Westbourne Tandoori

"Is this considered fraud to change more on the bill then on the menu I wonder? £14.60 extra. Price on menu for food £46 and yet price we paid £60.60. For example; Chicken Tikka (off the bone on menu £11 yet we paid £16, Tandoori King Prawns on menu £17 yet we paid £21, Peshwari Naan on menu £4 yet we paid £6…and so on. I’ll upload the receipt for all to see. Apart from the Poppadoms that were not fresh at all and tasted of rancid oil flavour the food was good and well presented. Although served on black plates which I personally don’t like as I find it easier to enjoy the colours of the dishes on a white plate. The atmosphere seemed pleasant and the decor was appealing to my eye with this owner, and as we have been eating at this restaurant for at least 33 years I have seen the decor in many differing styles. I was taking my best friend of 38 yrs out for a 53rd birthday meal and so we were enjoying a good chat, and eating slowly to enjoy the food. Reminiscing for a starter of how we used to spend so much time in this restaurant and indeed now we have more time that kids are soon off to Uni etc. we must resurrect our Westbourne Tandoori nights. Unlikely now so we’ll be looking for an alternative regular restaurant. I am trying to think why they did this but alas I am at a loss. I don’t believe it has been done by mistake as towards the end we realised that it was too late for a dessert (fingers crossed the ice cream they once offered was the same and instead asked for two teas but was met with a very blunt response that the kitchen was closed. It was 10:20pm. I apologise and asked if he would like us to leave but we were told they were open until 11pm. We could also hear other guests chatting and relaxed again but thought it somewhat odd and just put his slight rudeness down to just having a bad day or just that sort of personality. We were late…ops. I had booked the table for 7.30 but my godson and son to my dinner partner wanted a lift into bournenouth which made us 15mins late but which a immediately apologised for upon arrival. So we arrived at 7:45pm and left at 10:45. They didn’t seem especially busy but I probably would not have noticed as we were in the end booth and busy chatting. Maybe they thought they could squeeze another dinner in if we ate quickly and left? However other guests arrived at similar time and stayed for a similar amount so probably not that. We were obviously polite not just because we just are but also because we had said we must try and come here at least once a month. We were quite slow in ordering as we were chatting but the second time we were asked what we’d like we did say. Again I am at a loss as to why I was over charged. We didn’t really feel we were annoying them by eating too slowly and enjoying the food. The waiters all were mostly very professional and polite so they didn’t seem bothered with us and others were also spending a similar time eating. It may however be we simply didn’t order enough food because sadly we are both rather slim and reasonably short and neither of us have a big appetite. We actually left a fair amount and so I apologised that we could not finish all our food but please let chef know it was lovely. We were planning on returning so obviously didn’t want to allow chef to think we didn’t enjoy the main meal. We did leave a small space for something sweet like ice cream and we were hoping that we’d be offered a dessert menu but alas we were not offered and because we were catching up on news the time just flew past and we suddenly realised the time and felt it too late to order ice cream. I am really rather disappointed and sad about the new owners of this restaurant as we used to go their nearly every week for many years in our 20s and have been returning for all our Indian Meals for at least 33 years. It sadly seems it is now time to breakaway and try a more honest restaurant until this owner sells and we can once again return. You maybe wondering why I didn’t say anything when the bill arrived as I did notice and therefore left zero tip. I just didn’t want to end my birthday meal to the mother of my godchild etc. with a row over £14.60. I am a good tipper of often 20% to restaurants that we know we will be returning as I was brought up that this act of generosity may very well likely be rewarded in the future. For example if we want to book a table on a busy night at short notice, and also due to the fact we are slow eaters with small appetites that would very much like a booth so we can feel more at ease having a gossip. The tip I was think on my mental arithmetic was going to be £10 on a bill I was expecting to be around £55. So from their view point they are up £4.60 but have lost £55 £10 tip monthly. Mind you they weren’t to know how loyal we once were to the Westbourne Tandoori. Years ago other guests would wonder who we were with the friendly welcome we once proudly received. We used to enjoy very much how the owner used to have a knowledgeable friendly chat and how we’d often get a free liquor with our coffees. (In our salad days of having a strong coffee at 10:30pm. Crazy! We had very many happy times at the Westbourne tandoori and I dare say that one day in the future we will again but sadly not while in the current owners hands. After over 33years of returning it is however sad that we must now stop. I do very much wish they were not so dishonest as if they were honest they would have got very nearly all the extra greed they desired and have realised we’ll be back. During those cold quite winter months we will be loyal. Ho hum what can we do but vote with our feet and walk away."