Madhuram - Indian Kitchen and Bar — Restaurant in Oshawa

I usually don't give bad reviews.

Absolutely the Worst Service Ever.

We entered the restaurant at 7:15 PM and ordered a couple of starters and pulaos. Everything was rushed out to us by 7:35 PM—which was odd, but manageable. However, the second pulao didn’t arrive even by 8:30 PM. We had actually placed that order at 7:35 PM, but shockingly, the server had forgotten to punch it in.

At 8:15 PM, we canceled the missing pulao and asked for the bill—but to our disbelief, they refused to remove the item. When we questioned it, the owners came out from the kitchen, shouting at us, saying, “Can’t you wait?”

The arrogance and complete lack of professionalism were unbelievable. We had read similar complaints in reviews but chose to give them a chance. Unfortunately, we experienced exactly what others had warned about.

Such behavior is a shame and a disgrace to the community. Avoid this place unless you want to be mistreated and disrespected.

Editing and adding with my reply at 9.37pm:

If your CCTV cameras were functioning, they would clearly show that the order was kept on table at 8:33 PM and let's say if one of my family member said the order was placed at 8.06pm why that guy showed us the order was punched in your system at 8.13, you are contradicting your own statements —after we had already requested a cancellation, which was acknowledged by your staff member who went to retrieve the bill. Despite this, you sent another staff member to our table, where we were waiting to pay, and he approached us with aggressive body language and a harsh tone saying that you should wait even if the food is served late, what kind of a behavior is that ? who would wait for 30 minutes and if it was in a respectful manner, we would have given a chance. Even other customers nearby commented that they were kept waiting excessively.

We paid the full bill, yet when we requested a customer copy, your staff refused to provide it. This is a serious concern and will be reported to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for further scrutiny.

If you claim to have witnesses to our alleged misconduct, we welcome a full investigation by the appropriate authorities. Since this matter is now in the public domain, it is only fair that an impartial inquiry be conducted—including testimonies from all witnesses—to determine who was truly at fault.

Additionally, your baseless and defamatory allegation that we acted on behalf of a competitor is completely unacceptable. Such false accusations will not be tolerated. Therefore, I will be formally approaching the relevant legal authorities to take appropriate action.

Replying to the response:

You have charged us on the canceled food item and not provided the receipt even when we have asked for it, you have displayed an unethical business practice. And, this all happened in presence of your owner, she is the one who made the defamatory comments as mentioned above, you have already damaged the situation. I am just waiting for the long weekend to be over to reach out and lodge a complaint with the concerned...

The good: Nicely decorated. Good ambiance. The bar tender was great!

That's where it ends.

The bad: Service was severely lacking, one waitress was rude/blunt, water not being served after the first time, seats were cramped, portions were small, and parts of dishes were missing (described below). Food took 1hr to arrive after ordering.

The menu was also confusing. Tiffens are not available after 11 and all of the descriptions are generic (bold taste, from x region, etc.). If every item is described as such, there is no way as a Canadian I can make a decision on what to order.

Food ordered:

Mango Lassi - Standard fare, 8/10 Mango pudina cooler - Carbonated mango juice w/ mint leaves, pretty good, 7/10

Child's meal - Grilled chicken and cheese pop skewers - this is NOT grilled as per the description. The chicken is deep fried until hard/dry.

Aritaku Chepa - Taste is pretty good. Tangy, light, with a blend of spices that doesn't overpower the fish. Quantity was good. However they substituted traditional fish found in India with Basa, the cheapest fish available on the market. Tender, but flavourless. The marinade did not penetrate the fish. The one fillet given is worth $1 at the supermarket vs the $18 charged. In addition to the dish not being cohesive, I felt cheated by being given a subpar substitution.

Shrimp fry - This dish tastes like the salt and pepper seasoning on the calamari you get at a western restaurant. Not bad if that's what it's supposed to be, but didn't seem truly south Indian. The worst part is the quantity they think they can give while charging $20 for the dish. The shrimp are tiny, maybe 2cm in diameter, and you get about 20-30 over a bed of cabbage. I regret ordering this the most as neither quantity nor taste matched the expectation.

Madhuram Chicken Curry - pretty good, chicken is well cooked, the spice and flavour was there.

Mutton Dum Biryani - again pretty good, nothing remarkable. Mutton was cooked tender in the Biryani without drying it out.

Curd rice - There are effectively 2 ingredients to this dish. Curd (yogurt), and rice. Somehow they managed to give rice that was starchy (imagine refrigerated rice) with curd that had already been soaked up. I'm not sure what the issue in preparation was, but the fact that this was so horrendously bad, really reflects on the standards of this restaurant.

Thali - bland foods, drink was missed when the thali's arrived.

Water was not refilled nor was a vessel left at the table.

Overall, I have a sour taste left in my mouth with the value proposition and I don't believe that this restaurant will last. When you cheat your customers, they will go elsewhere. Typical restaurant margins allocate 15-30% of the price to food cost, that fish is a whopping 5%! I'm sure the shrimp is in the same ballpark. I will not be returning and urge people to go elsewhere to avoid...

My wife and I visited Madhuram Kitchen and Bar for lunch yesterday, primarily because we had been craving a good Andhra meal for quite some time. The restaurant is newly opened, and with the buzz around it, there was a decent crowd—we had to wait around 10 minutes to get a table.

First impressions were positive. The ambiance and decor gave us a warm, nostalgic feel of India. However, once seated, the service started to disappoint. It took a while before anyone even acknowledged our table or offered water—we had to ask for it twice before it was served.

We ordered traditional Andhra meals and noticed that tables seated after us were being served before us. Eventually, a server apologized, explaining that our order had mistakenly been punched under a different table. After nearly 20 minutes, our food finally arrived.

While the food itself was flavorful and enjoyable, it was missing several elements listed in the traditional meal—there was no welcome drink, papad, pickle, podi, or ghee offered. Additionally, the service throughout our meal was inattentive. No one checked to ensure we received everything, and there was a clear lack of coordination between staff and oversight from the management.

What stood out most, and not in a good way, was the push at the end for a 5-star review in exchange for a complimentary dessert. After obliging, we were given a small sweet that was already part of the meal. Meanwhile, other tables—particularly those who spoke the local language—were served special items like gulab jamun. It left us feeling a bit sidelined and, to be honest, slightly discriminated against. While I can only speak to our own experience, the difference in treatment was noticeable.

In summary, the food is good and shows promise, but the service needs significant improvement. We went in with high expectations but walked out underwhelmed. Hopefully, with time, they’ll iron out these issues and offer a more consistent and welcoming experience to all diners.

Rating: 2/5 – Great food, poor service, and a disappointing...