Punjabi Pantry Indian restaurant — Restaurant in Victoria

We had a very strange experience here. After 4 days of travel through the east coast, we were returning home. Thought of taking a break from driving whilst using the time for dinner. I am a tea freak! So, picked the first indian restaurant that came on my way. When we entered, the restaurant was quite full. We waited patiently. The staff asked whether we had a booking? In a negative reply, he assigned us a corner table. Again, waited patiently for placing an order. Meanwhile, I was impressed with the staff attention and care to the customers. But who knew that politeness was not for us! They served us entrée, and then asked if we wish to have everything together! We replied yes and had to wait again till the entrée got cold 😂. Then we received the rest of the order, except bread. When we enquired about that, the staff replied impatiently to WAIT. We were waiting!! I was already regretting my decision for choosing this place. The service was superslow like a fine dine, which I believe - was not! We did not order any drink and they did not bother to ask or supplied any tap water! I tried to grab the attention of staff several times, but not sure why we were being ignored! I already had enough! The moment we finished the meal, decided to pay bill and start for home. On asking for a bill, received the same response with a hint of rudeness to WAIT as I was being impatient without a reason. The food was average, and honestly, I could endure that. But the behaviour left me stunt and bitter. The staff need to take note that people passing through the town may come to dine in, and they need to serve faster - sometimes. Also equally respect and treat...

Dined here with a group of four. The interior was spacious, clean, bright & modern - no pastiche Indian decorations in sight. Service was prompt if not a little perfunctory… A selection of entrees to share. The chicken tilkka & tandoori fish were flavourful & moist, the seekh kebab enjoyable but personally I found the meat samosas a little too ‘meaty’ & a little bland. They were quite large and nearly all minced meat inside. The fried casing was deliciously crisp & not oily at all. All the entrees were served with mixed lettuce & a couple of thin sauces which were pleasant. For mains we shared two curries, a biriyani with some naan. We should have selected a couple more curries as the servings were not particularly large. Lamb rogan josh & Kashmiri beef were beautifully spiced, the tender meat bathed in very tasty sauces. The chicken biriyani was delicately spiced & fragrant. We should have ordered some plain rice as well to mop up the sauces with but the naan did a good job of that. Over all the food was fresh, clean tasting, beautifully spiced but not overpoweringly so and each dish had its own distinct flavours - not the bland ‘sameness’ of taste found in many other Indian restaurants. Thumbs up from this fussy eater! Will definitely return here to try the...

I visited this restaurant recently and ordered the following items. Here’s my feedback:

Items ordered:

Chicken biryani Bread Malabar fish curry (later changed to Butter chicken as the fish was uncooked) Lassi

Pros:

The environment was good. The staff were polite.

Cons:

The meat was not cooked properly (both the fish and some of the chicken pieces in the biryani and curry). There was a mandatory $25 per person charge, plus an additional 15% card fee and service fee due to the public holiday, which felt excessive. Raita was not served with the biryani.

Overall, it was not worth the money. Since this is the only Indian restaurant in the nearby area, there aren’t many alternatives.

As I was leaving, I spoke with another customer, and they were also complaining about the uncooked and hard pieces of...