10/04/09

Good food, horrible service

by YRB

My husband and I went to Cafe Spice for my birthday on a Saturday night. We found it by accident after the place we intended to go to was closed. When we sat down at the bar, we were not acknowledged by the bartender who was sending and receiving text messages for about 4 minutes before looking in our direction. We almost left but decided to try somem food since we showed up during their second happy hour of the night (9:30-10:30) and had 1/2 priced martinis and appetizers. Their lamb was excellent! Wanting more we asked if we could sit at a table and order entrees. The bartender gave us a menu and we were able to seat ourselves. We waited and waited, but no server came. By the time I finished my horrible martini, they were moving the tables and we asked again for a server and no one came. After we gave up on the idea of food, we went back to the bar and ordered more drinks. They played old skool R&B after 11 which was cool. and by the end of the night found that we were charged for drinks we didn't have. The bartender tried, and gave us 2 drinks, but still not making up the extra charges. I will only ever go back for lunch just to taste the lamb again.

• Pros: Tasty food, drink and appetizer specials
• Cons: Slow service

03/09/09

Not good indian food . How can people say this is good?

by CSMobileUser2

I didn't see one indian eating there. The food was expensive and there was loud nyc techno/house music playing all night. The place is trying to be a posh old city place. My dish the lamb for 18 bucks was worse then eating at 5 dollar buffet. For a place named spice , it lacked the flavor of normal spices from india. Only noobs wouldn't be able to tell the difference,

09/20/08

Worst service in Philadelphia

by ahw2429

A group of friends (8 people total) and I were anxious to try Cafe Spice for restaurant week 9/19/08. We were more than disappointed with our experience. First, when we got there, they had lost our reservation (which had been confirmed via email) and we had to wait for at least 30 minutes for a table. From there, it just went downhill. We waited endlessly for a waiter, and when we finally did place our order, half of the group would get a course, and it would be at least 15 minutes before the rest of the group got theirs. We asked for some baskets of Naan at least 8 times before we finally got them (after our appetizers). The food itself was not bad, but it was not enjoyable to watch half the group eat their entrees, while some of us waited for ours. Our waiter never apologized, nor did the manager. The best service of the night came from the man who refilled our water glasses, which was all we had on the table for a good bit. At the end of the meal, we complained to the manager, who ended up taking 50% off the bill, though had he or the waiter apologized earlier, we may not have demanded compensation. Multiple other people in the restaurant were experiencing the same frustrations. Had I not been with a group, I certainly would have walked out. There was no reason our meal should have taken 3.5 hours and while they did compensate us, it won't be enough for me to come back, or to recommend Cafe Spice to anyone.

• Cons: Service

09/13/08

Succeeds at cool, tumbles on traditional Indian fair, fails at value

by discriminatetaster

At first, the atmosphere really draws you in. After sneaking a peak at a few plates, you can't help get excited to eat here. Then your food comes. I got the vegetable samosas and while they came out warm, regardless if they were not piping hot, they still were a bit disappointing. This is coming from someone who had real samosas in India. The filling was nicely whipped, but in terms of kick and flavor it failed. At the price you pay, you should expect something that would come at least close to what real Indian fair should be. The Taj Mahal lager, a real good Indian beer, (they didn't have the 22oz) :( helped me forget about how elementary their samosas were. I was excited to have the Gobi Manchurian, which is hard to find in Indian restaurants around Philadelphia, and was satisfied. It could have been a bit more crispier, but the sauce was spot on. My date got a chicken base, with a chefs special sauce which was nicely spiced and finished well with some Nan. Her basmati rice was cooked perfectly and her lentils were something else. The lentils came out to be the winner here. I never thought lentils would have been the focus of the night, especially at a swanky place such as this, but life is full of surprises. I used to hate lentils after only eating it repeatedly in India, but this place revived my tastes. However, the price was not worth prize winning lentils. It isn't that bad, but if you are concerned about getting value, don't go here. The tastes don't match the price. However, if your looking to impress a date, this is a great place. The atmosphere is romantic, it has a lot of interesting Indian dishes that I wish I could try. Overall, if you got money to burn, sure... Why not. But if decor and trendiness doesn't matter, there are much better Indian restaurants out there that can match cafe spices price with their tastes. One more thing: The service was a bit slow on a slow night. But I wasn't a big spender so let that be a clue.

• Pros: Romantic, trendy, interesting dishes, got Taj Mahal, good lentils
• Cons: Food isn't good enough to justify the price

07/17/08

Just became the best Indian in philly

by Myztikal13

Due to recent management change Cafe Spice i believe is the best indian joint in the city. Food is much better and better presented. The menu has changed quite a bit and is less expensive. Great and timely service. Came here for dinner last week and then stayed for the after hours clubbing. This place got a lot of bad reviews because of previous management and one of those reviews are mine but this is my favorite restaurant in the city for the food and the entertainment combined.

• Pros: Food,Service, Ambience, Music, Entertainment
• Cons: Parking!!

05/10/08

Pretty Much the Worst Indian Food in the Area

by romy1975

Please don't go here. The food is expensive and all tastes the same. You could order lamb or chicken - it doesn't even matter what kind of lamb or chicken - and it will just taste like some mediocre ethnic dish (surely not Indian though). The only people I can see liking this place are people who have never had Indian food before and think this is what it's supposed to taste like. And besides all of that - it's expensive to boot. What the? The servers were nice enough, but that wasn't the issue. Oh, and also the bathroom was gross. I normally don't notice the bathrooms in a restaurant but they had a funky smell and the doors on the stalls didn't lock. This is the first review I've written because I was seriously so disappointed. Do yourself a favor and go to Korma (Front & Chestnut) or order from Tiffin (GIrard Ave.) instead. Blah

• Pros: service was fine
• Cons: Bad food, too expensive, and the bathrooms smelled gross and were outdated.

11/17/07

Dog Food taste better than what this restaurant serves.

by singlebsling

The food is just mediocre. The Pita bread and beans are simply plain - you couldn't tell the difference if you ate these beans straight out of a can. But when they add $$$$ to the bill, its an insult. My experience at this restaurant will never be repeated - I will never go back and have persuaded many of my family, friends and co-workers to not go.

• Cons: EXPENSIVE EXPENSIVE EXPENSIVE - bread and water has a pricetag

08/14/07

Spiced to Perfection

by monedia

My family and I (with a few friends) celebrated my daughters 23rd birthday at Cafe Spice on Saturday night. Seating for a table of six and service was very prompt. This was our first time eating Indian cuisine, so we weren't sure if we would like it.. We are now big fans. The food was fantastic. Each person ordered something different and because everyone raved about their individual entrees so much, we ended up sharing all of them. Every dish was spiced to perfection. They even brought out a mousse for dessert with a candle on it for the birthday girl. Loved It! Loved It! I will be a frequent guest in the future.

• Pros: great food. good variety. great for vegetarians and meat eaters
• Cons: none

06/04/07

Wretched Service

by ang2921

I went to Cafe Spice the other night and we were one of three tables in the whole restaurant. Though it would seem like we would have great service on such a slow night, we were very wrong. The waitress was rude and couldn't answer simple questions about the menu. The food was okay- too much salt. And the cocktails were not very good. (When a waitress asks if you want sweet or dry vermouth in a gin martini you know the bar is not up to par.) Cafe Spice is mediocre Indian food with Friday's service. I wont be back.

12/05/06

Great time

by phillyguy1234

My roomate and I realized that we could receive points on our credit card by dining at Cafe Spice! We went to check it out and we were VERY IMPRESSED!!!! Big dishes with tons are flavor! I plan on going back, it was a great experience. The price is moderate, but worth every penny. The Naan is amazing and the presentation is well done.