In2 Papadam — Restaurant in London

One reviewer commented on poor customer service and I wholeheartedly endorse his observation! I had come to the restaurant on the basis of the menu which they threw through my letterbox. I brought this menu to the restaurant thinking that the menu in the restaurant would be exactly the same. I had made notes on the menu about what to ask about which food, which was why I had brought it to the restaurant.

We quickly found out that the menu in the restaurant was different from the menu that they had thrown through the letterboxes of the nearby properties a week ago. Some items from the letterboxed menu weren't on the menu in the restaurant and vice versa.

The prices on our bill were all over the place. We ordered 5 items. The prices of only 2 items agreed with one of the 2 menus - the one in the restaurant. Items 3 and 4 on the bill were on the letterboxed menu and weren't on the menu in the restaurant, and the prices of those 2 items didn't agree with the letterboxed menu either!

And here's the poor customer service bit: When I questioned this price mess, the waiter started explaining it and left in the middle of explaining it to speak to someone else! He didn't come to me again, so I went to the bar with the bill to continue letting him explain it. When I came to the bar I pointed out that he shouldn't have left me in the middle of explaining it to talk to someone else! Instead of apologizing and swallowing his pride he replied "We're extremely busy, madam". I told him that this fact wasn't my problem and I had come there first [which I had, because they had opened at 5:30 and I had booked a table for 5:40 and was there on time]. He finished explaining the price mess, I paid, he gave me the change, and then a guy who looked like he might have been the manager joined the debate and told me that they had charged me less for some of the items, hence they were the ones losing.

The waiter explained the price mess with the reasoning that they were updating the menu now, hence not all the items and new prices were on the system yet, which was why the prices on my bill were all over the place. To crosscheck the validity of this I then asked the manager who had joined the debate whether the letterboxed menu was now invalid since they were updating the menus and prices. The manager AND the waiter both happily encouraged me to keep the letterboxed menu and said that it was valid. And they explained that the prices on the letterboxed menu were lower because it was the takeaway menu.

Dear readers, make of this what you will, but my verdict is that 1. good customer service is when the waiter doesn't leave me amidst explanation to talk to someone else and doesn't even come back to me because he doesn't know how to deal with a query, not even a complaint yet; 2. good customer service is if the waiter tells us upfront that the menus and prices are different even before we open the menus he hands us in the restaurant. He saw that we had the letterboxed menu with us! What do you think? Do you agree?

Considering the fact that there's a competitor Indian restaurant right across the road which is even called Popadom and has been there for good 2 years + 2 more Indian eating outlets in the same row of shops AND In2Papadam has been open for 2 weeks, I as the manager would definitely insist on impeccable customer service, quality of food, and quality of experience, because it's not like I wouldn't have enough sufficiently established competition! I'm surprised that the manager, or even owner if he knows what goes on in the restaurant, isn't sufficiently commercially minded to realize this...

I don’t like leaving negative reviews, but it seems the owner hasn’t taken on board previous feedback about the quality of the food or the speed of delivery.

I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala and found it extremely disappointing. The chicken hadn’t been barbecued at all, and the sauce was an unnaturally bright red and overwhelmingly flavoured with coconut, which made it heavy and claggy. A proper tikka masala should be creamy, balanced, and orange in colour - not sweet and fluorescent. I appreciate regional differences, but this version really missed the mark. It simply wasn’t nice to eat. At all.

What’s frustrating is that the restaurant advertises itself as an Indian restaurant, yet when customers criticise the food, the owner repeatedly deflects by saying that the chef is Bangladeshi and “has been cooking this way for 14 years.” That’s not an explanation, and it certainly doesn’t justify poor quality. Authentic Bangladeshi food can be wonderful, but this isn’t it - and using that as an excuse feels disingenuous. A good curry should never taste dominated by coconut or look unnaturally red; that usually suggests cheap food colouring and corner-cutting.

As for delivery, I had to chase it and still waited an hour, despite being told it would arrive within thirty minutes - and I don’t live far away at all.

I’d avoid this place - there are far better restaurants nearby....

Would not recommend

Ordered a Nan bread which was dry around the edges and flat, along with a lamb dhansak which should have been on the desert menu (no word of a lie it had a cup of sugar added to it).

Called them up. First guy was helpful and quickly looked to get it changed (thank you). Second guy took over the call and just wanted me off the phone and said it was a mistake but also I could call next time to double check (an hour and a half later no one came to change the food).

Waste of money £28 as I had to throw the whole lot out.

Waste of an hour waiting for the food to arrive.

Waste of energy, going hungry and writing this review.

Wish I could say that it left a bitter taste in my mouth but that would actually be a lie.

It’s overpriced for what they offer - they should take a (curry)leaf out Green Chilli’s restaurant...