Mandarin Kitchen — Restaurant in Zone 1

I don't usually go out and post reviews about my experience but I feel responsible to comment on my experience at Mandarin Islamabad. So me and my family of 9, visited for Hi - Tea and firstly I had made a reservation 2 days in advance for the table. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a warm gentleman on reception who then asked one of his colleagues to guide us to our respective table. Now, I do not know the name of this person but all I can say is that at first, she was kind of rude and surprised when I told her we had made a reservation in advance.

Moving on to the main experience, firstly I would humbly suggest to the management to either provide the guests 's proper welcome drinks or to remove it altogether because it's just embarrassing to be served with mint margarita 'shots'. We were served with soup and prawns on the table. The prawns were delicious and the soup was ok. (Too bad we couldn't get more in the buffet). Coming to the main buffet, I was looking forward to the dragon rolls, beef baos, and the nana chicken. The dragon rolls were sliced extremely thin (picture where you tuck in your belt after putting the pin in) and I could not even taste what was inside of it. I could not get my hands on the beef baos as I tried maybe thrice to get it but was welcomed by an empty chafing dish. It was the same with the Nana chicken mainly except for this one time I saw some left in the dish and they were tiny bits of chicken. Mini Pizza on the menu should be renamed to Microscopic Pizza because of obvious reasons. Channa chatt/ Dahi Baray were presented in single serving bowls on the buffet.

On the other hand, the mains section was kept full and had plenty for everyone (Rice, Manchurian, Beef chilli dry, etc) [Ordinary taste though]. The highlights of the day, personally, were the salad and the Chicken Wings.

The Dessert section was ok except for the fact that the ice cream was kept in a hotpot and was quickly melting. The brownies were below average.

The service in general except for what happened at the start was good and we were looked after well. The atmosphere was crowded and the management did their best to accommodate as much people as possible for the Hi-Tea buffet on a Sunday so that going back and forth between your table and the buffet was truly like playing a game of snakes and ladders.

Finally, almost everyone has food poisoning the day after. Would definitely be not coming back to...

Disappointing Service Overshadowed a Great Meal

Our recent visit to "Mandarin Kitchen" was unfortunately a frustrating one, not because of the food, but because of how we were treated from the moment we arrived.

Unwelcoming Behavior at the Front Desk

The issues started right at the entrance. When we approached the counter, the "female staff completely ignored us". After standing there for a while and finally asking to be seated, we were bluntly told that there was "no space available". It wasn’t until one of my friends raised his voice out of frustration that quite suddenly a table became available. That alone gave us the impression that bachelor groups aren't treated with the same respect as other guests.

Disrespectful Attitude from Waitstaff

Once seated, things didn’t get much better. When I tried ordering "crab sticks", the "waiter acted condescendingly", as if we didn’t even know what crab was, totally unprofessional and unnecessary. After insisting, he took our order, but even then, we were only given "soy sauce" despite clearly asking for "wasabi". It felt like we had to fight for basic courtesy.

Quality of Food

To be fair, the food was excellent:

Szechuan Beef: spicy and flavorful. Thai Special Noodles: great texture and taste. Egg Fried Rice: simple and well-cooked. Crab Sticks: fresh and enjoyable, though would’ve been better with wasabi.

The food definitely lived up to expectations, and we would’ve really enjoyed the meal under different circumstances.

Ambiance:

The ambiance itself is modern and inviting. The interior is nicely done, and it seemed like a great place to dine, if only the staff's attitude matched the quality of the space.

Until there's a change in customer service and attitude, I can't fully...

I visited Mandarin Kitchen with my mother as we wanted to try a new place for hotpot. Unfortunately, the experience was extremely disappointing. The service was DREADFUL. Our hotpot had been “cooking” for an hour and yet the food remained completely raw. We repeatedly asked the staff to light another fire beneath it, but nothing was done. We requested to be moved to a less windy spot, again nothing. We asked for someone to check the hotpot and were ignored once more.

We were speaking directly to the waiters, and rather than offering any explanation or even a simple, “We will get someone to assist you,” they simply turned away and walked off. This went on for a full hour, during which our food remained raw and no one seemed remotely interested in helping.

The manager, M. Adil, only began to show any concern once my mother became visibly upset and we got up to leave. At that point, he followed us out and began apologising. not because of our poor experience, but seemingly because he would now have to cover the cost of the meal.

Frankly, I do not feel any sympathy. We were ignored by three different waiters and once by the manager. We were not asking for free food, only to be served properly. What made matters worse is that on a previous visit to Sumo (run by the same staff) with both my mother and father, the service was quite good. This time however, with no man present, we were brushed aside and disregarded on four separate occasions.

The entire evening was ruined, and I doubt we will return. Unless accompanied by a man, as it appears that is the only way to be taken seriously at this...