Palast der Winde - Indian restaurant

HI, I don't know about the rest of the people who went to the curry night last night, but I felt that the food at Palast der Winde was terrible. The chicken seemed like it was not cooked properly, meaning it was undercooked. The gravy in the chicken dishes were also not cooked for long, so the veggies were just raw and not seasoned correctly (I had a guest and we shared two dishes - one was the Chicken Tikka Massala and the other was the Chicken Curry). The naan was really not tasty and definately cold. Also, the rice was not Basmati rice. It was just parboiled and the quality was pretty damn cheap. There was just one waiter who tried his best to serve everyone, but he could not obviously keep up. The main thing that I got was that the food was the worst I have had in any Indian restaurant in Munich, but the prices are quite expensive. So, I would not ever, ever, ever suggest this restaurant to anyone. We should just not go there anymore if possible.

Vishal

Sounds like a gastrointestinal problem.

totally agree Vish. I will def never be going there again.

I had the Chicken Jalfrezi. It was the blandest dish i have had in a long long time. My naan was cold as well, the rice not really good.

agree agree agree...

It's so bad, we complain about it in two different threads!!

What a bummer! Whos idea was this?? I had stomache ache until I had that coconut schnaps. Killed whatever was left of my supper in my belly. I also wouldn't go back although my main dish was very good. Too many people complained about their food. Maybe I was just lucky with my main course, the starter I had was lousy. Even considering that we were that many people, it still doesn't explain why we had to drink lukewarm, shitty beer! How can you go wrong with beer?

Did anyone complain about it to the staff?

I've not really been to one of the curry nights. Simply don't like the idea of eating in such a large group. I presume there will in most places be issues with the speed at which food and drinks arrive. Also quality will always take a bit of a kick when they suddenly have to cater for so many. Given the comments, this place seems to have been considered much worse than others. Is this the case even with the above factors taken into consideration?

You guys have become Indian curry specialists going to all the Indian restuarants.have yourll spared even one Indian restuarant in Munich? Your pallets are too used to spice now and I guess some of these Indian restuarants here cater to the German taste buds so hence the bland taste. As keydeck pointed out too, the mobs that we go in for diner too is difficult for any restuarant staff to handle even if booked in advance.

I posted in the other thread this was the worst curry I've had in Munich, but I might say the worst I've had not only in Munich.

I had lamb tikka masala. It's supposed to come out of a tandoori oven, but I very much doubt it did. Perhaps it did a very long time ago, but it tasted like it had just been warmed up a bit. Plus, I thought the meat itself was a bit off. The sauce tasted similar to what you get in a German Imbißbude, i.e. some sort of "Curry-/Schaschliksoße". The beer was also a bit weird, never heard of that brand (can't even remember the name).

It was still a fun night out though

yes, it was much worse (well the food was anyway. haven't had such bland and yacky food for quite some time). I have had worse service on a curry night but the standard although usually stretched to the limit is usually better.

but i agree Keydeck, for the same reasons you mention, i rarely go anymore. Curry night has become just way tooo big to enjoy the food.

I don't think the "eating in large groups" should really be an issue. You do this every day in any busy restaurant anyway - just with TT taking 40 seats it is not 39 total strangers around you. Plus they get pre-warning - and as the restaurant very clearly seats 40+ people it should never be an issue as regards food/service.

I got the impression the place was a bit run-down frankly. Pink sparkly cushions on the wall do not make up for toilets that need chucking on a skip. My food was OKish (not great), and service was below average but not a total nightmare. But it's a non-issue 'cos we are never going there again clearly!!

i would also like to point out that we were not seated as one group but split up into different tables. The waiter dealt with each table individually. Despite this, the service was slow (well you can't expect much better from only one waiter for the entire restaurant). The tables did not all order at once or even all eat at the same time, so no excuses there. The food was simply bad beyond all belief.

Nah. Restaurants may well do 40 covers without trouble, but a table of 40 is a totally different kettle.

As Owain said - we were staggered any way. Pretty much just a "busy" weekday for them in theory.

Glad I am not in the restaurant business however - right pain in the arse job.

I must say, Ganeesha coped much better (and with far better food) and we had 40 peeps on one table!

Pre-warning being anything between 1 1/2 and 4 hours... Yep. That is a lot of time to prepare..

As Don said. 40 covers over the course of an evening is not a problem but a table of 40 people, all expecting to eat at the same time, is going to be tricky at the best of times..

TT Curry Night has just got too big for its own good. Anything up to 10 / 15 people or so is OK but 40 is just too much and corners will be cut... Maybe you should try giving the restaurants 48 hours notice every once in a while and actually give them a chance to prepare for the onslaught

one cannot blame people for ordering at different times as people ordered as they came in. the various tables made it possible to move around and get to speak to different people. if you have a big table you tend to end up speaking to the same people the whole night (which is not a bad thing but a change is always nice) yes the food was shit, service not the best but one cannot expect every restaurant to be able to make one big table for 40 people.

We came at about 18:30. Only two groups were there already, a total of about 10 people. Food was ordered immediately. I was the only one who had a very good main course(I let people around me try and they all agreed that it was very good). So somehow I don't understand how they weren't even able to cook good food for so small a group at that time. My onion bhaji was really crap as well. I therefore don't think the problem is so much the size of the group, besides, it's a lot of fun to get to speak to so many different people! It works in other restauranst as well, for instance last week at Hohenzollernplatz. We were easily 40 people belonging to TT and the service was impeccable, the beer good and cold, the food good. The restaurant was filled with other people as well and they managed perfectedly.. on 4 or more waiters.

They had one guy at Palast der Winde serving 40+ people. Maybe they only had one cook in the back as well? Wouldn't surprise me.

Crawlie, how many times do we have to say this?

IT WASN'T ONE TABLE OF 40 PEOPLE!!!

we were spread out over the entire restaurant, all orderign at DIFFERENT TIMES NOT ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!!

Your argument doesn't apply here.

OK. So Plan B might be just to take the best, most popular one or two restaurants - that can handle 30+ people without fucking it up - and booking them in advance.

So for example it is switched every 2 weeks between Restaurant A and Restaurant B. That way they KNOW they are getting at least 20-30 people in on that night.

Seems a shame to abandon the concept just because it is getting more popular. It is nice to be with so many varied people. I think more fun than 6-8, and of course you get to chat to and meet more people.

or we could go to two restaurants on the same night with smaller groups. say 15-20 people per restaurant.

Nahhhhhhh - that's not so fun. We don't get to bitch together about the crap service then the next day.

or maybe we have to do like the GBV nights out and limit the people eating. So far there has been a few places that has given large groups over 30 good service- Ganesha, Deeba, Suhri and Swagat. But we don't want to limit ourselves to just these places.

JE you make a serious point in jest. It was a good evening, it was an experience, what the hell, the discussion is raging far higher than on previous occasions.

I couldn't even read the name of the beer let alone remember it.

Thank you your comments OG but I disagree and restate that my argument DOES apply here. A restaurant does 40 covers on a Wednesday evening (traditionally a quiet evening for restaurants) but these come in over the course of 5 hours. Bookings have already been made so they know approximately what is going on...

Toytown gives these restaurants 2 hours notice to prepare for us. This ON TOP OF their usual business, which they can usual prepare for. Sorry, but I have noticed on curry nights that the restaurants we go to do not get much passing trade and I got the impression that if we were not there, then they would have been relatively empty. Ordering at different times probably meant that all orders were in within 45 minutes... But not over 5 hours...

It is not the argument of whether you are on one table or not...

Roots had booked the restaurant around noon... so the had more than 2 hours notice.

I have to admit... I haven't gotten around to trying Curry Night yet either because the thought of going with such a large family doesn't really appeal to me.
I've been watching for a quieter night lately so there's more chance of getting to speak to everybody. Doesn't look like it's going to happen in the near future. Curry Night is outgrowing it's boots.
Maybe it's time TT gave birth a new (if not slightly odd looking) baby and presented to the world a 2nd Curry Night each week. Perhaps even on a weekend for the binge drinkers?
We could call it Gerald.

Oh ffs... OK. OK. So the restaurant was incapable and incompetent...

The point I am actually trying to make is regarding the curry night in general...

See here:


I have read many times how people have been a little annoyed at the food and services at some of the restaurants you go to. AS A RULE you give the restaurants 2 hours notice as that is what is says on the sign-up page... I am just saying you should give them AT LEAST 48 hours notice...

i am with the Major here!! i was the first to order food and I did not suffer. course it also may have to do with the fact that i was cursing in native language to the waiter may also have had something to do with it.
crawlie is right about the warning though. i asked the waiter quite a while ago whether he was the only one there and he said Yes, he also said they usually dont have more than 10 people during weekdays and that if we had given a days warning they could have got adequate staff. this is as the temporary staff are called on a need basis, usually weekends.

Oh no, not the second Curry night again...

i would agree with you in general, Crawlie. Food and service is never at its best in such large groups. I don't actually enjoy curry night as much as i used to because of this. However, last night was extremely bad even considering this. Other restaurants, Ganeesha and Deeba for example, cope much much better.

I am still in favour of splitting the fun between two locations. 15-20 people si still enough people for fun but is much easier for the restaurant to cope with.

i like the concept of curry night VERY MUCH. if i want to go out in a smaller group i organise it privately. very simple.
and even if you have 48 hours in advance etc how are you going to control it? some people come and have not signed up... so they have to leave?

Oooh, why? Has it tried and failed miserably? Do tell.

come on folks, this is Germany - you always have to make reservations or book in advance.

that reminds me, need to buy those Robbie Williams tickets for Oct. 2006...

Not meaning to be picky but this has been my standard experience of every curry house that I have visited in Munich. Ok, so I have only been to 10 or 11 but have never had a curry I would describe as more than barely edible.

maybe it's the price you pay for being vegetarian. Who knows?

This is the second curry night!


This was the worst curry I have had in Munich by a long way. We are comparing it with other Indian restaurants in Munich and are still saying it was worse.

I disagree. Just find a restaurant that is not run by fuckwits and we can still have 40 people. If they have 40 seats in the restaurant they should be able to handle 40 people at once. But giving them a bit more notice is certainly gonna help.

My issue with splitting the group is that for people like Shallot and I that can only make maybe 1 in 6 nights it is hard enough to hook up with people we want to meet in one evening - worse if the group is split.

@Marshbot

In all fairness to you Marshy, but if you had never been there, how can you say that the group was too big for conversational purposes? It works! The amazing thing about CurryNight is that you do actually get to speak to a large number of interesting people during the course of one night. It is a very unique opportunity to meet people and have supper together. We anyway don't all sit at the same table and whether we alternate between two tables(i.e. a max of 20 people) or 4 tables - what's the big difference? It is also not a "family" thing - it is simply a chance for meeting people you chat to everyday and have a nice meal in the deal. Eating together with other people is a lot more fun than eating on your own.

I like the concept of telling a new restaurant that isn't used to dealing with such large groups a couple of days in advance. That would be a good solution. The problem last night wasn't the conversation - the problem was the food! They didn't even manage with 10 people! Places we know that can easily handle 40 people do not need a warning days in advance. New places do. So we must just change the organising a bit and keep CurryNight open and welcome everybody.

@marshbot nah it works out primo with heaps of people. Sure you dont get to talk to everyone, but thats cool, you just get a better choice of who to talk to. Better than being stuck with a small group of people you dont want to talk to heh.

The point is that maybe it would be if you gave the restaurant more notice.
Maybe select the restaurant on a Monday, and give them advance warning that a group of between 25 and 40 will be showing up on Wednesday evening.
At least that way they can get their waiting and kitchen staff rostered in.

Positive karma for the Major there. Now where's that damn button

My thought has always been that with such a large group, you should have a limited menu to choose from that's been decided in advance with the restaurant. That way, they know to have enough chicken or lamb or whatever they need, rather than finding the emergency packages in the bottom of the freezer. Also, they would have a chance to prepare everything to a high quality, rather than just slopping some sauce over the meat and banging it out 30 minutes after ordering.

People will probably quote the Biryani evening as an example of how that doesn't work, but the first one was quite good. The second one, you tried to organise at a Tandoori restaurant. Hardly their specialty. I mean just pick dishes off their normal menu and limit it to that.

@Showem

Great idea! I would be delighted if one of the educated such as young Mr. Roots was to choose a bunch of pre-organised dishes for us. I'm bound to find something I like and it would force me to try some new things. More like you eat Chinese.

Yes. There's enough nicey-nicey crap around as it is. Any booking that's made can always handle a few extra bodies without a problem. We do that all the time. But if you've booked for 20 and another 15 or so just show up unannounced then yes, they can leave. Or at the very least make them feel bad for being inconsiderate fucktard assholes and perhaps they won't do it next time.

Like that Lamb event thing that was organised? Apparently the food on that event was total cack

If a restaurant accepts a booking, no matter how big the group, it has to be judged on that. It can always say "sorry groups no bigger than X" or "we need 48hrs notice".

Has curry nights got too big? perhaps. Currently I think its good that its open and you get the chance to talk to lots people. Once you start limiting the size, I feel that there is a good chance cliques will form and we exiles never get into cliques.

The pre-selected menu worked very well for the Deeba super-hot sauce night. But I'm not an alternative Curry Night regular... the numbers would bother me less if it was a buffet.
Despite limiting the numbers, GBV isn't a clique, the places at the table are open to first come, first served.
And anyone who thinks otherwise can shag off.

The first biryani night however was fantastic, the best indian food I have ever eaten. I say we go there again.

the first biryani night was alright if you were first at the rice
by the time I got chance to dig in there was no meat left in it
so to me the food was pretty rubbish, really

Nah Keydeck, that would just lead to people turning up at 5.30 to make sure they're not amongst the last to turn up and have to bugger off still hungry. There must be a surer way to make people feel like shit.

The odd thing last night was that 40 signed up but only around 30 showed. Some kind of premonition maybe?