The Jafflong

The Jafflong is one of Dartford's longest-running Indian restaurants, established in 1987 on Spital Street, the parade running off Market Place between the Orchard shopping centre and the bottom of Hythe Street. The restaurant trades the traditional British-Indian and Bangladeshi menu — the operator explicitly rejects the fusion and contemporary direction many newer Dartford openings have taken, sticking to the long-format tandoori, balti, biryani and chef-special list that built the shop's following. The full licence and air-conditioned dining room sit alongside a busy takeaway counter, and the kitchen serves halal-marked dishes through the week. Aggregated reviews are mixed across multiple decades of trading history, but local loyalty remains strong and the Jafflong name still draws a destination trade on weekend evenings. Opening runs from five to half past eleven Monday to Saturday, with a long, quiet build through the evening rather than a sharp dinner rush.