A good restaurant should not only be able to provide its customers with delicious meals but also with excellent service. Spending millions on creating a conducive ambiance alone, without investing enough in staff training, however, is a mistake many restaurateurs make.
Yet, the staff, particularly the waiting staff, are a major component of a thriving restaurant business, and poor service may prevent customers from returning to a restaurant, regardless of how good the food is. This fact was not lost on me, when what was a splendid meal at Nawab’s Asian Bistro was marred by the poor, lackluster service of its waiting staff.
Location and décor
Located on the second floor of Acacia Mall, Nawab’s Asian Bistro is spacious, with a main dining area and a covered terrace with an uncovered eating space; adjacent to it which offers a beautiful panoramic view of Kampala’s skyline. The décor is minimalistic and stylish with a predominantly white colour scheme, accented with cream and brown.
In front of the restaurant is a large, fully stocked bar with a wide range of alcoholic drinks. Part of the wall near the bar, however, is decorated with fairy lights, which detract from the rest of the room’s décor. The tables are neatly laid with table mats and burgundy napkins folded attractively on top of white side plates. Each table is also decorated with a small pot of red plastic flowers, which look tacky, as one would have expected fresh flowers or even none at all, at a restaurant of this calibre. Unfortunately, when I arrived, a waitress who was busy chatting with her colleague took her time to leisurely lay the table while I was already seated. The table I sat at was practically bare.
The menu
Being an Indian restaurant, the menu chiefly comprises Indian vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, as well as a few continental and oriental dishes, pizzas, soups and salads. There is also a special children’s menu. The food here is pricey, with the sauces priced separately from the rice, rotis, paratha and naan they are normally served with. The meat sauces generally range from Shs32,000 to Shs36,000 and Shs89,000 for a full leg of lamb, while the vegetarian dishes range from Shs18,000 to Shs38,000. Steamed rice goes for Shs12,000, biryani rice at Shs14,000, and chicken biryani at Shs32,000. Naan ranges from Shs5,000 to Shs12,000, while rotis and paratha range from Shs5,000 to Shs8,000.
I ordered for butter chicken, biriyani rice, garlic naan and a bottle of mineral water, all for a cool Shs54,000. I noticed that the waitress had forgotten to bring the salt and pepper mills and that while the people seated at the table next to me were given wipes, I was not. The food, however, was sumptuous! The biriyani rice looked attractive and went well with the butter chicken, which was rich and creamy with succulent pieces of boneless chicken. The garlic naan was tasty and filling, and the portions quite generous.
While I was eating, the waitresses were huddled over a sideboard in deep conversation, and it took me quite a while to get their attention when I needed some water. I was particularly annoyed when one of them suddenly sprang into action and started clearing the table while I was still eating, whisking away my bowl of sauce without me noticing it and before I could mop it up with a remaining piece of naan. This unprofessional conduct dampened what would have been a pleasant afternoon.
The loos
The loos were clean and modern, although a long crack ran through the ladies’ hand-washing basin.
Verdict
Regular training of the waiting staff would greatly improve the services of Nawab’s Asian Bistro and make dining a more pleasant experience for its customers.