Woodlands (Piccadilly)

My boyfriend and I went for our anniversary having had this place recommended by a friend and were really disappointed. We had to wait several minutes to even be greeted when we walked in, even though there was hardly anyone else in the restaurant. We were seated at a very cramped table right by the point at which the wall jutted out meaning I couldn't lift my elbow properly which makes it pretty difficult to eat! Service was slow though not terrible, and there was a good selection of dishes on the menu. But the food when it arrived was mediocre at best. The starter was tasteless and had a very stodgy texture, it had clearly been microwaved from frozen and not freshly prepared. For the main we had paneer tikka masala which was nice although nothing you wouldn't get in any other bog-standard Indian restaurant, and a dosa which arrived almost completely cold, despite the fact that the restaurant wasn't at all busy. My boyfriend fairly pointed out that the pancake wrap would have gone cold very quickly, but that didn't excuse the fact that the curry inside was also cold. The restaurant was very quiet, even at 8.30 on a Friday night, which meant it had no atmosphere. Decor was nice though. Although not outrageously expensive, I felt the food was overpriced considering the quality. Overall a very disappointing experience, I would not go here again.
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3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Poor Service, Rude Staff even ruder owner when I wrote to him about his staff, Poor quality food, only good thing is it's ambiance but then you don't go to an eatery for it's looks.

Oh and charges damn costly for the quality.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, September 14, 2010

We had our dinner at Woodlands, Panton Street. The food was very very bad. The dosa was stale and chutney was cooked several weeks back. I think it is a rip off for the price Woodlands charges.

The decor was good and the service is ok. We decided that we will never step in.

I would like caution any one patronizing or wanting to try because you have not had Indian food for a long time and the experience of Woodlands in India is driving you to this restaurant. You will regret it.

Woodlands type of restaurants is judged by idly, Dosa and accompaniments. The London restaurant fail miserably

We left feedback and hope they take it seriously.
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Seshadri - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Monday, July 05, 2010

my husband and my friend went to woodlands in panton streeton 27th Nov. it was a very busy night at 8.30 p.m - the restaurant was full. we were greeted the moment we stepped inside and were given a nice corner table.

we love indian food and haven't been to woodlands before. When i saw the menu. it was little difficult to decide the right food ,the waiter knew it was our first visit he called the manager then he ordered the food himself.

i found the food to be delicious spl. roasted cashewnuts,roasted papadoms stuffed with indian masala. the starters truely reflect street foods in india .

the dessert platter is luxrious.

overall ,lovely staff, the service was outstanding .can't wait to go back. thanks to sanjay to recomm. nice bottle of red wine.
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John Wright
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Monday, November 30, 2009

I was recommended Woodlands by a friend who goes there regularly for lunch and is always praising the great value lunch menus they have. She says Woodlands has been there for 23 years! That is no mean feat in the London restaurant scene!

I have always resisted going as I am a bit of a carnivore. Nevertheless I decided to go for dinner with a couple of friends from out of town last week. I was completely blown away by the large selection of dishes. We started with 2 dishes from the cold CHAAT selection, potato Bonda (large potato rounds fried in a crisp batter) and a roasted onion kulcha (onion and potato filled bread). They were all well spiced and very well cooked, all served with tangy sauces.

The main courses were even better, DOSAS (pancakes) filled with seasoned cottage cheese, south Indian lentil pizza topped with onions and fresh green chilli. I had the paneer tikka masala with a really creamy, well spiced and delicate sauce along with a garlic nan bread, simply beautiful.

The service was quick, responsive and friendly. The waiter was attentive and got our second round of drinks in a couple of minutes.

The manager was a nice chap (Sanjay) and whilest chatting to us mentioned that all the food was freshly prepared on the premises and that we could not leave without trying the desserts. I am so glad he was so insisting. We tried the Badam Halwa, I have never had anything so delectable, pure heaven on a plate, a warm dessert made with just crushed almonds, saffron, sugar and thickened condensed milk. The Rasmamai was also fantastic and so was the warm carrot fudge. At this point we had to stop eating before we popped! A wonderful experience all without meat!! I was astonished how the 4 of us ate such good quality fresh food and drank Cobra beer in central London for just a shade over £80.

I congratulate Woodlands, I am a fan and will be visiting your other branches too. Thanks for a great night out.
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Monica
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, September 16, 2009

I have always had a very good experience at Woodlands, they serve delicious Indian food at down to earth prices. I went last night with some friends and tried the Paneer Tikka, chilli nan and garlic nan from their new Tandoor menu - brilliant. They have these new roasted coconut drinks which are fab too. One of my freinds had the Mysore msala Dosa and it was very authentic.

Service is always friendly and the restaurant is cosy. All in all probably one of the best Indian restaurants in London.

See you soon Woodlands!!
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Raj
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, September 16, 2009

I went there yesterday for lunch with 2 friends and it is an under-statement to say that we were extremely disappointed. The food was rather mediocre and the service shockingly poor!

After ordering the food, the starters took ages to come, although we went to the restaurant after 2pm and there were only a few customers. I ordered medu vada and it came as almost burnt, and extremely oily. We all had then ordered dosas for the main course. We were waiting patiently, but after 30 minutes we had still not been served, although the restaurant was very quiet. The staff did not seem to even notice our presence as they were busy cleaning, so after 35-40 minutes, we asked a waiter if our food was about to come. He had a surprised look on his face, you could clearly see that it had been forgotten, and he said it was coming straight away. We then saw him opening the door next to us through which the food is sent by the chef, and here were our 3 dosas! They must had been there for at least 20 minutes as our dosas were completely cold!!! We ate most our cold dosas and we waited to see the manager (or someone who looked like the manager, as he was certainly not behaving like one) and told him that we would not pay for the 3 dosas as they were served completely cold. He did not even apologize and said he could only serve us fresh dosas instead. We told him were not interested in that offer as we had already eaten most of our cold dosas, had waited way too long already and could not wait any longer as we had an appointment somewhere else. He just went away ignoring us, and when we asked the waiter for the bill, they had charged us for the 3 dosas. We then called back the manager and said again that we would not pay for 3 dosas, but that he could charge 1 or 2 dosas if he wanted, as a principle. He did not apologize even once, showed arrogance, and argued that the waiters took the food as soon as the bell rang, although it came as cold...! Although we explained several times that we could not wait any longer and thus did not want other fresh dosas, that was the only thing he could say again and again, and refused to adjust the bill. As he had no clue of how to treat customers with respect and was just showing arrogance, we agreed to pay but clearly mentioned to him that we would make sure to post bad reviews on the internet so that people can know what poor service to expect, he did not even reply and seemed careless. After paying, all 3 of us told him how shocking it was that he would rather save £6 than lose 3 customers and get a bad review, but he just ignored us completely!!!

So we will definitely NEVER GO BACK THERE! For good south Indian food (as well as service and low prices) Saravana Bhavan is the best place to go!
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2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Sunday, August 16, 2009

I went to this restaurant with 3 friends last night. The food was very different, unique I would say, lentil doughnuts and spinach filled rice crepes. Very friendly service too. Definately some of the best Indian food I have had in London.
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anshita
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, June 05, 2009

Incredibly delicious! One of my favourite restaurants in Londdon. Fabulous food, nice decor and wonderful service.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, April 06, 2009

Visited last night for dinner with friends. Lovely food and smart restaurant. It is definately some of the best south Indian food I have had anywhere, the medu vada was brilliant (savoury doughnuts) and the mysore masala dosa was better than the one I had in Bangalore!

Definately would recommend it to anyone wanting to taste authentic Indian food. This is NOT a curry house.
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Julei
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, February 09, 2009