Himalayan Gurkha

31 Church Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1JT 01892 527834

This restaurant has a lot of fond memories for my wife and I.  It was the first place we ate at in Tunbridge Wells after moving here and failing to find any of the kitchen implements in the hundreds of moving crates.  It was also the place where we held our pre-wedding meal for our friends and family, and coping with all those fussy eaters and have them all leave the place with a smile on their face is no mean feat.
Forgive me for being a creature of habit, but when you're in the presence of a gastronomic legend you daren't eat anything else for fear of missing out on it (luckily my wife is on hand to test everything else on the menu).  I'm talking about the chef's special, the Bheda Gurhka Masala cooked in its special Himalayan sauce, which if my taste buds are correct, tell me that it has possibly been good friends with a can of Heinz Tomato Soup in the near past, but don't let that put you off.  It is utterly deliciously delicious.  In fact, twinned with a sada naan, which is the best naan bread this side of Kathmandu, for dipping purposes they might as well kidnap your taste buds as you probably won't want to eat anything else for a while.
The staff are always perfectly polite, no doubt years of refinement from dealing with drunks ordering four hundred papadams and the hottest thing on the menu, and the price justifies itself for a cheeky take-away every now and again.
We have been to a certain other Indian restaurant in town, which obviously fancies itself as a Michelin contender and frankly it was awful.  Give me my flock wallpaper, rock classics played on a sitar and ice-creams served fresh from their plastic screwball containers. A proper English Indian.
My wife tells me that the other dishes they serve from the menu are just as good as number 23 (now number 18), if only I could bring myself to order them. 

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Comments

[Simon and Wendy Davy]

Wendy and I ate here on a Friday night in March 2008. The food was simple but tasty, the staff were excellent and we enjoyed finding the special dishes we hadn't eaten before. Prices were ok and although it's not the greatest restaurant ever, we loved it and are going back this weekend.

[John Hayes Fisher]

I read this first review ages ago and it made me laugh then as it does now. Its my birthday next week so if its open on Sunday we are all going as a family (Wife & three boys and myself)for a slap up supper!

[John Hayes Fisher]

Oh dear. I really dont want to write this...maybe the chef was off because it was Sunday lunch (where they offer a 10% discount) but both my wife and I were really dissapointed with this. The food was not on the generous side and really 'sloppy' was the way I would describe it. A lot of sauce and not much substance...meat to you and me. Last night we had a supermarket curry from M&S. Far far better! Sorry but we wont be going back.

[natalie and ant]

we were extramly happy with our meal here. we have returned quite a few times and the standard of the food and service was brilliant. we are going to be taking my mother and farther for their wedding anniversary as a treat as we enjyed all our meals here look forward to eating here again soon.

[Alan Bullion]

I walked past it this week and it has now closed!

[manny]

Signs in window seem to suggest they are having a refit, if they have been closed since July as the previous comment would suggest a fairly lengthy one I guess.

Manny

[Niki]

The Himalayan Gurka Restaurant is fantastic. The food was out of this world and the service was exceptional, quietly attentive and very helpful

All of the dishes were fabulous, fairly spiceee and extremeleee mouthwatering. To start we had: Jhinge Puri and Meat Momo. For mains: Kukhura Gurkha Masala and Kukhura Chhoila, accompanied by Sag Alu, Himalayan Gurkha Bhat and a Sada Nan. And for dessert: their Rice Pudding.

We had a marvellous evening, enjoyed the meal immensely and the fellow diners, all, it would seem, regulars, seemed to be smacking their lips with eager anticipation . . . a nice touch was the complimentary Gurkha Rum at the end of the meal

I shall look forward to my next visit. A gem of a restaurant and highly recommended