1876 Dundee — Restaurant in Scotland

I had my covid wedding here back in October. Really didnt want to do a review but the utter disgraceful manner of the owner has made me do this. Following on from my husbands Qasim Ahmed review. You have been a long standing restaurant owner but the first time jumping into wedding planning - No previous experience. He has no business running weddings and trying to offer things to make a quick buck when his restaurant is failing. Health and safety is a priority? Is that why ive known on several occasions you had over too many people attend weddings at your venue where then police were called. Or the wedding where you booked both the small room and restuarant to gain full capacity. Your main aim was not get yourself caught and fined! You did make guests feel unwelcome - especially the photographer and molvi. Where you hadnt provided enough food/drink or even prior to the wedding rudely being dealt with in an attempt to make them quit even though they were part of our 20 guests. As i remember you were trying to push me into going with a photographer of your choosing a few days prior to the wedding (again in an attempt to make a few extra bucks). £100 per person was what you said, i have proof that was what was quoted. You shaved some off i agree, but my deposit was also sitting with you. Never got that luxury experience one would have with £100 per person, my suppliers definately never. Food i admit has been good in previous attempts, but you never addressed the fact why you would not make enough food for the people coming to the wedding. Main courses for a table of 6-8 in something you would hand over to a table of 2. Which is nothing short of embarrassing. You had issues whenthe photographers were sitting down having food. At the end of the day, they were our guests whether they were working or not, but everyone deserves respect regardless of what profession they are. You said you blocked me after receiving numerous messages harrassing you. I added a comment on one picture - advising i would not recommend you. I was blocked on both facebook and instagram, not only me but my family were blocked on facebook. I added a review from my husbands account which got attention and then you proceeded to block him too. You need to be able to receive the bad reviews aswell as the good. How will anybody else know whether to go with you. You agreed one/two weeks prior that i could still have the supplier to set up my stage for my wedding which was originally booked for upstairs. Then you went into business with Abda and wanted to take profit raising the price per head to accomodate this. Where would you have put the stage that she made for your weddings if not to use them as you had no room. Why let somebody else do something you could make commission from? Lining your pockets at any turn! You do know that weddings need to be booked atleast a month prior, so relevant paperwork is ready for the wedding. And having a venue confirmed is a big part of the wedding notice. So saying you have flexibility is yes i agree you do. But finalising wedding details a week prior (pricing, suppliers etc), giving people a big shock with pricing or refusal of external suppliers and them not having any other options is not a big life saver as you might think.

Would not EVER be back! Disgracful owner! Reputation is going downhill. Remember all businesses have negative reviews, but not all owners hide this by blocking customers opinions. I have heard bad comments about other weddings done since covid, but none of them have been vocal, or maybe blocked before they can say anything.

Best wishes to whoever decides to hold a wedding here but would not recommend in...

Lacklustre welcoming. I've seen more life in a graveyard. Death row recipients receive better service and better quality food than we did. The moment we walked into the restaurant I instantly wished that we went somewhere else but decided to stay and try to enjoy the food anyway as from what I remembered it used to be good. The woman at the bar wasn't wearing uniform and nor was she welcoming and the waiter and manager looked scruffy. The actual interior of the restaurant looked like a canteen or prison with the tables lined up, bare walls and no sort of decoration which made us both feel very uncomfortable. When the waiter came over to write down our order, we politely asked if we could have a few more minutes to decide and instead of him giving us space he floated around our table making us both feel very uncomfortable. The drinks were handed to us in cans, the rice was microwaved (as well as they forgot one of our portions), and to top it off, the actually curries themselves had very unpleasant and had off putting tastes to them. We both agreed that there was something off about the chicken as it tasted as out of date and agreed to stop attempting to eat and complain. When we informed the waiter about our complaint he did not handle it professionally and nor did he show any concern or care. Instead he silently walked off and got his manager who took his sweet time to come over and deal with our compliant. When we informed him of the problems, he simply stated that's how they, a "professional restaurant" (as he stated), prepare there food. We then informed that the fact the food arrived within 5 minutes was a red flag for us as any true professional restaurant would take at least a minimum of 20 minutes to deliver these orders. His response were passive aggressive and showed no concern instead making us feel that the issue with the food was our fault. Also making it clear that he did want us to return which is fine because we can assure we won't be, and nor will our friends and family. We eventually stated that we are only paying for the drinks and naan as we barely touched the curries or rice which resulted in him nodding and promptly walking off with our dishes. After at least 5 minutes, he finally returned with our bill stating that all present staff had tasted the food and stated that "it was perfectly fine and that's how they prepare it". We also informed him that this wasn't my first time here and my family used to be regular customers here back around 10 years ago, and back then I couldn't fault it. He retorts back by stating that we have the same chefs that we did ten years ago so the food is the exact same. We promptly left after paying for our reduced bill and quickly informed people about our disastrous meal. Even at Wetherspoons where we just were, it took triple the time to prepare pub food so there is no excuse for a "professional restaurant" to be delivering "fresh" food...

Would not recommend this venue for weddings. Extremely overpriced for what is offered. £100 per person and forced to choose their inhouse decor to make up the high price. Everything from terrible service, to making guests unwelcome to causing problems with already booked suppliers. Food overcooked and falling apart. Not enough food made to accomodate tables, meaning a table of 6 was presented with curries ideal for a duo. photographers were made to feel no welcome and no dismissed. With it being my wedding day the owner Azhar did nothing short of stressing the wife out on the build up of the wedding. Extremely disappointed with their behaviour and how they took advantage over covid. If the day went perfectly well the day of the wedding, i would dismiss my review but can not in good concious let them pretend like they are an amazing choice for a wedding. They even had audacity to block my wife from the facebook and instagram page to avoid me telling real truths. Also, a review from Fozia Butt a few down will provide further details. The business has also been reported to the correct authorities due to the overpricing during covid which is illegal. Going from £30 per head for 150 people - £4500 to a covid wedding at £100 per head for 20 people. something doesnt look quite right with this business. Earning profits off the backs of the vulnerable in times of need. i would recommend anyone with similar issues to report to the CMA!

Ps. I wouldn't even...