Address: 107 Bridge Mall, Ballarat, VIC 3350

Dinner for two: entree, main course, non-alcoholic beverage = $60

I have been of plenty of Indian restaurants, and never have I witnessed such shocking food, service, ambience, and value for money. I went to Ballarat, and checked into Tandoori Oven restaurant situated in Bridge Mall. I was hoping for a nice, quiet Indian dinner but instead got “crap all” for the money I spent. Watch out for the loud phone! It’s bloody loud and annoying!

Food
My microwave can cook better than what I ate. I ordered a mattar paneer, and I could tell that it was reheated crap. The top surface was warm, but the the core was cold. The entree was just as worse, the samosa was served with soya sauce and vegetables but no mint chutney despite asking a few times on the night. Never mind asking for water, it just won’t show up. More in the service section.

Service
They had 1 waitress for 7 stables. The ratios were poor. The entree took 40 minutes to come, and the main took another 30 minutes to come. The food was just thrown onto the table, and the waitress didn’t explain which was which. Sure enough she had tons of other customers to handle. The restaurant should never have 1 waitress for dinner servings. The water never came, despite asking a few times. We just gave up, and eat hot curry without any water. We even saw the some random guy (presumably the owner) who brought his grand child into the restaurant and walked around trying to calm the child. At this point, I was quite amused!

Value
The bill was around $60 which one would think is a pretty good deal for a dinner for two, but in the context of my experience it was throwing money in the bin. Totally not worth it.

Suggestions
Here are just a few, owners pay attention:

* Put more serving staff, don’t be stingy!
* Keep the phone volume down, why is it so loud
* Make sure your staff explain the dishes, and also I suggest throwing of food is not appropriate
* Improve the lighting in the restaurant, it is very dark
* Keep your family where they belong, which is not in the middle of a restaurant
* Always ask for feedback from your customers: “how was the food tonight?”, “is there anything else we can do”

I could just keep going, but doing these things will bring you up to a pass level (and keep you busy). Then we will think about things further.

Rating - 2/10 (very poor)
I would never go there, nor will I recommend anyone else to go there.