Mezbaan is Edinburgh's only restaurant dedicated to just traditional and authentic South Indian cuisine. We are now open for lunch. If you are short for time you can sample our express menu or for a more relaxed our a la carte menu.
9 Cellars Restaurant and Bar
- Food served: Mon–Sat noon–2.30pm, Mon/Sun 5.30–11pm
- Pre-theatre times: 5.30–7.00pm
- Number of wines sold by the glass: 7
- Delivery: Free within 1 mile radius
- Also offers: Vegetarian options (at least 25% of main courses), Children's portions, Children's high chairs, Takeaway, Pre-theatre menu
- Music on stereo: Indian instrumental and Bollywood sounds
- Capacity: 85
- Largest group: 30
- Open since: 2003
- Average price 2 courses:
£6.95 (set lunch)
£17 (evening meal) - House wine: £11.95 per bottle
- BYOB: £4 corkage
This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.
As Indian restaurants go, 9 Cellars is one of the more unusual. Not only does its impressively long menu boast unfamiliar dishes unseen anywhere else, but the space itself is a labyrinth of intimate eating corners on different levels rather than the more conventional open expanse of a dining room. Perhaps it is to one of the secreted cellar spots that diners go for chicken korma sutra, chef/proprietor Phool Thakur's special for lovers. The front room upstairs is more conventional looking. Lamb main dishes – babli handi and lal mass – both of which are caressed with a warmth of their own, the former from Indian rum, the latter from its blend of Rajasthan spices, are impressive. Other dishes of discovery give equally pleasant surprises. Chicken chilla – a sort of pancake – is more successful with lentils than the nondescript palak kebab, which is cooked with spinach. Otherwise, vegetables are cooked in combinations that are fulsomely spiced and rich in variation. The experience is a rounded one, thanks to Thakur's unfailing skill at knocking up home-made pistachio and mango ice-creams.
- High point: Atmospheric fairy-lit maze of cellars
- Low point: Early weeknights a little quiet
The LIST Card F34
This restaurant offers the standard 2-for-1 LIST Card promotion for:
Lunch: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu
Dinner: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu
Remember: book by phone (0131 557 9899) and ask for a LIST Card booking.
The LIST Card is a dining scheme that gives you promotional two-for-one offers at a range of restaurants in Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond. Find out more.
Comments
- 1. Sam, Edinburgh – 22 April 2008, 9:47pmReport
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I have been using The List to pick out restaurants for well over four years and I have never been disappointed - until I went to 9 Cellars recently. This restaurant is hit listed and I also noticed that it has got good reviews by other prominent reviewers in the field. However based on my experience at this restaurant I have to disagree with the reviews.
After reading the review on The List, I was rather excited about the dosa but mine was burnt and cold at the same time! The Okra side dish was also cold and rather unexciting. The Rajasthani lamb curry was good but nothing special. And when I asked for a Rasmalai I was told that they don't serve it anymore - though it is still there on the greasy dessert menu card.
I would be interested to get others' view on this restaurant. Maybe I was just unlucky and I am aware I can't come to any conclusions based on a single visit.
- 2. M, Edinburgh – 20 July 2008, 9:30amReport
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We visited 9 Cellars last night and were thoroughly disappointed with it. If ever a restaurant was trading on a good review or an award gone by then was it.
The place could do with a good clean, with remnants of others meals being liberally splashed over the walls. Don't even think about turning over the tacky place mats before you've eaten... they were filthy with ingrained dirt and assorted food stuffs. Had we turned them over before we'd eated then we would have left.
The poppadoms were cold, having been pre-prepared which is disappointing but the crime of the century. What was appalling was that they were speckled with dirty fragments from what was obviously a dirty fryer.
Our starter, Gujrati Aloo Tikki, was cold and tasted of dirty oil. It lacked texture and was uninspiring. The main courses did not fare any better, with overcooked rice and insipid sauces which lacked any depth at all and were barely warm.
Poor food and sloppy cooking is becoming more common and this is sad state of affairs. 9Cellars epitomises this general malaise and is not somewhere we would recommend. Save yourself 80% of the bill and a disappointing evening and treat yourself to a Tesco curry instead.
- 3. corpal, Edinburgh – 14 August 2008, 7:00pmReport
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We went to 9 Cellars not expecting much from how it looks on the outside, but were pleasantly surprised once we got in. It was a little quiet, but the food was the best indian myself and my partner had ever tasted. It goes further then most indian restaurants by offering different types of dishes, and they really put effort in with presentation of food. Our starters, mains and pistachio ice cream desert were all lovely, tasty and cooked to perfection. I would definitely go there again.
- 4. EckyP, Edinburgh – 6 September 2008, 5:27pmReport
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Such a shame. Nice starters and then the main courses arrived.
North Indian Chilli Garlic Chicken as you have never seen it before. It looked just like Heinz tomato soup with bits of chicken in it and a chilli on top for good measure. It tasted like passata with with bits of tastless chicken in it and some chilli thrown in as an afterthough.
The other dish we had (cannot quite remember its name but based on chicken, red wine and onions) seemed to be totally spice free apart from some heat from the chilli. Chicken again totally tasteless.
All in all not somewhere to recommend. - 5. Dave Mac, Edinburgh – 8 October 2008, 12:03pm
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Amazed at the negative comments.
9 cellars is the best Indian I have been to in Edinburgh - better than its more celebrated contemparies like Khushis, Britannia Spice etc.
The chef appears to forego the usual curry formula to present more authentic, unusual dishes with more subtle spicing. Perhaps this was the problem with the negative reviews above. A lack of bhunas, dopiazas, vindaloos etc.
Tesco Curry! Talk about discrediting yourself with your own words!
The lamb signature dish is
- 6. M, Edinbrugh – 31 October 2008, 1:20pm
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Dave Mac – I think you’ve missed the point in the above reviews. None bemoan a “lack of bhunas, dopiazas, vindaloos etc.”, but they do make some very specific observations about where this establishment fails to deliver on fundamentals including lacking of texture or depth of flavour, food prepared in dirty oil, overcooked food, burnt food, dirty restaurant and food served cold.
The comparative of a supermarket curry to this food served at this establishment stands and serves to illustrate the benchmark to which this restaurant is being measured and still found wanting. You discredit yourself by assuming that this would be the benchmark of choice!
- 7. B-Boy, Edinburgh – 4 November 2008, 4:44pm
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M - have you got some kind of axe to grind here? If you don't like the restaurant why have you bothered to look at the reviews again? You must have searched for it specifically.
If I don't like somewhere I'll just leave a comment and look for a different restaurant. I've eaten here a number of times and found the food to be excellent.
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