Nay Restaurant & Coffee - مطعم ناي — Restaurant in Richardson

Heard great things about this place, so I came to check it out! We were warmly welcomed upon arrival. The patio is still being worked on, but there's private parking and a nice ambiance overall. Ali, our waiter, greeted us and gave excellent recommendations — everything he suggested was spot on! We started with the Eggplant Salad – served cold, even though the eggplants are fried with bell peppers and onions. It had a sweet and sour balance and was absolutely delicious with the thick Iraqi pita bread. The bread was soft and hearty — not sure if it was baked in-house, but it was very good. We also ordered a half order of the Iraqi Mix Grill, which came with two skewers of kabab (a lamb and beef mix, I believe) and one skewer of chicken. The chicken had a lovely lemon zest — super tasty! Next up was the "Nawasheef" Nay Special, which came with fried eggplant, fries, fried kuba (with a kabab-like texture), tomatoes, and pickles. The kuba was incredibly good! They brought out Iraqi samoon (a torta-style bread), and we made our own stuffed sandwich with the eggplant, fries, pickles, and tomatoes — one huge, juicy, satisfying bite! So delicious. Finally, we tried the star of the show — the Masgouf. This is the king of all dishes: a golden fried fish, perfectly seasoned and cooked to melt-in-your-mouth perfection. Traditionally, it's baked in front of a wood fire, but even fried, it was phenomenal. It was served with flavorful red rice and a side of Amba sauce — a house-made pickled curry sauce that complemented the fish perfectly. A few notes: • Service was a bit slow • Dessert needs improvement

Despite the small hiccups, I’m definitely coming back! There’s so much more to try —...

Our experience at this restaurant was incredibly disappointing. While the food may have potential, the service — especially from the owner — completely ruined it.

There were only two servers for the entire restaurant, which made the wait much longer than expected, but we were patient. What made things worse was how the owner seemed to only care about a large party at one table. He gave them all his attention and ignored the rest of the diners. Once he was done with them, instead of checking on any other tables (including ours, who had been waiting a while), he just disappeared behind the cashier counter like we didn’t exist.

When we asked for our hummus, he brought it to us on a tiny plate, rushed and sloppy — unlike the server who had brought it earlier on a proper round plate with a beautiful presentation. Even more frustrating, it seemed like he didn’t even want to give us the rest of our order once it was ready. If he’s going to come out to bring food, why not bring it out the right way? Why the attitude?

This isn’t just about slow service — it’s about a complete lack of respect and professionalism. A restaurant owner should care about every table, not just the one spending the most. He should be embarrassed by the way he runs this place.

We won’t be coming back, and I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone looking for fair or...

I went to this place at 12 pm but the guy at the counter told me none of the items were available except breakfast. Breakfast items are not written on the menu in a form for non arabic customer to understand. I wanted info from the server. He kept standing inside when I am the only customer and never coming out to take my order or give me water. When i asked abt the breakfast he explained but still only 2 items were available. Its lunch time and none of the menu is available! I finally ordered a dish with eggs. It was served after over 30 mins and the bread was as hard as rock. I had also asked for fully cooked eggs but it was runny. I was so hungry and i had to keep going from outside to inside the restaurant to find the server for any questions. Bad service and such sloppy excuses of a meal. I am attaching a video of the bread that was served, it was like a rock. And when i asked the guy why he was not coming out to check on me, he said some back answer! And he said keep ur excuses for the manager. I said im not paying for this hard rock bread and he was ok with that. I have never been this embarassed and irritated in a restaurant all my life. Im not sure who gave them license when the cook takes a 30 min break, server doesnt like to serve and nothing in the menu...