World Street Buffet at Playworld, Huddersfield Review

Reviewed by Louise Totton

After having had such a fantastic time and meal with our two young daughters the last time we visited Playworld, and with two more weeks of the now seemingly endless summer holidays under our belt, we caved to pester-power and decided to take them back to Playworld. The idea being that the kids could burn off some of the excess energy that they had built up and we could have an evening free of cooking and washing up.

The last time we visited, we ate downstairs and ordered our meals from the menu, this time as we were visiting on a Friday tea time, we gave the World Street Buffet a try. When ordering off the menu downstairs at World Street Kitchen, the menu is split into Indian, Oriental, European and The Americas. The atmosphere here was busy and bustling and the kids could dip in and out of the softplay and skating. Both the menu and the atmosphere are a little different at the upstairs World Street Buffet.

The buffet dining room is set away from the softplay area, in a separate part of the building upstairs. We were surprised when we arrived at just how different to downstairs it was. The tables were set beautifully with wine glasses, we were shown to our table and our drinks order taken. At this stage, we really wouldn’t have known we were in a busy play venue. There was absolutely no noise overspill from downstairs which was great because there was nothing to distract the kids or make them feel they were missing out on the playgym. An adult only party would have been just as happy to dine here as a family. You really don’t feel like you’re in a play centre and there is also a fully licensed bar.

We had plenty of space at our table and all of the staff were really attentive. Within a couple of minutes of sitting down, we had our drinks order taken and were able to go to the buffet and start to get the kids fed. The speed of the service and the fact that we could go and get our meals without having to order and wait is always a massive bonus when dining with young children; the (sometimes long) wait between ordering and dinner arriving can be quite stressful with bored or hungry kids, but there was none of that here.

The buffet area itself was really clean and well presented, not as large as some of the bigger standalone buffets but there was still a great choice of food. The food available was mostly Indian choices, but there were also some Oriental options as well as pasta, pizza and a nice selection of salads and starters.

The pans of food weren’t huge which we thought was great as nothing would have been left there for hours on end (always a concern for me at buffet style restaurants), and the focus was most certainly on quality rather than quantity.

Having specific dietary needs, I had contacted Playworld in advance to make sure the buffet was suitable, and when we arrived, the manager had taken the time to speak with the chef and had a list of what I could and couldn’t eat – amazing service and just goes to show the extra special effort the staff make, exactly the same as the last time we visited.

Our girls aren’t hugely adventurous in their tastes, so they had pizza, vegetable chow mein, rice, naan bread and salad. They both thoroughly enjoyed it, and went back on a few occasions to top up. A two-year old eating rice and noodles does create a certain amount of mess / spillage but our waitress couldn’t have been nicer about it. Throughout the whole meal, we felt that the children were made to feel really welcome and the family friendly nature of the place was very much in evidence.

My husband and I were really looking forward to being able to try a number of the Indian dishes on the menu, having had such a lovely meal the previous time we’d visited Playworld. The choice and variety was really impressive; both meat eaters and vegetarians would be delighted with the options on offer. I think that all (or certainly most) of the dishes were also on the main menu downstairs, and it was cooked to the same high standard as the fresh to order food downstairs.

None of the food had the distinct oily slick that is often in evidence with Indian meals. There were a number of dry tandoori style dishes, my absolute favourite being a paneer tandoori dish that was absolutely delicious. There was also chicken kebab, chicken tikka and a fabulous tandoori salmon, all of which was cooked fantastically well and was not at all dry. We had a mixture of these with salad, sauces and pickles and it really did make a wonderful, light starter.

There was an equally interesting choice of dishes for the main part of the meal. None of the curries were overly spicy, and whilst there wasn’t a massive choice (maybe half a dozen or so), they were all distinctive and different enough that there was more than enough to choose from and the curries didn’t descend into a homogenous mixture.

The chicken tikka masala was excellent, there was a fantastic minced lamb and chickpea curry that I will absolutely be ordering a full portion of the next time we eat downstairs, a superb lentil dish as well as a paneer curry and a couple of Thai curries.  Every single dish was excellent and they were complemented nicely with perfectly cooked basmati rice and naan breads. There wasn’t a single dish that seemed like it was there just to fill a space, everything was cooked to a really high standard and added something to the meal.

Throughout the meal, the service from the waiting staff was excellent. Attentive without being overbearing and very friendly and helpful. We had our plates changed for fresh ones a few times which was thought was a nice touch. The food, the atmosphere and the cleanliness and organisation of the operation at Playworld is faultless.

After our meal, the kids desperately wanted to go down to the playgym to burn off some of their dinners. They spent a happy hour or so playing in the play frame whilst we enjoyed a peaceful post meal cup of coffee. It was a great way to finish a lovely meal, the kids played happily and independently whilst we could have some peace and quiet with a slice of cake and a drink. I think that’s the fantastic thing about it at Playworld; both the kids and the adults leave feeling that they’ve had a good time and have done what THEY want to do.

Another fantastic outing to what is becoming a big family favourite.

Rating: 5/5

For more information and to view menus visit www.playworld.uk.com/world-street-kitchen.

Playworld, 152 Westbourne Road, Marsh, Huddersfield, HD1 4LF | 01484 420 404