La Royale Tandoori - North Kesteven

I really like the food and it would unquestionably be my first choice for Indian even though it's also one of the more pricey in the local area if it weren't for the unapologetically slow service. I ordered quite a bit ahead of time a few months ago but, when I went to pick up the food at the agreed time, I still had to wait well over 20 minutes so can only assume that they forgot about my order and didn't start cooking until I got there. They shrugged it off and said they were busy. I decided to give them another chance on Saturday, ordering before 6pm so I hadn't anticipated it getting mad for orders yet. However, they were already really busy and it was hard to get through but they called back (fairly promptly , took my order and after taking my money, informed me that the food would be with me in around 2 hours. I commented at the time that they should have said this first as I would have ordered something from elsewhere (I'm guessing this is why they didn't! . The food arrived 2hrs 50 later (with no apology about the delay or any kind of recompense good will gesture and whilst it tasted as good as previous experiences, I was a bit disappointed to find that my husband didn't have any extra coriander he'd requested and that I'd been charged extra for masala sauce. (I don't like the veg sauce that comes with biriani so asked if it could be swapped out, the person who took my order checked and said yes so I'd not anticipated being charged. If I'd known it would be treated as an extra instead of a swap, I'd have kept the veg sauce for my husband to eat the next day since that had effectively been paid for too . I'm pleased that a local business is doing so well BUT please get better at time management so the food is ready when you say it will be and if it is going to take longer than an hour, you really ought to say that straight away and definitely before backing someone in to a corner once taking their money. It's unlikely we will use them again because I just don't think they care that much about the customers once they've had the money.

We are fairly regular visitors to La Royale. The food is good, and each time we forget how long we have to wait for it. This evening it was almost an hour for the starter and one hour and twenty minutes for the main courses. When they arrived they were delicious, and the staff are friendly. But they presumably prioritise take aways. And after more than an hour you remember that this also happened last time we had a sit down (August I think). Its a Bring you Own place. So, if you are prepared to make it a long evening, make sure you bring plenty of liquor...

For the first time I'm really disappointed with La Royale. Ordered a takeaway which arrived half an hour late. 3 of the dishes were absolutely swimming in grease and my friend had dry, overcooked chicken and an unshelled prawn! I've been having food from here for years but this was nothing like I was expecting. Sorry guys but something seems to have slipped and I may try another curry house next time.

I was really disappointed with my experience at La Royale this time. We usually dine in, but decided to try their takeaway service during lockdown. It was a very busy Saturday night, and when I called to place my order, I was told it would be an hour and a half wait for collection. I thought it was a bit long, but agreed. When I arrived to collect my food after the agreed time, there were a lot of cars in the car park, many with people waiting for their orders. Inside, there were about three people waiting for their food, and a few others standing outside. I was informed that there would be an additional 15-minute wait because the kitchen was backed up. I understood that it was busy, but what I didn't expect was to wait another hour to receive my food, totaling 2 and a half hours of waiting. My order was simple - just two curries, two naans, and rice. I cannot blame the kitchen or the front of house staff, as it was entirely the manager's fault for taking on too many orders. They had reportedly completed 300 orders that night alone. I was not offered any discount on my order or for a future visit. With such a high volume of orders, everyone experienced long waiting times and no one was happy. It was an absolute shambles. La Royale needs to improve their management if they want to retain customers.

After ordering our first takeaway last week, we decided to dine in this evening. The service and the food was totally outstanding. If you haven't been, as like us, you may think it's a little out of the way, go. You certainly won't be disappointed