Chilli Hove — Restaurant in England

On Friday I ordered through Uber Eats (from my phone call with them and other reviews the restaurant, it appears the restaurant is quick to blame them however…), I’d waited nearly an hour and a half before my order was cancelled via Uber Eats. I contacted the restaurant as I’d not long had a notification from the app my food was being collected my a driver. The restaurant told me they’d stopped my cooking my food when it was cancelled meaning they’d not even started it an hour in to me waiting for this and it exceeding the expected wait time. Incredibly hungry, and incredibly pregnant, the restaurant didn’t offer any way of it being rectified as they’d finally stopped taking orders through the app - they told me that usually on a busy night orders would begin to be cooked upto 40mins after receiving this through the app with a wait time of 50mins to an hour. So I questioned why my order hadn’t been started around the 7.40ish mark and 45mins later still not arrived? No real explanation, a weak apology and a promise of a call or email by the following lunchtime as it was clear this was the restaurant’s fault for not turning off their ordering system and staying on top of the deliveries requests of what sounded like a busy restaurant. I’m yet to receive any contact which is the reason for this poor review. Such a shame because it’s a lovely Thai and I’d had a real craving for it but his attitude (appreciate it was busy but doesn’t mean you need to be rude) and the service really, really has been a let down. Otherwise, I’d actually rate this much higher because I’ve not had one bad meal from them. Don’t want to sound like a “Karen” (no offence to any nice Karens) but I’m eating for 2, and had waited for ages for delicious food only for it be cancelled over an hour in to my order and no acknowledgement from the restaurant this is clearly a learning curve for them. If you’re busy, turn off your Uber...

On my first visit, this restaurant's pleasant atmosphere and enthusiastic manager made the visit reasonably enjoyable.

On my second visit on Friday, however, it was an unmitigated disaster. Having spoken to the manager's brother, I was assured that gluten free was something that they knew and understood very well. When ordering, I reminded the staff that what I ordered needed to be modified to be gluten free if it wasn't naturally (this was the advice the manager's brother had given me).

When my starter arrived, it had soy sauce on it. This, I realised when I had eaten a piece of the fried scallop. I was unwell all through the night following this. Upon having this replaced, I expected extra effort to be made on the main. When it arrived, I asked the waitress whether this one contained soy sauce. She took my meal away with her. It then came back while I waited to make my disappointment and genuine concern known to the manager's brother. The food was then taken away and returned one final time.

The manager came and apologised at this point and told me my food and drink would be free because of the mix-up. Not bad you may think (actually, I'd rather not have gluten in my system)! However, when we were waiting for the bill, the manager came and accused me of not telling the waiter that I needed the food gluten free.

I would strongly recommend people who have food intolerance, allergies or coeliac disease give this...

Chilli is a phenomenal Thai restaurant which not only offers a strong variety of flavours and dishes, but a more authentic taste of Thailand than any other restaurant in the area. I’ve been back multiple times to explore more and more of their menu, and have been consistently impressed with every dish I’ve tried.

The pricing is reasonable for the quality of food and the service is ALWAYS on-point.

All in all, I’d HIGHLY recommend you not only check out Chilli, but give it a few visits to try new dishes and get a full taste of what they have to offer!

▬▬▬ RECOMMENDATIONS ▬▬▬ Here’s a few recommendations

APPETISERS: ► CRISPY CHILLI SQUID — They do it right, with light breading around squid properly cooked to avoid being chewy. ► THAI FISH CAKES — They do their fish cakes right, with a good blend of flavours and sweet chili sauce on the side.

MAINS: ► PHAD THAI — For your baseline Thai experience, their phad thai gets the job done just right! ► CRISPY PORK BELLY — Very much a favourite. The pork is wonderfully crispy and mixed in with some amazing sauces. Get it with rice and enjoy! ► SPICY DRUNKEN NOODLES — if you’re looking for a little heat, this was recommended by the owner and did not disappoint. ► ANGRY DUCK — Very, very good if you’re looking for a richer poultry option!

DRINKS: ► THAI ICED COFFEE/TEA — One of my favourite drinks from the region and one of the only places where I...