Vel Indian Kitchen And - Reading

Decent place with minimum variety of lunch buffet but I found the food (biryani) as very dry. Chef and manager were quiet attentive and requested feedback for improvement. Hopefully it gets better and bigger in future.

I can say this is a hidden gem in Reading. The staff here is extremely welcoming and always greets you with a smile. The ambience is superb. The food is excellent, always fresh. I am a big fan of breakfast buffet. Highly recommended..

My first visit to Vel was for the buffet breakfast on a Sat in Dec. Suffice it to say, I left 'very ' unimpressed with 'no ' desire to return. However, decided to give the place another go and try their weekend lunch. I was pleasantly surprised! There was a wait for the food to be served but once done, it was a welcoming and tasteful experience to tuck into. The chicken biriyani is definitely worth a try! Nice 'ooru ' taste. I most certainly did enjoy my lunch on the afternoon and would recommend the lunch buffet for those looking for a nice South Indian meal. Worth a try! I did return to try the breakfast once more on being told it was under new management now, Feb onwards. The chutneys could certainly improve in flavour but overall it was enjoyable! Certainly room for improvement. The coffee served me for whatever reason had a burnt and a bitter taste to it but I enjoyed the tea tho ' I 'd have preferred it a lot stronger. Spoke with the Manager, Vignesh who was pleasant and polite. If they hone in on their customer service as also provide authentic South Indian dishes, they will do well as they are in a prime location for those looking for some 'ooru sappadu '.

2nd review following today’s buffet lunch (30/4/23). Shame I had to change my 5 star to 1 star from my previous feedback. I’m writing with great disappointment as there were no non-veg varieties. Only 2 chicken menu that too less quantity which got finished by the people standing in the front . The refill of all the dishes including white rice took ages. You either had to stand and eat to grab the dishes or give up and eat only veg varieties. Again the taste wasn’t best . No salt in basic sambar dish . Although the gentleman in the till offered discount for my genuine feedback, we paid in full as this feedback is for improvement of service and business not for price reduction. (Previous review based on food ordered -in picture )I have visited the place before, probably about 2 years back . Then I visited this restaurant today for lunch with my parents . It is under the new management and the food was amazing. Close to authentic South Indian home made food. The customer service was great especially a friendly chat with Vignesh and Chef Dharma. A lovely lady who served the food was so friendly and caring . Would definitely recommend this time.

Have tried the weekend lunch buffet and would highly recommend, there’s such good variety of unlimited food for only £9 a head. Plenty of vegetarian options although I have to say my favourite was the chilli chicken. It was fairly busy as well but the staff were great at topping up the food and were also very friendly asking us how the food was as well. Will definitely return.