Mali's Indian Restaurant

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#2 of 781 Restaurants in DurbanIndian, Asian, RR - RRR

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Mali's Indian Restaurant

Review

At a glance

Open until 10:00 PM

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Website

+27 31 312 8535Improve this listing

About

Authentic Indian Multi Cuisine Restaurant Dedicated chefs from India preparing lip-smacking meals to tickle your taste buds Cozy Indian Sitting

Features

CUISINES

Indian, Asian

Meal types

Lunch, Dinner

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

FEATURES

Accepts Credit Cards

American Express

Free off-street parking

Full Bar

Highchairs Available

Mastercard

Parking Available

Reservations

Seating

Serves Alcohol

Table Service

Takeout

Visa

Wheelchair Accessible

Location

77 Smiso Nkwanyana Road Morningside, Durban 4001 South Africa

Free off-street parking, Parking Available

Is this restaurant good for special occasions?

Yes

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Hours

Suggest an edit

Open until 10:00 PM

Sunday

12:30 - 21:00

Monday

12:30 - 22:00

Tuesday

12:30 - 22:00

Wednesday

12:30 - 22:00

Thursday

12:30 - 22:00

Friday

12:30 - 22:00

Saturday

12:30 - 22:00

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4.6

662 reviews

Excellent

469

Very good

131

Average

Poor

Terrible

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Yes

Tatjana O

Budel89 contributions

Great food!

Sept 2024 • couples

Mali’s Indian Restaurant in Durban offers an extensive menu full of diverse and authentic Indian dishes. On the advice of the host we chose the "choice of cook", which turned out to be an excellent decision. As an appetizer we enjoyed perfectly crispy fried mushrooms with a delicious spice mix and sauce, and a delicious spiced chicken with a subtle hint of mint. For the main course we got two different chicken curries, each rich in flavor and full of depth. Although the location may look simple and does not reflect the refined quality of the cuisine, this is more than compensated for by the exquisite tastes and cordial service. Highly recommended for anyone looking for authentic Indian cuisine in Durban!

Automatically translated

Written 18 September 2024

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BessWright

130 contributions

Truly Yummy Curry!

Dec 2023 • business

We had an end of year Business lunch - everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and loved the food. Trevor was great and described each meal upfront 🙂 I tried 4 of the lamb curries and each one was truly delicious. The amazing thing is that each was completely different - my favourite was the Chef’s Recommendation with the yummy naan.

Written 3 February 2024

Fearless39022255412

1 contribution

A properly authentic Indian experience. Finally found a place to keep going to for my family take aways

Jan 2024 • family

Warm and friendly staff. Take aways were packaged perfectly and the food was outstanding. Even with load shedding in the area, the food I ordered was ready in 30 minutes for my pick up. My entire family has agreed that this is our restaurant of choice in Durban for authentic Indian food. The Mushroom Manchurian is in my opinion, their signature dish and a great choice for vegetarians.

Written 14 January 2024

Travel Geek

8 contributions

TOTAL PASS

Aug 2023 • family

The worst family dinner ever. We booked a table for 7. Restaurant was empty when we arrived. The food took over an hour to be served to us. Once the food arrived the order was wrong. The food didn’t taste right. Really disappointed and our night was spoilt. The butter chicken tasted like water. The prawns were smelling bad. I complained to the manager Trevor, but he was extremely rude and had a don’t care attitude. This restaurant used to be a good place to go to but after new ownership things really have gone downhill. Will never support them again.

Written 6 December 2023

LozzoUk

Lyndhurst54 contributions

Seriously disappointed…

Feb 2024 • couples

This was a return visit to Mali’s after about 4 years. We were excited to go back as it was always great … unfortunately the place has gone seriously downhill. The place has a grubby feel with dirty tablecloths and just a general feel of disrepair. My Castle Lite was served Luke warm and the glass was still hot after being washed. We were the only two in the restaurant and they somehow managed to get my order wrong … lamb instead of chicken. Food was ok but served by a kitchen lady in a kitchen overall and plastic hygiene bag on her head. Will I ever go back …. definitely not sadly.

Written 23 February 2024

7 contributions

Bad service. Bad food. Bad location

Dec 2023 • family

My family and I experienced terrible service. The cutlery still had food particles on the forks. The management of the establishment did not show care and interest in solving the issue. The food did not taste right and when brought to the mamagments attention they showed a don't care attitude. I thought this was fine dining but is more like a tavern. Not sure how this place got good ratings.

Written 7 December 2023

Alana N

Cape Town8 contributions

Highly Overrated!

Dec 2023 • couples

Our search to try some authentic Indian food led us to this place. We were seated promptly, but the food took a long time to arrive. While we were excited to see the vegetarian options they offered, they tasted bland. The food didn't taste fresh, and we were rushed to complete our meal, although there weren't many tables occupied. The veg biryani barely had any veggies, and the Tandoori chicken had too much food colour, while the nan bread felt undercooked and was drenched in butter. The management was inattentive and didn't seem to care. I wouldn't recommend this place.

Written 24 December 2023

NorthStar29020706123

2 contributions

AWESOME FOOD WITH GOOD SERVICE

May 2023 • none

We were a group of seven people ranging in age from 16 to 72 years. Went for Mother's Day lunch. Ordered starters of paper thin Dosai with Potatoe and Dhall curries and 2 chutneys/sauces, Potatoes Samoosas and the Chicken 65. Everything tasted great and chicken was just right, not overcooked or dry. For mains we had a selection of curries, butter chicken, chicken and prawn, chicken chettinad, mutton chettinad and prawn chettinad. There was plenty of mutton, chicken & prawns (I counted 7 plump prawns in my prawn chettinad) in all of the various curries. Basmati rice and veg fried rice & naan was all done to perfection. As a family, we do not eat spicy food, which was mentioned to the waiter and curries were all cooked to perfection, plenty of flavour but non of the extra heat. The food was thoroughly enjoyed by all. My daughter who is a fussy eater enjoyed herself so much that she was punting for us to come again during Purtassi when she celebrates her birthday. Overall, the service was good as well. Will definitely be back.

Written 15 May 2023

hugefanofgreece

Kent6 contributions

Great food, great experience.

Jan 2023 • none

We were staying in North Durban and asked the Hotel for a recommendation for a genuinely good Indian restaurant. Taxi booked and we arrived at an unpreposessing building with a gate leading into a small courtyard and a door into the restaurant which was nearly full ( a good sign). Trevor the Maitre d' was very knowledgeable and was very assured in translating our English curry preferences into Mali's equivalents. The Samosa starter was sublime and the Lamb curry was wonderfully spiced and perfectly balanced with the wine that was suggested. My wife's Prawn curry was equally delicious and the Garlic Naan was light and well seasoned. One of the finest Indian meals I have tasted and we will return.

Written 7 February 2023

Navlek26

Durban41 contributions

Sublime Dining Experience

Mar 2023 • couples

I had the wonderful opportunity to experience authentic indian/asian cuisine at this restaurant. The restaurant itself is well laid out , spacious and comforting. The starters we ordered was the mushroom manchurian and chilly chicken. Both were delicious , and exquisitely prepared and presented . Subsequently, we ordered the tandoori lamb chops with butter naan, dal makhni and rice. Absolutely rocked the taste buds, and one hundred percent satisfaction. The portions were huge, and even got a doggy bag to take back home. Raj, our waiter, was knowledgeable, polite and easy to communicate with. All in all, a favourite restaurant of mine , going forward.

Written 25 March 2023

Maya M

30 contributions

Great food, great service

Nov 2022 • couples

We went for lunch at Masli and the food was great. I asked for no coriander in the meals and everything was served without it - it usually ends up in something in past experiences. The staff were friendly and the place also had parking which made everything a very smooth experience.

Written 6 November 2022

denisep

Johannesburg10 contributions

Garbage !

Jan 2024 • couples

Gave them a try again and regret it ! We went in for lunch and ordered the mushroom munchurian and chicken tikka . Mushroom munchurian was soggy and tasted bad. The chicken tikka was raw and had maggots and when I complained to trevor the manager I got a rude response . Was extremely upset and threatened to put it in the papers . The manager did nothing to fix the issue and told me to go ahead ! This place needs to be closed down by a health inspector! I invite health inspectors to go have a look at this garbage area and shut it down !

Written 16 January 2024

Helliebelly

Durban40 contributions

Little Indian Jewel

Jul 2022 • family

What a fabulous surprise, wanting a new Indian meal experience, I Googled top Indian restaurants in Durban and Mali's came up.......we went really early for supper, like 17h45..... Best food ever. Took my own wine, R60 corkage. The service and food is really authentic and well priced, atmosphere was a bit lacking, but that could be cos we were really early. Please go and have a delish Indian meal....... Well worth it.

Written 19 July 2022

Prakash

Durban32 contributions

Disappointing experience

Aug 2023 • couples

Our veg briyani hadvgreen beans and a few peas. No other veggies. The person who served us think Trevor was not too hospitable. He seemed to be inba haste to clear our table even though my wife had not finished. He told her to put her used paper serviet on the plate so he could take it away..not professional..

Written 14 August 2023

trevor m

KwaZulu-Natal24 contributions

Dosai is back

Jul 2021 • family

These are bad time all over the world. Hats off to those restaurant owners who are striving to keep they astablishments open. My prayer goes out to all those restaurant struggling to survive. To those that have closed due to the pandemic I pray your recovery soon and blessing upon you. Visiting a good Restaurant of mine after a long time and was glad to see them open. Everything still the same. I was told that they famouse Dosai is back and had a go. What a Delicious starter that was and big to. For Mains we had a selection of curries all still tasted the same as before. Hats off to the owners and friendly staff of Malis Indian Restaurant. Keep up the spirit.