The Merchants of Spice in Norwich

Loved it food was quality service and atmosphere very friendly 👍🍻

Food was fairly good, service was decent

Flavorful Delights at Merchants of Spice in Norwich We visited Merchants of Spice for a family member’s 21st birthday on a Monday, and despite being a weekday, the atmosphere was warm and bustling, creating the perfect vibe for a celebration. The restaurant was lively but still intimate, with a welcoming and cozy ambiance. I opted for the Chicken Tikka Rezala, and it was absolutely delightful. The dish was rich and creamy with just the right balance of spice, making each bite flavorful and satisfying. Paired with the fragrant garlic rice, it was the perfect combination—comforting, yet bold. The staff was attentive and friendly, adding to the overall great experience. If you're looking for delicious Indian food in Norwich with an inviting atmosphere, Merchants of Spice is definitely worth a visit!

We visited Merchants of Spice for a family member’s 21st birthday on a Monday, and despite being a weekday, the atmosphere was warm and bustling, creating the perfect vibe for a celebration. The restaurant was lively but still intimate, with a welcoming and cozy ambiance. I opted for the Chicken Tikka Rezala, and it was absolutely delightful. The dish was rich and creamy with just the right balance of spice, making each bite flavorful and satisfying. Paired with the fragrant garlic rice, it was the perfect combination—comforting, yet bold. The staff was attentive and friendly, adding to the overall great experience. If you're looking for delicious Indian food in Norwich with an inviting atmosphere, Merchants of Spice is definitely worth a visit!

Great food, excellent service and reasonably priced.

Had a lovely Ruby Murray here, highly recommend

Celebrating a family birthday, the eight of us enjoyed the food, ambience, courteous friendly and efficient staff. The restaurant was well attended for a Wednesday evening in September, which is a sign of customer satisfaction.

Fantastic food and service! Will definitely be going back!

The food was excellent. All 5 in the party agreed. It was so good we returned 2 days later. Would definitely go again. Couldn't fault the service.

Outstanding what more can I add great food, excellent service. Lovely place highly recommended and very reasonable prices too!

The food was delicious! Really enjoyed eating here.

Been my go-to Indian restaurant in Norwich for many years and still doesn't disappoint.

I visited this restaurant from out of town, whilst visiting Norwich. The food was amazing, a lovely restaurant with excellent service. If I was local I would come here all the time

Not cheap ! But what a banging curry. Everything was excellent, wonderfully spiced to perfection. Dhansak especially.

Well worth eating here. Definitely come back when in Norwich. Lovely and spicy food. Lamb and chicken dishes perfectly cooked.

Recommended by our taxi driver as the best curry in Norwich ... he knows his onions. Absolute cracker of a meal - moist sheekh kebabs to start, popppadoms not oily..really well done. The curries including the lamb were generous, tasty and tender. I'd be here every weekend if I lived nearer.

The chicken was severely overcooked, only a sharp knife would cut through it. The curry was also very dry leaving me very thirsty after eating it. Good service however.

Ate here with work colleagues. Busy on a Monday evening which was a good sign. Extensive choice of food and great quality and service. Nice atmosphere. Happy to recommend and would return in future.

4 stars for atmosphere is only because it was so busy that we had to be upstairs which isn't so lively. The fact it was so busy though tells you everything you need to know about this excellent restaurant. I had Chicken Korai even tho not on the printer menu. They will make anything you name. It was better than 5 stars!

We really enjoyed our dinner at The Merchants of Spice! The food is so delicious and the service very attentive. Thank you! :)

Just perfect By far the best indian meal we have has for years Ambiance lovely Clean and tastefully decorated Staff just lovely and so attentive And the food..... just so delicious.... can't wait to return!!

Greeted by a surly miserable looking young girl . Showed us to our table . Enjoyed the good food . Waiters were fairly cheerful and polite . We didn’t leave a tip tbh the young girl left us unhappy with the service . There are lots of other Indian restaurants in Norwich .. we’ll be going to those in future . Sorry

Perfect for big groups! Incredible food, had a huge selection of dishes and everything came out super quick and hot! Lovely service, the team were very friendly and clean with our messy eaters lol. Will definitely be back👏🏻

Absolutely superb, from starters to finish. Beautiful food - packed with flavour, fresh ingredients, just. so. good. Having endured so many mediocre curries recently, the Merchants has restored my faith in this cuisine. Really, really, good - and the beer was fabulous as well. Already planning a return visit.

It is a very busy place BUT I was really really blown away with their food quality / taste. The only thing i would say is to ensure that if you really can’t take spicy food, their medium spicy level to me was really really spicy. I could only take one third of a boneless chicken cube and I couldn’t eat anymore as it really was too spicy. Chicken Naga is what it is called. HOWEVER, the lamb shank we ordered and the OKRA!!! Holy moly!!! I am IN LOVE with their Okra!!!!! Poppadom was really good!!

We were a group of 14 golfers, provided our choices in advance, and the food was served very quickly after arriving. All the dishes were fabulous, and served with no issues.

ordered as takeaway, food was nice but the naan bread was very small, about half the size of your average Indian takeaway naan bread, as this is my favourite part i was very disappointed especially since it cost 3.50 each :/

Great food, excellent quality. Went a mid week evening without booking and they squeezed us in. Enjoyed the food, service and beer

Although the service and atmosphere were good, and it's clearly popular, I'm afraid the food was underwhelming. I had the fish curry which was generous in size but watery and plain. My friend had the tandoori mixed platter which lacked spice and was also surprisingly plain. We both had tarka dhal, watery and insipid. I'm afraid it was disappointing. I've had far superior curries round the corner on Magdalen Street and in English gastro pubs.

Excellent! Best curry restaurant in Norwich 🤩

The staff here are awesome. My wife and I went there last night for our 5th wedding anniversary, and they put up balloons for us, free of charge! I didn't even ask them too; that really is sensational service. Everyone wished us happy anniversary, and we're very kind. The food was lovely, the restaurant is clean and modern, whilst still possessing comfort and charm. We would definitely go back ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I visited with a friend for an evening meal by recommendation and the restaurant didn’t disappoint. It has all the trappings of a traditional Balti restaurant but with a lovely ambience and decor that gave a luxurious feel. The menu had a good combination of tried and tested dishes that overall didn’t disappoint. We had for mains the prawn curry, tadka Dahl, paneer tikka, bhindi (okra) and naan. Overall the taste of the food and the bases were excellent but somehow the paneer and bhindi dishes in particular seemed under seasoned and rather plain. Except for this over sight it was a great visit. The staff were speedy and attentive throughout and we waited no more than ten minutes for any specific food or drink item , despite it being a moderately busy evening. Well worth a visit with the surroundings of medieval Norwich as the backdrop.

Wonderful food in a beautiful establishment.

Food was decent, nothing spectacular. Good atmosphere and service was great but would opt for another choice next time

Great bang for the buck. Wouldn't call any of the food spicy hot even though the Naga chilli curry came with a verse of, are you sure... you know it's hot. Not the best curry house in Narrrwich but its up there...

You know when a place is good if you have to book well in advance to get a table! This is 1st class Indian cuisine. The menu may not be extensive, but this is reflected in the quality of the dishes they offer. The lamb dishes are succulent and so tender, chicken dishes flavoursome and prawn dansak is divine. Service is excellent and left feeling comfortably full and happy. Would thoroughly recommend. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Really nice food, must say I'd go back again and again. Staff were great

Great food and wonderful service. My friends and I love this curry house.

Food excellent but no atmosphere, shoved up stairs to eat!

Only 4 for atmosphere as its a quiet Monday night but a wonderful meal and great staff

Loved the place so much! The food was amazing and much better than my expectation! A great evening spent with family and made lovely memories! Every food items was piping hot and delicious! The staff were so nice! All around great place to be😍

A wonderful meal. Staff very efficient and attentive. Was quiet when we arrived but livened up later. Nice atmosphere. I would highly recommend this place.

Definitely not Indian and made us to wait for 15 min and took the order very late

Worst restaurant and made us to wait 15 min even after booked the table and took the order very late 👎👎👎👎👎

Party of 10! Excellent service, the food was not preordered but appeared very quickly and was delicious!

Great Indian food, my favourite Norwich Indian restaurant.

Great food and service, would highly recommend.

The food was brilliant 👏 definitely come again 😋 Definitely recommend it

Amazing Chicken tikka, pilau rice was also fantastic. Service was perfect not to pushy but very attentive and made to feel welcome. I would recommend booking or calling before hand because we eat on a Monday night, it was busy.

We went here for a friend's birthday and have to say left disappointed, the food was OK, on the par with any Indian, the service however needs improvement, my friend had specifically requested a certain table away from kitchen when booking only to be shoved into the closest busiest table when we got there, the feeling of being rushed through the meal and out the door was quite uncomfortable, this was compounded by wrong bills, wrong food orders & general tardiness of the waiting service

Disappointing experience here on a Saturday evening. Inattentive service (got a drink when we sat down but no chance of another, even when a member of our party asked if anyone wanted another drink as they brought our food, the waiter actively ignored this and walked away as quickly as possible!) staff looking annoyed when you raise (in a very kind and friendly manner) a mistake made by them. Food ok, restaurant very noisy with loud swearing from one table, unable to have a conversation without shouting so not exactly a relaxing dining experience. No warm welcome and we definitely won't be returning or recommending to anyone. Such a shame as it could be so much more.

Really delicious food, good portion sizes and friendly staff. Went on a Tuesday evening and it was pretty busy so worth booking ahead! Great atmosphere and clean. Loved it here and will be back!

Finally made it to the Merchants of Spice after many recommendations from friends. Booking ahead is essential, particularly if you are a slightly bigger group. It was busy for a Tuesday evening, and despite booking weeks ahead, as a table of two we were unfortunately on a table in a bit of a walkway. This actually turned out to be a bit quieter than the location of the other small tables though as there were some bigger groups in and it was quite noisy. The food was excellent, as was the service. Highly recommend the Railway Lamb dish! We also enjoyed having a different Indian beer on tap available. I will be back...when diaries allow!

Great food. Railway curry. Service efficient. Great decor. Really nice experience. Would recommend.

Best Indian meal I've had for a long time

Excellent dinner for 5 on a Tuesday evening. Starters and mains both tasty and good value. Service was prompt and polite. Will go again when in Norwich.

Of all the Indian restaurants we've been to around the world, this is the very best! No kidding. The food was AMAZING!

Great food, great staff, nice selection of beers. Job done ✔️

Service was great the chapaties were not very good quite hard apart from that the food was excellent

My first time visiting this restaurant and it didn't disappoint. They accommodated our party of 10 with no issues. The service was friendly and prompt it really couldn't be faulted. The food was brought out within 20 mins of us arriving. There were so many different curries to choose from and not your usual Bhuna or Vindaloo. All used with authentic Bangladeshi spices and food. I decided to go for the Fish Curry with Pilau Rice and a Peshwari Naan. The curry was full of flavour with 4 fish fillets. The rice was soft and fluffy with saffron included. The naan was soft full of coconut and sultanas. I couldn't fault the meal. The popaddums were crisp and came with 4 different sauces. Mango Chutney, Pickled Lime, Onion Salad and mint yogurt. It was very busy as well, which shows just how good this place must be. Families were there and it was great hearing kids order their curries with confidence. Definitely worth a visit if you fancy a decent curry that's for sure.

We come to Norwich every year and we have never been able to get a table until this year. The team that run this place are clearly the product of some well-planned training and whoever is in the kitchen is pure gold. One of the best "Indian" restaurants I have ever eaten in, full stop! Don't make the mistake in thinking that the food is some kind of bespoke Asian takeaway style grub. Somebody has taken their time with this. From upper level management right down to the cleaners, this place is a treasure.

Probably my favourite Indian restaurant in Norwich. Always consistently good. As long as the quality stays the same I will continue to visit. Great selection of dishes and the staff and always polite and helpful.

We stopped off for a meal here with friends on the spur of the moment and they accommadated us with no problems and were very nice and friendly.The food here was delicious and so was the beers.The price was slightly more than the usual Indian restaurants that are close by,but it is well worth the extra money,as the food was very good and the menu has better choices and different types of traditional Indian food.

We had great day! The staff helped to make my husband’s birthday a very wonderful memory for us, they were splendid and amazingly accommodating! ❤️😍

My wife and I were recommended this curry house for a good meal, being from Cardiff we didnt know where to go we read the reviews and thought we would try it and we were not disappointed. We booked our table for 2 and we were greeted and seated by friendly staff on arrival. The restaurant had a good feeling about it. We ordered our meals as well as a few extras and they were delicious I can truly say one of the best curries we have had. The service was very good especially our waiter Samek. We would highly recommend this curry house if you are in Norwich centre.

The food here is actually very good in both quality and portion sizes, it's also reasonably priced for a restaurant that has such a good reputation. But the atmosphere is one of chaos, as the seating is very close together and the restaurant is quite small. I could barely hold a conversation with my partner over the noise. I also found the staff were friendly and attentive but they all congregate around the bar which is unavoidable I guess, but it makes everything appear cramped. I loved the food but would avoid it during busy evenings.

Great meal for 6, super delicious food, well presented and good sized portions. None of your "namby pamby" nouveau cuisine portions and didnt need to take out a mortgage to pay for it.

My eldest daughter who has just graduated from UEA recommended this restaurant but when we rang to reserve a table we were told that there was no room but undaunted we turned up and got a table for 5.. Service was friendly and efficient and the food delicious with reasonable prices so we highly recommend a visit!

I didn't like Indian Food until I went here. Service was excellent, food was even better. Sat opposite a vegetarian and was completely satisfied

Both the kids were out so the wife and I ordered a delivery from here ,Stright away the kebab starter didn’t look right , but I said nothing to the wife not to disappoint and ate it anyway … No favour at all , undercooked and to be honest looked like feces covered with onions , Moved over to the mains the rice was ok ( can’t really mess that up ) the chicken tikka again looked dodgy just about 6 chucks and sauce …. Chicken was very dry with no taste …. I mean NONE only managed 3 chunks and threw it away , the sauce again had no spice at all and was just bland ,Nan bread was the smallest Nan bread seen to man … NO JOKE . DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND CLOSE THIS PAGE AND LOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE

Visited whilst in town on business, I dined alone but enjoyed my visit. Great menu and the food was tasty, staff very attentive and it was quite busy for early evening on a Tuesday. Will definitely return when I am back in the area.

Bit expensive for mediocre food

Our first visit here and will be returning! The food was delicious, full of flavour the service exceptional.

Great food enjoyed by all, and given its in the city centre, reasonably priced. Great service too. My only slight criticism is the limited menu. For example you can get a Chicken Bhuna and a Lamb Madras but not a Lamb Bhuna or a Chicken Madras, which is unusual for a curry house. Would definitely go back

Have visited on many occasions and still consider this curry house to be the best in Norwich (possibly wider). We know the team very well so service is always excellent, but I see the same service and diligence given to other customers too. They will tailor currys to your individual taste which makes choosing a curry very easy. If you ask for a 'Terry' starter.... be warned its very hot

Ordered a take away which we all enjoyed. Website stated cash only but you can pay by card.

Immaculate service, with little waiting time. Delicious food with good portion sizes. Really nice atmosphere, the staff were friendly and accommodating especially as we called minutes before to check if there was space for a booking. Would 100% recommend for anyone looking for a romantic date night meal or if you’re craving a good Indian with tasty classics.

Great food, and fantastic service

Best Indian in Norwich. And we've got plenty of those in Norwich. Food has always been very good here. You can taste the difference in the dishes as the spices are used properly. Meats are always well cooked and juicy. Veggies always tasty. Best Peshwari Naan I've ever eaten. Love it.

Visited on Friday evening with my wife. Had excellent food and service. We both had starters and main course. I had the lamb samosas and my wife the onion bhaji. For mains I had fish curry and my wife the veg korma. All very nicely cooked and presented. Would highly recommend.

Eaten here lots of times and the overall experience is generally good. However, this most recent visit really did put me off returning because they got so much wrong right through the meal: Chicken Jalfrezi was served barely warm, no spiciness or freshness at all, chicken was in huge chunks, which had been reheated - not something a restaurant can disguise. Replacement dish was only just hot enough despite the jalfrezi issue. To avoid reheated chicken I ordered lamb korai and yes, huge chunks of lamb, dry and tasteless. Reheated. Another family member chose their usual dish, simple staple of chicken tikka masala. Sauce was thin and tasteless, more large chunks of chicken - reheated. No freshness whatsoever. Half was left uneaten - unique for the diner in question as she loves a good CTM! Overall, a very disappointing meal and one of the worst Indian meals I have ever had. They got so much wrong. Goodness knows what’s happening with quality control in the kitchen that they failed miserably and at the prices charged should never serve food that isn’t hot or fresh and is reheated.

Great experience!! My family & I visited for a birthday dinner. The food was amazing and the staff were so friendly and attentive! Really really impressed! Thank you

Great meal, onion bhajis were particularly good.

Went as part of a group for a 40th birthday party, really good food and service, was the first time if been but will return. We felt it was excellent value for money.

We've been looking for a good Takeaway/Restaurant for some time. We took a gamble, as we had not had Indian/Asian food for some time, we had a beautiful fresh aromatic meal which was outstanding. I would highly recommend this restaurant.

Very nice restaurant. Service was very good. Lovely waitress who could speak sign language and very nice staff all round. Have our friend a free cake and bottle of alcohol for his birthday. Busy even on a Tuesday night.

Great scran, concise menu, good price 👍 can't go wrong

Excellent food and service. Highly recommended.

Great variety on the menu. If you like hot and spicy this is definitely the place to go, I had what was described a medium jalfrezi and my mouth was on fire, so err on the side of caution if you prefer less spice. The service was excellent, everything was cleared away very promptly and the table wiped between courses. Reasonable pricing and generous portions. A relaxed atmosphere, comfortable seating, great for a romantic meal or as a group. Highly recommended.

I sat in on Valentine's Day. It's a nice restaurant with sexy lighting and decent staff. It really isn't expensive, maybe a pound or two more for a main but everything else is standard price. The menu has about 20 mains on. It is better to do 20 mains exceptionally well, rather than 50 averagely well. On the whole the food was rather good. The lamb madras was the best I'd ever had... and I've had so many. Portions were good. Naans were lovely and I love that they don't cut them up into segments like a pizza which is a thing Indian restaurants seem to be doing these days. The sag paneer seemed to have more butter than it did sag but that is really the only small negative I can think of... and it was eaten. Poppadoms and pickles were crisp and nicely presented, correct portions sizes. Ultimately this is one of the best meals out I've had in a long time, I can't understand the negative reviews about 'authenticity', it isn't what a family eats in at home in India, but Indian restaurants never are... they are a British take on curry, and it was absolutely excellent. Care and effort seemed to go into the food and it is noticeable. I will return.

Always busy, and you can see why. Food and service are excellent.

Had a cracking curry here with the boys. Been multiple times on different occasions and never disappoints. Samek was brilliant in his service always attentive and positive. Great service would recommend. 👍

Oh dear. This used to be, in our view, the best curry house in the city. My wife and I had a takeaway a few weeks ago which was disappointing, but decided to try it again last night in case that was a one-off. It was truly awful. In both meals, the chicken was tough, the sauce just big lumps of onion in a flavourless orange liquid with a few whole chillis - virtually uncooked and raw - and a big chunk of red pepper thrown in. No flavour and not nice to eat. Ws'll be going elsewhere in future.

The Merchants of Spice is probably the best Indian restaurant in Norwich but our takeaway wasn’t great. My vegetable Karathy was far too greasy and tasted the same as a normal vegetable curry. The mushroom rice was OK but again it lacked flavour. My husband’s tandoori platter was good but the coconut rice was too sweet and again his keema Nan was greasy. Its a shame because previous takeaways have been good.

Myself and my partner had dinner here on Saturday evening as a birthday treat for us both. The service was brilliant and the food was absolutely fantastic. Despite the restaurant being full when we left, it wasn't noisy and the atmosphere was lovely. We will certainly be going again soon. *****

Ordered on Just Eat but the order arrived with incorrect items. What we did get was very dry chicken and generally bland food. Although our order arrived quickly it didn’t seem freshly cooked. Two items were missing. Contacted the restaurant straightaway but they weren’t interested in resolving our complaint. They told us to call Just Eat but they don’t take calls they refer you to their website. Won’t be using this restaurant again

Great food, comfortable seating and friendly staff. Well worth a visit

We live in Berkshire but we were in Norfolk to attend a inquest and wanted somewhere outside of the hotel to eat. My sister in law found this restaurant on Google and I called to check if it was disabled friendly as my husband is in a wheelchair. We arrived at the restaurant and found the staff to be very helpful and friendly which relaxed us straightaway after a very hard day. We ordered our food and in no time at all our food arrived, well all I can say after that is that the food was excellent in fact we all agreed the onion bhajis were the best we have ever had and the rest of our meal was delicious as well. We won’t be coming back to Norfolk again but if we did this would be a restaurant we would love to eat in again.

Great food and exemplary service. Still the best Indian restaurant in Norwich for me. Loved the railway lamb curry, the Calcutta naga chicken and the lamb madras. The bindi bhaji and the tandoori mixed platter were great too.

Ordered through uber eats. Driver gave half our order to another customer. When called was basically told to f**k off! Called merchants of spice who didn't really want to know said they would send out the rest of our order but didn't! paid for food and not received! as a regular customer I will not be visiting again nor will my family or wider circle of friends. Shocking service.