Review Royal Eatery - Brunswick East

Located in the iconic laygon street brunswick, presenting the highest quality Indian cuisine along with the best service @royaleaterybrunswick , Offering a wide range of the most succulent and traditional Indian dishes. Every dish that came out of the kitchen on our table spoke of a story, a tale of joy and wholesomeness- all dipped in the choicest gravies and the most aromatic spices. The restaurant is spotless and tidy, with plenty of space both inside and out.We had Palak Chicken, it was fantastic! Fragrant, tasty, lovely chicken, and it looked wonderful. We also chose Navratan Korma and the Chefs Special Biryani. We also opted for the mixed grill tandoori platter that came with the special Aloo tikki for starters. Something that just can’t miss here is The Dessert, Shahi Tukda..crispy bread dipped in sugar syrup and Topped with Saffron Milk. The portion sizes were good, with each dish served in a copper pot to ensure it stayed hot and the perfect presentation was enhanced by the fabulous flavours of each dish. Having sampled its delights it is easy to see why this restaurant is so popular with local residents and if you haven't tried it yet you are missing out on a treat.

Been meaning to eat here for a while. The restaurant is recently under new management. There are still signs of settling in (alcohol isn’t on offer yet and the menu doesn’t line up 100% with the web site), but they’ve made a good start. The food was very tasty. We ordered family favourites, including one that’s off-menu, and we enjoyed them all. Flavour is good, and spice levels were reasonable. Pakoras were a highlight — the best we’ve had. Rice portion is generous. We ordered vegan for the whole table, and staff were very helpful in accommodating. Looking forward to a return visit or ordering takeaway to work our way through other parts of the menu.

Delightful customer service with sensational tracks pumping the room gently full of upbeat atmosphere. The food was quick and hot with fun flavours that will melt on you tongue faster than the ink of the so generously provided paint pens will touch the table cloth.

A dining experience shrouded in honesty and good intentions serves as the perfect night cap for weary travellers. Good food, great service and some cheeky colouring pens for the paper tablecloths if you ask nicely. I can’t wait to come back to Royal Eatery.

Was a really nice friendly experience. Food was good and they accomodate my daughter so well. Very friendly staff and a big pour on the glasses of wine! Also super clean and nice atmosphere. Think we’ve found our new local.

I usually prefer to eat fast food... But because it was my birthday I decided to eat Indian. I ordered food and after waiting 1 hour ( the time is correct) they cancelled my order... I'm extremely hungry on my birthday... Thank you so much for making my day.

The food was absolutely wonderful, from preparation to presentation and lovely customer service. The owner and the staff are very friendly. Royal Eatery is one of the amazing place where u can enjoy the real taste of Indian food.

It is a large dining area so in winter a higher heating temp is required. Food was excellent samosa, goat curry, Dahl, saffron rice, naan. Service also was excellent......... Just a bit chilly

I picked up the order myself and when I got home I noticed the rice was missing (it was quite a large order so I couldnt see until I got everything out). I called the restaurant and the lady over the phone hung up. On the second called she said they would deliver rice to my home in 5 minutes. After waiting for 15 minutes I called again and she actually said that the rice had been provided and therefore implied I was lying. I spoke to another person who said that they couldnt deliver it and if I wanted rice I had to pick it up myself. I explained it was raining outside and was dark and cold but it didnt make a difference. I finally picked up the rice and didnt receive an apology nor a refund. <br/>It is ok to make mistakes when it is busy but the attitude and lack of customer service is inexcusable. The arrogance and unprofessionalism of this team is incredible

The waitress keep on forgetting what we wanted. The QR scan code for contactless dining did not work. They did not<br/>place contact tracing method. There was not a form to put in our details. The waiteress was not wearing mask since this restaurant is in the hot spot of Covid19. I ordered chicken methi and asked for spicy but turned out to be very bland. The onion bhaji was not hot and it’s cold when it was served. There’s no proper cutleries. Overall the service & food is not great at all. Please do consider coming to this restaurant as they are not following what the WHO wants us to do in curbing COVID-19.<br/>

Restaurant used frozen cut vegetables from Woolworths to make Veg Kurma. If I wanted to heat and eat frozen food, I could do it myself.

Love kadai Paneer and biryani.

Very Good tasty food and Supportive staff !!

Very nice well decorated restaurant with nicely behaved cooperative stuffs.. Interior and food both are awesome.

The tikka masala butter chicken is not satisfactory. The sauce is more like Chinese 'sweet n sour', and hardly a curry at all...it is also quite spicy, not mild. The rice has also been overcooked, it has lost its bite and its flavour washed out through over-cooking. I have eaten from here before a couple of times. Something has changed and the authenticity of indian food Is missing. Disappointed. as I've recommended this restaurant to other friends as good in the past. I am not comfortable paying for the item rice and the chicken tikka butter masala , which should be re-titled 'chicken 'sweet n sour' (asian style).

Fresh and tasty butter chicken.

Consistently delicious. Try it all. Nice to find s good local Indian restaurant!<br/>Can’t understand why it always seems empty but no bother, there’s always a booth and a friendly smile.

The photo (there are two naans not captured in the photo) is what you will receive for value of $53.8 as adversed on Groupon. Actual value up to $30 based on the menu. Argued with the owner about this, but he insisted to give me half portions, which is totally not mentioned in the groupon and not indicated by the advertised original value as well. How could we even know there are half portion types with nothing said on groupon or their menu. And their lunch specials are half portion as well! which is also not mentioned on the blackboard, so basically no discounts at all, maybe even worse value than what you pay for non-specials. Used to love this place, but would never return after this, this is not how you run a business, at least respect your customers and do what you advertise, rather than misleading people to get their money.<br/>And I waited for an hour!!!! in the restaurant for my mini size food, because even they open at 11am, the owner won't show up till 1.30pm.

The worst service i have seen. I doubt they know what restaurant means. I tried to give zero but Zomato wont let me do it. Not worth a penny

This is GOOD indian. Whilst the restaurant is huge, it's kinda cool & fun kicking back in the big red booths with fun Hindi music. The samosas, lamb vindaloo was beautiful & the eggplant curry alone I would come back for. The prawn curry was a let down as the prawns were baby ones & it needed veggies or something else in the rich gravy to break it up. Sad to see this joint so empty as service was friendly too.

Had the garlic prawn curry with the cheese naan, my friend had the lamb vindaloo. We also got the vegetable biryani to share and vegetable samosa. Our first time here and everything was so delicious. Will definitely be back again. Yum!

Just finished some takeaway from Royal Eatery. Great to know there's some good Indian in the area. Got a chicken tikka masala. Perfect. Asked for medium and that's what we got. Good level of spice and sweetness. Dahl and Naan were good too. <br/>Was only in there for a second but the ambiance was nice and could see myself dining in. Friendly service too.

Don't let the fact that Royal Eatery is often empty put you off, the food here is simply outstanding. <br/><br/>I have had takeaway from here several times, and the food is consistently delicious. The goat curry was packed full of flavour, with succulent meat falling off the bone. The naan bread is particularly good, and even the samosas were among the best I've had. <br/><br/>I couldn't recommend Royal Eatery more highly. It's great having Indian food of such high quality available locally. The staff are lovely too.

We live close to this Indian restaurant and have walked pass it several times in the past few months, and every time, it is empty, or only has 1-2 tables occupied. We thought it must be empty for a reason and thus never considered to even try this place. <br/>However, ironically on Australia Day, we decided to check the reviews on Google, Facebook and Zomato, and discovered (to our surprise) that everyone loved the food!<br/>We were the only two in the entire restaurant during lunch time (well, it is Australia Day...) and we ordered tandoori chicken (half), goat curry, garlic naan and plain bread and WOW! How could this authentic Indian place be so empty all the time??? <br/>The tandoori chicken was juicy and full of flavours that paired well with the sauces that came along with the meal. The curry was small when it came but with rice and naan bread it was very filling. The two of us almost couldn't finish it! <br/>The curry was flavoursome and not the usual overpowering coconut milk and water in food court Indian places found all over Melbourne. And the naan bread??? Highlight of our meal. Nothing needs explaining, the garlic naan is perfect. <br/><br/>We'll definitely come back with friends and family next time!

Phenomenal Chilli Garlic Naan, never thought fresh chilli can punch in such amazing flavor! When ordering Malai Kofta as spicy, I should have been warned that the dish's is sweet. <br/><br/>Not really a review for the restaurant but I have to mention that the hostress was extremely pretty

Lovely restaurant, a bit unnerving to see how empty it was (and unexpected) considering how delightful the meals and overall experience was! We had a kind and attentive waitress. Ordered the mushroom taka tak entree, butter chicken curry (mild), Goan fish curry (medium), gulab jamun and kulfi. I cannot fault any of the dishes; the curries had a fantastic kick of spices, and the for someone who hasn’t tried any Indian desserts previously, I was blown away! Im looking forward to going back sometime soon!

Had a pretty nice night here. The food was definitely good and a wide range both meat and vegetarian. We had Somosa Chat for entre which was fabulous and then our curries were pretty good as well. Staff super friendly and happy to help.

Ordered delivery and never got my food. I tried calling and there was no answer, and it was then after closing time. I would rate zero if I could

Great Indian food, only had take away but is quick, its cheap and delicious food, so all round I would recommend it. There are lots of good restaurants in Brunswick but this one is a favorite for take away

Thoroughly enjoyed every dish especially the kulfi dessert, also the decor was very nice and the service very friendly. I will be back again.

Awwww, Poor thing! If this place were a lost puppy, it would need petting. It is usually deserted and looks even more so because it is one big open space. <br/><br/>I have to say, however, that as a big fan of indian cuisine and finding myself mostly diappointed with what passes for it in Melbourne, this place is really rather great. That is especially the case if you like your curries to actually be curried rather than  the bland creamy soup most Melbournian indian food tends to be. I had the Lamb vindaloo and it was well spicy and extremely delicious. Our garlic naan was also very tasty and my wife enjoyed her chicken tikka masala and started talking about coming back again and what she is going to try next time before the meal was even over! The freshly made mango lassis were also the best I have had in Melbourne.<br/><br/>It wasn't perfect - we wanted the lamb cutlets as a starter but they had supposedly sold out despite the fact that we were surely their first customers of the day (the week?!) so we had the tandoori prawns and that is something I can strongly advise you against ordering, ever. 6 shriveled and overcooked items resembling fingernail clippings were served on half a chopped up raw onion. The fact that we left very satisfied despite that culinary abomination must testify to how fantastic everything else was! We're actually going back again this week!

We had great takeaway from here recently. Staff were very accomodating about following up on a previous 'not so great meal', the product of an off night, which they did with an unexpected complimentary (and delicious) next meal. This means we will happily go back again next time. Also, the garlic naan is very good - fluffy, very flavourful with fresh garlic and never dry.<br/>

I have been to this place a number of times and the dining experience has been fairly consistent. This restaurant has nice decor. This is one of the ONLY 2 GOOD Indian restaurant on Lygon Street. Quantity of food is generous and the food tastes very good. So far I have tried Biryani, Palak Paneer, Butter Chicken, Malai Kofta. Kulfi (dessert) is a must try. Do checkout their Facebook page for great deals. I hope this place continues to serve good Indian food for a very long time.

Great new Indian restaurant in Lygon St. Staff and owner very friendly and good was delicious. We had onion bhajis to start with followed by a lamb vindaloo - extremely tender meat and tasty sauce. Naan was soft and fluffy and we finished with creamy kulfi.<br/>Recommended and we'll be coming again

Delicious Indian food and very good customer service , chicken black pepper and butter chicken ate my favourites , will surely be back soon !!!!

I really hope that this place sticks around. New on the block, and so far seems to be mainly doing a takeaway/delivery trade but I hope that changes for them because the dining room is comfortable and the service is very friendly, and the food is absolutely top notch. Real differentiation in the dishes, not just recycled sauces with different meats like you get at a lot of other Indian restaurants in the area. This is the best Indian on Lygon St (maybe not the loftiest standard I know), the best in Brunswick (a bit loftier), and keeps pace with anything I've had in Melbourne (there we go). Hats off to the chef, he/she clearly cares about the food and the quality of ingredients.<br/><br/>Highlights we have had to date:<br/>- Saag tadka: loved this, went superbly with the garlic naan as recommended by the chef.<br/>- Lamb saag: quality along with quantity, whole spices and tender lamb.<br/>- Paneer tikka masala: beautiful caramelised onions in the sauce and very tasty fresh paneer.<br/>- Garlic naan: you better like garlic (and butter!) if you order this, but if you do, ohhh boy ... delicious!<br/>- Lamb rogan josh<br/><br/>Minor criticism of this place (from the three visits to date):<br/>- Lighting is too bright! I imagine that they want the place to stand out from the street to let people know that there is a new restaurant open, but it would have much better atmosphere inside if the lights were dimmer. My suggestion would be to maybe add some kind of window treatment along with reduced lighting to make the place look more romantic when walking past and to draw in the punters. This is a great place to eat in and the view from the footpath doesn't convey that — seeing a very brightly lit dining room with only a handful of people inside doesn't scream "come in!" (even though you should).<br/><br/>TL;DR: If you live in the area (or even if you don't), give this place a try. There are far too many restaurants in East/Brunswick that churn out bland overpriced food, where the restaurateur seems to have got into it for the $$ rather than the food. This place is not that. Clearly they care about the quality of the food — I hope that they start to draw in a crowd to eat there, it is well deserved.