Le Raaj — Restaurant in England

We visited two years ago and had a great time. We wanted to return and this time it was sadly really disappointing. Not sure we will go back. The food is still great, but the service was very poor and made us feel unwelcome especially for such an expensive meal (nearly £200 for 5 people without starters)

Bare in mind we did attend at a very busy time of the year and we didn't ever complain during the night. It still doesn't excuse the fact that it was pre booked where any restaurant should be able to manage its intake and know their working capacity. Clearly felt like they had taken on more than they could handle.

We had pre booked a table and the table wasn't even set when we were guided to it. After waiting 30 minutes they didn't even realise we had a table without plates or forks nor had been asked for drinks. They then gave us what seemed to be free poppadoms without any plates. They were literally setting up tables around us and I kept politely trying to ask for some plates and cutlery and got a sharp reply from one of the staff. Why would you prioritise setting up other tables when people already sat down haven't even been set up correctly without plates or cutlery even more so now they have been served some food ? The staff member we had was very slow and someone else stepped in to sort it out. The lights cut out at one point as the staff was changing with the lights so was starting to become an unwelcome atmosphere especially surrounded by either tables getting set up or people sat down enjoying their meals. First impressions matter and within 30 minutes I was contemplating leaving.

The menu is very poorly laid out - the prices are summarised in very small writing at the bottom of each page of a section and can be confusing to understand between starters and mains what costs what. It felt somewhat tactical.

We were waiting a long time between finishing starters and mains to be served, to get our order to actually getting food. The food when it eventually arrived was great! Full of flavour,and we were all very impressed. However, you would expect more quantity for the price.

When it came to paying, we had to get up and ask for it at reception as no one even realised we were wanting the bill and no one was coming to check on us after taking our plates which had already taken a long time. What really frustrates me here is that anywhere you normally go, the breakdown of the bill is clear and concise either through a machine so you know line by line what you have ordered - even indian restaurants. Here,  having someone tap it out on a calculator , write in illegible words on a note pad and tell me the drinks = £39.00 without any breakdown of what that was is really unclear and misleading. The staff looking too busy to even challenge it-You go away thinking what exactly have I paid for especially with it being so steep? Not just the case for the drinks but even the breakdown of food - is the price legit or are they inflating it with service or hidden costs I don't know about especially with such an unclear menu for prices. It not right and loses a lot of trust for me with the restaurant. Note we never complained throughout the night and the restaurant kindly offered us a drink on the house as we left , but again , because of the reasons above you never really sure if its on the house or just part of the inflation on my bill I've just paid, same applies to the poppadoms we didn't order that were placed on the table so I couldn't really appreciate it - were the free? I have no idea but for nearly £200 without starters it didn't feel like it.

Foods great - service and atmosphere less so - not sure we will go back , maybe best...

After going to the restaurant with some friends for a birthday meal I have to say that I was a little disappointed. On arrival there were no seats in the reception area, we stood a little as did many other people then we managed to get a seat. After not a long wait we were taken to our table in a small room, which my friend who booked the table specifically asked for us not to be in that room so that was the first disappointment. We were then brought the menu's to look at. After at least 30 minutes we had not be served or even asked if we would like a drink so we asked for a drink. The waiter went away and some more time passed before another waiter came to take our drinks order. The drinks arrived after another lengthy wait. The small room was full and it was extremely hot. we then wait and waited to get our food order taken at the finish we had to ask as we had been waiting for 1 hour 30 minutes by this time. Finally our order was taken and 2 hours after we arrived we finally got some food. The meal after that was served swiftly and what we had was ok. The table however was round for 4 people and not all the food fit on it. After we finished our meal warm hand wipes were brought, we were not asked if we would like another drink. Eventually someone asked if we wanted coffee, the coffee came in stages then the waiter cleared all the glasses away and took the jug of cream fro the coffee away. The coffee wasn't that hot it was ok. we were sitting chatting and they cleared away the coffee cups turned the music up so we couldn't hear ourselves talk and not one waiter asked if we wanted dessert. We asked for the bill it never came so we had to ask again. The music kept getting turned up and we got the distinct impression that they wanted us to leave. Really disappointing food, service...

Bad Experience I took my wife for a romantic meal last night. It turned out to be a total joke at our expense. First of all I called and booked a table, the guy who answered the phone was polite and well mannered. Then we arrived and were meet by friendly staff. Then it all went downhill, we were handed over to a young girl who gestured with a nod for us to follow her. She gave us a nice table, (I think they are all nice) and we ordered a bottle of house white. She brought this after a little wait, put it down and just walked off. We ordered food with Moz and it came pretty quick, it was polity served by a young guy. Towards the end of our meal they started to turn the music up really loud so we could not hear each other talk and then back down. This went on and on, with my wife and I shouting at times as we could not hear each other, a guy heard this and said they were doing a sound check, they were all laughing and then started to hail "testing 1234, testing 1234". We could not stand it any more so asked for the bill, gave no tip and left. The staff were all laughing and flirting with the young girl as we left. It is a real pity that I have had to leave a review like this due to ill mannered, badly trained and badly behaved staff. We paid £55 for a shambles of a meal, I presume Moz owns the place and seemed to be aware of what was going on ? We are business people in the hospitality trade and could send around 50 guests there weekly, we will not be back. Oh and the food, mine was excellent flawless, my wife's was a little bland, South African wine at £19 a bottle is pricey for cheaply bought screw top wine. I would consider removing this bad review with a correct response...