Gaylord Restaurant

I took my parents here for a meal as I thought it looked lovely. An upmarket Indian restaurant with upmarket prices.

What a disappointment. The staff were slow and unattentive. The food was very mediocre and was not even throroughly hot when it arrived at the table.

I refused to pay the 15% service charge which was included in the bill. Firstly because it was more than I would normally want to leave as a tip, and secondly because I did not want to leave a tip at all.

This baffled the staff even more. They did not even understand what I meant - why or what I was asking them to take off the bill. We waited so long for the new bill to arrive that in the end I just popped out across the road and got some money out of the cash machine, came back and paid my bill in cash - without the service charge.
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Delores VanCartier - View all reviews by this user
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Monday, November 15, 2010

We were visiting London from U.S. I grew up in Mumbai so I do know a little about Indian food. On July 8, 2010 I felt like having some Indian food. I had heard that London has some of the best Indian restaurants outside India. I asked the hotel concierge and he suggested Gaylord's which was within walking distance of our hotel. My wife, two kids and I went to Gaylord's for dinner. I wish I had read the reviews before I went there. I agree with most of the negative reviews I have now read about it. I think the positive reviews may be from people who are very generous or just plain lucky.

The service was terrible; the waiter seemed condescending and I could not figure out the reason. The food is expensive and is average at best. My younger son ordered mutton biryani and I ordered chicken biryani. They tasted like the meat was added to already cooked rice. My wife did not want a heavy meal so she just ordered three appetizers. They were average in taste. At the end of the meal, I did not want to order the expensively priced desserts and be disappointed again.

The kicker was the GBP 1.50 per person table charge and 15% gratuity. For the kind of rude and slow service I received, I would not have paid any grauity at all but it was already added to the bill. My advice - please avoid this restaurant. I am sure you can get a much better value and food for your money.
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3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Sunday, August 01, 2010

Simply not as good as it used to be, after the re-furb the food is not of the same quality. Almost everything used to be delicious, well-prepared and fresh and now all the same dishes we used to enjoy are just mediocre. Such a shame as it was our favourite local for a curry, now the prices seem silly for what you get. Please bring back the old chefs!
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5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Monday, February 22, 2010

Fabulous place, great decor, Value for money - 3 course menu @ £20 was nicely constructed and made a super offer with strawbwerry Bellini which was worth £9 on the menu. Attentive sevice. Wine selection was very good. Try their Chilean Merlot...
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, February 21, 2010

Gaylord is definitely the most authentic and consistent Indian restaurant in London (I have been going there since I was a child with my grandparents)...I even asked them to cater for my wedding and the food was even better that at the restaurant. It is expensive but for the authenticity and reliability of the food, it is worth it.
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Janki - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Friday, January 29, 2010

Food and atmosphere was adequate for an Indian restaurant. Service was terrible. Took a staff of 3 to wait on a two person table while leaving our party of 5 sitting for 40 mins to get drinks. Forgot an appetizer and brought it after all main meals had been 70% eaten.

Took another 30 minutes to get the check, even after asking for it. Only after 4 of the 5 in the party got coats on and began walking out did they rush up with the check.

A 7.50 sterling sitting charge on top of a 15% gratuity that was not earned, was added to the bill.

Would not suggest spending the money on this place. Plenty of Indian places in London that are more that adequate and have the service that you deserve.
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3 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Friday, November 27, 2009

A group of us arranged to meet at the Gaylord for a celebration. As I had not visited the place before, I assumed that the chap who was making the arrangements had. Imagine my astonishment to learn that he had not, he had just decided on the place because it had been mentioned by other people. I checked it out on the internet and read the rather mixed reviews here. By that time the booking had been made and it was too late to go elsewhere. My wife and I went along to the meeting with some trepidation.

As we were a fairly large group, some seventeen of us, the head waiter suggested that we chose a fixed menu. This was agreed as being a good idea.

We were all fairly relaxed and happily nibbling and bibbuling away at the pickles, salad and odds provided, along with a glass, or three, of cobra beer.

The food arrived, their kebab specialities. The chicken and the lamb pieces and the sausage were excellent, tasty and moist, as they should be. The spicing was at a comfortable level. The main course was a tad repetitive, being more or less the same, but on a larger scale. Because of a mix up I got two desserts and could only just manage the second, but they were also fine. The service was polite and friendly throughout. The establishment was clean and the loo facilities for both sexes as smart as one would expect for a good class establishment.

Am I qualified to comment ? Well, for some twenty years I lived in the West Midlands and am quite familiar with the food of the indian sub continent served in that area - from the bangladeshi baltis of Birmingham, to various restaurants, and the 'one sauce for everything' takeaway establishments in the west of Wolverhampton. I am also familiar with home cooked food from the Punjab and South India, both the posh dinner party variety, as well as their ordinary, everyday food. I am familiar with various cook books ranging from the complications of Madhur Jaffrey to the relative simplicity of Pat Chapman, and can prepare and cook my own indian fare, including making chapattis .

The honest verdict ? The wide-ranging menu offers an interesting selection of well-prepared dishes, attentively served in a clean, well-facilitated establishment. The big drawback was the price. We could have eaten elsewhere for half the price. The following day we had a perfectly adequate indian lunch for one-eighth of the cost of the previous evening – but that’s the fun of eating out in London.
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Paul Withers
6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Monday, November 09, 2009

I had read the reviews and had a double mind before I confirmed my reservation. I am glad I did! I think the reputation of restaurant being there was a last 43 years justifies that.

I have eaten a lot of Indian food, including Bangladeshi curries passing off as Indian. But the food at Gaylord was as authentic as it gets. Kababs were tender and fresh, spiced but not hot to kiil everything on your tongue. Shaami kebabs were the best I have tasted anywhere.

Staff were courteus and attentive. I had asked for the main course to come after we finish couple of rounds of drinks and they followed the instructions. The Prawn Tikka Masala was magnificient and so was the keema curry, very original.

Don't miss their kulfi which is well presented and delicious, well rounded off with masala tea. Our bill for 8 people, including service was £246, worth it.

Don't go with all the review, I definitly recommend the place if you are looking for authentic Indian food.
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Tarika
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Monday, October 05, 2009

My advice - read reviews thoroughly before you visit a restaurant - we didn't and the negative reviews we read in arrears were accurate !!!!

The waiting staff were on the whole poor - inattentive , very poor attention to drinks,at one point the waiter wandered off mid-drinks order.

The worst aspects by far thought were the excessive wait for food - over 1.5 hours for starters , 3 hours to complete 2 courses (no dessert or coffee) and the temperature and saltiness of the food ordered. As stated other customers have noted these aspects correctly. Food arrived hastily when the manager was given a final 5 minute warning - either serve or we leave. Panic set in.

The starters were meagre - almost nouvelle cuisine for an Indian and possibly the worst shami kebabs I have eaten. My main course did not arrive and eventually appeared 15 minutes later fortunately just to co-incide with a colleagues re-heated meal!!!! I ate the dish with cold rice served 30 minutes earlier.

We complained and the ridiculous 15% service charge was removed (also mentioned by other guests) - the bill was rejected until it was at 50% of the original. After much discussion the manager relented. My advice is do the same, this restaurant needs to understand the depth of feeling.

The prices are also high (£4 for rice in a small bronze dish).

An evening ruined. Needless to say we will never go back.
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Mr Mingus
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Friday, October 02, 2009