi and the biriyani was bland.

Ordered takeaway from leaflet in our holiday accommodation and every dish was delicious. Great spices, meat was succulent and tender. Fair portion sizes. Fair price.

Amazing food and great service!

The wonderful thing about traveling in the UK is you can get good Indian food no matter how small or large the city is. Lochnagar Indian Brasserie checked most of the boxes for a nice (and affordable) dinner. The location itself feels a bit dated inside - they also have a rather odd and dated serving style with a lot of unnecessary plate decorations. Menu was broad and most items were affordable. They had a wide selection of drinks and service was quick, polite and attentive. Food was all good with flavors mostly spot on. It wasn’t the best Indian I’ve had, but it was perfect for the type of restaurant.

The wonderful thing about traveling in the UK is you can get good Indian food no matter how small or large the city is. Lochnagar Indian Brasserie checked most of the boxes for a nice (and affordable) dinner. The location itself feels a bit dated inside - they also have a rather odd and dated serving style with a lot of unnecessary plate decorations. Menu was broad and most items were affordable. They had a wide selection of drinks and service was quick, polite and attentive. Food was all good with flavors mostly spot on. It wasn’t the best Indian I’ve had, but it was perfect for the type of restaurant.

The restaurant makes the claim of being ‘Ballater’s only 100% Indian restaurant’. While true, we felt this was underselling itself! We have eaten Indian food in a lot of big cities - London, Bradford, Leicester - and this stands up to them all. Would definitely recommend.

Food was ok, nothing special. I felt the waiter was a bit rude when I checked that the main course I was ordering was vegetarian; I just wanted to check, that's all. The restaurant in general is a bit shabby (especially when you go to...

Went here for the first time with my boyfriend. The hospitality was phenomenal and the food was delicious! Can't recommend highly enough

Outstanding food. Lovely restaurant and friendly, helpful staff. Highlights: Lamb Rashun Bhuna, Afghan Pilau Rice and Tandoor Tikka Highly recommend!

Outstanding food and lovely staff. Beautifully prepared and plated dishes. Nice comfortable and clean restaurant.

It was a busy night for the restaurant when we were there, but the food and service were still very good. No complaints, and had a take away later in the week too, and that was also very good.

Have eaten in restaurant but recent visit was for a takeaway. The food was excellent.

Front door was open, I walk in and the man behind the counter said restaurant is closed until 5. I let him know about his advertised hours and he just shrugs his shoulders. Shocking attitude. I’d suggest to the restaurant to update your opening hours...

This is our local and we rate it very highly. We took two friends last night who had not been before and they were so impressed one said that this was the best Indian food they had ever had. It must be said they excelled...

Top tent. We always pick up food from here when we are in the area. Delicious! And we can eat it for two days.

Return visit one year on, and thankfully food was still fabulous. Beautifully presented by efficient friendly staff. Try the speciality dishes as these are so different to high street Indian restaurant fayre. Always busy so book in high season, so you are not disappointed. Popadoms...

Staying at the caravan park so treated ourselves to a takeaway to make up for the terrible weather. Decided a curry was the perfect remedy! Chose the set meal for 2 and it was amazing - quality and value for money..highly recommend! 2 mains, starters,...

We heard rave reviews for this Indian restaurant so had high expectations, we were not disappointed the food and service was amazing. From the starters to the mains the presentation of the food was first class. We loved all our seafood starters and the specialty...

Hmmm. We’ve been before, but this time the service was so rude we all commented afterwards. Food was mixed - my monkfish and prawn was basically soup with just a few tiny pieces. Bit of a shame as it used to be great

Exceptional meal. Great choice to be had, great service and amazing food. Never miss a meal here when back in Balloter. I just love this atmosphere and great curry’s.

The monkfish starter was delicious

Friendly service and sustaining, good value Indian meal. We arrived late and very hungry and they were obliging and gave speedy service We would go back.

Seeing details about awards for the food at this restaurant we booked a table and had high hopes for a great evening. However, on arrival something felt off from the start. Although we had booked a table we were kelt waiting for a long time,...

Staying on the local campsite we ordered a takeaway from Lochnagar Brasserie just along the road. Ordering was easy having picked up a menu earlier in the day. Food was ready at the time they said. It is quite a different selection of dishes to...

Absolutely top quality for food, staff and atmosphere. Really enjoyed my evening. Great experience.

The staff were attentive and the food was delicious.

Had a takeaway from here. Exceptional food, service and value for money. Highly recommended 👍

So nice to enjoy some different dishes on the menu,friendly knowledgeable staff,a good experience.

Got starter order wrong food was nice