The Spice Oven in Reading

Salimos a cenar de cumpleaños con la familia. El restaurante estaba muy tranquilo ya que era lunes por la noche, en cierto modo era bueno debido al distanciamiento social. Nuestra comida llegó a tiempo y fue agradable. Realmente me encantó el personal amable, especialmente una señora de allí. Volveremos cuando vuelva el buffet.

Nos alojamos en el Crowne Plaza por cuatro noches y comimos en este encantador restaurante cada noche. Elizabeth era la mejor mesera y conocía todos los platos y compartía secretos de cuáles eran sus platos favoritos. Lo mejor del restaurante es que es grande y fuimos testigos de unos protocolos de distanciamiento social inmaculados. Tiene un ambiente moderno muy bueno con una estructura de agua que fluye con grandes peces que fascinan a los niños. Los precios eran muy razonables y se puede comer una cocina variada que va desde inglesa, india y china y atenderá a todos los miembros de la familia. Realmente disfrutamos y recomendamos este restaurante que está justo al otro lado del puente de Crowne Plaza, a una corta distancia a pie y hay varios otros restaurantes cerca.

El personal de Spice Oven es muy conocedor de los platos y estará encantado de hacer recomendaciones y modificar los platos si es necesario.La comida estaba recién hecha con capas de sabor. El arroz estaba absolutamente delicioso, ojalá hubiéramos pedido otra porción.Sin duda volveremos y se lo recomendaría a otros.

Nunca volveré a este lugar. La comida es de muy baja calidad. Sobre cocido. Sin comida. sin gustos a la comida. Nada queda realmente en las bandejas de servir. Solo pendiente, y huesos. Cuando fuimos 8. 30 no queda realmente ningún alimento. Y ni siquiera querían refrescar las bandejas. Si no quieren reemplazar los alimentos después de las 8 p. M., No dejen entrar el grano. Solo cierra las puertas. Lo bueno es de muy mal nivel. El flan necesita un cuchillo y un tenedor para comerlo. Es sólo una broma.No pierdas tu tiempo. Y dinero, yendo a este lugar. Lo que puedo recordar fue bueno hace unos 10 años. Pero no lo se. no te vayas

Muy muy bien. El servicio fue excelente. Muy educado y el sabor de la comida fue increíble. Se notaba que se trataba de ingredientes frescos y sabían lo que estaban haciendo. Muy buenas porciones de tamaño también! Mucha carne, gambas y pan. Lo único y es bastante pequeño, es la temperatura en el restaurante. Teníamos bastante frío y tuvimos que ponernos puentes. ¡Sin embargo, esto no distrajo de una excelente noche! Y volveremos, y lo recomendaremos a amigos y familiares

He estado aquí anualmente durante los últimos años con amigos y este lugar es consistentemente bueno. El sábado pasado, 14 de nosotros comimos aquí y tuvimos una gran noche. Mucha variedad y la calidad de la comida es mejor que la mayoría de los restaurantes tipo buffet. Ofrecen comida china, india, tailandesa, italiana y británica, un menú especial para niños que también es genial. El precio también es bueno, en general, una experiencia que no debe perderse.

We came to the Spice Oven 2 years ago when we were over from New Zealand and enjoyed it. Our son and his family live in Reading, so once again our oldest granddaughter chose this restaurant for the family celebration of her birthday - 17th.It was the Friday evening of the Reading Festival weekend so we were surprised to see that there was hardly anyone around - admittedly we were there for a 6.30 pm meal so probably before the rush. A table for for 7 had been booked but it really wasn't necessary to do a booking.This is a buffet style restaurant where one pays a set amount for as much as you can eat; added to that is the cost of whatever you choose to drink. I always pace myself at such places as one can over indulge and head home bloated. Therefore I enjoyed a select few items as a starter - onion rings, garlic mushrooms, a couple of small pork ribs - they were okay but not memorable. Moving on to the mains I found that there was a huge selection of Indian/Asian dishes but not much to satisfy my caucasian palet - I ended up with sweet & sour pork and a vegetable chowmein; once again they were okay.The evening was crowned off by the desserts - there was a good selection and all of them were just yummy - it was just as well that I had limited my food intake up to that point as I had room left to try a number of them to finish off with. If my memory serves me, I believe they had a better selection of mains when we ate here in 2017. The ambience is nice and the staff were pleasant.

Went into the spice oven Monday evening, the atmosphere was really warming but was a bit dark and gloomy. The food selection was minimal but was very nice and would go back again. The waiters were very helpful with selection of the food and also taking a fast pace approach for clearing tables the only thing I would say about the service would be the drink order and the pace it got our table. But in summary a relaxed and peaceful night

Always enjoy coming to spice oven. The selection of food is amazing and tastes great. The staff are friendly and ready to help when needed . Highly recommend !!

It was just casual visit with family but turned out to be a good one. First and foremost thing is the Boufet Spread. They have got amazing spread with whole lot of things from every corner of India be it Veg or Non Veg and they even have good international spread as well. Everything had a proper authentic taste. To top it up there were too many items in Desert as well. Hot Gulab Jamun was superb. Would definitely recommend and will visit again too.

Having visited a few times in the recent past (and after it reopened), I continue to remain disappointed with the restaurant and the fact that it can improve if it tried.The food variety on this visit was less than usual, though the quality was good. The service was poorer than usual - we asked them to replenish a food item that was finished from the time we entered, and even after we had finished our food, the situation hadnt changed (even though we were told its being done). Overall, the prices were higher on Father's Day, but unwarranted and unnecessary, not commensurate with the variety of food available (and no, the place wasnt full either).On a separate note, the fact that parking is very hard to find when visiting, doesnt help.

Visited the restaurant today and food was dire - warm, poor quality and little choice. Have visited several times in the past but this will be our last, restaurant seems to have gone downhill. Staff were very friendly and delivered the drinks quickly. At least that’s a small positive. Chocolate fountain was on, but it was so thick it blocked up at the bottom and wouldn’t pump around. Shame really as the restaurant used to be nice, don’t know if their maybe a new owner or something, as something has changed a lot.

Never been to this restaurant before. Shame it’s not explained there are starters along one side, curries rice etc along another, and then desserts in another section. It would have been nice to have been told this before I started to fill my plate and then realise there were main courses also. The food was ok ( had worse). What I chose I liked. Desserts were lovely, gateau, ice cream, hot chocolate fudge cake, apple pie n custard, and a chocolate fountain. I did find this good value for money at £15.50pp. Yes I would go again.

The waitresses were excellent, fast friendly service. Food dire - Cheap, nasty, tired looking. Took one look at the food and wanted to leave, but it was a friends birthday so i couldnt.

En primer lugar, permítame decir que vengo aquí de vez en cuando por varios años y la elección solía ser maravillosa, ha disminuido en los últimos 18 meses, lo cual es triste.

Fui allí con amigos. Excelente elección de platos. Lo bello es que había personas de diferentes orígenes culturales y que todos disfrutaban de la comida. Crees que el gusto de la gente por las especias es diferente. Sin embargo, todos estaban disfrutando. El personal es amable y servicial. La mesa junto a la nuestra solicitó una pizza con ingredientes específicos para su cumpleañero y la solicitud se cumplió. El Gol Gappa y otros entrantes estaban fuera de este mundo. Puedo comer entrantes todo el día todos los días. Hot mull gulab jaman eran encantadores. El ambiente es bueno. El precio es razonable. Vale la pena una visita. Vamos a ir de vacaciones de nuevo.

Escuché sobre este lugar y he viajado desde Slough para cenar con mi familia.

Visité Spice Oven hoy con mi familia. Disfrutamos de su visita con una gran selección de comida. El ambiente es muy cálido con un gran estanque de peces en el medio del restaurante, que es emocionante para los niños. La razón por la que he votado 4 aperturas en lugar de 5 es porque los cubículos del inodoro son muy pequeños para facilitar que una madre ayude a su cría al inodoro y también porque los platos no estaban calientes. Sobre todo, aunque una gran experiencia!

Food was excellent, very good quality and tasted awesome. Plenty of dishes to choose from. Great service!!!!

This is easily better than Cosmo! My reasoning? The first thing is the spacing around the tables. Plenty of legroom to stretch and place bags etc. The food? Oh so much to choose from And it's really tasty. OK so this type of restaurant is never going to serve 'top end' fare, but its all well presented, well cooked and tasty. With a good choice of dri ks and the staff DON'T hang around your table trying to push you out. This is ideal for couples or family.... Love it

Came with my family, the food was all hot and lots to choose from, although mostly chicken dishes in the Indian section. Dessert section was absolutely great for my 4 children!!!!!! They also enjoyed the huge fish going through the middle of the restaurant. Shame no car park. And shame for the lack of baby changing facilities (had to change my toddlers nappy on the bathroom floor) Great value for money if you have a family under the age of 3 as they are free. Drinks are pricey though.

Its our Saturday night gathering with mates and unable to get hold of the cosmos buffet in reading centre. Therefore, our choice became spice oven.

This place used to be good, went last night after quite a long time. We asked for pint a beer they short changed us by not even filling the pint glass, when mentioned to the staff they thought this was ok. We also got given dirty glasses even after Changing the original dirty glass.

Very tasty food with lots of varieties and guess what only £12. Service was good and the staff were polite. Will definitely go back again.

Its hard to find this many varieties at reasonable price..Enjoyed our valentines date. Recommended to any couples out there.

Went for dinner here when we were hungry & didn’t want to wait for food, it was a big mistake. Yes it’s cheap but that’s reflected in the quality of the food. The starters were deep friend and mostly batter with no filling. The salad bar looked like food poisoning waiting to happen.A lot of the dishes were cold and there was nothing interesting about them, just standard curries and Chinese dishes like tikka masala, sweet and sour chicken. Definitely quantity over quality.

My family have been using this restaurant for years and found the food to be good and the atmosphere relaxed. Unfortunately the food has deteriorated and most of the meat dishes were chicken. No pork,ribs or beef on the menu,even the lamp rogon josh was chicken. We had a vegan in our group and he tells me they have added milk to some of the dishes he used to enjoy.a shame they have lost our custom

-Horrible food quality...no where close to indian taste

Having been previously to this type of restaurant in other parts of the country I didn’t expect the food to be that good. This was not the case with the Spice Oven. Going for mainly the Indian selection of dishes I really enjoyed the food and the service was great. A good selection of puddings were available and they were also very good. If you want to go to this type of restaurant I would thoroughly recommend the Spice Oven.

Various foods on buffet. Indian, Chinese & European. Tried the Indian first, dry and lacked flavour. nan was ok. Chinese was the same. Not a good place to eat if you want better average food. Children allowed run round and cause havoc!

Habiendo visitado a la familia en el área de Reading, ¡teníamos que salir a comer y luego asistir a un local de música! Llamé a Cosmo en Reading para reservar una mesa y me dijeron "estaban llenos", así que busqué en Google una alternativa. ¡El horno de especias fue uno de esos éxitos en google! Así que llamé y reservé una mesa. Si tienes un presupuesto limitado, hay un sainsburys cerca en el que puedes aparcar. Y está a un corto paseo desde allí. Cuando entramos nos saludaron y nos llevaron a nuestra mesa. Nos dieron la información sobre cómo funciona y las ubicaciones de cada tipo de alimento. Pedimos nuestras bebidas y luego nos pusimos en marcha para ver todo lo que había disponible. Puedo decir que las ensaladas son frescas y bien preparadas. La ensalada griega estaba muy cerca de una tradicional! Ciertamente el mejor que he probado fuera de Grecia! El maíz dulce era un poco insípido, pero eso no es nada que me impida comerlo, las picaduras de kebab de pollo tikka eran muy sabrosas y se cocinaron a la perfección, la panga se cocinó nuevamente muy bien en una capa especiada muy bien equilibrada que le permite disfrutar aún más El delicado sabor del pescado! Las setas de ajo fueron un poco decepcionantes de ser genéricas de estilo de supermercado. Los Samosa fueron otra vez auténticos y un delicado toque de especias. Hicieron un plato indio de marisco mixto que era realmente muy agradable, aunque encontré músculos y lo que creo que era calamar, no se encontraron gambas. La salsa estaba bien equilibrada y muy sabrosa. El pollo agridulce era bueno, tal vez el pollo un poco cocinado, pero mejor que lo contrario. ¡El único plato que realmente disfruté fue el Tofu en Pak Choi y otras verduras! El tofu fue cocinado justo como me gusta! El plato se veía muy bien y sabía aún mejor. ¡Podría haber comido felizmente nada más que eso! ¡La selección del desierto de "helados" es la opción más variada que he visto en un buffet! Había alrededor de 8 o más sabores para elegir con alrededor de 10 ingredientes diferentes. También pasteles, mermelada y más. ¡Hizo que el viaje desde Newcastle valiera la pena solo por esto! ¡Y definitivamente regresaremos la próxima vez que visitemos Reading otra vez! Los precios siguen siendo razonables teniendo en cuenta su variada elección y la cantidad que algunas personas pueden comer. Una comida india sencilla con arroz y nan, etc. sería alrededor de 14, pero por un poco más, puedes probar mucho más. ¡Bien hecho, horno de especias!

Cada año, un grupo de nosotros visita este lugar: todos competimos en "Warfare", un evento de juego de guerra importante, Geldart, en el cercano centro de ocio. La selección de comida disponible es amplia y la calidad de lo que paga es muy buena. No hay límite en el número de visitas. Las costillas son maravillosas y el pato muy bueno. Todo esto por 25 cabezas con dos pintas de cerveza incluidas. . . . .

Visité Spice Oven después de una larga búsqueda de un buffet halal. Nos sentamos y pedimos unas copas. El camarero nos explicó la puesta a punto. Pasamos por alto la barra de ensaladas y fuimos directamente a los entrantes. Los entrantes de pollo parecían ser muy difíciles de comer. El pescado estaba bien y los calamares estaban bien cuando estaban calientes pero no tenían sabor como tal.

Así que recientemente ordené desde aquí, en el teléfono dijeron 20 minutos para que se entregue. . Cuando no vivo en ningún lugar cerca de allí, cuando se entregó la comida, el arroz estaba muy frío, así que llamé y pregunté cómo podía solucionarse esto y todos los que estaban en el teléfono me dijeron que estaba en el microondas. ! ¡Nunca más ordenando desde allí! Residuos de 35

He estado en el horno de especias un par de veces y nunca falla. Esta vez fui con 4 de mis amigos y me decepcionó un poco. Mucha de la comida que se podía decir había estado sentada allí durante mucho tiempo y se había secado, especialmente el pato, que era lo que más esperaba. Estaba muy tranquilo cuando llegamos, así que no estoy seguro de si eso tuvo algo que ver con eso. Todavía comí mucho y me fui lleno, lo que es una ventaja. Y el personal también era muy servicial y amable. Estoy seguro de que volveremos de nuevo, y espero que eso haya sido solo un problema. Todavía recomendaría horno de especias por la variedad de comida disponible.

We live locally and frequent this place once every 2-3 months. They pack in so much variety into a buffet that I do wish I had more capacity to eat. The menu is shown on the website and some of the items are available on request and the chefs behind the counter are happy to oblige. One more tip is to leave some capacity for desserts as there are so many of them. This comes top of our kids list whenever we want to eat out primarily for the desserts.

Group outing with 24 people from work. Lovely food and lots of choice. Always a good option with a buffet with lots of people as every one can eat what and when they liked. Nice size restaurant as some buffet ones can be too large.

We used this restaurant as it was cheaper and less busy then the all you can eats close by. The staff have always been friendly.

Nice place, good food, friendly staff, deffo get the moneys worth. It's not something fancy, but would recomend it for the diversity of food and the quality of the cooking.

All you can eat buffet with too many to choose. Loved the food , staff and atmosphere. Good for kids too as they have a fish pond as well.

Great experience, staff was very polite and friendly. The food was getting toped up very quick to make sure they don't run out. Great environment. Definaly recommend with 5 star. Will visit again

Me and my partner are very fond of trying different restaurants and only Spice Oven was the last one that was left on our list to eat in Reading. We chose a Saturday night and England was in semi-finals so there was a reason to celebrate.The first impression of the restaurant was really good as it has very excellent interior. However, the food is absolutely of lowest quality we have tried in the Reading area. The papadums were stale, tandoori chicken had a really bad foul smell that you can feel in your mouth, paneer shashlik was blunt too. In the main course, I felt the dishes were not filled regularly and most of them were cold. I ate kadhai paneer and tarka dal which were absolutely cold and blunt. I felt the Lamb rogan josh was tender but again had no taste at all. There was a big shock that I saw the first time in my life, I had ordered a garlic naan and was not able to eat last 3 pieces so a waiter came and took it as we were finished. I saw the waiter bin all the left over food from the plates but took the Naan bread to the food counter and actually placed the left over naan pieces into the naan pot. This was a BIG SHOCK and absolutely unhygienic. Cant remember the name of the cake we ate but both of them were stale and we just couldn't bother to try anything else. Only positive was the waiter that seated us as he was very friendly and welcoming. Will definitely not go back again or recommend to anyone.

We’ve dined here on several occasions and always found the food pleasant.

We have been to the spice oven as a family many times over the last 5 years and tonight was by far the worst, the food tasted bland and dry most of the appetisers are definitely frozen and brought in, the mains were bland and flavourless, and the chocolate fountain was a tiny child's one and when I questioned it I was told the old one broke and a new one was too expensive, at one point we were the only people in the restaurant which speaks volumes, there were plenty of staff but they looked at a loss wit nothing to do. Sadly I won't be returning to the spice oven after today's experience as I've come home from an all you can eat buffet hungry, such a shame it's gone downhill after its recent refurbish too.

Decent food for an all you can eat buffet. The biggest problem Is groups of parents patents ignoring thier children and letting them run amuck. Left with a headache and no desire to return again

I went there with my friends from college, the diversity of the dishes served in buffets were heavenly. The varieties of food were really amazing. I really enjoyed dumplings and many more. The best place to visit for sure !!!

I visited this restaurant with bunch of my friends. The foods were really good. The atmosphere of the restaurant was wonderful and the people there were also friendly with us.

the foods were very good and the staff as well. restaurant it self was very impressive, a fish pond and a a bridge inside the restaurant. lots of variety of food and dessert, was impossible to try them all will for sure visit again.

Visited with large group, food excellent and so much choice. Able to taste and experience authentic food and the atmosphere wonderful. The staff couldn't do enough to help us . Thank you for an amazing evening on a weekend visit to Reading.

Visited here with my family there was plenty of choice but it was very busy on the weekend night we went

Visited this saturday afternoon to try their new indian street food offer. And Wow what a feast! It was so nice to try different authentic foods in a familiar environment at a reasonable price. Some of the food was a little spicy for me but there was plenty of yoghurt and mint to save my delicate taste buds lol! Not only is the food amazing but the customer service was second to none. Staff that really care. Thank you spice oven! Well worth a visit.

Had a chicken jalfrezi here and I can only describe it as boiled chicken in a very bland sauce from a jar. Jalfrezi is meant to be hot but unfortunately it was as mild as a korma and that is probably being generous.

Omg this place is amazing the Ambience is delightful staff very well mannered very accompanying just a pleasant place to be love the pond food is amazing all the different cuisines all the flavours less hassle and bustle than Cosmo and better made food just all round great

Visited on a weekday evening- the restaurant was half busy and this was our second visit.

Since their revamp. The choices appear to have been halved. The quality is not so good and when they serve prawns in shells and don't know what a finger bowl is then there is a problem. This is fast food and if your only interest is to see how much food you can eat, then OK. If you enjoy well cooked food, perhaps not for you. Great for families with young children as the food is suitable for children., nice atmosphere and the staff wanted to help and were very cheerful..

The choice of vegetarian food was excellent. They will make food to order, to your taste, and bring it to your table! Desserts were a bit tasteless but the rest of the food, including the salad was very good!

Best all you can eat in Reading only downside is it’s not easy to park. The dessert range is delightful. The food caters for all and is forever broadening their range. Staff are friendly and easy to book a table.

Went yesterday for the first time. Food was okay, nothing to shout home about, selection was okay but not enough for a nut allergy. Would return possibly but maybe if there was more variety.

As Chinese, Thai, Indian, Spanish, Italian, Mexican, English restaurants go.....this one has to be up there!

Plenty of food to choose from but little in the form of sides. Meat dishes are mainly chicken and the lamb I tried was pretty tough. I would go again but on one of the cheaper days as I wouldn't pay weekend prices again. On the other hand, staff were amazing and so friendly and helpful, always on hand to take empty plates and offer drinks

First time for us since new management. First the positive - the food was tasty. Now the negatives - the waiter did not understand us. He didn’t even know what prosecco was. Secondly, and the most annoying was that they kept running out of food and you had to wait a while while they refilled the food items.

Enjoyable, fun, family meal, great food, excellent service. Party of 15, including young children, all had a fantastic time, children don't have to wait for food to arrive and can help themselves....they love the puddings!! Toilets much improved,since refurbishment. Great choice of food. Crackers on the tables and free bottle of wine. Will be back soon!

I came hoping that the revamp and new management would have made a big difference to this place but unfortunately, aside from refurbished toilets and a slightly changed layout in the dessert section, nothing has changed since I came earlier in the year. They need to sort out the quality of the food, which is crap basically. They could halve the number of dishes they serve and focus on better quality, but unless they radically change direction I suspect this place won't be around for long.

Lookng at the reviews for this place prior to visiting made me quite concerned but it turns out that people are way too fussy these days. They have a good range of tasty dishes with the Indian themed dishes being the most tasty. The deserts were also very nice and the staff were polite and friendly.

We enjoyed a post kids hockey match family Sunday afternoon trip to the Spice Oven. Although the online booking that morning didn't seem to work we were quickly found a table and served drinks. The usual range of starters, mains and puddings appeal to most tastes but we tend to go for Indian. I enjoyed my pappadams/chutneys, onion bhajis, array of veggie currys and gulab jamun but there was also a tasty middle eastern marinated fish main (hope the local pond residents aren't too worried) and an interesting milk-based pudding. Allergy information was clearly visible and there is a good choice. There are one or two teething issues such as water dripping from the ceiling to the right of the starters counter, what looked to be a melted skylight and some dried out meat dishes although others were good according to my family. £15.75 on a Sunday (kids 10 and under half price) so not bad if you have a good appetite and time for a leisurely scoff. We will certainly be back again soon.

So the closure for a fancy revamp is totally wasted. Some furniture moved around that's it. Food is appalling, dried out to the extent the gravy was solid and the orange segments drying out. A lot of empty dishes and food all other the sides and floor of the buffet. I really was shocked at how poor standard this place is and will be reporting to food standards So they can kick them into shape . The trolley they bring through the restaurant is disgusting!

This restaurant is a buffet that caters for the choosy, the experimental and children

Has really gone down hill. Staff did you a big favour by coming over and very unfriendly. Buffet was very limited and facilities are filthy. After many years this will have been our last visit.

Bien! Ayer visitamos horno spice para nuestros hijos 16 cumpleaños. Hemos estado varias veces antes a lo largo de los años y siempre ha sido bastante agradable.

This has to be the dirtiest eatery I ever been to , the food is stale and the toilets filthy. My son was chewing for at least 5min on the aromatic duck , he had to excuse himself to the toilet to get rid of . This must have a 0 star rating . Do not eat here.

Had a business meeting with a few colleagues. Food was excellent and the service to match. Gave us our own area for the evening to conduct our business. Will certainly be returning with my family as well as for business purposes.

Horrible food quality.Salad bar had some items that tasted as if they are off (olives and pickles).Mains buffet smelled and tasted rancid, like they have been their for a couple of days.Service .. big zero.Hygiene.. very poor.I didn't feel comfortable when eating. Mouth feel of chicken and meet texture were unusual.

Good value for money, 4 adults and a child was ~£60.Food was ok, nothing outstanding, not a fantastic selection if you didn't want oriental or Indian. According to my wife the deserts were a bit tasteless. Soft drinks were refillable which was a pleasant surprise, as otherwise it could have gotten expensive fast.

Wow where do I start , I can honestly say me and my husband were very unimpressed with spice oven!Firstly there was no greeting or explanation of how the service worksthe coke that was brought to me was flat however they promptly replaced it.As me and my husband were looking at the variety the disappointment on our faces said everything the fried food was dry my husband who eats nearly anything and everything only had 1 plateful of food which he was unhappy with my self who had the ribs chicken korma rice salad and naan was left feeling very empty the only things that tasted barely decent were the ribs and salad as the naan was tasteless as was the rice and the korma was just bland water with even blander chicken covered with spice to give it a kick the chicken was dry!The deserts looked better than they were my husband stated that the tiramisu was lovely just displayed very poorly and clearly had been mashed by other customers and I had the fudge cake which was awful however the ice cream variety was nice but unfortunately our appetite had completely gone by then and we wanted out after waiting for someone to acknowledge our request to pay I finally decided to go to the tills and the man said the amount and took the card there was no other interaction or how was your meal ( mind you this was probably for the best ) overall price does not reflect quality 2/10 at best

I visited the Spice Oven expecting a curry and found it to be an international buffet inside! It's ok looking inside.. you kind of cross a bridge inside the venue to get to the tables and food which is a bit quirky but ok. Food wise there's plenty to choose from, some of it is quite nice, a lot is a bit cheap and nasty. Service is reasonably good. It's not expensive. They do Chinese, Indian, Italian, British, Thai.. The list goes on. Some dessert stuff too. It's not a romantic place, go there to stuff your face with cheap food, not to wine and dine your new girlfriend. Not bad.

Food is not fresh and it's obvious. Chinese dumplings taste completely indian. Staff are untrained and there is a general lack of attention to detail. Though a jug of water of brought, no glasses came along though we waited. We had to ask for glasses. Also the food is supposed to be 'international buffer' but in reality it's more of a 'international food with indian spices in them'. And the quality of the food is not so good either, as the ingredients are not fresh nor natural. eg. chicken is processed chicken.

My wife and I accompanied our daughter for her birthday meal. First visit for me, but not for them.Our waitress was very friendly and made us feel welcome. Drinks served quickly.The food is a buffet system. Various cuisines from around the world but biased to Indian/Chinese.Choices quite good but quality is budget. Perfectly acceptable.A large group turned up and sat near us. Noise levels went up making it difficult to have a conversation.We had nearly finished our meal skills it did not gave a huge impact.Desserts were very good.Good place for groups and kids

We went here on Friday for dinner, Busy night, but not a welcoming environment. We have ordered cauliflower manchurian, which was really awesome.Then in main course we have ordered Kadhai Paneer and Tandoori chapati, which also tasted really awesome.Overall i would like to say that it is good restaurant for indian food (which i have tried).

Sunday night, not to busy but still took a long while to get drinks ordered and then they got order wrong (twice).Lots of dirty catering/plates around and floor also did not look like it had been cleaned in awhile.Food is mixed bag with Indian, and Chinese mostly..You can help yourself to as much as you want but frankly we may well wish not to eat when you look at the state of this place.Some choice dishes empty and when replacements arrived it looked like food had been rushed in preparation, while other food had been sitting for hours looking at the condition of it. It appears popular with families with children and the young ones can really hit the ice cream area !!..but otherwise I would suggest there are much better ( and cleaner) options in the area.

Food was cold and tasted like it had been sat around for hours even though we arrived as it opened the restaurant itself inside is nice but the food is dreadful and poor quality

Went to the spiced oven tonight with my family for 5pm opening time , walked in and the place was empty , we asked for a table for 3 only for the polish waitress to ask us if we had a reservation , we replied no , to be told we are full we have no room even thought the whole restaurant was empty and we were the first through the door , the polish waitress tutted and stormed off While the rest of the staff just looked at us as though we all had 12 heads lol, until a nice lady finally sat us Down , then took them 20 minutes to ask us if we wanted drinks , once all that palava was over we finally ate , the food is second to none loads to choose from and extremely tasty and moreish, will deffinatly go again but the polish waitress with the attitude problem needs a good case of re training

Booked for all our family (12) to celebrate my wife's birthday here two weeks ago (sat) having visited several times in the past. Although the outside of the building is very shabby (why ?) don't be put off as inside it's quite different and the food well worth a visit.Sadly although I had requested table decorations when booking 3 days prior, the table had not been. Attitude of member of staff I complained to was poor. My arrangements were messed up so very disappointed with you this time folks

Not much to say. .. some of the food was ok, a lot of it tasted like it was deep fried and from Iceland... but acceptable. The toilets on the other hand look like the hadn't had a proper clean since they where built, no hot water in any sinks (been disconnected) toilet rolls stacked on floor next to the toilet and covered in urine! The floor felt sticky... did not continue eating after using the toilet.

I went hear with some friends for my birthday, I had never been and have heard mixed reviews. With Cosmos being the next largest mixed cuisine buffet in the area it had a lot to live up to. It succeeded! it was cheaper then cosmos at £15.00 pp including refillable drinks. Its not as big as the other chain but still a wide variety of food. Everything was warm and tested very fresh. The best thing for me a spice lover, was the spiciness of the food I choose. I loved it all. Interior is nice, it doesn't get to busy so you run out of food or have to que. Great lighting very modern. you can park in waitrose car park just opposite. The service was ok, wone woman looked like she hated her job. They clear away your plates fast but only half of them? then it takes another hour someone someone to come back for the plates they left? I will definitely be visiting again!

This restaurant myself and my family have dined at for a few years usually with birthday or anniversary celebrations. It's convenient and easy to book, the staff are helpful and friendly and the food over the years has gone from a selected few word wide dishes to expanding and having a wide range of worldly foods and deserts. A few years ago a rival buffet restaurant in the town centre and after comparing the two, we still rather visit this restaurant. The cleanliness is of good standard, service is fast, the communal car park is a little walk away from the restaurant itself but that's still not an issue. Over all I love this restaurant.

Went for a meal last night as part of a larger group and was not impressed. The food that was available was mediocre, but the biggest issue was empty food trays. I went back three time for Chicken Jalfrezi and on each occasion, there was only source. Same with the spicy prawns and Roti’s. When I did get a Roti it was undercooked. This was a restaurant I had always recommended. Sorry, but not now.

Went to The Spice Oven for the start of my work's Christmas "do".The selection of food, be it Indian, Chinese, Malaysian, Thai, Italian, or good old English was fabulous! Really well cooked dishes, and the buffet style of the restaurant meant you could eat as much as you liked!!Great value for money and would recommend!

Never been here before and will never go back again where do I start 1. Happy waitress (not)2. Only got as far as first corse and our whole table of 11 walked out and refused to pay for food as one of party found a live bug crawling in crispy duck3. After trying to explain to manager this wasn't exceptable he tried to offer 25% off the bill for 11 people 4. We ended up in a 10 minute discussion about where the bug may of come from and that was enough 5.settled on just paying the drinks bill flat coke lemonade off the pump in a glasses covered with lipstick need I go on VILE

went for my works' Christmas meal. it was an as much as you can eat buffet style. brilliant variety of food and the food was beautiful, they have everything , salad ,curries, Chinese, Indian, chips chicken nuggets, ribs ect ect. well worth a visit , I highly recommend. It has goodish access (as I am a wheelchair user), from the door to where we were sat I got around the buffet ok the was a few times I had to come back the way I went as it was quite tight ! but doable. I did notice a lift up to one of the upper floors but not all is accessible. Well worth a visit lovely food all in all a great night out!

I tried here because cosmo was so jam packed for a good reason. Decided to try this place. 'SPICE OVEN'. Walked in to a pretty poor layout of floor space but does get a little better towards the food area. However. The larger people would just about fit through the walkways. Nice pond with live carp in the centre with a bridge that you must walk over to get to the food which.......................... half of the trays were empty. The others weren't fresh. Dishes. Crispy duck. - Dry and hard as a rock. Satay dishes. - That was not satay sauce. Uuuuugh. Pork ribs. - they were nice and tasty. All in all. Try it but don't expect a good meal. Other customers were leaving with disappointed faces. The cost was £15.95 a head with no time limit. Staff are not British. I write a review of all the places that I dine. I am a genuine reviewer.

I visited here with a group quite recently. Over the years i have visited its been very good & giving the spice oven a great review. Unfortunatley i must say its gone downhill alot. Our waitress we had was very slow at taking our drinks letting alone understanding what we wanted. Food has no taste its bland right through hardly no taste. Food was over done on some things onion barjis for example. Bbq Spare ribs especially this time looked very bare and hardly had any meat on. Very lukewarm some of the food was i left half my plate. The only thing i enjoyed was the sweet & sour chicken they had. Overall i am very dissapointed over the years i have been comming here. I wont be visiting in the future anymore

We have been coming here for years. There is constant change of management but the food is always very good. The Kung Po lamb is my favourite. However on this particular night we had a waitress who got our drinks order wrong throughout the whole night. An example, we ordered a small glass of Hardy's red only to get a large glass of white thirty minutes later. Come on Spice Oven we know you can do better than this. The food was still yummy.

Came here with a friend after having not been for 2-3 years, I would say the place has gone downhill. Booked a table and arrived at 7:30. Sat next to another couple in the waiting area, waitress comes over and says "table for two" to which ourselves and the other couple reply "yep". Instead of asking for names the waitress just says "who would like to go first" leaving a slightly awkward moment as we had both booked tables and I just felt this was a bit unprofessional as in other restaurants they will always ask for names so it's not a free for all when a table becomes available. Anyway did not have to wait much longer to be seated but were given a seat by the bar area which was too crowded and noisy, so we asked to be moved to a different table which we were. I felt the food was ok, I had chicken korma which was nice and my friend had some Chinese which she said lacked flavour. A lot of overly greasy deep fried food there too, and the puddings seemed like they were straight from Iceland round the corner. Some of the staff seemed quite moody and bored, and we were left quite a while before being given the bill. We did pass on our concerns to the manager, and we were given a sincere apology. I just think it's such a shame as we used to love coming to the spice oven, but now we feel the food and service are below par. I don't think we will be returning in a hurry.

1st visit for us. Food was good plenty of choice. Service was good. Must say as in previous reviews area leading to toilets and the toilets themselves could do with a good clean. But apart from that had a nice meal.

Family gathering..but very disappointed..Having decided to go to the Spice Oven for a family meal as there were 6 adults & 4 children so we decided a buffet would be worthwhile...There is a very large selection of food available but I have to say an awful lot of it was dry and looked as if it had been in the containers all day, it was very disappointing.. The ice cream scoops were immersed in some grubby water which you would not want to use.... Also a visit to the toilets which are totally disgusting.. To be honest if you look at the outside, it could certainly do with a paint job and now after going inside, I would certainly not visit it again.... Very Disappointed..

First visit here despite having lived in Caversham for many years. The food was plentiful with a great variety. I felt the atmosphere was non existent, horrible lighting, no music and the staff looked total fed up. A bit concerned that there were children around the ice cream area licking the tops of cakes and putting them back!! More the parents fault though. The final straw was the toilets, the smell was disgusting and the whole area behind the actual front restaurant was filthy, it makes me a bit concerned as to what the kitchen must be like. It's such a shame because this place has real potential but just seems neglected and no thought put into it.

Really impressed with the food here, much more flavour than the average buffet. The nice thing is the layout is good, despite it being a buffet it still feels much more like a restaurant than a canteen. You can easily enjoy friends company without being 'passing ships' going up and down to the buffet as its a reasonably small venue. The staff were very attentive with drinks and clearing plates so happy to tip which is unusual for me at a buffet as I feel like I did most the work. The desserts are really good so save room for them. One thing to mention is the lack of parking in Caversham so just be aware the restaurant does not have its own parking so you'll need to use a local pay and display. We have only been weeknights and its moderately busy, occasional groups can drain the buffet sometimes but it felt non rushed so just chill and wait for them to restock which they were constantly checking and replenishing. If I was going on a Friday or Saturday I'd recommend booking or as part of a large group so the kitchen know ahead of time to keep the food coming.

I' ve been a lot of times, but this was not as good. It was really hot in & outside, which made us uncomfortable to eat. The staff were pleasant, but the food was not as good, with less choice, & it didn't seem fresh . The price has gone up about £1 since my last visit, & for what there are, in my opinion drinks are expensive.

The food is really good there's everything you could want .. they also do children's food like burgers hotdogs chips onion rings .. also the setting is nice as there is a stream running through the middle of the building with fish swimming around ... Its a unusual layout .. only one downside the toilets look like a crime scene broken and dirty !!

Went here for a mates birthday. Food selection was good and wide spread. Only thing is the layout is quite narrow so if its busy can be a bit of squeeze trying to get food. Tables are well spaced and bar staff bring drinks to the table. Drinks are reasonably priced. Good for large groups of people would recommend for a birthday type meal if a lot of family.