"The falafel were tough and overly dense, they seemed like they were the kind you find frozen in a supermarket."
"3/5. Loses a star for the price of their mixed grill platters, extortionately overpriced."
"Food wasn't fresh... had mix grill platter we were family of 6.. non if us liked the food. Made 2 of us sick after dinner for almost 3 days."
"The starters - baba ganoush, hummus, and tarma - were 'okay'. Nothing special, but not noticeably unpleasant."
"Overated restaurent, flavourless meats with no seasoning and was given old bread for starters."
"The food here is so delicious!! I find it hard to find a decent Mediterranean restaurant that makes a good kleftico and moussakka....and this place does it and does it so well....better than most other restaurants that I have tried....the kleftico is falling off the bone....better than some Greek restaurants O have tried in Greece and the kebabs are so nice too....especially the chicken wings so tender and tasty...the waiters and the lady owner were very helpful, welcoming and friendly...and the prices are very reasonable too.... I would definitely be coming back again, it is my new favourite restaurant in Watford...I would recommend this restaurant to anyone 😊"
"I’m not sure if they wash their dishes properly since I found hair on my plate. I didn’t wanna make a fuss cause I don’t like causing a scene so I didn’t say anything about it but I won’t be coming back because hygiene is so important. The hair on a dirty plate really gross me out. Staffs are not so helpful with customers either. I asked if I could take an ingredients out on my menu cause I don’t like that ingredient and they were like “No. It’s too complicated to cook then” lol okay that’s fine but interestingly what I got was just full of that ingredient. It was supposed to be mixture of other things but they mainly gave something that I specifically asked if I could possibly take out. I’m not sure if that’s a coincidence or they are just doing that on purpose. What a funny coincidence. Anyways not happy and not coming back. I’ve been to derwish many times but I don’t think I would be coming back anymore unless they improve their hygiene and customer service. NOT RECOMMENDED!"
"The restaurant is okay. The start try and be friendly. It is such a shame that I found a hair in my food. I think the most shocking experience had to be that the manager came over said sorry and then walked away to get on with his business."
Service
Pros:
"Service was wonderful and the waitress was very attentive to the children."
"Service is excellent really pleasant staff very attentive."
"Absolutely fantastic place. The service is brilliant and very family friendly."
"so happy we chose this restaurant to celebrate my mum's new job. the person who served us was amazing, absolutely excellent service - the best i've received in a long time."
"Really enjoyed ourselves last night. My wife and I had the hot platter to start followed by minced lamb in bread with yoghurt and tomato sauce. Delicious. Pre-meal we had some really tasty, salt bread with either a yoghurty dip or spicy salsa dip (not too spicy. Just nicey spicy 😂), with a few olives thrown in."
"Fantastic restaurant with very friendly and polite staff. Food is amazing (actually better than in Turkey itself 😀) and great portions."
"Very good! The staff were attentive and polite, the manageress was friendly and stopped to have a chat with us."
"We had a takeaway from Derwish restaurant tonight. Ordered a set menu with a lot of variety. It had lamb chops, ribs, wings, mix shish kebabs and lots of salad and dips served with rice and bread. It was enough for about 4 people so 2 of us couldn’t finish it all. The food quality is really good. The service was quick and we were very happy with the food overall. Will definitely be going there again."
Cons:
"Food took 40 minutes from order. I had to request for table water 3 times before anyone served us any."
"Only reason not 5* I felt the service was a little slow, though the servers were friendly when at the table."
"The food was great very tasty what made the meal was the amazing service we received. My partner dropped his drink and the staff couldn’t have been more helpful. Absolutely so helpful and kind. Will be back again next time!"
"The waiters were polite, shame the food was a massive let down."
"Staff are a bit rude, first I was just helping with the placement of our glasses but he snapped at me saying he can do it on his own. Next, upon viewing the receipt, one of my collegue checked it first, so when i took the booklet to see the receipt the woman took it away from me in a rude manner. It was so disappointing."
"The manager was rude, asked us to leave after being there for one hour and a half, claiming that there are people waiting on the door for the table, even-though half of the restaurant was empty, we were waiting for our tea and she made us leave in a rush, when we left there was no one waiting for the table and we were devastated, never coming back to this place even that the food was ok, highly not recommended."
"So expensive with v little quantity in the end I asked them to pack our food coz my son didn't finish his but they throw all the meat and packed burned bell pepper for us..very disappointed never going back nor recommending.woody grill is way better and reasonable too."
"Not enough veg with meals. Everyone on my table felt awkward with the belly dancer dancing so close to us (our table was for 4 people and was on its own in the corner). Also the owner/manager (I think that's who she was) was very forward and almost rude when asking if we had 'tipped' the belly dancer & surprised that we hadn't with a disappointed look on her face."
Ambience and Atmosphere
Pros:
"Only thing I say that can be a little over powering is the music is too load and lights are too bright to have a relaxing atmosphere meal. This could be improved on."
"The atmosphere was full of arabic music - again just worth it."
"Fantastic food - the Lahmucan delicious, the bread was beautifully toasted with olive oil with the mains also spot on."
"Lovely Turkish restaurant. Nice choice of different meze cold and hot as well as kebabs and larger plates."
"Ambience of the restaurant is great with lively music and tables are layed out to suit large parties. I specially like the little enclosure at the back of the restaurant, which suit people who enjoy eating outdoor, the area is fully enclosed so it suits all weather conditions."
"Thank you all at Derwish for making my daughter's birthday dinner a success! Lovely food, great service from staff who were so friendly making us feel like VIPs. Adults and children alike were made to feel special and looked after. The table decoration and surprise treat from the restaurant was lovely and made the evening perfect. Thank you!"
"Fab restaurant, delicious food and great food , friendly waitress and all round good meal and also great atmosphere and most of all fantastic service...Definitely the best Kebab in Watford area. Will definitely come back!"
"Went there a few months ago and now looking to go again Fabulous food good size portions service was excellent even though they were super busy I like the fact that you can see the kitchen area. Entertained by a lovely belly dancer Definitely worth a visit"
Cons:
"The restaurant has always been lovely but we ended up with a huge parking fine during our last visit. We were a group of 10 families and were asked by the staff to park in the T K Max car park saying that they have an arrangement with the manager. However, we ended up getting the fine because we were not the T K Max customer. When this was raised with Derwish they took no responsibility and did not even pass on the contact/ name of the T k Max manager so that we could take this up ourselves."
"The food wasn't fresh... made 2 of us sick after dinner for almost 3 days. Lentils soup was also not cooked fresh plus it wasn't hot enough. Customer service was good but when compared to other Turkish restaurants in London service was just ok... no tea served after as its expected in Turkish norm but we didn't mind it."
"The food here is so delicious!! I find it hard to find a decent Mediterranean restaurant that makes a good kleftico and moussakka....and this place does it and does it so well....better than most other restaurants that I have tried....the kleftico is falling off the bone....better than some Greek restaurants O have tried in Greece and the kebabs are so nice too....especially the chicken wings so tender and tasty...the waiters and the lady owner were very helpful, welcoming and friendly...and the prices are very reasonable too.... I would definitely be coming back again, it is my new favourite restaurant in Watford...I would recommend this restaurant to anyone 😊"
"It was freezing cold and I passed this establishment with my young child who desperately needed the washroom. He was in his football kit and suddenly needed the washroom as kids do. I asked staff inside if my young child could use their facilities. The manager refused, despite seeing how distressed my child was. What has happened to humanity?"
"The restaurant is okay. The start try and be friendly. It is such a shame that I found a hair in my food. I think the most shocking experience had to be that the manager came over said sorry and then walked away to get on with his business."
"I called him back and explained that he can't expect me to eat the food once I've found a hair in it. The manager said we'll all my staff wear hairnets. I explained that I will not continue to eat my food and I would like it replaced. The manager eventually understood and replaced the item that contained the hair. The manager took my whole plate so my kebab shish did not return. By this time I could not be bothered and just paid the bill and left."
"The restaurant is very nice. Warm. Good atmosphere, lighting and seating. Staff are very polite and helpful. I have eaten in turkish restaurant many times before but this was our first visit at Derwish. The food presentation was beautiful. You are given complimentary sauces, olives and naan bread when you come in. After placing the orer, none of us enjoyed any of the food we ordered. The rice as usual was the the thick small rice and the odour from the meat was intolerable. We ordered chicken burgers and they looked nice in the plate presentation but they were just standard frozen steak burgers! 😔"
"We couldn't eat much if the food that came in the mains. The meat was just chewy. The chicken pieces were okay better than the lamb or whatever it was."