Ruby

After a long day of drinking in Hertford, we needed a curry. So we headed over to Ruby to give it a try. It’s basically a house converted into a restaurant, which was a bit strange, but I’ve seen weirder.
We had poppadoms to start, and they were served with five chutneys. They weren’t amazing, but still good, and most places only go with three or four, so five was a real treat. I had the Ruby fish special for a main, and it was tasty. I would have preferred it a bit more spicy. My partner ordered the beef, and I think he won. The stuff paratha was one of the nicest I’ve had.
The service was a bit slow. We didn’t see a server for ages. Maybe it was the bank holiday? I don’t know. However, if we’re ever in Hertford and need a curry again, I’m sure it’s a place we’ll come back to.

I went to this Indian for a Christmas night out with a very large group and I must confess I wasn’t overly impressed.
The Christmas menu was limited, we had a mixture of starters which included onion bhaji and chicken tikka — this would have been nice if it hadn’t been cold.
The serving of the starters was also very weird. They first gave us all plates with the token gesture of salad which all restaurants seem to think is compulsory, so of course people started nibbling on the odd p[iece of tomato waiting for the real food. They then took the plates away again a few at a time and served up the starters (which were now on hot plates in the same room as us) and returned the plates — not necessarily in the places they started in.
For main, I went for the save option of Chicken Tikka Masala, but I also tried the Prawn Bhuna. While pleasant enough neither of them particularly rocked my boat, neither did the side dishes.
We had to ask several time for drinks, getting a jug of water for the table seemed impossible. In defence of this, as I mentioned we were a very big group (30+) and service would probably be much better if there’s only a few of you.
While the décor and facilities looked nice and the atmosphere was good, I’m slightly concerned by the loose cabelling hanging down from the ceiling in the ladies toilets…
I would go back if someone organised a big gathering there again but to be prefectly honest, I’d be organising dinner somewhere else.

I’m going to completely contradict the damning review that was left on the 11^th of September. I have been to this place twice to eat in and 3 times for a takeaway — it will be my forth time tonight which is why I came across this article so I could get the telephone number to make an order before I leave work.
What I liked about this place firstly was the décor. Really smart and clean and greeted with plenty of friendly waitors. The only downfall was that one of the guys supported Liverpool. Myself and my two sisters were invited into the bar for a pre drink however we declined and said we’d like to go straight in to eat. We then went on our usual rampage of ordering loads of food which can so normally be encouraged by staff however the waitor suggested we had too much and also suggested that a couple of the things we had ordered may clash. Top marks from me here in this category!
The food arrived and it was lovely. We got it to come out all at the same time and my particular highlight from my first visit which I have since continued in ordering was the King Prawn Tikka Masala (it’s the red one if I got the name slightly wrong). Full marks on my first visit there.
Cutting a long story as short as possible my first visit to Ruby for a takeaway was also great. I had to wait ten minutes for the food which was not a problem at all as they did warn me on the phone it would take about 30 minutes. When I got there the gentleman behind the bar insisted on me having a drink on the house. He didn’t have to do this but it was a pleasant gesture. I then went home and scoffed the food without any complaints.
This is 100% the best Restaurant in Hertford — It is a benchmark for the others to follow and pull their socks up.

Ruby is a new contemporary Indian in Hertford.
Quality of the food is excellent — nicely flavoured, and not massive portions like you can get in some Indian restaurants.
Lots of waiters around so service is very good — no waiting for drink refills, paying your bill etc.
Here is the classy bit — they now offer a free pick-​up service using their new brightly coloured tuk-​tuk. The vehicle is a genuine Indian Tuk Tuk made by a company called King and imported into the UK by Auto Rickshaws Europe. It has been converted to run on LPG and can seat 3 passengers in addition to the driver.
The vehicle will be used as a free shuttle service for customers who live within Hertford. When making a booking customers can ask to be picked up in the Tuk Tuk. After your meal you can either be taken home or dropped off in the town.
If you see the tuk-​tuk driving around the town you can also give the driver a wave and he will give you a lift to Ruby.