Shahi Masala Buffet Restaurant — Restaurant in Birmingham

An Unforgettable Dining Experience at Shahi Masala Buffet – Birmingham

If you’re looking for an exceptional dining experience that combines variety, quality, and authentic flavours, Shahi Masala Buffet in Birmingham is an absolute must-visit! My family and I recently dined here, and from the moment we stepped in until we left, everything was truly outstanding.

First of all, the ambience is warm, inviting, and family-friendly. The restaurant is beautifully decorated, with elegant lighting, spacious seating, and a vibrant, buzzing atmosphere that makes you feel welcomed right away. The staff at the reception were courteous and helpful, and we were seated quickly despite the restaurant being quite busy – which already tells you how popular this place is!

Now let’s talk about the real star: the food. The variety at Shahi Masala Buffet is simply incredible. Whether you’re a lover of traditional Pakistani and Indian cuisine, or you’re bringing along someone who prefers Chinese, Italian, or grilled food – there’s something for everyone. The buffet was immaculately clean and continuously topped up, which is a huge plus.

Here’s just a sample of what we loved: • The starters section had everything from crispy samosas and pakoras to spicy wings and beautifully seasoned grilled chicken tikka. Every bite was fresh and bursting with flavour. • For the main course, the lamb curry, butter chicken, and biryani were standout dishes – the meat was tender, sauces rich, and the spice levels perfect. The vegetarian options were just as delicious, especially the paneer masala and daal makhani. • They also had a great live grill section where you could watch fresh naans and kababs being prepared right in front of you – which added such a nice touch to the whole experience. • Their Asian-Chinese dishes were also a pleasant surprise – the Manchurian chicken, noodles, and fried rice offered a unique fusion taste that added even more variety to the meal. • And then comes the dessert corner – oh my! So many choices: warm gulab jamuns, creamy kheer, gajar halwa, fruit custard, and even a chocolate fountain with fresh fruits and marshmallows. They also had ice cream and little cakes for the kids, which they absolutely loved.

In terms of service, the staff were polite, attentive, and kept our table clean throughout. Used plates were cleared away quickly, and drinks were served promptly. It’s clear they’re well-trained and customer-focused.

The pricing is very reasonable considering the wide range of dishes and the quality you’re getting. It’s definitely worth the value, especially for family meals, birthdays, or special gatherings. The restaurant also accommodates large groups comfortably, which makes it a fantastic choice for parties or celebrations.

To top it off, parking was easily available, and the location is quite accessible from central Birmingham.

✅ Highlights: • Massive variety of authentic, flavourful food • Clean, hygienic, and well-maintained buffet stations • Friendly and professional staff • Beautiful décor and great family atmosphere • Good value for money • Live cooking stations and desserts to die for!

Overall, Shahi Masala Buffet has earned a top spot on our list of favourite restaurants in Birmingham. We left completely full and totally satisfied — and we’re already planning our next visit! Whether you’re new to desi food or a long-time fan of Pakistani/Indian cuisine, you will not be disappointed. Highly, highly...

We went to Shahi Masala Buffet Restaurant on a Tuesday during school holidays and overall had a pleasant experience. I was a bit skeptical after reading Google reviews but this is my honest opinion for anyone interested.

The place looks clean and newly decorated, not outdated with dirty carpets like some other buffet we went to.

We were there at 5 pm sharp and were the first to go in, we were immediately seated and all the food was hot and ready to go. The first half hour was blissfully quiet with only a few other tables, however it does get very busy after 5.30. Despite being full of people, half of whom were screaming children running around and messing with the ice cream machine, I think it was reasonably well kept until we left at 6.30. Empty plates were immediately removed and food was always topped up fresh.

The lamb chops were delicious and cooked to perfection, and I think 2 chops per person was a generous serving on top of all the meat and chicken on offer. I don't understand people complaining here about them being mostly bone with very little meat. That's what chops are like!

The plates and cutlery were spotlessly clean and always plenty available. Don't believe people who say they were dirty. I'm sure they are washed/scorched in an industrial dishwasher and are perfectly hygienic.

The positives compared to my other buffet experience were: Easily identifiable staff dressed in black uniform rather than blue disposable plastic aprons, real glass tumblers instead of paper cups, overall a cleaner/nicer establishment with pleasant decor, good looking drinks dispensers in multiple locations, including mango lassi.

Now my only slightly negative feedback would be the dessert buffet. The choices were very few and a bit disappointing, mainly consisting of shop-bought, dry looking cakes, broken/messed up by children soft scoop ice cream machines, some gulab jamun and jelly. Being an Asian buffet, I would have expected to see some jalebi, rassmalai and carrot halwa, NONE of which were on offer.

The other buffet I went to had the desserts behind a counter with one person serving you what you wanted. It prevented a lot of mess and waste, and they had all the Asian desserts I named above, plus individual trifles/cheesecakes in shot glasses, a few decent cakes and tiramisu.

The chocolate fountain with plenty of profiteroles, as well as the warm halwa (for some reason not in the dessert section but among the starters) saved the dessert part of the dinner for us.

My only suggestion would be to add some Asian desserts to the buffet and man it with someone to prevent mess, especially the ice cream machines. You can't help parents who let their obnoxious children mess about without supervision but you can supervise the dessert buffet.

All in all, I would definitely go again and recommend...

I recount an experience that was less a meal and more a test of spiritual endurance. I speak, of course, of Shahi Masala Buffet, an establishment that promises a “royal feast,” yet delivers something closer to a culinary coup d'état—one in which flavour is the first victim, and dignity is swiftly taken hostage. You see, “Shahi” evokes images of grandeur—golden thrones, rich spices, and platters heaving with opulence. What I encountered, however, was more Shabby than Shahi: an overcrowded, overlit, overly ambitious food hall where stainless steel trays sit beneath heat lamps as unforgiving as a midday sun in Karachi, slowly transforming meat into mulch.

The décor aims for palatial, but lands somewhere between motorway service station and vaguely themed wedding hall. Faux-marble floors, chandeliers hanging like forgotten disco balls, and an endlessly looping Bollywood soundtrack piped in at a volume normally reserved for fire alarms.

Now, let’s talk about the buffet itself—a veritable conveyor belt of chaos. I approached the counter with the hopeful trepidation of a man entering a gladiator ring armed only with a plate. What met me was a vast, shimmering spread of quantity over quality: mounds of biryani, puddles of korma, suspiciously glossy gulab jamuns floating like guilty memories.

The lamb curry? A watery stew where chunks of sinew bravely pretended to be tender. The butter chicken? Less butter, more orange goo. The daal? About as inspiring as a lukewarm puddle at a bus stop. And the naan—ah, the naan! Not so much freshly baked as recently abandoned, limp as laundry and only slightly warmer.

And let us not forget the other patrons—ravenous, plate-juggling hordes who descend upon the buffet with the grace of a rugby scrum. There is no queuing etiquette here, only primal buffet warfare. Elbows are weapons, children roam unsupervised like wildlings, and the concept of “sharing” is replaced by frantic hoarding of lukewarm samosas.

The desserts, that final refuge of the hopelessly optimistic, are a display of neon shame: cubes of jelly wobbling with existential doubt, a chocolate fountain spurting weakly like a broken plumbing fixture, and tubs of ice cream that appear to have been mined from the Cold War.

As for the staff—they move with the battle-weariness of seasoned field medics. Efficient, yes, but also slightly traumatised. I caught one server staring blankly into the distance while refilling a tray of congealed keema, as if remembering a...