Review: The Viceroy, Buntingford
The Viceroy
Date of visit: 28th July 2012
I bet you all think that I spend my life eating out, well
maybe just a little. Saturday evening
was no exception. It was a group of six
of us that went to what is usually our favourite Indian restaurant, The Viceroy
in Buntingford. I went there fully
expecting to give them a raving review, unfortunately as you will read that was
not the case. We called a couple of days
ahead to book, to make sure we have a table on arrival. When we got there, they have placed us in a
very awkward place, and the person on the end, kept getting knocked by the
waiters and other patrons going to use the toilets. Normally from the time we arrive and till we
leave we have a great time at The Viceroy, this time we found the service to be
very abrupt and almost trying to rush us. They have changed from offering a variety of
beers to only offering one type (can’t remember the name), you could have it
draft or in a bottle. One of our guests
ordered a bottle and the other two men had draft. The bottle beer tasted soapy (we all had a
taste), the draft was ok, but nothing to write home about. The ladies had two bottles of the white house
wine (reasonably priced and the taste is pleasant), I always ask for another
glass with ice, as I like very cold wine.
I had to remind them three times to bring me the ice. We ordered poppadoms for starters.
 |
| Condiments that go with the poppadoms, always tasty |
As they arrived and we were still trying to
settle along with a bit of chatter, they already wanted to take our mains
orders. By this time I had barely had a
sip of my wine. One of our guests was
still eating the starters and the waiter asked if we were finished and started
to clear away (it was very ovibous that we were not), we had to say quite
sternly that we were not and stopped him from clearing away. I don’t
know why the felt the need to push us as the restaurant was not over flowing
and it was still a reasonable hour. The
food is always good at The Viceroy, you can’t fault that and they are one of
the better priced Indian Restaurants in our area. I managed to find a link to their menu, click on menu.
 |
| Onion bhaji |
We ordered a variety of dishes for mains, as you will see
from the photos. But every time we
ordered chicken they suddenly wanted us to order organic chicken (a new thing
with them). As David said later at home,
he wanted to ask “organic as opposed to what, rubbish chicken, you should only
offer the best”.
 |
| Bombay aloo and mushroom rice |
When they brought a
plate of mushroom rice that they forgot to bring in the first instance the
waiter lent over David while he was trying to eat to hand it to another guest
at our table, nearly knocking his knife and fork. The company was brilliant, the food good but
the service ruined the whole evening, our waiter I think had just arrived in
the UK and could hardly understand what we were saying. They gave us their complementary cream liqueurs
for the ladies and brandy for the men, but did not bring for one for one of the
ladies, I had to ask for her and tell them that she was actually in her twenties. Normally with the bill we used to get
chocolates and small liquorish flavoured sweets, not this time, even though
they kept them right behind us on the counter.
The whole evening just felt awkward, and according to our others guests
they had the same experience the last time they went there. Our bill for six of us including drinks was
£123.00, not bad at all, one of the reasons we have gone there so often in the
past.
Overall Experience
I think we will be on the lookout for another Indian
Restaurant to become our regular. To me service is as important as the food.
53 Hight Street, Buntingford, Herts, SG9 9AD
Tel: (01763) 271307
Rating Guide
5 Stars - Perfect
4.5 Stars - Exceptional
4 Stars - Excellent
3.5 Stars - Very good
3 Stars - Good
2.5 Stars - Average
2 Stars - Bad
1.5 Stars - Very bad
1 Star - Dire
As one of the party of six I agree, a great evening with friends with good food but the service leaves alot to be desired. The service was very pushy trying to rush through our courses but why? the restaurant wasn't even full. Didn't like the table position and missed out on our complementaries at the end of our meal. I for one won't be going back in a RUSH!
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