The Mogul, Manningtree

DO NOT USE!! We emailed this restaurant & called them directly to allow them the opportunity to respond & rectify, so there would be no would be no need to leave a bad review, unfortunately not even the decency of a reply! Terrible customer service!!

We ordered (£40) food for delivery at 6.30pm for an 8pm delivery.. 1.5hrs notice and we paid £5.50 delivery charge!

The food did not arrive at 8pm, we called, was advised would be 20mins, 30mins later, we called again, apparently the driver left 5mins ago! We received our luke warm food just under 1hr late, ordered food at 6.30pm recieved near to 9pm! 2.5hrs later!

Once recieved, we were missing the onion salad which was paid for, the food was extremely oily/greasy, the chicken totally inedible, the masala sauce was disgusting, not like any masala sauce I have seen or tasted before, tasted sour/off!

We would like a refund please !

I was really disappointed with the take away meal I had from the Mogul tonight. If I had been in the restaurant I would have sent the food back and have refused to pay for it.The quality of the food was poor. It tasted watery and lacked flavour. The onion bhaji was all batter with very little onion and the dips also thin,tasted watery and no flavour. I certainly will not use them again and could never recommend them to anybody.

Meal tonight with my brother,. Great welcome from staff even though they were very busy.

Taken to our table, drinks arrived swiftly. We ordered a range of food which arrived together- hot , tasty well cooked. Staff were attentive and owner very keen to ensure the evening was special. He succeeded and I can recommend this restaurant without reservation.

We were almost put off the Mogul after reading a couple of the bad recent reviews here but, after deciding to go, were pleasantly surprised.

The service was fast, efficient and accurate - no 'extras' were added to the order as implied in previous reviews. We went on a weekday so maybe its different with big parties at the weekend. Drinks prices were listed on the menu - although oddly it was much cheaper to buy two halves of beer rather than a pint!

The quality of food was above average, especially the salmon kebab starter, although none of the dishes were particularly spicy.I wouldn't call it spectacular, but certainly tasty.

The bill for poppadoms, starter, main and a shared side dish, plus a pint each came to just over £20 each.

WORST RESTAURANT I HAVE EVER BEEN TO. This restaurant is appalling and falls back on its previous reputation. The service was the worst part of the 'mogul experience', we waited 45 minutes after our booking time until we were seated, we had ordered drinks in this waiting time of which we only received when we asked on the fourth time. All around us people were complaining, one women saying she could cook better at home. We recieved poppadums of which the waiter was eating on the way and laughed when we looked on in horror. We walked out after waiting nearly an hour for our starter and will never go back again. We had previously ordered take away from mogul and it had been mediocre but overpriced for what it was, we complained once before over the lamb tikka saying it was tough and dry, however the restaurants employees fell back on their falsely given high quality recognition, saying "do you know of our reputation". Overall this place is badly organised, and seems to need modernising. Nevertheless it is the time management that is the major factor in this restaurants fall from grace, utterly disgusting. AVOID THIS RESTAURANT AT ALL COSTS.

Firstly, the food here is pretty good- it seems to be of fair quality and well prepared. The service is good- the meal arrived very quickly and was hot. Now the downside- from the second you enter you feel as though you are being beld dry for every penny they can take you for. All the tricks are utilized by the staff to bump up the bill (bringing out extra food that was not ordered, opening wine as soon as the bottle is finished without asking whether more is required, charging nearly £5 per pint- and not listing the cost of pints on the menu, bringing out popadoms as soon as you arrive without asking if you want them, overcharging on the bill) In short- AVOID.

The Mogul simply serves the best indian food I have eaten. The flavours are wonderful and the ingredients always fresh. I have always found the service excellent and efficient. If you want a warm and friendly welcome and atmosphere as well as superb food, you will not do better than the Mogul at Manningtree.

A party of sixteen booked a fortnight in advance waited two hours for our main courses (which were of above average quality) but received only half-hearted apologies when we complained. The owner/manager agreed to take £50 off the bill but then failed to do so (several of our party work in finance and add things up) and persisted in justifying the poor service including disowning responsibility and blaming his staff. Essentially, the restaurant failed to take any of the opportunities that we offered them to retrieve their errors.

Put simply, The best Indian restaurant I have come across to date. Nothing is too much trouble, if it's not on the menu ask or even just describe what you would like (hot, extra hot, not too hot) and they will adapt all food to your taste. The menu gives a great choice of dishes (fish curry is a must)the staff are attentive but not intrusive and nothing is too much trouble. A very nice atmosphere and great value for money.

Overall 8/10. Will visit The Mogul in Manningtree again soon, but perhaps not on a weekend night.