Santé Spa Cuisine — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

This is the message I have written to Sante Spa after the incident on Instagram, they didn't react, so I have contacted them on Google, then they have called me and were claiming that they are such a great restaurant, that they have regulars and that this thing can't happen, when my husband told them more strictly, they have only said that the next time we are coming (which will never happen in life), they will clean the whole kitchen to prevent cross-contamination... 😂Very unprofessional behaviour from manager's side. Never again to Sante Spa.

This was my original message:

Good evening, me and my partner visited your restaurant from around 8:20 PM until 9:40 PM yesterday Thursday July 22nd and because you are a gluten-free restaurant as well, I was so excited since I have been diagnosed with celiac disease just couple of months back. We have ordered Spinach, mungo and hemp chowder soup, Piri piri crusted cottage cheese steak, Zucchini zoodles with hemp pesto and Dark decadent brownie, I have made sure with your staff that everything is gluten-free and non-invasive for my stomach to eat. (Plus Tulsi and Mint Tea which they have forgotten to bring, but that is just a small mistake in comparison to what I am about to write next.) Immediately after eating Zucchini zoodles which are just a bunch of veggies in a hemp gravy my head started spinning around and I felt lightheaded, but still tried to manage and made my partner to eat most of the dessert, because I did not feel the best. After walking at least half a kilometre (since I have felt extremely heavy from my stomach and wanted to "walk it out"), we have taken a cab home all the way to Sholinganallur which is more than 20 kms far (we came out so far just because of your prevalently gluten-free restaurant which in Chennai is hard to find) and I have started to be more and more sick, breathless, head spinning around, sweating etc., then I have ended up on a toilet with a strong diarrhoea, after that I have been still sweating, my pulse went extremely high and I was literally crawling in the shower unable to stand up, my partner was on the verge of taking me to the hospital, but I have managed it. I am having diarrhoea until now, been to the toilet several times, just the sweating and fast pulse went away. I am not feeling well. There must have been some contamination in the food, because I can eat in a normal restaurant rice and vegetables or potatoes or meat and I don't have this extreme reaction, reaction this extreme I had the last two and half months ago. With the restaurant of your "status", this is unacceptable. Please, resolve this issue and get back to me. You should not harm your customers with the food you are making. This was too much. Thank you for your understanding.

My partner had stomach issues as well, have waken up at 4:30 AM and suffered from...

Food: Pan-seared zucchini kebab - A mild-spiced, soft fibre rich kebab; rich in flavours with the guacamole aiding its taste; the lettuce with the kebab was perfect with not much aberration from the zucchini flavour . Zucchini zoodles, hemp pesto - Noodles made out of zucchini immersed in a spinach and cashew cheese sauce; the presentation itself demands praise with much attention to detail; with the spicy sauce and the crunchiness, this was the perfect vegan meal for any time . Tofu ratatouille bowl - Brown rice served with saucy tofu (Roma tomatoes probably); the gravy was spot on but some might have an aversion to the eggplant though; the soft tofu was fresh and great . Crimson rise pizza - A pizza base (thin) made from gluten-free multigrain loaded with olives, saucy Roma tomatoes with cranberries; easily one of the best with not so gooey cheese, sweet berries yet palpable. Not heavy and NOT THE REGULAR PIZZA!!! . Belgian dark chocolate granola smoothie - Never imagined a healthy smoothie with so many proteins; the almonds, flak seeds with the pomegranate gave a crunchy kick while the cacao and peanut butter was tummy filling; not so sweet but smooth and rich in taste . Masala chai - Almond milk-based tea with vanilla sugar; was pretty refreshing to end on a high; though tasted conventional there definitely was something with every sip

Ambience/Price: Hands down, this place has the best ambience in Chennai. Not exaggerating since everyone who had been here would love their outdoor seating, lighting (for indoors), the rustic setup with good seating space. Parking might not be a problem while the service was perfect. Though there was some waiting time, this place does catch everyone's attention with proper vegan food. Talking about the price, this place is expensive with their signature dishes and amazing food. Can definitely try out occasionally owing to their modern twist to vegan and...

I went with very high expectations, and was quite disappointed with the taste of the dishes.

We loved: The green dimsums in red chutney - best dish of the day. The coconut gravy was spot on, creamy and superb. Couldn't get enough of it. The dimsum itself was okay, but the dish scores coz of the cream.

Desserts torte, yoghurt were damn good: Balanced flavors, rich and luxurious tasting, we ended up wishing we didn't order some of the below so we could have had more helpings of this.

Average: Avocado sushi, sweet potato tikki chat (if only a bit of flavors were added, could have been a superb dish). I expected the dish to have a bit of street flavors, like the roasted ones in Mohali, but that wasn't it.

Baddd, Soo bad: The pizza, supposed to have Roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and cranberry, had 4 sun dried tomatoes and 40 cranberries, making it more tutty-fruity types than a real pizza. I expected a halfway decent pizza, but this was nowhere near there. The Thukpa: Days Tibetan Thukpa in the name, but a closer cousin of hot and sour soup with the amount of soy sauce added, that it killed any other flavors that might have been in the dish. Kahwah tea: Don't order it, coz it's nothing like the original.

The service: We had outdoor seating, and nobody came in to take an order or check if we needed something unless we called for them a dozen times. I shared the feedback on Thukpa and the lady taking our order mentioned that's the way Thukpa is made (overdose of soy), but I told her it was about bringing in those subtle flavors in reality, but I don't think it registered.

Overall, a bold trial with a great menu, but needs a lot of improvement in both quality of dishes and service to warrant the prices...