Bengal Village - Best of Brick Lane — Restaurant in London

Where to begin? The experience was awful through and through. We had originally booked at The Famous Curry Bazaar for a Thursday night dinner through TheFork website, after seeing it on the Taste Card app with 50% off food.

When we arrived, we were told there was no space for us but that they would move us to Bengal Village next door as it was all the same restaurant anyway (but they have separate profiles on here and on Google Maps). We sat down and ordered poppadoms and drinks, which were fine; nothing special but no complaints about the food or service so far.

Before ordering our mains, we let them know that we had a Taste Card, which is where the experience went downhill. At first, they claimed that Bengal Village wasn't on Taste Card (which is true), but we booked at Curry Bazaar which is (see photo) and we told that it was all the same restaurant when we were moved. The next person I spoke to said that they did except Taste Cards, before a manager came over and again said that they didn't.

He now told us that they no longer wanted to be a Taste Card partner but that Taste Card had not responded to requests to take them off the website and app. I explained that, if true, I sympathised with that situation, but that ultimately that is not our fault and there is no way we could know that.

Next, he called over the manager who said the actual reason we could use the Taste Card was that we hadn't called to confirm before arriving. At this point, we were incredibly annoyed. We would have gladly come to a resolution that was somewhere in the middle of the Taste Card offer and full price, but he didn't want to know.

After a lot of back and forth, we finally said we would just pay full price in order to get on with our meal (it was now gone 9pm and we had booked for 8pm). At this point, he turned around and said that he would not serve us and that we had to leave!

We were absolutely said gobsmacked. When asked why, he said that he didn't want us to be rude to his staff – which we had not been beyond both sides getting annoyed at the situation.

Here's the best bit: he then said – with a huge smug grin and a laugh – that as long as he didn't serve us, he could get any negative reviews removed. It made absolutely no sense to us as we had already been served. We'd had starters and two rounds of drinks – this is proven by the fact that he then sent over our bill and asked us to leave.

To top it all off, there was a 12.5% service charge added to our bill. I asked them to remove it, we paid our bill at full price and left. Nearly an hour and a half after our booking, with barely any food. It was by far and away the worst restaurant experience I have ever had. I sincerely hope that he is unable to get this review removed as we were served (which I can prove with the bill) and people need to know the sort of man they are giving...

DO NOT VISIT appalling dining experience it’s insane how there’s a 4.7 star rating. Very OVERPRICED, Unhygienic, Horribly rude manager, poor service and horrendously dangerous lack of detail in the menu

Watermarks all over the cutlery underneath my plate was a small food mark which hadn’t been scrubbed / washed properly crumbs food and god knows what under the tables, the toilets stunk with urine all over the toilet seat and on the floor, waiters sneezing and coughing into their hands, could hardly speak English The manager is incredibly rude and dismissive the tikka masala had cashew nuts in which WAS NOT stated on the menu luckily my brother isn’t allergic anymore but that’s potentially fatal when I claimed the curry wasn’t great and had a weird aftertaste I let one of the waiters know and he claimed he “let the chef know” with no helping gesture so I asked if I could get it replaced, he walked away and came back 20minutes ! Later and claimed the manager said that’s not an option so I asked for the manager which I waited another 30 minutes for, when he arrived the sarcasm and passive aggression could be felt straight away he dismissed all my points by claiming I couldn't get a replacement as “they can’t issue refunds if I just personally don’t like the taste” and after this no waiters served or helped us it seemed to be him Everytime ???seemed like an intimidation tactic lol so I told him to take it and we didn’t want it, along with his terrible unprofessionalism swearing while talking speaking in foreign languages to the waiters infront of customers and had 0 manners, when it came to pay he tried to get us to leave a good review by offering us (Muslims) a shot of baylies?!?!?!?!?!?!? Passive aggressively tried to force me to pay with card and when I asked why it says we can pay by card he gave me a sarcastic passive aggressive “why does it matter everyone uses card nowerdsys” then told me “you’re a young man there’s a cash machine down the street I can walk too to get cash out” I asked him if he was being serious which he answered he was which was actually insane in my eyes, why be Ageist ??? What does my young age have anything to do with my ability to walk ?!?! So I let him know I have a broken knee I’m unable to walk down the street and he asked if my brother was able to ?! Total joke of a manager joke of an establishment he took the time out of his day to make a video on social media about all the “fake bad reviews” and how it’s negatively affecting the rating but suspiciously thier rating is a 4.7 ?! Why make a video if your reviews are weirdly majorly positive with a good rating ?¿ makes no sense Between the inedible food and the arrogant, terrible dressing condescending attitude of the mamaber, I can’t recommend this place to anyone. Avoid it at all costs—it’s a complete waste of...

🌶️ Bengal Village – A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Curry (Brick Lane Edition) 🌶️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you haven’t yet made the pilgrimage to Bengal Village on Brick Lane, ask yourself: Do I even know what flavour is?

From the moment we walked in, the spices hit us like a lovingly spiced uppercut from a turmeric-dusted deity. The aroma alone could resurrect empires. The staff? Warm, welcoming, and somehow able to anticipate our needs before we even spoke. Psychic waiters? Possibly. Trained in the ancient art of chilli telepathy? Almost certainly.

Starter: The onion bhajis? Crispy halos forged in a fryer blessed by the gods. Samosas? Flaky, golden love letters to your mouth.

Main event: I ordered the Lamb Rogan Josh, and I swear I heard angels weep softly as the first bite touched my tongue. The lamb? So tender it could confess secrets. The sauce? A deep, rich tapestry of fire and flavour that whispered tales of Bengal with every mouthful.

Rice & Naan: Pillowy basmati clouds and naan that could double as royal tapestries. Lightly charred, beautifully soft, and clearly made by someone with divine forearms.

Drinks & Atmosphere: Smooth mango lassi to soothe the heat and uplift the soul. Music? Ambient, unobtrusive, and possibly tuned to the frequency of satisfaction.

By the time dessert rolled around (gulab jamun, obviously), I had experienced all five stages of enlightenment.

Final Verdict: Bengal Village is more than a restaurant. It’s a rite of passage. A sensory awakening. If food were religion, this place would be the Vatican, Mecca, and Nirvana rolled into one.

Go. Eat. Transcend. And if you don’t? You already know what happens to...