MHKS Highway Plaza — Restaurant in Maharashtra

!!! NOT RECOMMENDED ANYMORE !!!

This place has a got an advantage of location with no other shops around. I’ve been a regular customer during my road trips along this route. A few years ago, I remember they took customer feedback very seriously, even having a staff member dedicated to gathering it. Unfortunately, some of my recent experiences have been quite the opposite.

The hygiene standards have clearly declined. There were food stains on the table, and I noticed a lot of house flies.

At my last visit, we had ordered soup and other items, but to our surprise, we found an insect in the soup. We immediately complained to the waiter (Firoz, if I remember correctly), but it didn’t seem to be taken seriously. When I approached the manager (who identified himself as Sesail), his initial reaction was to try to take away the spoon with the insect, but I insisted he examine it in front of me to ensure no cover-up. After examining it, he confirmed it was indeed an insect, but his response was "Okay, that’s an insect, now what do you want me to do?"

As a manager, it’s crucial to be polite and show concern when addressing such issues. His response was dismissive and unprofessional. When I tried to explain the importance of handling customer complaints with care and empathy, he mentioned that he is a heart patient. While I sympathize with his health condition, it does not excuse the lack of professionalism and customer care.

When I suggested he should be more empathetic, his reply was simply, "Okay, sorry, what else should I do?"

Frustrated with his lack of concern, I asked for a refund and made the decision to never return. It’s unfortunate, as I used to be a loyal customer, but the decline in service and hygiene makes it impossible for me to recommend this...

TL;DR Version - A good stop on the way from Nagpur to Pench as it has clean toilets, decent food, a nice kadak chai and almost all kinds of daily essentials that might be needed for a trip.

Food - Tari Poha is the Nagpur specialty which we had here. The quality was quite nice but I expected a lot more from the Poha (especially the texture) being this close to MP and tari Poha being such a big dish in the region. After adding the Tari the combo was still tasty but I genuinely think there would be other places with better poha in Nagpur. Sister had the sada dosa which is typically a good safe bet and turned out to be likewise.

Self service so not a lot to write about but the staff overall was very cheerful and eager to help or answer any questions.

Ambience - It's not super fancy but the high ceilings do give it a premium airy feel. The grocery store has multiple varieties of food items for munching. Dry snacks are mostly Haldiram's but also some interesting new brands like Goobers (Biryani, Smoked Chilli Cheese, Pani Puri Peanuts anyone). The ice cream collection with Havmor and the chocolate one with...

Very conveniently located on the NH44 on the Nagpur bypass. Though it is on the left side when going towards Narsinghpur, it is easily accessible on the return also, since there is a divider break just there and a service road to reach the restaurant. This also has a convenience store inside, and a wide variety or snacks are available there also. The restaurant itself has a set of washrooms inside the premises and very clean, which is rare in Maharashtra. Most of the highway restrooms in Maharashtra are extremely dirty and pan stained and stink so much that even hardcore travelers like me are scared to use them. This place, on the contrary, is nice and clean, with lots of parking and a petrol bunk next door. Food variety is good and service is fast, which is important in a highway joint. All credit cards...