Royal House Restaurant — Restaurant in Muscat

Flies, Falafel Fantasies, and a Masala Mystery Tour: My Omani Odyssey Gone Awry

Okay, listen up, adventurers seeking authentic Omani cuisine. If you stumble upon this place while strolling the corniche, run, don't walk. Unless, of course, you're looking for a Bollywood-themed dinner party with uninvited insect guests.

Let's start with the ambiance. Picture this: outdoor seating where flies are doing the Macarena on your plate before you even sit down. Inside? Imagine a dimly lit dungeon where the air is thicker than hummus gone wrong. We opted for the fresh-air flies (because, who needs good lighting, anyway?).

The food? A symphony of culinary confusion. The garlic squid? More like rubber rings soaked in garlic perfume. The falafel? A tragic ode to chickpeas, disguised as a failed Indian samosa filling. And the royal house chicken mandi? Hold your horses, it wasn't actually mandi. It was more like a Bollywood masala chicken dance party with a surprise guest appearance from cumin.

The only "authentic" thing about this place was the secret fly-repelling technique: lemons with cloves shoved between every plant like a desperate prayer to the insect gods. Spoiler alert: it didn't work. My arm got more exercise swatting flies than my jaw did chewing.

So, here's the deal: if you want to spend your hard-earned rials on a culinary mystery tour with a side of fly ballet, this is your spot. But if you're after genuine Omani flavors without the Bollywood soundtrack and insect disco, keep walking. There are plenty of other joints on the corniche, maybe a tad pricier, but with food that won't make you question the existence of culinary deities.

Bonus tip: Bring your own fly swatter. They don't charge extra for the entertainment, but you might need the workout.

P.S. To the lovely Bangladeshi staff, no offense. Your food is probably delicious at home, just... maybe not...

I regret ever entering. While the decor is interesting, the food is terrible and expensive and the place is full of insects and uncomfortable seating. In the outer part it smells of sewage, upstairs the tables are so low you can’t eat and full of mosquitoes, downstairs the tables are crowded and no space to comfortably move around and dead quiet that you can hear everything anyone else says. My kids got bitten by mosquitoes and I believe other insects too

The kids wanted smoothies, the mango one didn’t even look like a smoothie it was translucent and tasteless.

Mixed salad is another hot mess - I fresh veggies and not enough dressing.

Shuwa meat tasted unfresh, however it was better than the biryani that had barely any taste at all.

The only edible dish was the spaghetti bolognaise and that too was the most expensive plate of spaghetti I purchased till date.

Sorry but a big no from my side and...

A lot of things are wrong here. I ordered their fruit plate with chocolate ice cream. They bring it to me, I don't see the ice cream. I ask them. They say it's under the fruit. I eat, I eat, no ice cream. I call them again, I tell them. They point. They're surprised there's no ice cream... I feel like they don't believe me. I've ordered Moroccan tea twice, but never once got it. But they gave me water in a bottle . I originally ordered that but after about 5seconds they cancelled it....A made sure to cancel! We were in a group of friends and a high ranking Arab was with us. It was obvious that he didn't like something every now and then.... The business is much worse than it looks. I do not recommend it! There is a great place a few meters away called Bella Vista Cafe. Everything there was great, the service was the exact opposite! You could see how hard they try to...