Gurkha Cafe & Restaurant

Yum yum yes! Got chicken tikka Marsala which is always a good bet but this one exceeded expectations. As did the ambiance and speed. Would recommend splitting dishes!

The food quality was superb, and the portions were big as well. I ordered the chicken curry, rice, and garlic nun; and I could barely finish everything, that says a lot, since I’m a generous eater. I wish I was staying longer in Edinburgh so I could try some of their other dishes. I really enjoyed the décor, and the soft music.

A friend and I grabbed dinner here on a beautiful night in Edinburgh.
We ordered a chicken appetizer which we thought was slightly bland, so we asked them to turn up the heat on our entrees. And they definitely turned it up!
The Chicken Biryani and Madras Chicken were delicious and we had enough for leftovers as well.
They are not exactly cheap, but hey, we got two meals out of it, so I guess it’s okay.

I am from Birmingham, so I know my curry. This place had it down, The décor was a little spartan but my food was top notch & I will be going back again, next time I am in Edinburgh.

Did not expect such great Indian food in Edinburgh! We’d noticed that curry was popular here, and wanted to see it was authentic.
Saw some overpriced restaurants on Unilocal with bad reviews and chose this place because it seemed to be the most reasonable of the nearby Indian places. Very pleasantly surprised with the food, and would definitely recommend it. The Paneer Karahi is particularly good. Totally hit the spot!

Excellent and authentic Indian food. We needed a break from UK and Irish cuisine and we got much more. Awesome veggie curry and tikka chicken from the clay pot. Naan is a must too. One drawback English not well spoken

This was a very solid Indian restaurant. I was able to find a dairy free curry that was delicious. My daughter had chicken Tikka and said it was great. Good find for those US people who are hooked on the Far East spices.

Gute indische Küche im Herzen der Stadt. Beim Betreten des Lokals taucht man in eine andere Welt, keine Schottenkaros, keine Bierzapfhähne, sondern die typischen nepalesischen Fahnen und das Dekor von asiatischen Hütten zieren das Lokal. Das freundliche Personal ist auch gleich zur Stelle. Die Karte selbst lässt keine Wünsche offen, alles wird hier zu Curry, Tikka Marsala, Khorma und so weiter verarbeitet.
Mein Gericht war mit Huhn und der Spezialgewürzmischung des Hauses zubereitet und schmeckte sehr gut, angemessen scharf. Auch meine Begleitung war mit dem Gemüsecurry zufrieden.

Wonderful Indian Food! Some of the best we’ve ever eaten: papadums, mango lassi, tikka masala, naan… Excellent!

Great restaurant!!! The food was amazing!
I highly recommend the lamb khutta! We will defiantly come back again!

The food is actually nice and worth my 4-​star comment. However the speed they serve foods were really slow. We literally saw this restaurant filled with people but with no food on probably more than half tables. And we waited half an hour for our dishes. If you’re a starving backpacker then you shouldn’t walk in here. Otherwise worth a try.

This was so yummy! Great to have a mix of Nepali and Indian dishes. The papadums were a recommended started for the table. Yummy mango lassi, and super soft tasty tandoori fish tikka. Portion not very big with this one but perfect accompanied with some naan or (yummy coconut pineapple) rice. It was quite busy so luckily we could make a reservation for us 6. the only downside is that we had to ask 3 times for water for the table but I am pretty sure that was just bad luck as the waiters were generally very nice and accommodating.
Will go back for sure, recommended!

Absolutely delicious, everything was perfect! great value for the money. Lovely service. Bestbutterchicken we’ve ever had!

Delicious food. Cute atmosphere with awesome décor inside. Service slightly slow but defiantly go for some yummy authentic Indian/​Nepalese

First off didn’t expect a great Indian food place in Edinburgh so were skeptical of what to expect. This turned out to be a great place.
First off the décor is very homely, rustic and comfortable. Food menu is good and most of the food served — veg as well as non veg is very well made. I assess quality of any restaurant with the type of Nan/​Roti they serve and this one had some of the best ones. Fresh and tasty to eat.
The food quantity was sufficient and had the right spices.
The only reason they almost lost the fifth star was time of service as they are pretty slow. The explanation provided to me was that they start cooking the food after one orders. I will give them that given the tasty food they served.
Good going.

Epic food with curry. It’s a combination of Thai and India. Curry was mostly very mild and not so spicy. A bit expensive probably because of the location, compared to other restaurants that serves curry in Edinburgh.

Came here thanks to the Unilocal reviews and had the best meal out of our whole week in Scotland! We ordered the Tandoori Chicken and the Chicken Korma, with rice and garlic naan. Both meals were delicious! The food took a little long to make it out, but once it was served it was obvious as to why. Perfection. The chef also came out and greeted us to make sure the food was alright. You won’t go wrong here. Plus the 15% off check-​in deal before 5pm is a nice bonus!

My visit to Gurkha Café was an impulse decision made by my stomach. And it wasn’t disappointed!
The food gets 4 stars from me. It offers a great selection, including a nice range of Nepalese dishes and not relying on boring staples or ghee-​laden oily messes a lot of Asian restaurants serve.
I had the Tandoori Fish Tikka. The fish was Catfish, something I’ve not seen on many menus in Edinburgh and have never eaten fresh before. It was delicious, meaty and spices were perfectly balanced. I could have eaten twice as much. I also had the vegetable pakoras, mild but again, wonderfully flavoured. I also ordered the Nepalese Achaar. I wasn’t entirely sure what that was but it turned out to be a mix of root veg in turmeric (I think) and mustard seeds. Very more-​ish! All washed down with a refreshing Nepalese beer, I was a happy customer!
Some (minor-​ish) criticisms are; The interior. It’s a little basic and could do with some modernising to make the place a bit more comfortable and relaxing. It’s also a bit chilly, I was glad I had a warm jumper on! Our waitress struggled to understand the dietary requirements of a Vegan, making ordering awkward for them. However, another member of staff was very helpful and was happy to take questions to the kitchen. All the staff were very friendly and polite.
I’d definitely return for the delicious food and to work my way through their intriguing menu!

All too often I find myself in a predicament. If I am to wander into a coffee shop and catch sight of carrot cake on the counter then I simply can’t have anything but carrot cake. This is both a wonderful and terrible affliction; all other delightful options are off the table but, of course, I am presented with one of my most favourite things in the world. And so, naturally, I judge a café on the quality of it’s finest slice. If you can serve me up some delectable carrot cake, you have my affections.
The korma, for me, is the carrot cake of Indian cuisine; whilst I’ll have a browse of the menu, tell myself that today will be the day for a new dish and even deliberate over various mouth-​watering options, my decision is already made and I am no less satisfied with a plateful of creamy korma curry goodness. So when my friend chose Gurkha for her birthday dinner, you can bet there was just one dish on my mind.
A table of 18 is quite the feat for any restaurant and Gurkha’s service was exceptional from start to finish. We were difficult; unsure of when the rest of the guests would arrive and when it it came to ordering, there was constant changing of orders, and the number of side portions of rice and naan was forever fluctuating. Basically, we were a restaurant’s nightmare but the Gurhka staff couldn’t have been more professional. It was a wonder that they got our orders completely right considering how chaotic we were, but the staff were attentive and this really showed.
If you can resist the Indian delight that is the mango lassi, then I commend you. I ordered one and was presented with a wonderfully scrumptious glass of thick mango yoghurt heaven. Saving some for the meal was impossible and I slurped it down in an instant. It;s safe to say that the Gurkha has perfected the mango lassi and I want another and another and another. The korma… Well, that was a heaven-​sent bowl of creamy warming goodness and I could have licked the plate clean. With deliciously tender-​cooked chicken, accompanied with rice and full-​of-​flavour garlic naan, it made for quite the Indian feast.
I now know where to go in Edinburgh when craving authentic Indian and Nepalese food. And of course; incredible Korma.

Delicious.
Gurkha Café was a nice breath of fresh air amongst the usual mess of Indian eateries. With a Nepalese/​Indian blend of offerings, well-​designed décor, impeccable service and gorgeous food, it’s got something great going for it. The portion sizes were really generous and every single thing was delicious. This is definitely a keeper of a place on my Edinburgh restaurant list. Yum!

Another testament to the power of Unilocal was in our trip to Gurkha Café & Restaurant. Looking for a place to eat a hearty curry or similar in a certain area of Edinburgh, we took to the app to find this place near the top with many favourable reviews — and I can see why. We absolutely loved our meal here, and will be back should we find ourselves hungry for Nepalese or Indian in Edinburgh again!
I looked at available tables on the app, but found they weren’t taking reservations for any earlier than 2 hours time. Starving, but desperate to try this great-​sounding place, we decided to head there anyway and see if they could squeeze us in. We weren’t a terribly long walk from Cockburn Street, which is a great location for such a restaurant — and we managed to just beat the rush for an early dinner. We had bright surroundings, almost terracotta walls and various (Nepalese tourist board approved!) pictures hung depicting scenes from Nepal and beyond. The panpipes and other calming music, coupled with the bright setting, made a welcome change to the often bland curry houses you can find up and down the country.
Friendly waiting staff quickly supplied us with the necessary appetisers; popadoms, naturally, with a pickle selection. There was a garlicky, tomatoey, almost salsa-​esque dip which was just divine; I could have eaten it all day! But I had by this point ordered a delicious sounding Nepalese-​style lamb curry. I cannot remember the name (bottom left of the menu!) but it promised tender meat, chilli, garlic, and «Nepalese spices» — whatever they might be. I don’t much mind what they were, really, because it was absolutely delicious. One of the best curries I’ve ever had in my life, it was full of flavour, with every piece of garlic and chilli adding to a buttery richness in my very happy mouth. I ate the lot (rare for such a large dish!) and mopped up the sauce with my huge, fresh naan.
We were way too stuffed and happy to contemplate dessert, but I’m sure they would have been just as good. Great value too, as with beer and mains (plus popadoms of course) we only paid around £50 for the two of us.
Worth every penny, and then some!