Mumtaz is one of Yorkshire’s leading Indian restaurants and is best known for its authentic Kashmiri dishes and mango lassi. The company’s humble beginnings can be traced back to 1979 when it was founded by the late Farzand Begum, starting off as a small cafe selling samosas in Bradford. Later they expanded into a full a la carte restaurant which has more recently led onto a £2.5 million development based in the town.
Mumtaz Leeds was launched 2 years ago on Mother’s Day by Mumtaz Khan and his 2 brothers to mark the memory of their mother whose Kashmiri recipes have become the foundation of their success. Mumtaz is the biggest Indian restaurant in Leeds today and with its modern decor and classical design it is one of the best places to eat out.
Mumtaz Bradford has welcomed many famous diners through their doors including Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (who reportedly said “The food was beautiful and the atmosphere was delightful”), David Cameron (“The best curry I’ve ever had in Britain”) and Frank Bruno (“What a fantastic curry”).
We cannot vouch for all of these comments and we’re not saying which of these diners carry the most weight, but they do have a great reputation.
With the Mumtaz Empire starting from scratch 30 years ago, thanks to the owners’ mother, they are now a city landmark and operate a range of other businesses across the UK. Now that’s mum-power!
I was invited to a wedding held at Mumtaz Leeds over the weekend. I was told by friends/relatives attending the wedding that the restaurant was designed beautifully.
I have to agree in that it was, however, things were let down. Sofa’s around the reception area were not cleaned and cushions not placed properly or missing. Round glass vase on the table cracked. Yoghurt stains on sofa’s and chairs. Dust around shelves and dirty cutlery & plates!
In terms of service, it was terrible! Not enough staff! There were approx 20 ppl per long table & only the front half of the tables were served! Ppl were having to shout for waiters, and often ignored. 2 ladies on my table had to physically get up and go to the kitchen area to ask for their starters to be served as they were forgotten, only the front part of their table was served! Also service was started at one end of the restaurant, leaving the back end ppl waiting a very long time! Waiters did not come back to refill food and drinks or ask if everything was ok.
Staff seemed clueless. One female staff member with a bandage on her nose (who was inappropriately dressed considering there was a Muslim wedding being held!) kept swanning around as though she was on a catwalk flicking her hair and shouting at some of the waiters in front of wedding guests!
To top it all off, the top man Mr Mumtaz himself was wondering around amongst the guests boasting about his restaurant and how much he had spent on it!
All in all, staff are extremely unprofessional, from the main man himself down to the waiters. Service terrible. However, the food was tasty albeit a tad cold, but the service/attitude of staff left a sour taste!
Mumtaz Leeds is not what it makes out to be and it certainly does not know how to organise/serve weddings. So if you are thinking about having a wedding there, think again & research very well because when you spend top money you expect top class service in every aspect! Wedding was spoilt by unnecessary things. Shame on you Mumtaz Leeds!