Swaadisht - Oceans Mall Umhlanga - Review - 25.05.2025

Swaadisht - Oceans Mall Umhlanga - Review - 25.05.2025 The booking was made early in the week for a Sunday family lunch to celebrate a birthday. When we got to Swaadisht at the Oceans Mall, Umhlanga an ungracious hostess directed us to a table set the bottom of the staircase. We had to put up a chilly cross breeze and people using the staircase. We requested being moved to a more private and warmer part of the restaurant. The hostess refused to accommodate us. She was rude, abrupt and intolerant to our request. She insisted that all the tables were booked in advance. Much Ado about nothing, we were finally moved to a table that was 'reserved' for another group. Nobody turned up for said booking. Our food was not up to standard and to a point not edible. None of us ate much. The only items that was acceptable in taste was the lamb (mutton) vindaloo and the butter naan. The prawn curry was too pungent, the broad bean curry didn't look or taste like a curry. When I mentioned this to the waiter, he took it back to the kitchen. It was returned in under 2 minutes worse than before. We barely touched the mutton breyani and chicken breyani. The taste of sojee was more acceptable than the vermicelli. My masala tea had a smell and strange aftertaste. The waiters were unprofessional and loud. The noise from the kitchen was becoming worse as the time dragged along and the loud music was perhaps used to drown out the noise. The dramatic ungracious hostess moved around asking people whether she could video them lunching. She was openly unhappy about being denied the opportunity to video patrons making inaudible babbling sounds. The place lacked ambience and atmosphere. The disgruntled hostess set the mood and tone to our bad experience the moment she met us at the entrance. A definite NO to return to this venue. I believe that we need to support businesses to grow the economy of this country and decrease unemployment. However customer service is important for retention and survival of all businesses especially in the service industry. The service industry engages all 5 senses especially touch, taste and smell..make the effort to gain the customer satisfaction by gratifying of these 5 senses. Make it a gastronomical experience with professional staff. All of these aspects sadly missed it's mark at Swaadisht at the Oceans Mall, Umhlanga.