Mela — Restaurant in England

Really disappointing. Been here before and it was incredible but went there Saturday night and it was awful. The staff were so miserable. Not a single smile. Really horrible atmosphere, which was such a shame.

Then we move on to the food. Firstly, asked for a meat samosa and got a vegetable, but as I was with my family, we didn’t bother saying anything because it would have just been hassle.

The poppadoms came out with the chutneys, they added extra money for the chutneys on the bill at the end, despite not being listed on the menu.

The main meals took FOREVER to come out, when it did come out - the standard was very low. I thought they ran out of food and had to order from another curry house in the area!

The rice came out cold. Zero flavour. The portions were tiny and most of the meat in the dishes looked like scraps - bearing in mind - this was only 8pm!

We asked for the Sag to be made with extra spice - one with extra, one just normal. They both came out exactly the same.

The prices on the receipt, don’t reflect the prices on the menu, but it’s too late to say anything now - but this group definitely won’t be returning.

Very disappointing because it used to be one of the best in the...

Called in for a takeaway after checking out a long list of favourable reviews. Despite high expectations, the food was just bad. I am less concerned about wasting my money, but more about the shear disappointment of a ruined Saturday night family treat. By any standards, it was so poor we ended up ordering an entire meal from another Indian restaurant. TBH a supermarket jarred sauce would have been more rewarding. How in the world can this poor excuse for an authentic Indian restaurant achieve 4.8 out of 5.0, I wonder! The main dishes were tasteless, small in volume, exceptionally poor meat quality and minimal content and to say there was no consistency to the curry’s, I wacked them both back on the hob to reduce, only to find after simmering off all the water, they ended up like a couple of child’s portions. I have eaten traditional Indian food in some of the UK’s best respected curry regions, and I know the difference between this abomination and the real thing. If you are going there for the first time and expect good food, keep on driving, this is NOT worth your...

I’ve eaten at the Mela a number of times and have always recommended it as the best Indian restaurant in town. However, on my last visit, last night, I was less impressed. The restaurant has been refurbished and looks amazing, the staff were helpful and polite, so no concerns there. The issue I had was with the dish I ordered - Garlic Chilli Chicken - and this has influenced the 4* review. I have had this dish several times and it has always been stunning, bursting with flavour and with a rich sauce. Last night, it arrived in a watery sauce and had clearly lost much of its flavour. I have never had to do this before anywhere, but I had to send the dish back. It’s replacement was quite quick and less watery, but still didn’t match the quality of dishes from my previous visits. Two of us had the same dish and both had the same opinion - although, to be fair, the rest of our party were pleased with their dishes. I will eat here again, but perhaps I may try an...