This weekend, we dined as a family at the “Spice Lounge” in Rugby, which is a popular Indian restaurant. While the food offered is generally excellent, the restaurant isn’t without its issues. About 18 months ago, I reviewed the restaurant and commented on long wait times for food service. It seemed that online orders were the priority for those dining in the premises at the time. Would I notice any improvements during this follow up visit?
The staff at this restaurant are pleasant and friendly, they are always eager to ensure a good dining experience. However, my issue lies in the fact that while many staff members are on duty, they all seem to be juggling multiple tables simultaneously. Unlike other restaurants, it’s challenging to determine which waiter is overall responsible for your dining experience. This disjointed approach makes the experience feel less personable, even though the staff do try to be attentive in their own way.
The biggest problem, however, is the extremely long wait times for food. After an hour of waiting for your main course, no one has voluntarily updated you on its progress. You have to prompt them to find out where your food is. We also encountered some oddities, such as staff clearing tables before the party had finished eating and a basic order for a lager shandy requiring explanation.
The popadoms and dips/sauces were good and timely, but the long wait for the main course made the overall experience too slow. It seems like many of the issues we encountered on our last visit persist, including a preference for preparing the online orders and slow service to those dining. We lost count of the number of online/takeout orders rushing by while food to all tables appeared rare and slow.
When our main courses did arrive, the food quality was excellent, and our table was packed with food for the five of us. My biryani and keema naan were both delicious, and all the party were complimentary of their food dishes. My only comment was that while the majority of dishes were delivered at the same time on a loaded trolley, one part of my biryani was delivered five minutes later. Not a major issue as I ate some of my naan bread while waiting, but it would have been good to all arrive together.
The allocated table/booth was roomy enough for five of us, unlike our last visit when we were squeezed around a table clearly meant for four. This time, the space to eat was very comfortable which was appreciated. While we would definitely still go back, it would be pleasing to see restaurant diners given equal priority to online orders. It should be noted that we visited at peak time on a Saturday evening, therefore it may be better at other times.
The overall bill for the amount of food and dishes we ordered was reasonable for five people, and the décor and atmosphere were also good. An oddity, though, is that when you get presented with the bill, they always expect you to go to their bar area/desk near the front entrance to pay. For restaurant dining, you would normally expect to settle at the table, and this likely relates back to no single lead waiting looking after your table.
Would I go back? And was the overall dining experience better than our last visit?
Without doubt, we would go back as the food is excellent and the restaurant has to be recommended. The service experienced was definitely better overall this time, as we had a decent table, but the issue remains that restaurant diners wait far too long for their courses, with online orders and takeaway prioritised. If only they could improve on the table service, the restaurant would be excellent overall.
Service
Food
Overall
Original review is here. (Feb 2024)
