Colony Bar & Grill

I really liked the whole idea of Colony. Firstly the service was outstanding. The two managers Carlo and John were unbelievably friendly and funny. As a 13yr old boy really thought the two managers had a brilliant personality and knew exactly how to run a restaurant and how to look after their customers with a brilliant unique style. I really enjoyed having both managers around asking me how my food and even how myself was doing. Secondly the waiters I think were amazing. They knew what they were doing, they were very friendly and didn't make one mistake all night. I was outstanded by the way they just came up to you refilled your drink and asked you how everything was going. Also the atmosphere was truly inbelieveble. Firstly the comfort of the seats and tables were brilliant. Even at our dessert a new tablecloth was layed out! But what really caught my eye was the artwork, it was truly incredible and I was so completely dazzeled by it. I knew this was a unique restraunt and didn't think it could get any better until the food arrived. The food had such an incredible unique taste. And as i looked at the menu there were only very few choices ulike most restraunts, also the food quality was 100% there and well presented.
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, April 08, 2010

heard of Atul's new place and thought i would try it with a friend last night. sadly i was disappointed, but lets begin with the positives as i owe him that.

great decor and interior style. pleasant staff on the whole particularly the manager. attentive i would say.

the food portions very disappointing. we ordered the chicken tikka starter, really small portions but very tasty. lamb starter was again small but tasty.

naan breads just not enough. chicken main dish enough for one not two. lamb dish tasty .

i would say overall to Atul give bigger portions for sure, liven up the staff to smile a little more and seem like they have passion about good service and you have a great formula.

dont mind spending the money but i felt that it was too pricey for what we got.

had i have travelled to another fantastic indian i would have got double the portions for half the price .

would i go again i would say NO.
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bal singh
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Went for sunday roast and the food was fabulous and really good value at 3 courses for £22.50. The starter soup was outstanding! Really difficult to find fault with the food... on balance the roast veg was a rather too greasy. The chicken was succulent, the mung beans delicious, the indian breads were mouth-wateringly good and sauces were great. The lamb also scored highly in our group. The portions were large (no supper required later that night)! The kulfi for dessert was also impressively authentic.

On the whole I agree with the comments about atmosphere ... it ought to work but it kind of doesn't. My advice is to make your own atmosphere because the food is worth it.

The service is a bit irritating but will soon be fixed I would imagine. For example, I had to mention 5 times to not top up my half glass of wine due to needing to drive later. Also take ages to get our initial food order taken (but they had already topped up our glasses with the bottled water at least 3 times by then).

I would be worried about having a vegetarian in the group, which is pretty surprising for an indian restaurant of this calibre... the choices were too limited on the a la carte menu and non-existant on the sunday roast menu!

One last thing, there are too many different menus - weekday lunch / sunday roast lunch / a la carte / bar. They need to rethink that!

My advice is go before they increase the prices, but be prepared to cope with slightly below par service.
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8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, March 15, 2010

Having noticed this had just opened via a mail from Zagat we went here last Saturday.

Quite a nice bar area with a pleasant ambiance and a waitress however who did not know they served rose champagne - but they had just been open for 2 weeks. The dining area is a little lacking in size and atmosphere felt a little spartan - although nicely fitted out - just not quite right somehow.

The menu was quite extensive but we had not realised that your order all comes at once. So you choose the recommended 5 dishes and they appear and of course with so many they get cold unless like me you rush to eat the whole lot quickly - in which case - bang - your meal is over- bizarre. My wife decided to take her time being better behaved than me so after she had eaten three dishes of course the remainder were cold.

On a plus the food tasted delicious if only they realised like maze to serve each small dish on its own it would have been so much better.

Funny on the few reviews I have read here and elsewhere no one mentions this -suspicious.
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alan fowle - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Having watched and waited over these past few weeks, and having seen the dingy old orange and black travesty transformed into a beautifully elegant, spacious restaurant/lounge wrapped around the amazing marble and mirrored 1920's feel cocktail bar which promotes the most fantastic, welcoming atmosphere has been like a breath of fresh air.

The food was of an excellent standard, as you would expect from the renowned chef Atul Kochha and does not disappoint in any way. I found the menu to be interesting and inviting; it's diversity makes me want to return. I was pleased to see that the cost of drinking and dining at the Colony was not prohibitive as I have found in other "famous named-chef restaurants".

I feel time will take care of the obvious teething problems this new venture is experiencing and does not detract from the wonderfully vibrant atmosphere that owner Carlo Spetale conjures in his own unique way.
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Lola
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Sunday, February 21, 2010