The Spice Club

Let’s just say, service is lacking!!! Ambiance is really great.
We came in on Father’s Day. Nobody greeted us for quite some time (no hostess, no manager, no waitress, no bartender said a word). The line was out the door because nobody was checking into the front. Finally, the hostess comes back about 5 minutes after we arrived. She tells us it will be a few minutes because she would need to clear off tables. We said, no problem and patiently waited. We watched her struggle to clean our table off (took 4 trips without a tray). She cleans it off and instead of seating us, finishes cleaning off a large table that left. Still, nobody had checked in with the people waiting in line to be seated. They were SEVERELY understaffed. We watched a few groups leave because of not being acknowledged.
We finally get seated. We probably waited another 10 minutes (not joking) for drink order to be taken and then drinks took forever to actually get to the table. Waitresses name was Foam (not sure how it’s pronounced, but that’s what the ticket stated.) She did apologize for the wait, which was nice. Food was good, it was your standard Thai food. It was nice and clean food, and good quality! Flavors were great.
One thing that disappointed me was that you cannot get a side portion of fried rice or even a small portion to accompany your meal. Or, that’s what I was told. Fried rice is my FAVORITE, so I was bummed I couldn’t try it. I’m sure it would’ve been good! You would have to order the entire dinner portion if you really wanted it. Also, we ordered the fried banana with ice cream, which is something I always get anytime it’s on the menu. Beware, it’s the SMALLEST portion of fried banana I’ve ever seen. Don’t plan to share. However, you do get a large portion of ice cream.
Beware, they charge you per soda that you order. I wasn’t aware of this until the very end of the meal. My grandmother paid the bill, and then we all sat and talked for a few more minutes. Foam came back and asked if there was anything else she could get us. I asked for a togo soda, she said sure. She brings me my soda and a NEW bill for $ 2.07. (This is where I figured out you are charged per drink.) This annoyed me. I looked at the original bill $ 124 (we spent a good amount of money), and sure enough you pay for each one you get. No free refills here. I’ve waited tables before for years in high school and college at 2 different restaurants. I would NEVER go back and charge a customer for a freaking soda. It’s not like I ordered a $ 10 mixed drink. I wouldn’t have ordered it if I had known I was going to be charged. I thought it was pretty tacky.
Again, great quality food, but poor service.

Nice setting near the boardwalk in Niantic. The vegetable rolls appetizer was delicious and we got our food quickly. It seemed busy for a Sunday night but the service was quick. The curry dish was very filling. Service was okay in terms of attentiveness (never came by to refill drinks). Would recommend for anyone looking for Asian-​style food in the East Lyme area.

I really wanted to love this place! Their gluten free sushi menu is extensive compared to other sushi restaurants in the area. The issue we has was that they served the gluten free sushi on the same platter as the non gluten-​free sushi (fried). I did alert the server to my allergy. The gluten free sushi is advertised as such. It should be served on a separate plate from the regular menu items to avoid cross contamination.

We stopped in for lunch recently and really enjoyed the relaxing experience. We were seated next to the large windows where we could see the water during the day and the ambiance was just beautiful. The lunch options during the week are really a great deal and we appreciate the vegetarian options available. We tried the fresh spring rolls, dependable pad thai and some good vegetable sushi, which were all delicious, but the highlight was the pineapple rice. I would not have expected the rice to be a meal, but it was a generous sized entrée with leftovers enough for lunch the next day. The rice has a nice mild curry flavor and had plenty of pineapple chucks and crunchy cashew nuts and was really amazing. Service was fast and friendly and I was far more impressed with this visit than previous dinners.

We have been to the Spice Club many time for lunch and diner and have been very happy with the quality of our meals. Our servers have been attentive and efficient. We have had no complaints with the promptness of the service. The owners are frequently present and welcoming to their guests.
The Spice Club has been a great addition to the Niantic scene.

My favorite place to get sushi in South Eastern Connecticut. They have a good selection of sushi and Thai.

Food was ok. Nothing spectacular. Service was TERRIBLE! Probably the worst we’ve ever had. We had to ask the waitress for a second drink after waiting 40 minutes without her even checking on us. She had finally came over and asked «is there anything I can get you?» Um-​our food and drinks! She asked like we were done & ready to leave. Between the mediocre food & atrocious service, we have no reason at all to go back.

Very good food. I’ve dined in once and done take out once, both times I was very satisfied. They have an interesting selection. Last time (dine in) I tried scallop teriyaki, which was beautifully played. I quite enjoyed my meal, and had enough left over for a second meal. They have sushi as well, which I’d like to try next time– it looked delicious. The service was a little slow, but that’s my only complaint. I felt it was reasonably priced, and it had a nice ambiance to it. I will return.

For some reason I always call this place spice girl… whatever. Anyways pretty standard sushi bar. I had a great spicy tuna roll and hand roll.

Too many good things to say about this place. One of our favorites! Great food, atmosphere and service!

STRAP Takes the Check! A serious restaurant review serving the finer needs of the fine diner.
Today we look at a much ballyhooed and conspicuous restaurant called The Spice Club, located at 239 Main St in beautiful, safe, and bright East Lyme, CT 6 357.
My dining partner had heard the ads on the radio for this place and was chomping at the bit to try it out, and I was excited to revel in this culinary adventure.
Upon arriving at about 7pm on a Thursday night, the place was packed to the rafters, but we were able to snag a seat within five minutes.
While it was quite busy initially, and it can be understood that the waiter was at his limits, the waiter was not as attentive as we wished. He did come and attempt to take our drink or appetizer order, and we were not ready at the time, but he took a long time to come back. In the mean time, someone else dropped off some fresh fried shrimp chips for us to munch on while we waited. We quickly disposed of those niblets, and were ready to order, and our waiter was nowhere to be found. Again, no points off, we were quite forgiving, but it is something to take note of.
The drink menu was pushing a $ 8 sangria, and my dining partner did not deem it worthy of such a price tag. He also ordered chicken potstickers aka dumplings and was quite happy with their flavor, and I appreciated the homemade nature of the potstickers. It did not blow me away however.
I personally was craving fried calamari, and upon receiving it, it was quite unusual from what I was expecting. Different places use different breading, and the type I received today wasn’t my kind. If I could describe the crispy coating as leaving a dry mouth behind, that’s how I would describe it. It also had a lot of filler, fried vegetables, like green and red peppers, broccoli, and asparagus. It was nice, but I’d prefer more calamari than the veggies, as I don’t recall them being in the description. I’ve received fried calamari, «greasier-​in a good way», with a few banana peppers that were preferable. So I give a in the middle thumb to The Spice Club calamari. Different, but not my style.
My dining partner ordered drunken noodles. Again, he loved it, and I have been to numerous Thai restaurants, so I guess I am a bit jaded. I had a sample, and It tasted as expected, so neither bad nor good.
I was in the mood for sushi rolls. I typically order three. One luxury roll (aka pricey), one semi-​luxurious roll (aka mid price range), and one basic roll (cheap but good filler). The luxury one had a fried lobster tail. Now, all sushi is frozen. There is no such thing as fresh sushi. But this lobster tail was fried with the tail shell on, and was poorly frozen. It did not taste like lobster at all.
I will also jump in and comment that all of the rolls seemed to be overpacked with rice, and filled with lettuce. The theme here of The Spice Club here, seems to be filler. Now, sometimes that is okay, but I felt that this restaurant was padding its food with cheap filler, and for me it was noticeable. I will also throw in that this restaurant probably has sushi on its menu to placate customers, not really to define themselves by. In that case, I say if you want sushi, go to somewhere more reputable. If you want straight up Thai, this may be your jam.
Back to the roll. I also ordered a soft shell crab roll. The soft shell crab may be out of season, but the meat was also a tasteless, and unnoticeable in the roll.
Last but not least, the Futomaki roll. I actually thought Futomaki was something else, so it was my fault for ordering it. This roll contained a pickled cucumber (I think), and I am not a big fan of that in my sushi. But I ate it anyways. It too tasted like a bunch of uninteresting filler. Side note, I was not given the usual side dish to place my soy sauce and wasabi in. That’s not a dealbreaker either, but again, I noticed it.
Overall, I leave The Spice Club highly unimpressed. It was not enormously bad in any way, but I wouldn’t tell anyone to go there. My dining partner seemed to enjoy his food, aside from the sangria, and he is likely to return there. I’d be happy to join him, and order something else. Every restaurant deserves a few tries. The Spice Club seems deserving of at least that much. But as for tonight, I give it a ⁷⁵⁄₁₀₀.

I used to be a big fan of this place but there are some issues now. We went at 8pm it was pretty full but not overwhelming. The table felt sticky. And the service was not very friendly or welcoming. Here was the biggest issue, My husband had wonton soup he took one bite and gagged and then pulled a long black hair out of his mouth. HORRIBLE!!! It then took 10 minutes to get our servers attention. They removed the soup from our bill, but still it’s hard to get past that. Also they use spray bottles of windex to clean during dinner service! Disgusting, and against the health regulations. Honestly there is potential for this place but they may need some new Managment and some hair nets!

I came here for dinner and was sorely disappointed. It took over 15 minutes for our drinks to come and we waited over an hour for our dinner. The sushi was good but not exceptional. Pad Thai was too salty. Would not recommend as I’ve had better food from take out restaurants… And far better service as well.

Two word for the sushi «not good» so disappointed, had a piece of uni that spoiled and the rolls are tasteless, rice are thick as brick. First time and the last time to come to this palace period.

The food was not bad, a little overpriced but the service here is what really ruined it.
Took our server over 10 minutes to come and ask for our drinks and then took forever to bring them out. Meanwhile, the people next to us were complaining about never getting a drink that they ordered.
My girlfriend and I both ordered sushi and when our server brought it out she had the order all wrong (had some of my girlfriend’s order on my plate and the waitress didn’t fix it!) we tried to get her to fix it but just gave up because she was so confused.
Looking around at other tables I could tell people were not happy with the service, actually saw a couple get up and leave… I don’t know if it was just a bad night but won’t be going back here.

Kicking myself for never trying this place before today. Came for quick lunch. Saw bar was open with TV playing my football game right across from my seat. Perfect!
Was greeted warmly and was allowed plenty of time to read the menu. Ice cold Heineken.
Ordered soup and chicken dish. Soup was quite large — perhaps 16 ounces or more. Delicious!
Chicken dish arrived too quickly. But it was beautiful and delicious, too.
Did all I could with the soup and had the rest boxed up to take home.
Nice experience. Will be back!

I really wanted to be a fan of this place, but I’m just not. Hubby, and I went for a date night, and I didn’t care enough for it to even try it a second time. If I had liked it, I’d be coming alone because my other half was very, very underwhelmed.
The sushi was alright, but I expected a little bit better for the price. I love Pad Thai, and try it just about every time it is an option. The Pad Thai here is okay; I’ve definitely had much better. My husband got chicken teriyaki, and it was awful. He is never one to not finish his meal or leave the leftovers behind, but he couldn’t even eat it, and had no interest in taking it home. The sauce is so sweet that it’s disgusting. To me, chicken teriyaki is always a safe dish to order, and commonly at least decent across the board. Well, The Spice Club changed my outlook on that. Yuck.
I do have to say that our server was pretty great though. She was attentive, helpful, and nice.

First time there last night, I had the special: Seafood Mango Curry. A wonderful red curry with generous amounts of seafood (scallops, octopus, mussels, shrimp) in a larger portion. I had enough for lunch the next day. I also had a single piece of unagi sushi that was very good.
Looking forward to my next visit!

Three hours for a bowl of soup. It was a very good bowl of soup, but not three hours good. We had 6:30 reservations, but got there 15 minutes early and were promptly seated. The place was probably 80% full, busy for a Tuesday, but not packed. Out waitress came and took out drink order, then returned after 20 more minutes to take out food order. Still no drinks. After another 20 minutes she reappeared from the mist and we were able to remind her about our drinks. A short ten minutes later she returned with our beers, which I can only assume had to be picked up from the local liquor store.
Sensing our growing frustration, our server offered us complimentary miso soup due to the now nearly hour wait for drinks. If I were a literary man, I would consider this foreshadowing. This gestures was summarily forgotten over the next half hour until our miso soups and first appetizer arrived shortly after 8pm. The soup is downed like jello shots at a sorority mixer. Luckily the company at the table was pleasant, since at this time, less disciplined diners would have attacked the unfortunate soul who was wise enough to order the app. I salivate while tightening my belt by one hole.
Our waitress is spotted again and apologized for the wait. We order another round of beers. This time one of us has the foresight to begin timing. She disappears once again, no one knows for how long.
The food arrives! 8:20pm, just over two hours and the restaurant is half empty. The doe eyed teen couple at the table next to us look longingly at our meals. They sat down half an hour after us, we have no sympathy. Still no beers.
Our waitress returns to ask how our meals are, they were delicious. Not knowing when she will return, we request chopsticks and our drinks. 24 minutes and 40 seconds later our beer arrives (I told you we were timing). Half of the beers are wrong, but we realize it’s not worth sending them back.
Closing in on 9pm, our waitress halfheartedly offers us dessert, but we opt for the check. We receive it quickly and I jump up to bring her our cards before she returns to Narnia. The teens next to us receive and send back their incorrect meals, they look nervous, they must have a curfew.
All in all the food was very good, I had a bowl of beef noodle soup which was very tasty. Everyone else was pleased with their meals. However, the service was ridiculously slow, and we never received an explanation. No manager ever came by to apologize, and our waitress looked constantly hurried, but would leave the floor for fifteen minute at a time.
I do give massive props to the young busgirl who never stopped clearing tables, setting tables, and probably gave me 8 water refills while we waited for our beer to be brewed.

I have to start by saying the food was great! Five star. Issue here was with service. No had not seen service this bad in years. We send in today a 4:30pm for dinner. We were the only couple there. We were seated at table six. We ordered dinner and coke. Coke came within minutes. At 4:45 waitress came and said slip fell and order wasn’t placed. Cook was putting us on top of list. 15 more minute go by with no food. Now other people that came in after us were getting food so I don’t think our meals got any special attention. Meals came about 20 minutes after she told us of error. At this time our cokes needed refill because we were there 50 minutes. Asked when dinner came for coke refill but they never came.
Bill did come on time. Food was good so I have to decide if I will give them another try.