Rose Spice — Restaurant in England

Remember the thrilling conclusion to the 1996 premiere league season where a Cantona-inspired team of Manchester United youngsters overcame Kevin Keegan’s free-scoring but leaky Newcastle? Our waiter certainly did, referencing Keegan’s “I will love it…” rant twice during our meal, in the context that we would love the food he was serving us. But much like Keegan’s end to that season, there was nothing to love about our visit to Rose Spice this Thursday night. Rose Spice – formerly Rajastan, a stalwart of the ‘it’s alright’ restaurants of Chesham – still suffers from the same shortfalls that its predecessor (perhaps in name only, I haven’t researched the ownership) did; chiefly the food and the service. Two arguably important qualities in a restaurant. We should have recognised the risk when we first entered. Despite not even being 10pm on a Thursday, they were prompt to let us know they close at 11, in a manner to suggest they would rather we did not eat there. It was a lapse in judgement we would regret. If a restaurant can’t promise the same impeccable service at 10pm on a Thursday as it can at 7pm on a Friday or literally any time of day they choose to open, then they should close at 10pm on a Thursday and refuse custom after this time. It should say it all when the poppadoms are the best part of your meal – and by a distance. The butter chicken was bland, dry and congealed. The sizzling chicken tikka was NOT sizzling. Though tasted liked it might have been at some point that night. The lamb was tough and tasteless. And despite boasting to cater for vegans – and they do have options – the waiter made a big song and dance of my friend’s understated requests if anything could be done to make the rice be anything other than just plain, boiled rice. Another far superior Indian restaurant just minutes away handled this request with aplomb. When asked if our food was ok, our friend from The Midlands response “it’s alright” was taken as an insult. There was no inquiry to see why he (or the rest of us that were too polite to grumble) were dissatisfied and try to rectify. Instead from this point the atmosphere turned uncomfortable. The music was turned off. The waiters stopped coming to see if we were ok. The food was promptly cleaned away or takeaway containers unceremoniously dumped on our table to pack up our own remains, before a card reader was presented – the amount already having been calculated for us. It had just struck 11pm – closing time. No complimentary drink was offered – as is the custom in Indian restaurants in Chesham and had previously been spoken about by the waiter earlier in the meal – before our truthful but apparently unacceptable appraisal that the food was “alright”. If you live in Chesham or are visiting our little market town, there are far better Indian options just minutes down the road, where they will make you feel welcome and you will leave with full, satisfied bellies. In short, much like Kevin Keegan in that 1996 title-run in, I doubt that you will come away from your visit to Rose Spice and tell anyone “you will...

So far with three trips to this revamped Chesham restaurant with different friends, the food has exceeded expectations on each occasion. The wonderful food is decidedly Indian in origin but with marvelous twists to tantalise the tastebuds that is subtly very different to other (dare I say it, more traditional) Indian restaurants. So far I have eaten the chicken Bengali Jalfrezi (my normal go to dish) on my first visit, then the lamb Railway Achari and yesterday the Rose Special...all stunning dishes. The help and service that staff have offered seems to have improved on each visit - which is excellent overall. The internal layout and ambiance changes with booth style seating the first time and slightly more open soft bench style seating on the subsequent visits, I found the booth style seating more intimate when sharing a meal with a friend his two teenage children...great for conversation and humour. Overall 10/10 for the food, service and ambiance inside...so will have to try a take-away or two in the near future - highly...

8 of us booked Saturday 30th December 2023. We have been here before. Absolutely lovely place. The food and portions are extremely good. Great flavours. I tried something different and it was delicious! I have Full confidence in this place! My daughters love Rose spice and l travel from pinner to chesham it’s that good! What makes this place special is the friendliness of the hard working staff and that includes the chefs who are hardly seen but deserve great credit for the work they do and the dishes they turn out under extreme pressure when very busy. The staff like to have a bit of fun and banter with you and it’s nice that everyone mixes in well. I fully respect these people and they always make it a great all round experience for us. Returning again soon. Peter,...