Riad Moroccan Grill

I havnt been to a better place, the staff was amazing and the DJ did a great job and the hookas were amazing. It has become my place to be. Compared to most places and hookah bars, this one stands out. The best part was the server Parker. I can honestly say he’s the best server I have had, we had to leave him a great tip, much deserved. Amazing place for and amazing price.

I ate here about a month ago with a large party we opted to eat upstairs with the hookah. The service was dreadful. I got a manager who was also dreadful. She was incredibly rude. You couldn’t pay me to come back

I stopped in here with a couple others for lunch. I found out they do a lunch buffet which was an awesome idea. They had a great selection on the buffet including hummus, tabbouleh, baba ganoush, and tons more. Plus the price was completely reasonable for the quality and quantity! I will definitely be returning!

The positives — I like that they have a lunch buffet to allow you to sample different dishes. The chicken salad is great — strange since it’s not Moroccan. The corn salad was good and I really like the shrimp in tomato, the roasted veggies, and the gyro meat. The chicken with olives and lemon seemed a bit dry to me and not similar to the food I had in Morocco years ago. They had two soups — they were okay but the flavors were not impressive. I thought the food was okay overall but nothing really stood out. It was a nice sampling.

We were very disappointed with our one and only (and last) visit to this restaurant. Food and service — quite average. Have to agree with other reviewers that it had a weird vibe. At about 6 pm the place was empty, we were the only table of patrons that I could see. Felt like maybe they were more into the drinking /​partying scene versus dining experience. Don’t know what late nights or weekends are like, but for the price and quality of food fir dinner — not horrible, just blah — we won’t be back. Disappointing.

I stopped about 7 pm on a Tuesday evening, the décor is very grand, and the dining room very large. There were two other couples, service was prompt. So prompt before I finished reviewing the menu the server came over and started flipping the menu back and forth reading the items to me in an effort to help me choose. I settled on the kabob with vegetables and saffron rice. The chicken was average, the flavor of the rice was fine, but both items were served barely warmed. I work in a restaurant and the temperature was definitely below standard. The vegetables served with it were sautéed mushrooms, squash, green peppers and onions. They were served hot and tasty, but the seasoning was not noteworthy. The food was brought to the table very quickly, so quick I know the chicken was not prepared fresh. Overall I was rather disappointed, I am fond of Mediterranean food this was not what I was hoping to experience.

Rating this restaurant is tough. First I don’t know what real Moroccan food should taste like so it’s tough to say whether this is authentic or not. The dinner was good, but not excellent. The service was one of the worst I’ve ever experienced in a Richmond restaurant.
We were a group of 35. They knew we were going to be there. It appeared like there was one person in the kitchen, and maybe two waitresses for the entire restaurant, and one person who appeared to be the bartender, hostess and cashier.
Some of the people in the group were almost ready to leave after dinner before others had ever gotten their meals… and I’m talking about 90 minutes. There didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason for the way the food came out. Our waitress was less than friendly… never a smile, never a thank you. I waited an hour to get my check.
As far as the food, it was good. I enjoyed it. I started off with the Harira soup which is made with chickpeas, rice, tomatoes, herbs and variety of spices. It was excellent. It was thick and filling. Then for the main course I had the Bassla and Zbib Tagine (don’t ask me to pronounce it — I can hardly type it).That was a chicken leg/​thigh quarter in a sauce topped with sweet caramelized onions and raisins. It was an unusual taste and very good.
The belly dancer was added entertainment, though I gotta say, seeing a belly dancer who’s body is full of tattoos was not quite appealing, especially the two tattoos of revolvers on her hips with the guns pointed down. I just didn’t think it was very tasteful.
In another review I saw someone say it seemed apparent that the owners didn’t seem to know much about the restaurant business, but I noticed that the credit card receipt had Plaza Azteca and Riad Moroccan Grill printed on it, so if Plaza Azteca is a franchise I’m guessing this Moroccan restaurant is owned by the same folks. :-)
Will I return? Good question. I’m not sure. The bad service was such a turn-​off that I think I might not want to return again.

Riad Moroccan Grill has a weird vibe. I get the feeling the owners/​managers haven’t worked much in the restaurant business. The décor was sparse and dinner on a Saturday night felt more like eating in big empty dance hall. There were plenty of other customers, it’s just very large and not cozy. Live acoustic guitar on the evening we were there was a nice touch, but the volume was such that it was difficult to have a conversation at the table.
I ordered the Bassla and Zbib Tagine, which I’m not positive was actually cooked in the tagine pot it was served in. The chicken was dry, but the essence of tagine cooking is that the meat is tender and moist. Kind of disappointing. My dining partner ordered the chicken kotban. The flavor was quite Americanized and tasted more like chicken we’d grill at home.
Maybe Riad is better suited for late-​night hookah smoking?

I’m glad I decided to try Riad! Really good food with earthy flavors and nice presentation. The best hummus I’ve ever had, although the pita could be better. The hummus was very fresh tasting and the olive oil drizzle was a nice touch. I also had the vegetarian cous cous, which was delicious and perfectly cooked. The mint tea was also good. I would definitely recommend trying this place!

I would second the review by Patti S.S. Four of us ate at the buffet and were amazed that they could make such dull, bland food, since Morocco is the land of spices. The best thing on the buffet was good old American style chicken salad. And they had french fries, too. I was amazed to find that in a Moroccan restaurant, but thankful since the rest of the food was simply drek.

We went there because the outside of the restaurant also says bakery. They did not have much of choices for their bakery. The owner said that they just open and not ready for the bakery. However, the owner is very nice and she gave us samples of four different of sweet snacks and a bread. The bread was heaven. I love it. I will just go to the restaurant to buy the bread (with annise seeds in it) — it is a small round bread with about 3 inches in diameter. I suggest to call the restaurant first if you want to buy the bread to make sure you buy fresh bread. The wife is from Morroco and she made the bread and the sweets. I also recommend the cookie (with dates inside). They are good.

Great food and service! The mint tea was tasty and the pour of my wine was large :). I got the lamb kabob with veggies and rice. Our waitress was informative and friendly. Can’t wait to go back on a Friday for music.

Had a great meal and hookah. We sat in the upstairs balcony. The food was authentic with great flavor and pristine presentation. Shared the Zaalouk (smashed eggplant); followed by the Djaj Tagine (Chicken) and the Couscous Bidawi (Lamb). Finished with Baklava and phenomenal Hot Mint Tea. After the meal came the Hookah and more Mint Tea. The hookah is nothing like we have had before; True Egyptian hookahs topped with a grapefruit for the tobacco bowl; the flavors came through smoothly and with great delivery also due in part by the charcoal being used.
They were a bit busy and seemed under staffed for the crowd present that night; nonetheless, the food and hookah were exceptional.

Eh. The place has really slow service and the food is really bland. Quantity was also on the light side. The staff was nice and the place looks good. But unfortunately, the food won’t keep me coming back.

(Heavy sigh!). After watching and waiting months and months for Riad to open… such disappointment. The setting is lovely. Our waiter was cheery, pleasant, and efficient. The food… MEH! After seeing the «Now open» sign, we stopped in around 5 pm on a Saturday. We ordered three appetizers: hummus, eggplant, and bastilla. We also ordered one main, lamb kabob, for the two of us to share. For us, the pita bread referred to by other reviewers was more like thin flour tortillas. The complementary olive oil was bland… minimal seasonings. The hummus was tasteless, not even a hint of tahini. The eggplant was equally lifeless. I asked for, and promptly received harissa, which added only heat… no flavor. The bastilla was cloyingly sweet, the cinnamon overpowering. The chicken was dry and tasteless. My first bit of lamb was wonderful, juicy, tender and flavorful. That taste proved to be an outlier, as the remaining pieces were dry and tough. The grilled squash and onions were okay; the couscous lacked flavor. We brought home leftovers, but they went out with the garbage. Having eaten in Morocco some years ago, we found nothing to remind us of the excellent food we had there.
I do hope Riad picks up. The Moroccan table is wonderful, Riad is, as of now, not!

I had a lovely meal here. It looks like a lot of the kinks have been ironed out since earlier reviewers had a negative experience here. In general, the food was charming and authentic, with excellent delivery.
I did come by for dinner, at a low traffic time of night. YMMV.

I was so excited to try a new place in town that offers ethnic food and moroccan. I was SO disappointed it is really bad poor low quality food. Odd place felt like I was on a cheap cruise ship with loud bad music playing at lunch and a buffet that was gross. The buffet had beef meatballs that were from Costco frozen section in sugary red sauce and boiled chicken that was dry. It also had yellow rice looked like out of a can and boiled carrots. My friend ordered off the menu and her dish was dry and had french fries on the side. Buffet also had french fries. This is NOT Moroccan food! There was Mexican hot sauce on the table and the cooks were Mexican in the kitchen (you can see them cooking from the buffet line). There were maybe 4 other people in this huge restaurant. It is NOT Moroccan food so if you go there expecting good ethnic food you will be disappointed. I dont know what to call it! They only thing Moroccan about the place were some paintings on the wall and the tangine plates/​dishes that served the odd American bad food. I have had Moroccan food many times in DC and Philadelphia and other parts of the country and this is GROSS food. Dry chicken and it all seems stale and old food. Really low quality food. Very odd place odd atmosphere not like the traditional Moroccan places I have been at all. No spices in any of the food nor almonds or anything in the rice just plain and blah and bland with Mexican hot sauce at the tables very odd. Not sure what they are thinking!

I was absolutely delighted to see a Moroccan restaurant open in the Richmond area, finally so when a friend mentioned having seen it we quite literally turned the car around to head there for dinner. No regrets on stopping here for dinner at all– the service was polite and attentive, the prices on the lower end of reasonable particularly for dinner, the music pleasant, and the food quite tasty. The establishment itself is absolutely pristine– obviously freshly opened without a speck of dust or a scratch anywhere.
The waiter brought pita points and olive oil to the table with our drinks while we perused the menu, hopes for the place bolstered by the hot mint tea I had ordered [if a place has bad tea, it doesn’t pay to stay, after all]. I ordered the bastilla which, while not the plate-​sized chicken-​stuffed pastry I have gotten elsewhere, was absolutely delicious and made a perfect appetizer. The party shared a kofta tagine [beef meatballs in spicy tomato sauce], a ghanmi tagine [lamb, artichoke hearts, and peas] and a kofta kotban [different spiced, ground beef fashioned into a kebab] each with a side of rice or couscous.
I am withholding a fifth star for the moment only because I would like to visit again and see how the service and the food are when the place is busier [it was later in the evening on a Monday] and perhaps sample the live entertainment before throwing my full support behind the restaurant, but I have high hopes. For those to whom it is important– Riad is not yet Halal, but the restaurant –is– pork free and the waiter seemed to think that they were planning to achieve this soon.

Moroccan food at it’s best is absolutely fantastic, one of my favorite cuisines. Complex blends of spices, aromatic and exotic, especially the slow cooked tagines, which are the ultimate in international comfort food. The «coming soon» sign has been up forever, and I had been eagerly awaiting the opening of Riad. Unfortunately, this restaurant was a disappointment. The restaurant itself is beautiful and the staff is attentive and pleasant, but the food was mediocre. The staff and atmosphere bumped my rating up a star — the food was more like 2 stars. Nothing was unpleasant or inedible, but my and my husband’s reaction to most everything we tried was «meh.» The tagines that we tried were decidedly one note, without the complexity that characterizes good Moroccan food. Even the baklava, normally a favorite of mine was oppressively sweet.
They only recently opened, so they may just be getting into the swing of running a restaurant, and since it’s not expensive, I will probably give it another try in a few months.

If I could give this place 6 stars I would. The food is great! The minute you walk in the door you get a whiff of great smelling food. The place is beautiful, I can see why it took them so long to open. They serve their entrees in traditional tagines which was awesome. I couldn’t wait for the server to open my lid. Once he did, the smell of my lamb kebabs just went straight to my head. Their bastilla is the best I’ve ever had and their couscous is loose and full of flavor. No more trips to DC or NY for overly priced couscous or tagines. I’m so glad Richmond finally has some true authentic Moroccan cuisine.