Kashmir — Restaurant in Galway

It takes a lot for me to give a 2 star to a place. We had a choice between this and the Indian joint across. We decided to come here. We were greeted by the staff very politely and welcomed. So far amazing. Sadly, that was the only thing that was really 'good'.

The person to take the order seemed like the manager (dressed up somewhat formally in a jacket, etc.). We ordered a plate of samosas, a lamb sekuwa (which is described as 'tender pieces of chicken or lamb.....'), a paneer makhani, bhindi and 2 garlic naans.

The samosas were the first to come. Liked the exterior casing. Was like the patti samosa but a larger size. The filling was less than par. It wasn't bad or inedible. Just nothing to die for and not worth it.

The lamb sekuwa came which I was super excited for. Had the first bite and it was somewhat difficult to chew. I figured it might be the one piece. The next piece I tried to cut with a knife. I wasn't able to cut through it but the amount I cut (about 3/4 of the way) showed how overcooked this was. It was completely gray and tough. Flavor wise, honestly didn't know what to make of it.

I returned the lamb and replaced it with the chicken version. That too was overcooked but not to the extent that the chicken would be leather.

The paneer makhani was ok as was the bhindi.

The naan was nice and warm but again, (and this criticism is true for a lot of Indian restaurants globally), it wasn't the traditional naan. A good naan is this long, triangular piece of bread that is pillowy soft on either end of the naan and gets a little crispy in the center. This was NOTHING like that.

Now here's the reason I'm giving it a 2 star; service and attitude or the lack of. When the lamb was inedible, I requested for the same 'manager' to come and shared the feedback requesting to send it back. His response was dumbfounded followed by a statement that went something like 'well it is lamb so it will become like that.' Sorry Sir. I beg to differ.

Either the quality of the lamb was very inferior causing this. Your restaurant is in one of two countries that have the best lamb on the planet so that was not the issue.

Or you (your chef) does not know how to cook lamb and grossly overcooked it. I'm betting money it is this reason.

Mistakes happen even from the experts; it's how you deal with them. The attitude this guy had while talking to us and the statement that 'well it is lamb so it will become like that' was just a bunch of BS.

Even while taking our order, there was just this attitude; almost felt as if we are not welcome here. There was another server who served us who also had a kind of attitude as if either he doesn't want to be here or he doesn't want to serve us but his doing it out of obligation.

The only person that was friendly and welcoming was the gentleman that invited us to come inside and seated us.

Maybe it was a bad night? I get it. I'm forgiving of issues with the food but when you have this attitude included with the bad food, you know this is not a place I'll be visiting again as there is zero...

Review of Kashmir Restaurant (Galway)

As someone who travels often and makes it a point to try Indian food wherever I go—be it London, Bristol, Bath, Oxford, Nottingham, Edinburgh, or most recently Galway—I had high hopes for Kashmir, given its reputation.

I’ll start with the positives. On arrival, we were warmly greeted by the staff, which set a pleasant tone for the evening. Their friendliness deserves full marks.

Unfortunately, the rest of the experience was less satisfying. We were seated by the window, which seemed like a good spot at first. However, due to a pillar blocking visibility, the waiting staff (just two covering the whole floor) couldn’t see us. This meant I had to repeatedly lean over, wave, and even stand up at times just to get their attention. Naturally, this disrupted the flow of the meal and left me feeling overlooked.

As for the food, I ordered the Kadhai Paneer. What arrived, however, didn’t resemble the dish I know and love. The paneer had the Taste of tofu, lacking the fresh softness, rich flavor that makes paneer special. The curry base itself tasted more like pumpkin purée (old Indian practise of making a cheap Indian curry) than the tomato-forward gravy expected in a Kadhai Paneer. Sadly, it reminded me more of hostel food than a restaurant meal.

Overall, the combination of inattentive service (albeit due to understaffing and layout issues) and disappointing food made for an underwhelming experience which I paid more that I paid in global cities like London. I genuinely hope the restaurant pays more attention to consistency in both service and authenticity in flavours—especially for diners who come seeking a true taste of Indian cuisine. Had to Edit this Review - The Owner of this renowned joint Texted me and Replied that "He/She believe, I repeat my word BELIEVE that I have written this review without entering the joint.

I must say that the honourable owner should consider this - Unlike them I seriously have and never had any intention of tainting an image of hard working individuals specially who earn a minimum wage and you know why, coz once I worked as a minimum wage worker in the restaurant during my studies.

And yes, I did visited your joint when you had 3 staff members (one female young Asian girl and young Asian guy serving the food to us).

Please improve you food quality first and then ask visitors to come (Again) in.

Not coming to your...

AVOID THIS PLACE. The food was tasty but the server stole our credit card on Friday, February 22, 2019 at 9:50 pm. Since then others have contacted me to tell of similar experiences, including just now in May 2019. Their thefts or switching of credit cards and claims of innocence are brazen. See also the reviews on Trip Advisor. The food, atmosphere, value and server courtesy was great, 5 stars, but when it came time to pay and I tried to pay with tap or Apple Pay, the server said that the credit card reader would not work for tap so asked for, and then mysteriously walked away with, my card and his mobile credit card device in his hand. I very rarely use my actual card these days. The card was not returned with the receipt, as is usual, and I was tired and used to just paying with my iPhone, which I knew i had when I left. We left without getting the card returned. After returning directly home, I called the restaurant, which had closed, and then called again as soon as they reopened, to politely tell them that they had most definitely not returned the card, which they denied. Six days later someone tried to charge €2,000 at Paddy Power, but the card was locked so they were declined. The restaurant may be great but they have at least one Kashmiri looking dishonest male staff member. Looking back on the events, he was clearly suspicious and acted to try and confuse us and keep this credit card, not let us use the contact payment method. Another customer contacted me to tell how they were returned someone else’s card. They asked for their own card back and the server insisted over and over that this was the card that they gave to the server. The customer left wondering how this had happened and then checked their bank statement using their mobile, just outside the restaurant. Sure enough the Kashmir Restaurant had just charged their card. The waiter confronted with irrefutable evidence that could land him in jail pulled the stolen card from his pocket and returned it. But again the customers were tourists and went on their way. I contacted the Garda but they did little to investigate. My card was used at a Paddy Power, that has surveillance videos and I knew the exact time. The Garda could have caught this thief but did not bother. The newer restaurant owners are somehow protecting the thief or are complicit. Other merchants in Galway were friendly...