Mezbani — Restaurant in London

I recently dined at Mezbani Restaurant in Barkingside, Cranbrook Road, Ilford, and tried a variety of their offerings. Here’s my detailed review of some of their standout dishes:

Beef Biryani: The Beef Biryani at Mezbani was a delightful experience. The rice was perfectly cooked, with each grain standing separate yet infused with rich spices. The beef pieces were tender and flavorful, marinated to perfection, and the blend of spices was balanced, not overwhelming. The portion size was generous, making it a satisfying main course.BorhaniBorhani, a traditional Bangladeshi yogurt drink, was a refreshing accompaniment to the meal. It had a unique tangy and spicy flavor profile, with hints of mint and cumin. The borhani was well-chilled, making it an excellent palate cleanser and a great contrast to the spicy dishes.

Mezbani Meal Deal 1: The Mezbani Meal Deal 1 was a fantastic combination offering a little bit of everything. The beef curry was hearty and rich, with succulent pieces of beef in a well-spiced gravy. The daal was creamy and comforting, with a subtle spiciness that complemented the beef curry well. The salad was fresh and crisp, providing a refreshing contrast to the heavier dishes. The rice was perfectly cooked, serving as a good base for the flavorful curries.

Kala Bhuna: Kala Bhuna was the highlight of the meal. This dish, a traditional beef curry from Chittagong, featured slow-cooked beef in a dark, spicy gravy that had an intense depth of flavor. The beef was incredibly tender, almost melting in the mouth, and the spices were robust, creating a memorable and satisfying dish.

Murog Polao: The Murog Polao was equally impressive. This dish featured aromatic basmati rice cooked with succulent pieces of chicken, seasoned with a blend of traditional spices. The chicken was tender and juicy, and the rice was fragrant and flavorful, making for a comforting and hearty dish.

Mojito Virgin: The Mojito Virgin was a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage that perfectly complemented the meal. It had a perfect balance of mint and lime, offering a refreshing, tangy, and slightly sweet drink. It was well-chilled and very refreshing, providing a great way to cleanse the palate between bites.

Firni For dessert, the Firni was a delightful end to the meal. This creamy rice pudding was fragrant with cardamom and garnished with pistachios and almonds. The texture was smooth and silky, and the sweetness was just right, providing a soothing conclusion to the flavorful meal.

Overall ExperienceThe ambiance at Mezbani Restaurant is cozy and inviting, with attentive and friendly staff who make the dining experience pleasant. The variety of dishes offered caters well to different tastes, and the quality of food is consistently high.If you’re in Barkingside, Cranbrook Road, Ilford, and looking for a place to enjoy traditional Bangladeshi cuisine with a modern twist, Mezbani Restaurant is definitely worth a visit. The standout dishes like the Beef Biryani, Kala Bhuna, and Murog Polao, along with the comforting Firni and refreshing Mojito Virgin, make for a memorable...

I just dined in at this restaurant for breakfast being tempted by their half-priced breakfast promotion (on 4th May). While the foods taste great and the staffs are very polite, it seemed to us that they weren’t prepared to handle the footfall and were trying to bite more than they could chew. We had to leave without receiving our full order and without finishing our food 🤨! My advice to the management would be as follows: Plan according to your capacity. Have an organised queueing/booking system in place so you can distribute the rush across full length of your opening times. If you don’t know how to, get a professional to do it. Have more staffs with specific roles on the floor, tables and behind the counter; not everyone trying to do everything! Handle the incoming customers at the door, have a waiting area, don’t let waiting customers stand behind those dining in, it’s very stressful and uncomfortable!

If you can fix things with the management, you will do well. I wish you all the best. Thanks.

UPDATE (11th May 2024) I had the privilege to visit this restaurant again today and it was quite refreshing to see that management had taken into account much of the points from my previous review and improved the process to manage queues 🙂. Also, there were increased number of staff members on the floor which is always helpful 👍🏽. As for the next phase of improvement, below is a few pointers for the management to look into. I think you may have crammed up too many tables in a small space. Unfortunately, this affects the experience of dining guests. For example, adjacent customers’ chairs literally clatter together as they get in and out of their table. Consider opening up some private space for each table. If you have done the above, you should have some free space to designate a waiting area by the door. Partition off the waiting area from the restaurant floor and place a long bench or something by the window for the guests while they wait for a table to be free. Provide headsets for your staffs so that you don’t have to shout across the floor to get someone’s attention. Facilitate tipping option for customers. I had to ask the payment processor to add an extra amount to the card-reader and give that away to the waitress that served us. Considering adding a 10% service charge to the bill with an option for customers to exclude this if they didn’t want to pay it.

I wish you all the best in the...

After reading the website, I followed the request of the owners about making an online booking....TWO problems with this...

1. The website did not allow the booking to be made.
2. The website was then mysteriously sbut down.

I then tried to call on multiple occassions over two days with no answer, suddenly noticing they had taken their number off from online.

I then decided i will go to the venue, as the so called offer was due to end on 5th January. When I arrived the owner (I assumed) had placed a closed sign on the door ans stated bookings only. I asked him how can a booking be made when the website is down and no kne answers the phone. He told me "they are extremely busy and did not expect the level of busy they would be and had taken the website down and does not answer calls". He then told me to make a reserevation for tomorrow, I said well you cant expect to make a date for customers when people have other commitments.

Owner was even shouting at another customer for no reason.

If a business has just opened new and made such an offer, surely you should expect it to be busy as you have been advertising on social media (even bringing in well known bloggers to promote), they why not prepare yourselves better and create a oppprtunity for customers to even get past the front door.

This resraurant is certainly not worth entering just for the EXTREMELY POOR LEVEL of service, (IF YOU CAN EVEN BR ALLOWED TO ENTER). I only dread to think what the food would be like.

Far better places in East London which are more expensive but with a better service.

Dont waste your time and effort to travel...