Raj Resttaurant Takeaway - Harrogate

Both our starters and Curries were poor to say the least. Only the Nan and rice were of any reasonable standard. However, the staff member we talked to about the quality was very polite and took our observations back to the Chef. Will definitely not be returning.

Draft review of the Dil Raj, visited on Saturday early evening 22nd April 2023 We have been Knaresborough citizens for over 50 years and for the last 30 years the Dil Raj has been the Indian restaurant to go to. Always welcoming and lovely food and they would always listen to the customer and adjust the spice level of their dishes to their liking. We recommended the Dil to our friends and went there on the 22 of April 2023. We had always given glowing reviews, but last night not so, given what we were served ,we will never set foot in the place again! Very short sighted for the owner given that we are Knaresborough citizens who have been coming for years. The quality of the food was appalling. Prices have obviously risen, given the economic climate, but it was clear the owner was more interested in profit making than customer satisfaction; he couldn’t even hire a chef, preferring to cook himself to save money!! He should stick to running a business or get out of it altogether, and leave the cooking to those who know what they are doing!! The standard of service of the people waiting on our table was excellent; we could not fault them; the only good part of the evening. We ordered the sharing sizzling tandoori platter which was just passable. The mint dressing looked like Dijon mustard dressing and was thick and gloopy. My friend and I ordered the chicken Jalfrezi. This has always been excellent; full of chicken. It should look like the attachment. I make it at home and it is a favourite of mine; flavour some and quite spicy. What we got, wasn’t anything like this. We got a small dish of lukewarm muck that had no tomatoes, or green chilli or green pepper, and most of all, you had to look for the chicken!! It looked anaemic and wasn’t even hot in temperature or spice. We complained and told the waiter what we expected the dish to look like and what it should taste like. He went back to the kitchen and arrived back a couple of minutes later with our dishes with a few chopped tomatoes and a couple of green chillies chucked on the top. We said this was disgraceful and that we wanted to talk to the chef. He duly came out and said he recognised me, as he had been here for 30 years. I recognised him as the owner, who clearly wanting to cut costs, hadn’t employed a trained chef, and was doing the cooking himself to save money and increase his profits. He argued with me in front of other customers, justifying his food. Disgraceful behaviour! and not what you do in a public space. He needs to learn manners and that the customer is always right. The next curry we will have will be in Bradford, where they know how to make curries, or I will cook my own because it is a 1000 times better than his!! I wouldn’t touch this place with a barge pole; it has gone down the pan. It really spoiled our evening!!

I met my two daughters for a curry at The Dil Raj Knaresborough Our family have been visiting this excellent restaurant for 30 years and we have never been disappointed. Ali the patron works so hard and has created the best Indian restaurant in Knaresborough. We had the sizzling spicy chicken platter which is absolutely delicious. I urge you to visit this excellent restaurant You will not be disappointed. Angela Turner

Took my son. Restaurant more or less empty should have been a warning sign. Poppadoms and pickle tray...standard no issues. Main course came. Plates cold and dishes which food was in. Curries tasted like they had come from a tin. Chicken was poor and tasted bland and child like portions ie small. At least the chapati was hot. Paid bill and left as was getting the train. Not what I expected from a town center Indian restaurant. Will not return.

We have visited this restaurant many times over the years however after our last two visits we have decided we wont be returning, We visited a couple of weeks ago and thought the meals we ordered were very poor, lamb was tough and curries tasteless along with very poor onion bahjis. we thought the restaurant was just having a bad day and decided to return yesterday, which happened to be Valentines day. The restaurant was busy however they only have around 7-8 tables so not to any extreme. The waiter took our order, and i confirmed 3 times what i wanted to eat, we enjoyed the poppadum's and pickle tray while waiting for our starters to arrive, my partner enjoyed his fish starter however again the onion bajis were very poor again, greasy and powdery inside with very little onion content, We waited a long time after for our main courses of which both came wrong, the garlic chilli chicken was watery no taste and very little chicken in, it also was a potion size to feed a small child, i ordered a naga donner stir fry with rice, i was given donner meat and chips, i explained this was what nether of us had ordered and was told by the waiter that it wasn't his fault as he was on his own, He then went into the kitchen and brought me a plate of donner meat again not a stir fry and told me to take the excess meat home with me. At this point we decided to leave . Unfortunately we will not return to this restaurant due to two very poor meals in two weeks,