Swaad Indiai étterem — Restaurant in Budapest

After years of frequenting Indian restaurants in the Arab Gulf and India, my wife and I know a thing or two about Indian food. That makes us a pretty critical pair when it comes to enjoying it. So when we saw the accolades being continually bestowed upon Swaad for a while now, we felt compelled to check it out. Our thoughts? For a restaurant that frequents the basement of a pretty banal street in district XIII we were impressed. Decor was unassuming and basic, clean and cheerful. Space was very small but intimate. But all of this seems a very unassuming place for what comes next - the food. Menu featured the "usual suspects" - biryani, dal, raita, nan bread, and lassi to name but a few. Food was presented in typical Indian fashion. However taste was surpringly very good... even exceptional in some cases. Spices? They don't hold back. If you want to be brave and taste real Indian, you can but you best do with extreme caution if you've never done do before. Best ask the very friendly waiter for advice.

Verdict? You couldn't do much better if you're interested in having a true Indian cuisine experience thats tempered for your palette. Chapeau to Swaad....

There is a severe issue with the services provided by this restaurant. Despite ordering online, I had not noticed this problem earlier. The server, who also manned the reception, was clearly of Asian descent but not Indian, and displayed blatant hostility towards Indians. Upon our arrival at approximately 8:30 PM, he immediately informed us that they would be closing in 10-15 minutes, without allowing us to sit. Despite opting for takeout and altering our order to accommodate their schedule, we were left waiting for 20-25 minutes, while Caucasian patrons around us were served promptly for dine-in. When I confronted the server about this blatant discrimination and labeled it as poor customer service, he responded arrogantly, showing no ounce of courtesy. He dismissed my concerns, stating it was merely my opinion and he couldn't do anything about it. While it is heartening to see appreciation for our native Indian cuisine worldwide, it is deeply disturbing to witness non-Indian servers treating Indians with such disdain in an establishment claiming to represent...

It happened around 2 months ago: ordered my food through Netpincér. My choice was "Madras beef", which especially states that the food is extra spicy. After tasting it was not even spicy-hot, but felt like it misses the normal spices as well. Called the restaurant where I believe I got contacted to the chef. I stated my problems with the food. He answered as the following: "Oh yes, your name looked hungarian so I made it without the spices, you should have written a comment that you wanted it hot" Tried to tell to him that the description says how it should be and it is not even close, furthermore nothing says on the Netpincér that you should write anything like that. He denied my request to exchange my food and got angry.

Contacted Netpincér about my problem, they investigated it and told me that the restaurant doesn't feel responsible and they won't do anything to compensate.

I don't recommend this restaurant, not because of the error happened - which is totally fine, it happens - but how...