Melted Plastic Paneer: It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!

25starindia.jpg8thAndPrez writes in the Park Slope Message Boards: “I was so disgusted by the whole affair I felt it was only right to post…”

“I was originially excited when Star of India opened at 5th/Prez. Disappointed the few times we ordered from them and went to eat there. We more recently decided to give them another chance and ordered delivery.”

“The food looked fine when it arrived, but the first taste revealed an overwhelming flavor of burnt plastic. Both of our meals had the same flavor – overwhelming melted plastic.”

“I called SoI to explain… they very reluctantly sent over a replacement order. I made the delivery guy stay at the door while we tasted and, again, plastic. The delivery guy even tasted the food and agreed. When I called SoI they refused to acknowledge the problem – insisted it was our problem, and refused a refund.”

“Mediocre Indian food and poor service to boot. Anyone else have similar experiences with SoI?” Read more…

PHOTO: Bollyfood: Star of India tones down the spice, amps up the flavor [GoBrooklyn.com]

5 Replies to “Melted Plastic Paneer: It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!”

  1. Park Slope has a very poor history with Indian restaurants, so we, too, were pleased to see Star of India open. We’ve been generally happy with the quality of the food we had there. But, we have also had one negative SOI experience: they participate in restaurant.com’s coupon program. We purchased a $10-off a $25 order coupon from restaurant.com recently for Star of India. At the conclusion of our meal, we presented our coupon for redemption. The owner stated he no longer participates in restaurant.com (blatantly untrue…just go to the web site and see) and further stated that the owners of the site had gotten his coupon wrong: it should have been 10% off a $25 order, not $10 off (again, blatantly untrue, since the coupons cost $4 each). We begrudginly accepted the 10% off our check, but knew we were being treated unfairly.
    Our restaurant.com coupons have been cheerfully accepted at a variety of other establishments in NYC and elsewhere.

  2. I’ve been once, had a mediocre (but not-plastic-tasting food) meal and haven’t been back. I’ve always wanted to give it another chance (since it’s right around the corner from my apartment), but the fact that NOBODY is EVER in there sends me a clear signal. I always wonder how the place manages to stay in business when there are never any customers.

    Can’t be that many people ordering delivery/take-out to support it.

    Reminds me of the way Le Bistrot on Flatbush near Saint Marks was always empty but managed to stick it out for years before closing.

  3. I’d been once to eat (which wasn’t bad) and then had one of the worst take-away experiences ever with them.

    I’d placed an order via phone, and was told that it was just under $15 — and to use a credit card meant having a minimum $15 order. No problem. I ordered some nan, which had to have put the order above $15.

    When the order arrived, it was somewhere around $23. Huh? After all the to-do about the order not being large enough, it somehow went up EIGHT DOLLARS?

    I called them back after it was delivered — later than expected, with one other item missing — and was given a breakdown of my order that was slightly incorrect. (Something I’d ordered hadn’t been heard, or some excuse.)

    I have never given them my business again. Agreed on Amin — Amin’s a quality joint. Much better food and service.

  4. re: the $15 minimum to use a charge card. This is illegal in New York State! The establishment also signs an agreement (I did with Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Discover) that they will not impose a minimum limit on credit card use, also. One more reason to avoid the place, alone with bad food and service.

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