by Jonathan Greengrass

Created on: July 23, 2011

Infamous around Cambridge University students, The Mahal offers reasonably priced food but falls down on its atmosphere. It would be perfectly possible to write two separate reviews for this restaurant, one from the point of view of a student and one from the point of view of a member of the public, such is the disparity of the experience. As a student, The Mahal offers a cheap meal and a an accepting team of waiters and managers. The site for many a 'swap' (social dinner between drinking societies of opposite sexes), the curry stains on the ceiling attest to many a raucous night for the student denizens of Cambridge. The restaurant caters very well to the students, offering group discounts and a free glass of wine or beer, as well as letting students bring their own bottle of wine. Whilst the food is average to poor, this is compensated for by the price and the copious quantities of alcohol consumed by its student customers.

As a member of the public, the experience is far less pleasing. Customers have to put up with the manic laughter and antics of the students who frequently make The Mahal their home on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights. The toilets are often left in a rather unsavoury state after the inevitable mess created by students who have consumed a lot of alcohol. Although the staff generally house the students in a separate section, the noise is still unacceptable to normal guests, especially in the infamous 'freshers week'. The quality of the food, as mentioned earlier is not the best. The naan bread is often quite soggy and curries have been known to be delivered cold. The quality of service is reasonable, the waiters are generally personable but there is nothing particularly stellar to report over.

One advantage for the restaurant is its good location in town. Located near to the city centre and the river, the restaurant is certainly well endowed with lots to see and do before and after your meal. For example, only 5 minutes down Kings Parade is Kings College, and slightly further down are Trinity and St. John's colleges, all popular tourist destinations.

Overall, the experience you can garner from The Mahal depends on from which walk of life you come from. If you are a student, The Mahal is fantasticly good value for money and provides a sometimes raucous atmosphere that pleases very many. On the other hand, as a general member of the public, the price and location does not make up for the loud atmosphere and the somewhat lacking food quality. Overall the restaurant gets two stars out of five.

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