Ghazal — Restaurant in Gauteng

I have been a return client of Ghazal for over 10 years, frequenting Sunnighill and Peter Pl branch. We were very excited when Melrose opened as it would be a good addition to the area. In my opinion, no one could beat the food at Ghazal. I took my family who joined from London and Cape Town respectively to Melrose arch branch on Monday 5 Feb 2018. We were greeted by an empty restaurant, thought nothing of it , as mondays are generally very quiet restaurant days. Sat down, all 6 of us. Waiter was new, but joined from Sunninghill. Manager wofting around, like he owned the place. ordered drinks and looked at menu. The menu had changed, obviously prices had gone up a tad, which is understandable. I asked for the full Tandoori Chicken, as i see it was removed off their menu. The waiter said they dont offer it - (their website still had it, with price and everything) he went to talk to arrogant manager, who came to us and said he could do it at R190.00, we objected and then it was R179.00 or the actual website price if we only took it as a take away!. anyway knowing it is highway robbery, i got the half chicken at R90.00 which was in my opinion reasonable. rest of family had Korma, Briyani, and Vegetarian, and the Londoner had the half chicken like me. Food took 25 minutes to come, i had my chicken, the Londoner called waiter and explained her chicken was as hard as bricks and did not want it. Immediately he took the dish and comes running to the table, mr "manager" asking if she would like a "sauce" with it or for him to put it in a take away - she responded 3 times to him , that she does not want it and he can remove it off the bill where he hesitated, turned his back and walked away...1 minute later he came back and questioned her if she knew what Tandoori chicken was and is? - THIS IS DISGUSTING AND DEROGATORY! I put a call in to peter place a 2 days ago, Wednesday and spoke to the manager there, who i told the story to, he was shocked , i asked for the owner to call me , which he assured me he would. Eventually i got a call that evening from TJ, main manager of Melrose who seemed concerned by what i was telling him, he assured me the owner would call me back with feedback around the pricing , which in a matter of fact was incorrect and was way more expensive that what it should have been. To this day, no phone call from owner, and that is the very reason i am writing this. Good Bye Ghazal, it has been a good run for the last 10 yrs, but you only as good as your last meal and...

When I first walked in and did not see a single Indian customer, despite Joberg having a large Indian population, I began to wonder. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So the food came out. The worst Indian food I have had in South Africa. A shame since Joberg has a number of places that do quite decent indian food. So what was wrong with it? For the unitiated (those who have not been to India or had very good Indian food, or have tried to cook it at home) I will lay it out. When the taste highlights are salt and hot pepper [chili] that means that the taste highlight is not a well made and browned onion base. It means there is almost no herbal contribution to the flavour. Why no herbs? Well, they are actually there but the volatile oils have all evaperated because they are using a mix, or powdered and packaged flavouring. They then, because of the lack of flavour in the mix, use so much of it to give it ANY flavour at all, that the salt and hot pepper content as the only flavours that do not fade in the mix build up to a high level.

So in a word, the dishes are devoid of a decent base (usually onion, but not always, depending on the dish), properly browned (for maillard effect) and devoid also of fresh herbs, of which even a little would go a very long way. There were none I could tell. Bland, hugely salty, devoid of a meat or onion brothyness, without a hint of herbs. Nothing fresh. This is, given a community with a fairly high average quality of Indian food, disgraceful. Yet....it was packed. Thats why I take the time to explain so people can understand what good Indian food is and...

Ghazal is a North Indian style Indian restaurant in Johannesburg. They have two branches, one in Bryanston and another in Melrose Arch. This is a review of their Bryanston branch. The menu is very similar at both places.

First: It’s a restaurant, so food. The menu is not very extensive and has dishes that I think is what Westerners think Indian food is, so think kormas, biryanis, butter chicken etc. The food is definitely not authentic but the quality and quantity are good. The ingredients whether they be the chicken, mutton or paneer are very good quality. The sauces and marinades are flavourful but more muted as they cater towards non Indians. They also have an extensive wine selection but not sure if they have a sommelier who can make recommendations.

Second: Service is mostly good and quick. Even when the restaurant is busy, food comes out quite quickly. One thing I did take umbrage to is, I noticed a lot of people ordering way too much food for themselves but the waiters never advised them of the fact. A general rule of thumb for Indian restaurant food is that one dish is enough for 2 people. So a curry should serve 2, a bread like naan should also be enough for 2 people.

Atmosphere: The restaurant is quite dark in the evening with muted lights and dark decor. So if you like intimate then you will like it.

Prices: Slightly on the higher side as compared to other Indian restaurants. But they are value for money as the portions are big and good quality produce is used.

Overall, a good place to start your culinary journey to...