This place came highly recommended from a colleague of mine. I love Indian food and was eager to taste "the best Indian food" he had tried in Newcastle.
LOCATION:
The location is in a quiet little street that has a few restaurants around. We came here on a Friday night. On our way there, every restaurant seemed busy which is a normal thing for a good restaurant. Location seemed ideal for a hidden gem.
ENVIRONMENT:
When we arrived at Vujon, we were the only people there. A waiter greeted us without even saying hello and directed us to our table. The room seemed pompous and outdated. Big chandeliers, expensive silverware and tableware, large curtains and cold customer service. The room was silent. This started to feel a bit awkward.
SERVICE:
The waiter, short hair with glasses, was so cold and bored that we felt unwelcome immediately. He didn't know the special of the day, "it's whatever the chef feels like serving", he didn't have any recommendations and didn't even pour water in our glasses, just left a pitcher on the table. A second waiter that came to take our order, was more friendly but we could a) barely hear what he was saying, b) never ever smiled. I felt sorry for him but you don't put someone like that to interact with customers. The first, rude waiter was roaming the room with his hands crossed in front of him which felt very uninviting. We genuinely felt he didn't want to be there and he was doing us a favor for serving us.
FOOD:
We ordered a Tandoori mix grill starter, Kashmiri lamb shank, Tiger Prawn curry, naan, raita and saffron rice and pistachio kulfi for dessert.
The Tandoori mix grill was just OK. Tandoori chicken was by far the best, salmon was dry, prawn was way over cooked, lamb was not that great, onion bhaji was great. The complement yogurt sauce was nothing special.
The Kashmiri lamb shank had good flavor, the sauce was nice but the meat was chewy and it smelled too much for my taste. Lamb has a wonderful subtle taste if cooked properly and great,fresh lamb does not have such an intense taste.
Tiger Prawn curry was way over cooked like the starter prawns. The curry was good but had big pieces of either orange rind or lemon rind which is bitter if you bite into. (And I did)
Naan was great to scoop up all the goodness from the sauce.
Yogurt sauce was extremely sour with liquids floating on top. Maybe it was just made but it seemed like it needed some more time to settle before serving. The taste was more tangy than I would have liked.
Rice was good and had a nice aroma.
Dessert was nothing special. Pretty bland taste with a mint jelly.
OVERALL:
Eating out and experiencing food has evolved a lot throughout the years. We no longer go out to stuff our faces with food. We want a nice experience out in town, at a nice location, great environment, outstanding customer service and most importantly, food that tastes delicious. Vujon failed to deliver on all points that are critical for a great restaurant experience. Vujon seems like a restaurant that used to be great and had great reputation, but something went wrong throughout the years and everything went downhill after that. I would rethink the menu and the cooking processes, fire every waiter, redo the dining room and start a new marketing campaign. Very disappointed. read more