Indian Restaurants in Canterbury: Curry Houses Worth Booking

How to choose between Canterbury's Indian restaurants

Split the decision in two. Curry houses are for a relaxed, filling dinner where the menu is long, the dishes familiar and the bill moderate; modern Indian cooking is for a slower meal where presentation and spicing carry the price. If you are eating after a day walking the city, the curry house usually wins on cost and speed.

Location matters more than it looks on a map. Canterbury's centre is compact and walkable, so a place on or near Palace Street puts you minutes from the cathedral precinct, while a takeaway address out on Broad Oak Road is a different proposition for a visitor on foot. Decide whether you are eating in or collecting before you shortlist.

For anything beyond curry, our guide to what to eat in Canterbury sets the wider food picture, from Kentish produce to the city's cafés and bakeries. It is worth a read if you are planning more than one dinner out.

The Ancient Raj: a dependable curry house for eating in or taking away

The Ancient Raj is the dependable curry house for Canterbury: a long menu, vegan choices the kitchen flags as a strength, and staff willing to talk through particular requirements. Dishes are cooked to order, so the kitchen asks you to allow time, which makes it a better fit for a relaxed dinner than a rushed pre-theatre bite.

Its takeaway arm is unusually well organised for a visitor. On the restaurant's own published terms, collection orders carry a 10% discount, home delivery has a £20 minimum spend before delivery charges, and delivery covers the city plus nearby villages such as Blean, Bridge, Chartham, Fordwich and Sturry. Treat those as current published terms rather than a permanent promise, and note that collection times can stretch to an hour when it is busy.

Who it suits: couples and small groups staying centrally who want a sit-down curry in a relaxed room, and anyone in a hotel or rental who would rather collect and eat in. If you need a table at a set time on a Saturday, ring the restaurant ahead to check current availability and book, since the room fills quickly at weekends.

Kashmir Tandoori: a Palace Street curry house

Kashmir Tandoori appears on Canterbury's Indian listings at 20 Palace Street, one of the central lanes in the city, which makes it an obvious curry house to fold into a day of seeing Canterbury. Being central also means it is easy to reach on foot from most visitor accommodation.

Treat it as a traditional curry house and order a spread of starters and mains rather than a short, cheffy list. That makes it a practical pick for a mix of appetites, and for an early family dinner before the evening crowds arrive.

The trade-off is that a central Palace Street position is exactly where visitors gravitate, so peak Friday and Saturday evenings may fill first. Book if you have a fixed time; otherwise aim for earlier in the evening and treat the walk back through the cathedral precinct as part of the night.

The Ambrette at Canterbury: modern Indian for an occasion

The Ambrette is the modern end of the spectrum: contemporary Indian cooking with English and fusion touches, presented as fine dining rather than a curry-house menu. OpenTable lists it at roughly £26 to £40 a head, which puts it firmly in special-occasion territory compared with the city's curry houses.

It is best for a birthday, an anniversary or a meal where the cooking is the point rather than the fuel. Portions and pacing are geared to a slower dinner, so do not book it when you have a train to catch or a table of hungry children in tow.

Book ahead, and book directly with the restaurant where you can. OpenTable lists service hours, but opening times shift with the season, so confirm them before you build a day around them. For more special-occasion options in the city, see our guide to fine dining in Canterbury.

Dial-a-Curry: a Broad Oak Road option for a night in

Dial-a-Curry on Broad Oak Road is listed among Canterbury's Indian takeaways, so it is the pick when you are staying somewhere with a kitchen table, arriving late, or simply do not want to go back out after a long day.

Because it sits out on Broad Oak Road rather than in the centre, it is not the one to choose if you are on foot and hoping for somewhere central. Order it when delivery or a short drive to collect fits your evening better than a walk into town, and check the delivery radius and minimum spend on the ordering page before you commit.

The honest comparison: The Ancient Raj offers both a dining room and collection, Kashmir Tandoori gives you a central Palace Street table, and Dial-a-Curry is a Broad Oak Road takeaway address. Choose by how you want the evening to run, not by the menu alone.

What you will pay, and how to read the bill

Budget the city's Indian eating in two tiers. Curry houses sit in the moderate range where a starter, a main with rice or bread and a drink is a sensible everyday spend; modern Indian cooking at The Ambrette is a step up, listed at about £26 to £40 per person before drinks.

When the bill arrives, check the sides and the breads. Rice, naan and sundries are where a cheap curry quietly becomes a mid-priced one, and sharing a couple of breads across the table usually costs less than ordering one each. Ask for the total before you add a service charge you did not expect.

For a cheaper night out, our guide to cheap restaurants in Canterbury covers the city's lower-priced options beyond curry.

Booking, timing and Sunday expectations

Book for Friday and Saturday evenings and for any group larger than four. Midweek, a central curry house will usually seat you without notice, while The Ambrette is the one to reserve well in advance whatever the day. Ring the restaurant directly for a same-day table rather than relying on a third-party app.

Sunday service can be shorter or absent, so confirm the day's hours with the restaurant you have chosen before you plan around it. A curry house is not where you go for a Sunday roast in the traditional sense.

Dishes to order, and what to skip

Order to the kitchen's strengths. Tandoori and grilled starters, biryanis and the drier, spicier mains tend to travel and reheat better than cream-heavy curries, which is worth knowing if you are collecting. The Ancient Raj points to its vegan selection, so ask for guidance if you are avoiding dairy rather than guessing from the menu.

At the modern end, follow the set menu or the chef's recommended dishes rather than trying to recreate a curry-house order; fusion cooking rewards an open mind and punishes a fixed idea of what a dish should be. Ask what is in season and what the kitchen is proud of that week.

Skip the temptation to order a bit of everything for two people. Two starters, two mains and one or two breads to share is usually enough, and leaves room for a pud or a coffee rather than a doggy bag you will not finish.

Curry house or a proper dinner out?

Choose a curry house — The Ancient Raj for a sit-down or a collection, Kashmir Tandoori for a table on Palace Street, Dial-a-Curry for a night in — when you want a filling, familiar meal without a big spend. Choose The Ambrette when the meal is the occasion and you are happy to book ahead and pay accordingly.

Whichever you pick, confirm the day's service times and your table before you set out, especially on a Sunday, and decide between eating in and collecting before you shortlist. That one decision does more to shape the evening than the menu does.