My husband and I visited Monsoon in Worcester without booking ahead on a quiet week night after being attracted by its modern and attractive exterior. We entered by the back door and passed the delicious-looking buffet table on the way through to the main restaurant and I must say we were very much looking forward to trying it, as we'd never had an Indian buffet before. However, the young waiter that met us as we came in did not even acknowledge us with so much as a smile, let alone a 'Hello and welcome'. He simply indicated that we should follow him through and he showed us a table in the main restaurant and handed us a couple of menus. Still, he did not speak to us, but started folding our napkins ready for our use. As he was doing so he spotted someone he obviously recognised as they passed the restaurant and ran to the window to look on after them. Admittedly, at this point of the evening, Monsoon was far from busy: indeed, we were the only customers at theis point, but our waiter acted as if we weren't there either! He then left us for who knows where. The older barman saw that we were ready to order and asked us what we would like. When we said we'd like to try the buffet, he tutted and said "Oh, you're not sposed to be here; the buffet's in the back. Didn't he [the waiter] say?" We had to reply that he hadn't said a single word to us. The older gentleman apologised and showed us through to the ante-room where the buffet was. The food, we have to say, was delicious, tasty and had a good array of traditional and more modern Indian dishes. However, my husband noticed that the naan breads were cold: when this was spotted by the older waiter he offered to replace the breads with fresh ones, which we were grateful for. 20 minutes later, though, neither the waiter or the naan breads were apparent, so we did without. We continued to enjoy the rest of our food accompanied with a couple of Indian Lagers. The bill came to £24.60 and my husband and I discussed whether we would be leaving a tip due to the poor service thus far. At this point, our earlier, younger waiter returned to collect our payment. He picked up the £25 and simply asked "Do you want the change back?" !!!!!!!! I have to say my husband replied "No, don't worry about it". We usually tip much more generously but the service at Monsoon was awful and severely lets down the lovely food. It seems that Monsoon is trading on its trendy decor and good menu but has let its service slip to very poor standards. I am afraid to say that, despite the food, we will not be returning.
Monsoon Restaurant – Worcester