Maya’s World Buffet

My wife and I used a Groupon offer on a Sunday evening. They had had a busy Sunday trade and now it was quite. i was pleased that the buffet food was still very fresh and appetising. The chicken in the chicken dishes was very moist and a pleasure to eat. Given that I have seen negative reviews on this restaurant I did not have high expectations, however I was delighted with the food and the service. I will definitely be going again.

Now following our abortive visit to Tomassi’s for lunch. I recalled that we’d previously found a «World Grill» which we’d come home enthusing about because it gives you the opportunity to sample dishes of international cuisine. Since that time (a good 4 or 5 years ago) the Jimmy’s World Grill franchise set up in Watford and we infrequently visit it (and particularly if we’re ravenous!).
So we checked that Maya’s was still in existence (so often a restaurant will disappear off the face of the earth from one year to the next in our experience) and then made the long journey up the High Street (it is a slow uphill walk) as it’s up the other end of the High Street from the beach end.
It was a little after midday when we got there but, with 2 youngsters aged 5 and 18^th months they needed to eat and the sea air had given us an appetite.
We were, therefore, a little disappointed to find not a great selection of veggie food. All the food warmers have signs indicating whether the food is veggie, Hallal or gluten free. There’s a small (very small) selection of salads. The indian food was a let down. There was «paneer tikka» nothing like authentic paneer tikka, just cubes of paneer that looked like they’d been marinated and oven cooked rather than cooked in a tandoor. The indian food (and my family agree the other food that they ate) was bland and tasteless, possibly under spiced to «cater» for the English palate — why???
The food in the warmers was actually lukewarm and I really wonder whether food kept at that temperature for any period of time is actually safe to eat?
The desserts — had signs to tell you what they were but not whether they were vegetarian/​Hallal or not. In my experience many cheesecakes and mousses are made with pork or beef gelatine (a common gripe of mine with regard to supermarket desserts, too!) so in a restaurant that serves both meat and veggie, knowing if the dessert is suitable for vegetarians is somewhat important! Also, the desserts were made up in tiny shot glasses or tiny dishes. The crème brûlée was in a dish with what amounted to one mouthful and really was just an egg custard — awful! The eton mess was just a shot glass with a tiny (and I DO mean tiny!) drop of fruit sauce on top of which a spoonful of whipped cream had been dolloped.
I definitely wouldn’t recommend this restaurant and it was a complete disappointment.