Viceroy Restaurant Stafford

"A lot of promise, with an interesting menu and a nicely decorated restaurant, but let down massively by a number of issues. Most of the staff we encountered didn't seem to know what they were doing, and didn't speak or understand English well. We had booked in advance but they didn't appear to have a table set up ready, and we had to wait a while to be seated, not the end of the world, but the table we were put on felt a bit squashed in and hadn't been laid properly. Overall the meal took hours. To be fair the restaurant was reasonably busy, but there didn't seem to be any management going on to ensure that things were coming out in a timely and well paced manner (like managing when orders were taken from different tables etc) so some courses or drinks came quickly together then there would be a huge gap before the next course. We ordered a couple of bottles of wine and it was like they'd never handled wine before. It took ages to arrive, they eventually bought one bottle but we had to ask them a couple of times for the other and they really seemed just a bit confused with it all. They seemed to really struggle to understand how many glasses we needed - our table of 5 had only been laid with 2 glasses initially - and it took several attempts of going back and forth before they finally managed to get all 5 of us a glass - didn't seem like rocket science but it was mildly entertaining at least! We repeatedly had to ask for the tap water we'd ordered (a common problem in lots of restaurants actually - I don't know why they struggle with it so much!) and when they bought it (in a jug) they poured one glass for one person and walked off again (with the jug). When we managed to get their attention again we had to clarify that we wanted it for the table (as we'd asked), and were told that they couldn't leave the jug (no idea why - we saw them leave a jug on another table) but off he went to get more glasses for us all which took a while again and he poured us all individual glasses. Again, all quite entertaining in some ways but also annoying and thirst inducing. On the positive side, both the white and red wines that we had were very nice - the meal took so long that we ended up ordering more over the course of the evening but at least they were enjoyable. Also on the plus side, the poppadums' and pickles (which to be fair arrived very quickly - well before any drinks though) were very nice and the starters when they arrived were also generally pretty good. The mains were a mixed bag, they were all different dishes from the chef specials, a mix of chicken and lamb dishes. A couple of the dishes were fairly nice but one was just watery and a bit tasteless, and one of the others tasted somehow a bit stale. Overall a bit disappointing. There are far better curries to be had around Stafford. There were some touches that could have elevated things such as a nice unexpected sorbet between courses and and small sweet yoghurt thing after the meal, but these were a missed opportunity as they were pretty much just plonked on the table in front of us with no explanation of what they were - it's like they've seen programmes on TV about fine dining restaurants so they've tried to emulate it but they've never actually been to one or understood the things that make the difference. In isolation none of the things that weren't so good would have been terrible, some of it was entertaining, but all combined overall it didn't make for great experience. If they take the time to work on things and train their staff better then maybe one day we'll return as there was promise, but for now I certainly wouldn't rush to go back as there are far better places in the area with massively better service and far more consistent and superior quality food."

"One of the nicest Indian restaurants I have eaten in, comfortable with a good atmosphere. Food was excellent, great spread of different dishes with some courses you wouldn't get elsewhere plus the usuals. Good choice of vegetarian options saag paneer was delicious and separately so were our garlic chicken and other chicken dishes. Duck to start fantastic and melt in the mouth. Cobra and an Indian IPA on draft plus cocktails and other good selection of drinks. The chocolate filo dessert we had at the end was a must as well! We will definitely be returning for another dine in."

"Great food but consistently bad delivery and customer service. You can guarantee your food will be at least an hour later than stated. Keep giving them a go every few months but no improvement. Currently waiting for food and regretting placing the order."

"Had an absolutely gorgeous meal here on Friday evening. The decoration is lovely, the staff were really accommodating and perfectly attentive and the food was delicious. The portion sizes were perfect and there was a good selection of unusual dishes, alongside the more traditional meals. Thoroughly recommended."

"I love this restaurant! Second visit here and it does not disappoint. The staff are incredibly welcoming and helpful. The venue itself is really nice and very pleased they have expanded their carpark now. The food is off the charts. There are some amazing takes on traditional dishes and some unique dishes you won't find in other restaurants and all are excellently balanced. We took 2 family members with us this time and they said afterwards that it had ruined cheap indian restaurants for them! But please know that this is by no means expensive and in comparison to other quality restaurants I would say competitive. If you havent tried it then make it your next meal out."