Arabian Knight Restaurant and lounge — Restaurant in Richmond

We’ve been coming here every week for over a month and I’ve finally made the decision to write a “real” review. The very first day we visited the location it was a completely different staff than they have now with the exception of Maryam/Mariam and Sunny. It was their soft opening and only one other person was in there so they were more accommodating and friendly. However, Maryam asked us to leave a review and hovered over us until we finished. So if you notice the same name(s) throughout the 5-star reviews you should be leery. Case in point, I deleted my previous “forced” review.

Now it’s time for a “real, honest review” The food is good but the drinks are overpriced with cheap liquor and I’ve had to send them back a few times. The first time I ordered water they gave me a Fiji water which cost $4. The next time I visited and ordered a water I asked for a regular bottle of water and she was hesitant. The third time I ordered a regular bottle of water I was told they only had Fiji water, which was a lie because all of the customers with from a Middle Eastern descent had the regular bottled water.

Buyer Beware All our bills have been over $100-$200. When they bring you your bill they read it to you from the handheld device and don’t disclose the gratuity amount. After the first $200+ bill I asked Maryam to print my check so I can review the charges and sure enough I was being overcharged for things we didn’t purchase. One time I ordered a wine and she put it in a champagne glass, which know holds less than a white wine glass. She charged me for 3 when I ordered 2. I should mention every tab always had extra items.

False advertisement There was an ad in the community magazine and it stated they have a happy hour. When we went up there I asked about the happy hour and was told by the waitress they didn’t have a happy hour. Just so happened, I brought the ad with me because I knew something like that would happen. The waitress checked with Sunny and after reading the ad and making a call they came back and said the ad was wrong and that only the regular hookah was on happy hour from 7pm-11pm for $9.99. If that’s the case, why didn’t they just say that when I asked instead of making me show proof. So basically they have a happy hour that they don’t tell you about or want you to know about.

Lastly, they need to do a better job of creating an inclusive environment that values and respects all patrons. I believe they only want people of Middle Eastern descent at this location and they want the Black people to visit the Wilcrest location. If you don’t believe me check the IG pages for both locations and see who which audience they are marketing to by location. When the DJ attempts to play anything that’s not Bollywood, Sunny walks to DJ both to make him play more Bollywood even though it’s been playing all day and majority of your customers are Black or African American. I understand you and your other patrons may not want to hear hip hop but damn who complains about R&B? Tevin Campbell has never made any crowd rowdy. 😭 Richmond is a diverse area with a lot of influential Black people that like to smoke hookah and enjoy a cocktail. However, I believe in going where I’m appreciated and not tolerated.

I gave it a month to see how things would develop and I’ve concluded we will not...

One of the worst dining experiences I think we’ve ever had.

We were one of only two tables there and they were inattentive and forgetful. They seemed more concerned with joking around with their friends on their phones in the corner.

After waiting for 5 minutes to be seated (we were only 1 of 2 couples in the entire building), we attempted to order drinks. The bartender “was not the normal bartender” and couldn’t make basic traditional drinks that weren’t specifically on the menu, even though they have similar drinks and all of the ingredients (they have a cucumber martini on the menu and could not make a REGULAR martini...) so we just got a vodka/soda. They brought vodka and sprite. A little annoyed because we don’t drink ACTUAL soda, we just went with it and went on to order food, which took about 15 minutes for someone to notice we had put out menus down (again, one of two couples in the building..)

My wife ordered the vegetarian sampler and they brought her something completely different and when we questioned it, it was because “the chef doesn’t know how to make tabouleh (an extremely basic, traditional dish…), and we are out of falafel” so they basically substituted whatever they wanted without telling us or asking first. Then after questioning it, some tabouleh magically appeared 15 minutes later. The server said the manager went and made it. The manager can make it but the “chef” on duty can’t??? Then before saying anything else they said “we will take it off the bill and give you dessert on the house”…which while it was a polite gesture, was unnecessary, but we thanked them and moved on. Failing to realize we ordered healthy food they brought out their croissant ice cream sandwich thing…we accepted and thanked them again, and the server looked at my wife and gave her thumbs up and said “so, you good now?” My wife awkwardly said “yes, I was always good…”

Um, excuse me??? Yall are the ones that ruined the entire ordering process, not us…

We ate the dessert and waited another 15-20 minutes for someone to notice us from across the room and asked for the check. To top it off, we went to pay the bill, did not get an itemized receipt, but they charged us WAY too much (100% did not comp the meal, and pretty sure they charged us for the “free dessert”, but by then we just wanted to get out of there…) and the server gave me the receipt to sign and stood DIRECTLY NEXT TO ME literally looking over my shoulder as I filled out the tip and total section.

Our bill was WELL over $100 for 1 appetizer, 1 entree, 2 beers and 1 vodka/“soda”.

Absolutely atrocious experience. Will never consider ever...

I dined with friends at Arabian Knight Hookah & Bar on Grand Parkway in Richmond, TX on September 4, and while there were some positives, the overall experience left much to be desired. Let’s start with the good: the food was flavorful, and the portion sizes were fair. However, several issues marred our visit. Although our waiter was friendly, she lacked knowledge about the menu and often had to return to check answers. Communication was also a challenge. To make matters worse, we ordered mango Mojito without alcohol, but it arrived with alcohol despite our clear request. The wait time for our food was excessively long, with the excuse being that the restaurant was busy—yet over half the tables were empty. There was no apology for the delay, and one of my friends never received his meal. We were told the printer was broken, causing the kitchen to miss the order. When the bill arrived, we noticed charges for the mango Mojito and the missing meal. After requesting these charges be removed, it took an unreasonably long time to correct the bill. Throughout, there were no genuine apologies or adjustments to compensate for the poor service, missing meal, or long wait. Additionally, a $6 fee was added for using a credit card, which seemed unwarranted. In summary, while the food was good, the service issues were significant enough that I won’t be returning, despite the convenience of its location. I’ll be sure to share my experience with family and friends. To the owner: I recommend re-evaluating how you handle customer service issues and training your staff to improve their knowledge and efficiency. Servers must understand your customer base. If you're selling halal food, you're going to get Muslim diners. You simply can't give them alcohol and think it's ok. It's unacceptable. The restaurant easily forgets what you ordered, whether it's food or drinks. But they don't forget to add all their unnecessary fees. Who charges extra for paying with a credit card. I give your place an F. The influencers can only promote your business enough to convince some people to try your place once. But it's entirely up to you to convince them to keep returning. You failed miserably at that. We grant...