Mezban Restaurant

Food is very good. Came due to a gathering. Majority is good. Rice was kinda undercooked, but was able to mix to make it taste better. Desserts were nice like the Kheer. Do try coming, but was more buffet so be very hungry when you visit.

visited Mezban in Houston for the first time after a friend recommended it, especially for their malai boti. While it wasn’t part of the buffet that day, the store manager went the extra mile and had it made fresh just for me, which I really appreciated. This place is a solid, affordable buffet experience. The service stood out the most. Every staff member was incredibly sweet, kind, and accommodating. If anything wasn’t fresh or warm, they had no problem preparing a fresh batch upon request. The buffet had a wide range of options
Appetizers like pani puri, chicken club sandwiches, and even baba ghanoush
Soups and salads for those who like to start light. Main dishes including fried, BBQ, and grilled meat, chicken, fish, Naan made fresh to order. Chicken biryani and butter chicken both flavorful and satisfying. 
Desserts (two desi options) and karak chai to finish the meal. Highlights for me were the malai boti, chicken tandoori, and butter chicken. The pani puri lacked a bit of flavor, but everything else was decent overall. You can also order à la carte if you prefer non-buffet items. Bonus: They offer a wide variety of drinks and the seating area is spacious. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you're craving South Asian comfort food in a casual, welcoming environment.

Today i had my lunch with my friend at this restaurant. Food is good. I really enjoyed.

The new management is trying to provide better services with new food items which are delicious. It’s a place where you can go with family and friends. We always loved the food!

MEZBAN- This authentic Pakistani buffet was a true delight! The chicken boti and chicken tikka were perfectly spiced and tender, while the biryani was rich and flavorful. Every dish was bursting with genuine taste. The tea was soothing, and the kheer was a sweet, creamy treat. Special thanks to brother Kabir for his warm, attentive service that made us feel right at home. Highly recommend this restaurant to everyone!

Great and delicious food. Not very spicy which I appreciate. Very reasonable price!

I ordered nihari and haleem for takeout, and both were absolutely delicious. The two haleem plates were a great deal at just $12.99—something you don’t often find in Houston. The packaging was well-done, preventing any spills. The dishes had a rich, authentic flavor, clearly made with homemade spices. The tandoori naans were also generously sized and complemented the meal perfectly.

Had a bunch of friends over at my place this last weekend and ordered a huge tray of kabob rolls, taste was amazing and presentation was great. Rolls were stuffed with plenty of chicken, lots of flavor and rolled right so it’s not messy . Very enjoyable and everybody loved it. Highly recommend for any gathering.

Every dish tried at this buffet was delicious and so full of flavor! Even the Chai is top notch. Amazing variety of bite sized starters and entrees along with many savory sides and a dessert selection as well. Don't miss out on the Kheer! Very clean and comfortable. Service is helpful and speedy. Will return!

Chicken tikka - 9/10 Chicken curry - 8/10 Samosa chaat - 8/10 Kofta kabob - 8/10 Biryani - 6/10 Haleem - 6/10 Pani puri - 7/10 Veggie noodles - 8/10 Kheer - 7/10 Chai - 8/10 Tried out Mezbans buffet this past weekend. They have large variety of items to choose from but I wasnt the biggest fan of their food. I think most of the items were too oily for me. I did enjoy the chicken tikka and chicken curry because they had the most flavor. The samosa chaat was also good but overall it was a decent desi buffet.

There are Indo-Pak buffets all around town, but somehow Mezban has managed to stick out with its unique setup, interesting interior, and not so stellar food. Located in the heart of the the Little India section of Houston (#1), it is semi-hidden in a cluster of desi businesses, neighboring a grocery store and adjacent to a sari shop. Despite all the lackluster experiences, I somehow find myself here one way or another every few months. The dining room feels smaller than what the exterior of the building would have one believe. They do have a larger private room in the back for big groups. The eclectic decor and layout of the buffet is different in comparison to similar spots. It has a cafeteria like feel, but there is really no place that looks like Mezban. On the food front, there is much left to be desired. The salad bar is a little on the sad side but it's made slightly worse when I'm fanning away our winged friends. The samosa chaat looks impressive but it still falls flat a bit. On occasion there are many sandwiches and pani puri, but even those have been disappointing. There hasn't been much relief with the hot foods but there are some areas where they do stand out. They do have a pretty outstanding weekend selection of proteins, whether it's tandoori chicken or seekh kebab. There is fish curry, chole, and korma based curries usually in the mix. I'm not feeling the haleem, which is a popular Pakistani dish; it was just too oily and unappetizing. Almost always they serve kheer or halwa for dessert. It might not seem weird in a dive, but in a restaurant it does seem strange to only serve foam cups for water. This is by no means a deal-breaker but it would go a long way for folks to be able to have slightly larger cups. I think for the price it's a fine choice for a casual lunch or an easy meal. The service could kick it up a notch, but most of the time, the only staff I interact with is whenever I'm paying in the end. __________ (#1) Mahatma Ghandi District aka Hillcroft

Not sure why I haven't found any good Pakistani restaurant in Houston. I went into Mezban based on reviews... nothing special unfortunately. Buffet majority of the items were cold, halwa and channay were tasteless, beef paye had a very unique taste as if it's spoiled, samosa chaat .. samosas were dry and hard. Only haleem was a little bit better in taste. Chicken tikka, and chicken chapli kababs were cold and had no kick to them. Ambiance - this place needs a massive cleanup. There were fruit flies flying around everywhere. Don't recommend buffet to anyone.

I've been coming here for years, but in my opinion the quality has not been consistent--particularly when it comes to the chicken they use. Sometimes it's dry and other times it can be mushy. Moreover, the last two times I visited I had stomach issues shortly thereafter, so now I'm questioning whether I should continue to patronize this place given other yummy Indian options around me. They've also raised their prices a bit and are no longer a value (a good deal) compared to the prices of other Indian buffets around. As a result, I tend to go elsewhere because I can usually find places with many more food options for the same price.

Nice old-fashioned interior and furniture for a Indian buffet restaurant. As soon as I walked in to Mezban, employees immediately greeted us. Food was decent. I went with a group after a bus tour around Hilcroft Gandhi Shopping District. The cleanliness however was a concern. I saw a critter crawling across the floor as I was about to sit down. As I poured a drink into the foam cups, I started to feel the leak on my hand. Holy sh... I grabbed another cup to catch the drip. The tables were not the cleanest. I guess they got so many leaky cups. Customers seemed to enjoy this place. It's a buffet. It was Saturday. The food seemed plentiful on the buffet line. I sampled few dishes and went back for more of what I liked. I couldn't tell which was which because the labels were moved. I just wish Mezban was more organized and cleaned to my usual restaurant dining expectations.

WE LOVE Indian food but don't want to go back to the same place again and again. This place was out of our way but it was a good choice that we went. " Wow..Wow..Wow " for the cleanness.. The staffs are working hard to keep the everything so clean at all time. It's an older building but it's so clean inside!!! We really enjoyed the chai tea and chicken corn soup, and beef ect.

Delicious. Every single thing we ate at the buffet was incredible. But my son??? Absolutely addicted to biriyani. And he ate like three plates worth. Have gotten take out via one of the food delivery apps from here before but the in-person experience surpasses that by a lot. Not just great food for a buffet. Great for any restaurant.

Beef kabab or beef boti roll with Nan or paratha is a great choice. Super tasty. Highly recommended Rest of all dishes are pretty regular taste. Nothing wow about it. You can't go wrong visiting this restaurant.

Came with a large group and had a great experience. Greater as we walked in and shown to our table. We enjoyed the all you can eat buffet. They have a large variety of different Indian cuisines. Everything I tried was amazing, some hotter than others but every dish had great flavors.

I got to try a lot of new dishes because this was a buffet style restaurant. A lot of the dishes were delightful and full of spice & flavor. Some of the BBQ meats weren't as piping hot as I'd like them to be unfortunately; they would've tasted a lot better if they were kept warm.

Good tasting food; authentic flavors, self-serve buffet works for getting lunch in a hurry, and easy parking nearby.

Been craving nihari ever since my friends mentioned it. The nihari here is great and the Haleem isn't bad either. The portions size is your average take out container. THEY DO NOT INCLUDE NAAN- so be sure to order it separately. Even though the have a buffet they make all the take out food fresh. Which is what I expect and was glad to see that. Pro tip: if your grabbing take out look at the specials (see my photo). Really really good deals.

My family and I recently ate at Mezban. We drove about 50mins to try this spot. We were no disappointed! They had a variety of different foods and snack items (pani puri, chaats) and desserts! My four year old who can be picky enjoyed the noodles, tandoori chicken and biryani! My husband and I enjoyed the Haleem, chicken biryani and kabobs. You will also find salads here which is rare in Pakistani/Indian buffets! Everything was delicious! We enjoyed dessert of rabberi kneed and Shahi tukery with chai! We will definitely be visiting again! The staff was beyond helpful and the restaurant was clean!

Very disappointed with the food and service. I went there for the weekend brunch on Eid day, looking forward to a good meal but I left there as a completely dissatisfied customer. I've been to this restaurant a few time in the past and the food was pretty good, but on this day, both the food and service was pretty bad. Several items on the buffet tasted off like they were not made fresh and we're at least a day old. When I complained to woman behind the cash register about the Tandoori chicken, she completely ignored my complaint and rudely stated that it is all freshly made. Secondly, the brunch prices. On a big board it clearly says brunch price 19.99 but when I to pay for the food, the woman behind the cash register charged me 24.99 and when I complained, she drew my attention to a little paper sign showing a different price. Why are there two different prices? And she said, "these are Ramadan prices. But Ramadan is over, and this is the day of the Eid, why did they still charged me 24.99? Very unprofessional practice by this establishment. Not going there again.

We had the food catered for 100 ppl. Food quality was fair at best, their bhindi (okra masala) had thick fibers, we had requested goat Sajji but it had a strong 'lamb smell' and the rubbery kheer was in fact sweet rice soup. The food was delivered 2+ hrs late and missing all drinks - Sohail refunded drinks price but didn't care to have the meals served without tea and cold drinks. we had paid for three servers but only two showed up. if you still decide to go with them I suggest to not pay all $ upfront and write in contract to pay the rest (at least 50%) immediately after the event or when food is delivered. PLEASE add to deduct $ for every 1/2 hr being late. Their service was way below the mark

This was probably one of the top 3 best Indian places we've been to since moving to Texas! We came in on a Sunday night and they had a large buffet full of variety of meats and veggies to choose from! I filled up my plate close to three times because the food was so delicious , the biryani is one of the best I've ever had, the meats were cooked perfectly and even our kids ate everything on their plate. I would gladly drive the 40 minutes it takes to get there just to enjoy this mouth watering food!

I haven't been to many South Asian buffets but I thoroughly enjoyed Mezban. We came during lunch and it was pretty busy so getting seated was kind of hectic and confusing, but we eventually did. The food was hot and flavorful and I liked being able to try a little bit of everything. My favorite things were the samosas, haleem and the chicken corn egg drop soup; it was so good I had several bowls of it LOL. I also had something that looked like white tandoori chicken that I really enjoyed but I'm not sure what the name of it was. For desserts, I loved the kheer and my partner thought the flan was great too. I'd like to come back for the lunch buffet again!

Good people. Different variety of food did not meet expectations. Seating arrangement is not good either. Ot was not worth the price.

Loved the authentic flavors of Pakistani food in the weekend buffet. I was amazed by the options , may be didn't like 3 dishes but there were plenty of options to choose from. The price was amazing for the buffet variety . The ambiance can be improved. The service and staff were all nice and friendly. No complains.

Delicious food. Friendly atmosphere. The goat curry was wonderful. Many great selections on the buffet.

Love it! Love the ambiance. Good food everything was fresh and everything was clean I had a friend recommended this place and so I did visit. Rest room was clean the waiter was extra polite and friendly (hard to find employees like that) went there during lunch time and it started to get packed and that tells you people are flocking to this place! Must try and will be recommending this place to others. I tried the. Beef Nihari, Chicken Tikka, Goat Biryani, Tandoori Chicken

Went there for the 2nd time since we had a great visit during our first dining there. The price has almost being doubled!!! They are charging 22$ for lunch without tax! Moreover there was no mutton in the mutton biriyani and no goat meat in the goat paya section. We told them several times but still they didn't refill !!! This is not really expected from a renowned restaurant. The good part was the chicken items were tasty. But other expensive dishes need to be fixed not like this cheap behavior!! Wont go there next time to have only chicken item with 22$!

Mezban is one of the best India-Pakistani buffets in Houston. I paid only $14 on a weekday. I got 5 or 6 curries including vegetarian curry. I got free chai tea! I also had a salad and dessert bar! When I got out of the restaurant. I saw Japanese cherry flowers! Arigato!

I think a photo says a thousand word. I was hungry one night and came across this place on DoorDash. I ordered the Nihari Beef and Butter chicken. To my amazement when I got my order that there were only two piece of beef in a vat of oil that was supposed to be the sauce. The butter chicken fared no better as it was also very oily. At least there were slightly more pieces of chicken. A called to the restaurant confirm that this is how it is served. You will only get 2 pieces of beef. I understand inflation is tough these days, but to charge $14+ for it is robbery. Plus, this place doesn't give you rice for any of the entrees. It is $5 extra. There are better Indian places to go. Terrible.

I went for the buffet, loved the options, food was great, it was about 25$ per person, in my opinion is alot, but you have a decent amount of options and there is nice seating arrangments

Excellent south Asian food. Made fresh on the spot, the quality and flavor are evident in every bite. The paya and biryani should not be missed!

My sister and I were craving Indian food so we took my parents out to Mezban, after reading so many good reviews. We loved both the food and service! The buffet isn't HUGE but it is a good selection. Everything was flavorful and perfectly spiced. My favorite was the chicken tandoori and curry. We got about 3 plates each and were super stuffed, but satisfied. The weekend buffet is $13.99 a person. The have lassis as well. Our waitress stopped by our table a dozen times to check on us and clean up empty plates. Most attentive waiter service I've received in a long time. They were all really friendly. I think that Mezban is a solid Indian buffet that has great food for a reasonable price! We'll be back if we are ever in the area again. Side note: Google Maps led us to the wrong plaza and we had to ask a security officer for directions. Beware!

My partner and I came here on a Saturday for their lunch buffet from a recommendation. We were rather disappointed with our experience. For $19, their buffet lacked in variety and options and a lot of their dishes were kind of dry. It's not that the dishes lacked flavor, per se. Since it's Pakistani cuisine, it was full of flavor. But a lot of the dishes were repetitive in flavor, a lot of the meat was dry. We weren't busting out of our chairs for seconds, and we didn't felt great afterwards. I do apologize since I am not Pakistani and this isn't the cuisine I grew up with. So I do have a huge lack of knowledge about the typical cuisine and flavors. And it did look like a lot of their customer base was Pakistani. So in many ways, I don't feel like an unqualified judge of quality. But I don't think my partner and I will be returning.

Love love love this place. We always go there on Monday morning. No line, food was great, restaurant is nice and clean. Service was present, lady come and clean the empty plates all the time. Don't miss the Goat curry!

Wow this was some good food! Okay parking - it was not an issue because the restaurant is in a shopping strip. Visited for lunch about 11:45, no issue with getting a seat. The format is buffet style and the food is outstanding if you like spicy! The service was excellent, making sure you have what you need water, etc. The price for both of us was $26 not including tip. So what did I try, everything. The primary meat was chicken; however, there was a goat and a beef dish as well. I would suggest calling to see what the theme is for the day, because on the way out we were told they also have fish and other themes. The buffet is all day and on the weekends as well. I will be visiting again and would recommend.

I love the taste so so much ! Just like Pakistani real authentic flavors ! Must visit must east place , really good decor too

For starters the Indian subcontinent is well known for exotic spices, friendly people and excellent food. And to be honest all this incur at this family friendly restaurant. The selection of food is great, the quality of food is great and the quantity of food is great to especially reconsidering inflation and the price hike on virtually everything. The butter chicken and paya beef (cow legs) cannot be beaten speaking of the paya beef as someone of Afro descent I must say the Pakistani people can give the Africans and Caribbean folks a run for their money on this! I can go on and on about how great the food is here but the only drawback is that I live in Georgia while this place is in Texas. Thus I'm SOL when it comes to eating from here.

Flavorful and tasty Indian/Pakistani buffet with a good variety that's not super spicy like a lot of other Indian joints. My favorites here are the standard saag paneer and butter chicken, both creamy and pairs well with naan, which they will bring to you at the table. Pakoras and the fried chicken (I think it's called Mezban chicken?) were both tasty as well. Chicken was juicy and well seasoned.They also had hot and sour soup and chicken corn egg drop soup. Chicken biryani was not impressive though, rice was somewhat dry and overall under-seasoned. I was disappointed with the desserts as well as I was looking forward to enjoying the kheer, but it was overly sweet and tasted artificial, not like scratch made. Unfortunately, everything here is way too SALTY for my taste, and even hours after our meal my husband and I were still clamoring for water. I would say this place is good if you enjoy very salty food that's not overly spicy. Also, this place is great for any meat lover as well as there were many varieties of meat (chicken, beef, goat) and they definitely do not skimp on their proteins in all the curries. Not a bad place for the price ($10.99 for weekday lunch buffet), but the flavor profile was just not my favorite.

Lots of variety in their buffet. Okay customer service. They can improve quality of their food by cutting down on number of items. 6.5/10

I've been to many Indian restaurants and buffets. This place is by far the best I've been to. The staff is so friendly and kind. The outside looks sketchy, we almost didn't go in, but when you walk in it's so nice. The food was so fresh and flavorful. We can't wait to come back. The tea tasted just like back home. Love love love this place!!!

Was disappointed. There was a lack of organization when walking in there was no greeting or signs to know what to do. There are a decent amount of choices, but limited to what I was expecting. Some of the food was tasty, but some of the food was not the flavor I was expecting considering I've had these foods before. Place is not the cleanest, flies were inside.

This was our first time eating here and it was delicious! The staff was very friendly and the service was great! The food was so flavorful and the naan bread was fresh and hot! We will be back!

ignored my online orders twice then blamed me because apparently i was supposed to go to the trouble of ordering online then also calling the restaurant to confirm the order!!! the woman manager/phone monkey is plain incompetent and rude and doesn't understand customer service. she needs to be fired for her stupid responses. wtf????? if this is the lame crap they keep pulling, they will lose so much business from people who value modern conveniences. get your $hit together Mezban management.

This place has always been a mixed opinion for me. It's a hit or a miss no matter what. I have been to their buffet many times and there are somethings there that are really great. But recently I picked up a takeout for a butter chicken that tasted really bad and chicken was dry and rubbery. I think quality control is a real problem at this restaurant. They have the potential and you'd be luck if you visit them on their good days.

This place is a 5 star place during normal business operations. One of my top 5 places that I come to with my friends, family and coworkers. And I have reviewed y'all in the past in other platforms as a 5 star place. I understand times are hard with covid/corona virus and all businesses are shut down and are only doing either delivery or take out orders, so there could be a discrepancy in the quality or service. I can work with that since this is one of my favorite places to come. Everything we ordered felt like the cook accidentally elbowed an entire bottle of salt in them. It was inedible. I had to throw away the whole order. Now the other part that disappointed me even more than the quality of the food was the fact that nobody, not the cashier's, the helpers nor the cooks were wearing masks?! The cooks had gloves on when prepping the food only, which I hope is normal practise anyway. Times are different and require a little bit extra care. I'm trying to support my local businesses here. If you don't care about your customers health and safety, I can't recommend this place anymore.

This restaurant has the best priced all you can eat buffet dinner. There was a wide variety of items to choose from. Everything was delicious. Chai and soft drinks was included. I would highly recommend this place. The staff were so friendly.

This is a non-descript place located just next to an Indian grocery store. Don't let the sordid exterior fool you. This place is a real gem inside! If you do venture in, the interior is modern, clean and inviting. Service was excellent. Our empty plates were cleared promptly. Even though this was a buffet, the servers brought out fresh nan, chicken tikka kebab, seekh kebab (very spicy), and what looked like tandoori chicken fresh off the grill - these tasted amazing. The selection was fairly modest, but most of the items tasted great. There were a selection of fish, chicken and mutton dishes. The Pakistani food here shares many culinary roots with India, but there is a beef curry dish - something you probably won't find in a Desi restaurant. Vegetarians might be disappointed - options here are limited. There appeared to be two Chinese dishes in the buffet, which seemed oddly out-of-place. Prices were pretty decent for a buffet. Drinks were even included. Unfortunately, kids buffet prices only apply to ages 4-7 - not great value for your older off-springs that fancy mainly nuggets and pizza. We are glad our friends brought us there. This is a place we would return to.

Food was fresh,, Prices are high on the weekend ,, Mutton Biriani,,,Haleem ,, Selections are good $17.99 weekend night $12.99 weekday lunch

Terrible customer service. Went in at 9:30 PM (they close at 10). I asked if they were still open and was given an incredibly rude response and was basically asked to leave. If they can't accept any more customers after a certain time, they should: A) change their hours, or B) be nicer to customers when informing them that they're too late. Never coming back here. Thankfully Houston has plenty of Pakistani restaurants to choose from.

I'd give this place 1 star because one of the items I ordered had good flavor. Other than that I would not eat here again . We had 2 pieces of meat in every item we ordered and I'm not talking big pieces , it was less than a small palm size pieces . The naan bread was over cooked and flavorless . I felt totally ripped off eating here . If you want to take a spoonful bite of your food and still come out spending 45 dollars be my guest . Basically we paid for samples lol never again .

Seven years I was told that this place has been open here. Where have I been and why the heck have I not found out about this so much sooner? I picked the right time to step into this place like I luckily do in many places right when all of the food was finally being put out and not another table in here. I found myself over here because of the all of the good reviews so thank you again Yelp. MEAT! I have been to a few of these Indian/Pakistanian buffets where either the price seemed high for such a little amount of food or gotten a decent price for food I would not care to come back for. This place wedged between both of those and I found a little bit of heaven on Harwin. I am still not educated on the wording of this to me "newfound" food but I can tell you that I liked about 90% of everything on the buffet. I posted enough pics so you can pretty much see what is there and identify. Naan! The flat bread type hot thing that was brought out on the table was the only thing I could name and boy was it fresh and hot. I must have eaten 3/4 of the 10" circle that was brought to me. Service, even if there was only one server this person was very attentive and helpful. Toward the end of my meal about 4 other tables came in and he still was able to tend to me very well. I think because of all my meat eating at this place it might have triggered off a "gout" attack in my system so while I am sitting here in front of a computer for a week I will wait until it's about time to fill back up and definitely be back.

This place is kind of hidden on a off street. The outside doesn't look great, but once you get inside, it looks much nicer. It is a buffet that has sections. The salad section is limited and I did not like the taste of the pasta salad I tried. There is an appetizer/soup section that had an eggdrop soup, a Mediterranean version of nachos?, pancakes, and omelette bar. The samosas tasted a bit stale, but the concept looks great. The pancakes are small and tasted fine. I really liked the omelette. The next section had butter chicken and then a variety of vegetarian dishes with lentils and such. They all tasted pretty good. They even had this orange thing that was reminded me of sweet grits. The next section had covered dishes like goat biryani, chicken, and a haleem dish. I usually don't like haleem, but their's was fairly tasty. The two chicken dishes that I had were not dried out, so I was happy. It's also pretty rare to see butter chicken in a buffet, so that's a plus for me too. Their desserts looked like some sort of rice pudding and then fruits in a sweet creamy mango sauce. The drink was included in the price and they have a strawberry melon lemonade that I liked at the fountain. The people there were pretty polite and will explain any dish for you. When I asked the guy for a piece of omelette, he tried to give me the entire pan :D~ Overall, I am a fan and plan to come back again. (Bonus: They have a grocery store next door that sells all sorts of interesting food to buy.)

Went there last night for Iftar buffet with my husband, it was over crowded. No place to sit and finally I got a table, and after few min someone random just sat on our table without even our permission. And we were obligated to share our table with them with 16.99 $ for a buffet it was way overpriced. I would be happy to pay this amount if it is organized properly and if food and service was good. But it wasn't.