Dalchini — Restaurant in Dacorum

MOLD LIME PICKLE Last night we ordered a take away. When the takeaway came the food was luke warm which is fine what wasn’t fine was the pot of mold we received with our order. I phoned the restaurant straight away to speak to them about the pot of mold. To be told that the pot of mold was a complimentary dip and straight away asked me if it was the lime pickle dip which leads me to believe this isn’t the first time that mold has been found in food. He then tells me that the manager will call me. The manager called and what I would like to say is upon reading reviews and previous negative reviews it sounds like he is willing to help customers that have experienced issues with food from this restaurant. My experience yesterday was the latter. The manager explained that the reason why the lime pickle was covered in mold was because they have had issues with the oil that they add to it. He then went on to tell me that he had found several other pots in the fridge that were infested with mold. He asked me what I would like in regards to compensation as my mum was unable to eat her food I thought it only fair that my mum received a refund for the food she was unable to eat and therefore asked for a £20 refund. The bill in total was £60. The manager then tells me that he would be at a loss, we were at a loss as my mum was unable to eat her food so therefore paid for a meal to go in the bin. The manager then tells me that he would be willing to give a £10 refund and that he wouldn’t be able to refund back to my card but would have to drive down to the restaurant to pick it up! I’m not driving down to your restaurant to pick up £10! If anything as it was a take away we ordered I feel that you should have offered to drop the £10 off to us. In fact you should have really offered the £20 as I say my mum didn’t eat her food.

Very disappointed and will not be ordering...

I booked a table for five people at Dalchini for Boxing Day. Having bigged the restaurant up to my family by saying it was one of the best Indian restaurants in Hemel... we were sadly disappointed with the food quality. It was bustling and lively, with most of the tables full. Thus the good score for atmosphere. When the food came, we were happy with the starters. However, the curries that we had for the mains were too spicy for the majority of us. When the manager came over 15 minutes after we received the mains to ask how the food was, I did mention that it was much spicier then usual. The manager did ask if we wanted new curries but at this point we had already started eating the food and didn't feel we could eat a new curry. He did mention he was going to see what was happening in the kitchen and get back to us after. He didn't come back to us after that.

We also asked for a jug of tap water, but the waiter must have forgotten as we waited 10 minutes before I had to ask another waiter.

All in all.. I would eventually go back to this restaurant but I wouldn't be in a rush as there are plenty of other Indian restaurants I've been to where I haven't had...

Beware of restaurant if you have any allergies.

Called prior to ask if they catered to gluten free, they said yes. When asking about allergens of the starters, firstly I was told I could order anything then pointed out the puri’s as they are breads then he said he would get manager, the manager came over and said I could have the potato cakes but then proceeded to say it has breadcrumbs on it and when I asked for the allergen matrix they didn’t have one.

By this point, I lost total confidence so we paid for our drinks and decided to leave.

When leaving, we provided feedback to the manager that the kitchen should have an allergen matrix so it’s easy for staff to advise on allergens. He becomes rude, defensive and accusatory which was uncalled for.

Such a shame because we had been recommended this restaurant by a...