Mezbaan Restaurant — Restaurant in Milton Keynes

I had a very unusual experience at this restaurant today, despite it being a place my father-in-law has frequented before. I was dining with my in-laws and husband, meeting my father-in-law’s close friend for the first time. After our meal, my father-in-law went to pay the bill, which is customary in South Asian culture where there’s often a debate over who covers the check. It turned out that my father-in-law’s friend had previously instructed the staff not to let anyone else pay, and this was meant to be a lighthearted joke. However, when the waitress was asked why she allowed the bill to be paid despite these instructions, she became visibly upset and went inside to cry. There was no raised voice or confrontation involved, and the situation seemed to be handled without any rudeness and as I had met this friend for the first time I certainly have no bias towards him.

When the waitress returned, we noticed her distress and tried to make amends by thanking her for her service and offering a tip, which she refused. She then began arguing, claiming that she felt embarrassed.

Moving forward, we continued with our tea and just as we were leaving she stopped my father in law and his friend and began arguing again and claiming that our friend’s actions were motivated by class differences and that she is a poor Indian student and that we are rich???? ALL HE LITERALLY DID WAS ASK HER WHY THE SPECIAL INSTRUCTION WASN’T FOLLOWED! HE DID NOT EVEN RAISE HIS VOICE. Are we not even allowed to questions waiters now? She clearly requires more training on dealing with customer. I mean, working in a restaurant is tough, you will meet customers who are rude and raise their voices when they’re in the wrong. I must say it felt like we were the ones who were working there and that she was the customer ! She literally started arguing talking about money which was just so odd! This confrontation continued even as we were leaving, and it seemed that no manager intervened to mediate the situation.

Given that no one stepped in to address the issue properly, it seemed that the staff member might be struggling with handling criticism or customer inquiries effectively. A manager’s intervention could have resolved the situation smoothly and maintained professional standards. It’s crucial for restaurant staff to manage such situations with composure, especially if they face questioning from customers.

Ultimately my father in law’s friend just apologised and said look I didn’t meant to upset you but I’m sorry if I did because clearly she was not letting it go.

Overall, she failed to follow instructions, cried when questioned and argued twice and stopped us from leaving after dinner! this experience was highly disappointing and highlighted a need for better training in customer service to handle such interactions more professionally.

It’s such a shame as the food was good the atmosphere was also good but her service and lack of management training put the...

I had my first experience at Mezbaan on New Year's Eve this year with my wife, and it was highly disappointing. The service was extremely poor and unprofessional; we often found ourselves without plates or cutlery after ordering. Additionally, simple requests like a straw for my wife were met with staff serving it to her with their hands. They also served canned drinks, which I found tacky. The quality of the food matched the service, leaving much to be desired.

Despite the initial letdown, we decided to give Mezbaan another chance during Ramadan. I booked a table for three, as my brother was traveling from Reading to Milton Keynes. It was also his birthday a few days prior, so we wanted to treat him. However, I was surprised to be asked for a deposit upon booking, which had to be done via bank transfer, adding unnecessary hassle. When we arrived, we were seated at a cramped outdoor table with makeshift chairs (these were outdoor tables with tissue paper tablecloths chucked on), despite the reservation being made for three people. The lack of communication about the limited space was frustrating, especially given our sizes—both my brother and I are tall (over 6ft). Throughout the meal, we were constantly interrupted by passing waitstaff, further detracting from the experience.

Despite ordering promptly after iftar time, we waited over an hour for our starters, while other tables had already been served. Only after my wife spoke to a waitress did we manage to get another table from outside added on, although it was still far from ideal. When the food finally arrived, it fell short of expectations. The kabuli pilau lacked seasoning, and the meat in the mixed grill was disappointingly sparse. We even had to complain to receive properly sized lamb chops. See the picture of the pathetic lamb chops which were just bone basically. We finally got a semi refreshed mixed grill but by that time our appetites were gone.

To make matters worse, the prices were exorbitant, with over £100 for three people. They also attempted to overcharge us, forgetting the deposit I had already paid.

Overall, Mezbaan's poor service, subpar food, and lack of communication make it a place I will not be returning to. It's particularly disheartening to experience such problems during Ramadan. They should’ve told us when we booked that they were overbooked as it’s not right that we had to sit so uncomfortably; there was a time they kept making us move our table back so they could get their food trolley through and the table actually hurt my wife’s knees as it...

We went to Mezbaan wanting to try the dishes on offer, having seen an Instagram ad and the relatively high google ratings. And so we dined on a Friday evening at a quieter time just before the rush, and our food came relatively quickly.

We had the veg samosas, which arrived lovely & warm, and the papri chaat for starters. And for mains, the medium-spicy daal tadka, Afghan naan, tandoori chicken wings, and masala fries. The chicken was said to be beyond succulent and the fries were seasoned to perfection, and the daal was perfect for my spice level. After we salted it, it paired nicely with the Afghan naan, which was a healthy size for £3.45 and would happily serve three, (we had a sizeable amount of both daal and naan for leftovers).

For dessert, we tried the rasmalai and the kulfi, which came smooth and a perfect level of sweetness, served in the most beautiful dish. Usually, whilst I decide on what to drink, I order tap water in the meantime. But Mezbaan only offers mineral, and so I had the badami milk with dessert.

I went into most of what we had blindly, wanting to try dishes and desserts I was less familiar with. I hadn’t expected the papri chaat to be a cold dish, but the crumbled papdi was enjoyable. Neither did I expect the rasmalai’s dumplings to be chhena, a crumbly curd cheese texture, as opposed to dough-like. But the accompanying condensed milk it was soaked in was very lovely, and I will be trying the gulab jamun, which is more like what I had envisioned, next time. The badami milk had a very subtle sweetness and a thickly ground almond texture. As it was listed under shakes I thought it would be more of a milkshake-like consistency and flavour, so we asked if it could be adjusted slightly for personal preference. The attentive, kind staff reblended it and it came out smoother and the perfect level of sweetness for my taste.

We enjoyed and finished everything we had, and if we were to dine or order again, we would get the veg samosas, masala fries, tandoori wings, daal tadka, Afghan naan, and the kulfi, once more. But I would love to also try the gulab jamun, the meethi lassi or perhaps even a sweetened karak chai, on my next visit.

All the servers, including Priya (and the other kind lady on shift Friday evening, whose name we didn’t catch), were approachable and kind. All in all, it was an enjoyable experience, and our wide selection for two came to...