Mezbaan restaurant in the Hilton Hotel

We were invited to try the Curry buffet held every Thursday evening at Mezbaan restaurant in the Cape Town City Centre Hilton Hotel in the Bo Kaap.

Opened for the World Cup, this previously Halaal hotel is now under the Hilton brand and does have a bar, but the restaurant is still strictly Halaal. Welcomed by extremely friendly staff we were given a drink in the bar before dinner. Lynne had Seagram’s gin for the first time and really liked the juniper flavours in it.

Then it was off to the restaurant which is fairly masculine in design with heavy dark furniture and drapery with a few Indian touches and some strange internal stained glass windows.

Warmly welcomed by their excellent staff, we were given a tour of the spotless kitchens and met the three chefs who all come from Mumbai in India.

We were guided to the buffet by the head chef, Muhammed Khan.

The buffet starts with Poppadums with two dips: Tamarind and Herb and a quite salty Mango Atchar and two Raitas.

Then there is a Chilli Paneer salad, and a Chicken Hyra salad and a Tomato soup. A range of bains marie contained Garlic Chicken Tandoori, Butter Chicken, Spicy Mango Chicken,

Lamb Sagh Gosht, Lamb Vindaloo,

Tarka Dal, a vegetable Jalfrezi and a Fish Masala made with Kingklip.

We tried small portions of many of these dishes. None of the curries are at all hot, which was a slight disappointment for John, who likes a bit of buzz in Indian food and some of the chicken was a little dry. Sadly, the bains marie kept going out so that some of the food was a little cold. We were served excellent, freshly made garlic Naan with our food.

One is offered soft drinks or water to drink. We opted for the water, cream soda and similar offerings not being our favourites.

It reminded Lynne of Khan’s in London, where you went for a good feed if you had a shortage of money - especially as the cost of the buffet is R131 per person, so you get a lot for your money. Dessert was rice pudding, what looked like crème brulée and a chocolate pudding. We left feeling very full indeed. Every Tuesday, they have a kebab evening for R99 a person. Call 021 481 3700 to book.