Just went to this place for the first time with my fiancee and a friend who recommended it. For the record my fiancee is a ova-lacto vegetarian, I'm a ovo lacto pesco vegetarian and our friend is an omnivore.
#1 - Terrible service - It took 15 minutes for the waiters, in a not-so-busy timeframe with several of them loitering around, to get our orders for drinks, appetizers and dinner. About 45 minutes later, while several other people were getting their food and drinks we still didn't get ours until our friend asked the waiter about our orders. If another 10-15 minutes went by we were planning on leaving but then, we started to get food.
#2 - Quality - Another issue with deciding where to start, might as well start with the beginning:
- Drinks - The three of us ordered assorted teas. The teas were bland and uninteresting, and my fiancee's still had strange objects floating around in it.
- Appetizer - The appetizer took 45 minutes to show up. We got a mixed vegetarian plate, which was okay. The food was a little cool but still warm and it was tasty, especially the scallop. Oh wait, did I say we got a VEGETARIAN plate, and yet there was a scallop. Thankfully I like those but if my fiance had bitten into it, it would have been World War III. Very disappointing with that.
- Main Courses - Not 5 minutes after we got the appetizer the waiter came back with our main courses. Not even giving us time to finish them, we had to start in the main courses. In a word, the main courses were very bland. My fiancee had a Palak Paneer which tasted like it came from a pouch dinner you get at a supermarket. I tried a pepper and Paneer dish which had no spice. Even our friends disk was very bland.
#3 - Sudden Improvement in Service - After being more than disappointed in the food we caught our waiter and asked him to box our food. Suddenly every waiter and bus-boy was asking if we wanted anything else, if they could get our check, etc. For the first time that evening we were getting prompt service, only it was to shove us on our.
#4 - Price - This place was on the more expensive end. If the food and service were good that would be fine, but this place was like the bad McDonalds of Indian food.
#5 - Decor - The decor was nothing impressive. I did enjoy looking at the wall next to me and seeing bits of food in a unintended artful fashion. Plus the fact that the tablecloth is a paper sheet. Yeah.
#6 - Vacuuming - While in the middle of the long-wait before getting food, one of the bus-boys came over and started VACUUMING the carpet. There was no spill, nothing messy, they were just running a noisy vacuum for no good reason. I can't recall ever being at a restaurant that vacuumed during dinnertime.
In summary, terrible service, lackluster food, disturbing conditions, and finally the food not settling well (let's just say that the drive home involved speeds and a rush into the bathroom).
This place is on the "never coming back" list, and "write a negative review of warning" list as well. Even our friend who recommended this place changed her opinion by nights end. Considering all the far better alternatives in the area (Shalimar's and Lazeez just off the top of my head) this place should be avoided.
A few months ago I introduced my parents to Indian food for the first time at Shalimar's which they loved, I shudder to think what their opinion would be if this was their first experience. read more