Spice House Indian Bistro was one of the most unsatisfying dine-in experiences in my life.
I went to this restaurant because I had a Groupon - 2 buffet dinners for the price of 1. It seemed like a pretty standard deal. I ended up (like most people) going right before the expiration date. And what a struggle that was.
First off, it was almost impossible to get a reservation. When I called to book a reservation, the owner asked if I had a Groupon. I said yes, and then he said there was no more room and hung up on me. I called again later to try to book a reservation. Same thing, he asked if I had a Groupon. This time I was dishonest and said no because I really didn't want to waste this Groupon. And without hesitation, the owner said alright you have a reservation for 7pm. Not off to a good start, but hey, I'm not too much of a stickler for customer service. As long as the food is good, that's fine by me.
So 7pm rolled around, and I arrived at a full restaurant with an open mind. I grabbed a plate and went up to the buffet table. And oh would you look at that, there was almost no food out in the buffet trays. The staple curry chicken dish was empty and never refilled. People stood around the buffet table waiting for scraps of food to come out from the kitchen. I ended up paying $6 for chickpeas, rice, naan and a single samosa that I'm pretty sure I could find in the frozen aisle of a grocery store. Oh and some old mango ice cream for dessert.
This was by far the worst buffet I've ever been to.
For a buffet, I don't expect 5 star restaurant quality. What I do expect is to be able to gorge on food until I feel like my stomach will explode, if I so desired. 50% empty buffet trays...completely unacceptable.
To be fair, I believe it was unusually busy due to the Groupon. But as a business, they should have been prepared for the sudden influx of customers during the very beginning and the very end of the valid groupon time. This was their chance to really leave people with a fantastic lasting impression so that they would spread the word, and they blew it.
If I ever see a deal for Spice House Indian Bistro again on Groupon, even if it was for $1, I would definitely steer clear of it.