Prachee - Port Solent — Restaurant in Portsmouth

I recently dined at what claims to be an Indian cuisine restaurant, but honestly, it was a disappointment from start to finish. The food lacked any discernible flavor, leaving me wondering if the chef had forgotten to season it altogether. I couldn't finish any of the dishes and ended up heading to another place just to satisfy my hunger. The only decent items were the salad served with the chicken chaat and the chocolates served after the meal. As for the biryani, it was lukewarm at best, making me suspect that it had been hastily reheated, possibly even sourced from a Tesco takeaway. I've frequented numerous Indian restaurants in the past, but this one easily ranks as the worst. Save your taste buds the agony and dine elsewhere. Not only was the food lackluster, but the experience was marred by insensitive comments from the staff. We left all the food untouched, a testament to its subpar quality. To add insult to injury, the staff had the audacity to explain away the dismal dishes by claiming it was "white people Indian food," which is not only offensive but also blatantly wrong. Good food transcends cultural boundaries, and this excuse only further highlights the restaurant's lack of authenticity and respect for its cuisine. Save yourself the trouble and avoid this establishment at all costs.

Reply to the response by the owner: I am extremely disappointed by your response. It’s concerning to see a business respond to honest customer feedback with baseless accusations and hostility instead of taking constructive criticism on board.

To clarify, I visited your restaurant during a weekend trip and shared an honest review based on my experience of poor-quality food, which was not fresh. Rather than addressing the issue, you’ve resorted to accusing me of fabricating my experience and even encouraging confrontational language. This kind of behavior speaks volumes about your approach to customer service.

For the record, I have no personal vendetta against your establishment, nor do I know anyone else who has reviewed your restaurant. My review was solely based on the substandard food and service I received. Attacking customers who provide honest feedback will not improve the quality of your dishes or your reputation.

I sincerely hope you reflect on how you handle feedback and strive to provide fresh, quality food in line with what you claim to represent. Responding with professionalism and respect would serve you far better than making threats or unfounded...

Terrible! I've been to this restaurant twice before. First time, food and service was excellent. Second time, service was good but food was poor. Went a third and final time thinking that maybe they had an off night. 4 of us visited. The place was busy so we were hopeful that it'd be good. We got our drinks and poppadoms within 15mins, so that was okay. It took over an hour to get the mains. We ordered 2 x chicken tikka biryani and 2 x chicken pasandas. The meals were almost colourless and tasted bland. We didn't finish any of the meals. There was no tikka on the chicken. The passanda was a greyish-beige. When the waiter asked us how our meal was, we said, honestly, that the food was bland and very disappointing. The waiter asked me what he should do about it and I suggested a reduction to the bill. He declined. When I said that I would write a review he said that he didn't care and that I would write what I want anyway. Then I asked to speak to the manager. He said he went to see if he 'was in' and, although he came back and said that he was, he said he was in the kitchen and was too busy to come and see me. I was shocked by the responses received and I insisted on a reduction to the bill. They reduced the bill by the two cheapest meals and it was still £67. I didn't leave a tip! Clearly, the management of this restaurant has no time for customers, and the food is appalling.

To suggest we couldn't afford our meal says it all. We didn't even eat half of the food, despite our best efforts. Luckily, my review is supported by plenty of other appalling ones appearing online. If I can save one person from attending this restaurant, I've done my job. You should learn...

We booked a table for 10 and when we arrived, we were immediately asked if we still wanted 10 seats which in the event, we didn't as one of the party couldn't make it. Another was running late and before taking our drinks order, we were asked again if we still needed the setting - I didn't understand why they found this to be the most important thing? Anyway, we put our drinks orders in and the waiter asked as he was leaving whether we wanted poppadoms and being distracted by our toddlers, we agreed to them. Unfortunately, they came out as 2 each (including the kids) and cost £20! Don't be fooled by your friendly waiter!

We asked for the food to be served together and it was served in 2 halves which was fine given how big our order was. The food was piping hot, the puri being very tasty. However, the Prachee Sizzler had an odd buttery taste to it and was very salty. Others had the madras which was also salty so we believe it's over salted in an attempt to get you to order more drinks. One drink had to be reordered after being forgotten despite being almost harassed for extra drinks orders.

When the bill came, we wanted to split the bill according to who ate what but the drinks were lumped together under "drinks £60" so it was a faff going through the drinks menu to itemise it ourselves.

Overall, I think the service was generally fine if a bit pushy. The food unfortunately was a bit salty. The atmosphere was lovely though, it's great sitting by the marina and having a beautiful sunset however it wouldn't be enough to persuade me to return and pay the expensive prices when there are many restaurants with better food at more...