Royal Halal — Restaurant in Sydney

I wrote a review last might but somehow it vanished. Trying one more time. I noticed that lots of good reviews for this place but unfortunately it wasnt the case for me. We visited this place night after a long day spent at cape Breton Island. I am from Toronto area and visiting the place first time. location wise, restaurant was easily accessible and ample parking available. Ambiance was just ok, neither too flashy or cosy. Their menu was very versatile but we ordered pure Pakistani dishes.. chk Biryani, chicken Kerhai, Kabab platter and fresh naan. Absolutely no where near to the authentic taste. I can go on and on with telling what was wrong with food but just to cut it short it was a disaster. I asked the girl that who owns this place, she told me its owned by a Pakistani, I said to her that this food is not cooked by a Pakistani chef and she confirmed that chefs are not - they were just following the recipe given to them. No offense to those chefs, if you dont have any experience or have no idea how biryani, kerhai tastes like than obviously it would taste and look like this (see pictures). Even the naans look different from the pictures people posted earlier. I am not saying that Pakistani chef are great, what i am trying to imply is that authencity come to food when chef knows what he is cooking. Similarly don't expect to have an authentic chinese or ribs or beef steaks to be cooked true to taste by a regular Pakistani chef.

Last but not least, we found a hair on the naan. Unacceptable. Ruined our whole dinner. I wouldn't have given a bad review because of food not being true to taste but this hair thing only pushed me to write this review. Again no customer service by a desi restaurant. They just took back the naan and didnt charge for it.

I must mention about the girl who serving, she was very friendly and accommodating and was soing great job even though she was only one on the floor and behind counter.

Watch out for hairs when you visit the...

Bad Customer Service

We were three people and it was our first time visit. We ordered Paneer Tikka Masala and Naan, food was arrived almost after half hour. We understand that some of the items takes time to cook, but not a half hour, and to note they were not too busy. Food got served before the plates and we were waiting to have plates. "Bowl" arrived in some times, we didn't get that, how one can eat in only bowl so, we asked for real plate (flat), server wasn't happy for being asked to replace the bowl. We started eating and as we just had the experience of slow service, we ordered our next food in advance (Daal Tadka and Zeera Rice). First, server didn't take the order in written, took only verbally. After some time he came back to confirm our order, we confirmed two times. After some times, an individual came with the left items from the first order (not sure was Manager or owner) and confirmed our second order again and told us order would take 15 to 20 mins. When we asked why it's taking too long even we have ordered in well advance, he brought up about the first order and asked us rudely "Do you know how long it takes to prepare "Panner Tikka?". I myself have experience working in restaurant and I cook very often, but I didn't wanted to spoil our night so, I didn't get involve in much conversation with him. He was playing a story of fresh food and preparation. We continue eating our first order, after few minutes same individual came back and told us that you only ordered rice (I think, we confirmed that order 3 times) and if you would like to have it I can bring it now. We said, we ordered both as we wanted to eat together (Daal Tadka and Zeera Rice), we got in arguments. Finally, food were served, but it was terrible experience and disrespectful. I don't understand, why he was arguing with customer (even we have confirmed our order many times). We feel like they don't know customer...

This place is a hidden gem! The dishes we had here for lunch were among the finest versions of each that I've ever had. We ordered the Amritsari Kulcha, Dal Makhani, and the Lamb Karahi, along with garlic naan. The seasoning was specific to each dish (not a one-masala-fits-all approach here) and exquisite. The Amritsari Kulcha is a spiced chickpea masala served with a thin, buttery, and tandoor-blistered layered bread that would make a Neopolitan pizzaiolo proud - all eaten with a dark, rich pickle and slivered red onions... Wow. You don't have to fly to the Punjab - the flavor is as vivid and mouth-watering in Sydney! And the Dal Makhani - a dish that is so often a write-off in restaurants - is elevated to its highest form at Royal Halal. It has a smoky flavor that comes from being cooked in the traditional way - low and slow over a wood-burning tandoor oven. It is simple, rich, and perfectly seasoned - true comfort food. We ordered our dishes spicy, and they did not pull any punches. Food this good - of any kind - is very rare. I can't recommend this place...