Spice Lounge

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#28 of 276 Restaurants in DurhamIndian, Asian, ££ - £££

What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Spice Lounge

Review

At a glance

Open until 11:30 PM

See all hours

Website

+44 191 383 0927Improve this listing

About

Travellers' Choice

2024

Features

CUISINES

Indian, Asian, Balti, Bangladeshi

Meal types

Dinner, After-hours, Drinks

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Halal, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Accepts Credit Cards

Free Wifi

Full Bar

Reservations

Seating

Serves Alcohol

Table Service

Takeout

Location

St Nicholas Cottage Durham Market Place, Durham DH1 3NJ England

Does this restaurant offer free wifi?

Yes

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Order delivery

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Hours

Suggest an edit

Open until 11:30 PM

Sunday

18:00 - 23:30

Monday

18:00 - 23:30

Tuesday

18:00 - 23:30

Wednesday

18:00 - 23:30

Thursday

18:00 - 23:30

Friday

18:00 - 23:30

Saturday

18:00 - 23:30

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4.3

527 reviews

Excellent

316

Very good

111

Average

Poor

Terrible

Emma D

1 contribution

Durham deliciousness

Oct 2024 • solo

A late evening impulse, so was delighted to get a table without having reserved and to be served a beautifully presented and delicious subtly-spiced dish by the gracious & considerate waiters here. A very welcome surprise on a wet and windy autumn evening - thank you! I shall definitely dine here again whenever visiting Durham.

Written 1 October 2024

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Trish H

7 contributions

Feedback

Feb 2025 • friends

Firstly, this is not a complaint, it is just feedback/suggestion. We were a party of 8 attending last night. Our table was booked for 6pm. Understandably it takes longer to serve a larger group. It took quite a while for us to receive our starters. The mains were delivered fairly quickly after the starters. We had barely finished our mains and some of our party still had drinks when we were told the next party was in and we would have to leave. Again, this is not a complaint in any way. The staff are wonderful and the food is amazing. My suggestion is that larger parties should be given extra time as opposed to the usual 90 minutes especially as it had taken a long time for our starters to arrive. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for good Indian food

Written 23 February 2025

madebybritain

3 contributions

As good as it gets

Nov 2024 • friends

Food - excellent - all 16 of us said food was excellent Service - excellent - staff were both friendly and professional Timing - food came out spot on, arrival, starters, main meals, (16 people) to paying bill - 90 mins (but no pressure so could have stayed longer) I changed booking of 13 to 16 only 24hrs before and they still accommodated us - thank you Overall : excellent, we will be back

Written 2 November 2024

Katherine7373

Durham6 contributions

Poor

Feb 2025 • family

We booked a table for nine people two weeks in advance, yet when we arrived at Spice Lounge tonight, we still had to wait while they rearranged tables to accommodate us. Once seated, and after the restaurant had filled up, I had to ask twice for our drinks order to be taken—meanwhile, other diners who arrived after us received their drinks first. The food was decent, but the savings for Durham’s Restaurant Week didn’t seem significant, and the menu was quite limited. I ordered a dish from the specials menu and was happy to pay a supplement, but what I received wasn’t the same quality or style as what I usually enjoy there. Overall, it was a disappointing experience, and I’d be hesitant to return.

Written 2 February 2025

MICHAEL D

3 contributions

Disappointed

Mar 2023 • friends

We are a curry club from our local pub who tour restaurants in the North East once a month, after looking forward to visiting the spice lounge in Durham we all left disappointed. We booked for 8pm and arrived at 7.50pm. Upon arrival the staff were all eating meals beyond the bar which I found to be unprofessional when the restaurant is in service. We were shown to our table which was right next to the bar and left for 20 mins before asked if we would like drinks- not a great start but we persevered. Long story short we booked for 8pm, a disjointed starter service was served at 8.45pm and mains at 9.15pm. As a group we normally allow 1 hour 30-45 for the meal and have taxis booked yo accommodate. On this occasion the main had to be rushed due to the poor service and was hard to enjoy. Having said that credit where it'd due and the food was good, I'd like to give it more credit but I had to leave half of my main. We paid the bill in full but upon expressing disappointment at the service we were told it was totally acceptable, not apology of offer of recompense. We left and all vowed not to return. My recommendation would be avoid unfortunately. Poor service from start to finish and unprofessional management condoning staff to eat meals behind the bar during service.

Written 31 March 2023

Mark

Middlesbrough194 contributions

Amazing food. Fantastic dining.

Jul 2024 • solo

Solo dining on a Saturday evening booked a table in advance which is advisable as this restaurant in very popular indeed. I was shown to a table immediately and given menus, the restaurant is very nice inside and the staff are very helpful. I ordered chicken tikka jalfrezi, mushroom rice and keema nan bread. The food was amazing. The best I've had in durham so far.

Written 4 September 2024

Kerri H

Horsham6 contributions

Superb

Jul 2024 • friends

Fantastic service and food. I have a tomato allergy and the staff went out of their way to make sure I had something I could eat and also checked a couple of times that I was happy with the dish they prepared. The staff were really friendly and so efficient. Couldn’t have found a fault if I was looking for one. Although it’s not in the main Market Square, it was completely full all the time we were there with tables being occupied as soon as the last guests left. Definitely recommend wearing here if you like good quality food and service.

Written 14 July 2024

Tessa B

London169 contributions

Not impressed

Nov 2023 • family

Picked this restaurant as it had great awards. To be honest, the food was absolutely fine. Arrived at 7pm. Table was ready for our group and food and drinks delivered in a reasonable amount of time. Food was really ok but not outstanding. After we finished eating our meal, we were asked if we wanted any dessert, and on saying no - we were prompting issued with the bill. We still had half a bottle of wine to drink but was told, after spending best part of £200 ‘we need your table, you have to go’. In my opinion, this was rude.

Written 25 November 2023

Anna P

5 contributions

Fabulous night for our large group!

Aug 2024 • friends

We were a large group of around 30 (a choir singing at the Cathedral for the weekend) and we had a wonderful evening at The Spice lounge. We provided a pre-order in advance and they were amazing at getting our food out to us swiftly and accurately with no hold ups or hiccups whatsoever. We had the whole area on one side to ourselves and it was a fabulous atmosphere. Akki and his staff were fantastic - so friendly and helpful, and on top of everything else the food was delicious! I would highly recommend The Spice Lounge to any groups looking for somewhere to enjoy a relaxing curry together!

Written 28 August 2024

Marilyn M

Durham115 contributions

Great food

Apr 2024 • couples

We decided to return to Spice lounge after not been there in ages. Friday night 18.15pm We were given a table straight away. The waiter gave us time to choose drinks and food Husband ordered 2 cobras Then Poppadom followed by Seekh kebab and I had Onion bhaji We had mains of Masala Chicken and Masala Chilli chicken With Mushroom Pilau and 1 naan bread Food was really lovely to taste and very filling In my bowl there was too much sauce My husband said the same which is a waste for the chef We paid the bill and went to leave the man sitting behind me had his chair close to mine. So I was unable to move my chair to leave table. I slid along the chair to stand up. On doing so I twisted my left knee and was unable to walk. The waiters were standing next to exit and not one asked if I was alright. As it has turned out I am on my 4th day laid up with walking problems. After a lovely meal out with my husband this has put a damper on our experience

Written 16 April 2024

John528791

Newton Aycliffe32 contributions

First Class Restaurant

Sept 2024 • family

My wife and I had a great meal experience in the Spice Lounge. We hadn't booked and were lucky to get a table. We notice how clean the restaurant was (including the menus) and the waiting staff were incredibly knowledgeable of their menu. The food quantity and quality was excellent, beautifully presented and well prepared. There are plenty of Indian restaurants in the area, but this has to be the best we have visited. Will definitely go again and highly recommend it.

Written 19 September 2024

Keith S

5 contributions

If you want a missions customs service, this is not the place!

Oct 2024 • business

To be fair the food is delicious but the customer service is shockingly bad. The staff are gruff and have a very take it or leave it attitude and the manager was positively rude. Takeaway is probably the only sensible way forward for anyone wanting to sample their food. We certainly shall not be giving them our business again.

Written 13 October 2024

griff2755

Buckinghamshire50 contributions

Little Gem

Mar 2024 • solo

Visited three times this week while working in Durham. It’s not a big place and parties are advised to book but they did their best to accommodate a solo diner which was good. I had a couple of lamb based special dishes which come complete with a potato side and rice. The lamb chop version was particularly good but prepare to get in a mess. Well worth it. Tandoori cookery is precise and my chicken tikka starter was moist as it should be and spot on for spicing. I’ve enjoyed Alishaan in the past but this is much better value and my go to place next time in Durham.

Written 25 March 2024

Elizabeth B

62 contributions

Long wait times for average food

Feb 2023 • none

A whole hour after placing our orders, the waiters finally brought out....the starters! It took a further 30 minutes (long after the starters were eaten) for the mains to turn up. I didn't have a starter so can't comment on their quality, but the mains really weren't worth the wait. A decent amount of spice, but a lot of oil. Could have just been a poor choice (I chose Mushori) though, because my friend loved their lamb dupiaza and the balti on the neighbouring table looked good. The value is good and the portions were decent. The very extensive menu always makes me nervous how freshly the food was prepared, but the naan were tasty. Overall, bit of a mixed bag, could be persuaded to try it again but not when I'm in a rush!

Written 23 February 2023

haylingbeki

14 contributions

Fab find

Aug 2022 • family

We (family of 4 with children aged 12 and 9) arrived in Durham yesterday evening for a stopover on our way to holiday. Wandering the beautiful streets early evening we came across this fab little India restaurant. We hadn't pre booked but the attentive staff quickly moved things around to seat us. We ordered chicken tikka chilly masaalla, chicken korma, chicken bhuna and king prawn balti with sides and drinks. I think this was probably the second best curry meal we have eaten ever (and we do enjoy a curry)! Staff were attentive even though the restaurant was very busy. My only complaint was that I felt a bit watched whilst we ate dinner but think that had we booked then probably wouldn't have been sat in the "non-bookers" table. The meal cost more than we would normally pay for an Indian but was definitely worth it, you get what you pay for!

Written 13 August 2022