Desi Bar & Grill (Mississauga)- Indian food done right! — Restaurant in Mississauga

I went to this place on October 12th 2024. I have never had this horrible of an experience before. It was around 11:45 pm we went to this place, me and my 7 friends. We called this place when we were deciding on the location and asked them if they had pastries which they did. It was my best friends birthday and i thought of surprising her at midnight with some great start with pastries.

We all went there and they told us about the 18% gratuity which we agreed to. We told our server beforehand that after the dinner please bring pastries and he said he understood.

We ordered some nachos and cauliflower bites to start with. We got the order and my brother in law asked for some sauce on the side w nachos and bites which came only after we were done with the appetizers. Both nachos and cauliflower bites were good in taste.

Then we ordered our mains 2 methi malai kofta, 2 kadhai paneer, and naans to go along with them and one person wanted Mojito. We got the order, we had food. Our mains were average to taste. My friend that asked for Mojito never got his drink so we asked the server again and also asked for some more naans and then we waited waited n waited for 15-20 minutes and no one was coming to our table. That day the restaurant was super busy and what I was noticing was they were understaffed for all the customers they kept accommodating. They were not really paying attention to the customers who were already inside but just kept seating others.

At this point everyone was frustrated and now my group didn’t want to eat anymore. So we were calling servers to remind of Pastries but NO they didn’t care. I apologized to my friend and asked for them to give us the bill.

IMAGINE THIS PLACE TOOK 10-15 mins TO GET THE BILL to us. I told them we are not going to pay the 18% gratuity as we didn’t receive the service from them. All the things we were asking for we didn’t receive at our table so why should I pay for something that I didn’t use. The manager was called and he agreed that the gratuity should no be added.

They he got us the modified bill, and you know what NOW I WAS CHARGED FOR THE PASTRIES THAT NEVER MADE TO OUR TABLE and also for the Sauces that came after the apps were done. Got this taken out, paid over $200 for the worst experience ever.

It was my first and last visit to this restaurant. I would never ever recommend this place to anyone. They just ruined the whole experience for me and my best friends birthday....

TLDR: Please AVOID this place if you're looking for a good night out on a major holiday or unless you want to be SCAMMED

We went here for NYE on 31st and despite having a reservation made weeks in advance, we were informed that the restaurant was not accepting reservations for NYE and hence we would need to wait for a table. After having to explain the situation twice to different staff members, we were still made 20 mins and given a table of 4 to accommodate 5 people. The restaurant was clearly trying to maximize earnings on NYE so they had added way more tables than the space allows and even the dance floor had been covered with extra tables. This was a huge dampener on the mood as we had picked this place so we could enjoy dancing and live music to celebrate the new year.

Worst of all the service was extremely rushed: we were asked to order everything all at once and the mains and appetizers were just served all together despite there being no space on the table to accommodate it all. We were informed that the bill would include an 18% gratuity no matter what, so there was really no point in expecting better service.

But our server actually had the audacity to request great ratings after this. For her sake, I am not mentioning her name coz it's not the staff's fault that the mgmt made a mess out of organizing the day.

To top it all off... we were OVERCHARGED on every single drink by 1-2$ despite the NYE menu already having specialized higher than usual pricing !

Kudos to the management that is only looking to make money and does not want to offer fair service in return to customers

I should mention the food was pretty good. Only wish we had more time to enjoy it peacefully and the disappointing service, bill discrepancies and overcrowded space had not ruined our evening

(Response to the management reply): Thanks for showing your (LACK OF) understanding and generosity in accepting feedback.

Perhaps I wasn't clear: My problem was not waiting for 20 mins. But rather that a reservation made in advance was not honored as it should have been My problem was not the premium priced drinks. But rather that the menu read the price as 16.49 / 16.99 and I was charged 18.49 / 18.99 for the same drink on my bill which is clearly fraud (Photos attached for reference) This is not my first time celebrating NYE in GTA or at a venue like yours but this was definitely the last time I or anyone I know visit your...

The Curious Case of the 21k Reviews 🍽️🤔

I walked into this place purely hypnotized by 21,000 reviews and a 4.7 rating. I thought I had discovered the culinary equivalent of the Taj Mahal. I had other options, sure — but when the people speak, I listen... and oh boy, did I get played. 😅

Atmosphere? Only if you're into shouting across the table like you're at a rock concert. Planning a romantic date? Might as well bring a megaphone and some cue cards.

The Food: A Plot Twist in Every Bite 🍛 We ordered the Shakahari Platter, which should be renamed Guess the Flavor — because out of 5 items, only one had the audacity to taste like anything. The rest? Pure decorative confusion.

Then came the Chicken Rascalla , the ingredients warned “spicy,” but our taste buds got hit with sweet, spice, and... nope, just sweet. Every alternate dish we ordered followed the same "sweet surprise" theme. Ordered dal and paneer too — guess what? Sweet. Is this a restaurant or a dessert testing lab?

Now for my favorite part: The Genius Business Tactic 💧💸 Every table comes with a bottle of water. Looks complimentary, feels complimentary, but surprise! It's a silent, overpriced guest on your bill. Drink responsibly, folks. Hydration costs here.

The Secret Sauce Behind 21K Glowing Reviews 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Right when you're about to leave — full of regrets and digestive uncertainty — a cheerful waitress will visit with the energy of a Disney character, asking if “everything was okay?” You could tell her the truth, but her smile could melt steel. Then comes the magic trick: Her : Can you leave a review on my name? You : We will do it later. Her : No no, do it now! And that, my friends, is how legends (and fake averages) are born.

And as many of us are taught to be polite and not say anything negative upfront, we tend to leave a 5-star review just to avoid awkwardness. The remaining 3 may post a review like me, come back and update it honestly so others are better informed.

Bonus Round: After Effects Out of the 4 of us, 2 had stomachs doing the salsa all night. Burning, churning, turning — the full package. It’s like the meal came with a free internal fireworks show.

So yes — visit this place for the experience, and if any of this happens to you… just remember who warned you....