Last night my wife and I visited Regency Restaurant for the 1st time. Or at least, what we thought was the first time. Once we sat down, my wife noticed that we actually had been there once before. HINT: This place wasn't worth remembering.
Stepping into the place, we were greeted by no one. Without any indication of the need to be seated, we decided to sit at a table for two near the door. It was only then that an older woman who had previously appeared to be just another guest decided to speak up in order to move us to another table (meant for four) by the buffet, mentioning "that table is no good". Thinking that one of the chairs might be booby-trapped to explode, we figured we'd utilize her expertise.
Sitting down at the plastic covered table, we weren't given any further direction. We were unsure as to whether or not the restaurant offered anything other than the buffet because we weren't even given the option. No menu provided, nor a question as to what we were interested in. Perhaps we should have taken it as an insult that they could tell at first look that we were there for the all you can eat? I'M NOT FAT...I'M JUST BIG BONED!
I'll be the first to admit my fondness for alcohol. So it was a tad disappointing that there wasn't even an attempt from any of the staff to take a drink order from us despite the bar located in the corner of the restaurant. From what we could spot, there was only a single drink menu even out on display on an empty table. Suffice to say we didn't bother trying to order, if there's so little focus on the drinks to begin with we couldn't imagine there would be anything worth getting.
The most important part of any restaurant is the food, right? Unfortunately it's here that Regency fails the most. While there's a decently sized selection on hand (about 6 meat selections, 6 veggie and a salad station), not much of it was worth trying. Of the famous Indian standards such as butter chicken and saag paneer, they were oddly too sweet or flavourless respectively. All off the other dishes either didn't carry enough flavour, felt too gritty or simply relied on too heavy a spice to make up for everything it was lacking. Pakoras were cold and gritty. The naan at least was nice enough to serve its purpose, although, you kind of have to try to screw up bread.
The one bright side of things was dessert. The gulab jumun was actually the best either of us have ever had at an Indian restaurant. While on the too sweet side, it was nicely spiced and was a great tool to get some of the curry oil out of our mouths. Alongside it was the standard tubs of generic ice cream should that be more to your liking.
The bathrooms were in the basement, of which had badly stained carpeted that smelled like it hadn't been cleaned in the past five winters. And what appeared to be a crushed baby cockroach against a wall.
All in all, the meal was only $13.99 a person for all you can eat. But there was very little to actually enjoy even at that price. The hallmark to all you can eat is the feeling of being overstuffed on your way out the door. And at Regency there simply wasn't enough food there worthwhile stuffing your face with.