When I heard there was an Indian restaurant close by to the hotel where we were staying at, I was very curious to give it a go, albeit with low expectations. However, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with how well-cooked the dishes were, and it tasted great too (this is coming from a fellow South Asian, so we're good critics for this sort of cuisine!). I think this is also largely down to the fact that the owner actually worked in England in the restaurant business for over a decade, so the food we tasted was very reminiscent of the quality of the Indian cuisine back in England. The owner was also working front of house, and was such a welcoming, warm and hospitable person, and always made sure to come over to ask how we were doing, and if there was anything else we needed. Overall, a great place to dine in, and I highly recommend this to anyone in the area craving a curry. I know I'll definitely be back!
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
We ate here on Saturday 16th May 2021. We had eaten Thai at their sister restaurant on Friday, which was very good. Our expectations were high for an Indian meal. We started with Chicken Tikka, Onion Bhaji and Samosa. The Tikka didn't have a strong tikka taste and needed more and thus it was a bit bland. The Bhaji was not crispy enough and again was fairly bland. The Samosa was made with home-made pastry (not Filo) and whilst I'm sure this may be authentic, for us the pastry was too thick, (short crust pastry, I think), and again the filling a bit bland. We both ordered Lamb Madras, which was tasty, fresh and hot as we had requested. Pilaf Rice was good. The Nam breads were okay, maybe a bit on the crispy side, but flexible enough to scoop up some curry. We had a bottle of wine which was priced very reasonably. The service was very good, which would have been expected as we were the only customers. We were happy with the pickle tray which we ordered with the poppadum’s. They served a home-made mango pickle, which was fantastic.
The restaurant is up a side road and only has two outside tables, which is fine. We have dogs, so we have to seat outside. I would recommend this place, however, if you are like me and love spicy food, you really need to emphasise you want your food hot as I think the flavours are catered for the mild pallet clientele.
Towards the end of my career I was honoured by my industry to be elected a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality so I feel qualified to give a professional opinion. I don't give negative reviews lightly; I know the damage they can do to a business. In this case , however, I feel obliged to give this review as a warning to potential customers.
This was the worst dining experience I have ever encountered.
Despite having booked in advance, we were not expected; the service was slow and patchy (there was just one waiter but apart from us he only had 3 or 4 tables of two to look after). There was a lot of shouting and arguing eminating from the kitchen which should have warned us of what was to come. Our drinks took an age to arrive as did the starters which were cold and bland.
The waiter delivered the dinner plates with the usual flourish and show of wiping each one, which seems to be the standard in Indian restaurants. Unfortunately the plates were cold.
From our arrival to the delivery of the main course was almost two hours and when it arrived it was barely warm and all six of us commented that there was little flavour in any of the dishes. My prawn vindaloo was more like a stew and the potatoes collapsed into liquid as they were so over-cooked.
The restaurant was untidy and not very clean.
Accordng to that chart on the toilet wall they were last cleaned in October 2020.
Caveat emptor.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
€20–25
Food: 1
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 1
I went there with my brother and we ordered a caneca (large beer) and were given a 250cl glass. I said that's not a caneca. The waiter said, yes, the next one will be a big glass. What's that? Are you kidding me? Then when the bill came I said the first one was a small beer and he wanted to charge me for a media (33cl) so I told him that's neither what I ordered nor what he served me. He deducted a euro and something for the both of us. Very disappointing and poor service. That's not how you should treat your customers!
Even though food was good (but little) I don't recommend this restaurant for that reason!
Greed and dishonesty is not gonna get you anywhere!
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
€10–15
Food: 4
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 3
If running a restaurant, it's as well to remember why you are opening the doors in the first place i. e. to give your customers a pleasant experience, providing good surroundings, food and service. That the Taj Mahal fails on all levels in a profoundly 'Fawlty-esq' embarrassment is no mean feat. From failing to greet us when we entered or realising that we had pre-booked to the end of the lengthy and excruciating evening it was a series of 'how not to do it' that was a veritable masterclass in ineptitude.
This once highly regarded business has obviously recently been sold to persons whose previous skills might have included bricklaying or road sweeping but certainly not hospitality. Without giving a blow-by-blow account of the truly awful experience, I can only echo the former judgement of a customer, who cries "Stay away!"
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
€15–20
Food: 1
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 1
What a finding! I loved this restaurant - food was delicious, affordable and the staff was super friendly. It’s incredible difficult to find vegan food and they nailed it. Definitely coming back if I’m in Monte Gordo again.
Flavourfull dishes! They have the best Mango Lassy and the garlic and cheese naan was sooooo good! I’ve been coming here since i was little and will do so in the future! Great service and food.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
€20–25
Wonderful small Indian restaurant steps away from the beach promenade in Monte Gordo. Delicious and occasionally unusual dishes, with very good service.
Very friendly, chatty and helpful staff. Nice enough atmosphere. Amazing pickle, but everything else was mediocre to be honest. Poppadoms were stale, curry bland etc. I'm sad to say I wouldn't go back
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
€20–25
Food: 3
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 4
Recommended dishes
Pickle Tray
