Braden M.
Yelp
The food was good here, not spectacular, but good. The ambiance is probably the best thing about the place, and from me, that is not a compliment. But the interior really is quite appealing. But let's get to the food and the service, because the service demands commentary.
I had lentil soup, chicken shawarma with garlic sauce, rice, a skewer of grilled vegetables, and some baklava to finish things off. The lentil soup was very good, but it wasn't hot. Had it been hot, it could have been excellent. The chicken shawarma was served on what I would call a grilled pita, very flat, which I understand is the Arabic way of doing pita. It was good. The garlic sauce was quite runny compared to what I'm used to. It was also a bit lacking in flavor, again unlike garlic sauces I'm used to. I also prefer my pita fluffy and soft, but since I expected this kind of pita here, it wasn't a big deal. The rice was jasmine or similar, very good for rice. The baklava was good. It had pecans or perhaps walnuts in it, which I don't care for, but it was still good. I tried to skip those.
This place would garner 4 stars from me but for 2 important factors. First, the service was good but the time it took was atrocious. I generally expected this from an Arabic place, since I recognize that Middle Eastern people tend to run at a slower pace than we Americans. Nevertheless, when one guy is waiting on a large restaurant all by himself, something is wrong. And when you are one of only three tables in the place and the service is still slow, something is wrong. A couple more tables were seated while I was eating, and one more at the very end, but these were very small parties. The gentleman waiting on me was extremely courteous and kind, but it was obvious he was in no hurry. I had ordered my baklava with the meal, but he asked me after clearing the entree dishes if I wanted dessert, so I reminded him I wanted baklava. Almost ten minutes later, it still hadn't arrived, so I caught him on his way across the restaurant and let him know I needed to leave. He then began apologizing profusely, telling me the kitchen was very busy. I don't see how it could be with so few occupied tables in the place, but maybe they do a robust takeout business? Regardless, can one not plan for this?? It was ridiculous for me to be in this place, as a solo traveler, for 90 minutes.
And the final piece that took the cake was that when the check came, it had an automatic, already-charged 20% tip on it. I was amazed and very thankful I had seen it, because the credit card slip that came still had the obligatory tip line on it. Had I not looked over the itemized bill, I would have tipped him again, which would have resulted in a ridiculously disproportionate and foolish tip. I didn't see anything on the menu about obligatory/automatic tipping, though I could have missed it. But I have never seen automatic tipping on a bill or mentioned on a menu except in cases where you have a large party, such as of six or more. But I was eating alone!
So to sum up, the ambiance here was great, the food was good, the service was good but painfully slow, and the automatic tip on the bill was annoyingly deceptive. Given all these things, I won't ever go back. I won't go so far as to say I don't recommend going there, but go in with eyes open, and read over your bill before you tip!
