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Ratings and reviews

RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere

Details

CUISINES
Indian, Asian, Balti
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly
Meals
After-hours
View all details
meals, features

Location and contact

4.1 miles from Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
Reviews (513)
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512 results
Traveller rating
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LanguageEnglish
Traveller rating
102
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63
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177
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Reviewed 3 weeks ago

If you are used to basic human politeness, then this is NOT the place for you. No 'thankyous, please, how was your meal' etc. The basics of human politeness are completely absent here. We asked for something and get a kindve shrug back like we...where being a PITA. Im not sure why the male staff don't realise they are there to serve your food, they are arrogant and look down on you, they have this wry smirk on their faces constantly like they have done something to your food. its like they are doing you a favour by gracing you with their presence, this is not the norm. This is the only Indian I have ever been to that doesn't have a naan bread with a balti, the food is overpriced for what it is. A lamb balti will incur an extra £2 because its got lamb in it....yes...thats on top of the price for being a lamb balti. nothing special, and due to the arrogant staff that are in here we won't ever be returning, unwelcoming with mediocre food, never again AVOID AVOID AVOIDMore

Date of visit: November 2023
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 7 September 2023

Its such a shame because the food is always good it's a shame the female staff can't smile or understand English

Date of visit: September 2023
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 11 August 2023

Don't go here unless you like waiting for hours for your food, it wouldn't be so bad if they kept you busy with drinks but they don't we were in for 3 hours and had 1 drink a strongbow cider served in a can 🤦🏻‍♂️...the ignorant absolutely miserable staff are a complete waste of space, the food is ok but the rest of it makes the place the worst restaurant we have ever been in 100% just read the other reviews the place is a joke DONT GO 👍More

Date of visit: August 2023
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 23 July 2023

Great staff, friendly and respectful. Would definitely go again. Curry with naan was perfect. Was well looked after by all staff.

Date of visit: July 2023
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 9 July 2023 via mobile

attended spice village with family and experienced awful service likewise so did neighbouring tables, all we witnessed was people complaining about the service. Table cloth was filthy, popadoms turned up then waiting 10 minutes for our side plates to turn up so we could eat...our popadoms. Waited 25 minutes for our drinks to turn up which were wrong. It took 25 minute for our drinks order to even be taken. All staff were extremely unorganised but dressed smart which was more than could be said for the main man (owner) who looked disgusting in a filthy polo top. We experienced terrible service 2 months previous to this where a metal ball bearing was found in my family’s chicken and the owner was devastated and pleaded with us not to report this further or post on social media and assured us this had never happened previous. Putting this to one side the food was fantastic so we wrongly though we would give spice village another go which was a huge mistake. Without sounding rude the staff were useless and couldn’t understand us when even asking for a drink, staff that struggle to communicate and understand should not be at front of house as this gives the customer an uncomfortable experience. Unfortunately this restaurant was gone from being amazing to extremely poor over the years and is so disappointing when we all work hard to enjoy a meal out and spend our hard earned money.More

Date of visit: July 2023
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 9 July 2023

Booked online and requested where we would like to sit. Arrived and said the name of the booking, waitress looked clueless and took us to a table that was not ready nor where we requested. As we sat down a group of 3 lads said...i wouldnt bother weve been waiting hour and half for our food and the people on your table up and left without paying for their drinks because they were fed up of waiting. We were given menus and not even 2 minutes later asked what we want to order. Service was shocking, cutlery just chucked on the table, was leant over and they got our drinks order wrong. Our food arrived hour and half later which was nice but when it came to the bill, they charged us for the drinks from the previous people adding and extra £33 to our bill. Customer service was shocking, very poorly managed and absolutely no care for the customers. Last time I will go there. Please read on their Web page that they state their poor reviews on trip advisor and google reviews are from competitors.......what a joke. Shambles of a restaurant........DO NOT GOMore

Date of visit: July 2023
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 22 June 2023 via mobile

The service from the moment we ordered was terrible with the staff not speaking English and when we complained they didn't understand, we waited an hour for starters and then waited another hour for our main and my partners had long black curly hairs in...it with a big knot on the endMore

Date of visit: June 2023
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 28 May 2023 via mobile

Being local to this restaurant would drive past as always looked nice. Booked for a small family celebration meal after a birthday and work promotion. Booked over a week in advance online. Arrived and staff looked clueless. Shown to a small table which was difficult...to move in and out from. Asked for a drinks order before had even sat down and asked for 5 minutes to delude and settle in. Literally 2 mins later another staff member asked for our order. Again, asked for a moment to peruse the wine list and sent the guy away, asking for 5 minutes more. Then, waited over 20 mins to have drinks order taken! When did ask for a bottle of house champagne from menu was told this was not in stock... asked for bottle of sparkling water and 3 glasses also, only 2 glass arrived. They took away my cutlery also. When asked for an extra glass was then bought tap water! Shambolic from the start... Staff simply clueless. No manager or direction. Couple at next table complained re a object in their main dish. The waiter literally fished around in the dish at their table in full view of us and other diners. They left very soon afterwards having obviously been unhappy with their meal. Food arrived and was actually very good. Hot, tasty, plentiful. However naan and seemed deep fried was thin and lamb tough. When finished a lady asked if we wanted more drinks. We declined and she then took away our half full bottle of prosecco. We had to ask for it back! Service was not attentive, staff could not be bothered nor seemed interested and totally vague! No deserts or coffee even offered... Final issue was when paying, paid by card, guy did not offer a receipt and simply walked off to charge the next tables card! Had to check my bank app to ensure correct amount taken... Disappointed from start to finish with service, although food was overall good and venue was pleasant plus bathrooms spotless. Would I return? Definitely not unless staff and service dramatically improve... disastrous!More

Date of visit: May 2023
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 26 April 2023

Was told our order would be ready at 7pm but didn’t get it until 8:30pm!! Food was cold and rubbish will never be ordering from this place again.

Date of visit: April 2023
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 14 April 2023

Shocking service time. Was waiting 45 minutes longer than when they told me to come pick up my takeaway.

Date of visit: April 2023
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 26 February 2023 via mobile

Have been having takeaways from here even after finding out about the poor food hygiene rating. Every single time all of the staff are rude and you’re made to wait a long time after the proposed collection time. Tonight’s takeaway a bone was found in...one dish and a hair in another dish. This place does not deserve the custom.More

Date of visit: February 2023
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 29 January 2023 via mobile

Absolutely shocking service, waited nearly an hour and a half for our starters which never came! They just started bringing the mains, no explanation no apology. We were so hungry by this time we just took it. The young waiters are completely disinterested and have...no idea what is going on. We asked 2 different waiters if we could order drinks and they just walked off. It was just a Friday in January, they were busy (why I have no idea!) but it was just shambolic. They just don’t care. The food is just average at best, why people continue to go there and support them is beyond me.More

Date of visit: January 2023
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Reviewed 1 January 2023 via mobile

Had a large take away order on a busy Friday just before Xmas and it was all hot and very tasty will definitely be back can't wait

Date of visit: January 2023
Helpful?
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Reviewed 30 December 2022 via mobile

Ordered my food at 5pm was told to pick it up in 30mins waited another 45mins when I turned up still no food then a lady comes back in with her order which was mine so if she had never come back in with her...wrong order i’d still be sat there now, no apology whatsoever was told that we will cook you some more food yeah like I’m gonna wait another half an hr for you to do that I’ll have a refund pls If you wanna wait all night for your food then this is the restaurant for you 👍 GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!More

Date of visit: December 2022
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 14 December 2022

I have had a few meals here in the past and have had no complaints. It has always been our go to Indian restaurant. But tonight I am disgusted with the service . We ordered Lamb Balti and chicken tikka masala with Pilau rice. People...I was with was enjoying the Lamb Balti when one found a metal ball bearing in his mouth. We were shocked and called the waiter . We then found a second in the Chicken Tikka. The waiter called the manager who took them away…. No apology , we were then just left , with no explanation at all. Absolutely disgusting . We had to insist that we didn’t pay for the two meals. I do not usually write reviews, but feel compelled to do so on this occasion.More

Date of visit: December 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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SPICE VILLAGE, Portsmouth - 165 Havant Rd - Updated 2023 Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone Number - Tripadvisor