The Raja of Kent in Ashford

Great food, good service, but they charged us for drinks we never had. Took the shine off of our evening as the bill was £15 higher than it should have been. We had been warned by friends to check the bill.

Good poppadom and pickle tray. We enjoyed the Raj Platter for two, which included a mix of meat and vegetarian items. For mains had a chicken biryani with a hot vegetable curry sauce and a spicy lamb razella. The food was very tasty. Has Cobra on draft and Cobra, Kingfisher and Bangla in bottles, though the Bangla was out of stock. Plenty of parking outside the restaurant in their carpark. Modern and spacious interiors.

We went for an overnight stay package. We had set menu dinner, entertainment from Leslie P George, overnight stay and breakfast. This was our first visit and it will not be our last. We had a great evening, fab entertainment, great food, lovely staff, nice clean en suite room. We will be back.

Very tasty meal. Would have liked more fresh herbs but perhaps chose the wrong dish. Reasonably priced. Not a great atmosphere but wasn’t going there for that and didn’t expect there to be so all good. Need better lighting!

first visit to the Raja for a takeaway whilst caravanning in Smarden and really impressed. Had a Dansak and a Pasanda and both were really nice and the chicken very tender. Will definitely return when next in Smarden

Always good food & portions. Well priced, good choices. It's good to see the entrance & carpark have been given makeovers, too

My dad and I went for lunch today at Raja and I wouldn’t usually share a review but have to say the food was INCREDIBLE not only did we have the most amazing meal we were taken care of as soon as walked through the door by Shah who went above and beyond to make us feel welcome, he really is a huge asset to this restaurant and was the nicest and friendliest guy. You guys are the best!!

Massive thank you to Raja and his team, the catering they provided was fantastic! All the guests at the wedding were blown away with how tasty all of the dishes were.

Great restaurant, wonderful service, delicious food and reasonable price. Portions quite big, possible one enough for two people :-)

Staying in the hotel next door so ate here food was delicious excellent service

Amazing find, we love Indian subcontinent food flavours and this restaurant didn’t disappoint . Poppadoms and sauces, assorted starters and venison curry with okra and cauliflower accompaniment left us bursting…nice Cobra lager too. We were too full for a dessert but they looked good.

Beautiful tasty food, friendly staff and very nice atmosphere. I don’t like spicy food and they made my curry just perfect ! The nan bread is to die for and the whole experience was very nice! Recommend 100%

The restaurant is lovely inside and staff pleasant. Our food was ok - although the portions are tiny - we are not big eaters but my husband’s curry had about 4 tiny pieces of chicken in it. The tikka masala lacked favour- just tasted like tomato purée to be honest. It was ok !

Lovely place and lovely food, must go!

Best Indian I have had in a very long time. Absolutely excellent.

Brilliant food , one of the best I have tried

Food is ok, not suitable for an indian family as the food didn't have a lot of spice and the service was ok. Food came out tepid as they chose to do a plate change at the same time

Unbelievable food!! One of the best we’ve ever had any where in the world. Impeccable service. You need to seek out this place for a wonderful evening meal

We went as a family on good Friday and the restaurant was deserted. This is our first visit to this restaurant and I am sure we will hit this restaurant again and again as the food was fab. I enjoyed the south indian cuisine lamb briyani and chicken curry which was customised to our taste. The hospitality was wonderful. There is a huge free car park attached to the restaurant. Only recommendation would be to increase the distance between the tables. We would visit again and get all our friends there.

Absolutely brilliant. Fantastic food. Great staff

Great food, friendly helpful staff, the food was delicious thank you

Brilliant restaurant overall! Thank you team! 💯👏

The Food Was Extremely Tasty, The Rooms Are Very Clean and Fresh Services are So Friendly, Ambience Is Gorgeous that you can relax in the middle of the day or night I Would Love To Come Here Again to Spend here from our holidays Nuraaz

It had been ages since we last dined at TRoK. We, along with fiends made a reservation for December 2023 and had a great evening. Excellent, well presented food, efficient service by friendly and attentive staff and fairly priced food and beverages. We revisited in January 2024 and once again had a most enjoyable evening.

We stayed at the hotel opposite the restaurant and were so pleased we found authentic indian food. Fantastic food, we had the chicken biryani and the portions were generous, tasty and full of flavour. Absolutely loved it.

Me and my fiance came on New Years Eve at the 9pm booking so we could see the Tina tribute and all I can say is it was brillant, the food, the service and the entertainement, definately worth 5 stars and we will be returning for sure, thank you and Happy New Year Melanie and James x

Ordered a takeaway as i was passing through Tenterden on the way home - utterly terrible, a watery curry and the whole lot was lukewarm when i arrived home (a 10 minute drive from the restaurant). The portions were miniscule and it cost over £30. Will stick with my usual curry house in Ashford which is brilliant. Certainly will never set foot in this place again.

Had an amazing Tribute Night as a company night out. Even though the restaurant was packed - attentive staff worked hard to make sure everyone's needs were met. As for the Freddie Mercury Tribute - what can I say - It was a huge amount of fun and "Freddie" certainly knew how to work a crowd - singing all the favourites, "Freddie" very quickly had the restaurant full of song (Audience participation was encouraged!) 5 Stars for Freddie and the Raja Team - Thank you ALL!!

Great service and the food was fresh and delicious. I can highly recommend the Prawn Puri to start and the Chicken Vindaloo for mains.

We decided to try this Restaurant and were not disappointed. The staff were all very helpful and friendly and the food was excellent. No long waiting time's between meals ether. Everywhere clean and tidy. We are going back in December to try one of their entertainment nights with a set dinner and are looking forward to it.

We went there recently for a tribute night. The food was very good and the music was also very good. The problem is that male staff , waiters and kitchen staff , stand and stare at the women who are on the dance floor. This is very disconcerting and needs to be addressed. We will not be going back.

Absolutely wonderful food piping hot and great service well worth the visit

Our first visit in well over a decade as we didn't like the food then, but this time we found a brilliant restaurant with a massive varied menu of many favourite Indian dishes and enhanced premises. Obviously, a couple of fresh crispy poppadum with varied pickles. Excellent tandoori chicken to start, followed by Issa sizzler which was fabulous and and spicy sea bass curry which my husband declared superb. My pheasant curry had a delicious sauce but sadly the pheasant was tough which leads me to suspect it had been over-cooked. HOWEVER! We won't be leaving it so long next time, excited to try some of the very interesting menu items. You can also ask for your chosen dish to be further enhanced by extra chilli. Service was excellent and friendly. I would recommend this to anyone who appreciates real Indian cuisine.

A lovely evening of food and music. Attentive, friendly, helpful service, good food. The soul tribute music was great. A popular place, especially on event nights, booking recommended. Out in the Kent countryside but ample car parking.

Booked a table while staying at a local hotel and so glad we did. Lovely relaxed restaurant with very friendly staff. As for the food, excellent lots of flavour without being over powering. Definitely recommend if your in the area.

The motown evening was great. Great food great service and amazing singer. Highly recommend the Raj.

We walked from little silver but honestly it was amazing we went early and for a Monday it was filling up speaks for itself

Excellent service, great food, decent pricing, nothing not to like really.

Great food and great atmosphere, especially for a Monday night. Would definitely recommend.

Atmosphere is aways good, food was incredible so good, service 4 star as I felt we were rushed alittle, beer,ie Cobra love it, thank you guys, we will return soon.

We were brought a sag aloo that we hadn't ordered (I did point out that this item had not been ordered) and a 250 mm glass of wine instead of the 125 mm as ordered ( I was not aware of this until later). My wife didn't want any fuss so I let it go when the bill arrived. If this happened to us then it is happening to others. The food was good but very disappointed at the blatant profiteering.

Amazing food and wonderful staff. One of the best Indian restaurants I have ever been to. Highly recommended.

The food was delicious and the service great for our friends and family celebration. We were a large group and everyone enjoyed their meal. Thank you The Raja of Kent.

Great service and great food. Even made a none menu item for us which tasted great.

Disappointed Popadoms and sides were lovely (actually best part of the meal). For main I ordered HAASH SIZZLER - SIZZLING DUCK, it was lamb!. The meal was okay, but I expected better for the money, would not go back. I didn’t complain at the time because I was with friends.

Been going to this restaurant for over 15 years with lots of family and friends food has always been decent but in the past 10 months or so, this restaurant has gone absolutely disgusting in the past few visits. All my family and friends and people I know has all said the same this restaurant has gone downhill we thought we give it another. Try about a week ago or so and the food was so disgusting we left all of it. It was rubbish could not eat it paid the bill and left this restaurant is finished

One of the best food ever! The lunch was amazing, the staff were friendly and the hotel room was clean and tidy.

Food poisoning. It is a real shame this was such a great restaurant but has really gone down hill. We did a takeaway this time and I had exactly the same as my wife apart from the rice as I try to be carb free. Within an hour of the meal she was violently sick. I strongly suspect the Raja of Kent were reheating the rice which can be dangerous. I see from recent reviews others have had similar experiences. Also the quality of the food was not up to scratch and the quanties were less than in the past. I tried contacting the restaurant but they have not replied. As I say a real shame, if you do decide to eat there good luck.

We stayed in the hotel which was clean and comfortable. We visited the restaurant and had a lovely meal. The food was extremely tasty and authentic. My husband is Indian and he was impressed. Had a cooked breakfast in the morning which arrived quickly and was very nice. We will definitely use the restaurant in the future.

This is one of the most tasty curries I’ve ever had! The whole meal was delicious and I highly recommend going here. Reasonable price too. The staff were all very friendly and polite, and the service was very quick. Good size car park with lots of parking.

Great food and great service, super friendly staff!

One of the best places for authentic food.. The prices have increased though which makes eating out more expensive sadly.... recommended though for a special occasion..

Sheek Kebab - a bit under seasoned and served without mint sauce. Chicken Jal Frezi - absolutely delicious, a real treat. Pilau rice - perfect.

Wonderful restaurant, such good value for money!

Excellent service and great food, love it here!

Perfect evening out with friends.

We have been eating at the Raj Biddenden for many years .. can’t praise it enough staff friendly and can’t do enough to please and the Food is just excellent so delicious and such a wide menu.. something to please everyone.. we love it go most weeks and always a pleasure 🥰 Patsy and David White X thanks Raj yum 👏🏻👍🙋🏻‍♀️

First time visiting the Raja. Got there early so it was quiet and was seated immediately. Service was spot on. Everyone was friendly. Food was incredible. Really good. Definitely going to go back again.

Excellent food and always a great atmosphere.

We use this restaurant at least once a month , recently on a weekly basis aa the food has been so good. Service sometimes a bit chaotic but they are so busy at times. Definitely worth the wait when that happens. Food always piping hot!

Lovely food, helpful friendly staff and a great atmosphere

Good but not as good as it was previously

Not your usual menu ..if you like indian food i mean really like indian food with a twist you need to visit this place...excellent meal again tonight supper friendly staff .....

Seemed the stuff weren't interested

Great food and good service, can be a bit slow on busy nights but well worth the wait.

Travelled an hour to get to the Raja and will do it again. Flavour Flavour and quality, great choice, old favourites and house specials, offering local game like venison and pheasant dishes. Great service, quick and friendly. Pricing was very reasonable. Well worth a visit.

A great restaurant. We popped in for dinner and had a great experience. The staff were friendly and the service was good. Food came out nice and hot, and tasted great. Free parking in their car park outside which has plenty of spaces. They put in special evenings too, worth checking them out.

Very disappointing. I've used the Raj for 8 years and it used to be amazing. Over the past year or so its been distinctly average, and Fridays meal actually made me ill. I won't be going back there again and I won't be reconmending it anymore.

Delicious food - one of the best Indian restaurants for sure. We are a family of vegetarians and there is lots of choice

We enjoyed a lovely Indian meal in the warm and cosy Raja of Kent restaurant. The staff were friendly and welcoming. The meal was delicious.

My partner and I are staying in the area for the weekend. We ordered from the Raja and payed over the phone after asking for delivery, they took payment and said yes to delivering telling us it would be with us in 25 minutes (staying 5min drive away). An hour and a half later we call back asking where our delivery is, we were told that they do not deliver and that we should collect. We explained that we were told they would deliver and the man who took our order asked for our address (why would you take address and bank details over the phone if you don’t deliver). We were refused a refund, now out of pocket £34 for an error that wasn’t our fault.

Not very welcoming at all, ignored by multiple members of staff when walking in and saying hello. To start there was an ant swimming in my glass of water. Food was decent, not great just decent. Naan bread came out at a later time than the food as we were told the chef had dropped it on the floor, could have been offered some complimentary popadoms whilst waiting for it? When we finished the food the waiter came over and asked very abruptly ‘you done?’ Would not recommend and definitely will not be visiting again

We live locally but have not been here for an age. Decided to pop in on the off chance. The place is huge . It now has a hotel and the car park was rammed. Thought must be popular so squeezed in to a parking spot........ went in the place was full..... Service not bad considering the amount of people. Offered a set menu which looked OK , most diners seem to have opted for it, but we went for the menu. Good selection of dishes. Quite a loud and boisterous attitude and then we found out why. An ABBA tribute band appeared ...... well the girl section not the boys. The two young ladies ( Agnetha & Frida ) purporting to be Swedish but more likely Singleton and dressed in the appropriate ' 70's gear ' belted out ABBA's greatest hits. To be honest they were not bad and had a good line of chat claiming to have put on a few pounds during lockdown etc.....you get the picture. Then we remembered a friend of ours had told us he popped in for a curry here and there was what he thought an Elvis tribute . It turned out to be Freddy Mercury tribute!! The food was well prepared but not very tasty it lacked any depth and no register of any spices whatsoever. Very disappointed. So if you like a bland curry in a noisy atmosphere whist being serenaded by a random tribute act this is the place for you. We will give it a miss for a while if I choose but ......on saying that we whatsapped our partners who thought it looked fun!

Visited tonight, on a Wednesday, and was immediately impressed by the number of people either seated or awaiting a takeaway. Once we started eating it was clear why - it was the best curry we’ve had in years, actual years.All the meat was tender, the flavours delicate, and everything freshly cooked including the bread. Absolutely none of your warmed up buffet rubbish here.If anyone from the restaurant reads this though, service could be a little more attentive and quicker, but not so bad as to detract from teh awesome food.Will certainly be back!

Good food but let down by poor service and unwelcoming staff. Waited over 20 minutes to receive a menu and to get our drink order taken. Under staffed for such a busy restaurant.

Nicely decorated restaurant attached to a hotel. Service and welcome quite surly, no enthusiasm. Food was alright although meat somewhat dry. But you can always counteract that with a couple of pints of Kingfisher !! Price was good.

I rated this 5 for one reason first the food was very good and the service was excellent but when I went to pay the bill I told the guy to add 10% witch he did he never said a word just added the 10% and walked away not a thank you or good night or see you again soon .that to me was very bad manners .I don’t live in this are so will probably never eat here again .but good manners cost nothing maybe he thought 10% was not enough .

I dont like leaving bad reviews but in this case I feel I need to. From start to finish the experience was sub par. Ringing up to book a table the gentleman was so rude/short with me. When we arrived, a man shouted across the restaurant with no smile or greeting to see "what we wanted". When taking the order, there was an air of impatience from the member of staff. At no point was "hello", "thank you", "please" or even a smile was said. It felt like we were a nuisance. The food was really bland and boring. The keema nan didn't really have any meat inside. The chicken tikka masala had no flavour and the rice portion was pitiful. I wish I had something nice to say. To top it all off, my partner (who had the chicken tikka masala) later that night was violently sick. There was also what seemed to be a child (approximately 12 years old) taking card payments and working the takeaway section behind the bar. It didn't seem very legal.

Don’t try and book online by email…they never respond. More waiters are needed…we waited 1hr 15 mins for our main course. The food is good the restaurant very noisy and the service poor

Been here a few times and whilst the food taste good the takeaway is always appears to be pre prepared the food is tepid and has a glaze of warmed up food .we tried ordering the same food each visit and believe this is the case .Food is ok but I believe is not freshly prepared .menu says a time required to allow but I have collected before this time and the centre of the food is cooler than the outer ( used a thermometer) .shame as finding a curry is very hard .cannot recommend this .Parking is available but has huge holes in surface .there is a collection area with a bar and toilets and is suitable for disable access.

We do not live near the Raja of Kent, but whenever we are in the area we try to eat there. This visit was no exception, the dishes were very nicely presented and delicious. There always seems to be something different on the menu compared to other Indian Restaurants, for example Venison and Pheasant. The service was friendly and timely. We look forward to our next meal there.

Not been in for a little while due to Covid but nothing has changed. Polite, friendly, welcoming and well mannered staff, perfect food and it remains our favourite place to eat out.

Sadly not up to the great standard we have received on several previous visits. Service was slow and unwelcoming. Once we got the food it was ok but Bombay aloo and garlic mushrooms were too spicy for our children to enjoy this time. Disappointing.

Got a take out, was very efficient picking up and wow the food was superb! Very tasty, possibly the best curry I've had. Highly recommend.

Great service - food brought to the car, generous portions,vegan options no problem. Chicken dish full of meat. One of the best takeaway curries we've had and we'll worth a couple of extra £

Long time since I have visited, but never had a bad meal in 15 years! It is noisy though. The acoustics require looking in to, as when full, you cannot hear your fellow diners talking.Service can be slow, but wide range of dishes of high standard of Indian fare.

Good food, busy restaurant. Service was slightly chaotic but not to the detriment of the meal. Good large portion sizes and a good selection of traditional Indian/ Balti style food on offer

Tenterden is not well served by good Indian restaurants but this is the best of the lot. The food quality is higher than the Badsha in the town centre and as the Raja has a large car park, it’s easy to get there and get your takeaway etc.

Food less good, fewer vegetables .. more run of the mill than it used to be. We ate there this weekend. There were too few serving staff, we waited at least 30 minutes for our drinks order ( which arrived in part only) . We waited over an hour for our starters and a further long wait for the main. We were unable to get drinks, we didn't have plates and the service was at times rude. We will vote with our feet which is a pity as we usually enjoy eating here.

On visiting friends in Tenterden we decided on a Saturday evening to visit the The Raja of Kent. On arrival we gave the name of the booking which was for 8pm, the guy on the book didn’t even look at the booking ledger, just as us to wait for the next available table. Fortunately they were clearing a table, we were asked to sit down, but the table yes was clear, but had not been laid up, just the table cloth changed. So whilst we sat at the table, knives, plates etc were being brought to the table, napkins were very thrown at us. Ok so after the laying up, it took 20 mins for anybody to give us a menu and take an order for a drink and this only happened after repeated requests. After 40 mins finally we got our orders taken for food, and a drink which included a jug of tap water, which never arrived, but a glass of water did. After 1.35hr from sitting down and the order being taken the starters arrived. All of us had the same starter so would have thought pretty easy to produce, but in this case 3 starts come out the other 5 mins later. By this time we were get exasperated by such awful service. Starters we cleared and then a further wait of 40 mins for main courses. My chicken Jalfrazi dish was made up of about 6 over cooked pieces of chicken and the onion bharji were dry small liked they been prepared well in advance and warmed through again. We decided to soldier on with our evening with friends and raise our many concerns with the manager at the end of the meal. We ask the waiter to see the manager he ask why, we advised him we wanted to discuss the extremely poor service and the quality of the food. Instead of getting the manager the waiter said it was due to them being busy. I decided to go the bar where the manager was and discuss with him. I advised him about our experience and said we would like the bill reduced as compensation, which he seemed very reluctant to do and offered us a complementary drink, which I said was not acceptable. He then referred us to the owner who I had seen on a number of occasions when I went to the toilet, lounging in a chair on his mobile phone. The manager spoke to him in their common tongue, he then offered us a drink, at this point I advised him that he either offered us compensation in reducing the bill or we would decide what we wanted to pay. This made him sit up and when received the bill 15% had been taken off and after asking they gave us a complementary drink. This restaurant is currently going through what looks like major building work, which our friends advised us was to expand the business. If this is too be successful they will need to employ more staff as clearly the current amount of staff in both the kitchen and front of house is inefficient to offer the paying customers a good level of service. This situation could have been handled so much differently, by advising us there could be a delay and offering us let’s say a complementary drink and communicating that there could be possible delays. To be honest the waiters didn’t have a clue and didn’t seem to care. It maybe be better during the week, but clearly not with its current staffing levels and front of house management on a Saturday night.

The Raja of Kent advertise a special menu on Mondays and Tuesdays of 4 dishes for £12.95 on their website so we thought we'd give it a go.The restaurant was quiet at 6.30pm with only around 10 customers in there but a few more came in throughout the time and there were lots of people coming in to collect takeaways so maybe it's more popular later in the evenings.We sat down and the waiter gave us the standard menu. I asked if they had the special menu as per their website and he went off to get one. I think this is pretty sneaky as they are clearly hoping customers will be unaware of the offer and would buy from the full priced menu.Despite this initial hiccup the food was lovely and very plentiful. The deal is a set menu with a choice of a starter, a main, rice or naan and a vegetable side dish. All the dishes were very tasty and you certainly get good value for money. We had so much food left that we asked the waiter to pack some of it up to take home with us. That's lunch sorted the following day then!I can highly recommend the special Monday and Tuesday deal - but you will need to request the menu when you get there.

The food is really good quality. The lamb shank, chicken balti, mushroom rice, plain naan and keema naan are absolutely delicious. However, we did notice that some dishes such as the chicken curry had slightly decreased in portion size. We would come back again for the food but the service really let the restaurant down. There is very poor if any communication between members of staff so you would have 4 waiters ask you the same question but no one actually fulfill your requests as I think they must all think someone else will do it. Service was a bit chaotic e.g. all dishes were bought out before they remembered to get the hot plate to keep them warm.

We visited this restaurant after a few friends had recommended it. Service was great, everyone was very friendly and prompt. Our waiter gave good advise on a couple of dishes.The food was very tasty, best curry I have had in a restaurant for a long time. We will definitely be visited again soon.Keep up the good work.

We ordered for collection, and they forgot our rice and poppadums which were pretty essential for a curry. The ‘Raj starters’ were cold and the samosas were very undercooked, pale and soggy. The ‘Beef Chilli Massala (Hot)’ was the mildest curry of the four, very disappointing.

Great,tasty food in decent portions. The service was so so honestly...but food was one of the best in Kent.

We on the off chance visited early tonight and we were not disappointed. For the first time we had the delicious lamb shanks - faultless. The vegetable accompaniment which looked dry fried was excellent. Rice good etc.

They are extending the lace at the back. Plenty of free parking. Friendly service and I notice they do take away as well. Enjoyed a fish dish for starter and a vegetarian Korma. Never had a vegetarian before and it was very tasty. Their dips for starter different and tasty.

We go here every month and always have a fantastic meal. The staff are so friendly and welcoming. I would recommend the restaurant to anyone!

This Indian cuisine is probably the best in the ares. They also hold, once a month, talented artistes and we were treated to a Freddie Mercury lookalike who was wonderful.

Went along for the Sunday buffet for Mother's Day, booked and arrived in time. What looked to be the manager was rude, tried to rush us (which we did not do) and very abrupt. Such poor customer interaction and service.