Maroush

Years ago I went to a different location and it was horrible experience so I swear them off. It's been 9 years I think I since that time. My daughter lives in London and she keeps going to this location. She says they are very careful with the gluten free. So I went with her since yes I was super hungry after a 12 hours flight. They are actually way better than the other location that has closed down (which I am not surprised at all) the food here is super good, the staff are super friendly and on top of their work. The restaurant by itself is a very normal looking restaurant. Like nothing special. But I have to say that they have a different location at St, johns woods area. Holy moly it's a five stars restaurant from the look to the service. Food is the same taste as this one but the place is stunning.

Went here from the hop on hop off bus on Christmas Day and loved the shawarma. Came back two weeks later because we missed it! Simple, small, and wonderful.

We are back for more! It is Christmas Eve and this place is packed with people. We are waiting for take away. Once again it will be hummus, potatoes bravas and chicken shawarma. I can't wait!

Love it here. Open late and the food is healthy and delicious Fresh meat and salads

Delicious food, great service. Waiters were friendly and food was super fresh. they did not have the kibbeh Nayeh

AMAZING!!! we ordered the #47 lamb shwarma (medium spicy) and it was some of the best shwarma i've ever had in my life. the flavoring and the meat was perfect the labneh was okay, not as creamy and more of a yogurt. the mehshi was also adequate. service was great. highly recommend!

Really nice authentic food. So glad to know they survived covid closure. Was here a few years ago it was nice to go back ;) lovely people

Dynamite lunch on a random Saturday. Stuffed my face with hummus, eggplants, an exciting dip made with walnuts and peppers, and a delicious lamb creation. I would go back in a second! They apparently have a fun belly dancing/happy hour.

We ordered takeaway from here, so I can't comment on the vibe or atmosphere of the actual restaurant, but the food was amazing!! Very flavorful! We orders the vegan dinner for 2, but also added some shawarma. The falafel was great, everything else was super yummy too!

While the restaurant itself and the ambience are not fantastic, the food was. I came on a Monday evening, and the place was completely empty. They seated us downstairs where there was a large seating area, and we were the only party aside from one other table. Despite this, we stayed and ordered food. The baba ghanouj was fantastic, The boneless chicken was also very juicy especially when paired with the chili/garlic sauce, and the eggplant stew was fantastic as well.

II am open to new foods, my family however is more hesitant. The cabby recommended Maroush, telling us it was some of the best food in London. They were not sure. This was hands down amazing food. The smells, the taste and the service were all top notch. If this is the way Lebanese food is supposed to taste, I am a fan. We started out with Hamous, it was light in taste, full of flavor and a great balance of garlic and other herbs. We then had haloum meshwi which is fried cheese. This also was amazing! It was firm, a little salty great flavor. Then it was onto jawaneh, grilled chicken wings with garlic sauce. The garlic sauce was again great. Like a garlic yogurt.

There are several Lebanese restaurants nearby. So far, this is the best I've found in this area. Service was great.

Cheese with bread and hummus was perfect ,shawarma chicken sandwich was not good . Hope next time will grill it more and not to add tomato to this sandwich

Classic example of a restaurant that has a history and had amazing food now has expanded so much they forget the roots from which they come. Great food doesn't exist and service is sub par. I visited here a few years ago and came back to have it again and this time was all just disappointing. Even the sweet place across the street. Food was not that appetizing and I think they live on history or what they were once known for

Lovely comfort, authentic Lebanese food on Edgware Road that makes you feel like you are back at home. We ordered a variety of mezzas like warak anab, babaganoush, falafel, tabbouleh, fattouche, batata harra, and shishtawouk - all were very good, I especially loved the warak anab and falafel. Tabbouleh is usually hit or miss in most places but it was very good here. Service was quick but two of the plates took longer than usual to be brought to the table and they served us mint tea on the house as consolation. The waiters are very friendly, patient, and attentive. The atmosphere on a Monday night was overall relaxed, filled with families having dinner. Would definitely return.

I ordered the Lamb Shwarma off uber eats and it was so delicious and tender and juicy and seasoned really nicely, great job! It also came really quickly despite being late at night which was good. Would definitely order again.

Good food. I liked both dishes I tried. Service was quick and friendly. Really liked the hummus.

As a member of the Clean Plate Committee (CPC), you can understand my concern when, on a recent visit to Maroush, I was struggling to finish everything I had ordered. Once you retain one loser on the CPC, you have to let everyone join. Shameful. They only have two by-the-glass wine offerings: Lebanese house white and red. I got the red, and it was tasty. The salad was enormous, and being hungry, I did all the damage I could (I ate it all). When the cubed chicken wrap arrived, I took an unfortunate dry bite. After the third try, with my CPC membership in jeopardy, I found a work around: disassemble the wrap and reassemble the best bits into tasty bites. When I checked out the contents, there were slivers of pickles, some garlic sauce, and tomatoes. I did the best I could, quietly cursing myself for having eaten all of the salad before the wrap arrived. That flavorful salad could have added bright juiciness to my wrap. Dry wrap aside, the meal was good, and the servers were a sweet bunch. Just as I was thinking of a sugar fix, I was presented with 3 (free!) sugar-loaded pieces of baklava. I heard angels singing. It was probably the best baklava I have ever had - then again, it was in front of me at the time, so my opinion could be biased. No pistachios or anything fancy, but I don't think that's what Maroush is about. And if you're not into hookah-ing or a big bill, it's probably okay.

I was very disappointed at my last visit, the service and quality of food has deteriorated tremendously. My first visit back in 97ish and through 2003 was always consitently good. Alas, the past few years it has gotten terrible. I am very disappointed to say, I will never go back.

I was excited to try Maroush for a few reasons. Firstly, London has a bigger Lebanese community, so I expect their Lebanese food to be more authentic than what you find in Dublin. Secondly, I LOVE the Maroush in Beirut. Expectations were high. The food was okay, nothing too mind blowing. The portions were big, but plain, The shawarma plate is merely some shawarma on bread. No side salad or fries or extra garlic. Not what a restaurant in Lebanon would give. At the end of the meal, they gave us some fruits and sweets, which was nice. The staff were really friendly. There was a belly dancer which was cool too. It was okay Lebanese food, but not worthy of the Maroush name.

When I eat ethnic food, I try to seek opinions from friends with a background in that style of cuisine to get local opinion on restaurants. Maroush seems to divide opinion quite sharply - it's either viewed as a corporate soul-less chain or a good reliable purveyor of Middle Eastern cuisine in London. I've lost count of the number of branches of Maroush which have now sprung up but I still return to this Edgware Road branch as walking down the road with its long line of restaurants with customers out front smoking shish pipes makes it feel like you are somewhere in the Middle East. As Omid Djalili, the Iranian comedian, said in his act (to the 7/7 London bomber),"You fool!! You blew up Edgware Road!! Where else is more Middle Eastern than that?" The restaurant is nicely decorated and the service is friendly. However, the food is now average at best. I've now had the privilege to dine at other Middle Eastern restaurants with friends and there is more zing and flavour with the food elsewhere. The only exception to this is the amazing melon juice. It is nectar, bursting with sunshine locked into the melon fruit. I could drink that all day and if they decided to market and sell it to Tesco, they would make a killing. Sadly, I have to side with the opinion that Maroush is a chain which has lost its mojo.

My beloved brought me here for my big birthday dinner before going to see Phantom of the Opera. This place is known for having belly dancers and good entertainment, but we were a little early in the evening for that! We were probably the first customers of the evening, and it was a very large downstairs area. There was no pre-theatre option, so we ordered from the a la carte menu. We strongly suspected that the plate sizes were going to be enormous, so Harry and I ordered a main course each, and I had one of their fruit cocktails, which was very much like a smoothie of magical deliciousness. Having never tried Lebanese cuisine outside of a home environment, I was very much hoping to try a raw dish called Kibbeh Nayyeh, which I think I'm rightly suspecting can't be sampled outside of a Lebanese home or the Middle East, but I was hopeful none-the-less! I couldn't remember the full name of the dish, so ended up ordering Kibbeh Saynieh instead. This was minced lamb mixed with spices and cracked wheat, filled with sautéed minced meat, pine kernels and onion. It came with a lovely yoghurt and cucumber sauce. The waiter also gave us a giant bowl of raw vegetables to go with our dish, but I couldn't manage it. The food was indeed tasty, as suspected, and I'm strongly of the opinion that most dishes are designed to be shared between at least two people, to be eaten family style. After having a main each, we were just stuffed to the gunnels. We had flirted with dessert before starting, but after eating we just wanted to get our bill. We were given a complimentary plate of fruit afterwards, too! I gave the melon a heroic effort, but again... we were just too full to partake. Felt I had to be rolled out the door afterwards! I found the staff to be pleasant and attentive, and thought the food was lovely. Looking at the menu, you might think that the food is pricey, but the price definitely reflects the quantity. I'm just sad we didn't get to see the evening's entertainment!

The food is excellent, this is probably the best Lebanese food I have ever taste in my life! I warmly recommend you to try the shish taouk!

Worse takeaway experience ever. I walked in during my lunch break having preordered online for pick up a shawarma, the person gave me a receipt but did not add the online discount. The staff was all busy talking to each other and not attending to customers. Another customer walked in and said they gave him the wrong order who also ordered take away. I handed over my money to pay, the server wasn't paying attention and gave me the wrong change back. He ran off before I could even talk to him. Eventually I complained and got the right change back with my discount. The worst part of this all is that the wrap tasted horrible! Never again will I be back. Sorry!

Very nice restaurant, tasty food and the staff were lovely. I had a sea bass which although was tasty wasnt amazing as a sea bass should be and was also very bony as they had basically split the fish down the middle. We also ordered the kibhei (sp) which was a lamb dish and absoloutely brilliant full of lamb and pine nuts and other delicious things. The restaurant brought us a complimentary bowl of vegetables which we could use in our meal which was a nice touch and then a full fruit bowl for desert which was really very nice of them. All in all a very nice restaurant, tasty, spacious with attentive staff.

Service was very slow at Maroush Gardens on the corner to the point where we got up and left. This place was fast and delicious! It was packed upstairs at the bar where we had our late night snack but the food was warm and delicious and we had a great view of all of the kabobs on the grill.

Expect top feel like a second class citizen whilst they pander to larger orders and arabic speaking customers. food is ok. but i felt uncomfortable

Apparently I'm in line with most other reviewers of this place with my 3 star rating. Overall I liked it, I was completely stuffed when I left, but there was just something missing from the experience. Also, the food is good, but why is it so expensive? I can go upstairs and get a take-away kabob for £5, so why does my dinner cost over £30? That said, it was hilarious at 9pm when the DJ turned up (on a Monday night!) and blasted some tunes. I thought I was in a time warp for a bit until I realized that there was also a belly dancer involved (my view was obstructed...). I'm curious what this place is like later in the week - does it get busier? Are there actually people there to watch the belly dancer? Do people get up and dance with her when she comes over and asks them to? Something to check out another time possibly. If I'm hungry and am desperately craving Lebanese food.

Oh Maroush. I came here for dinner on my second night in London. When we arrived, we sat upstairs, which has kind of a quick-serve takeout place vibe. My friend with us is Lebanese so he said some stuff to the owner, asked what the best wine was to get, ordered a bottle, then told us we'd opted for the chef's tasting menu--something like £20 or 30 per person. They asked us if we'd like to go downstairs, which I'm super glad we did. They were setting up for live music, which we feared would be annoying, but the space downstairs is much bigger and actually feels like a restaurant. The food was insane. We started with pita with two kinds of hummus, plus a basket of veggies-- carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, and more we didn't eat. We had other tasty appetizers, including halloumi, but we ordered that specially. I was stuffed, but dinner had not yet arrived. That course was two huge plates of meat over rice. Both were seriously seasoned and tasty. Then there was dessert. A ton of fruit, and mini baklavas and other savory fingery foods. Those I somehow found room for. I left sickly full and happy we'd chosen to walk from the hotel. Oh yeah, and there were belly dancers. I'd take off a couple stars for atmosphere since this isn't really my scene(especially if hookah's not included), but the food itself was good.

I'd give Maroush Express 3.5 stars. Came in for a midnight dinner. Staff were friendly and efficient. I got my hopes up when I saw another table with a bottle of Chateau Ksara's Reserve du Couvent, a Lebanese Syrah-dominant blend that goes down nicely with lamb and olives, but alas, our server informed us that they stopped serving wine at midnight on the dot, so we made do with mint lemonade (which was nice) . We shared some olives and pickles and then the braised lamb shank and grilled lamb. The lamb shank was perfectly tender and came with a huge helping of cardamom rice. Tip: definitely order the house-made chile sauce and garlic sauce. Both are winners. In terms of food quality, this was one of the better meals I've had on Edgware Road, and definitely a good place to go if you want a quick, no-frills meal for a reasonable price close to Hyde Park. I plan to check out their fancier big brother Maroush Gardens, located across the street, for some kibbeh nayeh (lamb tartare - my favorite Lebanese dish) next time I'm in the neighborhood - Express doesn't have it on the menu, sadly, but Gardens has several versions of it.

I buy shawarma chicken wraps for takeaway! It's the best I had in London. Cost £4.00.

Excellent!!! If you get chance try it. My husband vegetarian and I am not so they bright us a huge selection of tapas to try. Would definitely eat here again.

Maroush is a chain of quality Lebanese restaurants part of the group that also owns Ranoush Juice and Beirut Express. There is also a deli on Edgeware road. This is the original Maroush opened by Lebanese Druze Marouf Abouzaki over 20 years ago. The menu is big with most of the well known Lebanese mezze and grills as well as home cooking type dishes like Lamb wth Okra and stuffed cabbage . The shish taouk is excellent as are the many of the mezze including Taboule , Moutabal , Hoummus , Jaweneh , Soujuk , Kibbe , Falafel andFattoush salad. The food is never going to be as good as in Lebanon or Syria where the ingredients especially the vegatbales have so much more flavor. Anyway unike the Greeks who are a total disgrace the Lebanese tend to produce a much more representative form of their cooking outside their own country.

We are very familiar with Lebanese culinary. However, this restaurant is specified by an unfriendly staff, high prices and low quality of the food. That's a pity because oriental food is very good normally. We felt that the humus was freshly taken out of the can. And so on. The music entertainment was so loud that no one can hold a conversation.

Good meal, adequate service. Not an inexpensive meal but pretty tasty. A solid option for the area.

A rather simple interior, quite crowded and cramped. Had to move our chairs around a lot to let people pass. The staff were more or less friendly, but the service they provided was not good. The order in which they brought the food (a starter, then main, then another starter) made no sense The main course was no longer hot by the time we finished with the starters. Then, they kept asking if we were finished even though it was obvious we had plenty of food left and were not going anywhere. But it felt like they wanted us to go so that they can seat mew people. The food was good though, with a lot of flavor. The disappointing thing was they don't bake their own bread..

Excellent and delicious Chicken Shawarma Sandwich with Garlic sauce and Melon Jiuce. However its always busy, so be prepared to queue for 20 minutes.

Loved this place. My friends and I were hunting for a cheaper chicken shawerma wrap and found one here, maroush express. The quality is top shelf and the price isn't bad at all. I also recommend trying their hummous starter, and the Lebanese coffee.

I'm not normally one to give only one star to a place unless it really deserves it, and unfortunately last night, Maroush started with 5 in my mind and then lost them quickly throughout the night. Let me start by saying I used to love this restaurant and I've had some amazing meals there, but last nights was just disappointing. On a Friday and Saturday night the restaurant is busy, so they run a set menu as has been described by other reviewers. It consists of fresh veg and fruit, bread and lots of dips, primarily hummous, baba ganoush, filled vine leaves, Tabbouleh and other Lebanese specialities. This is usually followed by three or four meat based mains (one or two with rice), with an accompanying dish of falafel, kibbeh, small cheese filled pastries and other delights. This is then followed by fresh fruit and bakalava to finish. FOOD On previous occassions the food has been exceptional and the service and entertainment equally good, however last night the food was decidedly mediocre and the service and entertainment need addressing in a separate paragraph all of their own. I'm not sure if it's just me, but the food seemed flat and dull, I didn't have it's usual freshness and vibrancy and at overpriced £38 per head (excluding drinks) it should always be exceptional. SERVICE The service was abysmal last night, I was there with 14 close friends and family to celebrate my 40th Birthday and to be frank the service we received was distinctly lacking. I'm being kind, the food just about made it to the table and drinks orders were taken and delivered slowly without much effort from the service staff to make sure that we were looked after. It was like being in a canteen or business function, which is not what I expect in a restaurant that charges so much. ENTERTAINMENT Seriously LOUD, in fact so loud it was painful. At two points during the evening I was mortified to see two of my guests taking out their phones to measure just how loud it was. I was really embarrassed one of the phones read 96 units of loudness, I've no idea what that means technically, so I think I should simply explain that it was difficult shouting to the person next to me. The music was good just too loud. The belly dancer was good, but ruined by the volume of music and everyone was relieved for the relative peace and quiet of the various intermissions. THE BILL Okay, this is where Maroush really falls down: Set Menu - £38 per person, it really used to be worth it, now I would say they should be charging £20 per person. Bottle Pinot Grigio - £24 available online £6-£7 per bottle, so seriously marked up. Bottle Ksara Prieure - £20, I would say this was pretty good value at £12/btl elsewhere. Jack Daniels & Coke £7.50, really overpriced Small Almaza beer - £3.75, very flat, dull beer, but reasonably priced So this made a grand total of about £900.00 including 12% service for 15 people or £60 /head with two of those not drinking, which to my mind is just wrong.

WOWWWWW this is the best food ever. Everything I tried was just great. The service was welcoming, the prices were ok (comparing to Maroush II in Chelsea which is the same just much more expensive and less selection). I can just say that if it had been next to my home, I would eat here every day. Amazing salads, amazing everything. And the lots of Arabs sitting there themselves probably says it all.

Fair enough I went with a Lebanese friend to dine here, but I was amazed by the amazing choice that the lebanese cousin can offer. There is usually a bit to wait before you can sit, but once sat you are eating in no time.

Loved the food here. We ordered a bunch of food for the table. Vegetarians heaven. Perfect Falafals. The only bummer was that they kept turning down the lights and and the music (which was live) got so loud we couldn't even talk. My ears where ringing when I left. I love live music but I like to talk to my friends too :)

Maroush is an empire that has extended beyond it's humble beginnings on Edgware Rd (I think the original is the one currently known as Ranoush Juice) to dominate the neighborhood. It's a successful business in part by doing things like charging more for the same food at some of the more 'upscale' variations that are served at Ranoush Juice, for example. Having said that, this empire *was* built on delicious food not just business savvy. This is the hummus I dream of when I think of outstanding hummus. The food really is worth it. My recommendation, unless you want a sit-down restaurant experience, go for Ranoush Juice or Beirut express, save yourself some money and enjoy some of the best lebanese food in london.

Despite an ongoing love of/ addiction to Lebanese food, I'd never been to Maroush. Even back in my "proper" career days, when I worked around the area, I never ventured in, which is odd given the amount of money I spent in their sister place Ranoush. Anyway, with a need for somewhere that would suit a large-ish party arriving at different times that wasn't too far from Paddington, Maroush I looked like a good idea. And it was. For the most part. The food, from the incredible falafel to some deliciously rich chicken livers, via superior houmous (spelt hommos here, which generated some schoolboy giggling), great breads, spicy sausages and superior, achingly tender lamb, was generally excellent. However, the service was just a little strange. "Do you think they want us to leave?" my wife asked me, after it took some 20 minutes to get a beer. Ultimately, we decided they didn't want us to leave, per se, they just wanted us to throw a credit card at them, leave the ordering to them and we'd all be happy. However, with a couple of people on a budget and some culinary allergies to take into consideration, we decided to make our own selections. As a result, the manager seemed to settle on a compromise. If we wouldn't give them free access to our card, he'd shake us down, trying to get us to double certain food orders and constantly upselling. Mate, we eat out a LOT. We know what we want. We can generally judge portions. And, given that 90% of what we asked for came from the mezze menu, if we're still hungry at the end of it, we'll order a couple more dishes, alright?! We're grown ups. We can make that sort of decision. We can even dress ourselves as well... It was a shame, because the slightly patronising and very pushy attitude detracted from what was a very good, pretty much five star meal and loses them a star from the rating. The other one comes off for serving really poor mint tea in little shot glasses with no way of picking them up that didn't involve flesh melting to the white hot surface. That's just dumb. Great food but an odd experience. All things considered, I'll probably stick with Ranoush.

Went her for my friends birthday, the food was ok but the highlight was the belly dancer who all got us up and dancing with her! The staff we ok too but it was quite busy so they werent being very attentive to us. An average meal but had a good time dancing!

huge disappointment. 15.50 for a shwarma with no seasoning, no salad and store bought bread. this place is so overrated. avoid lt. Its a joke.

Maroush is a great chain of quality middle Eastern cuisine. This place has a great feel as is not too big thus nice and intimate for dates. The food is very vert good. They have a variety of dishes. Mixed mezze is a great way to start and get to sample everything. As for the main...the mixed grill is a must!!! Lovely chicken cubes, lamb cubes and superb kebabs all gently cooked over a burning flame....top quality. Maroush are generally at the more expensive end of Edgware Road eateries but still not too bad...£30 per head.

Very high quality Lebanese Reataurant and amazingly fresh and flavorful for a chain. Loved their baba ganoush and hummus as well as their lamb Kabab (even though I am not a big lamb fan). Very efficient service and good for both done in and take out. If you are doing take out the Maroush express nearby is a faster and cheaper choice.

Maroush express was really good, very friendly and efficient service, tender meat. Recommend the hummus alurma!!

nice authentic food but slow service. instead of bread and butter they bring out a basket of whole raw veg - seriously - salad onions, peppers, cucumber, carrots etc and then they charge you for the privelege