Spicy Tadka Basingstoke — Restaurant in Basingstoke and Deane

Very Disappointing....

I love curry, i love it even more when I'm really really hungry on a Sunday, after a Saturday session. Which makes it even more difficult to get a 'bad' review. I mean how hard is it to get 'bad' curry? To Sum it up I want to commit the cardinal sin, and bin left over curry. There's no way i will want to eat this tomorrow, but I will force myself to save it, just in case there's an overnight miracle on the flavour front. To be fair, the warning signs were always there with 'fusion' dishes and chowmeins on the menu - I broke one of my own rules there by ordering from somewhere that offers such dishes - Screams you cant cook a decent curry, when you're trying to do something else to drag the punters in. Also to be fair, I suspect they're genuinely trying hard to be a bit different, with a good product - but its really not for me.

So where do I start? Rice - the portion was small, actually pretty tasteless and wet. Basically overcooked - a real rarity from an Indian restaurant. Naan - Everything the opposite of how it should be! Thin, Flat, dense and again, pretty tasteless, more like corregated cardboard then Naan. Mint sauce - Zero mint flavour, zero sweetness, ridiculously salty. From the 'Special mains' a Chilli Masala. Normally one of my favourite dishes! Instant appearance of the sauce being thin, and it was. No heat, should not have the word chilli in it, or even next to it on the menu. The chicken was also watery when eating it. Flavour wise, it was very different to what I expected although i actually quite liked what i think was tiny bits of ginger that gave a little crunch and burst of flavour, Very different, not necessarily bad, but waaaay off the mark. Call it something else, and thicken it up.

Jalfrezi - a stock dish - always a good mark of a curry houses style and ability. Poor - again, zero heat, and i'll accept that a jalfrezi doesn't necessarily have a hot base sauce, but the chilli's in the dish should pep it up - except there weren't any, not even one. The dish had a taste of something smoked/burnt in a way that wasn't a tandoor flavour, let alone nice (?rubbber,) almost like it was cooked on a flaming tyre.

I'm also not sure that t was a good thing that was zero sign of ghee - granted, I don't want it swimming in it, but I also find it slightly odd that there's zero sign of it?

Both dishes were so devoid of any chilli and heat, that i suspect you could use their vindaloo as a soothing cream for haemorrhoids.

Finally - £34 spent, (got some ice cream as well) and not even one free poppadum - which no doubt, would've easily been the star of the show. Nice delivery driver, i reckon he should be a model or maybe even have a career...

Where do I start? And please do not reply saying this is a fake review. I have videos, pictures , text messages of your disgusting behaviour.

These guys catered for an event and the food was Awful and undercooked. Not to mention it was very spicy, despite letting them know the level of spice that we require. Not sure if this was done on purpose, but the feedback from guests was predominantly around mentioning that the food was almost inedible due to the spice.

This also Left me with an upset stomach for many days. The owner of this business is also very unprofessional and rude and will not take any responsibility or constructive criticism.

The guy also damaged our cooker and our microwave, flooded our sink and blocked our pipes as his staff are unable to clean properly. The workers used such high heat when cooking the food, they had burnt the wok that was used for cooking and consequently the handle of the wok broke and caused a MASSIVE spillage all over our kitchen of HOT FOOD AND OIL. You can see in a previous review my cousin is HELPING the staff clean the kitchen, not to mention my dad had to stay in the kitchen the entire night and missed my brothers wedding party.

This place is not it. DO NOT RECOMMEND.

————— RESPONSE TO YOU.

First of all, the event was invite only and was set for 120 people. There were NOT 160 people at our event. We have cctv to prove this so please get your facts right and refrain from over exaggerating the situation. You keep changing the numbers , please stick to the facts.

Using the term ‘fraud’, please further explain ? It appears you and your business is the only fraud operating here. It would really benefit you if you understood how to run a successful and professional business. Your customer service is atrocious.

Sorry but my dad never said Punjabi kids will eat spice when we as a family do not eat spice??? THEY ARE CHILDREN. That is unacceptable. We even stated this when we were sat with you in your Restraunt for the food tasting last month.

And to make false allegations of abuse and aggression, it’s NOT acceptable. You - the business owner- had actually sent my brother a threatening message?? You should really be embarrassed.

Finally, my mother paid you on the day, as well as my father giving your workers extra cash as they were UNDERSTAFFED AND OVER WORKED.

Sir, Money isn’t the problem here as you had attended our event, you can clearly see that we have no issue providing payment. But to try and squeeze Extra money where it is not warranted , will not be tolerated. You are a crook, and do not know how to...

Initial comment: Food was old and stale.

Reply after comment from owner: Following my previous review regarding the shockingly stale food served at your establishment, I am compelled to write again due to the dismissive and frankly dishonest response you posted. To reiterate, the dal was unequivocally spoiled, possessing an off-putting smell that indicated it was not fresh. When we brought this to the attention of your staff, they were unable to provide any explanation for why such substandard food was served. Your claim that our bill was significantly higher and that we were being "cheap" by requesting the removal of the rotten dal is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts. Our total bill was approximately £102, and our request to deduct the cost of the inedible dal was a matter of principle, not cost-saving. We ultimately paid over £92 for the remainder of the meal. To label us as "cheap" under these circumstances is not only inaccurate but deeply insulting. While I commend your staff for their kind offer to replace the paneer dish, it's crucial to clarify that this replacement was also returned untouched. We chose to take it with us to give to someone in need, as we believe in avoiding food waste. This act of goodwill towards your staff should not be twisted into an implication that we enjoyed the food. Furthermore, your assertion that "most of the food was finished" is categorically false. The majority of the dishes, including the questionable dal, were left largely uneaten. Each person at our table tried a small portion and deemed it to be off. Even the children's mango lassis, which we specifically inquired about for freshness due to our growing concerns, were tangy and not as they should have been. This further compounded our negative experience and raised serious questions about the quality of your ingredients. Instead of resorting to fabricating a narrative on Google, I implore you to urgently review the quality of your food preparation and storage. Our experience clearly indicates significant issues that need immediate attention. The fact that your restaurant was entirely empty for the duration of our visit speaks volumes about the current state of your establishment. Spreading misinformation online will not solve the underlying problems. Focusing on providing fresh, high-quality food and addressing customer concerns with honesty and integrity is the only way to regain trust and improve your business. I sincerely hope you will take this feedback seriously and implement the necessary changes to prevent other customers from having similar...