Curry Cottage — Restaurant in Maldon

I've had two takeaways this week from Curry Cottage and the food was very good but both times I've been left with the feeling of nice friendly service, but afterwards I've felt swindled.

On Saturday (01/07/23) I ordered a tandoori mixed grill to take away and asked for an extra little bag of salad and an extra mint yoghurt. I remarked how important I thought these items are to the meal and said I don't mind paying a bit extra. The price on the menu for the TMG is £10.50. When I went to collect I was told £13.95 and I objected, saying I can't afford £3.45 for a lettuce leaf and a small pot of yogurt. So the man gave me the basic meal and I paid £10.50, and I was pleased that I'd challenged him and avoided being taken for a fool.

Two days later I ordered the same meal, £10.50. when I collected I paid contactless with my phone and afterwards noticed I'd been charged £10.95.

I'm not fussed over a couple of quid either way and I always like to give 5 stars but after two visits Curry Cottage left me feeling that, although the food is excellent, the business is run with a pickpocket mentality.

Check your bill carefully,...

Ordered starters and waited nearly an hour (there was only a small group of us), one of our group complained and the starters appeared after 50 minutes of waiting. Food was ok but not fantastic. Starter plates were eventually removed and we waited nearly another hour for mains and took for us to complain again for those to come out. The waiters were rude and argued back at us and said ‘what do you expect we are busy’, another sat at the bar just laughing at us whilst plates were literally being shoved on to our table, one plate was placed on top of one my friends drink and left to balance there. Most of our food was cold. Rice turned up on cold plates and the waiter called me a liar when I explained my food was cold. Absolutely dreadful place but I was warned by many not to go there but I had already made the booking. Bill was also grossly inflated but they were rude when we tried to query it, check your bills closely!! PLEASE AVOID and go elsewhere. Let’s hope this place...

We booked a table at this restaurant last night for the very first time, and we are so glad we did!

The food was really excellent, in fact I remarked to my partner that the vegetable curry was one of the best I've tasted, and the service was likewise top notch, we didn't have to wait long for our food to arrive at our table, and it was all delicious, well presented and reasonably priced too.

The staff are very friendly, very polite and charming. They look after their customers very well.

From outside the restaurant looks very attractive, and once inside the restaurant it is very well decorated and clean, as were the toilet facilities. We were very impressed, we could not fault a thing, we were even given a free drink after the meal was finished, and we really enjoyed our evening, will most definitely return in the near future. Highly...