Byblos Downtown

“teh octopus was perfect like charred and crispy outside but insanely tender inside. the chickpea puree was silky smooth and those crispy chickpeas on top added this nice textural thing that made the whole dish better haha”

“the baklava came out at room temp when it should have been warm. phyllo was still crisp but the honey syrup had cooled and lost that nice flowing quality that makes baklava actually good”

“legit ok the middle eastern spice blend in their muhammara was perfectly balanced - not too heavy on the aleppo pepper and the pomegranate molasses had jsut the right tartness to work with the walnuts”

“for a resturant thats supposed to focus on eastern mediterranean the hummus tasted like it came straight from a container instead of being made fresh - no creamy texture or tahini depth at all”

“the vibe is absolutely gorgeous warm wood tones brass accents open kitchen where you can watch everything happening. the lighting is perfect for a date and the energy feels alive wihtout being crazy”

“literally our table was literally right next to the kitchen pass so we got blasted with heat every time someone called out an order. got pretty uncomfortable by the end especially since it was already warm in there”

“the lamb kibbeh nayeh was outstadning - silky raw lamb mixed w bulgur and spices, texture was so smooth it basically melted on your tongue. real talk and the pita was clearly made fresh in house”

“yo our shakshuka arrived barely warm which was annoying - eggs were sitting under a heat lamp instead of coming straight from teh pan like theyre supposed to”

“gotta say teh kids actually loved the hummus and pita which basically never happens with middle eastern food. staff was super cool about making the chicken shawarma mild for them and the portions were big enough that we had leftovers for lunch the next day”

“gotta saaay teh music was kinda loud for a family dinner we had to like raise our voices the whole time and my youngest kept covering his ears when it got busier”

“the lamb ribs were absolutely insane falling off the bone tender with this pomegranate molasses glaze that was sweet tangy and slightly smoky all at once!!! plus the meze concept thing means you get to try a bunch of different flavors instead of jsut ordering one dish lol”

“service was realy slow even though it wasnt even busy!!! took like 20 minutes to get our drink order and we were definitely ready to order way before the server came back around”

“def teh grilled octopus was tender as butter honestly - didnt know seafood could be this good when its not fried or drowned in cocktail sauce yikes”

“still dont get why they served the mezze platter on tiny individual plates instead of one big sharing board. felt unnecessarily fussy when i just wanted to dig in”