Red Rose Lounge — Restaurant in Havant

I feel bad for writing this review as we have previously used Red rose lounge on many occasions (for takeaway and once inside) but decided to have a night out to eat in instead.

We booked a table. Arrived on time, not greeted or acknowledged, waited for a bit before finding someone to sit us.

A female waitress came over and offered us a table, we would have liked another table but she looked at the other tables and basically just said no.. have this one. (No reserved signs on the tables we wanted)

We sat down, the drinks menu was on the table so we had a look at that. Took about 10 minutes to get the waitresses attention.. she came over (begrudgingly it seemed) and took our drink order.. it took a few attempts to point out what we wanted as she didn't seem to know anything on the menu. We had 2 amaretto and coke mixer. Coke was flat. Not great drinks. We also asked for a menu so we can have a look. She huffed and walked away. Eventually got back with 1 menu. Then she walked back to get another. Don't know why she just didn't pick up 2 to start with? She just chucked the menus down.

The main man came over to make sure we ordered drinks, he also asked if we would like poppadoms which we happily said, yes please. (Something the waitress should have done)

When the waitress could be bothered to come and take our order, we ordered. Again zero knowledge of the menu. We had to point out and repeat ourselves to what we wanted.

We had Tiger prawn puri Mixed kebab starter

Lamb harri massala Garlic chilli shaslick lamb tikka Pilau rice Chips Garlic naan.

It took some time to get the food, but it was OK to wait. I would have loved to enjoy the "ambiance and atmosphere" but there was zero.

We wanted another drink so collared a chap behind the bar. We asked for 2 white wine spritzers. He too seemed to have not much knowledge of drinks. We ended up with 2 large glasses of white wine. My husband had to go up and ask him for lemonade, which he brought separately. So there was a little mess when we had to empty some wine out of our glass to then pour the lemonade in.

Poppadoms came and the raita sauce was like water. Couldn't dip it. So we asked if it could be changed. The waitress then changed it for another which was a little better.

Starters came. Was ok.

Mains then came when we finished starters.

All was OK until my husband realised his was actually chicken and not the lamb tikka he had ordered. He went to the bar and spoke to a man who pulled up the order and confirmed that it should have been lamb tikka. I pretty much finished mine before his correct dish came out.

I always like the taste of the Harri massala but both mine and my husbands meat was tiny. Tiny cubes of lamb and not many of them! Glad I had the chips and rice to soak up the suace which was 95% of the dish it seemed.

We finished and were casually chatting and laughing with the table next to us who had also pointed out how terrible the female waitress was. Chucking napkins at them pretty much and just her general attitude was not good at all! Mabe she was having a bad day? Maybe she was new? I don't know.

But unfortunately we have decided not to go back. We may get a takeaway in the future but won't go inside.

The main man did come and apologise and had a bit of banter with him. He seemed to have "compensated" us by giving us a shot of baileys it seemed. Although I'm pretty sure everyone gets one of these after their meal anyway.

Decor needs to be updated and more tranquil. Maybe bring a bit of India into your restaurant and make it feel a bit warm with decor? Also background music would be a good touch.

As for the service. Something needs to change!

Such a shame as we are normally happy with the food although usually alot smaller portions than any other Indian establishments. But usually made better with their...

We went there because of the high scores and great reviews and we were looking for somewhere central to our different locations. We weren't disappointed!

The food was excellent - a particular red chutney with the poppadoms was something that I hadn't had before and we all agreed it was delicious. We each had a different curry, with a variety of rice dishes and naan breads - all agreed that the food was excellent with the right level of spice as described on the menu. It was a little disappointing that they didn't have Indian Runner (a darker beer brewed to go with curry) available despite it being on the menu, but I'm not going to knock any stars off because they had both Cobra and Kingfisher on draft. The service was good too, friendly and attentive.

It's a shame that I live 30 minutes away from the Red Rose Lounge, if I was closer there's a very very good chance it would become by takeaway of choice. But nevertheless, we will be back, and will be looking to try other things on the menu - the chocolate and peshwari naan sounds...

Recently found out I have a food intolerance to Dairy & Gluten, many places do not cater for these allergies, which is really disappointing when you love Indian food! Thankfully Red Rose Lounge DO cater for many allergies & the gentleman we saw was very helpful & their menu clearly stated the dishes containing/not containing specific ingredients, which was a blessing for me & so much choice, it was wonderful when I have to be careful! Our dinner was lovely & kept hot as we had it as a takeaway, we will definitely be returning as i struggle finding places to eat out & as this is a Restaurant as well so we can still enjoy our nights out! I feel this is so important to many people as intolerance with food is becoming more & more common. I can’t comment on ‘atmosphere’ as we went not long after they had opened & it was a Sunday, however takeaways seemed popular even at that early time! Thank you to the kind Gentleman for your patience too! See you...