Wow, talk about being torn…read more.
Overall, I'm giving them 2.5 Stars:
1 star for their service! (Service was really awful!)
4 stars for their food! (Food was really good!)
On February 5th, our second to last night in London, I insisted we go to an Indian Restaurant, as I have heard great things about their cuisine. Thanks to Yelp, I found Gaylord walking distance from where we were located. My friend and I arrived at 8pm starving, and there was only 1 family of 7-8 people eating dessert.. it was the tail end of their meal. We were happy to see we were the only other people in the entire restaurant, assuming we could eat and go home quickly after an exhausting day.
A server approached us and took our drink order, we both ordered water and beer. About 10 minutes later, he came back (without our drinks) and took our food order. We ordered a veggie sampler and each our own dish. I ordered a chicken dish and my friend ordered the lamb.
Another 10 minutes went by, and a different waiter approached us to say the veggie sampler was not an easy dish to split and that we should order something else. We didn't mind sharing the sampler, hence the name "Sampler" on the menu. He pushed back and said, " no its really not easy to share for two people, as one of the items is a liquid in a shot glass", and insisted we order another item. Again, we told him we really didn't mind at all, so he left to tell the chef. Famished at this point, we were still waiting for our drinks.
Another 10 minutes go by and they finally bring us some crispy naan and 3 sauces. A sweet chutney, a medium spiced green sauce, and a bitter-tangy veggie sauce with dried lemon. They all were very different from each other, and excellent. I loved all the different flavors. (see photo)
Remember, we arrived at 8pm, its about 8:45pm by now and we are the only souls in the entire restaurant still without drinks. Finally, our veggie sampler arrives. (see photo). And we mention the to the waiter our drinks. He asked, "what kind of drinks did you order?" OK, they clearly forgot, but come on, I didn't want any beer at that point, all I wanted was my bed! He finally brought us the beers.
We munched on the sampler, and slowly sipped our beer. All the items on the sampler were "shareable" if you asked us, even the shot glass. I think our least favorite was the liquid in the shot glass, I still don't know what it was. But everything else tasted great and it was served warm. My belly was happy.
Finally, our meal arrived at 9:20 pm an hour and twenty minutes after we ordered. We were so confused, their sign said they close at 11:00 pm, the restaurant was practically empty when we arrived, so what's the delay?! I have to say, if their food wasn't so good, I would have walked out.
I was starving and exhausted, but let me tell you I was practically licking the last bits off my plate. Remember, we were in an empty restaurant so I didn't care, I licked the plate away!
We left at 10:00 pm, 2 HOURS later! Again, I am torn, they were so extremely slow, and forgot our drinks, plus hassled us about the sample, but the food was good! So I'd say, give them a try if you are in the area, and if you have 2 hours to spare, maybe the service won't be as bad.
Our bill came to £78.86 / $98.91. I'm not sure what the English etiquette is, but would they call an acknowledgment, or apologize or credit towards our bill a common courtesy? That would have been appropriate if you asked us, but we did not get either or.. very disappointing!
Call me "American", but having to wait for a meal for 2 hours in an empty restaurant is not cool!
