Turmeric Gold — Restaurant in Coventry

Firstly, I would like to start by saying that the food here is immaculate, which certainly boosted my rating of Tumeric Gold. Crucially, the presentation certainly matched the price point which is a positive. I am sure that if you were visiting on a normal day, you would be highly pleased with the whole evening. However, I booked a table for valentines Day, having found the restaurant on Google. Upon reviewing the A La Carte menu, I was impressed with the attention to detail of the dishes and decided to book. I must preface that there was no mention of a 'Valentines Set Menu' on the website menu options. Upon arriving at the restaurant, we were greeted and asked to wait a short while for the table to be prepared, which was no bother. We were then taken upstairs and sat adjacent to a stairwell that connected to the kitchen so it was a very high traffic area and there was seemingly no reason for us to be seated here given the array of other options available (particularly downstairs). The table was shaky but is sufficient. It is not ideal for an intimate occasion given its close proximity to other tables and lack of privacy on all sides. Furthermore, it was highly distracting to be at the forefront of kitchen system and slightly unappetising to constantly watch dirty plates and half eaten food be transported back to the kitchen. I suggest that this table be repositioned or removed as it does not match the other seating options and, quite frankly, is cold and uninviting. Waiters were attentive, and the ambience is perfect for date night despite overtly drunk customers and an incident involving staff and other guests. We received pappadums and then were asked if we wanted to order any starters, to which we replied that we wanted to go straight to the mains. We were hastily told that tonight it was a Valentines menu only and that we were required to order starters as part of a 5 course meal (for which the pappadums had been the 1st course). Our waiter told us that we were called, and they had confirmed with us that this was ok; however, on the phone call, the host made it seem as if the menu was optional. Begrudgingly, I accepted the 49.95 per person COMPULSORY menu option despite not wanting any of the options. There was outrage amongst other guests at this seemingly recurrent miscommunication, and it seemed as though it was an intentional trap to take advantage of the occasion. This was certainly the main issue of the night. Having dined in similar establishments, I would offer that the class and attention to detail representative of a restaurant offering A La Carte dining should never enforce a menu on its guests; a set menu is an option that can be requested or implied but definitely not mandatory to eat at a restaurant no matter the occasion. The Valentines Menu had 3 "Chef's choice" options, which were all vegetarian so definitely accommodating. However, they were unwanted and, most importantly, unordered. I conclude by saying that I would visit this restaurant again on a normal day but definitely not for a celebration. Overall, I congratulate the restaurant on its food but would suggest a better, clearer form of communication be put in place with guests during the booking process. I also think managers should accommodate guests' needs better and understand that at this price point, a one-size fits all approach is clumsy and ill-thoughtout. I hope to visit again soon and offer my comments on a...

Turmeric Gold, Indian restaurant in Spon Street, Coventry, is by far the worst we’ve dined at, ever, at home or abroad.

It was a friend’s son’s graduation and we chose this place. We almost cancelled but were told we’d need to pay a £10 per person cancellation fee. There were nine of us, 7 adults, 2 children. We’d tried to book over the telephone but were told to book online where they take your credit card details. We can now understand why. We were encouraged to go for the set menu, mainly meat items, which is at £34.95pp. When we asked if they could provide vegetarian items, the waiter had to think and asked how many vegetarians there were in our party. The lad who graduated asked for an Amaretto, an Italian liqueur, which the waiter had never heard of. It wasn’t on the drinks menu, so fair enough that he didn’t know. We live and learn. Some observations we wish to cite which contributed to our deeply sour experience of this place:

• We were allocated a dining area right at the front of the restaurant, which was not ideal, but not too bad, in the grand scheme of things • The lady who took our orders was pretty arrogant and pushy. We were frowned upon for not ordering a main dish for each diner and reminded of the restaurant’s policy. Never have we been to any restaurant, anywhere at home or abroad, where we have almost been forced to get a main dish for each diner. • Upon bringing our order, the waiter told us ‘that’s everything’, even though the pilau rice was missing. When asked for this, they brought over this side dish within a minute. • This restaurant continues to bask in its glory of having won several awards over the years, rightly so too. It has a 4.2 rating, over 700 unverified diner reviews. Interestingly, the majority of these are from white British/European diners, many whom we guess are loyal and, with all due respect, like the food here as they may not expect high standards.

Given that we’d aired our dissatisfaction during our dining experience, it was interesting that the manager did not come to see us. Shoddy leadership, some may argue. This said, it seems the management are complacent and confident in that they have their loyal diners and anyone new can say whatever they wish, it may not impact them. Well, only time will tell. But for us it was a pretty embarrassing evening as all of us did not enjoy the food and ended up with a bill of almost £300. Plenty of restaurants are trying to recoup money lost during Covid. But this place appears to do this blatantly.

The only highlight of the evening were the hot hand wipes provided at the end. These looked like mints. But when the waiter poured hot water, these ‘mints’ expanded which was a nice sight.

Just to reiterate, the lady who took our orders was so arrogant and her tone so annoying, that this continues to echo in our ears and minds. The male waiters were decent, in comparison. While we had an awful experience, we accept that several others, most likely the regulars, probably like this place. Understood. But it seems that those who are regulars here have plenty of spare cash and pretty low standards when it comes to Indian cuisine. Our terrible experience will remain etched in our memories for a very long time and needless to say we shall never put foot in this place again and nor will we recommend this...

Most pathetic restaurant I have ever been. We were there for a conference for a few days and as usual Indian in me looked for Good Indian food in Coventry and a quick search suggested this with a very high rating and by that time of the day we were too tired to look at photos and detailed reviews. So we went in and sat for order two things they said of which onething was super annoying and very cold behavior I would say. We were told that we have to order a main dish we can not just have a starter. This was still OK, but then when I told them I am not feeling well and so could they give me soup and some starter, they said no, we could not make soup. However, I did hear them make something not on the menu for other customer. This was not the end of it then I had no option but to say I can't order anything I might take a bite or 2 from my friends plate if I feel like they said no we have no sharing policy. Their behaviour was so odd and most arrogant I have ever seen. I have been to the best of restaurants in the world even my colleagues had since we travelled for work. Even in any Michelin star restaurant, the behaviour comes first as in service is the main thing. Secondly, you are an Indian restaurant globally, and we are known for our hospitality.

This was the just beginning of the worst time we had there. After that, my colleagues ordered chilli mushroom paneer and naan and Tandoori chicken. The main veg curry was served in a very weirdly unique way anyways we thought the taste might be good. But again, we were proved wrong the gravy was not even cooked properly. The tandoori chicken was again tasteless, and I was wondering if it was chicken looking at the size of the leg as if it had got polio. Also, when we asked for water, it was like that only when asked would give, so each one had to ask individually. It is very unlike an Indian restaurant and culture. The first thing any Indian would serve would be water. I was observing everything in the restaurant as I was sitting idle with no food. So what I see they were really good with all other customers, like taking feedback and they were sharing and having really good time. Why were we served like that? Then I realised there was a pure bias, although restaurant staff were South Asians they were very nice to all Foreigners I would not say white as it would not be right. But had it been otherway round, it's still explicable, though generally, it is not the case in England. But this was totally discriminatory behaviour and very palpable. This restaurant apparently has a chain of such in England, so I hope they are able to train this franchise the right way of hospitality and culinary skills. Especially to the lady at the bar.

Please do not ever go to this restaurant if you want genuine Indian food. Our entire £50 was worthless. I don't think this is right representation of my country. We didn't have any energy to say anything to the staff since the vibe was so cold that we felt that they didn't even care. So I left with my experience to be shared...