Essence Of India — Restaurant in Scotland

I wish I had read the reviews before making the decision to have a meal here, but the convenience of its location & our love of Indian food got the better of us. First impression; the welcome. Well, it wasn’t really a welcome more a statement about only accepting cash. We knew that & were hoping our friendly smiles & greeting might have been reciprocated. Nope. In fact, throughout the time we were there, there was no warmth or friendliness forthcoming; in fact it bordered on rudeness- we felt like we were an inconvenience & the whole vibe was weird. We had to wait for ages to place our food order & had to ask twice. The food was ok. A bit on the greasy side, & my husband’s vegetarian dish was supposed to have cauliflower in it, but there wasn’t any. The garlic chilli naan was nice & the popadom was clearly fresh. But let me lead with the poppadoms to paying for the bill…. When we ordered popadoms, we asked for 1 each. They arrived with condiments (pickles & mango chutney)- we weren’t asked if we wanted them- they just arrived. On paying the bill, we were then charged per person for the condiments that we hadn’t asked for! I don’t even like chutney or pickles! I pointed out that we hadn’t asked for them (in most Indian restaurants we go to they come complimentary) & rather than the charge being removed, I was met with a rather aggressive ‘did you eat them though?’, which is hardly good customer service. After I pointed out that I didn’t have any, they deducted one person’s charge, but seriously? How bad is it to give you something you haven’t asked for & then charge you for it? Very deceptive. Now just imagine that charge going on to every single diners bill in an evening…… they’re doing well aren’t they? Essence of India is overpriced with poor service. They clearly have a monopoly in the area which allows them to get...

Reading the reviews and the fact I was staying in ullapool for one night, I really wanted to try this place out and give a honest review.

Here goes....

Upon approaching and walking through the door, I felt very little atmosphere despite 3 other tables being occupied.

The person who served us wasn't unfriendly in any way, regardless of what some other reviews state.

He clearly stated that it was cash only before sitting us next to the table next to the toilet.

The decor of the restaurant was pretty bland and could've done with more of an Indian restaurant theme.

Looking at the menu, the prices seemed expensive compared to 90% of the restaurants I have eaten in.

The food portion sizes were decent but generally bland or overcooked, such as the rice.

The poppadoms where fine but we found the mint sauce needed to thicker aswell as the mango chutney needing more texture.

The chicken rezala had minimal spice and if I someone had blindfolded me, I don't think I would've been able to guess what I was eating.

My son ordered a chicken vindaloo which seemed more sweet than it was spicy. Once again doubt you would know what you were eating if blindfolded.

There is no alcohol on the menu which was a bit of a downer but probably saved me a few quid to compensate for the inflated food prices.

I completely understand that the indian restaurant may have toned and sweetened dishes for the tongues of local people but for me the food was bland and overpriced for such.

I'm glad I got a chance to experience some food here and leave an honest review but next time I would probably get a box set meal and eat that for a much much lower cost than eating here.

Sorry but for...

We tried this restaurant on 28th July during our NC500 road trip. We were looking for comfort food of indian cuisine. I must say that at first I was pleased to find an Indian restaurant in the remotest parts of Scotland. But my experience is surely disappointing.

First, they didn’t accept card payments so we had to order our food and travel a mile from that place to find an ATM. I am not sure if I can blame the restaurant for this. But come on.! It is definitely not customer friendly in accepting payments. If you’re someone who doesn’t keep cash then you may want to check your wallet before going here.

Second and important, the food here isn’t great at all. They messed up the Dal tadka we ordered. As per my thumb rule, A restaurant cannot call itself an Indian restaurant if they mess up simple dishes like this one. We ordered a couple of other starters which weren’t great either. Menu actually has Indian and Bangladeshi dishes but do not expect the food to be an accurate reflection of what they say on the menu. The only thing i like here is Poppadums (papads).

Third, restaurant ambience is not up to the standards.. pretty outdated furniture. the chair I sat is broken and the cushion had holes in it.. it wasn’t a pleasant experience dining here.

In the end we spent £30-40 (for 2 people) for nothing. If you’re a traveller/non-asian who wants a sample of indian cuisine.. then please be informed that this isn’t authentic.

If you’re South asian (indian) who wants to get some comfort food of your liking then don’t be fooled.

This isn’t Essence of India.. more like non-sense in the name of Indian cuisine.

Sorry....