Tap & Tandoor — Restaurant in Southampton

First Disappointing Experience

This was our 3rd visit to Tap & Tandoor and unfortunately on this last visit we felt completely let down by the experience. The previous two experiences were perfect and we've been raving about this place since our first visit. This time round however, we were bitterly disappointed.

Firstly, upon arrival we were seated on a small table which felt quite claustrophobic so we requested another table. There were 3 double tables within view but we were advised that they were booked for groups which we felt was fair. Ony for all 3 double tables to then be taken by 3 other couples who arrived within 15 mins of us. If this wasn't disappointing enough, all 3 couples then got served before us. I had to approach the waitress to request service. She was very apologetic and even though it "wasn't her area" she kindly took our order.

We were hoping that was the end of the bad experience but unfortunately, the it got worse. We ordered two starters and two main dishes. Having taken our order, we specifically requested that our starters came out first (a reasonable request we thought). This did happen.

After a 20 minute wait, our drinks had still not arrived which prompted me to ask the waitress. This was a different waitress and she apologized for the delay and said she would check what was happening with our drinks. After a further 10 minutes our drinks arrived. We then requested for our starters to be delayed seeing that it took so long for our drinks to arrive. The waitress again apologized and said she will speak to the kitchen. She promptly returned and said our food would be delayed. We thought "great, we can have our drinks before our food arrives". Then within 5 mins, not only did our starters arrive but so did our mains!!

We accepted our starters and politely declined our mains. From this point onwards, the service improved. Unfortunately the disappointment continued with one of the main dishes. The veggie keema was disgusting! The texture and flavour was horrible and not something I would not recommend. The other main dish, the Chicken Curry was spot on and is high my favourite dish.

All in all, it was a disappointing experience. I can only think it was because it was a Friday evening and they just couldn't handle the high volume of customers at their usual high level of service. I would still go here again because the food and service on the previous occasions was spot on. I would however strongly suggest you don't go on a Friday or Saturday if you want to avoid...

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The food was nice, but unfortunately, we had a very negative experience with the staff. I have never written a review before, but after trying to contact the restaurant directly and being ignored, I felt this was the only way to share my experience. I went into the restaurant with my mother for a meal. My mum ordered a cola to drink when it arrived, it was fizzy but had no taste( as if the syrup was running low), when we asked our waitress if she could please replace it, at first the waitress came back with the drink and told us it was fine, my mum tried it again and (VERY POLIETLY) said that it still didn't have any taste and that it may be due to the syrup running low ( as my mum has also worked in pubs and restaurants before), our waitress left and a male staff member came back to our table and stood over my mum, pressuring her to try the drink again in front of him. He was unfriendly and intimidating, and honestly made us both feel very uncomfortable. My mum wanted to avoid confrontation, so she said that the drink tasted fine, to which the staff member said, 'See, it is fine. it's the same drink, I only tipped it into another glass. After this, our waitress was cold and distant with us. The food was nice, so it was such a shame that this bizarre situation ruined what was meant to be a special treat for me and my mum and created an unwelcome and weirdly tense atmosphere. I TRIED TO CONTACT THE RESTAURANT DIRECTLY BEFORE POSTING THIS TO BE FAIR AND GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO RESPOND. They told me they would call me, which they have not and have now ignored my emails asking for an update. PLEASE AVOID AND SAVE YOURSELF FROM FEELING UNWELCOME AND...

A warm welcome at the door, super friendly service and the food is excellent too. Will come here again without a second thought.

This is a decent sized unit in WestQuay 3, and leans in to the pub aesthetic, with screens showing sport (sound off). The front half is pub-esque, the rear half a restaurant format.

The surprise for me was just how good the curry was. Had the king prawn curry, which had some great flavours in it and properly standout juicy perfectly cooked prawns, and plenty of them.

The rice was great and their house-special naan was great for mopping up the sauce - though it was closer to a flat bread than a tandoor-cooked naan. The onion bhajis were huge and well cooked.

Another feature to mention is the beer. Really class for it to carry Unity’s Simpatico session IPA - not my favourite Unity beer but great to see them support the most local of breweries, just round the corner from St Marys. My fave though is Vibrant’s Pulpa; great depth to it, could drink that all night long. Cost wasn’t extortionate either, considering the quality, about £6:50 a pint.

The service though - an absolute delight. Lovely people here making sure you are ok, but not in your face all the time. They genuinely wanted to make sure you were ok.

We have some fabulous Asian restaurants in Southampton, so some tough competition for Tap and Tandoor, but I would come here again - the quality of the curries really is up there with the best. The vegetarian offerings are great too - I’d happily choose them on another visit.

If I’d come for just curry and not beer, I’d go away full having spent about £20 a head....