Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant

14/14a Brougham Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9JH

Telephone 0131 229 5578
Food served Mon–Sun noon–3pm, 5–11pm.
Pre-theatre times Mon–Thu 5–6.30pm
Average price £12 (lunch); £17 (evening meal)
Pre-theatre price £8.90
Email
Website www.mezbaan.co.uk

Jump to comments (11)

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2013) edition.

South Indian restaurants offer a refreshing change from the Punjabi-based menus normally on offer in Edinburgh. Old favourites are still available for the less adventurous, but for anybody looking to experiment, Mezbaan is a great place to start. Wheat or gluten intolerant diners will be delighted by giant dosas made with rice and lentil flour. Although offering a plethora of meat and vegetarian dishes, the restaurant specialises in seafood. The fish pollichathu starter is voluminous, taking two banana leaves to wrap it – thankfully, it seems that good things can come in big packages, too. From the main courses, the Goan chicken curry is satisfyingly warming for a cold winter’s night, but delicately spiced enough to be a summertime winner too. Anybody struggling to get their kids to eat vegetables might find the answer in a navrathan korma: it’s hard to believe veg can taste so indulgent. At Mezbaan, the benefits of having a chef who spends four days preparing his own garam masala spice blend are obvious.

High point: A truly epicurean experience
Low point: Avoid the draughty seat by the second door

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.

Text supplied by third party.

Number of wines sold by the glass: 5
Delivery: Minimum order £15; within a three-mile radius
Provides: Vegetarian options (at least ¼ main courses), Gluten-free options, Children's portions, Children's high chairs, Wheelchair access, Pre-theatre menu, Free wi-fi
Music on stereo: Nothing
Capacity: 42
Largest group: 20
Open since: 2005
House wine: £11.50 per bottle

Comments & ratings

Post a comment

11. Nicci – 15 Jul 2012, 7:05pm Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant Report: The food is tasty but the restaurant lacks any atmosphere for me, also the staff isn´t very friendly.
I still go there for take away from time to time, the take away menu is a great deal and good to try a little bit of indian cuisine with visitors.

10. M – 14 Aug 2011, 9:19am Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant Report

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 – 14 Jul 2011, 2:28pm Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant Report: 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 – 29 Dec 2010, 9:16pm Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant Report: 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 – 9 Sep 2010, 6:57pm Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant Report: 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, 7:03pm Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant Report: Food is brilliant. Best Indian in Edinburgh.
As long as you don't mind waiting a while (when busy).

5. Happy – 21 Apr 2009, 10:49am Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant Report: 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 – 28 Mar 2009, 5:46pm Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant Report

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 – 11 Nov 2008, 11:38am Report: 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 – 26 Oct 2008, 3:27pm Report: Give it a big wide bypass! Tasteless! Stale! A very poor offering of south Indian food.

1. Colt Sievers – 19 Oct 2008, 1:48pm Report: 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.

Average rating 4.5/5 from 8 reviews of Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant.

RSS feed of these comments

Mezbaan South Indian Restaurant

Comments & ratings

Free £60 wine voucher courtesy of The List