Rivaaz Lymington — Restaurant in New Forest

We stayed in Lymington for a few days and the thing we were most looking forward to was dining at this restaurant after hearing so much about it and following Shah the owner on social media, we wasn’t disappointed.

We originally booked a table to eat in but I couldn’t get a wheelchair taxi to get me there so instead we cancelled the table and booked a collection that my friend went and picked up.

My friend arrived back with the big bag of Indian food and said Shah was so friendly and welcoming, the place was spotless by all accounts.

It wasn’t completely smooth sailing a couple of things in the order were wrong but we really didn’t care because the food we had was the best Indian food we have ever eaten, we aren’t young and like to think we know what we are talking about.

The chicken in the curries was nice big fresh chunks that had clearly been marinated and not cheap diced stuff thrown in a sauce. The rice dishes were so fresh and flavourful that you could have easily eaten them without any accompaniments. Samosas were divine, not too soft and not too crispy. Naan was so tasty and fresh. Even the chutneys were above and beyond anything we had encountered before.

I phoned the restaurant to tell them about the mixed up dishes and they immediately offered me replacements whenever I wanted, I politely declined and thanked them so much for the incredible food and told them that it wasn’t necessary because we were over the moon with what we received

First class establishment, thank...

Bland.

Along the high street of Lymington, this seemingly ‘fancy’ curry house intends to welcome the wealthy residents and visitors of Lymington into a sophisticated curry experience, only to disappoint with shady service and flavourless food.

Slamming of doors and over upselling makes the experience feel nerve-racking and pressurised. Followed by the changing of waiters leading to an inconsistent experience. The appearance of this restaurant may feel luxurious at first, but as you get comfortable and soak in your surroundings you will soon notice the lack of attention to detail.

I always like to judge hospitality by their toilets and unfortunately the Rivaaz disappoints. The toilets are small, awkward to get to, and not well maintained. Which I think reaffirms the stark contrast between the clean and shinny appearance, to the dark and dingy interior. But hey, who am I to judge a book by its toilets.

Finally the food. I had a starter and main course, with popadom and dips before (fine). The starter was an exciting prawn sauce in a crispy wrap, yet I felt it lacked flavour. This sentiment was echoed in my lamb main. Perhaps the chef forgot to use salt on this occasion. However, I suspect a dilution of flavour for the more traditional palate was at play. Nevertheless, it was almost edible.

If you want a good curry, go somewhere else.

If you want a nice dining experience, go somewhere...

We were in the area visiting from Manchester and wanted a meal out for our last night and chose here based on the press and reviews. The atmosphere, decor and staff were lovely, accommodating & friendly- can’t fault that at all! However the food was super disappointing- coming from Manchester we are spoilt with incredible authentic south Asian food, and sadly this just wasn’t it. Not sure if the food has been watered down a little to suit a more ‘British’ customer, or if maybe the quality of food has slipped slightly and the owners aren’t aware… but just disappointing given the price point.

(Putting this here for feedback not to slate the restaurant as we did genuinely enjoy our evening just think the food could be improved: Starter- vegetable sharing platter £14, sadly samosas & bahji didn’t seem freshly made & very small. We actually thought it was £7 total not each which would make more sense

Mains Chana masala was bright red- have never seen that before! Paneer Karahi was a quite bland. On the more positive side the food was not...