This year, during the first week of November, I visited Royal India Palace. It is an Indian restaurant located in Queens, New York, featuring four entry doors labeled with different classifications. Classifications: “restaurant”, “lunch buffet”, “banquet hall”, and “party hall”. I visited the banquet hall for Jaggo (a Punjabi ceremony that takes place before the wedding in which relatives of the bride and groom dance vivaciously). The banquet hall’s size was the size of two to three average bedrooms. Although I loved the decorations that illuminated the banquet hall and the ambiance that came from simply being there, I did not enjoy some of the banquet hall’s features.

Cons

Some events that took place in this banquet hall were a weird experience for me. For instance, something ironic I witnessed was the staff not wearing masks. Despite, the fact that on Google, under the restaurant’s information it is stated that masks are a requirement under health and safety. The Royal India Palace’s service was too nimble. They didn’t interact with the attendants properly, such as asking if they finished their food before collecting dishware. The worst aspect was that the food was unlabeled when it was set on a table near the dance floor.

The majority of banquet hall places that I have been to have had labels on their foods. It would be really helpful if they also labeled the food. For example, I’m a vegetarian and I scooped up daal assuming that it was vegetarian-friendly, but it was not. I only realized when my told me this. The employees should have identified the food provided like any other banquet hall facility would.

Pros

But none of these issues made me want to leave this area. There were other elements of this palace that drew me to love this palace. The staff members made sure to walk around each individual at each table. They displayed various beverages and allowed them to take what they wanted. I liked the cuisine they served, such as gulab jamuns. I loved the adorned chair for the bride and groom to sit on. It gave an aura of nobility and luxury. The harmony and pattern of the disco lights were quite superb. The Royal India Palace provided a calm mood for those who were sitting and feeling bored.

Conclusion

The Royal India Palace had both pros and cons. The benefits included nice beverages and chilling under the cool disco lights.  The irony about the mask policy and the unlabeled food was the downside. With the above-mentioned pros and cons, would the pros outweigh the cons or vice versa?