Kayal

Reviews

• Stephen F.

  star star star star star 21 June 2026

  An excellent restaurant. I came here about 5 years ago, and never forgot my southern Indian cuisine experience at this local. Five years later it's still stunningly good. I had Masala Dosa, and tilapia cooked in a banana leaf. The flavors were incredible. The service fast, friendly and willing to suggest if you are not sure what to pick. I will come back again for sure.
  Stephen

• Katherine M.

  star star star star_border star_border 18 June 2026

  Consider myself a bit of a curry snob and stumbled across this place whilst visiting Nottingham with work.
  
  I love Indian food from this region so had high expectations that were largely met to be fair. The service was unfortunately very poor and as a group we didn't feel very welcome. No one was particularly keen to recommend any dishes and we didn't see one smile throughout!
  
  As for the food....this was great quality and no one was disappointed. Good portion sizes at reasonable prices. Not your usual curry house for anyone who is new to food from this region. I'd asked for my dish to be made hotter than usual when in fact it tasted medium strength but I guess that's a personal preference. I'd also asked for something tomato based and yet this was a creamy sa
  
  Overall it was pretty good but sadly for me the service is a huge factor in how you rate a restaurant and I remember this poor service above the quality of the food!

• Beck R.

  star star star star star 18 June 2026

  I've been to Kayal a couple of times now and been mightily impressed each time.
  The cuisine is from the Keralan region of India and its excellent quality and unique flavours have seen the restaurateurs play host to both the Hairy Bikers and Gordon Ramsey.
  
  The restaurant is larger than you first think as it extends on two floors into the back, but its always advisable to book as its full most evenings (weekends at least).
  
  The first time i visited i ordered the Thali which comes as a 3 course meal (which a thali main) and then on my second visit i ordered one of the richest most delicious indian lamb dishes i've ever had.
  
  You cant go wrong as every dish on offer is delicious!
  
  The only difficulty we had was understanding the layout of the menu. Its a little difficult to navigate, so i recommend taking a quick look on the simplified board outside first.

• Joe P.

  star star star star star_border 11 June 2026

  My wife and I popped in here for a quick lunch between Christmas and New Year's 2015 as I needed something tasty and filling before a day out on the beers! Although coming from Nottingham I had never even noticed this great little place before reading about it on a Buzzed article about the best places to eat in Nottingham, and also its top score on Yelp.
  
  The restaurant itself is quirky, if a little old school with wood panelling on the walls and odd little trinkets here and there, however it was very reassuring to see a multitude of awards they have won for top cuisine.
  
  We knew what we wanted, which was the Business Lunch Thali for a bargainous £5.99 which would get us three mini curries, a large rice, big dosa and a couple of chutneys. However this is where I knock the one star off from it being a five, as we weren't given the business lunch menu with the regular menu - so we would have missed it if we didn't know what we wanted in advance. The service also wasn't that fast, which was unfortunate as it made us 15 minutes late for meeting our pals and going out to celebrate the break with some top beers!
  
  The food itself was amazing and incredible value, I'd definitely recommend this place to vegetarians too. Just don't come expecting a Chicken Korma or something like that, it's much too authentic here!

• John D.

  star star star star star 30 May 2026

  I really wanted to fault this place and give some criticism but for me they really nailed it. 5 stars.The prices are very reasonable and the staff seem to have a very good handle on customer service. The food was excellent. Even the fruit juice was great. It's a good spot for a group or a romantic date. Plenty of space. Thanks guys.