Review Planet Spice - Wellington

Do you want the best butter chicken in Wellington? I challenge you to find a better option than Planet Spice. My palate for Indian food isn’t the broadest but in my 48 years I’ve had A LOT of butter chicken and since the departure of Dawaat from Manners Mall (when it used to actually be a Mall) I haven’t found an Indian restaurant / takeaway that tops Planet Spice. Normally I go for a takeaway, and save half for delicious next day leftovers. However I recently had a chance to dine in, which gave me the opportunity to stray from my usual sides of garlic naan, roti or onion bhaji. I went for the lamb curry puffs as a starter, which could almost serve as a meal in itself. Curry puffs, much like spring rolls, are an excellent measure of whether a restaurant cares to put effort into their staples or whether they just stock up on bulk frozen items and deep fry the life out of them when needed. I certainly don’t expect these to be hand made to order, but these puffs tasted fresh and flavourful. Given that I would be eating an entire main after a substantial starter I opted for a lighter side in the kachumber - basically diced tomato, cucumber and red onion, with a bit of spice. This turned out to be a perfect accompaniment to the sweetness of the main course. It may even steer me away from my favourite bread sides in future orders. Certainly a more guilt-free selection. Another essential addition is a mango lassi - perfect to temper any heat and double as a dessert. Thanks Planet Spice for another winning meal.

Every time I’m in Wellington I come back here. I love the tandoor specials- especially the tamarind chicken and the tandoor mushrooms as entree is my favourite. It’s obviously a popular restaurant as there are always people eating here and the steady stream of Uber eat pickups is a great source of entertainment.

Huge selection of Indian dishes, nicely done. Local beers to complement. Not too crowded. Medium spicy was hot to me- all their preparations allow you to specify spice level.

Delicious food and welcoming staff, however, my daughter and I waited over 45 minutes for our meals to arrive and with a hungry 12 year old it wasn’t ideal.

Absolutely delicious. The best Indian I’ve ever eaten. The coconut chicken was divine and melted in my mouth. The stuffed mushrooms were perfect. Great friendly service. Highly recommend.

The service was fast and friendly, best Indian food I have ever had from a restaurant

Amazing place for Kiwi Indian style food, great friendly staff and fast service. Little Planet in Newtown with touch of spices. Would definitely recommend it.

Can't fault this place really. The place is big enough and looks recently decorated. It even has an upstairs. The place is clean and wherever you sit seems comfortable. The staff are, in general, friendly and eager to help though I see they are often rushed and busy. The food is top notch tasty. They even have weird things like a chocolate naan. It's not too expensive and the $10 lunch special is unbelievable value!

Has a good range of menu selections and the food is always good. We usually get takeaway, probably more than once a month, but reciently opted for dine in. Seating is between the entrance and the counter so on busy nights there is a constant stream of takeaway patrons passing your table.

We had a birthday party there and enjoyed it a lot. Nice food, lovely ambience, and welcoming hospitality. Affordable rates for party.

The best authentic Indian restaurant in Wellington. Awesome food, fantastic service. Thankyou Spice planet, you always excel.

Fantastic lunch specials Really enjoyed dining here - very friendly

Love it here. Big fan. Perfect for a medium sized sized family function upstairs.

Lunch special is really good value. Butter naan was super fresh and yum

Ordered delivery and took over 2 hours. They said it was a busy night and delivery option was new for them, but still...over 2 hours?? Ordered around 6.45 with 7.30 as estimated delivery time. Arrived at 9pm. If we had ordered takeaways instead I’m sure it wouldn’t have taken that long. Very disappointed.

We will go to this place again as the food was nice and the service was fantastic. The popadums were a good size. I will be back.  so happy to recommend Planet Spice

Have been twice in the past two months. Really enjoyed the entrees(Chicken Tikka, Onion Bhaji)and the Curries have been delicious as well, I think we ordered the same ones on both occasions, Palak Paneer and a Lamb one that’s slipped my mind. Just to be predictable I think we chose the same Cheese and garlic naan as well, no shortage of either filling/topping there. <br/><br/>Tasty meals, very filling and affordable. Friendly service as well so happy to recommend Planet Spice 👍🏻

We’ve heard so many good things about Planet Spice. Typically “best curry in Wellington”. So we had to give t a try. <br/><br/>We dined I’m on a Saturday night. Nice intimidate space, with Indian music playing. We ordered a beer and a wine. For dinner we ordered the Vegetable masala, Chana masala, a tandoori naan without butter and three popadums. Meals arrived quickly and were nice and hot. <br/><br/>Both meals were enjoyable. The Chana flavour was a touch too tomato heavy. The Masala was loaded with veg, nicely cooked with a little bit of firmness. The flavours were nicely balanced and with a pleasant heat.<br/><br/>The popadums were a good size, on oily and had cumin seeds. Enjoyable. The bread was a tad dry but flavour was good.<br/><br/>We enjoyed our meal. But we weren’t blown away. Staff were very friendly. <br/><br/>

Amazing food. I had a lamb dish and my partner had the butter chicken.<br/><br/>Best butter chicken we both have ever tasted. <br/>My lamb dish was yummy too!<br/>I would have loved some more of there food.<br/><br/>Two other points:<br/>There wasn’t enough rice that came with the meal.<br/>And I wish they were with Ubereats or menu log or another food delivery service.<br/><br/>Clean restaurant. Great service <br/>Well priced, good use of space.

We will go to this place again as the food was fabulous. We reserved a table online but they did not get our reservation. However due to this misunderstanding the staff gave us some free poppadoms due to the mistake. The staff found us a table upstairs but the staff moved us downstairs due to the noise upstairs. The coffee was not very good but the staff did not charge us for that. Overall we enjoyed the meal.<br/><br/>I went again to this place and as per usual the food was outstanding. The coffee was great this time and the service was fantastic. I will be back.

The best sot down Indian restaurant in wellington! The vegetarian set menu is a huge amount of food and great quality. The specials change often and theyre reliably great. Cant believe this place doesnt have a higher rating

service was poor . Would not go back again .my friend and I went for dinner there . we both ordered. My friends order came out but my order never arrived . The restaurant wasn't even busy . will definitely not be recommending planet spice to anyone<br/><br/>

This place has been consistently good for years..... great place to go as a group. Goat dish is beautiful, chefs special chicken dish a knockout. A friend once got a hot butter chicken and even that was exceptional. Recommended.

Usually I enjoy the food here but tonight I ended up binning the takeaway I bought.  It was a medium Chicken Korma and a garlic naan.  The korma sauce tasted like sugared tomato-ish sauce and the chicken was pretty poor quality.  The naan was soggy and undercooked.  I guess I'll stick with Taste of India as their flavours are much better.

Great service good atmosphere and although not the best Indian in Wellington definately great food. Indian food with the option to have wedges and sour cream if you wanted. BYO also.

Had the beef madras and keema naan, was busy but food came out quickly. We really liked the naan bread, which was light, fluffy and delicious. The service was also on point.

Heard so many good things about here from so many people so got a take away one night. I ordered a lamb vindaloo to be made very spicy and the other meal was a mild chicken tikka masala While the vindaloo was tasty enough it was in no way spicy, my friend who cannot stomach spice was able to eat some. The tikka masala was nice but the naan was not good. I will eat here again to give it another chance, maybe it was just a bad experience.

Always busy, great service - almost too quick/hurried, you can't beat the value here. Curry is great for the price, well above the usual "take away" standard. Great cuts of meat two - they take pride in it. best curry in Wellington? No, but it's close. Try the Korma.

Visited for dinner and had a table for six. This place was recommended and had great reviews so was pretty excited. The biryani was average, bit more a khichdi and was quite short grain rice so not what was expected around the table (we had two of these), butter chicken was a bit ordinary, lamb korma was sweet!? That should be a savoury dish but really wasn't. Prawn dish was good. Had a coke and even that was flat as... then we saw the guy throw the empty bottle away so can only asume it was the last of a bottle that had been opened a bunch of times. Overall a bit disappointed with the food. Service was pretty good though. In the future I would walk four doors down to curry heaven.

Best Indian in Welly! Delicious curries and light naan bread. compatible prices and friendly staff. Have only been once so far but will definitely be returning.

Authentic Punjabi Food....Located on Riddiford Street, almost crowded everytime. The owners are humble and enthusiastic. Service is quick. They had a deal of $10 for a limited meal including any one punjabi vegetable, 2 naan and rice. <br/><br/>I ordered Malai Kofta and it was AWESOME!  Naan was soft and yummy. Rice were also flavourful.<br/><br/>Do try this once!

Never disappointed , Currys are consistently beautiful every time . Served hot and fresh.

A great little restaurant and one of the two that we chose (Beijing is the other) when in the newtown area in the evening or doing a work lunch. On two levels it is usually possible to get a table although it can get pretty busy in the evenings. Certainly best to book at weekends. The menu is good, not excessive, but this is one of the few Indian restaurants with a goat curry. This I think is the best of the curries but everyone's different and goat may not be to everyone's taste. It possibly comes from a wonderful halal butcher over the road (also worth a visit). Wine list pretty standard. Service usually good. Kid friendly, good for a quick Indian or group dinner. Probably wouldn't drive across town but certainly a good little restaurant when in the area.

Had a mild lamb korma on Friday and just had to get another one again on Saturday. Beautiful, tasty curry, delicious naan. generous portion, quick and friendly service. Got it takeaway but will definitely come back to dine in some time. Highly recommended! Shame I didn't take any photos.

Great. Loved the food nice staff great time had

Best indian in Wellington, fish makhani is a current favourite but I've always enjoyed my food from here, and have taken many friends and family over the years and no one has ever been disappointed.<br/>Service is great, the kitchen staff really seem to want to get things right for you, and will often clarify just how spicy you want it themselves, rather than sending a waitress to do it.

Disagree with reviewer below about service. They are ALWAYS onto it and quick to take your order when I go in there, anyway always go for lunch and am slowly working my way through the menu. <br/><br/>Can't fault the Butter Chicken and the Goa Chicken, always spot on in fact it's always so good I return at least every month and that's been quite a while. Good work.

Have eaten here many times over the years and the food was still good tonight BUT the service was appalling was ignored for more than an hour and eventually had to remind the staff we were still waiting for meals. Won't be going back.

Our family eat here on occasions and always like it. The food is excellent, never too sweet (something I hate about Kiwi Indian food), great mix of spices, not bulked up with too much onions and so nice folks working there. Newtown is pretty lucky with Planet Spice and Curry Heaven to choose from.

Yes it's good. Really great atmosphere and friendly staff and above average curries. <br/>I've been here 3 times now and I find the food a little unexciting, could do with more spice and less salt and sugar.<br/>There are many curry houses in Newtown and planet spice comes in second to Temptation.

Always delicious , amazing service and just overall an great experience. The butter chicken is the best in all this land and I will continue to return :) Thanks planet spice for being so darn tasty and always willing to give a smile

Easily the best curry house in Wellington. I've been there 8 times now and the only item to disappoint me has been the Peshwari Naans (my usually Naan choice)- but luckily their Onion Kulchas are superb.<br/><br/>The Chicken and/or Vegetable Dheli Daiwala is a smash hit, and their current Green Curry Chili Chicken on Bombay Potatoes and Spinach is unbelievable.<br/><br/>Not since I discovered Mantra in Henderson, Auckland has a curry house in New Zealand reached such standards.

Our most favourite place to get a curry in Wellington, and actually New Zealand for that matter. <br/><br/>My husband and I are absolutely addicted to their Butter Chicken as it's full of spices and flavour. It's actually our benchmark whenever we eat Indian food somewhere else. Unfortunately nothing compares so we avoid going anywhere else for curry now. And I could rattle off a list of Planet Spice's yummy curries...but you just have to go and try them yourself. Mango Lassi's are divine too!<br/><br/>We get their takeaways regularly (even though we've moved away from Newtown now, the trip is worth it) and their banquet meals for groups are the best. There was so much food flowing, and it was great to try things we wouldn't normally order as well as having all the favourite curries of various meats as well as vegetarian to accommodate everyone's palette.<br/><br/>We've always had great, fast and friendly service here and it's no wonder the place hums most evenings.<br/><br/>Hmmm...I'm getting cravings just typing this!

My husband are shortly moving house and will no longer be Newtown and we're absolutely bereft about leaving Plant Spice behind.<br/><br/>In the six months we've lived here we've probably eaten here 7-8 times. Every single time the service has been quick and friendly and the food absolutely divine. And they will do every item to whatever heat level you desire.<br/><br/>If you love a good curry then Planet Spice is the place to be!

We started the meal with Onion Bhaji, Barra Kebab, Seekh Kebab, and Vegetable Kachori. I haven’t had Kachori before. They were three pasties (think small samosa) filled with peas, coconut and sultanas. They were the hit of the four entrees and I’ll be having them again the next time we visit. The Seekh Kebab wasn’t as flavoursome as others I’ve had. The plates came out nice and hot – which was welcomed, as the upstairs area we were dining in could have been heated a bit more. There was a portable gas heater near, which was useful to warm our BYO red wine in front of. Our mains consisted of Lamb Vindaloo, Rogan Josh, Tandoori Chicken and Scallop Balti. The last dish was a first for me and it came with seven good sized scallops. The Vindaloo and Rogan Josh had very similar sauces. They were distinguishable but they were very similar nonetheless. Both were ordered Indian Hot but the vindaloo was definitely hotter. The Tandoori Chicken was moist but lacked additional flavours. The three breads we had (Pershwari Naan, Garlic Naan and Onion Kulcha) were a treat and superbly fluffy. We rounded off the meal with Gulab Jamun and Mango Kulfi for dessert, and sat for another half an hour chatting until we had finished our last bottle of wine. The background music was good and not too intrusive. The upstairs toilet was okay. We had good service from a waitress that chatted to us briefly. She came from Chennai in South India. On leaving I enquired with the restaurant manager about the pricing structure. All the main dishes (apart from the seafood) are all the same price, but the serving sizes appeared to be the same. I find this intriguing, as elsewhere the price of the vegetarian dishes are always a bit cheaper – but not at Planet Spice. Apparently it is “easier to manage and the price differentials average out in the end”. Overall, the food in general didn’t stand-out from other places in town, the breads were very good and the environment was okay, if a little cool for my liking.

I've worked in 5 Indian restaurants. I know what's good or bad. This one is the best in NZ that I have ever tasted so far.

Divine curries. Absolutely delicious and very authentic tasting. Service friendly and quick. Definitely recommended.

The best curry ever to touch my lips. Highly recommended. Plus very good serving size. Wide range of curries on the menu. The lunch deal is AMAZING.