Crowborough Spice | Restaurant, Bar & takeaway — Restaurant in Wealden

A Curry Catastrophe that left us with Takeaway Trauma.

Fancied a curry this weekend and sadly, we chose Crowborough Spice. Big mistake. Huge.

After placing our order, we were treated to an agonising two-hour wait, long enough to fall into a “korma” waiting for it. Sceptical that our food actually existed, we rang up, only to be fobbed off by a woman who assured us it had “just left” the restaurant – a curious claim, considering 30 minutes later it still hadn’t arrived. Unless the delivery driver was riding a unicycle through treacle, something wasn’t adding up.

When we finally got through to the manager, he showed all the warmth and accountability of a broken toaster. When asked if a two-hour wait was acceptable, he shrugged it off with, “We’re very busy, what do you want me to do about it?” A masterclass in customer disservice.

As for the food – the part that did arrive – it looked like it had fought its way here and lost. The chicken was so tough it could’ve been used to resole boots. The Biryani rice had the personality of damp cardboard, and the Bhuna contained so much oil, I’m surprised the US didn’t invade our house for drilling rights.

What little was edible arrived lukewarm and sad, like it had given up somewhere around Tunbridge Wells. To top it all off, we left the leftovers out for the local foxes – and even they turned their noses up at it. When urban scavengers with a diet of bin juice reject your curry, it’s time for a serious rethink.

The only pleasant surprise of the evening was the rock-hard chapati, which has since found new life as an excellent frisbee for our Labrador, Archie, who has never been happier.

And let’s not forget the aftermath: we were rattling with Alka-Seltzers by bedtime and had to leave the windows open all night just to restore a breathable atmosphere. It was less of a meal, more of an indoor biohazard drill.

To call this a meal would be like calling Pot Noodle haute cuisine. We were left hungry, furious, disrespected and slightly afraid of poultry. If you enjoy long waits, missing items, and chewing meat that could moonlight as a yoga mat, then by all means – Crowborough Spice...

My partner & I had a fantastic takeaway on 19th Jan. When I arrived my food wasn't ready for collection & I was informed it wouldn't be too long. I was happy with that and happy to sit & wait. While waiting Leo behind the bar/reception was friendly & apologetic. Not to long after the food was handed to me. When I got home (5min drive) the food was still piping hot, which was fab and even after we had finished our dinner we had food left over in the containers, and that was still very hot, which I was very impressed with, coz normally takeaways get cold quickly.

We had Coconut rice, Bombay (potatoes) Aloo, Chicken Tandoori (on bone)starter, Lamb Tikka Passanda & Chicken Korma and my god the rice was the best I have ever had, nothing like other coconut rice from other restaurants. The Korma was amazing, the right amount chicken and sauce. My partner is a right foodie and he said his Bombay, Lamb Tikka & and Tandoori, was SO SO good & delicious, the best Indian we have had. We would give all our food 14 out of 10. And the total price was reasonable too. We can't wait to eat in the restaurant for the food and the atmosphere, which was lovely to see while I was in there. Well done C.Spice, Leo and the team, keep up the great food and service, and I am looking forward to dining in with...

Patience is a virtue and it was tested last Sunday 26 May 2024 at Crowborough Spice. I booked for a family dinner at 6:30pm and we got there on time. And we left at 9:10pm because of long delays. we were not alone as other people dining experienced the same long delays.

From having our stater to our main course we waited 2 hours and 27 minutes. No apologies from the staff were given. I am all for supporting local businesses but not when service and food are pretty bad. I did have years ago a very bad experience where I had food poisoning from Crowborough Spice. I never went back until last Sunday as I wanted to give them another try since they have been advertising on their refurbishment and new deals. But apart of the long wait their food was skimpy with lots of sauce and veg and just 5 tiny pieces of meat on each dish. All creamy dishes were extremely sweet and tasted the same.

I am pretty sure many of you love Crowborough Spice but I am not one of them.

Also be aware that papadums are not part of their £14.95 deal of eat anything from the menu. We were never told that. Nevertheless, it was our last visit and we won’t...