Star of India — Restaurant in Northern Ireland

Wow, this place is crazy. My mum and I went in looking for a halal place. When we asked if the food was halal, the guy initially said no, then came back and said yes. It was incredibly confusing and unprofessional. He rushed us to make a decision before we even sat down, claiming he'd explain what was halal. It was a long day, and we were tired, so we stayed despite the warning signs. Big mistake.

The decor is mediocre, not terrible, but they still had Christmas lights up in the middle of summer, which felt odd. We ordered the Tandoori Mixed Grill (£15) and Chicken Madras. After waiting 50 minutes, we asked about our order and were told it was taking time because it was being made 'FRESH!' However, the restaurant was empty, and we saw takeaway orders going out promptly.

When the food finally arrived, the Chicken Madras and a bowl that looked like the same sauce were lukewarm. Clearly, it wasn’t freshly made as claimed. It looked and tasted like microwaved food. The Chicken Madras was more like a soupy orange tomato puree with overcooked chicken. It was beyond awful, freezing cold, and lacked any usual garnishes. The servers even touched the plates and food, claiming they were hot when they were not.

The platter was the stingiest I've ever seen: the world's thinnest kebab, two pieces of chicken tikka, a halved chicken leg, and two tasteless lamb pieces, all for £15! It was basically boiled meat with red food coloring and barely any onion or pepper.

My mum ate the chicken leg, which was pink inside. PINK! Serving undercooked chicken is unacceptable. When we complained, they rushed to check if it was true, showing no remorse or apology, just excuses about their food quality. The naan we received was cold and soft, and when we questioned it, they said they make it this way for white customers, implying a discriminatory service practice. We also noticed we were given a takeaway menu while other diners got proper ones and were served warm plastic Coke bottles, unlike the glass bottles behind the counter.

The whole experience was awful, from the cold, poorly prepared food to the lack of proper customer service and possible discriminatory practices. Despite all this, we still paid, which was shocking given the quality and service. This place is a joke and should not be in business. They clearly prioritize certain customers over others and serve subpar food. Avoid...

I'm so sorry. I just have to say this. This was an awful dining experience. I sat down and waited Fifteen minutes for anybody to come over to ask me if I even wanted a drink. Nobody came so I went to the bar to ask. Sorted.

The waiter came over to me immediately. I had a vibe that he wasn't happy with me. I told him what I wanted but he was clearly not listening as he came back to me a few minutes later with a notepad and took my order again properly.

Ok, the starter was nice. The dish I ordered was Mildly Spicy on your menu and what I ate felt like Vindaloo. Absolute agony. I'm not that good with such levels of heat. It was physically painful. On top of that, as you apologised later, I found a piece of plastic in my dish. I almost swallowed it. No compensation offered. I mean... It's not a huge deal for me but it could be for somebody less kind. Speaking of kind. A SINGLE smile towards me would really make me feel more welcome. It really felt odd sitting there, having a waiter that seemed upset with me and no nice interaction with any staff.

You clearly have decent reviews so I'll say this was a one off, but I had a very negative experience and I'll be eating elsewhere next...

I made a reservation turned up to be told it will be a while I then asked again after waiting about 10 minutes to be pointed at a table and told it’s over there. We then waited some time to be asked had we ordered. We gave our order and asked for two drinks which never appeared. The food came after a long wait we again asked for the drinks and had to ask for glasses to drink out of. Whilst eating our dinner the female manager (I take her to be) started to lift empty dishes reached across my husband whilst eating without an excuse me or anything. This is totally rude and the height of bad manners. Not once whilst dining were we asked if everything was ok or could we get you anything else. It seemed to be if the proprietors new you then you were looked after but as we were not known the didn’t care. Very bad customer service!!! I myself have worked in an Indian restaurant for several years and would never dream of not looking after my customers should I have never seen them or if they were regulars. Always would I have engaged with each table making sure all clientele were treated the same. Think some lessons would need to be learned at...