Myself and some friends went to Arif's Palace in Moseley. The restaurant appeared to have some character as the building looked attractive from the outside. Unfortunately, stepping inside, it seemed that we had been transported to an Asian Fawlty Towers circa 2012. The decor was dated and they had tacky furniture and cheap pieces of 'ornaments'.
Appearances aside, the food was atrocious. Upon being seated in an empty restaurant at 6:30pm on a Friday, we were subjected to stale poppadoms. We stated to the waiter that they were not fresh and he ushered the manager who then tasted a poppadom and feigned disgust. We eventually got some fresh ones, dripping with oil. Starters were a huge disappointment- the minced lamb sheek kebabs were overcooked, the tandoori fish was pale and undercooked and the chicken tikka was inedible.
The mains arrived after over 45 minutes. Alas, it was not worth the wait. The chicken karhai was terrible. Really bland. The naan were ok but the salad was pathetic with a measly tomato and shrivelled lettuce.
Overall, we were not happy with Arif's White Palace as the menu prices did not reflect the food quality. Not a fine dining experience. read more