Adyar Ananda Bhavan, Sydney (A2B Sydney) — Restaurant in Sydney

Didn’t have a very good experience. Wanted to try this place and went their for the first time. In their portal they give a wide range of meal options and they have mentioned only few items like Gobi 65 etc., which needs to be ordered before 11.30 am. For other items there wasn’t any exceptions, not that they mentioned. But when we go there, it was contactless order system which needs to be done through their app and there were very few items that we could choose from. And when we asked they said we cannot order any indo Chinese or northern Indian dishes between 3-5 but only South Indian and this wasn’t mentioned anywhere before. And we were there before 3, had to wait in line to get in and got in before 3 also. And they said they need 45 minutes ahead of time. I found this very disappointing. To deliver our order took about 40 minutes or more time. Could have delivered the mango lassi and other drinks earlier. And found some food items are way expensive compared to their portion size. Like in their portal they provide a different picture of baadam milk for $6.90 and provide a small take away cup for $6.90. Cheese Dosa was the same, $16.00 but not a very big portion. Vegetable dum biriyani just served a small portion on a plate for $14.00 or something, not served in a biriyani pot like Chettinad India, just served from their display dishes and took more than 40 minutes to do that too. Service was VERY poor. We normally go to Chatkazz, and for the amount we spent here, we spend the same amount, eat couple of things, and haven’t feel dissatisfied ever with them. We always have to wait in line to get to chatkaaz too, but while we wait they give the option to place our orders and that way there’s no nonsense like cannot order 3-5 and hence don’t have to wait for ages once get seated. Their dosas are big and could share generously. So no dissatisfaction for the amount we spend. Here we need to come and find out there are only limited options, have to wait for ages to get the food and find out some items are overpriced and not what they shown. Totally deceiving. Not...

The food is delicious and we couldn’t stop complementing the staff on how tasty the items were and the sambhar was one of the best I had tasted.

However the experience turned bitter shortly after. We had ordered a few take away items and also purchased some sweets at the counter while paying. The lady at the counter handed over the package and I assumed all the items were in the plastic bag. I even asked her if she had included the take away items in my payment and she confirmed that they were.

However on reaching home, I just found the sweets and the two take away itens weren’t there. I called up and the lady I spoke to confirmed that they were still sitting there. They were not at the counter though when we went to pay.

I acknowledged that I should have checked and still requested if they can cancel the order and refund me as I live far and on public transport so can’t return to collect. The answer was (even after checking with whoever she spoke to) : we can’t refund, it’s your fault you didn’t check the items, that there was a notification there that states the customer needs to check their items before leaving.

I get that but oversight happens. So do goodwill gestures of vendors going above and beyond towards customer satisfaction rather than a flat: it’s your fault!

On checking if a credit could be given for future, the response was you can try but there’s no guarantee.

Such is level of service at this place, even if you go the extra mile to appreciate their staff which I did both verbally and also left a tip behind!

The one person I spoke to on the phone spoilt in no time what could otherwise have been a pleasant experience.

To your response: sorry there was no request to collect, we would obviously have collected it if there was! What a lame...

Worst experience.

My family visited this restaurant and ordered a Curd Vada and one mini meals. We planned to eat this first and based on the experience planning to order more. We also purchased takeaway sweets Bombay Halwa and Mysorepak and ate it there. The food wasn't good. We all were disappointed. A2B owners have to improve the quality of the food.

Pros:

Restaurant located in the prime spot Enough seating available Toilets available Ordering through online from table was easier Following Covid protocols Mini meals quantity was reasonable Mini meals Sambar sadham was good

Cons: The guy on the front reception didn't welcome us nicely Near the table not cleaned properly and food spilled on the floor. Staffs are not available to talk. Clearly, showing shortage of staffs. Toilets weren't cleaned properly See the food photos. The pappdam wasn't fried properly. We ate with half fried. Chapathi was so harder and we ate like a rusk. No kurma provided. We didn't finished the Chapathi. They provided Sambar but we didn't know for what reason they provided? Curd rice not prepared properly. Rice lump so many. None of the food hotter Curd Vada was so sweet and very harder to cut it. Not chocked properly. It looks they prepared after the order. Sweets were awful taste especially Mysorepak. No staffs approached us to check everything good. Covid protocols relaxed that time. Compare to the price (receipt attached) the food was below average.

Overall the food and our experience with A2B was not good. I'll definitely visit one more time to taste other food items. As a restaurant owner I understand running a restaurant in this Covid situation is not easy but that shouldn't compromise the service...