Food

Red Hot World Buffet give a whole new meaning the phrase “spoilt for choice.” That is where the secret of their success lies. This restaurant is not packed to the rafters simply because of the amount of food on offer – they are probably unique in offering so much choice but also, somehow, ensuring the food is of a higher quality than you would normally expect from a buffet.

If you’ve yet to visit this restaurant, the one tip I would offer would be to ensure you take a good look round before choosing to eat anything. Why? Firstly, you might miss a favourite dish of yours and secondly, you can start with smaller portions and give yourself then chance to feast yourself on a variety of different dishes from around the world. I for example, love the starters, both Indian and Chinese and somehow missed the crispy duck!

The wine list is not overly long but the prices are reasonable and the Pinot Grigio Vento, Ponte at just £15.50 was our choice. Very light and easy drinking, it proved the perfect choice to accompany our varied choices of food.

The younger of the two boys loves having his food cooked in front of him and duly opted for some noodles with chicken and a barbeque sauce. There are a range of noodles and sauces to choose from and its great fun watching the chef prepare your meal. If you are not a lover of chicken, you have the option of beef and prawns. Needless to say, there was a constant nodding of approval as he ate the lot before returning for some more.

The chicken tikka at Red Hot is a favourite of mine and I chose some of these alongside some delightful vegetable pakoras. The pakoras were lovely and crispy on the outside with a pleasant soft centre – a great combination of textures and full of flavour.

I moved from an Indian starter to a Chinese starter having found my favourite dish of crispy aromatic duck with hoi sin sauce. The pancakes will never be as good as those freshly ordered but this was countered by the fact that the duck was tastier than expected. We were enjoying surveying the table in front of us and seeing who had chosen what. This is a fun experience and one that all the family will thoroughly enjoy.

I wasn’t clear in my mind what I would choose to eat next. The Thai Green curry was eventually my choice for a main (or third) course! This had a lovely strong kick but the flavours still shone through. I was having a great time – after all, where else can you go and sample so many different flavours and choose exactly how much of each dish you would like?

The huge dessert bar in Red Hot is a sight to behold. Full of amazing colours and numerous mouth-watering goodies, it’s a sweet lovers’ paradise. I could not resist the chocolate and walnut brownie which was surprisingly moist. I then opted for yet another dessert – yes I was hungry! The homemade ice cream with yet another brownie went down a treat!

My partner had chosen a Tiramisu which looked cute. In some sections you are able to cut the cakes to your desired size. The Tiramisu was well received and wasn’t, unlike some varieties, laden with too much alcohol.

Atmosphere

The last time I wrote about Red Hot I mentioned the place was buzzing and packed to the rafters despite there being a recession. Sadly, the recession is still with us, but thankfully the good news is that Red Hot World Buffet is doing nothing but grow in stature and popularity. It was early in the evening but the restaurant was already busy with a pleasant buzz.

Like our own table, a look round at the other guests showed that there was plenty of fun and laughter being had. This restaurant makes diners on your table inquisitive. Without wishing to make myself sound a pig, here are some of the questions sent my way with my answers in brackets. ‘What’s that?’ (Not telling you!) ‘How much have you got?’ (Mind your own!) ‘Where did you find that?’ (Wouldn’t you like to know!) ‘Again?’ (Yes!) ‘More?’ (Absolutely!).

Décor

For such a huge restaurant Red Hot do a tremendous job in keeping both the buffet and dining areas in immaculate condition. The buffet forms the centrepiece of the restaurant. It’s bright and very well lit, almost screaming at you to come over and look at the delicious food on offer. In the centre of the dining room is almost concealed red uplighting which matches the red high back chairs. This place is trendy and although vast in size, it is definitely inviting.

Service

Red Hot like to take your plates away reasonably quickly so you will not feel shy about visiting the buffet area so soon after finishing your last course. I would like to see them place a large cutlery holder in the centre of the table so guests can help themselves. You are expected to save your knife and forks between each visit. By saving them, you have to place them on your napkin (despite being clean, I didn’t want to put my fork on the table). This means your napkin becomes dirty and unusable. If you have a break between courses, the food on your fork will start to dry. This is just a minor quibble during a night out that was tasty, fun and relaxing.

Red Hot is a gem!