Chaakoo Bombay Cafe — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

How come one star? Great food, ambience and such cheerful service. We pay Mia who writes a 'thank you' on the receipt then, as our small party prepares to leave we're met by a man who demands to know if we have paid and tells us to wait while he investigates. It could have been handled a thousand times better! We can see him collecting staff together. There are now several people standing around us. We offer him the receipt as evidence, but he tells us that he doesn't believe it has gone through the books. The implication being that a server is stealing? We explain that we're due at the theatre. No difference. His American (we think) accent is loud. He's now clearly angry with staff. Our own guests - two European tourists - are bemused. We're all still standing in this crowded restaurant surrounded by young servers who look uncomfortable. Then suddenly he's told by one of the staff that it's all okay and without a word of apology to anyone he walks off. Funnily enough we had been saying before the incident that we would recommend the place, but does this happen frequently?

In response to the owners' reply: None of this was explained at the time. There was no apology. Simply a bunch of people standing around us. Both I and my guests felt that the tone was rude. Why not a simple 'Excuse me, there appears to be a problem with our system, would you mind waiting a moment. I know that you've paid but please, hold on a for a moment. Perhaps we can offer you a coffee? ' I see that your response doesn't contain an apology either. This makes it even worse. The single star stays. The manager was rude and offhand. We will not be visiting your establishment again or recommending it unless you take action to prevent other customers suffering...

I had high hopes for this place but was left feeling a little disappointed. Loud music greeted us when we entered - not at all what I was expecting with the word cafe in the venue name. Decor and styling were nice and the layout was good with booths for most tables.

Service wise the staff were fine but did seem very rushed as it was opening week and very busy so we didn't get to appreciate this side of the restaurant much. Food arrived quickly though.

Food wise though it was very disappointing. I ordered the cauliflower kebab, the garlic naan, veg samosas and dahl makhani while my partner had the saag paneer, pakora and lemon rice. One thing we instantly noticed was how salty the dishes were, significantly more so than other similar restaurants with identical menus. The dahl makhani lacked its distinctive flavour and the saag paneer had less spinach (saag) than we are used to and was quite oily and salty unfortunately. My cauliflower kebab though was the biggest disappointment. It was just florets of roasted cauliflower with minimal flavouring and a mint sauce. From the menu this was a dish I was most looking forward to.

The restaurant was packed and most other customers seemed content with their food so it's possible that's just the style and flavour profile that the restaurant is going for rather than a mistake with the food itself. But for me personally it isn't a place I'll be returning to. If you, like me, enjoy a relaxed restaurant feel that isn't too noisy (loud music) and more distinct flavours and spices from your food then you might be disappointed. But many people will really enjoy this place as it's obviously been a...

We visited this restaurant based on its glowing reviews and were looking forward to a good experience.

Food: The Kids’ Chicken and Chips were a hit with our child, though it was disappointing that the dish came without any vegetables or salad. The naan and grilled chicken skewer were both good, but the rest of the meal didn’t live up to expectations. I ordered the Thali, choosing six different small dishes, sharing a base of mostly watery daal with very similar flavours. The starters seemed to be pre-frozen, deep-fried items — nothing particularly fresh or distinctive. My wife ordered separately, fish curry, rice and bread.

Service and Pricing: The service felt indifferent. We were two adults and one child, and the menu clearly stated that the “Thali for two” was £23.95 — it did not indicate this was a per-person price, so I questioned the price and was reassured it was one charge. I ordered the Thali; my wife chose a separate fish curry with rice and bread. When I queried the price with a different staff member, I was told we needed to order three more dishes, which contradicted the menu wording. I explained we were ordering just one Thali, not two, again I was assured there would be one charge as per the information on the menu.

However, when the bill arrived, we had been charged £23.95 each for the Thali. When my wife raised this with the staff, she was told nothing could be done unless we waited for a manager. At that point, we decided to leave.

It’s a shame, as the hundreds of positive reviews promised much, but between the disappointing food and the billing confusion, we left...