Riwayat Restaurant — Restaurant in Belmont

04.27.25 - What a Treat! - I have been living in Perth now for 6+ months and have tried a number of different Asian influence cuisines and Riwayat has got to be one of the best experiences I've had. I am thoroughly impressed with not only the menu, but the time and care the chef puts into the preparation and the presentation. Mr Mubeen Shahzad, certainly the maître d and from what I can discern is also the owner, gave explanation of each dish, what it pairs well with, and even the order in which to have the dishes served as to compliment the flavours and the discerning palate.

I feel this may be the most authentic Pakistani cuisine I have ever had, in all my travels. There is pronounced difference between Indian cuisine and that of Pakistan; Riwayat captures those differences splendidly and also holds true to the familiarity to the region for those unfamiliar or do not have the experience in the differences. Being that Pakistan is to the WEST of India, the typical flavours from the south of the subcontinent and those from Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh are nearly absent, which is a remarkably interesting and inviting surprise for first-time patrons.

I had the Butt Mutton Karahi, level 6~7 spice, and it did not disappoint! The texture was perfect, the aroma divine and the taste was brilliantly captured and accentuated with Hamai fresh chili peppers. The Samosas were also excellent, deep fried to perfection and served at exactly the right temperature. The dark and sweet sauce served with them, I should have asked what it was... but I nearly licked the dish clean it was so tasty! The milk tea and roghni naan were the perfect palate cleansers between bites, allowing time to savour the mutton. Absolutely delicious!

I highly recommend Riwayat for anyone looking for an adventure in tastes, a peaceful ambiance, and exceptional service from staff. I hope to dine here again, for both the breakfast and lunch menu are traditional Pakistani and different than the dinner menu offerings. This was such a treat, truly. 10/10 recommend! Thank you...

I want to express my profound disappointment and disillusionment with the appalling customer service we received during our visit to your establishment yesterday evening. Despite my prior enthusiasm for your restaurant, which I had enthusiastically recommended to my friends due to its exceptional ambiance and cuisine, our experience was marred by a series of unfortunate incidents.

Upon arrival, we were instructed to vacate our table outside, as it was allegedly reserved for male patrons gathering for prayer. When I politely suggested that a sign be placed to inform female customers of this designation, my proposal was met with indifference. Subsequently, we were forced to relocate to another table, only to be displaced by another customer who claimed that the table had been reserved for them.

Upon investigating this discrepancy, we discovered that our booking had not been recorded. Fortunately, we were able to secure a table by paying and re-reserving. However, when I requested to sit at one of the empty tables outside, I was peremptorily dismissed by the staff member, who brusquely instructed us to sit at table 14.

The lack of attention to detail and consideration for customers' needs was further exemplified by the absence of water glasses at our table. When we requested water, the staff member brought only a bottle, sans glasses. Upon our subsequent request for glasses, we were provided with only four glasses for a table of five patrons.

Regrettably, our experience at Riwayat Restaurants was an unmitigated disaster. The sole redeeming aspect of our visit was the quality of the food, which, ironically, surpassed the standard of customer service. I have awarded a single star in recognition of the culinary excellence, but I must emphasize that our experience was irreparably marred by the egregious lack of respect and consideration displayed...

So the owner responded to my review stating that they "ran out earlier than expected, and that it was simply due to high demand. and that they do not compromise on food quality or freshness, and as a policy, we do not overstock food to preserve it for the next day." The owner even responded by stating that if "something was lacking in your experience, we would have appreciated if you had raised it directly with our management team on-site." and that food running out was not "poor planning — that’s quality control."

To that I would say, that if the owner had put more effort in preparing for the buffet than writing out such a long response to my review, I would not have been disappointed. The issue was not the waiting to get seated, I would have been okay waiting if the food did not run out by the time I got seated. I was not okay with paying the full price for the buffet, when the food that you boasted about being quality control was cold, the nihari was literally cold. About talking with the staff, I did ask the restaurant staff if they would refill the food and they said "No, we have run out". What else do you expect me to do. On top of that running out of food earlier than expected and saying that it was a quality control issue is not a good practice. An advice for future, please next time when you print out flyers stating that the buffet is from 9-3, make sure to print in bold letter, until quantity lasts or something because we both know it, the buffet was over by 12pm. However, the a la carte menu had started and I know the chefs were still cooking. I will take your advice and make sure to not visit again but do not talk about that me posting is malicious because I want people to know that even though your a la carte service is good, the buffet service is...