Sindhu by Atul Kochhar — Restaurant in England

Sindhu at the Compleat Angler Marlow. My wife and I went for lunch Tuesday 14th January 2020. It was a wet and windy day and we were ever so glad to get inside.

Food

We went for the set lunch menu - 3 courses including a drink which was pretty good value at £25 pp plus 12.5% service charge.

Starters

Wife went for Hyderabadi Chicken Tikka, garlic chutney, fenugreek leaves salad. Chicken was perfectly cooked. Warm, succulent and not too spicy. Portion size more than adequate. It was perfect.

I had Tandoori Malai Cauliflower, with smoked aubergine/sweet potato sort of relish. To be honest I don't know how this was meant to be. I enjoyed it but it was quite crunchy/al dente. I liked it though.

Mains

Choices are quite limited within the set menu. Really only 3 choices including a vegetarian option before going on to supplements for other dishes - £5 for Lucknowi mutton and £7 for slow cooked beef short rib.

Wife had Sri Lankan Duck Paratha. This was not what she expected. Like a stuffed paratha in a cereal bowl with warmed salad. Portion size was large but it didn't quite work and the result was just a bit too soggy. Maybe it's meant to be like that - I don't know. I think it would be best on a flat plate with garnish and accompaniments to the side.

I never order salmon in a restaurant as I've always been disappointed. However the Salmon in Lahori Green Herb Masala with vermicelli biryani and cucumber raita was just perfect. Big portion. We had some dhaal on the side. Both liked the dhal initially then both agreed that we thought it oversalted.

Desserts

Wife; Mango Kulfi. Me: Chocolate Tarte with vanilla ice cream. Both very good.

Drinks

We had a glass of Prosecco. And a half litre of the rather thin nondescript house red (Hungarian). £19. Plus tap water.

Ambience

We were sat at the row of tables for two which rather regimentally placed side by side to overlook the river. Tables were in my opinion too close together and it was impossible not to hear other people conversations. There was a table of 6 behind us and they were all obviously having a good time. Add the house background music and the result was that it was sometimes difficult to have a chat across the table.

Service. Fine. But rather too attentive drinks wise. I stopped myself drinking water as it was always replenished the minute the glass was put back...

When you book a table at an Atul Kochhar restaurant you feel a sense of excitement and build expectations woven around the experience. You think lip smacking food, and a fine dining ambience hand in hand. When we went to dinner yesterday at Sindhu, our excitement wore off as the evening progressed and our expectations of fine dining food were crushed. The ambience of Sindhu during a dark winter evening was not grand in anyway and the food served to us was below ordinary. The food quality, flavours, presentation and preparation was below par. The chicken in our chicken 65 was dry and the gravy for our Paneer Tikka Masala was sweet like Kulfi. The black Chana masala lacked flavour and presentation. Any Indian Punjabi household makes this chana dish, much better than what Atul Kochhars chefs made and served on to us. We paid a premium price for the Mangalorean lamb ordered and what we received was chewy pieces of lamb in a lack lustre, tasteless gravy. Not how we imagined it. We are extremely dissatisfied with our experience and especially the food they served which was worse off than any local Indian takeaways around the area and London. We hope that you take this feedback on board, team Sindhu and do something about it. We are definitely not going to patronise your brand moving forwards and I am sure I am not the only customer you must have let down. A complete waste of a large sum of money. Ambitious in what you portray, hopeless in what you deliver. From a very disappointed and ripped off customer. Tripti...

Received a £60 lunch gift voucher from my son for the Sindhu Restaurant. The food was nothing special but I would say my starter and dessert were nice. Totally spoilt by the the bill which included £5 for 1 bottle of water and £9.90 for 2 small coffee’s plus £9.36 SERVICE CHARGE. I spoke to the waiter who said the service charge was because we ordered a bottle of water and 2 coffee’s and this was correct. Stupidly I didn’t challenge this and paid. The bill was made up of the £60 credit voucher plus 1 bottle of water at £5 and 2 small coffees at £4.95 each Plus the SERVICE CHARGE of £9.36. My son would be extremely embarrassed and disappointed if he were find out that his present cost me an additional 28.7% charge!! After drinking the coffee outside and getting more annoyed, I went to the receptionist at the Compleat Angler, Marlow, to explain that I felt a gift voucher should include any service charge. She informed me that the restaurant was not part of the hotel and walked me back to the restaurant to speak to the manager who appeared very annoyed but refunded me the service charge. Needless to say that we will not be returning to this restaurant in the Compleat Angler. If we had bought coffee from the bar and had been charged a SERVICE CHARGE of £9.39 for a bill of 9.90 I certainly wouldn’t have paid it. Be aware, there is nothing stated in terms and conditions and the restaurant staff don’t tell you, so: DON’T ORDER EXTRAS UNLESS YOU WANT TO PAY THROUGH THE...