Shaaz | Indian Cuisine | Montreal — Restaurant in Montreal

Food was great here and service Phenomenal. But I’ll only rate this restauraunt as only a TWO STAR - because its a very mismanaged restaurant from my experience.

To the manager - I came in to dine at around 8:30pm today and the service was poor yet phenomenal.

Poor service because there was only TWO very overworked staff on the outside - Arushi and Pradeep & also the chefs from inside the kitchen who were multitasking as servers. And there was lots of commotion due to influx of customers.

Phenomenal service because - these two individuals & back end staff were doing the work of 5 on-floor servers - taking orders, serving plates, accommodating special requests, replacing cutlery, cleaning up tables, providing bills, managing walk-in customers and so much more.

I believe these two and the team should receive the recognition they deserve as i saw them all working hard, multitasking to max.

As for management - please emphasise on managing headcount and service such that staff aren’t overworked and customers dont get irate due to being understaffed and vent it on these hard working employees. The prices are far higher than many places (considering the price-to-quantity ratio) - but the service isnt at that level yet - not because of the food - but because of being understaffed.

This restaurant can seat many many people and has almost 3 levels - yet there were people waiting outside in a line as the upper lower levels are closed off due to being understaffed and i had to get my own cutlery and water from the counter after waiting as there was too much rush and one person Arushi couldn’t be in 5 places at one time.

As for the food - we ordered butter chicken (classic), chicken tikka masala, raja rani chicken (spicy but v goood), chicken 65- food was great and served quickly, made fresh and had lots of spices and flavours. Highly recommend this place based on taste of food, although the serving size was smaller than expected. The chilli onion naan is recommended and low spice - butter chicken gravy or med spice tikka masala, lamb rogan josh was good (not the best). Chicken lollypops are good but $18 for 4 pcs is very steep, atleast 6 is expected for that price. Mango lassi is highly recommended. Average cost is $35+ per person based on the quantity.

Would definitely recommend & give 5 stars if mgmt improves staffing...

We arrived at 9:30 PM and were informed that we would need to wait. At that time, we were unaware that the estimated waiting period would be approximately one hour. However, it became evident that there was ample space available on the upper level. After 10:30 PM, the upstairs area was opened, allowing all patrons to enter. The initial one-hour wait for entry seemed unreasonable given the circumstances.

Once we were seated, it took an additional 15 minutes for our orders to be taken. I inquired as to why the upstairs was not opened sooner, to which they responded that only two staff members were available, despite the presence of numerous employees. When I requested water, I was informed that my colleague was filling it and would bring it shortly. After another 15 minutes without water, it was finally provided.

Upon receiving our food, one of the dishes was contaminated. I brought this to their attention, and they suggested I order something else. I insisted on receiving a replacement for the dish I had originally ordered. They assured me that there would be no additional charge for the new dish. However, when the bill arrived, I noticed that I was charged for the contaminated dish, while the replacement, which was not to my liking, was not charged.

Throughout this experience, I sensed a lack of supervision or management oversight. Given the significant investment made in the establishment, it would be prudent to have a designated individual to oversee operations and guide the staff. Additionally, many of the dishes were excessively spicy and oily. I tried the Mandi Alfahm, which did not resemble the traditional Arabic recipe. Furthermore, the prices were considerably higher compared to Indian restaurants in Montreal.

They made alterations to a well-known portrait, which are...

Overall, the restaurant itself is not that bad, i just feel it was one of those days. We went in on a Christmas Evening for dinner and chose this restaurant based on the reviews since we’re not from Montreal. We had to wait at the door to be seated even though there were empty tables. The food is really good but the front of house service is completely horrible. Firstly our table was not cleaned, wiped and there were hair strands all over the seat. There was no cutlery, plates and the water bottle from the previous customers was still at the table. We had to ask them to wipe our table and get new water and cutlery multiple times. The female employee in glasses who was our server was very rude and not at all welcoming. Seconds after we were seated she asked us to give in the order as they had to close the kitchen in sometime. We dint even see through the menu and her literal words: “Guys decide fast, i have to take the orders from other tables as well”. Excuse me? I’m sorry but this was a lot of pressure put up on us to decide so soon. The positive side of our experience was only one person PRADEEP. He was just amazing and such a sweet soul. He literally helped us with everything and you could see this man’s hardwork. I know it was an unexpected rush and it was chaotic but he always had a smile on his face and dint loose his temper. That itself is Hospitality. From someone who works in Hospitality, I understand there are unexpected rush situations wherein you get stressed and overworked but again that should never reflect on the way you interact with guests. I hope they consider training their front of house staff on...