Dil Se Restaurant — Restaurant in Scotland

We ordered takeaway on 2 March 2024. I've eaten at Dil Se a number of times before and it's always okay - no more than that. Sadly "okay" is the best you will get anywhere in Kirkwall.

I had the chicken tikka chilli garlic and my partner had the tandoori mixed grill. We also had a garlic naan.

Chicken tikka chilli garlic is a dish I enjoy and the flavour profile was okay. Very garlicky which I like although I normally prefer it a bit hotter. Sadly the chicken was pre-cooked and noticeably stale.

The tandoori mixed grill included pieces of chicken breast and lamb with some chicken on the bone. It came with a basic salad and creamy dip. Again flavour okay if a bit lacking in depth. The lamb was reasonably tender but chicken quite rubbery. All the meats had been pre-cooked and then re-heated.

The garlic naan, as is typical for Orkney, was thick and doughy with not much garlic. My personal preference is to stretch the dough a bit thinner and have more garlic.

On the pre-cooking of chicken etc: there are lots of restaurants which do this to save time but it is very noticeable.

If your processes are properly engineered it's not difficult to skewer the meat and put it in the tandoor as the orders come in, which doesn't really take any longer than using the microwave to re-heat it.

The service was fine as it always is and I have found the atmosphere fine when I've dined in before, although tonight we had takeaway.

Overall, the lack of attention to detail with the food is the difference between a two star meal and a...

I would strongly advise anyone to keep clear of this establishment, my work colleagues and I decided to treat ourselves to or favorite cuisine and we were left extremely disappointed,

The food was very bland and taste less, and the service was shocking , one waiter for 30+ customers,

It gets better we each paid separately which I wouldn't see been an issue, they really struggled with this simple task, it took a good 15min, I was the last to pay and left,

As we were walking away from the restaurant the owner I think came running out pointing looking very angry saying "you no pay" I went back in to see if there was an issue, he wanted £35 more but could not explain what it was for , I asked politely did you make a mistake, he replied abruptly No, At this stage the whole restaurant was looking at me I felt so embarrassed I...

They say don’t eat anything bigger than your head, but in the case of the peshawari naan from Dil Se, I’ll make an exception. Crispy, fluffy, and filled with acres of sweet coconut. The perfect counterpoint to a well balanced slightly sour, slightly spicy curry (vegetable reshimi) alongside a rich tarka dal, and aloo gobi. Ordered two popadoms, got two more for no additional charge. The pickles did their job, the raita a bit loose, and I prefer a finer sliced kachumber, but that’s a personal preference. A warm welcome, invited in like old friends, and excellent service throughout, and all finished with your choice from a big box of Cadbury’s miniature heroes - although I felt like I may explode like Mr Creosote here - then an after eight, and a hot flannel, before returning you to the wet slap of the orcadian night....