The Chequers

Reviews about The Chequers

• 3 / 5

  By K Kay
  We recently visited the Chequers in Fordham and were pleased with the standard of the food. We really enjoyed the food although a bit on the salty side. I have to admit, one thing really put us off; the waitress came with the tray of food and the dish of rice was just sitting on top the naan! Lets hope the bottom of the dish was clean! Won't be coming back.
  April 28, 2017
• 2 / 5

  By Sean Durkin
  Strange table service, great starter items. Overcharged £6
  
  My wife and I visited here on the advice of a friend who said they had "the best Indian food". Full disclosure; my wife is more fond of Indian food than I.
  
  We first arrived and made our way to the sporadically populated dining area (one table with a family) in a pleasant "Live Jazz" themed area, with romantic seating and interesting lighting. After not being greeted or offered a seat, we approached the bar. The bar tender said nothing to us and walked off. So we grabbed a couple of takeout menus, thinking it was a pub style experience, and took our seats in a cozy corner table.
  
  After confusingly perusing the takeaway menu and contemplating whether or not they were really "open" (5:45pm on Saturday) I walked around a little bit and found a couple of restaurant menus. After sitting 5-10 minutes, our server approached our table and asked if we have been offered anything or spoken to; to which we replied that we hadn't. We ordered two glasses of prosecco and water. We received the water (with lime wedge) and prosecco in good time and we decided to stick around. There was no music playing despite the "jazz" theme, which did seem a bit odd.
  
  After looking at the menu we decided to order a couple of starters and mains to come out separately. We didn't understand what a few items on the menu were so we asked the server; she didn't know either and had to relay the answers from the kitchen.
  
  We received the starters in good time and they were both super delicious! The Shami Kebab(?) was a delicious fried chicken kebab, probably one of the best food portions I've had in England! The Chicken Pakora was a minced meat item with spectacular flavor! The small salad associated with it was shredded iceberg, an unusual accompaniment for Indian food, but simple and good enough. Again, the starters were delicious and I had a hard time believing the mains could keep up.
  
  We received the mains after a short wait (the restaurant was filling with patrons). The cheesy naan we received was hot and freshly made. The Hyderabad Chicken was prepared nice, but I found the sauce to be too sweet (crystalline taste of raw sugar overpowering the flavor). The exact same with the Chicken Tikka Masala, which had no hint of spice, but also had an overpowering sweetness. No complaints, didn't really expect the main to be better than the starter.
  
  After we were asked how everything was, we said we really liked the starters, that the mains were both unusually sweet, and that we were ready to pay. The server took our plates and brought back the bill. My wife and I guessed it would be £31-34, but it came out to £39.10. We took our tab and walked over to the register, pulled a menu and recounted everything. Turns out the price should have been £33.10. After waiting for 5 minutes, a different server asked if we needed anything. The staff had forgotten that we had not paid. We asked the server to re-calculate the bill and she concurred the total should be £6 less than quoted. (No specials or discounts).
  
  The second server (which I believe was the first person we saw behind the bar) simply stated that "she was really busy". No apology. We paid our corrected tab and left feeling a bit weirded out. Very strange experience.
  
  If you like poor service and overly sweetened main items--Checkers is for you. Additionally, if you like this along with live jazz, you can enjoy both on the first Sunday of each month.
  
  Not worth a visit. Takeout for the starters would probably be your best bet.
  March 22, 2017
• 1 / 5

  By Tony Stradivarius
  This used to be a really good restaurant. However, we went there last night and it was dreadful. It was full of loud, over-bearing people and because there are no curtains or carpet, the noise was intolerable. The menu was certainly Indian, but the food appeared to have come out of tins, without a hint of authentic spices or flavour. The garlic chicken consisted of over-large lumps of unidentifiable white meat in a bland sauce - where was the garlic? The mushroom korma was just chopped white mushrooms in an over-sweet, tinned coconut sauce. The rice and poppadums were OK, but really nothing special. I think the owner has moved abroad, so I guess the staff are working to a budget. If so, it's not working. Sorry.
  November 10, 2016
• 3 / 5

  By Stewart Mann
  Though it's not as good as it once was, it does provide a reasonable curry and a pleasant atmosphere.
  July 23, 2016