I'm reviewing their Sunday buffet here. I've not eaten here on a regular night for years (back when it had a different name). That meal years ago was less than inspiring and I never thought I'd return.
But last Sunday, my regular Indian Sunday buffet was full (twice the price, but always gorgeous, so we weren't surprised it was full as we were late).
We headed into Wokingham and were turned away by one Indian restaurant as they were about to close. And so, we found ourselves stepping into Baranda.
It's cheap. The sign outside tells you it's cheap. £5.95 for the buffet, all-you-can-eat. We were there by circumstance, not because we needed the cheapest deal. We were soon to discover you get what you pay for.
The waiter was very pleasant and helpful. Everything else was dire. It might be my perception, but the smattering of diners present all seemed a touch miserable.
We hit the buffet. For the first time ever at such a buffet, there was no salad nor sauces. Or so I thought. I spotted one table of diners had a condiment set of sauces, like you get when you order popadums. I thought it theirs, and only when I'd nearly finished my food, did I see they'd put the set of sauces back by the buffet (annoying). Definitely no salad though.
'Starters' were flat dried-out onion bhajis and poor lukewarm chicken tikka pieces on the bone.
'Mains' were the minimal amount of options. Plain or pilau rice. Chicken Korma. Chicken Tikka Massala. A lamb option. Sag Aloo and a second vegetable option, and the thinnest, most tough naan bread. The sauces had a nice taste, but were the most 'watery', runny sauces I'd ever experienced, with poor meat in them.
Worst, was the fact that the big metal troughs/containers that contained the food, had no hinged lids. Is that a problem, you might ask? Well, you have your plate in one hand, the big spoon in the other... You can't just flip back the lid and indulge. You have to lift off the lid and put it somewhere. After all, we haven't got three hands. We, and others, could only put the lids briefly on top of the neighbouring containers. This had got messy. And quite off-putting. At one point, there was a loud clattering noise as a lid slid off one container and fell down the back of the buffet.
Like I said, I usually pay twice as much at another place. And I always leave full, happy and impressed. Here, at Baranda, they weren't asking much, but you sure didn't get anything remotely nice for your money.
For their Sunday buffet, I'll give 2 stars, because the waiter was welcoming and some dishes managed a nice taste and they were open through the afternoon. If you're a bit skint, the price might seem attractive. And you'd never need to book!
But it really was very poor, and serving yourself was a very messy chore indeed. read more
