MR CHEF INDIAN CUISINE — Restaurant in Jindabyne

Couple of bad experiences, couple of ok ones, but the last visit was the nail in the coffin.

After reserving a table over the phone the day before, we arrived as scheduled and seated in the restaurant. After 10 minutes a server came over and asked if we would move, as they wanted the table for a “regular customer”. The table they threw together was in the corner of the restaurant, under the kitchen and was a dumping ground for extra tables and chairs, which were stacked on top of each other. They covered one of the tables in a cloth, which had a table next to it, physically touching it, with another table flipped over on top and the staffs bags and coats piled onto that. Was like the hallway of someone’s home (and a messy one at that) or the storage cupboard in an old school. We felt a bit awkward, but politely declined the table. The server was a young guy who was kept it professional but looked mortified to have to ask and present us with that, agreeing unanimously, quite effortlessly that the space was a mess and not suitable to host customers. No big issue, we thought, and went back to looking at the menu. But, moments later a different staff member let us know that they ”weren’t able to serve us” that night, needing the table for their “regular customer”, who had a bigger party. We looked at each other in a bit of shock and quietly left.

We didn’t want to kick up a fuss in the restaurant, but it was totally wrong to try and seat someone in that space anyway - not only was it dirty, cluttered and uncomfortable, but also, in these times, irresponsible and not “covid safe”. Beyond that, I would say it’s highly unprofessional and insulting ask a seated customer, who made a reservation, to leave to make space for another customer - embarrassing for the customers and the serving staff, caught in the middle - it was just an appalling customer service experience, which left a bad taste in ones mouth, without getting to eating the food.

The restaurant benefits from being the only Indian restaurant in town. Our first time ordering from here we were disappointed with the curries. We ordered two different dishes (a Madras and a Masala), which had a nearly identical, generic and bland sauce, apart from some added chilli powder to the Madras. The portion size was small and the flavour poor. They also forgot to deliver a dish. We were feeling unsatisfied and disappointed and agreed we wouldn’t eat there again.

But, alas, it is the only curry place in town, so a few weeks later we gave them another go. We tried their specialty (tandoori) and in balance, the tandoori and chicken tikka was tasty and the naan breads were also good.

However, after last night, we won’t be eating there again. It’s a shame this is the only offering of Indian cuisine in Jindabyne. If there was another, I don’t think they would get many...

I recently had a truly dreadful experience at Mr. Chef Indian Cuisine, and I feel compelled to share my thoughts so that others can avoid the same disappointment. My partner and I decided to visit the restaurant for dinner after a few drinks, as we weren't particularly hungry. Consequently, we ordered just one veg biryani.

Upon entering, we noticed that the restaurant had around 10 to 12 tables, with only three of them occupied, including ours. Each table had just two people seated at it. To our surprise, the owner, who also happened to be the chef, expressed her dissatisfaction with our order in a loud voice that we couldn't help but hear. It seemed as though they were offended by our decision to order only one item.

Now, let me clarify something: as a customer, I believe I have the right to order any number of items from the menu. If the restaurant was busy and had limited seating, I would understand their concern about us occupying a table with just one item. However, this was not the case. More than half of the tables were unoccupied and not reserved.

To our utter dismay, it seemed that our "crime" of ordering just one dish had triggered the restaurant staff's desire for revenge. They decided to make our biryani ten times spicier than it should have been. As an Indian who consumes spicy food on a daily basis, I can handle my fair share of heat. But let me tell you, this dish was not merely spicy—it was an extreme form of punishment disguised as food. We managed to eat only a few spoonfuls before surrendering to the unbearable spice.

Overall, this experience was beyond pathetic, and I cannot stress enough how strongly I discourage anyone from dining at Mr. Chef Indian Cuisine. If the restaurant had such an issue with our order, they should have approached us politely and informed us that they might not be able to serve us due to the small order size. Alternatively, they could have implemented a cover charge or minimum spend policy. However, resorting to such vindictive measures is absolutely unacceptable and reflects poorly on their treatment of customers.

Save yourself the trouble and avoid Mr. Chef Indian Cuisine. If you can't find anything else to eat, it's better to go hungry than subject yourself to their disrespectful behavior and...

We LOVED the food! The reviews had us sceptical but after going we honestly have no idea why this place isn't rated 5 star. The staff were all friendly, the tables were nice, and the food is the best Indian food I can remember having in forever! (We eats lots of Indian food and even lived at a hindu temple serving exclusively Indian food for several months, 3 meals a day... so we are well versed in Indian food and Mr Chef is best of the best!) We are only in town for a few days but I think we'll be back! Soooo delicious! There was a little bit of a wait for food, but it's because it's cooked when you order it and not just sitting in large pots staying warm all day. It's a proper fresh cooked meal the way it ought to be. You can see them making your food and can tell they put effort and care into the dishes. Sometimes places put a lot of sugar in the dishes and it really ruins them, this place is not like that. We got the vegetarian butter masala and aloo gobi, garlic cheese and spinach naan(!!!), saffron rice, mango lassi and a chai tea. The mango lassi here is subtley different to the usual, in a good way. I'm guessing it uses vanilla yoghurt maybe? Not sure but we loved it. We actually loved everything except the chai tea, but I think that's just down to taste preference because I'm picky with and like a specific chai blend that doesnt use masala. Still drank it and enjoyed it for the drink it was even though it was different to a western style cafe chai. Towns like Jindabyne that rely on tourism often don't care about quality because they get customers no matter what they crank out, but Mr. Chef puts honest love and care into the food. We really think they deserve 5 stars. Thanks everyone! We had a lovely meal with you. It was like being invited to a family dinner, warm and relaxed atmosphere with...