Royal Indians - BALLARAT CENTRAL

We had a banquet for three which started with a very nice samosa. The Chicken Tikka that followed on a sizzle plate was a beautifully tender drumstick each, but under spiced and an unappetising grey colour. As usual in many Indian restaurants, this was topped with a chiffonade of raw onion, capsicum and carrot - why on earth do so many do this? No-one eats that and, if it needs garnish, why not coriander which would also add to the flavour and high-notes?We had a butter chicken which was not well balanced - too much tomato, too sweet. We had a beef vindaloo which should be very hot and soured with vinegar but seemed to have been dumbed down for perhaps Australian tastes, and a strange but nice potato pattie dish in a slightly underwhelming sauce that seemed to be mushroom, but one couldn't quite tell. There were the usual accompaniments of papadoms (quite nice), raita (very nice) and a spicy mint relish (utterly delicious and very more-ish). The naan we had was Pashmiri, stuffed with dried fruit and coconut and had a very unpleasant smell of saponified fat. Perhaps the ghee had soured and turned rancid. I couldn't eat more than one bite, but my two friends ate theirs.Dessert was a deep-fried cheese-base dumpling in a sweet sauce. It was spectacularly delicious and reminded me of old fashioned English dumplings in golden syrup sauce.Great service (we were the only people in the restaurant), substantial serves (it was, after all, a banquet-style, so we didn't leave hungry), several of the wines were out of stock, and an overall pleasant but not brilliant experience

On an overnight stay in Ballarat and just happened to find this place when walking about for a quick dinner. So glad we found it. Service was very attentive and food is amazing. We had entree and 2 x mains and all were excellent. Asked about how much heat we'd like and they were spot on. Would highly recommend and will visit again next time in Ballarat.

We have been here a few times and it has been spot on every time. The curries are perfectly balance between spice and flavour. This place is on par with Melbourne Indian restaurants. We will be back.

An undiscovered gem in Ballarat. Very tasty food with excellent friendly service. A definite return again venue.

Today we stumbled upon this restaurant and decided to try it out. When we asked for recommendations, every dish suggested turned out to be delicious. We began with the Onion appetizer, followed by the Chicken Puran Singh and the eggplant special. The freshness of the ingredients and the perfect use of spices were evident in every bite. We will definitely be returning to this restaurant.