Kutir is an Indian restaurant located in London. Whenever, I go to London, I try to eat at as many different Indian restaurants as possible. The variety, quality and venues are next level.
The restaurant itself is charming and we were seated beside this nice window. We were the first party to arrive as they just opened for the day….BUT NOT FOR LONG!
Here was the lunch menu.
So far so good, then a group of two families arrived. The kids in the party would not sit still and were climbing all over the banquettes. It would not be long before I was to see what was enabling this poor behavior. One of the parents immediately summoned a waiter and demanded that the kitchen boil potatoes for the kids. The waiter responded that they don’t have that on the menu. The parent replied “my kid is hungry, call the chef”. The chef arrived and confirmed that they were unable to make this off menu request. The parent then selected an alternate dish from the menu and asked that it be made “not spicy”.
The dish arrived. The kids ate a bit, then complained that it was spicy. Again a parent summoned a waiter. To my surprise, he insisted the waiter taste the dish and agree that it was spicy! I could tell the server was doing all he could to maintain professionalism.
Then, the most ridiculous thing I have witnessed in a restaurant. The parent called the server again and ordered a mango lassi for the kids with the following instruction: “my kid doesn’t like cold drinks, make it room temperature”.
When the drink arrived, the kids refused it saying it was too cold. The parent summoned the waiter for the nth time. The waiter explained the drink was meant to be cold. The parent insisted they find a way to “bring it to room temperature”. The parent insisted they bring a bowl of boiling water over, and place each drink in it, and wait for it to come to room temp. All this time, the kids continued to climb all over the table and make a ton of noise. It was a meal and a show to say the least.
Oh ya, amid all this, we had lunch:
I don’t recall much of the meal but it was just ok. Nothing outstanding relative to the level of other Indian restaurants in London. However, the service was good and the surroundings were nice. I wouldn’t go back, not just because of the family, but the food was just ok.
thanks for sharing your experience. despite your committment to us to review restaurants, if I was there, I would have encouraged you to leave and eat elsewhere! lol at least then, the waiters could bring their full attention to the childish family. you were the victim of a dearth of adult self-awareness possibly, but more likely, the parents just did not care about anyone else in the world, including their children – by giving children choice when it comes to food, they are teaching them that the world will accomodate their whims, setting them up for failure for their future in a world that is ruled by compromise. i hope you had a good look at the children’s faces, you may recognize one of them in the future as a narcicist serial killer – thanks to great parenting!