Saturday night dining at Mandarin Karma!

Going into Derry on a Saturday night for dinner and no booking may seem like a crazy idea. And it certainly is. However that’s exactly what I and my husband did last night. Shortly after 7pm we ventured into the city. The first restaurant we went into said we would have to wait for an hour and a half before getting a table. I didn’t take offence as I knew to expect such. The staff were very nice and we decided to try elsewhere and see how it would go!
Next we entered the Mandarin Karma restaurant along the quay. The only reason we didn’t go here first was that we had recently been here and were going to try something different this weekend. However on approaching the young man on reception, we soon realised that we were going to dine once more at the Mandarain Karma. Immediately he told us that it wouldn’t be a problem accommodating us without a booking and brought us to a table.
From the moment of going in the door, the Mandarain Karma staff were pleasant, attentive and helpful. They had time for everyone amid the bustle of continual traffic through the restaurant. The customer service provided from each member of staff I encountered last night was first class.
And then there was the food. As always it was quite excellent and tasted divine. I’m not a particularly adventurous eater so I simply ordered ‘chicken fried rice’. It might be boring for some people but it was just what I wanted and it was delicious. My husband tried the ‘Chicken Maryland’. Now it’s not often that this man needs to leave food on his plate but last night was one of those occasions. There was just so much of it. Again his meal was delicious also and he simply couldn’t finish it. A perfect wine selection was made to accompany the food.
On finishing our meal, we still had some wine to drink. At no point did we feel that we need to hurry as others were waiting. The staff catered for every eventuality and we enjoyed some relaxing time after eating, just sipping our wine.
A delightful evening was had and we shall definitely be returning here one evening soon. Good staff allows for so much of the enjoyment of a night, and at the Mandarin Karma you will most definitely find this!