Pratap's: The Dhaba

Apr 30, 2007

Good food, pathetic service

After having read the previous 4 reviews on this eatery, I must say that you'll find me differing a great deal. Probably because, the earlier reviews are 4 months old, and my story is as recent as last night.

8 of us landed there in the hope of a good meal to end the weekend. Like most other businesses, they do not accept bookings on weekends which translates to a minimum half hour wait. We landed there at 9.15 pm and got in by 9.45 pm.

The lac-bangle maker at the entrance is a good way to pass your time while you wait.

The ambience is one of those typical dhabha theme ones, with stuff hanging from here and there, strong smell of incense in the air, and general chaos around.

We ordered for some chaas, jaljeera, panna sodey naal (mango panna with jaljeera masala and soda), pepsi and a beer. They conveniently forgot the pepsi as they didn't have it and had to be reminded SEVERAL times, when the waiter (more to come about this guy with a bad attitude problem) conveniently assumed that a thumbs up could be substituted.

The starters consisted of two chicken dishes, one seekh kabab and one khatti meethi aloo gobhi. The seekh was deliciously done, while I wouldn't really recommend the latter because it tasted like an Indo Chinese dish of dubious origins, and whatever the origins were, what was this doing in a Punjabi Dhaba is something I can't figure out.

We had ordered the main course even before the starters arrived and it was simple stuff. Makke di rotis, garlic naans were the breads ordered and the sides were Sarson ka saag (but obvious), Paalak Chole, Adraki Chicken in gravy, Prawns in red gravy.

Now's when the trouble started. We were happily chatting for almost 30 minutes when we realised the main course didn't show any signs of arriving. That's when we asked the concerned waiter, and he said 2 minutes. 15 more minutes passed and the two minutes never got over. My usually super-composed better half totally lost it and shouted out for the waiter who was now avoiding our table. The waiter instead of being apologetic was grinding his teeth looking at us. This is something that really pi**ed us off. Since we were seated exactly opposite the kitchen door, we could see some three waiters along with the manager almost coming to blows behind the glass. FIguring out that something was terribly wrong, we decided to talk to the manager and one of us, called the manager out loud, saying don't "Two minute us anymore".

We could see several impatient tables around us too, and no one was being served on time. All of us asking to see the manager, finally led to the owner coming to our table and assuring that we'll be served immediately. I must give due appreciation for the willingness of the owner to step into a messy situation and pacify the guests for the mistakes committed by his staff. It is ofcourse his duty to do so, but we do appreciate it.

The main course was all delicious. The sarson ka saag is a must have, the rotis were fresh. The palak chole was a wrong choice, because that too had a saag knd of gravy. Im told the adraki chicken was very delicious, especially the gravy that it came in, so if you are a non-vegetarian you probably want to order this on your visit to this place. The prawns were good too.

There was more to come though! One of the waiters dropped a heavy glassware on our friend's head, splashing buttermilk over him (No sorry here, mind you) and another one hit our other lady friend's head with his elbow. Deliberate or simply a case of overworked and underpaid, we do not know.

The fingerbowls came in, but most of the saucers on which the bowls were placed had gravy sticking to them....which means they were using same unwashed finger bowls from the last batch, which brings up serious questions about the hygiene polocy they follow.

The bill came to Rs.2242 for 8 people and needless to say, we left no tip for the inhospitable, go-to-hell attitude, and hey we are big tippers otherwise!!!

Sorry, there's more to come. The valet parking was terribly disorganized, with each car taking a minimum of ten minutes to be fetched.



My rating split up would be:

Ambience - 3/5
Menu spread - 4/5
Food - 4/5
Service - 1/5

WIll i go there again - No way, unless someone else reports to me that their service has improved.

Probably not even then, because seeing that said waiter's face would probably remind me of the terrible experience that yesterday was.

Summary -

Pratap's Dhaba seems to be a classic case of success going to their head. They have good chefs doling out tasty food, but if their service remains like this, I cannot see which sane person would go back there to eat, especially with the whole of Link Road being flooded with restaurants, and ofcourse we have Firangi Dhaba to check out next in the vicinity. I'm told their staff is better trained, but I have to experience it to believe it.

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