Crown & Pepper — Restaurant in Tandridge

I visited this place for dinner with my husband. I am a pregnant woman, and I have a intolerance to chillies. I ordered two things on the menu which I knew would not have chillies (never does have chillies when you go to other places). The starter was fine. The main meal came out, I could see chillies on the top and in the sauce. I told the waitress it did not say on the menu that it had chillies and it never normally does. She said I should have told her when ordering I don’t want chillies. I said why would I when the dish is normally chilly free. She said they will take out chillies on the top of the dish, then give it back. I said no because I still won’t be able to eat it as there are more chillies inside. I asked for another to be made so I can eat quickly, she said I have to pay for both dishes though as I did not let her know. She pointed to the menu where there is a section at the back about allergens and intolerances. I pointed out that no one looks at that and usually customers are asked when being seated if there are any allergies. For intolerances, I have always managed this via looking at a menu and ordering what I know will be safe. She said it was still my mistake and I would have to pay. In the End they made a pregnant woman go hungry and pay for a meal she never ate. I will never go here again. Awful service and made to feel so bad and hungry.

EDITED BASED ON OWNERS REPLY:

I am astounded to be accused of wanting freebies, especially as I paid for a dish I did not eat a single bite from! So this does not make any sense whatsoever! I am disgusted at your dismissal of your mistake and expecting me to still eat the dish that still had chillies in even after she took the top ones out. Word of advice to you, crown and pepper (caterham) improve your hospitality if you want to strive in this business. Develop your menu cards to have better indicators of spice /chilly levels against each dish like other indochinese...

Visited on a Thursday evening and ordered a variety of Indo-Chinese dishes, along with a chicken biryani. The service was prompt and polite. The dining area was quiet, with a few customers in the bar area watching.

Biryani is a dish that relies heavily on technique: layering marinated meat and partially cooked basmati rice, then slow-cooking them together to create depth of flavor and texture. You expect fluffy, long grains of rice, visible whole spices, and tender, well-seasoned chicken—all brought together in a way that signals a proper dum-style preparation.

What we received looked and tasted more like a spiced rice dish. The rice was clumped, lacked the signature aroma or layered appearance, and had a uniform texture and colour—no visual or flavour separation that you’d expect from traditional biryani. There were no distinguishable garnishes or whole spices, and no visible pieces of chicken on the serving plate. It didn’t resemble biryani in either presentation or flavor.

When we politely questioned the dish, we were told this is how they’ve been serving biryani for over 8 years and that no one had ever complained before. Despite us eating no more than a spoonful—and the pot still full and untouched—the restaurant refused to deduct the £13 charge from the bill.

The other dishes had mixed results: the veg Manchurian was nicely crisped outside but slightly raw in the middle, and the Crispy veg noodles leaned quite salty—though we didn’t raise these with the staff.

While the team was courteous throughout, the food, particularly the biryani, didn’t meet expectations. It’s fair to have a different interpretation of a dish, but when it strays this far, some openness to feedback would have been...

Really enjoyed the food, and the staff were very friendly. However, the manager was the ruded restaurant manager I have ever encountered. After lockdown and being encouraged to eat out we decide (my family and I) to eat out and support a local restuarant as it has been tough for this industry. We chose not to take advantage of Rishi's scheme, and eat out on a where there was no discounted prices to support the restaurant.

We ordered and we were served our food. During our meal my 19month old daughter grabed my food, and it fell to the ground and the rice fell on the carpet. The staff were understanding, and we apologised as she had made a mess. The manager passed by and gave us a mouthful and said "this is ridiculous, you need to pay and leave or go outside because now I have to get your mess cleared up". My partner and I apologised but at the same time gobsmacked at the way we were being spoken to. He said he had done us a favour by letting us eat there with children.

After spending 5 months of cooking at home I wanted to enjoy a meal out with my family. It was such a smack in the teeth to be treated like that as a paying customer, especially after spending almost £100 on food and drinks. If you have children you may not want to eat out at The Crown and Pepper because the manager doesn't seem to understand or expect accidents to happen when dinning with toddlers or appreciate your custom in...