The Curry Village Hillsborough — Restaurant in Puketāpapa

I recently tried Curry Village and had a disappointing experience. My first order was Dal Makhani with roti, which tasted okay but wasn’t memorable. Unfortunately, my second order, Chicken Tikka Masala, was even worse.

The chicken was overcooked, dry, and lacked the tandoori marination you'd expect in a proper tikka dish. Instead of the smoky, spiced flavor of chicken tikka, it tasted like an overly fried chicken curry dominated by red chili powder (degi mirch). The curry itself was a bland tomato base with no depth or balance of flavors—far from an authentic tikka masala.

The roti had an odd smell, which I suspect was due to rancid wheat flour, potentially caused by damp storage conditions. This isn’t just unpleasant but a potential health risk.

Adding to the disappointment, their kitchen environment is concerning. It’s poorly lit, dark, and dingy—conditions that can foster microbial growth and make it easy to miss essential cleaning.

I won’t be eating there again. The food quality, hygiene, and overall experience were far below acceptable standards.

Response to your reply:

Dear Curry Village Management,

Thank you for taking the time to respond, but I find your reply disappointing as it fails to address the core issues I raised about food quality and hygiene. Additionally, your claim of having contacted me is false. My call records can confirm that no such attempts were made, which suggests your response may be more about damage control than genuine concern.

Let me clarify my concerns:

Food Quality: My feedback about the Chicken Tikka Masala was specific, highlighting that the dish lacked proper tandoori marination and depth of flavor. Instead of addressing this, your response seems to generalize that it's a "customer favorite." Dismissing constructive criticism without proper action doesn’t resolve the problem.

Hygiene and Kitchen Environment: While you claim to meet "high standards" of hygiene, the kitchen environment I observed was dimly lit and unclean. If you believe my observations are inaccurate, I encourage you to share your health inspection certification details from the council. Furthermore, I’d like transparency about any re-inspections or cleanups requested by the authorities during prior evaluations, as these records are publicly available.

Customer Feedback Process: Suggesting I "call you" to discuss issues after my feedback has already been shared publicly feels dismissive. Customers provide feedback in reviews because they expect transparent action, not more excuses.

Rather than deflecting my concerns or providing a generic response, I suggest you take this opportunity to critically evaluate and improve your food quality and hygiene standards. Your focus should be on resolving customer complaints, not making excuses.

I hope you take these points seriously and use them to genuinely...

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