PeachyKeens

If you’ve ever studied philosophy, you’ll be familiar with utilitarianism; the greatest good for the greatest number. It’s also a good summation of the attraction of multi-​cuisine, all you can eat buffet type places. Frankly no one is likely to win a Michelin star doing it, but you’re guaranteed to find something that everyone will tolerate.
And this is pretty much what I found at Peachy Keens. Located on the Coventry Rd near the Swan, it was a Harry Ramsdens when I was growing up and then became a pub. It has retained some of the pub interior up front, with the all you can eat out back. It’s frankly a little strange but seems to work for its customers.
I went down with my friend Andrew on a Monday night and was surprised to see it pleasantly busy; meaning most of the tables in the section we were seated at were full, but not so much that you were queuing for food. The staff, who were consistently excellent throughout the night, asked if we’d ever been before (neither of us had) and then asked if we’d like to be shown round. Ordinarily the irreverent side of my personality will wonder why on earth you’d need to be, but she had some good tips.
First off were the starters. A line of fried foods from chicken nuggets to onion bhajis I was worried that this was going to be a coronary disaster, but the crunchy seedweed was lovely and located just at the end of the counter which gave you ample view of the salad bar. And it was a pretty decent salad bar at that. I measure most salad bars on if I think my mum would be content to eat there (she loves salad and hates carbs, some times I wonder if we’re really related) and I think she’s be alright with it.
For mains I did a double dose, because it feels rude not to at an all-​you-​can-​eat. The first plate was chicken panang with egg-​fried rice. This was pretty indistinguishable from most Thai red curries I’ve eaten and was as hot as them (medium-​hot I’d say), but actually quite nice. My second main was Goan fish curry with pilau rice and naan bread. Again the sauce was on the medium-​hot side and the fish was chunky but well cooked, not too dry nor too flaky. Andrew, at some point, ate the paneer mhakani which he too said was hotter than he expected too. It’s clearly a bit of a theme. There were also lasagnes and chicken meatballs for anyone who fancied things a bit closer to home, cuisine wise.
Pudding was standard all you can eat fayre. There was an ice cream maker with psychedelic sauces and an array of mini desserts which looked bought in, bulk buy — some more successful flavours than others. There was tradition gulab jamun and the buffet traditional chocolate fountain, but I had space left for neither.
All in all though I was pleasantly surprised by Peachy Keens. It’s not the sort of place I’d ordinarily choose to go and some of the décor was a bit tired looking, but the food exceeded my, admittedly low, expectations. Surrounded by groups of people, including the celebration of a sixteenth birthday, it was a bit unusual to see a restaurant so busy on a Monday night but evident that they’re clearly doing something right to retain regulars. I’m not sure if go out of my way to visit but if I were staying in the hotel next door or looking to organise dinner with a large group with different food tastes, it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Peachykeens is a world Buffett restaurant. Predominantly Indian but with some Chinese, Italian and salads. Lunch menu offers slightly less selection than evenings but lunch offers great value, today I had some sweet and sour chicken with rice (great rice by the way) then went back for some lamb Rogan Josh, more rice and few popadoms, the popadoms were a bit soft, the curry was perfection. Ice cream with various sprinkles, marshmallows and jelly ect available but I dint have dessert, £5.50 for lunch, awesome value, bigger selections on in the evening. My only slight grumble is the quality varies hugely, we have had some wonderful meals here, and some less so, but nice service, lovely staff and amazing value, top that with HUGE selection, everyone will find something they like, it’s great for crowds, especially if you have a crowd that all want something different, massive variety of foods, salads and desserts. All you can eat menu, fully stocked bar, it’s nice but not somewhere I’d choose as first choice but great to keep a big crowd happy. Today there was 16 of us dining, so an obvious choice for us, staff work hard to keep our table clean, removing used plates and replacing drinks when requested.

Peachy Keens, formerly known as Spice buffet is a mixture of continents in one buffet. Indian, Italian, American and Chinese.
With a separate bar section that shows sporting events it has a very mixed vibe. I feel as though the English bar that can be seen from the dining area compromises the Continental feel to the restaurant.
After enjoying several meals from here, I have recently decided that instead of being indecisive I will choose one of the different cuisines and go to a place that specialises in that particular food. As I usually opt for the Indian curry here and always feel a little let down as I hardly eat anything else.
It is an ideal venue for a mixture of friends or someone like me who struggles to decide what side of the bed to sleep never mind choose a type of food to eat out.