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Indian Buffet with 40 items to choose from
A good restaurant gone to the dogs. It used to be a much more popular place with good food, but in recent times it has definitely gone downhill. Firstly, whether you are eating from the buffet or getting taking out, you'll most likely only find a few tiny pieces of meat swimming in sauce. They must be counting each individual cold-cut vegetable and sauce in their "35 item buffet," otherwise there is no way there is 35 items. I would say the buffet is 75% various cold veggies (peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.) The staff hover over you, not in a helpful way, but as if to make your uncomfortable enough not to take too much of any item. On out last family visit, we did not get any water for the entire meal, until we asked for it at the end (only to have the server treat it like an inconvenience). Then we observed a staff member climbing all over the seats near the windows (with shoes) to pull down the blinds.
It's no surprise that they have very little business (the parking lot is consistently empty, even during lunch and dinner hours -on more than one occasion, we've mistaken it for closed); the food is not worth the money, and the customer service is absolutely awful. Save your money and go elsewhere. We're never going back.
I have been to this place about 20 times over the last few years. The price is slowly climbing up there but still a good value for what they offer. Probably the most visited Indian restaurant for me. It is a little shabby inside but not dirty. Never had the trotts after eating there either.
We usually go to Taste of Punjab for our Indian fix, but last Saturday I got a craving for Indian buffet and really didn't feel like shelling out $40 for 2 entrees, naan and rice at T.O.P. So I googled "Indian Buffet Surrey, BC" and Mehfil's name popped up first. After reading mixed reviews, we decided to go for it.
Tons of parking, and lots of room inside with bright natural light coming in through the windows. Reasonably clean, and complete with standard Indian style tacky decor. Atrocious Indian music howling on the speakers, playing the same beat over and over and over again. Little did I know that the beat would get stuck in my wife's head and she would hum it over and over and over again in the car on our way back home. Brrrrr.
That was the ambience, now the food.
Not a lot of selection for a buffet. Three different meat dishes - curry chicken, curry goat and butter chicken. They were all pretty decent. The butter chicken was too sweet and watered down, but I have had much worse. There were two different rice dishes and one really weird pasta dish (looked too scary and too out of place to try). The naan was pretty good, but they kept bringing it out a little at a time. So you really had to watch the naan tray like a hungry hawk. There were only two veggie dishes: eggplant and Palak Paneer and two different kinds of daal (lentil) - not too good. Oh, also store bought and restaurant fried egg rolls. There, I just gave you their entire offering. That's it! I was very disappointed to see that they didn't have Tandoori chicken or veggie pakora. I have never been to an Indian buffet where they didn't have those two. Dessert was pretty all right – kheer (rice cooked in milk), custard and Jell-O. On the plus side, all the ingredients were fresh, nothing tasted stale or recycled.
That was the food, now the service and value.
Service was nil - surly and "what the hell happened to my life?" man showed us our booth at the beginning and took our money at the end. The bill came to aboot $11 per person. Not bad if you're just there to stuff yourself with pedestrian and limited number of Indian dishes with fresh ingredients. Will we be going back? Not anytime soon, I really missed having Tandoori chicken.
Oh I have a theory why they were playing such awful music - it's so you won't linger and keep eating. You just eat, pay, cover your ears and run like hell.
So finally weighing the pros and cons, the word that really comes to mind when describing Mehfil is:
Meh.
I go to this restaurant about once a week since an East Indian friend sugegested I try it 2months ago after recieving crappy service across the street at another place. I love the flavours of their food and have decided to spend my eating out budget mostly at this buffet.
I've been to Mehfil on numerous occasions and this place has satisfied my craving for Indian food. It may not always be the very best but hasn't been horrible either. Mehfil apparently provides catering to weddings as well and I've heard the catered food is often times better than the buffet. Not sure if the 'off times' at the buffet is what is left over at from a wedding? But I've usually enjoyed this place nonetheless. Usually there is butter chicken at the buffet and the Naan's are fairly fresh too!
Went there for the dinner buffet. There wasn't much to choose from, esp. if you're a vegetarian (my poor friend...). And the items that were available were just ok, nothing out of the ordinary or very good at that. Just ok. I've had much better butter chicken, much better naan, much better rice, etc. The desserts were also very disappointing. Not much in the way of service since it is a buffet. Wouldn't go back for the food.
$10. Seriously what more do you expect from $10? I've paid 3 times the price for butter chicken that is no way as good as this place and this place is only $10 for a buffet.
Yes selection is not as impressive for a buffet, however the food just taste too good for me to care. It is true that sometimes they might be running out of something or even only have bits and pieces left swimming in abundance of sauce, but everytime we just point it out and a new batch is served before you can even start whinning about your $10.
Oh and their chai latte is way better than 99% of the cafes out there.
If this place was in Delhi or any other large Indian city it would not make the grade. The place looked dirty and at 12.30PM only a handful of tables were occupied. The buffet was cheap but the food miserable, not quite sure the goat curry had goat in it, the butter chicken was ordinary and the other items unappetizing. Opposite this restaurant is Mirch Marsala, one of the best Indian restaurants in the Vancouver area, save up your craving for curry and go there.
This place is OK if what you are looking for is a cheap Indian fix. Don't go here is what you expect is good customer service or high quality food. The butter chicken is alright, certainly not the best in the Surrey area, but it will do in a pinch. The waiter they have there now is awkward, at best. He will stand 6 feet away from your table, interrupt you mid-conversation and tell you to hand him your dirty plates (or ask you in an almost meek voice if you want something to drink). I find him very strange. Also, not the cleanest or best decorated place (dusty Christmas decorations up all year 'round).
I think they would make a lot more money if they improved customer service. I saw one family who said they had been going there for ten years get treated pretty badly by the owner. They told him they would never come back because of his bad service and he shrugged and said "that's fine." I was actually contemplating never coming back after hearing that how little he cares about his customers. I'm still thinking about it. But in the meantime, as I said, it's cheap butter chicken in a hurry.
It's true this was the old BK on the corner of 96th ave and 120th st. in Surrey!!
Kind of hard to get the image out of my mind!!!
FOOD: After reading some other reviews I must disagree with somethings. First of the food has nver made me sick and is quite alright that reagards!!! The butter chicken is one of the best I've eaten anywhere!!!! The buffet for some reason NEVER seeems to have enough naan. On the whole however, I tried every single curry dish and liked all of them!!! DELICIOUS!!!
SERVICE: Could use improvments!!!! The seats of some of the tables are torn and the waiteresses never seem to greet u or say "hi" or "hello"!!! That being said they do fill ur water and ask for ur drink selection!!!!
VALUE: Cheap and great price for the buffet on the whole, no real cmplains here!!!!!
AMBIANCE: It was the old BK for god 's sake, and that image is hard to get out of my mind!!!!
Overall, even as we were leaving at 9:30pm, people were still coming in!!! So it goes to show that Mehfil is holding it's own against its neighbouring restaurants. Cheap and affordable buffet that leaves u satisfied and full!!!
Now that's worth a try!!!!
All the items were well done. Another option besides the sumptuous buffet was the option of take out a plate/box of any selection by weight.
Couple of suggestions:
1. Can provide more authentic Indian dessert choice, such as 'gulab jamun'.
2. Provide draft beer which will go well with Indian Curry.
On the whole, enjoyed my lunch!
I don't know how they make the palak paneer but i can never make it like that at home. Also, the paneer pakoras are yummy. I am a vegetarian and they have a huge selection of Chinese and Indian vegetarian dishes. I love the chow mein, pot stickers, channa masala, potatoes, naan and butter paneer.
I have been there numerous times, with friends, for birthdays and wedding parties.
Mehfil is such a good deal, with the buffet coming in at under $10. It's our usual choice when we get a craving for butter chicken and Indian sweets. Definitely not an amazing dining experience, but a good choice for a cheap Indian fix.
Well I have read these reviews and feel that I am a bit of an expert here. I went to Mahfil about 6 years ago under differnet management and it was awesome then as it is now. The kitchen staff stayed on under the new management. There isn't a menu item here that I don't like but I must say that I have never had better butter chicken elsewhere. It is almost always rich, thick and creamy and the recipe they use is better by far then any other I have ever tried. Simply put, it is awesome and the main reason that I go back at least once a month and some times up to once a week!
I don't expect much in regards to service because it is a buffet but the servers are always polite, humble and quiet, just the way I like them. I like to be left alone to enjoy my eating experience, and if I decide I want something, they are keeping a watchful eye and it is always easy to get their attention.
While it is true that the cost since the previous owners left has gone up a bit, the cost value is still great (a huge meal that taste great for under $10). There is a large selection of varying types of food from meat to salads and other vegiterrian dishes all of which are delicious.
There is one thing about this place that needs desperate attention. It isn't as clean and mantained as it should be. There are torn seats and a creepy bathroom. There are also grimey kids finger prints on some of the surfaces but the tables and seating areas are always kept clean. That being said, I can see finicky people that regard the superficial having a problem here. This is not a "fine dinning" experience per say as much as it is a family value dinning experience. 9 times out of 10 I'll go for the latter. If I am on a date for the first time and want to impress someone I'll go the superficial way like Earls or something like that but anyone else that I know who wants great food at a great price and doesn't need to be coddled and wooed --- this is the place to be.
When I went to Mehfil for a special day I was apprehensive. However, it was just great. As a Vegetarian Curry Connoisseur, my pet peeve has always been , "not enough attention to vegetarian dishes," in the buffets. Not anymore. Mehfil has arrived!!!
The incredible and Tasty varieties on offer, were hot and served with all the appropriate fixings - for example the snacks (Pakoras, samosas, and rolls) with the chutney. There was a waiter checking the buffet status constantly and adding steaming hot refills. For the less adventurous novices there were non-curry dishes too. all in all a fine dining experience at a reasonable price.
I really enjoy there food! good prices and satifies my hunger. If you want to have preety good food for cheap try it out! its not a fancy place and not clean looking . When you go to other buffets there jello sucks tast like rubber ewww But theres is really jello soo good with the rice pudding or fruit custered on top mmmmmm.
I have been to Mehfil a couple times a month for a while now, and I think its a great value for how little it costs to eat there.
- Service isnt too bad, it is a buffet, nevertheless its still decent.
- The washrooms are pretty crummy, no getting by that.
Overall for $10.00 you get some really good all you can eat east indian food, defintley worth a try if you want a good and cheap meal.
Our favourite curry restaurant stopped serving buffets, so I recalled driving on 120th Street, Surrey and seeing the numerous curry restaurants.
The buffet signage of Mehfil Restaurant & Sweets caught our eye and the easy access to parking soon saw us seated in the restaurant. We were met at the door by a friendly waitress who encouraged us to go ahead and enjoy the buffet.
I headed straight for my favourite curry dish, the butter chicken. The expected creamy flavour was there and I was not disappointed. My second helping was a mixture of chicken curry, zucchini, mixed vegetables and daal. All very tasty.
The meal for two with a chai tea came to $20. Excellent value. Bear in mind, this is not fine dining. I will return again for my weekly curry "fix".
After reading the reviews on this restaurant, my wife and I decided to head over to the Mirch Masala restaurant, across the street. When I got there, I looked over and saw Mehfil, and by that time had forgotten the reviews that I had read here. But I saw the 'Buffet' sign, which was what I was looking for, so over to Mehfil we went.
Well, I have to say that most of the reviews here are pretty much about where I also sit. I didn't find anything outstanding about Mehfil, but I think we'll probably go back some time. The buffet selection is very limited, but the food was okay.
Unlike a previous reviewer's comment, my wife and I were at one of only two tables that had goras sitting at them. Everyone else there appeared to be of Indian descent; and the food wasn't really 'westernized' at all. But to repeat, there is far better Indian fare to be had, and I am looking forward to following through with Mirch Masala some time soon.
Yes, we will go back. My wife would actually rate this restaurant much higher than I did; she thinks the food there is 'excellent', but I have to disagree with her on that point.
The service was not outstanding, but our waitress was friendly.
Keep in mind that it is a buffet, so the service is pretty typical for what it is.
Cheap, fairly good, and it fills the hole. But it isn't fine dining.
Worth a visit, if you're hungry, in a hurry, and not too fussy.
We recently went here for the lunch buffet. The food was okay, I think we enjoyed the butter chicken an palak paneer the most. We were full after two dishes and it was a great deal for a lunch buffet - under $10!
However, after eating there for lunch we were full for the rest of the day. I'm not sure if it was because the food was pretty heavy or if it was something they put in the food?
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