Calcutta Brasserie — Restaurant in Milton Keynes

Lets start with the good, the building is an impressive and historic venue for a meal, the food was on the whole excellent with one exception. The menu had some interesting and unique dishes I had not seen listed before at an Indian restaurant, congratulations on that score.

OK, I was entertaining my son and his wife who I had not seen for some time and wanted a special celebratory meal. On booking my phone call was met with a rather grumpy voice who gave an audible sigh when I said I wanted a table for three. On arrival we were met by a surly unsmiling waiter who showed us to our table, didn't offer to take our coats or pull the chair out for us as is customary in other equally expensive establishments. Our order was taken in a rather rude manner with no please or thank you when dishes were chosen. When the poppodums arrived they had obviously been cooked in stale oil which left a bitter taste, something you might expect in a cheap bucket curry take away but not at these prices. The food was very good overall but it feels like attention to detail has been allowed to slip. As this was a special celebration for me I was disappointed that all was not as I expected. I would have been more pleased with a takeaway from this establishment as the atmosphere created by the miserable surly waiter was distinctly underwhelming. Come on guys, it really doesn't cost any more to provide great customer service, you will lose business from an otherwise great restaurant...

Thought we'd give this place another go, after their brief foray into a 1 star food hygiene rating. They are now back at 5 stars.

The building is a converted church/monastery (I'm not sure) but the architecture and artwork on the walls is stunning; it's a great setting for a restaurant. We went with some friends who had not been before and they too were impressed with the place.

We ordered the tandoori sizzling platters, chicken tikka, and a medium spiced lamb dish, all with rice and naan.

The meat on the sizzling platters was quite a strong flavour (meaty, if you wish), and it all looked and tasted quite similar even though it was a mixed platter. Friend enjoyed his chicken tikka, and I enjoyed my lamb dish too.

The thing that ruined it for all of us - and has done for me before - is the service. It always seems just a bit abrupt, aloof. They are also always trying to take away items from the table whilst you are still eating. My friend was dipping his naan into his curry bowl and they were still trying to take that!

It's not nice having people lean over you trying to clear the table whilst you are eating. The table wasn't rammed with dishes so we weren't struggling for space. It just feels like they want you in and out of there (I'm sure that is not the case but that is how it comes across).

I probably wouldn't rush back, but food isn't that bad and the building is amazing; could just do with some customer service...

Do not go to this restaurant if you are a coeliac.

We ordered our food using their menu which clearly states which dishes contain gluten or not. We also told them at the point of ordering that I was coeliac and could not have gluten. The waiter added the note 'gluten free' to the order and said that we could have paneer because it had milk in it. I replied stating gluten meant a wheat, rye and barley intolerance, not dairy.

When the food arrived, the Biryani came with a chapati style bread on the top, sealing the biryani inside. The waiter pushed a spoon through it. When I asked what it was, he said it was made from wheat flour. I explained that I could not have wheat but he said 'it's fine because it's just on the top.' I explained again why I could not eat it and that I had explained this on ordering.

On return of the biryani without the wheat top, it looked as if the biryani has simply been poured from one pot to another. I didn't want to make a fuss so simply did not eat it and ate the other food instead.

That should have set off alarm bells for me. Of course, if they didn't understand the basics of coeliac disease, they kitchen  would be overwhelmed with cross contamination. My goodness the next day, did I feel it! I woke up in the night with pain and am still in agony now. Goodbye weekend, I am going to have to stay in bed.

In this day and age, you would expect a restaurant to the know better about gluten...