The Shalimar in Derby

A very awkward and disappointing experience. It was a birthday dinner. On reservation we were told a cake will be given with servers singing. We were excited for it. When we arrived, they placed a birthday tag on the table and told us to wait until the end when they will bring out the surprise. However, they got busy because of other guests and completely ignored us at the end. It was so awkward because we didn't take a cake with us to the restaurant because they promised us something and didn't go through with it. The food was good. But if someone is going to celebrate their special day, please make sure you are on top of your request and ensure it will be provided. We were polite and left, but I just wanted others to not be disappointed.

Come here for my birthday meal in October with my other half and boy we wasn't disappointed! Was definitely worth the 30 minutes drive! One of the best curries I've ever had. Good quality, quick service, nothing is too much trouble and great atmosphere! We even taken a takeaway curry that was freshly made for the next day 🤤 Will definitely be returning!

Such a lovely night out here! Great staff and great food, would definitely recommend

Had a takeaway last week. I've never had such bad Indian food. Onion bhaji was like a fish cake cut in half and soggy. Naan bread looked like it was bought in, poor excuse for a chicken balti (I'm from Birmingham) Tandoori chicken tikka masala has got to be worse I've ever had. It was so sweet, bright red and had dessicated coconut in it. I presume competition is poor in this area as this resturant would not survive in any other city. Hunt goes on for decent Indian food.

Best place to go in derby! Wouldn't go anywhere else.. the food is beautiful and fresh and the meat melts in your mouth. The service is out of this world, maz and team are amazing there polite and everything you would want when going to a restaurant. Atmosphere is 10/10.. relaxing and beautiful. Love this place

We visited this place yesterday 1st November. Absolutely amazing place. fantastic service, food, apmosphere . all the staff even the owner couldn't do enough for us ,we were treated like royalty. plus robby the robot even sang Happy Birthday to Peter. definitely a place to visit 100% 10 out of 10

Fantastic food and fabulous service from Shaz and team. We all loved the Bella bot! Kids really enjoyed the food too. 5 stars!

Enjoyed a family meal for five tonight, celebrating our anniversary. Every dish was presented well and tasted extremely good. No-one was disappointed with anything. The welcome and service could not have been better. Thank you Shalamar Gold for making it a memorable night.

First time coming here tonight to celebrate a family members birthday. Place is decorated lovely, such a lovely atmosphere. Staff we're amazing. Soon as you step in there's a lovely warm welcome, offered to take coats and hang them up. Pulling out chairs for us to sit on. They are just lovely and polite. Great drinks menu selection. The food was amazing! It tasted so good and presentation was lovely too. We will definitely be going there again. Thank you all the staff for a lovely evening and for the chefs in the kitchen for the amazing meal.

We were invited to try the October special offer to celebrate 40 years of Shalimar Gold. We had poppadoms and pickles to start which were tasty. Hot chilli fish and vegetable platter starters. Wow they were HUGE. The vegetable starter had a large samosa, large onion bhaji, paneer and a veg roll with salad and sauces. Highly recommend. The hot chilli fish was good and was also a huge starter. Mains we had mangla machli curry (white fish) and lamb Desi. The lamb Desi was delicious! Had a kick to it. The rice and naans were fluffy. Gulab jamun was hot and delicious. Extra syrupy and the pistachio ice cream went well with it. Service was EXCELLENT. They also have a little robot that brings the food to the table. Cute. You can pick up cold curry’s from the fridge in the restaurant to take home and re heat too. Fab idea. Little parking lot out the back or paid for on street parking available.

Walked past and it looked good from the outside so we went in and asked if they had a table for 2, they shuffled stuff around and quickly sat us down. Nice selection of food and drinks and very polite staff, would definitely recommend

On my first visit to Shalimar Gold I found a pleasant welcome, very helpful and friendly staff who couldn't do enough for you. The meal was first class even extra special when a robot bought the meal to our table. It was a birthday treat from my son Paul and daughter-in-law Emma. My evening was made extra special when they all gathered round and sang happy birthday complete with a cake and candle. Even the robot sang. So a very big thank you to you all for a lovely evening.

Fantastic food, Mazza was our waiter and he was fantastic! Thank you for making my Mum's birthday special, will come here again!

I came here with my daughter and we both had the 4 course meal for £20 however after telling the waiter our starters and mains he told us we would only get 1 rice and 1 naan to share - I felt a little taken back by this and embarrassed. We also got 2 large cobras for myself and my daughter had 2 mocktails. The price I saw on the menu is not what I believe I paid. I would appreciate if I could have some clarification on the meal deals and the prices of the drinks.

How to visit our regular hotspot especially on their 40th Anniversary! Food and staff were amazing as ever, always attentive friendly, and great atmosphere! Can not recommend highly enough! Also as always need to single Jimmy out as the shining star he is! #LoveGuru

Excellent service from the moment you enter to the moment you leave, friendly attentive and warm. The food was full of flavour with well judged portions, the current celebration menu that marks their 40th anniversary is great value for money. The additional 'robot' waiter made us smile and is a definite talking point. Will recommend and visit again.

Food was fantastic, staff were extremely attentive and accommodating, will definitely be back for a meal.

Excellent food and service. We can rely on tasty freshly cooked food and a calm ambience.

Well worth a try! We have been coming for over a year now. We travel all the way from Sheffield & tend to book a hotel or come when we have business nearby. The food has always tasted very fresh. We love how the lamb has a soft fresh taste too. The service is great! From the first time we come there has been great conversation & great recommendations to try new curries. Very very clean place & they go above and beyond for a comfortable meal/experience.

Food arrived 40 minutes late and was cold - Do not allocate time slots for delivery, if you cannot commit to them!!

Food was great, one of the best I've had.

Pretty sure our lamb meals were mixed up as one of our party’s meal was very hot despite us confirming to the waiter we wanted it medium. There seemed to be some confusion over nans and rice as we had to wait several minutes after receiving our mains before they arrived. Overall the food quality was good and in general the service was good. It is expensive though!

***DO NOT ORDER TAKEOUT (see latest update after their response below)*** Every time we order takeaway Shalimar appear to crumble under pressure. Ordered food at 18:30 and it’s 20:25 and we are still waiting. I’ve had to put my son something else on to eat due to it being that late. Called the restaurant multiple times with no answer. Will never order from here again- shame you’ve lost a loyal customer who spent a lot, especially when dining in. ***UPDATE*** spoken with Shaz yesterday after his lovely response which was quite clearly an empty promise and an attempt to make Shalimar look good by offering a free meal. Called Shaz regarding his response, who said he would call me back in a couple of minutes for my free takeaway, we weren’t expecting anything so we were delighted with the offer and I was even prepared to delete this review! However, i waited 40 minutes for a call and had to call the restaurant back to only find out he wasn’t there and they would ‘get him to call me back’. Guess what? lol, a day later and still no call. Clearly a response to try and make themselves look good but in the end was empty promises. Just when I thought the service couldn’t get any worse. You might have nice food but customer service and loyalty is worth so much more. Disgusting way to treat a loyal customer. Balti international it is moving forward!

Went to Shalimar for an evening with the partner and from the moment we walked to the moment we left we were looked after. Normally have the same things from a curry so asked for a recommendation and I like my spice so the lamb speciality was perfect! Starters well presented and the automatic robot is a nice touch 👌🏻 Highly reccomend Shalimar if never been, continued to be high quality and will most definitely be coming again using my gold card!

Ordered a takeaway delivery 3 different curries all looked the same asked for tandoori chicken in one was definitely not that and was stone cold waste of £50

I had booked an evening table for my daughter's birthday and I wanted two large balloons to be placed above the table, and to have the cake brought out after the meals. Jimmy was really helpful and assured me that he'd take care of everything, and I should not stress; he said he’ll keep the cake in the fridge and bring it out only when I indicated to him. When I and the family arrived, a staff member greeted us politely and gave us a warm welcome and showed us to our table. The venue was very pleasant and clean; we all felt very relaxed. All the staff were smartly dressed, spoke very politely and made us feel special. The service throughout was service with smiles all around! Even though I'm not a hot & spicy food fan, the menu had so much choice, for vegetarians and different meat lovers, that I was able to choose a good starter and a main. My only niggle was that there was a limited choice of beers, especially alcohol-free ones, but that was not a big problem, it’s good to try different things. Throughout the evening, the staff, especially Shahzad (Jimmy’s son) were very attentive though not so much as to make us feel uncomfortable. They were friendly and pleasant. At the end, when I discretely let them know, Jimmy, Shahzad and another staff brought the cake out, and sang happy birthday to my daughter - she was pleasantly surprised. The venue was great but the restaurant could do with a bigger car park, although after 6pm street parking is available. Other than this, I was amazed how clean and fresh the inside was, even the toilets were immaculately clean! If we had to highlight just one thing from our experience, it would be how friendly, helpful, polite yet professional the staff were. I would say, this is the best restaurant in Derby.

Shared chicken tikka masala for two and was plenty Calm atmosphere and friendly staff

Exceptional restuarant with a food service waitress robot in attendance a clever and interesting touch .The staff are courteous & attentive throughout, first time fish curry for me which was really excellent, all of the experience ,food, service and restuarant the best i have experienced...Make sure you visit very soon.

An enjoyable meal at Shalimar with friends. We've since seen there are a few different deals floating around that can make your meal cheaper, but I did find the meal expensive compared to other similar restaurants I've been to. Despite this, the staff are friendly and the atmosphere is nice which I guess comes into the pricing. The food was fantastic and I couldn't fault the taste in any way. I would definitely recommend it here but maybe check if there are deals available first.

Absolutely fantastic evening, food and service excellent as always! Ash and his team are amazing! Food is probably a little pricey than some Indian restaurants but you definitely get what you pay for! We've tried probably most the Indian restaurants in Derby and this one never fails, and this is always the restaurant we go back to again and again as the quality is always top notch!

Went while they had the 4 courses for £20. Probably one of the best curries I have had! Really enjoyed it and the waiting staff where very friendly and professional. Gutted we didn't have enough space for dessert 😆

The curry here is very good, but if you do not arrive before 7:30 you don't qualify for the 2 for 1 offer and £22 per main dish is grossly overpriced (by about 100%!). So they join the ranks of Midland Road curry houses that are just not worth the prices they charge. Don't get me wrong, the food is great.

Had a delivery on a Monday evening as our local Indian takeaway was closed. Ordered online and paid with CC. Ordered at 8.30pm and the food arrived at our home in Oakwood at exactly 9.30pm -which is when they said it would arrive. The onion bahjias(2) were a little chewy, the veg samosas(2) were good and the chicken tikka ( we shared one) was superb and a large portion size. I thought that at £29 this was more than we usually pay at other take-aways. Would use it again.

Excellent food and service. The quality of the food is always excellent. My grandson enjoyed his chicken korma -nice that they offer child sized portions for children. He tried my seabass and now is a lover of seabass! The staff are always welcoming and happy to serve customers of all ages.

Ash was amazing, his service was impeccable and his recommendations went down really well- thank you so much!

Really impressed with this place. The food and service were the best in town. Thank you very much for a splendid night out

Lovely food, large portions. Friendly and welcoming staff. Great place for family or business meals. We come here often and have never been disappointed. Great banter with our server Jimmy, top bloke.

Absolutely fantastic food in a lovely restaurant with wonderful staff. It's pricey, but you're getting what you pay for! Jimmy did an exceptional job in making us welcome as well as checking up on us throughout our stay.

The staff were so polite patient & it was so clean fresh comfortable the food amazing the flavours were on point unfortunately iv no pictures of my food from last nights vist will definitely be returning & I'll be taking a few cheeky shots of my delicious food to post for you guys.

Jimmy was fantastic host he is a star...look after him shalimar...he a top man...

Ash and team were amazing,top notch food and service,very much recommend shalimar gold

Best restaurant in town, Shalimar Gold Such lovely staff food is amazing Know them for years, 😊

Exceptional food and fabulous service. The flavours and quality of the food was sublime. By far one of the best curry’s I’ve had in the UK! 100% recommended

Definitely succulent food well flavoured and fresh Staff very attentive and nothing was too much for them Being disabled they met all my requirements and above Service with a smile all round I would more than remend They're definitely achieving what they set out to do

Amazing food and really superb service. I am very impressed. Paul and the team did a super job looking after us. Super curry sauces and meat so tender and well cooked. Also spices balanced and nan light and fully fluffy. I stopped eating curry out as most places in the area are average. This is a first rate place. Well done and thanks, you earned a repeat customer! Back today and still amazing. Came back today, amazing! Back again today, always amazing. I love a proper curry and these are always spot on.

Disappointed having a takeaway after dining in several times. Chips undercooked. Biryani tasted like warmed up old chicken with plain rice Nan Doughey and cold, Bag damaged on delivery.

Took my sister here for a treat and have to say the service was more than expected from start to finish...even from the robot waitress bringing our food from the kitchen to our table was great....that's right, robot waitress 😍 Thank you Shalimar Gold

Food was good. Service was very good too. Overall a nice experience. However with 4 curry restaurants and a Gurkha restaurant with a 5 minute walk I’m not convinced the high prices will sustain this restaurant. There were 2 of us, we had 4 poppadoms, 2 curries, 1 Nan bread and 1 rice and a bottle of wine, came to just under £100. There was also a spurious £6.95 added to the bill, after querying it, this was removed. Not sure how it happened as there was only about 8 people in the restaurant. When we left at 8.45, there were only 2 people left. Probably best for a special occasion.

Really nice hospitality and really nice food saved by a robot absolutely amazing, highly recommend this restaurant👍🏻👍🏻

Fantastic service and food for our group of over 40 people. Thank you Shaz and your team.

SG is the best restaurant in Derby Food is amazing so are the staff Been going here for years, Good friends of mine, as I am so good friends with all the staff their

In Shamilar Gold there's a waiter named Jimmy With a smile so bright, he's always so friendly He serves up the drinks with a flick of his wrist And in between orders, he's known to reminisce One day he told a tale of a roof so high Where he once climbed up, reaching for the sky With a quick wit and a charming grin He makes every customer feel like kin. For Jimmy the waiter is more than he seems A true love guru, fulfilling dreams In this bustling world, he shines bright A beacon of warmth and light.

Fantastic restaurant, service and food top tier ... honestly would come back to Derby just for the food here. Amazing!

Shalimar Gold is a beautiful restaurant! We had an early dinner and the Shaz team provided amazing service! The food was very good and plated beautifully. We have been to India many times and this was very authentic. Yum!

Excellent service and felt welcome upon entry. The internal decor is very tasteful. The food is excellent. Highly recommend. Will definitely be visiting again.

This has become my regular go to restaurant when I have a party or special occasion. The team are fantastic and the food is incredible. Thanks

From the moment we entered we were very impressed with the restaurant, we asked the waiter for recommendations to suit our different spice tolerances and we were really pleased with the dishes served. We had the kebab selection for starters which were really good. The mains were lovely. The lamb and spinach dish was unbelievably tender and the chicken chilli dish had been tempered a little to suit my guests palate. Mushroom pilau was very good as was the recommended garlic and cheese naan. Oh and the food was delivered by a robot which we found hilarious.

Amazing as Always! Hats Off to the whole team; the food was delicious; the service we find always brilliant but they made our night extra special for our 40th Wedding Anniversary yesterday by going over and above to make it a wonderful experience so a Massive Thank You to you All at Shalimar Gold, and a special thank you to Jimmy. See you again soon Jim & Diane

Another fantastic evening at Shalimar Gold! The staff we wonderful- so attentive; and the food was fresh and delicious too. A perfect way to celebrate our anniversary. Thank you!

Omg what planet are their prices on ! 🤯😱

Cool place with a robot waiter 🥰🤩. Friendly staff and food was great

Absolutely fabulous food. Beautifully cooked and a lovely range of flavours across different dishes. Staff were polite and attentive. Thank you to the team at Shalimar Gold.

Had a take-away Chicken Tikka Masala with rice and peshawar naan. Good prompt service and arrived hot. Decent portion but the chicken was dry and the masala sauce was bland and tasted as if it had been watered down. You could see the water on the plate. Disappointing really and not the usual standard.

By far the best Indian restaurant around this area, the food quality and flavours were wonderful, the prices are on the higher side but you get what you pay for! We can't wait to return here, highly recommended, you will not be disappointed.

Food quality and quantity is absolutly poor and served us 2 starters in one plate.too expensive not worth spending

Enjoyed our takeaway as always,we will be ordering again, and would recommend Shalimar Gold to any one seeking a lovely indian meal .

Visited here with my other half for an evening meal and was amazed with the whole place, staff were very welcoming and friendly. Food was exceptional and worth every penny. Restaurant itself was very clean and beautifully decorated with intimate or more open seating to suit. My other half was obsessed with the robot that followed the waiter to serve the food

Great food and a warm welcome despite not visiting for some time. Jimmy's team are always excellent. ,

The best Indian restaurant around highly recommended

Excellent service and excellent food. Would highly recommend

Lovely food, excellent service and nice clean restaurant. Thoroughly recommended

Went on the 3rd January 2024 great service and food. Jimmy really looked after us

Have come out for a meal to shalimar and the hospitality and customer service wow food beyond the limit best in derby had the vip table can't wait to come back .overall the restuarant deco wow

We ordered a takeaway which arrived within the allocated time. The pickles and poppadoms were ok but the curry was really poor. It was so pale in colour and tasted more like a Chinese style curry (very bland) We will stick with the spice lounge as it’s on another level, plus £6 cheaper !!!

Another faultless meal from Mr Akhtar and the team. Only place I’d go for a curry. Sublime

This is a very nice place with lovely food. The staff really look after you too. Overall, great experience for couples or groups. The gold card is a great idea too as you get 50% off couple dining for a whole year!

Ordered a takeaway costing approximately forty pounds. Two hours later it hadn’t arrived. Rang restaurant. Told it was on its way. Forty five minutes later no food! Rang back. Told it had been delivered, left on doorstep an hour after ordering and doorbell rang. We have a ring doorbell, we were all in the front toom near the front door, yet we had heard nothing, it also alerts my phone when the doorbell is pressed. We viewed the camera footage, guy had dropped food on doorstep, and attempted to ring the bell but hasn’t connected so we were not alerted. He had scurried straight off immediately without knocking on the actual door or waiting to see if it was opened. The food was freezing cold of course. Not to mention the fact that every Rogan Josh I’ve ever eaten has been red! This was yellow?

Delicious and incredibly fresh food. In fact, I think it's the best Indian food I've ever had. No exaggeration.

Very disappointing service...ordered online and over an hour and a half later still no food when we called the restaurant they just said they were busy and hung up...definitely won't be using again

Very decent curry but this is Derby, not Dulwich! Rather expensive for the East Midlands.

Loved the robot waiter ! Food …… excellent thank you Mein host and staff fantastic !! Come on over here You’ll be made so welcome ❤️

Top place, quality guaranteed 👌

Have amazing chicken bhuna and other dishes. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys a curry. Ash and team are perfect hosts with a warm and friendly welcoming soon as you enter the door. Excellent service throughout dining. Can't praise enough.

Excellent food and attentive service. I can recommend the excellent Rajistani Lamb Gosthi with Roti Thanks to Shaz and his team

Excellent ambience, great service, and remarkable taste. Of note is Jimmy who made our visit an unforgettable one.

Everything was great, food staff.....especially Jimmy, who chattered with us about night life in Derby in the late 70s and 80s. There robotic waiter was a good addition and defernatly got everyones attention. I'd highly recommend visiting there and I wont hesitate to go back on my next visit to Derby. Thank you for making our evening so enjoyable.

Probably the most elegant Indian Restaurant in Derby ! If you want chandeliers, waiters wearing dark suits and white gloves.A ROBOT bringing your order to your table,.then i suggest you come here to eat ! BUT, if you want good food and to pay half the cost,. then i suggest you DON'T come here to eat. I have had much better and tastier food in similar places much cheaper in NOT SO GLAMOROUS Indian restaurants !!!

After a day at the NEC and on route back to Beverley East Yorkshire this is the ideal place to stop for one of the best Indian restaurants I know, a little out of the way for us but we’ll worth it. Four hungry blokes, to start with we had a sharing plater of our favourite onion barges and lamb cutlets both cooked to perfection. For mains we all had different dishes but once again full of flavour presented well and very enjoyable. Jimmy and his team do a first class job In every way along with a robot also assisting bringing the food to the table, I forgot her name but it’s a nice touch. All in all a very good experience excellent food and very attentive staff.

Rip off Indian. I visited this nicely decorated restaurant but when I do the prices , I was totally shocked. We decided to stay to avoid embarrassment to us and them. The food is nothing special and way, way over priced. It’s a rip off. There are several good restaurants in Derby where you can dine for half the price. The was good but nothing worth paying £24 for a curry. Sorry I am not going to be ripped off again. I will not visit again

We're always made welcome. The food, service and ambience is 100%. If there is a downside, it has to be price, however, quality will always come at a cost, Believe me when I say that, it's good value for money.' Will be seeing you soon.

Very nice, but has to be the most expensive curry I've had in a while.

This is an unreal place, everything is served hot and the staff are unbelievably polite,friendly and tend to the customers with ultimate care! Excellent would highly reccomend!

Best host ever. Jimmy Team, great bants, fab atmosphere. Definitely worth a visit. Would come back again. Food was great too

Stopped in on the way home on a whim, they put together a table of 12 for us and the hospitality was great! Good fun and jokes with the waiters such excellent service.

Our first time at this restaurant in Derby and it wont be our last! The whole experience was fantastic. The food was excellent. The staff were brilliant and very helpful and very friendly. The thing thst made this restaurant very special is tge robot waiter! To finish our night the robot came along to our table singing happy birthday to our friend along with the waiters joining in and delivering a slate with cakes fruit and candle on. He was most surprised! It was brilliant! Would definately recommend a visit there. 10 out of 10!!

My partner and I had a lovely dining experience at Shalimar Gold restaurant. Our server Jimmy provided truly hospitable service, attentively looking after us all evening. The entire staff worked incredibly hard and were happy to accommodate our request to box up our leftovers to take home. The food was full of rich, bold flavours that impressed our palates. We started with perfectly spiced samosas and refreshing tandoori chilli paneer. Our main courses of chicken jalfrezi and garlic tandoori lamb were complex in taste and abundant in portion. At £115 for two appetizers, mains, and drinks, the prices were on the high side, but we felt it was worthwhile for the high-quality service and food. Shalimar Gold provides a full experience with excellent hospitality, scrumptious Indian fare, and polite staff who go above and beyond. We will gladly return again and recommend this restaurant for a special night out.

The best curry house in the Midlands, we would not go anywhere else to celebrate a special occasion, Jimmy looked after us as always , the food is always spot on , The salmon lazeez was just impeccable and the children's options are great , our 2 love a curry anyway! Fine decor and fine dining in luxurious surroundings , staff very friendly and polite , can't do enough for you , can be more on the pricey side but option to purchase a goldcard to cut costs , you will not be disappointed. The robot server is another reason to come and see what Shalimar Gold is all about

Not only was the food amazing and the portions generous, the service was absolutely outstanding! From the minute we walked in, they greeted us, sat us, put our napkins on our lap, refilled our water without having to be asked, cleaned up the crumbs on...

Food was lovely but the service from Jimmy and the team was superb. They made us feel very welcome with friendly but also professional service. The cat was an unusual surprise and the birthday song from both the cat and staff was a lovely treat!

Just like to say if your looking for authentic Indian cuisine, this is the restaurant I would recommend. I have tried many Indian resteraunts over the years but this is the best food every time. All the staff are always welcoming. Jimmy is very accommodating with helpfull advise, tweaking the menu for your perfect meal and very friendly with it. Thank you