Maazi Matlock — Restaurant in Derbyshire Dales

Arrived to find restaurant extremely busy. Told staff that we had made a booking and was asked to wait in the bar area. (Staff at no point asked for a booking name?) My wife and I joked that they were building our table as a waiter walked past with a chair. Only to find we were right!!! Our table was placed in a high traffic walkway, next to a dumb waiter. The table was extremely wobbly and uneven. This was due to the table getting wet at some point and the wood swelling. Also, the feet were uneven. The table cloth used when laying our table was clearly unclean, and the chairs were covered in stains. After ordering our drinks, we had to ask for the rest of the order to be taken as it seemed that we had been forgotten. Starters arrived (Poppadoms, chutney tray and onion bhaji), pickle tray consisted of diced onion, lime pickle, mango chutney, and yoghurt with mint. Mango chutney was liquid, with no consistency. Yoghurt was more like a loose milkshake. Lime pickle looked like it had been bulked with lime wedges, leaving it almost inedible. Onion bhaji was amazing dry but dripping with grease on the outside. Once finished, we had to ask for our table to be cleared as again it felt like we had been forgotten. Whilst waiting for our mains, the table next to us complained that they had been there 2 hours with no food! We ordered a jug of water as we had finished our drinks (this never arrived) When mains were being served, a waiter carried our plates over in a tea towel, wiping them as he put them down. Usually these are hot, ours were not! Mains arrived, 2 curries, 2 naans, 1 mushroom rice, 1 saag aloo. Naan bread was more like a wafer, found to be very, very thin and flavourless. Saag aloo had 4 pieces of new potato and was swamped in bland, bitter spinach. Curries were small, with little meat and lots of loose, runny sauce. Mushroom rice tasted nice but could have had more mushrooms. After finishing our food, we again had to ask for our table to be cleared and for the bill. We complained about the saag aaloo and this was removed from the bill. We used the toilets as we left. These seemed very run down and not maintained well. The floor outside the ladies' toilet is warped and very springy. Overall, we left extremely disappointed. We have eaten here before and loved it. It's a special place for us (we ate here during our honeymoon and again for our anniversary) We left a very run-down restaurant that seemed more focused on the number of customers over quality. Probably won't...

This is an authentic Indian restaurant (not Bangladeshi Indian). Didn't expect I would find such a treasure in the corner of peak district. Here is my verdict on some of the aspects.

Onion bhaji - usually this is deal maker/breaker. Its a simple food to make but most of the restaurants get it wildly wrong (either very oily or overcooked outside and undercooked inside or very dry). Maazi got it right - not greasy, well cooked throughout and tasted good. 5/5

Beetroot coconut Samosa - was curious to see how this tastes and it was surprisingly good. Will definitely try this again. I would have preferred a bit more heat though. 4.5/5

Maazi paneer - although this is supposed to be marinated paneer, it lacked enough marination. I would give it a second chance if I visit this place again - 3/5

Veg biriyani - surprisingly this food was not in the menu but the restaurant was glad to make it for us. This is another food which is decider for me. It shows the skills of the chef. For me this was really good Biriyani, not too oily, right amount of spices and heat, well cooked rice (non sticky yet soft and well blended). Portion size was less though and it was too expensive for the portion which is the only downside. 4/5

Service - well mannered and polite staff. Drink Service was quick. Food service was on the slower side (Order taking and making) especially even when the customers were low in the end. But this didn't put us off since we were a group of friends so there was plenty to talk. 4/5

Decor and facilities - well decorated place , pleasing music and not too loud, scent not very strong. Table and seating not very cramped. Clean wash room. Hotel is not disabled friendly. 4/5

Overall I was very pleased with this restaurant and this a gem that I would keep in my restaurant list to visit again when I visit this part of the country. 4/5

To the owner and staff - thanks for the great experience. keep up the good work and continue serving great...

Having visited a week earlier as a couple and had a great experience i decided to book for a table of 6 the following Saturday for a 50th birthday meal looking forward to the same food and service experience.

We were greeted by the lovely staff and show to a table. I had asked fire as quiet a table as possible due to a member of the party being of a nervous disposition recently. The table we got was next to a group of men from a rugby club it seemed out for a big jolly which seemed fine for them. We ordered drinks and could see it was affecting one off the party with the noise so asked to move and got mice 2 tables away which was helpful. The staff did their normal good explanations of the specials dishes so we order some starters and main courses. The starters arrived in ok time. The restaurant was full by now and one of our party sat with his back to a walkway used by just about all staff and was getting knocked on a constant basis much to his annoyance and enjoyment. We had to chase the main courses as they took a very long time and unfortunately when they did arrive were all luke warm at best. I explained this too the waiter who said he would look into it on camera in the kitchen but it would make the foods any warmer for the whole party! The owner i think said he would speak to his staff to stoo them walking behind our friend and knocking him constantly. This worked for around 5 minutes and then continued as it was previously unfortunately. We had ordered a lot of food and drink between us and was offered a 10% off food only as a way of saying sorry for us all having cold food and not a nice experience unfortunately. We have wanted to go out for Indian diners with friends and family since but have been hesitant to return based on the last experience and how it was dealt with when we know they can't be great...