Nenban Restaurant — Restaurant in Moka

After seeing positive reviews, we booked a large party of 10.

The staff member was very welcoming and friendly and was patient with us whilst we decided on our order.

We ordered a couple of dishes from the grill and also some curries as well as some garlic naan and cheese naan.

The grill dishes came first despite the staff member saying all of the dishes will arrive at the same time - oh well.

The malai chicken tikka was well cooked and also well marinated so it was full of flavour. The octopus skewers were also packed full of flavour and really tasty. They were easy to cut as they were tender.

The mutton fry then arrived. It was certainly fried but it definitely overfried. It was dried out and just way too crispy without any good flavour.

It took a long while for the rest of the food to arrive and we were starting to get restless.

The curries then came, but then the naan didn’t come. So, we were just sitting there with our curries not being able to eat them as we waited for the naan.

Eventually, they did arrive. So on to the curries.

The butter chicken was well cooked and quite nutty, which I liked. The sauce tasted good too. The corgi chicken was well marinated and flavour was good too. The chicken was tender. The fish sothi wasn’t to my liking. I don’t think the fish was fresh and I could tell by the taste.

We got a plain rice, which was absolutely terrible. I expected it to be fluffy but this was nothing of the sort and had a strange aftertaste.

The garlic naan tasted great, which tasted fresh and a bit crispy too. The cheese naan, was cooked but I couldn’t taste any cheese. They clearly didn’t put much or any at all. Not sure how they prepared that one.

The coconut lassi was delicious and they ensured it was sugar free, which is appreciated.

Overall, this was a mixed visit. Initially, the staff were friendly and attentive but the delays with the food was not a good experience. There were even miscommunications in regards to allergies and requesting more naan, which made the experience all the more frustrating.

The variety of dishes ranged from poor to great. From uncooked and overcooked.

It’s a bit of a shame since expectations were fairly high after reading positive views. There were some good dishes there so that makes it a bigger shame too. Perhaps they were not able to look after a large party, but I guess that’s for the restaurant to address - if they wish to.

Not sure I would recommend this place but maybe for a party of two ordering a simple meal.

UPDATE: Having read Nenban’s response to my initial review, it is evident that they simply do not understand the issues of the evening. In my review I spent a very small portion of commenting on a nut allergy, whereas Nenban’s response has mostly been about the nut allergy. This situation was actually very minor which is why I spent very little time on it in the review. I will certainly not be lectured by a restaurant in regards to allergies (which by the way, nuts and sesame share the same biochemical structure so people with nut allergies often have a sesame allergy too), so you will do well to keep quiet and listen to the customer’s needs. Because of this catastrophic response by Nenban when they have not even apologised for the mixed quality of the food and service, neither providing any context instead focusing on one particular aspect of multiple concerns, I am downgrading this review from 2* to 1*. Nenban needs to learn how to listen and communicate...

We had lunch at Nenban on Mother’s Day, and I had made a reservation in advance.

The Ocean Mix in 4 Curries was very good, and the garlic and cheese naan was good. The Kerala lamb curry had good flavor, though the meat was a bit tough. Drinks were another highlight—I'm not usually a fan of lassi, but the mango-curry lassi was surprisingly delicious.

Unfortunately, the service put a damper on the overall experience. The staff was doing their absolute best—they were warm, welcoming, and polite—but clearly overwhelmed. There were only two servers for the entire restaurant, and the bartender was also handling the cash register, which made for long waits and a lack of attention at tables.

It’s very disappointing to see management overlook the importance of proper staffing, especially on a busy day like Mother’s Day. This reflects poorly not only on the customer experience but also on staff well-being.

I would not recommend visiting Nenban on special occasions or if you’re expecting...

Avoid this place.

Food tasted quite good, we were a group of 10 with 2 children, ordered few starters, curries, naan. The mutton fry was overdone, rice was clumpy & overdone, cheese naan with visibly no cheese inside but overall some good flavours in the coconut fish curry, butter chicken.

However the service is despicable, we had one child with a severe nut allergy and specified this several times. His dish came with sesame seeds, waiter argued with us that sesame seeds were not part of the nut family & it would be safe for consumption. When we asked another waiter to re-make the dish for us he kindly agreed and profoundly apologised when he saw the sesame seeds. It’s common knowledge that sesame seeds are to be avoided if one has a nut allergy, sorry but NENBAN you don’t even know the basic ABC’Ds of food. Don’t come after us on google by telling us we’d be welcome next time with a clear & concise order, sort out your staff first by sending them to...