The Red Fort — Restaurant in Woking

I found it to be a very expensive takeaway experience - among the most expensive two curry, one rice and two bread takeaways I've bought - and, despite the above average taste quality of one of the dishes, I thought it was not good value for money.

I was very disappointed to see that despite ordering the takeaway in the shop and collecting it, I was not given the 10% or 11% collection discount. If the discount is for online orders only, this needs to be stated prominently or at least an explanation given at the point of in-shop ordering. It's possible I've misunderstood something but it did seem I was charged restaurant eat-in prices for a self collected takeaway.

For me, this is about respect for me as a customer. Simple service in this regard would have earned Red Fort a very loyal and regularly returning mid-week customer, whereas now I won't be returning.

There was no complimentary poppadoms or chutney provided. That's fair enough. Just an observation.

The food was above average in taste although the spicing of the bhuna lacked nuance and depth with far too much sweetness. The base sauce is clearly good quality but the dish specific layers of spicing on top of that are shallow.

The vindaloo was good in terms of taste and a laser like concentration of warming heat. There was a lot of tomato in the taste but somehow it just - only just though - worked as one of the nicer Woking vindaloos I've tasted. The cubes of lamb were however too small and there wasn't enough meat. I was hungry at the end of meal which is a very unusual experience for me.

Ultimately I think it's a shame that a restaurant that's able to produce a better than average quality of food, falls down on value for money. This is subjective and just my opinion.

Maybe town centre restaurants have it too easy and don't have to try too hard for customers. Most people, or at least those who work hard for their money and for whom a mid-week takeaway is a hard earned treat, will probably want more value for money (and more food for the money) than is...

Despite having lived close the The Red Fort in Woking for many years, it was only this week that I decided to eat there for the first time. They had a five-star food hygiene rating, and a website where we could check the menu in advance.

It was a quiet night, around 10:30pm, with around four tables in. There was one gentleman running front-of-house and he was welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable. I was eating with my partner and we both felt the customer service was great.

We enjoyed the usual drinks and poppadom, followed by the mixed meat platter to start. It was hot and tasty – what more can I ask for!

When it came to ordering mains, I was tempted by my go-to, a lamb madras. However the gentleman serving us recommended I might like to try one of their signature dishes – I believe it was the Nepali Ghurka Lamb. I was not disappointed – it was delicious; with plenty of decent quality meat and a really nice flavour that was a nice variation from a lot of the regular Indian dishes I would usually go for.

The speed of service was in line with what you would expect for the time of night, and the food came out hot and well presented.

With regards Covid safety, the staff their wore masks when attending tables, and there was plenty of space between us and other guests. We were able to use the NHS check-in app when we arrived.

In terms of value for money, we found it to be about average – and were very happy to leave a tip for the warm, friendly service.

My only complaint would be that the chairs in the restaurant are shaped in such a way that they are not the most comfortable for those with a larger rump! But – that didn’t negatively impact the overall experience.

Will...

I can't comment on the eating-in option - this review is for the Red Fort takeaway. It.is.INCREDIBLE. The first time I ordered through Just-Eat (now switched to ordering direct from Red Fort as it's cheaper) was purely by chance. They were cheap so I went with them, with low expectations due to the price. Oh my god was I WRONG!! Every single dish was full of flavour, and beautifully cooked, from the perfect onion bahji to the soft sheek kebab. But the main point to note is the lamb they use. If you're of a certain age you will remember when EVERY Indian restaurant used those lovely chunks of lamb, instead of the miserable, cheap and nasty marbled strips half of them use today. Red Fort use CHUNKS of lamb, that are so soft they almost melt in your mouth. And ZERO gruesome white tubing either. Absolutely incredible quality of food for the price. Don't be fooled by how cheap Red Fort are - support a wonderful, top notch establishment that REALLY make the effort to get...