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Hours
Sun
5:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Mon
5:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Tue
5:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Wed
5:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Thu
5:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Fri
5:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Sat
5:00 PM - 12:00 AM
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Ratings and reviews
4.0
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Food and ambience
Indian, Asian, Balti, Bangladeshi, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options
Can a gluten free person get a good meal at this restaurant?
Details
CUISINES
Indian, Asian, Balti, Bangladeshi
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Halal
Meals
Dinner, Late Night
FEATURES
Delivery, Takeout, Reservations, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Table Service
Contribute
4.0
322 reviews
Excellent
208
Very good
34
Average
21
Poor
17
Terrible
42
Valerie Buck
9 contributions
Dec 2024 • couples
We ordered a meal from Essence on NYE but when my partner collected it we quickly realised the order was wrong. After speaking with the restaurant staff We were promptly offered a new meal which was cooked very quickly and was amazing as always. We totaly understand that this was such a busy evening for the restaurant and thank them for being so helpful to us.
Written January 1, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MedusaAlli
177 contributions
Nov 2024 • friends
Four of us enjoyed a delightful mid-week meal at Essence.
We hadn’t dined-in here for a while (but we have had lots of great takeaways from here) so it was great to see owner Amin and his team were still as attentive as ever when we arrived. A lovely warm welcome.
The food was excellent with high quality ingredients, tweaked exactly to our liking and very flavoursome with beautiful presentation.
The opulent décor inside the restaurant also creates an upmarket yet relaxed atmosphere.
A great evening - highly recommend. We will be back.
Written November 28, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MICHELLE MCCLUS... M
3 contributions
Sep 2024 • business
I would just like to say a very big thank you for all you did for us on Thursday 😊 it was lovely to meet you
The food was absolutely amazing (everyone said that was the best meal they had out of the 3 different places we ate), the staff were also all brilliant and very helpful
When we return is September 2026, we will definitely be looking to do the same again
Honestly 10/10 you were all fabulous
Written September 23, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dayln
Redditch26 contributions
Feb 2024 • family
Not been here for a while and now I remember why! Service was a bit slow, The food itself was ok but the portion size was not worth the money, one meal wasn’t cooked properly and was taken back to be sorted which was ok at first. Asked for the bill and we were charged for the meal to be changed, one meal wasn’t eaten so asked for it to be put in a doggy bag, we were charged for the container that it was put in!! Staff were ok but the manager’s attitude stunk!! Told me that all restaurants now charge for containers??
I will never have a meal or take away from this place again
Written February 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew D
1 contribution
Dec 2023 • friends
Ordered curry , unfortunately they gave me a portion you could put in a tea cup.
Curry also cold when served along with others in my party.
Perhaps they kind of think , these people are drunk and wouldn’t realise , REALLY
get a grip and serve your customers good honest food that is HOT . Terrible experience will never use again.
Written December 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pat K
Redditch4 contributions
Nov 2023 • family
Last Frid, 17th Nov was my husbands birthday so my daughter booked a meal at Essence for 9 of us including my granddaughters 2 year old. I ordered a chicken balti. It was so hot that I had to add the yoghurt dip to it to cool it down but I was unable to eat hardly any sauce. I also noticed that one piece of chicken tasted different to the rest. Not unedible but obviously precooked. After a while my little great grandson started to get miserable because he was getting tired so his parents decided to ask for the food to be put in containers so that they could take him home. The attitude of the waiter at this request was disgusting. Very rude, he said it was a lot of food to put into containers!!What would he prefer--that they stay with a tired, miserable child annoying the rest of their customers or just getting on with packing the food up for them. When they arrived home they discovered that only part of the meal was there?We had gone out to have a nice meal celebrating my husbands birthday and it had been ruined by the waiters attitude.We hadn't been home long before I was violently sick. Needless to say we won't be returning to essence. I think the chef needs to learn the difference between a vindaloo and a balti and that the waiter concerned needs to learn some manners !!!
Written November 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
thebillums
2 contributions
May 2022 • none
My wife and I visited Essence of Bengal for a wedding anniversary meal and as we arrived at 5pm we were greeted with, "I know we open at 5 but no one ever arrives at 5!" We ordered 4 Papadoms for starters which duly arrived with a pot of onion and a pot of sauce, followed by 4 pots of chutney. Little did we know that these are extras, which we didn't order (£3), nor did we know that the onion and sauce pots were charged separately. All in all our 4 Papadoms came to about £7 which is way too much in my opinion. The main came and went after quite a wait, which leads me to the cheesecake I ordered which arrived frozen. Unable to eat it, I mentioned it to the water who actually rolled his eyes and tutted! Although I wasn't charged for it, the whole experience means we won't be going back again.
Written May 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gemma H
1 contribution
Aug 2022 • family
As a family we rarely order Indian but for a treat over the bank holiday we ordered from essence. Turn up at our allocated time - waited 20 mins. Get home chicken instead of paneer. I accept this May have been an oversight / mistake no issues with this in itself but it’s always when things go wrong you get a true idea of a restaurants customer service. Person answering phone basically asked what we wanted him to do as his delivery driver ‘had just left’. We explained we wanted a refund on that dish as I didn’t want to eat half an hour after my family. After some hesitation waiter finally agreed but as long as I drove back and took the unwanted curry…. Whatever for I’ll never know. Not even so much as an apology. Real shame - used to be hands down best Indian in Redditch. I was genuinely shocked as to how poor our experience was tonight.
Written August 29, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Essence O
One side off the story yes agreed you order an possibly waited being bank holiday was a busi night, You called an immediately we replied with an apology at the time we knew there was a over sight on that meal we said an your husband agreed to pick another one and my staff actually said keep the order wring meal too. He then had the Chef cook the other meal for you and about 10 minutes later you called saying you want a refund now at that point the second one was allready cooking and almost ready, My staff only was honest with you when he replied back saying all the drivers are out an it would be a wait before any one drops it that is why you agreed to pick up but then later you want refund you should off just said at first point... Anyway you came in and we refunded without any discussion we was too busi to argue any facts. But why is it half a story.
We still believe we try our best to provide the highest level off service but for some its just not good enough anyway thank for sharing.
Written August 30, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
River
Redditch49 contributions
Mar 2022 • none
Came here as my mom invited me. I hadn't had a curry in about 2 years due to issues when I had one last (not from this place). But I decided to give it a go, the service was a little slow, and I couldn't buy any of my own drinks because you have to spend at least £10 to pay by card which is just stupid, the drinks aren't great, the coke/lemonade etc is just in bottles from supermarkets on the shelves, so it's not cold, should be on draught. I had a Lamb Rogan Josh, if you took away the Lamb, it was actually quite nice, but the Lamb itself was that tough it was inedible, and the portion was a little small. Dessert however was nice.
Written March 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wayne
United Kingdom3 contributions
Jul 2021 • none
My wife and I went there for my 63rd birthday following a recommendation from someone. Food was tasteless mush, couldn’t even differentiate between the onion bhaji and vegetable pakora. The chicken tikka was dry and tasteless. Not surprisingly the main course was no better. Even the naan bread was cold and dry.
I have 40+ years’ experience of eating Asian food, many of which were when working around the West Midlands in areas such as Moseley, Aston, Allum Rock and Nechells. I know what a curry should taste like. I suspect that the starters are mostly pre-cooked. For the main courses at this place I suspect that they prepare one large pot of curry sauce, pre-cook most stuff and reheat it and pour curry sauce over it. They then garnish the dish with a few bits and pieces to make them look special. It was the middle of the week with very few customers so they can’t make the excuse that it was a packed restaurant and that this was a one-off. We left most of the food and went home – couldn’t wait to pay the bill and to get out of there.
Written July 9, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Propa
Birmingham29 contributions
Oct 2022 • family
Not a bad curry here to be fair, and lots of choice on the menu. Service is slow and the they love to push the drinks it seems. The portions are small and I’m no massive guy. Your curry comes in a separate dish and when you transfer that to your plate you realise that you don’t have much there , and as for the rice, that’s even smaller. But over all nice meals that we all enjoyed.
Written October 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FushNChips
Christchurch302 contributions
Apr 2023 • friends
Came here with a friend for a curry & naan. Nice restaurant with a pretty extensive menu, it’s a shame nobody seems to do Dal Makhani over here as that’s probably the main vegetarian curry dish in New Zealand. I opted for the Tarka Dal instead which was very pleasant, a good portion size although you have to order the rice separately. My rice was quite hard and clumpy, other than that everything else was very good. The poppadom’s had some beautiful accompaniments and the naan was delicious. Staff were friendly and attentive, thanks for a great meal
Written April 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maxine S
5 contributions
Nov 2023 • family
Absolutely outstanding from the minute we arrived. Very friendly staff who couldn't do enough for you. There were seven of us and we all had something different to eat. Every single dish was amazing and we'll presented, I tried a salmon dish for the first time as I wanted to try something different and I wasn't disappointed it was amazing.
This will be our Indian Restaurant of choice from now on. Highly recommended!!
Written November 4, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Zoef1ferrari
Redditch27 contributions
Mar 2020 • none
We booked a table for last night for 4 adults and 1 child (Friday 6 March). When we arrived it was fairly busy, but not full. We had to wait a few minutes before being seated whilst they pushed 2 tables together that was right by the bar area and where the bring the food out. They told us not to sit on the end chair as we would be in the way of them going back and forward!! It appears that they have tried to cram in as many tables as they can, which to be honest made it appear cramped and squashed. On several occasions my chair was knocked by the waiters bringing food through. We ordered our drinks and then our food order. We didn't have popadoms or starters just main courses. We sat for an hour and no food had arrived. We asked one of the waiters and he said it would be a couple of minutes. After 10 minutes more we asked again and they said it was on in the waiter's hands on its way out. We gave it another 5 minutes still nothing so we asked for the bill for the drinks and said we were going. The manager came over and said "because we didn't order popadoms or starters we had to wait as it is on a first come first serve". This excuse is unbelievable and disgraceful. My husband went to the bar to pay for the drinks bill and the manager did not even apologise and actually turned his back on my husband!! We ended up getting a takeway and didn't eat until nearly 10pm. We were out with friends and it completely spoilt our night. Hence, we will not be going there again to eat. The way it came across, it seemed that there were only interested in the customers spending as much money as possible on all courses and drinks and the customer service was appalling. I would not recommend this restuarant to anyone.
Written March 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MdAminEssence
Thanks for your kind review...
That most off taken sometime to have put together.
Anyway you come to a restaurant an ordered just mains people order popodoms an starters so they dont see that waiting time so chef have time to prep an cook....
ITS THE SAME FOR EVERYONE.
it's obvious you will be waiting for food to be cooked we cook only Fresh food that takes time.. And serve as a policy first come first serve with that fact off some dishes may take longer to cook then others....
We don't serve food that are pre packed if that's what you want ,then I agree you shouldn't come here.!!!
We did apologise an also Manager did say His going to have it dealt with straight away himself But you didn't give a chance to do so...
anyway some people now days Have all the time in the world to attack a business by social media... WHY.
You could off just spoken to us but instead its all about trying to give but reviews. How many times have you given a good review...
ANYWAY WHERE EVER YOU GO ENJOY YOUR FOOD.
BUT GOOD FOOD TAKES TIME TO COOK.
OR MAY BE McDonald's better for you fast. ITS FAST FOOD.
Written March 8, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Steve Foster
Droitwich186 contributions
Jun 2020 • family
Reading reviews on here so damaging to an amazing balti and as far as my family and I are concerned the best in the midlands. We have used here for many many years and during this time experienced one problem with food. Amin the owner wasn’t in that particular evening he was contacted on his night off meal refunded and a sincere apology. In fact on our next visit personally came over to reiterate this. If you want good consistency with food don’t read the rubbish on here. It is a small kitchen they do there best and yes you can wait but in my opinion when it arrives the food is identical everytime, piping hot fresh and had another take away this evening as good. Ordered for 6.30pm arrived 6.28pm to collect paid and back in the car in 3 minutes. Well done amin and staff during very difficult times you are doing a sterling job.
Written June 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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