If you're into feeling like crap while you eat, Ashoka is the restaurant for you. Nestled on Church Road in Hove, my friends and I excitedly entered the empty restaurant around 6:30pm. Despite there being nobody else in the establishment, the staff promptly started behaving as though they were run off their feet.
When we ordered, we were barked at in a clipped "next" and told we had to first go around and order a main, then our rice, and then any other sides. Since there were 6 of us, this did take a little while. I'm not sure why the server had never realized he could probably just split his paper into 3 sections and put each type of food into their respective section, but someone should suggest this to him as a tip.
One of my friends was torn about ordering a glass of wine, but apparently as soon as food is ordered, all of the menus must be removed from the table. This resulted in the server nearly tugging the drinks menu from my friend's hands. In the end, we asked to keep the menu. However, within minutes, the server had swooped by and taken it to god knows where. I can only imagine that he never wants anyone to have a second drink. Ever.
If you're into 50 Shades of Grey-esque control, there's loads of that here. The server repeatedly moved drinks and dishes around the table, even after someone had specifically moved something for a good reason. Everything was said to us as if we had done something wrong and needed to be punished.
The food was okay. It was curry, and I like ready meal curries, so I am easy to please.
As the meal wrapped up, my friends and I were enjoying pleasant conversation and two men came to clear our plates. Usually when servers clear, I hardly notice that they are there, apart to mumble a thank you. These servers definitely did not believe in being subtle though. They loudly held a conversation in another language, so that we had to raise our voices and talk over them.
Upon receiving our bill, we noted that there was a 10% service charge on the bill. However, this was clearly not deserved, so we went about paying for our food and were going to discuss the possibility of a tip among us. Instead, the server stood immediately next to us, asking for more money even though we'd paid what was listed for the meal. Awkwardly, we tried to ignore him, but he did not take the hint. Ultimately a friend pointed out that we would sort out a tip on our own and he finally left us to it.
We ran out of there and never looked back. read more