Mumtaz
Waley Al Ahd Street / Khalid Bin Waleed
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Tel: 02 6511015
Mumtaz restaurant is another venue that came highly recommended, the Jeddah Food Team decided it was high time we looked into Mumtaz, and see whether the place could live up to its name. Not every restaurant can get away with calling itself ‘excellent’ after all!
Located in the complex of restaurants that is home to Red Lobster and Brenda House, Mumtaz isn’t hard to find. If you’re heading to the Balad its just at the intersection of Khaled Bin Waleed Street and King Abdullah Road.
The canibal-like chicken-eating-a chicken drumstick is a peculiar but comical logo that sets the place apart. I guess it really must be excellent if the chickens are eating it!
They serve up some pretty good indian/pakistani food, including Biryani and some mouth watering mixed grill, make sure you can handle your spiced meat though, as the spicy option is pretty hot!
The interior isnt really what attracts people to Mumtaz, it is the price, you can order a massive dish of Mixed Grill with Biryani for only 13 SAR. Which is not bad going when that is more than enough for two people.
The Mixed grill is made up of chicken tikka, meat kebab, chicken kebab, and pieces of lose chicken. Of these the chicken tikka was probably the best, I’m not really a fan of processed chicken kebabs and this one was no different, that being said I can tolerate a beef kebab strangely enough.
Considering the price it is a pretty good deal, but the meat quality was not as ‘Mumtaz’ as I had hoped for.
The plain kebabs had little taste (we ordered two mixed grill, one spicy). The spicy was definitely the better of the two, mainly because it drowned out.. or enhanced the taste, (whichever you want to believe.)
The biryani comes with a selection of what must be e-coloured grains of rice that glow an incredible bright orange, nice to look at, perhaps not so good to eat, but it tastes normal enough! If you’re not a fan of artificially coloured stuff perhaps this is not the rice for you.
I must say the bread was delicious, soft and doughy, I would definitely come here again for just this and the Tikka, its logo includes the tag line “Chicken Tikke Inn” so I guess this is their specialty.
All in all a good value for money meal, generous portions, worth a look if you like to keep a tight hand on your wallet.
Other items on the menu include Mutton Masala, Chicken Ginger, and various Kormas and soups.
This post was submitted by FoodCritic.
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I had been driven by the comments in this pages, but sadly, this is THE last time one would visit with the family, everything failed; service, ambiance, the serving staff and lastly, the FOOD, we ordered tandoori chicken and briyani rice, the later was pale and best not to tried, while the former was 2 out of 5.
I would also like to add that my seemingly positive review was for take out items, because I have not dinned in the restaurant.
I also would have to take Mujeeb’s comment :
“Later I checked out that the cooking staff is from Bangladesh & Pakistan”
Unless he has a specific point of mentioning the nationalities of the cooks, I think it is an irrelevant remark at best, and offensive at worst.
I visited there last night based on reviews read here and I must admit the food critics taste buds need some attention. The food was mediocre at best and I’ve eaten better in Mehran and La Sani two restaurants that are not listed yet on the site. The service was terrible – no complimentary basic salad of carrots,cucumber and onions that is standard in all hotels. I requested for Paneer kulcha and was told it’s not available. I had asked for “spicy” chicken ginger (SR 22/-) and chicken korma (SR 20/-) hence wanted to end with some sweets but was told there’s no sweets. Considering the bad service I was loathe to pay the 10% service tax
I’m definitely not going back since there’s no ambience, no service and no great food either. Infact I know of a place which serves great Chicken Karahi made in butter by the name of Shabistan which is on Makaronah Street going towards the airport.
we said “Considering the price it is a pretty good deal, but the meat quality was not as ‘Mumtaz’ as we had hoped for.” Mujeeb said ” the Chicken BBQ was very bad”, Our point being, not all reviews were positive, (dr.hasan and ayaa1977 were positive however). You also asked for items that weren’t on the menu, as such you shouldn’t really be disappointed if they are not available. Although if the food is not up to scratch, this is also a personal opinion. If Mehran and La Sani are worth hearing about, we would love to hear about them, why not write a review? (Best written review can Win a Nintendo Wii this month!)
No offence meant but I found this site quite helpful in pinpointing nice locations for eating around Jeddah and I have a list to visit. We started with Mumtaz and will be giving it a wide berth in the future. Next week Kashmiri Nights
. BTW there is no Mixed Grill with Biryani anymore for SR 13/-; please update and revise. Mixed Grill is SR 28/- – which is not that bad a price in itself if it is accompanied by good service and taste which is what we are paying for eventually.
None taken, we are glad you enjoy the site, and to be honest we understand you giving the place a wide berth, we certainly haven’t been back since, and considering the price rise, are unlikely to do so anytime soon. Enjoy Kashmir Nights!
i ate here once and the biryani smelled so strongly of saunf…much spices in there too..the food overall was good ..maybe worth another visit esp considering the price range.
1) The chicken BBQ was very bad and bad and bad.
2) The chicken biryani must be renamed chicken khabsa biryani as it smelled and tasted like khabsa.Also the biryani was made using american rice not basmati rice
3) Later I checked out that the cooking staff is from Bangladesh & Pakistan
Mujeeb Comments are True, I ordered chicken Biriyani and it was Chicken Pieces (which used to Prepare Sandwiches) covered with Big Rice. They dont even know the Basic that Basmathi gives the real Aroma for Biriyani, then Imagine the other Items.
I tried the chicken ginger and it is excellent. Also the grill is decent. I would highly recommend it especially for take away.