Pista House — Restaurant in Muscat

Pista House is new to Oman, placed in one of the busiest areas, Al Khuwair… Visited with my friend and tried Chicken Dum Biriyani, Chicken65 & Special Pista House Desert, all the dishes lived upto the standards and enjoyed the meal at Lunch time…

Pista House at Al Khuwair is very spacious and spread in Three Floors - Ground Floor meant for Bakery and Tea with a good selection of pastries amongst others, FF meant for Broasted Chicken & Snacks, SF for Fine Dining, we chose the Second Floor, seating arrangements were spacious and very well laid out, the ambience was good, cozy and luxurious, and well maintained.

Everything went well until I asked for the Menu towards the end of the meal & was searching for Tea options, as I saw Golden Tea & Zafrani Tea mentioned twice with different prices on different pages (ref. to the pictures of the menu, I called the representative to know the difference and why they were being charged differently, to my shock the person was clueless about their own restaurant offerings and said the items are unavailable, I asked to call the Superior and he was also clueless and kept giving me vague reasons stating they are both different items and hence the difference in price and didn’t what’s the differentiating factor, I asked to call the Manager, who was unavailable on the day and was not reachable over phone call as well… very strange !

While the discussions were progressing on the table we were seated with enough employees watching, another employee of the Restaurant stepped in who was wearing a uniform blue shirt unlike the superior wearing a suit, who claims to be a seasoned Employee from Hyderabad with years of Experience, enquired on the situation at hand and He as well escaping the situation with vague reasoning… they were scared while I asked the names… Well If it was a printing mistake they should accept it and rectify the mistake and not hide !

The Restaurant Management should look into the employees and train them on how to manage situations and not make the situations worse !

It would have been much better if the employees involved accepted the mistake in the first instance, rather than dragging till the end and finally accepting to take necessary actions… Customers pay a premium price at the Restaurant for an overall good dining experience and not for such...

I normally don't revisit my reviews but this one is special..

Pista House is from my hometown and I take pride in it, but this time this feedback is to help retain goodwill..

Food is tasty as usual had tried below recently again.

Zafrani Biryaani - was too light (flavour) as it was mostly rice. This must have been tapered to meet local market needs. But I think people can handle little more spice.

Phattar ka Gosht - it was very tasty but honestly there was some wired taste in meat here and there..

Fine Dining experience with Paper cups.? That too it was given when asked.. While 4 people are having dinner only two cups were provided upon asking..? - completely disappointing.

Qubani ka Meetha - I have had an extremely amazing version of this desert during the soft launch but recently it was way compromised and not the same.. - there is potential but need to be consistent..

Chicken-65 although very tasty but felt little less on flavours and spice but overall good.

Apricot Delight is still a charmer and kids loved it a lot..

Earlier than this recent visit had broasted chicken and it felt blunt (tasteless) though the dip was very tasty.. It was perfectly cooked and overall very appealing but lacked flavours and right spices (don't mean chilli)

There are few concerns about the noise others has raised and some chaotic rumble towards the billing / kitchen area.. - can be improved

Finally let's address the most pressing point.. - Price vs Overall value is way imbalanced this has to be revised.. We don't want it to be a one timer.. But a goto place.. Only possible if prices are reconsiderd..

x2 Osmania biscuit for 300bz.? Seriously Briyani, deserts mostly overpriced..

Service staff is good, people are mostly cordial and attentive but there is room for improvement..

I have had food and many deliciously prepared dishes during the soft launch thanks to the owners and organizers. But I need to be fair as I care about this place and these things have to be addressed in time before it's too late..

Expect these efforts to write the feedback and genuine interest to make it a better place will...

This review is post our 3rd visit . 1st visit - limited menu was offered since it was new place so not fair to review . 2nd visit - waiter offers the same limited menu as lies to us that this menu is only for today .. special menu . Hence we walked out 3rd visit - National day weekend - full menu was available . Ordered galouti kabab, mutton korma , chicken Chinese gravy , garlic naan . Starter came after 20-25 minutes and then main course took another 20odd minutes . Chinese gravy came in and they forgot the mutton korma. The section captain ( elderly man wearing spectacles ) was deliberately ignoring us to the extent that a captain from another section came in to attend us . Felt ignored to the core . Had to ask for salad which was served in some time . Asked the server for tomatoes and was told flatly on my face that they don’t serve tomatoes for salad. Told him to charge money n serve but still was not served . Asked for some more salad whilst waiting for food to which the server made funny faces .

Pista house has a very limited Indian menu as against its hype . They cannot manage the business as it is overwhelming. Very disappointed.

Bakery section- we wanted half kg Black Forest cake but the server insisted to buy 1kg cake . Our conversation was overheard by another staff who intervened and told me that whilst I had my dinner he would get the half kg ready. Cake had hardly any fruits in it as a Black Forest should have but was really...