Urban Spice JFP Reviewed

Sorry, this review is without photographs.We were too disgusted to take any.

It's about Urban Spice in Jamuna Future Park.

Yesterday, some of us went there for food around 5 PM. The restaurant is well decorated and some taste bud stirring, tantalizing images of Indonesian food is hung outside of the shop. The prices also seemed reasonable.

Soon we got ourselves seated inside. The fact that the place had a children's play area gave them an extra edge. We were a group of 4 grown ups and 2 children. We wanted to order individual items, but the waiter told us that every item is 1 is to 3. Then one of us reminded him about the "set menus". In fact, the images of the set menus were the key factor for us in choosing their shop; effectively ignoring some over aggressive patrons from another place called "White restaurant" or something like that.

The waiter pretended to hear the word for the first time in his life but eventually mentioned that "oh, those set menus are usually offered during lunch hours".

I thoroughly checked the menu and all signs and leaflets; nowhere it is mentioned that set menus are available only during lunch.

After going through the menu, we finally chose (or we thought we chose) some food to order. We were promptly informed that "সবাই একই রকম order করলে আমাদের সুবিধা হয়, খাবার তারাতারি আসবে!". His tone was filled with irritation and rudeness.

Well, I've been a long time food aficionado and I've had the good fortune of visiting hundreds of restaurants home and abroad, but never did I hear such a weird request. Well it is definitely a fact that ordering the same food makes things faster, but do you ever tell that to the customer?

So we ended up ordering two Nasi Gorengs, and two fried rice meals with fish and squid. One kids's meal and a vanilla milkshake for my nephew. The waiter seemed attentive and he scribbled on his paper. His parents clearly mentioned that the milkshake should not have any added ice, they should make it with ice cream only.

After 10-15 minutes, he arrived with a "Chocolate milkshake". We didn't remember, but the intelligent child refused to take it as he clearly remembers ordering vanilla milkshake.

After a small, Insincere apology, he disappears, and comes back with a glass of vanilla milkshake filled with crushed ice. When we asked about this strange activity, his reply was "Borof chara milkshake hoy na". We became so astonished that we didn't bother to engage in further confrontation.

The Nasi Gorengs were dry, stale and almost inedible. The satays smelled bad, and the meat was overcooked. It seemed burnt, even. The rice was smelly and stale; it seemed that they simply served leftovers from a glorious past. These people are giving Indonesian food a bad name.

The squid and fish (different dishes) were virtually indistinguishable. The same flavors, sauce and condiments were used for cooking both, and they tasted similar, too. This is a smart strategy for "cooking fast", but this will not get them any new fans or customers.

There is a common problem in Bangladeshi restaurants--Demotivated and untrained waiters. A good waiter can change how the customers view a restaurant. When we told this particular waiter, and different man who came to collect the bill that the food had issues, they didn't apologize. They just said "but everything was cooked fresh".

I didn't expect a discount or refund, but 9 out of 10 good restaurants in Dhaka will apologize to their customers if they are not happy with the food or service.

I predict a sad demise and eventual closure of Urban Spice's business in the coming months and none of us who went there yesterday would mind.

I remember having great Indonesian food in a place called "Mother's Recipe". It was part of the 5-6 restaurants that once formed Gulshan 1 TIme Out. Sadly, they got closed years ago. Urban Spice is cheating their customers by promising authentic Indonesian cuisine while all they are doing is serving customers stale and rotten mishmash of Chinese food.

Service 1/10
Food 1/10

Oh, by the way, the kids meal was just two fried sausages and a small amount of french fries, but it still costed 250 taka. Our meals were also around 350 taka.

There was no value for money, and I hope I will not have the misfortune of visiting Urban Spices ever, again.