Curry Cottage Of Beckenham — Restaurant in London

I've just moved to Beckenham and this is the first local curry house that we've tried. I was slightly concerned by some of the reviews that I read but we thought we'd take a punt and I'm so glad that we did!

The first thing to say is that my first impressions were pretty poor. The decor is shocking (but in a semi-authentic kind of way) and the welcome from the head waiter was less than warm. In fact, I was close to drinking my Cobra and leaving without ordering food to try somewhere else.

Then the food arrived and the game changed. The dishes were prepared very nicely without any of the excess oil and grease that we come to expect from some of the lower-end indian restaurants. The main courses were full of flavour, were just the right size (not too much, not too little) and contained a reasonable amount of meat. The Bombay Potatoes were probably the best I've had anywhere and the Tandori Chicken Karahi was amazing, too.

Whilst the miserable waiter didn't cheer up as the evening passed, he did respond to a request for some additional dishes and they arrived very quickly indeed. There was a second waiter who tended to us once or twice and he was very friendly indeed. If he had been looking after us all night, I would have awarded 4.5 stars (I still need to knock off half a star for the decor!).

So in summary:

Service: 2 stars Quality of food: 5 stars Value for money: 4 stars Ambience / atmosphere / decor: 3 stars

Would I return? You try and stop me! I might even try to get a smile out of the...

I ordered take away from what appeared to be their website (I later found out this is outsourced to third parties). Delivery was meant to take 30-45 minutes. 2 hours later, 4 calls to both the VC restaurant itself AND the third party website operator), my food finally arrived. What made me most angry was that the restaurant kept promising it was just a few minutes away. In the end I had to make dinner for my kids because it was past their bedtime. The website operator finally 'promised' me a refund (surprise! They didn't in the end) and my food suddenly appeared 10 minutes later. The food was average...all curries basically the same flavour with more or less chilli. I won't...

Been there a lot for food and each visit is great. Food is delicious, portions are just perfect. We always order the main dish and rice and often we have to take it away! Staff is really nice, welcoming and helpful. Service is 5 star, a lot of attention is given to you. Its a small old restuarant that had been in the area for decades, if you wnat to havbe a nice indian food that has a home feel then this...