Varanasi Boutique Restaurant — Restaurant in Great Britain

A hidden restaurant in Central Leicester, difficult to find especially because there isn’t a sign outside, but it was lovely to be greeted by a kind doorman.

And this gives the impression of the overall vibe of Varanasi Leicester – style over substance.

It’s not quite clear if they are still establishing themselves, but everything from booking online to the menu itself is branded with ‘Varanasi Birmingham’ - which might be a small oversight on their part, but makes a big impression when you expect to go to a fine dining restaurant. More pragmatically, be very careful when booking online to make sure that you have booked the correct location.

Inside the staff were lovely, giving a service you would expect of a high-end restaurant. One particular waitress called Aarti was particularly attentive to my needs- thank you.

The decor and aesthetic are beautiful - from a decorative elephant head on the wall to the flower arrangements and interior design. This would be a lovely place to take photos and enjoy a special occasion- if you wanted a small drink or snack…

Unfortunately, if you’re looking for good food or a complete menu, you’re going to be disappointed.

Whilst presented beautifully every dish left something to be desired in the realms of taste and portion size. It gives the impression that so much effort went into the style of this restaurant. The food was an afterthought.

In my particular case, we ordered the Pani Puri. Lack of flavour and seasoning really let down what could’ve been an excellent start to an evening. For an Indian restaurant to miss quite a basic staple target, especially given the competition in Leicester, was very disappointing. We also had the tiger prawn starter, which was lovely, well presented and came with two prawns.

They have a limited menu, which usually indicates some specialism and expertise - as you would expect in a fine dining restaurant. The presentation was excellent definitely Instagram worthy. From the plating, use of colour and (somewhat excessive use of) edible flowers, it really does add a sense of occasion- this is a special meal.

However, if you were planning on eating it, you would be left wondering whether you ought to walked past this unmarked restaurant instead. The prawn curry was disappointing – Missing out on the flavours and textures I would expect from any mediocre curry. I do eat spicy food, but the proportion of chilli powder in this creamy curry needs serious reconsideration. To add insult injury, only two prawns were included in the portion – exactly the same as the starter portion. We also ordered the Lamb biryani, which should have been an explosion of flavour, textures and delicately balanced spices - but this lacked in the very basics of seasoning. The lamb itself was quite nicely cooked, but again portion sizes really let this down.

The drinks were very nice – we ordered A rose Lassi, which was light and delicately flavoured - more rose milky, and a mixed berry Lassi, which was a more yoghurt, sweet, smoothie consistency. Both were very well presented in a double old-fashioned glass and decorated quite beautifully with dried flowers, edible flowers and blueberries - perfect for Instagram.

At the end of my meal with my dessert, I like to include with a hot drink – but when I asked for this It was clear this is not a usual occurrence here. There is no hot drinks menu, but I was offered a cup of tea which did not come in a tea service just a single cup - again portion sizes really need to be evaluated. And quite disappointingly when I asked for a dairy alternative, I was made to feel ridiculous for asking for any soy/ oat/ any dairy alternative. It’s clear that they don’t cater for this.

On the desert menu (again branded with the Vanarasi Birmingham emblem) my colleague ordered the Raspberry Vacherin cube - which was not labeled as containing dairy. It really should be.

Overall, this is an unsuspecting looking place, which is beautiful inside – perfect for a lovely drink and maybe a starter. But for dinner, maybe try their...

Decided to visit an Indian restaurant in Leicester after dropping our daughter off at EMA.

Googled Indian restaurants Leicester and top of the list was Varanasi. The pictures show a very nicely set out restaurant with very pretty interior and a sample of the desert menu, no other descriptions of food or prices. (By viewing the page you can guess that the food will probably be more expensive than your usual Indian/Bengali restaurants but hey ho I always say I don't mind paying for quality, where as others may say you get what you pay for) Here my issue starts. We were greeted by front of house and lead to our table. First impressions are good, a little dimly lit with flickering candles everywhere and aged mirrors on the walls and Asian inspired wall decorations. So far so good. Waiter arrived and asked if we wanted still or sparkling water and left a wine and bevarage list My wife decided to stay with the water as she was driving, I myself ordered one of the 5 beers on offer, a small 330 ml bottle of beer arrived along with a bowl of poppadom shards (not discs but shards ) 2 dips a mint, coriander and tamarind sauce and a mango chutney. I asked the waiter about the chill (I believe this to be a typo on the menu) chicken dish and was informed it was a sweet chilli dish akin to Chinese sweet chilli chicken. So I declined that dish and was recommended the Varanasi special chicken which the waiter explained was a tomato based dish with blended spices, garlic and chilli. I ordered this and my wife ordered the same but with extra fresh chilli's to be added. We also had one portion of pillau rice and 2 keema naan breads.

The food arrived very quickly and we started to eat.

My first taste was of garlic, lots and lots of garlic and after that initial taste that was all I could taste. I don't mind garlic at all but this was overwhelming for my palette. The chicken was cooked nicely and not overdone and dry but sparce. The rice was as hoped and naan breads had good amounts of keema mince in and were just ok a little gooey.

My wife's first impressions were her dish was bland, at first I thought maybe they have given the extra chilli dish to me by mistake but after trying each others dish we could see and taste the slight difference between the two. We managed to catch the eye of the waiter again and asked if we could have a small bowl with more chilli in to add to our food. He brought this to us imediately. My wife still said her dish was bland but carried on eating as she was very hungry, I couldn't finish as my taste buds were still in shock from the garlic so I ate the few chicken chunks and left the majority of the sauce. We finished our meal and asked for the bill. Bill total came to £87 for some poppadom shards 2 mains 1 rice 2 naans 1 small bottle of cobra and a sparkling water. My review is. Nice setting, attentive staff. Expensive food. Would I return? Probably not. Do I recommend? Not really unless you want to spend double what you might spend at any other Indian restaurant close by. All in all. Pretty but not worth the money for food taste and quality. More of a Instagram place than a good food place. As I stated earlier I don't mind how much something costs as long as it's enjoyable. That stands here. Decor...

Title: A Tale of Contrasts: Atmosphere Shines, Service Lags at Varanasi Leicester Restaurant

I recently ventured to Varanasi with high hopes of an evening filled with delectable cuisine and impeccable service. However, my experience was a study in contrasts.

Upon entering Varanasi, I was immediately struck by the inviting ambiance. The decor exuded elegance, with soft lighting and tasteful decor creating an atmosphere that was sophisticated. It was evident that considerable attention had been paid to creating an inviting space for customers to enjoy their meals.

Regrettably, the same level of attention to detail did not extend to the service provided by the waiting staff. Throughout the evening, We encountered numerous instances of disappointing service. Waiters seemed unprepared and lacking knowledge about the dishes they were serving. This became particularly problematic when my friend was enquiring about food allergens such as gluten. The menu stated Tandoori Roti did not contain gluten, which it in fact did. The lack of understanding and awareness regarding dietary restrictions left us feeling uneasy and uncertain about the safety of the meals being offered.

Compounding the service issues was the glaring disparity between the quality of the dishes and their exorbitant prices. While the menu claimed to boast an array of enticing options, the waiters lack of knowledge regarding the menu was further evidence when I asked the waiter to differentiate the “Chicken Curry” from “Butter Chicken”, the waiter just mentioned the Chicken Curry was in chef spices, which left us confused. The dishes were lackluster and failed to deliver on the promised flavors, leaving me underwhelmed and questioning the value of the hefty price tags.

In conclusion, while Varanasi offers a captivating ambiance that sets the stage for an unforgettable meal, the disappointing service, lack of knowledge regarding food allergens, and inflated prices detract significantly from the overall experience. With some attention to these areas, Varanasi has the potential to truly shine as a culinary destination.

I would not recommend a visit until the above issues...