Swagath Grand Moonee Ponds — Restaurant in Melbourne

Ordered food delivery from Swagath just now. Had Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani, fish dum biryani, and samosa. Both biryani was flavourful! The chicken one was a bit more tasty actually.. the fish was yum, but for the biryani somehow I like the chicken one better - just more tasty and more flavour 😋 The chicken and fish was underneath the rice if you’re wondering. Samosa was alright, it’s quite big. Good portion, well packaged, and came to me still pretty hot - which I like ☺️ Biryanis was quite spicy though. And I could handle some spiciness. So if you like spicy, you’ll love it! But if you don’t, you’ve been warned 🤪 I remembered tasted food from this place first time when my colleague ordered it and gave me a try - boy, that one was HOT - the colour already pretty much telling.. it was bright red 🥵 the more I ate that one, the more spiciness came through whew (I guess that one probably the 65 one looking by the appearance). So I thought the one I ordered wouldn’t be hot - or at least mild. Uh uh.. it’s still quite hot too, lol. Although, I ordered two biryanis that said would come with yoghurt based raitha for each, but I only got one raitha instead of two 😳🥺

EDIT: Had another order of the chicken dum biryani tonight. I got takeaway - ready very quick - less than 5 minutes, lovely! 🥰 Probably alao because I’m the only customer at the restaurant at that time hahah.. The person behind the counter also very nice and friendly 😊 The chicken dum biryani I had today coloured differently than what I got before - more bright coloured this time, still tastes great nevertheless - and also slightly less spicy - as I’d prefer it. I did find several whole and sliced chili peppers on my previous biryani order, but none on today’s one - maybe that’s why 😬 The sauce (the one that tastes more nutty) also tastes different.. previous order seems more tasty for the sauce, but the main dish is still very yummy. Very satisfying biryanis, definitely will be my go to whenever I craved for some delicious goodness as it’s near my work. Will try some other food too...

Our recent visit to this restaurant was, unfortunately, a very disappointing experience from start to finish.

First, customer service was extremely poor. There was only one staff member handling everything—from the counter to serving tables, and even dealing with Uber Eats delivery drivers. As a result, the service was slow and disorganized.

We asked if tea could be arranged for our group of five, even though it wasn’t listed on the menu. Instead of a courteous response, the staff rudely dismissed the request, which was unnecessary and unprofessional.

We then ordered biryani, but were surprised to find it served without the curry sauce, only raita on the side. When we inquired, we were told they had run out of curry sauce, with no apology, discount, or complimentary item offered to make up for it. This felt dismissive and unfair.

Later, when we asked for Coke, the server asked if we wanted Classic or Diet. We chose classic. But then immediately corrected herself, saying Classic wasn’t available and only Diet or Coke Zero were. At that point, frustrated by the inconsistency, we simply cancelled the drink order.

To top it all off, the toilet facilities were in a terrible state—no toilet paper, no soap, and no towels to dry hands. This raised serious concerns about hygiene and basic standards.

Overall, the lack of adequate staffing, poor service, incomplete orders, and unhygienic facilities made this visit unpleasant. I wouldn’t recommend this place, and I hope the management takes these issues seriously for...

I ordered Chicken 65 Biryani, Chicken Lollipop, and Garlic Naan. Unfortunately, the experience was disappointing. The “biryani” was just plain rice with a few tasteless chicken pieces dumped at the bottom—definitely not what I expected. The rice itself had no flavor. The Chicken Lollipop was okay, but instead of Garlic Naan, I was given 2 plain naans without any explanation.

When I called the restaurant immediately, the staff told me they were about to close when I ordered, so they substituted plain naan without asking me. What made it worse was that he said this without even a single apology, as if it was my fault for ordering before closing time. If the kitchen could not fulfill the order properly, the restaurant should have declined the order instead of sending incomplete and poor-quality food.

I even called beforehand to confirm whether one biryani was enough for two people, and was assured it was—but the portion I received was definitely not sufficient for two adults. Overall, this whole experience was very disappointing. If the staff had at least apologized, I would have been understanding and let the Garlic Naan issue go since it was...