Caprice Restaurant

Breakfast was great, but I'm excluding it as it came with the room. I'm going to review the restaurant independently to the hotel and spa. First things first: the price. The food and desserts were way too overpriced for what was given. And I understand it's fine dining, but the taste does not justify the price. One of the pictures I have is of their Indian rice pudding. There was also a kind of carrot cake. I have to say the Indian desserts were incredibly disappointing. The texture and presentation is okay, and it is warm... Other than that, flavours are lacking. Rice pudding had no taste, it was just warm. You get more flavour from a Muller Rice Pudding pod from Asda. There should have been cinnamon, sugar, cardamom flavours. You can't just decorate it with some pistachio and charge £9 for something so bland. The other Indian dessert was the carrot cake (Gajar Ka Halwa) which I don't have a picture of. Same thing. No flavour. The strawberry they garnished was the only good thing about this dish. Again a £9, small plate, with the cake no bigger than half my palm. I mention desserts first because I visited for the Spa at the hotel, and thought to have a quick tea and cake beforehand. There was a dinner with my stay which I'll get into now: The set menu is £35, for a starter, main and dessert. I've already given my thoughts on the Indian desserts, but there were a few more which me and my partner didn't manage to try. She got a Sticky Toffee Pudding, which was actually really nice. But it's a shame that was the tastiest thing out of all the desserts we got. My main was a Lamb Rogan Josh, which was actually not bad. My partner got a Butter Chicken. Not enough coconut or sweetness flavour in it. The actual chicken was not tender enough. Felt as if it was pre-boiled, frozen, defrosted, and put into a generic Butter Chicken sauce. The Jera and Pilau rice on the side were basic, as if boiled rice with some spices sprinkled during the plating. I got two sides (which I paid £5 extra for each). Onion Bajhi, and Vegetable Samosas. They were too fried and soaked in oil. The fillings I could see were done well but, lifting it off the plate, you have a pool of oil. I only had a bite before asking the waitress to take it back. Good thing they took that charge off my bill. Starter was okay, a lamb seekh. Texture was good, and flavours were there but it was too small. Judging the restaurant alone and not the hotel, the Indian menu is several disappointing, especially because it was the only halal option. My stay and the meal were gifted to me, but if I had to pay £35 out of my pocket for an uninspired, lackluster meal like that, I would have complained much more. And for the food I did like, they were not impressive, just passable. For the restaurant to look so nice, boast it's elegance and high prices, the food was not good enough. If the staff and decor were not as good as they were I would have given it 1 Star. Though even the lighting was too dim. I would have taken nicer pictures of my meal if I could see them better. I hope they take this review as constructively as possible. I do see the potential in the food and menu, but as of first impressions I'm displeased.

My wife and I had a fantastic stay at the Crown Plaza, we used the Caprice Restaurant in the hotel and it was amazing. The breakfast was superb with a vast range of choice, extras are available and promptly delivered. The evening meal was also top quality. All the food tasted incredible and was piping hot. We had a lovely welcome from the front of house staff all of the service staff were very polite and helpful. If your near Reading I would strongly recommend this restaurant.

Hotel was clean, room was comfortable but unfortunately the dining experience was poor. We had the three course meal but it would appear the waiter forgot we were there, waited an hour for dinner. We were only offered drinks at the start when seated which took 30 minutes to get and was so watery where the cocktails were left on ths side, was actually the worst cocktails we have ever had at £14 a drink. Midway through this experience we went to the hotel bar to get our own drinks as nobody was coming to our table. When the waiter finally come over he asked if we was all finished, we advised we were still waiting for dinner, he then went on to blame other people for the poor service and left. Once we finally got our dinner after chasing it up, we then sat with our dirty plates for 40 minutes waiting for desert which again we had to ask for. We mentioned this to a different waiter who responded the service is so bad he was embarrassed. Out actual server even said the service was bad and he was the one that was supposed to be looking after us. The night ended with them giving us a bill that included a service charge for the whole dining experience which was part of a package we had already paid for. It was so terrible that it become laughable. Mentioned it when checking out and the receptionist advised they had several complaints about the dining experience. Such a Shame because I purchased this package for my partner as a birthday treat. On the plus the breakfast was nice and alot easier than the night before because it was self service.

We really enjoyed our dinner, the food was stellar, top quality and was also served on time. A gentleman called Callum was very helpful and made sure we had everything we needed, he made good suggestions with the drinks and food which was appreciated. I had emailed beforehand requesting a birthday plate, though this wasn't provided; otherwise would have been five stars.

A most pleasant dining experience during the evening meal & breakfast was reasonable. I felt the hotel staff were extremely helpful and accommodating due to my disability especially at breakfast. Reserved seating by the express breakfast bar My only criticism of thoughts would have been for fresher cooked fried eggs. Under the heat lamps they tend to loose their texture.

What a wonderful experience, from the minute we checked in with Andrius who was so welcoming and made us feel as if nothing was to much trouble. Which made it a bonus when he served us within the restaurant! The food was lovely on our first night and the second night with exceptional service from Shahry who again made us feel very cared for and couldn't do enough for us he was so knowledgeable of the whole menu and made the best recommendations could thank them enough 😀