House of Zen — Restaurant in Sunderland

Saturday 11/6/16 me and my partner visited your restaurant in Seaburn . We had been extremely looking forward to it as we frequently visit your restaurant in Newcastle and are always completely satisfied with the very high standards of food/drinks and service we receive. We had waited serval weeks to get a table as I appreciate the first few weeks of opening can be a very busy period. When we arrived at the restaurant the front of house staff had no reference of our booking even though I had booked well in advance. Luckily they were able to accommodate us and found us a table. The waiter took our drinks and food orders and we were pleased with our starters only my partner had ordered a 'Fat Buddah' cocktail and was slightly disappointed with its presentation and taste as it was not to the same standard we usually receive in Newcastle. The waiter then brought over our mains and they kitchen staff had mixed up the sides, my side order was on my partners plate and hers was on mine. We then ordered more drinks and waited a long time for them to come. I ordered a pint of larger and a 'Japanese Margarita' for my partner. we had to ask the waiter twice where the drinks were as it was taking so long. I appreciate it takes time to make cocktails only again when this one came it was not what my partner had expected or to the same standard we are used to receiving in Newcastle. For the main course I ordered the Malaysian chicken curry, I felt that it was bland and had very little flavour. I asked the waiter to take the dish back and he offered to change it but I was already annoyed by the wait for drinks and the mix up with the side dishes. He said he would take the dish off the bill but when the bill came it was still on. I feel extremely disappointed after our visit, as the Fat Buddha Newcastle has always been one of my favourite restaurants, which I have recommended to many people. I will not be recommending the Seaburn restaurant and will not be returning to avoid further disappointment.

Never responded when I...

As an Asian Cuisine enthusiast, I had high expectations from the Fat Buddha in Sunderland having tried the other Fat Buddhas in the region. However it was unfortunate that the place did not meet my expectation. We went to the restaurant for lunch on a Sunday. The starter (spring roles) is one of the simplest dishes you can order - it was nicely presented yet poorly made with what it seemed like only cabbage as the stuffing. The main course my partner had (Thai green curry) was watery - yet my partner didn't mind it as it tasted okay. My main course (Malysian chicken curry) - was very dry and tasted bland. And when i prompted the waiter, she kindly took the dish back, only to return with some curry poured on top of it. Oolong Chinese tea was server as a tea bag in a cup with a separate small pot of boiled water and many know thats not how such a tea is servered... My partner did enjoy the cocktail she had though which shows that they do have a great bar. It was also to my surprise that the place tried in desperate ways to charge money by charging for the prawn crackers that you would normally get as complimentary in most Chinese restaurants..

The Verdict: With the good service, prime location and great decor, I think the place is let down by its kitchen/poor food ingredients for some reason. That may explain their low prices. For a place like that, I would expect and be happy to pay 25% more for how they price their menu and to get a better quality - thus allowing the restaurant to up their game without having to worry about the bottom line. However at the moment and from what I've experienced, the kitchen is no different from a low value Westernised Chinese take away/buffet unfortunately..

This was for the lunch menu that costed roughly 9 pound for two courses per person(starter + main course). I hope to return in a couple of months giving the place another chance and I do hope for a better experience during my next visit as it would be a shame such a great place would go to waste because...

I used to come here years ago so I took my partner here on Saturday after long time. I noticed the management changed, inside it looked little bit nicer, we were sat next to the window by the sea view. All the staff was very nice and polite, starters were okay ish, very tiny, literally around 3 pieces of prawns, not how I remember, but tasted alright. Then the trouble started, when we were waiting for the next course. I asked one of the staff, where is the food and the girl went to check in the kitchen. She came and apologized, she said the kitchen didn't get the ticket. So she sent it trough again and she went to double check in the kitchen. She kept checking on the kitchen for us and poor thing looked nervous. Obviously looked like the fault is on the side of the kitchen, as our food didn't arrive for another 10 minutes. It wasn't too busy really and I think kitchen should definitely prioritize us as they knew there's a table missing an order and waiting to be served for longer then 30 mins. The food finally came and the lady was apologizing again on behalf of the kitchen. We started eating the mains but my partner wasn't very happy as the meat was cold and the portion sizes were very tiny for the price. When we told the staff, the lady asked, if we want a meal replacement. We said we don't want to wait for another meal anymore and we would like to speak to the manager. When the manager came, he wasn't very friendly, he looked grumpy and annoyed and when we explained the situation, he was really rude. We ended up paying with a discount, which was fine, the staff was really friendly, but the kitchen was unorganized mess and the manager was terrible. Unfortunately, we won't be coming back until the management changes, as from what I remember, the management before was very friendly and professional. This manager couldn't even speak fluently and we had to repeat him like 2 times. It is really sad when the staff is way better behaved then the...