The Mughal - Palatial Dining — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

Mughal Palatial Dining

Buhari is not just another restaurant. It is a name woven into the story of Madras, a place that began in 1951 and is remembered for gifting the world chicken sixty five, that fiery companion to every table from a roadside eatery to a wedding feast. Its Anna Salai branch is more than a dining room. It is a landmark, a reminder of how trust is built when tradition meets consistency. Which is why the new Mughal Palatial Dining, standing beside it as an imitation of grandeur, feels less like a celebration of heritage and more like an erosion of it.

The deception begins at the threshold. A polite enquiry at the door about whether you would prefer air conditioning becomes the gateway to a trick. Believing you are walking into the comfort of the familiar upstairs hall, you are led instead into this new creation. It is not the choice itself that hurts but the quiet denial of honesty, the feeling of being guided without consent.

The lift opens into a hall that feels like it was built with ambition but dressed with pretence. Buffet containers line one wall, closed and waiting like relics of an unfinished banquet. Ornate plates are placed before you only to be removed before the food arrives, leaving you to wonder if they are ever meant for use or only to dazzle for a brief moment. The ambience works hard to mimic royalty. There are arched windows that lead nowhere, mirrors and colored glass that catch the light but not the soul, and plush seats in deep green and blue that try to soften the harshness of the imitation. For all its effort, it feels like a theatre set that loses magic once the curtain rises.

Even water becomes part of the performance. Bottles are opened and poured without a word, not as courtesy but as commerce, leaving you little more than a captive guest to a staged act of service.

It is the food that offers glimpses of what Buhari once stood for. The Arabian grill chicken arrived with its legs tender and juicy, though the breast was dry and longed for the rescue of mayonnaise. The kuboos alongside were a delight, firm on the outside and cloudlike within, a bread worth saving for later. The chicken ninety appeared with a gleam of oil, its orange hue catching the light, the pieces crisp on the surface yet yielding inside, and when touched with lemon they echoed the greatness of the original dish. The butter chicken carried a gravy that was velvet in texture and harmony in flavour, not too thin nor too thick, but the chicken within betrayed it, rubbery and lifeless as though borrowed from another kitchen. The wheat parota returned the balance, layered with care, soft in the middle and crisp at the edges, one of the few moments that felt whole.

Then came the moment that ruined the evening. A manager in a green suit approached and asked if there was a birthday to celebrate. It sounded like hospitality, the kind of warm gesture many restaurants extend to make guests feel cherished. We said no, but mentioned we might mark another occasion. He pressed again, insisting the bakery was about to close, and urged us to decide quickly. When we agreed at last, he demanded payment immediately on the phone without telling us the price. Only then did we discover it was eight hundred and fifty rupees for a single dessert. The entire scene was awkward, uncomfortable, and unnecessary. We refused, and whatever appetite we had left disappeared. Dessert and tea, which should have been the gentle close to the evening, were abandoned in favour of leaving. The final insult came with the bill, where a service charge had been quietly added, revealed only because we asked.

What began as a promise of luxury ended as a lesson in disappointment. The food carried moments of the old Buhari, but the spirit of service was lost in schemes and shadows. Mughal Palatial Dining may wear the name of Buhari, but it has forgotten the weight of what that name carries.

A house built on tradition now echoing with hollowness, a place better left behind until it learns to honour the trust it...

Went for a Buffet on a Saturday. Buffet was on offer, which usually fares at 1250/- per person. Started with a welcome drink. Sweet Soda with lemon, mint and melon. Take off with Soups - Creamy Veg soup and Chicken shorba. Veg soup was bit thick and chicken shorba was just good. Starters were pesto balls with sauce and chutney, aloo balls in korma, Stewed chicken, seafood fries and roasted chicken. Italian course - Veg Salad, Cesar chicken salad, ratatoullie and other two, which was skipped. Ratatoullie and Cesar Chicken salad was really good. Indian course - Mutton briyani, wheat parotta, chicken salan, chicken fried rice, paneer pulav, paneer makhani. Briyani was hot and mutton was just juicy and fresh. Parotta was just buttery smooth and was delicious with chicken salan. Skipped chicken fried rice and veg fares, for obvious reasons. Wound down with deserts, fruits, sweets & ice cream. This could have been a good fare, but appreciate their in house ice cream. Standard fruits like pine apple, water melon, musk melon and papaya was on display. Phirni & halwa for sweet, cakes of 4 different flavours. strawberry sauce and few nuts to garnish sweet & desert on display. Ice cream was on order, though part of the buffet. Finished with their dum tea, which was served with in house cookie. Tea was not part of buffet, please note it costs 1/12 of the buffet. Taste of each item on the menu were well made. All were made in house. Appreciate the team for the thought and effort. Service was really good with clearing tables after each round and were always available to respond. No reservations required, if one can reach by 2pm. La Carte was...

There is nothing palatial about the dining here and it was a mixed bag at best. Valet parking is good. The ambience is one of the best. However the good things stop there. Service in the palatial hall was dicey. There was no cutlery in our table and when requested, the guy brought a spoon, knife and fork. When I pointed that there was no side plate or a napkin, he was like you should've said it earlier. I told him it is his job to set the table and I am not there to train him. He murmured and went off. That was a bad start. The buffet costs about 890₹ including taxes. It's heavily non veg and has a soup, two veg and one non veg starters, salad bar, two chicken kebab, mutton biriyani, chicken fried rice, naan/roti, one chicken gravy, dal and jeera rice and desserts. Starters were oily. Soup was ok. Kebabs tasted well but the green chutney was not upto the mark. Biriyani was also oily. Dal was good. There was curd rice but no pickles. When asked, was told politely that there is no pickle. Overall the buffet is not upto the mark in terms of taste. Overall there are better buffet places for cheaper...