Sabai Sabai Solihull — Restaurant in Metropolitan Borough of Solihull

My husband and I were really looking forward to eating at this restaurant after lovely meals out at the Moseley one. We booked a table on a Saturday for just after 8pm. The restaurant was busy on arrival, but we were seated on time. A waiter came over and introduced himself, and we ordered drinks. He seemed a little flustered. When the drinks arrived, he took our food order. All ok up to this point, where everything then started to go wrong… When taking the order, which was a noodle dish, he asked if we wanted any side orders of rice? I looked at him a little perplexed and he apologised saying “oh sorry, rice doesn’t go with noodles”. We ordered fish cakes for starters. When they came they were barely warm and had a chewy rubbery texture, accompanied by a sweet chilli sauce no different than what you can buy over the counter in any supermarket. When the meals arrived, I had ordered a prawn noodle dish and my husband a chicken, but both looked like chicken? I queried this with the waiter, who looked at the dish and said, “no that’s prawns” . He had a little poke around with a fork and made his mind up, it was prawns. However as soon as I started to eat, it was evident both my husband and I had the same dish, chicken noodle. The waiter said he would go and look at what he had ordered . He came back and apologised, and confirmed two chicken noodle dishes had been ordered. I asked how long to change my meal and not to worry, and he said he would go and speak with the manager. By now my husband had started to eat his. 5 minutes later we see the waiter seating guests and had to call him over to ask what was happening? He said he was waiting for the manager, but he hadn’t come back to tell us this? Another few minutes passed and the manager comes over and apologises. But by this time with hubby a third of the way through his meal, my appetite had gone and I politely refused the main that she said she could have ready in minutes. To be honest my husbands meal was swimming in oil but he was so hungry, he continued to eat but he did say “you’re not missing anything”. When my husband was half way through his meal, the manager turned up with the prawn noodle dish despite me having said no. I refused it but she kept insisting . Eventually I had to say I didn’t want this scene and to please take it away. Because the table seating is very compact, by now our neighbours both sides were looking. It was excruciating. My husband finished his meal and we asked for the bill.The bill comes with a service charge added !!! Never mind the service charge, we shouldn’t have been charged for my husband meal! Who goes out of a Saturday night to eat alone while the wife looks on .. we asked the waiter to take it off the bill. He didn’t look particularly happy at this but went off to see the manager. Minutes passed by and there he is cleaning tables without bringing the bill back and making no attempt to tell us what was happening. By now we were not happy, called him over and asked to speak with the manager ourselves. More minutes pass and there she is setting up tables behind us, making no attempt to come and speak with us. My husband had to ask”are you the manager, we are waiting to speak with you”. So obvious where her priorities lay. She comes over and says the service charge is put on automatically. So, despite our complaint she never overlooked our table, as she should have and as a consequence the bill was presented with no service amendment. No sorry, no apologies, nothing. Customer service none existent. The service of both the waiter and the manager were abysmal. Unprofessional, uncaring and just after quick table turnovers. We paid the bill, minus service charge and left. We won’t be returning and would not recommend. My tip would be to train staff correctly that are waiting on tables. For waiting staff to read the order back to the customer before putting onto the system. Having an understanding of accompanying dishes. After a complaint has been made, making sure the waiter comes back to the customer as soon...

Having eaten in the Moseley branch a few times, I was looking forward to trying the new place in Solihull for a family night out celebrating 2 birthdays. We were sat for 1-20 minutes before we grabbed a server to finally get a drinks order, which again, took a while...not boding well! To be fair, I can understand, as it's newly opened that the service might not be up to speed..and it wasn't all evening unfortunately. On to the food. firstly, in the current climate, I look for value for money. 4 of us ordered the sharing meat platter as starters. Which is on the menu at £15 (although underneath the headline price, it does say per person) for this you get ONE single chicken wing, ONE single Rib, One single lamb chop and HALF a duck spring roll. All of which were pretty good, but still, in my opinion, very expensive for what you get. My daughter had chicken satay, which arrived barely warm. For my main, I chose the jungle curry with beef (a chicken one arrived first) which was tasty, but seriously lacking in meat, around four slices in the large bowl. My father and partner both chose the king prawn pad Thai noodle dish, and both we underwhelmed by 3-4 prawns. We were a party of seven and the bill, was around £58 per person, which considering drinks, isn't all that bad I suppose, but I feel a bit short changed as I believe the portions too small and lacking much of the main ingredient. 2 other points worth noting, which are purely my own point of view. Firstly, the staff were aware that 2 of us were celebrating birthdays, an after dinner drink, or maybe a dessert or even a prosecco on the house would've been nice. Also, what is it with Thai restaurants that don't use Thai basil in their food? It's so easy to grow, and again, in my opinion, adds a really authentic taste to most dishes. To conclude, it wasn't dreadful, but at the same time, it didn't pull up any trees. I think Soi 1268 by Buddha Belly will be a better bet for hearty Thai food which won't break the bank.

Edit (to Sabai Sabai's response) You completely miss the point of my review with your very patronising response. The points I was trying to make, was not about the quality of the food, in fact you'll see I praised the taste of it, but the value for money, and the sparse servings.I've no problem paying good money for good quality food, and if my curry had more meat & the starters had a bit more to them, the review would have read very differently. I've eaten Thai food in Thailand many times & previously have had food at David Thompson's 'Nahm' in London and everything in between, and am constantly searching for the same authentic experience. your food is good, but, in my humble opinion, doesn't offer good value for money. For you to go on about cost of living really is a bit rich when you're serving hardly any meat in a £17 curry. I totally agree that the prices you charge being a standard these days, and am happy to pay it, so long as I get more than a few slivers of meat in my dish, or more than 3-4 prawns in a pad Thai. As for the staff wages being up 10% I suggest you invest in some proper staff training, as the service really was poor on our visit. I've taken a star off my review because of your inability to respond constructively, instead, preferring a very...

Edit to the earlier review below. It’s great when a restaurant listens to feedback and acts. All of my challenges below have been addressed and I’ve just enjoyed a brilliant meal , thank you Solihull . Sabaii Sabaii is a great brand serving fantastic food from beautiful atmospheric restautabrs.

Original review ; I’m a long standing Sabaii Sabaii customer using mainly Moseley but also city centre and Stratford . This is the first time I’ve used Solihull and ordered prawn crackers , tempura prawns, himawan cashew nuts chicken and fragrant rice . Click and collect service was very good, it was ready as soon as I collected . I redeemed loyalty points and reduced the cost by over £8.00 Two concerns that sit under the heading ‘consistency’. My comparisons is with Moseley as it usually is (although the last order was not up to scratch, see separate review ) Firstly, the prawn crackers £4.00 for approximately eight to ten crackers . The bag was smaller than as served at Moseley. Aggressive portion control and poor value. Secondly, the stir fry tasted utterly different to the same dish from Mosley , Stratford and city centre … and not in a good way. The sauce was almost curry like in its punch, the subtlety of the flavour overwhelmed by a hotter overtone. I’m surprised that there isn’t consistency to maintain a ‘Sabai Sabai’ signature flavour This was nothing like and I’m disappointed that this is the second below standard meal in recent weeks . The chef is key to the success of the restaurants and I’d suggest there should be more consistency...