Tamarind — Restaurant in Hertsmere

Ordered our food via Uber Eats at 8pm. At 8.50pm it said our food was ready to collect, we were round there 5 minutes after that, and was told our food would be another 10 minutes. After those 10 minutes we were asked how we placed the order, after which we were left there waiting.

After another 10 minutes with no communication as we sat waiting at a table, I eventually had to corner the guy dealing with it at the bar and he said it'd be another 5 minutes, they didn't receive the order before (but clearly somehow did after we arrived to collect it and weren't asked at any point what the order was). During this time no one had informed us of what was going on, we were waiting for half an hour in the end at the restaurant just to get our food. Could have at least offered us a drink by way of apology for waiting for so long, or offered any kind of communication whatsoever.

After our food came, we were given some onion bhaji by way of apology, but after the lack of communication the experience was already ruined. The only reason I'm offering 2 stars is because the food itself, as always, was delicious, but they have seriously let themselves down by not just telling us what had happened. As good as the food is here, I just don't see us ordering takeaway here again if that's the service you get when the restaurant...

One of my pet hates when going to a restaurant is being asked if i'm ready to order food before taking a drinks order, but Tamarind took this a step further. Upon our arrival we were shown to our seat but wasn't given a menu. Watching the waiting staff it was clear they were completely disorganised, and I got the impression they had no idea which tables had ordered or which tables were waiting. 10 minutes later we were asked what we would like - I then had to point out to the waiter that we didn't even have a menu. A further 10 minutes later we finally had our drinks order taken. Didn't really give the impression that we were valued customers, more that we were an inconvenience whilst the waiting staff dealt with the larger tables. Amusingly, the staff obviously blissfully unaware how unorganised they were, even requested that we leave a review for them on tripadvisor. When we pointed out that we weren't pleased with the service and it would be a negative review, they did seem genuinely surprised! Luckily the food was good so it gets 2 stars instead of 1. I would be willing to return to Tamarind (and we probably will) and hopefully they have worked on their service standards by then, and I will then adjust my review...

I cannot express with words how truly wonderful the entire experience of dining in at Tamarind was for us, we enjoyed the food and customer service so much that we booked a table for next week whilst we were still there. The chef ensured I felt comfortable by reassuring me that the food was kept away from allergens (I informed them of my nut allergy when ordering) whilst he brought out our foods, which I very much appreciated. I am very particular with saag bahji and had very high expectations which were not only met but exceeded, the spinach was so fresh and the little pieces of chilli blended in with the garlic was absolutely divine. The chicken and lamb tikka were so soft and tender that it practically melted in the mouth, I really cannot emphasise just how luscious every bite was! Really looking forward to coming back, and we plan on making more bookings to introduce our friends to this fantastic family run restaurant. Thank you so much for a wonderful evening, see...