Ruchita — Restaurant in Reigate and Banstead

I dont think it's fair to review on one visit but my visits here vary. I do enjoy the food no doubt and I originally came because of the relaxed environment and being only 5 minutes from us but there always seem to be one thing that sticks out. I was born in redhill and Ruchita has always there so I like to support the businesses in my area.

Myself and my husband are both asian/indian looking and from my many experiences on visits I find that we are not really treated with the same courtesy as others, maybe because we arent english and we choose not to drink alcohol I dont really know.. they probably dont bother with us because we dont do big spending on drinks.. it seems like we get always sat at the corner with a rushed service and no smile. I even remember a time where we were sat in the far corner and around us were 3 english couples. The waiter went round to ask everyone if they are okay and completely missed us out ( they must have took us for the waiters)

A select few of the waiters are very good and I always will tip them. ( Bald guy with glasses, hands down the best) One of my worst visits I tested the theory and actually tipped £20 on top on my bill despite the cold service and I saw the waiter go back to his boss (huge guy with the beer belly, always moody) and I saw the surprise in their faces. I think they just look at us like we are stingy asian people and we wont spend out on drinks etc which isn't the case at all but obviously we are not worth a good service like others.

After this visit I told my husband despite the lovely food I dont really want to go back there simply because I want a nice experience when I go to dinner like all others and cant be bothered to be treated like the way we have been, it's very uncomfortable. We now prefer to make the travel into london to get a more authentic range of different foods and a much...

You know that scene at the end of Ratatouille where Anton Ego; the food critic tastes Remy’s dish and he has this epic flashback that transports him back to his childhood? That’s what happened to me last night at the Ruchita…

I grew up in Earlswood in the 80’s and 90’s and ate there frequently, so go ahead and call me biased. But I have moved many times since then, further and further away to raise a family. I’ve found some good Indian restaurants in that time, but in my mind they’ve always been lacking that “je ne sais quoi”. I still order from different ones in my local town all the time, giving them each a chance (and another and another…) to be THE one. My local.

Well last night, whilst tearing apart what looked to be a diamond encrusted piece of garlic naan and mopping up my wife’s chicken tikka dansak with it, I was struck…. flavour! It’s FLAVOUR!

Every dish, EVERY DISH was punchy and loud and delicious... Dripping with flavour. I could see how the garlic naan was going to taste before I put it in my mouth. I knew something magical was about to happen!

Perhaps some people don’t like too much flavour, or perhaps some restaurants simply skimp on the ingredients to make them go further, I don’t know.

What I can tell you is, that if you like tasty food… I mean proper tasty, then get down to the Ruchita and try it for yourself.

There’s also a fresh, calm, laid back atmosphere too, so it was such a lovely visit and the perfect venue for Mummy & Daddy’s date night. After all, it even says it on the...

Thank you Rucheta for over 20 years of great food. However, since the original owner, Ali, passed away last year, the food has gone massively downhill. I used to order at least once a week. Very hit and miss re quality and flavour over past year. Absolutely no consistency when ordering the same chicken madras. Too weak, too thick, blows your head off, far too salty or solid overcooked chicken. Such a shame. My last order was last week. So salty it was uneatable. I called Rucheta and then sent them photo of my uneaten takeaway as requested. Even though I had already spoken over the phone outlining the problems, they asked me again what was wrong with it once I sent the photo and text message. I politely replied and they read the message yet they failed to respond. Like I said, over 20 years of me being a loyal customer and I feel very let down. Such a shame. I believe the deceased owner, Ali, was a tough boss. Whatever the case, he made the Rucheta what it was which was a great restaurant. Note to the current owner: make changes where needed, retain good chefs and take a leaf out of...