Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant

The LIST Card F5

Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant

The following information has been provided by the restaurant.

Scotland has a few restaurants that specialise in south Indian cuisine. We are however the only restaurant in the pleasant city of Edinburgh. It is a fact that most Indian restaurants in Britain are not operated by Indians and serve mostly north Indian cuisine. Our goal is to bring to Scotland especially Edinburgh the glorious array of exotic south Indian cuisine.

South Indian food is one of the healthiest as it is mostly non-greasy, roasted and steamed. A large selection of popular food is vegetarian. Since the weather is hot and humid, rice is cultivated extensively and it forms an integral part of people’s diet. It is used in some form or the other – plain steamed rice with sambar, or fermented and steamed to make melt-in-the-mouth idlis (rice cakes) or made into crisp, hot dosas.

Steamed rice is normally served with sambar, rasam (a thin soup), dry and curried vegetables and a curd preparation called pachadi. Coconut is an important ingredient in all South Indian food. The South Indian dosa (rice pancakes), idli (steamed rice cakes) and vada, which is made of fermented rice and dal, are now popular throughout the country and are gaining popularity worldwide.

Mezbaan also provides a takeaway and delivery service. Our Restaurant is available for parties of up to 50 people during weekdays and weekends excluding evenings, including catering at the restaurant or a venue of your choice. Please see our website for more details and pricing.

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.

10. M – 14 August 2011, 9:19amMezbaan South Indian RestaurantReport

A small, welcoming Tollcross restaurant that offers excellent south Indian cuisine which is well worth a visit.

I've been to Mezbaan on a number of occasions and have been struck by the variety of tasty dishes with genuine depth of flavour. This is a great alternative to the typical British Indian restaurant offering and compares favourably to some of the better restaurants I've been to in India.

The other thing that strikes me about Mezbaan is the friendly and genuinely warm welcome and service. This is a great neighbourhood restaurant which is worth crossing town to get to!

9. JBD, Edinburgh – 14 July 2011, 2:28pmMezbaan South Indian RestaurantReport

Really happy with our experience eating here. We went for the Mini Masala Dosa & the Mixed Pakora & Bonda to start, Chicken Goan Curry & Chicken Kadai for main course, all really tasty and a bit different to your normal Bhunas and Jalfrezies (as refelected in the rest on the menu). My only gripe would be the difficulty of getting them to accept the List Card, but to be fair, after some explanation over the trouble I had booking, they agreed to honour the deal. Recommended :)

8. Porty, Portobello – 29 December 2010, 9:16pmMezbaan South Indian RestaurantReport

Try the Chicken Malabar. It is not hot, it is full of flavour. Anyone can do Hot, this was bursting with Excellence. I'm no spring chicken and I've eaten in quite a few Indian Restaurants but..........................................This was the BEST CURRY I'VE EVER TASTED

7. CMc, Tollcross – 9 September 2010, 6:57pmMezbaan South Indian RestaurantReport

I'm lucky enough to live round the corner from the nice people at Mezbaan. I hadn't been in for a little while and was touched by the reception I got the next time I popped in. The food has always been great, I love the Dosas, and last time I was in they seemed to have found a way of speeding up the service without compromising the quality . I haven't eaten better vegetarian indian food in Edinburgh and my wife loves their fish and meat dishes. Nice food and nice people.

6. Gozu – 28 May 2009, 7:03pmMezbaan South Indian RestaurantReport

Food is brilliant. Best Indian in Edinburgh.
As long as you don't mind waiting a while (when busy).

5. Happy, Leith – 21 April 2009, 10:49amMezbaan South Indian RestaurantReport

Found out about Mezbaan through the List Card. The food was amazing! Fresh ingredients and so many subtle and beautifully mingled flavours. Our waiter had a big smile and was really helpful and polite. It was a Monday so no fish dishes but this is a good sign - fishing isn't common on a Sunday so no fresh fish on a Monday! It was great to see a restaurant that manages to combine being unpretentious with being committed to creating such lovely food. Best of all it's byob. With the List Card our meal came to £18 for two people. An incredible place run by lovely staff.

4. Lucy and Stacia, Edinburgh – 28 March 2009, 5:46pmMezbaan South Indian RestaurantReport

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! By far the best Indian food in the area, possibly even in all of Edinburgh. The meat options may not be as varied as elsewhere, but are still delicious (especially the gosht roganjosh). The vegetarian options are so much more interesting than the standard saag paneer (the vegetable curry is the only interesting version of itself that I have ever encountered), and the naan is amazing! Even the rice is more inventive than usual. The extensive list of fresh fruit juices and lassis are delicious (they have their own specialities). The staff are lovely, the decor is tasteful, and each table is somehow private.

If you are in the neighbourhood, we highly recommend that you give this a go!

3. Mel, Edinburgh – 11 November 2008, 11:38amMezbaan South Indian RestaurantReport

Oh dear - foodfanatic obviously doesn't know much about south Indian cuisine. Mezbaan offers wonderfully inventive, delicious dishes and a vast selection of gorgeous veggie options. If you've ever been fortunate enough to have eaten in Sagar in west London, you'll find out that this place comes pretty close to the mark. I'd really recommend it + the staff are all absolutely lovely.

2. foodfanatic, lothians – 26 October 2008, 3:27pmMezbaan South Indian RestaurantReport

Give it a big wide bypass! Tasteless! Stale! A very poor offering of south Indian food.

1. Colt Sievers, Edinburgh – 19 October 2008, 1:48pmMezbaan South Indian RestaurantReport

This place is way better than many of the others in the Hit List. It may be a little slower but that is because the food is fresh. Staff are very nice and atmosphere is very good too, but it is the food that is the standout. No day-glo sauces. Plenty of spice.