Mirage — Restaurant in Al Maathar Municipality

We had high hopes because the place looks cool in the advertisements. It has interesting decor in the public commons, but somehow a bit spooky feeling. They have mostly enclosed booth seating which should be nice but, as it is enclosed where you cannot see the main area where the decor is, the majority of the experience on the decoration side is boring within the dining cubicles only with views to the parking lot and freeway. The menu has a large variety and mixture of cuisines. However, we believe they should limit their offer to one cuisine and concentrate on doing those dishes exceptionally well instead of offering a large variety of mediocre dishes. We had crab, beef, tofu and hibachi prawn. The crab, beef and tofu were average - good but not memorable. The prawns were served on a hibachi which was stone cold and therefore the prawns were cold. We alerted the waiter who took it away for a while only to return with the same stone cold hibachi and prawns. They were also missing many several signature dishes which is super annoying because putting together a Chinese meal with the right combinations takes time. Lastly, seems small, but my wife was very disturbed by the red light in the ladies lounge which to her looked like the Hong Kong movies where they show cheap bordellos. All in all, we’re glad...

As a former regular customer, the experience was incredibly disappointing.

Unfortunately, the quality of the food does not match the exaggerated prices. The food was rather bland; very mild tasting to being almost unseasoned at all.

Compared to most other asian restaurants in the city, especially other fine dining options, the prices are almost 400% more than the average.

The complimentary pickled vegetables are no longer available. And the choice in accoutrements are extremely limited compared to earlier years.

The staff are incredibly friendly and the ambience and decoré is possibly the only salvation to the experience, with the exception of the obnoxiously loud 'robot server'. The men's room is in somewhat of a disarray - while clean, some of the amenities are out of order.

Hopefully management will revise the menu and prices before this classic landmark is run into the ground.

Sadly, this restaurant won't...

Dining experience is very enjoyable with friends or family. There are private sections for people who like some privacy or enjoy a meal without much noise. The menu booklet is HUGE and has too many varieties, it may be overwhelming for newcomers who don't know about chinese food. If you get confused you should ask for the waiters recommendation. The customer service is superb. The waiters are very polite and they greet you with smiles. They know the food and what to recommend. The food is excellent and probably one of the best chinese in Riyadh. The restaurant decor and mood is very pleasant. There's no music, which I personally prefer. It's a quiet place to enjoy conversations. The prices are a little bit expensive, but remember you're paying for the overall experience not just the food, so it's definitely worth it. You get what you pay for.

Overall I would come here again and would recommend...