The Little India Restaurant — Restaurant in Musgrave

I have enjoyed the food on the few occasions that I have eaten at the Little India. We went there Diwali lunch. The head waiter warmly welcomed and seated us. The ambiance was set in traditional Indian style with fragrance of incense sticks permeating the air. Our waiter was unfriendly but cordial. She offered no smile and was clinical. She took our order in a matter of fact way. We ordered starters - samoosas and Malaysian chips. That was divine.. The chips are definitely worth writing home about. I salivate as I write about it's nutty texture and tantalizing sauce that cascades over the succulent fried chips. For mains. We ordered paper dosai filled with potatoes accompanied with sambar and Gobi Manchurian. I was a tad bit disappointed with the potatoes and sambar. The potatoes lacked flavour and the sambar had a dhall texture and taste. We ate the dosa without the potatoes. The sambar remained untouched. This is a far cry from what I had tasted 5 years back. 5 years back I would have easily ordered more...it was full of flavour and has the correct consistency. The Gobi Manchurian on the other hand was delicious. We had the view of the street and the sky because we chose an outside table. The waitress didn't check up on her timeously. She lacked the hospitality touch. Too soon time had lapsed by into the afternoon. I heard the ringing of the prayer bell and the lamps were lit and authentic Indian music played in the background. The aromatic fragrance fill the air, sounds of the prayer bell and the lamp embraced the restaurant with radiance and divinity... All set for the arrival of the night diners. As we departed the head waiter thanked us and invited us back. It was a pleasant experience. Would I return.... Definitely... The Manchurian Chips and Gobi is a winner... There we go again... My mental picture has me...

I would not recommend this venue for a function. Had an event for 60 people buffet style. The food was placed into small bain maries, and took atleast 30mins to have it refilled. When refilled, it was enough for about 2 or 3 people. This meant food was not ready available when guests went to dish. As hosts we also could not even dish food as there wasnt enough for the guests. Addressed the issue with the on site manager, and was told the food was finished, they making more which took very long to come. The manager then had an attitude and was banging the plates around the guests. There is no way food for 60 people was prepared on the day. The naan was about 10 cut into 4's and took extra long to be refilled. For dessert, a small casserole of soji and vermicelli was served which could feed 10 people, but serving bowls the size of tot glasses were provided so everyone could have one tea spoon each.

Embarrassing situation to be in especially when you pay alot for a service.

The objective by management was to obtain higher profits instead of proving customer...

We went here craving some disa. I wanted a good old fashioned bunny chow. Price and size of the bunny was decent and seemed worth it. However, the bunny was weak, it did not taste like a Durban bunny at all, which is very disappointing when you craving and looking for a normal bunny chow. It had a very unfamiliar taste, didn't taste like a conventional mutton curry, it had a slightly prawns chutney or tomatoey crab curry vibe, which was weird in a mutton bunny. The meat also tasted like it was pressure cooked rather than slow cooked. The food was edible but not at all to my satisfaction, in fact I actually left half of it with like four or five pieces of meat still in the bunny. This is very disappointing for me when one considers that the restaurant is owned and run by South African Indians and not India Indians, whose curries taste quite different to us locals. they kids also said the dosas had no taste and did not like their food as much I thought they would have. All in all a weak showing for me and I will not be returning to...