Mezbaan

The prawn saag and chicken E moushali are absolute stand outs for me. Meat, spices, sauce are delicious and authentic. The chili to make dishes spicy is so fresh and flavorful. The only place I go to for Indian.

This review is for the lunchtime buffet only.
It has been years since I’d visited or reviewed Mezbaan, so I decided to take a slightly longer lunch than normal and see if it still stood up to my picky standards.
It was much more popular than my previous visit; that’s for sure. When I arrived at about 11:45 a.m. on a weekday the downstairs area was mostly full, and the staff told me I could sit upstairs or out front. (It was a nice day, so I chose the latter). Lines for food were already getting long, but at least these moved pretty quickly.
The buffet itself occupied the center of the room and was very large. I found the layout to be a bit strange. For instance, rice was on the opposite side of the buffet from the plates. Having the desserts placed in the middle of the meat dishes was odder still.
But, as before, variety was good and the food quality was high — on par with the very best buffets in the area. I was overjoyed to see that they had «Lakhnavi Kofta» as an offering (potato/​spinach dumplings in cashew and green chile gravy), which I had noted on my previous visit years ago. Though I sampled almost everything, I went for seconds and thirds on this dish. Soooo good.
Apart from the crowds, my only remaining nit was that parking sucked. There are so many restaurants in this mall that it has become quite a zoo at lunchtime. I was lucky to find a spot within 100 yds, And when I left, there were two cars vying for my space. So go early if you can (which turns out is a key rule-​of-​thumb for Indian buffet anyway — Never go late)
Dan’s Indian Buffet List (for Mezbaan):
– 16 dishes, not including rice/​naan/​salad: (6 meat; 8 veg; 2 desserts) (4*)
– Food quality: High (⁹⁄₁₀) (4.5*)
– Vibe/​Décor: Attempted upscale but on-​the-​cheap; Indian music videos playing on mute (3.5*)
– Service: Excellent (5*)
– Chai Tea included? No
– Price: High = $ 15 (2*)

Came here for lunch buffet. The selection is good and the best part is that you get seasonal vegetables instead of just paneer dishes. Tried the vegetarian dishes only and they were good. The waiters are attentive but had to ask for naan multiple times before they brought any.

One of my favorite Indian restaurants to go eat whenever I get a chance. The food is so good and such a large variety to choose from. The ambience is really nice and the staff are very friendly. The owner is really a nice gentleman and always at the door to meet & greet you. Definitely a place worth trying!

Buffet: Really bland food and no variety. Lamb was not good, biryani was bad, chicken curry was cold, and tandoori chicken was also just average. No good appetizers. I have had far superior food for the price at this place.

Food was OK. I ordered a chicken biryani in the evening and it was cold (I understand that they can’t make a fresh biryani in the evening).
The funny part is I got lemon seeds in the biryani and bit them which spoiled the whole taste and my whole mouth. I felt the rice that was used for the biryani was average quality. As the grains were over cooked and sticking to each other. And the fried onions are the not the crispiest one that I have tasted.
The next day I went for the buffet along with my friend. There was not much variety and eveything was average.

Should have read the reviews before coming here… the one star reviewers are pretty on point with the general presentation, food quality, service, cleanliness
for starters good places do no boast about themselves all over their windows
the place needs a paint job
definitely needs more lighting — im sure Shah Jahan didnt eat in the dark
the moghul style deco does not match the poor taste in carpet
the servers look angry or constipated i cant tell — not very welcoming — even in desiland (india) people have progressed in communication skills and hospitality please train your employees
the lamb /​goat (cant remember which caprine or ovine it is) with bone suspiciously tasted & looked like stewed beef — not that i care im equal opportunity when it comes to being a carnivore, but to our more religious desi’s not sure how they’d feel about eating a cow
i had the paneer which was diff — spicy as i usually have the sweet version — AWESOME
butter chicken — tasted a bit off, like yesterdays pieces were in there
gulab jamun — super rose watery — kind of got shocked with that, still delish
please wash your dishes by hand before throwing them in the dishwasher — i had 45 year old dried buttcrust on my cup and didnt notice it till i started turning the cup around out of boredom from those stupid a$$ Akshay Kumar videos — major barf moment, ever since then ive been queesy — woosah
please upgrade your overall quality and performance — i do not want an apology from Paramjit or any other person. the best thing you can do is upgrade and be worth the price you are charging for your lunch buffet

Don’t even think about it if you like Indian food.
It’s overpriced and their chaat paapdi is a joke!

Came here for the lunch buffet:
— one of the better Indian buffet spreads I’ve experienced
— arrive at 11am to avoid the lunch rush
— about $ 15/​person
— food is flavorful with meat and vegetarian options
— unlimited naan is brought hot and fresh to the tables
— the water boy was on top of it. He must’ve filled my glass about 10x since my mouth was on fire with a few dishes. He would magically appear as soon as it dipped 1″ below the water line. Seriously, thank you!
— woohoo! first time there was a line for the men’s bathroom instead of the women’s. The lunch crowd was about 10:1 (male:female)
— I’ll be back!

Not a bad Indian buffet restaurant. The place looks clean and the waiter wasn’t too bad with the service. We had a party of 6 people during lunch time in the middle of the week. There’s plenty of parking in the garage. The foods were good and some were spicy… seriously spicy, and i love spicy food. I had tried 3 different chicken entrée, lamb, and some vegi dish that I’m not familiar with. The desserts were tasty and a bit sweeter for my taste, but I guess that’s the way the Indians like them. Yes, I would return here again some day. Onto the next food adventure!

MANGO SOFT SERVE MACHINE! ENOUGH SAID!
I was in town for work with a coworker and wanted to show him the diversity in amazing food we have here in the Bay and WHAT A FIND! Best part, they had me at mango soft serve machine! We came for the lunch buffet! Butter chicken, aloo tikki, tandoori, and their veggie options are exceptionally amazing, so full of flavor and taste! Endless chai tea and mango ice cream! I’ll be back FOR SURE!

I have been to Mezbaan many times over the last many years.
If you are looking for a classy experience with Indian food that is cooked healthy (no oil or butter in most of their dishes) then this is the place to be.
Be sure to try their Dal and Chole !

I love the butter chicken at Mezbaan! Good balance of cream and tomato sauce. Also, the chicken is very moist. Very, very good service-​Fernando is so nice to me. Interior is nice, not fancy, but you feel comfortable at the restaurant, which is important! I’ve lived in the area for a few years but avoided the restaurant because I assumed it was terrible like all of the other establishments at the Rivermark plaza. I was pleasantly surprised when I finally tried this place. THE CHERRY NAAN IS AMAZING. THANK YOU FOR INTRODUCING ME TO THIS DELICIOUSNESS.
I would suggest larger take-​out portions-​or maybe my boyfriend and I are just pigs. :/​Also, the food is a bit on the pricey side. For two people, i normally pay anywhere from $ 40-​$ 50 for a couple of entrees, naan, and maybe a side, with tip. That is an average cost of about $ 10 per item with five items — 2 entrees, 1 naan, 1 side, 1 rice (really 2). But overall great dishes!

We live in Rivermark, Santa clara and Mezbaan is our regular abode for delicious north Indian food! We prefer going to lunch buffet as it covers varied range of curries and rice varieties. The curries here are definitely unique from what we get in other Indian restaurants. The biriyanis both chicken and veg are very flavorful event hough they claim them to be grease free!
ps: Dont miss to taste the gulam jamun with Mango yogurt. I can pay the entire buffet price for just this one!

If you are looking for almost NO OIL and still great tasting authentic North Indian food, this is the place. I go to this restaurant with quite a few European and Roman Italian colleagues of mine and they absolutely love it.

My daughter and I love this place! We moved to the area about 2 years ago and this has been our go to Indian place ever since :)
The buffet is unbeatable, just $ 15 per person for a great selection and relaxing atmosphere!
Food is great and the bread is delivered to each table instead of placed within the buffet like some places. My daughter likes the desert most, the gulab jamun and mango ice cream (lassi).
Overall great place for Indian food, highly recommended!

I just recently moved back to the South Bay and discovered this place while shopping at river mark. I can only describe this restaurant in one word: Addictive.
I’ve been here 4 times in the past month and I have dreams of the paneer and garlic naan. The spiciness is legit and authentic. I’m sure I’ll be back very soon #Noms

We got the all you can eat during lunch. The food was not bad, but the service wasn’t very good. We had to ask for the check 4 times before they gave it to us.
There is a big selection of food. Being a carnivore, I mostly got the meat dishes. But they ran out of a lot of the popular items and was slow to refill them. We were on lunch break for work, so there is no time to wait for the refills. So I guess that counts as a negative for the service again.
Food: good.
Service: not.

We used to go here years ago and loved the food. It’s gone downhill since then.
Pappadams were served cold. When I mentioned this to the waiter he brought fresh ones. Why weren’t we given fresh ones to start with?
I ordered the mushroom and pea curry and it was very disappointing. Hardly any sauce, which I expect when I order a curry. We also ordered the basket of bread, none of which was particularly outstanding.
Hubby had the fish curry which he liked (hence the 3 stars).
It was nice that they had warmers for the curry dishes, but the plates were stone cold. Warm plates would make a huge difference.
It wasn’t exactly terrible, but it sure wasn’t good either. We’ll never go back and certainly wouldn’t recommend it. Too many better Indian restaurants around.

When the food at a restaurant causes you to throw up afterward, you don’t talk about stars. You talk about basic hygiene and quality. I went to this restaurant to check out the lighting etc as I was hired to do baby shower photography to occur on Saturday the Oct 3. I was dismayed by the look as to why would someone hire such a tacky, untidy and worn out place for your baby shower? In my opinion this occasion is about the pretty venue, elegant décor and good food. Then why such a dark & dingy restaurant? Perhaps the food is good here and there aren’t trendy options available in your budget so it boils down to your personal choice. I was supposed to make the place look pretty and had planned to bring in powerful strobes to ensure this venue looks presentable. Therefore decided to taste the food and dined for their on display unappetizing lunch buffet. It’s probably the worst meal I had as I landed up throwing within minutes (thankfully at home which is 5 minutes drive from this place). The photography also got cancelled which I am kind of happy about as I would have detested this venue all the time for what it is. Not acceptable with food poisoning issue. It wasn’t just me as my husband felt the same so that makes it two terrible experiences. Not stepping in here again and advise you to think before you dine.
In owners response– I never said anything about «food was very good» for that matter no one even asked how was it? So please get your facts right and do not make it up just for the sake of replying. I have documented my sickness and will be forced to submit it to environment & health agency. You should be sorry as you are dealing with people’s health.