Akbar Durbar Take Away in CBD — Restaurant in Waitematā

Thought I'd give a new place a try for lunch, and I probably should have gotten the hint when I walked inside and 1) nobody was there behind the counter or waiting, 2) there was no curry, rice, or food of any kind in the serving tray warmers ready to go, 3) I literally started to wonder if they were actually closed, and 4) there was a big bowl of UNCOVERED chicken pieces in the soft drinks fridge where customers reach in to get drinks and knock who knows what debris or dust or germs in general down onto the open meat, not to mention whether or not that meat stays at a safe temp in a drinks fridge that may be often open and closed!? So, still deciding I'm here, I'll try it, I asked what they might have ready and it was only chicken korma or pepper chicken, everything else they said would take like 15+ minutes (for a takeaway shop?). I swear all I heard was a microwave in the back being used... I got the lunch combo which is a great priced $15 deal for any curry + white rice + regular naan + can of coke, but the rest of the experience couldn't save the disconcerting health and other worries. The naan was really old and most of the sides were hard like it's been reheated too many times. Looks like another recent reviewer had the exact same experience, so I guess I'm not alone... I hate to give any place a 1, but those first 4 points are exactly what needs to be fixed to be approachable and worry...

The food is so good and feels authentic Hyderabad biryani ( it's only food I have usually tried over there). The 2 stars are for the delicious food. Apart from the food, whole place is a disaster. The place is non- hygienic and customer service is the worst I have seen in New Zealand. I would recommend to get takeaways from there if you are keen to have biryani so that you don't need to face the awful behaviour of the staff.

The place doesn't have lot of seats and today when I had food, some new customers came and the place was full. As I was dining alone, he asked me to leave if I had finished. And I felt before I finished my food after hearing that. I felt so embarrassed and awkward. This type of attitude is not acceptable even if they serve good food. Customer need not to be regarded as king but definitely needs to show them some respect. The whole customer service seems awful and place has a disturbing music or sound from speaker. Definitely not a place where you can enjoy...

On 09 Jan 2016, We picked up Chicken biriyani, Pepper Chicken and Rogan gosh. The Chicken biriyani was yum. But Rogan gosh and pepper chicken was too salty. When we called up the restaurant, they expected us to visit restaurant for a exchange. We told them that we will be visit the next day for it. They were OK.

When we visited this place the next day, the person who was in the afternoon shift was not informed of it. But the tone of his voice shocked us. They were no apologies for their mistake . However, they exchanged Rogan gosh for a new one. This restaurant does not know to treat its customers. We decided instantly not to visit this restaurant...