Reema Contemporary - Darlington

I have learned from experience that dining alone in a restaurant is usually not ideal. However, on a warm evening with many people sitting outside at the neighboring bars, the restaurant was completely empty when I arrived. Despite this, I had something to read and am accustomed to dining alone. I ordered one of the special dishes and aside from being reasonably priced, I found it lacking in flavor. The dish had a lot of food but did not have much taste, only a hint of spice that was reminiscent of packaged curry powder from the 1970s. The ambiance was challenging, especially with the unhelpful sound system playing Indian-style music that abruptly changed tunes every few minutes. Additionally, a man came in and engaged in a loud conversation with one of the staff, which was distracting. Although this may not have been the restaurant's fault, it added to the unpleasant atmosphere. If it were not for the affordable prices, I would only give this restaurant one star. Despite frequenting Darlington often, I do not plan on returning to this establishment.

The restaurant provided quick and friendly service, accommodating several additional requests. The flavors and spices were perfect, with a selection of fantastic beers. The staff was attentive. Despite reading negative reviews, I found this restaurant to be more welcoming, with better service, higher quality food, and cheaper prices compared to other nearby establishments. I highly recommend it.

We have always ordered Currys to be delivered from Reema and have continuously been absolutely fantastic however tonight we thought they had been a change of chef as our Currys were totally different in taste. There was very little taste to my husbands Jalfrezi and my tikka masala I always order with added extra spice just tasted of white pepper. Also poppadoms arrived with a warm salad and no mango chutney etc therefore these could not be eaten. I made contact with the restaurant to be told we could be offered a discount on our next order however we were totally disappointed as our Currys we couldn’t eat were binned. unfortunately with the result of this we will no longer be ordering an Indian takeaway from Reema.

On a Saturday evening, the restaurant was empty except for one other table. It was quite cold and looked a little neglected. Despite this, the food was delicious. The dips, starters, mains, and naans were all very tasty.

So dissapointed with our visit since the last time. Used to be a nice cosy Restaurant. Not anymore. Really in need of an overhaul. Very tired looking. It was cold as door opening all the time due to its takeaway service. They did move us to upstairs area. Food order came one hour later. Saturday night not alot in , but think take aways take priority . Food was OK but won't go back as too many nicer Indians in town now. Such a shame really to see it like this.