Damascus Gate

The atmosphere is very exotic and the waiters are very polite
Food is very different from the Lebanese cuisine.
Meat is tasty but too much rice
Good find better in the city I think
A good point: a small delicatessen was offered at the end

Since I moved to Dublin it became one of my regular restaurants. Whether I go there private, corporate or by voucher they always treat me/​us very well and respectful. The owner provides a fantastic service and alway creates a friendly comfortable atmosphere.
The food is very good and guests are welcomed to bring their own wine which they serve to you if wished. I highly recommend this venue to all people who like authentic lebanese cuisine. We will come again!

I always have such mixed feelings about this place. I love that their menu has some nice cooked meals from the middle east (Kibbeh bil laban, Makloube etc), but they are never what I expect.
I ordered the lamb mansaf, which I expected was a rice dish with lamb, and some yoghurt. That’s exactly what it was, but the lamb was drowning in yoghurt, way too much. The yoghurt is also cooked in a different way than I know it should be?
The food is pretty good, just not my favorite when it comes to the middle eastern restaurants in Dublin.
I like the space, it feels authentic. There was also a belly dancer which was super fun. They serve sheesha outside, but only apple flavor.
As an additional cool thing, the bakery right next to Damascus gate weirdly feels like a bakery from back home, the way they display the cakes I guess? It was funny to see as it’s a bit different from the bakeries you see around Dublin.

Currently I’m kind of additicted to arabic food and was because place with Damascus gate. Very simple, good decoration and a great food. Huge quantities and in a good price.
Is was 8 of us and we had 4 combos for 2px. And OMG it was so much food. Everyone got so full even me and my friend with vegetarian combo.
They have a good selection of teas as well, that I didn’t try because the staff girl forgot my order, but poor girl she was new in the business and should wear big «L» from learning in the front, although she was nice with us.
And btw is a byob restaurant like the most of the arabic places.

The best Mediterranean food you can find in Dublin. I keep going there and I tried most of the entrees they serving, all great. A lovely stuff and friendly waiters. 5 stars without hesitancy

Excellent service, forthcoming and thoughtful. Levantine mezze are fantastic, they are happy with you just having a selection of starters. Tea is offered at the end and you feel somewhat obliged.

I went there once, and i didnot like it at all. Maybe because I am a middle eastern so i find this place very tacky !!

Really like this place. Excellent selection. Waiters really get into it as well and help in the selection process which is nice. My favourite is the Halumi starter. Can’t get enough!

Been meaning to come here for a while having passed it a million times on the bus. Arrived early for our 7.30 reservation but, as the place was empty, that wasn’t an issue although it gradually filled up a bit as the evening wore on — largely with walk-​ins so booking would appear to be unnecessary. As others have said, not the most comfortable or attractive room with tiny tables and old, tired and brown furniture. BYO wine was immediately produced and was beginning to look like the best part of the meal. However, that would be unfair. We had a mezze with lamb to start which was very good. The tabouleh and hummus were very tasty accompanied by very average flat bread set us up for mains. I had the mixed grill which was ok although the spice on the chicken was remarkably similar to the Nando sauce out of the bottle I habitually marinade chicken in for home BBQ. My other half has a lamb dish that looked like a stew with the shredded lamb swimming in liquid. I didn’t take to it at all. Having quaffed our BYO Pinot Grigio by now, we each topped up with a large glass of the house white — provenance and vintage undetermined but potable nonetheless. Service was excellent with ⁴⁄₅ tables all ordering at the same time to a single waitress. At one point, another guy rushed into the restaurant and went around the tables apologising for the poor service as he had had a ‘family emergency’. Punters were generally bemused as this was the first they’d realised that service was bad (it wasn’t. Prat). Life’s rich tapestry for sure. I’d summarise the overall experience as just ok. Won’t be rushing back and won’t be wondering what the food is like next time I pass on board the Number 15.

I’ve never been in Damascus gate before, but fortunately they have a delivery service After 5:00 PM, I had tried The Lamb Mansaf, It was very good! but the mixed grill meats were not that good, Generally their food is worth a try.

We had wandered into this restaurant after looking at the menu posted outside, it was only as we were seated and looking at the menu, did I check into Unilocal,and looking at some of the reviews, especially those posted by some of the more esteemed members, that I was questioning the wisdom of our choice. So therefore we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the meal we enjoyed.
We did not have time for a starter and went straight to the main course, I had the Kibseh, slow cooked marinated lamb, cooked with lots of herbs and served with mixed nuts and a lamb sauce, very tasty. The lamb melted in your mouth, and was so full of wonderful eastern flavours, the accompanying sauce was so good!
So having missed the starter, we had to try dessert! I had the Ferro Rocher Cake, really true to the name, excellent! I also stole a taste of my friend’s dessert, the Knafeh, a cream cheese with a fine spaghetti topping, and walnuts in the centre, brilliant flavour and a tantalising texture, a texture similar to Turkish delight, a real winner!
Yes the tables and chairs are somewhat squeezed in, space is tight, but we really enjoyed our meal, the key question is would we go back, absolutely, looking forward to trying some of the other dishes

Authentic, fresh food. Delicious! Wonderful warm, friendly, helpful service. Baba ganoush. Mezza. The chicken main with chick peas in tomato and garlic was particularly delicious. Everything was flavoursome without ever overdoing the spices. Just as it should be (except the delicious bread that came with the mixed grill. I reckon there were raw chillies in there). Short of flying to the Middle East, this is the place to go for authentic cuisine. Outstanding. They also have byob, but the wine by the glass is so amply proportioned, I wouldn’t bother. Oh, the tables are too small.

As visitors to Dublin, we’re hitting a different restaurant every night. Damascus Gate is quite close to our guest house (I’ll review Harrington House at the end of the week), and we kind of hoped it would be awesome.
The food itself was quite good. Among the three of us, we had the lamb kebabs, the lamb lahmeh (braised boneless lamb in tomato stew) and the falafel platter. All were at or near the top, in flavor and presentation, of other Lebanese restaurants we’ve visited.
The service left quite a bit to be desired. We literally had four different servers as all of them seemed overwhelmed as the place got busier. The falafel didn’t come with the bread. Trying to order dessert seemed only to cause confusion. Admittedly, one of the servers was on his first night.
The music was quite loud, and weird; we picked out Bizet and Vivaldi, among others, played on Middle Eastern traditional instruments. I joked that it was «Hookahed on Classics.»
Finally, the price seemed just a little high; that may be partially price stickiness as Ireland continues in its economic slump after the Celtic Tiger highs of a few years ago.

I had a really good evening in Damascus. The staff are pleasant and although the place was packed the food did take a while to come out. This didn’t bother me too much. The food was really good I got the chicken wings and the selection of skewers. My girlfriend thought the tables were a bit close together and the music too loud.

After being back two more times, I have come to the conclusion that Damascus Gate appears to have dropped its standards, when it comes to the food anyway.
On the last occasion I ordered chicken skewers as a main, I had tried it previously when it came as a part of a meat platter. I double checked with our server to make sure it was the same dish before I ordered and they said it was.
It bore no resemblance to what I had tried before. It was dry and was lacking the tasty marinade I had experienced before.
It’s a shame. They started so promisingly.

In the search for a BYO restaurant within the city centre confines, I was directed towards Damascus Gate the other day. Oh Lordie.
The restaurant itself isn’t particularly laid out with comfort in mind. It actually reminded me a little of a fancy cafeteria (maybe in a boarding school — they always seem to have dark wood tables and chairs in boarding schools on TV?! Too much Hogwarting?!!). There’s something about the hard wood tables and chairs squashed in together on top of the tiled floor (I think??), and the harsh lights — not conducive to a nice cosy meal. The harsh lights run all the way through the bar and into the kitchen so you can see everything that’s going on, though not in the cool purposeful way in some restaurants. Everything just seems messy and squashy and harsh.
Now for the food. My starter was the dolma (those vine leaves stuffed with rice). I asked for the accompanying salad sans cucumber which was delighted to see they pulled off when it came out. However, upon taking one bite of the salad and dolma together, I felt like I had taken a giant bite out of a lemon. They had been drowned in balsamic vinegar to the point that I had to put them inside some flatbread to try to be able to eat them. The flatbread was fine, though stone cold — I would be expecting it to be freshly made and warm to the touch.
For mains, my friend had the moussaka and I had the fish tangine. Both were nearly identical — the rice was the same, the miscellaneous packet sauce on top was the same, the only thing that was different was the meat underneath. Honestly I didn’t even want to finish it.
At the end of the meal, I was then told that their card machine was broken, so I had to walk about 10 minutes down Camden St to find a bank. Surely they should have mentioned this from the outset?
The saving grace of this place was the waitress. She was friendly, prompt, and polite, just what you need when Hogwarts goes bad!

I was a bit disappointed in this restaurant having heard so many good things about it. Bringing your own drink was great, but that was probably the best part of the meal. The dishes were on the slightly more expensive side, which would have been fine if they filled you up. However with a starter and main course down and my stomach still growling for more, by the time we had ordered dessert to fill the gap it had turned into a reasonably pricey dinner.
The food was nice, the falafel was delicious and the fish I had for my main was ok, but everything was too small and too plain for the price tag.
The atmosphere is a bit mad, we started off sitting in the back room on the couches before being moved to a tiny table in the corner. It was fine, but the place was just a bit too hectic and everyone was just slightly too uncomfortable for the price.

I’ve been to Damascus gate 3 times now. All three times the experience has been different.
its quite a small restaurant in a great location and has a nice interior. Although some of the tables a little bit close to uncovered food for my liking.
The food varies…
The first time I had a lamb dish, which was basically Spicy Lamb Stew with some rice. 18 euro. It was nice but it was a basic dish for 18 euro’s.
The second time I had a selection of kebabs, chicken/​lamb and kofta with rice and salads and sauce and bread. This cost 15 euros I think and was amazing.
The last time I went I had a half roast chicken stuffed with lamb with rice and sultanas. This was ok, a very very dry meal. No sauces slightly over done chicken. There was also a bit of salad with no dressing. I had trouble eating it because of the dryness. This cost 15 euros as well.
My girlfriend had the falafal dish there which I tried. that was amazing as well. That was only 11.50 euro.
i think what I am saying is their doesn’t seem to be the constancy of a good restaurant yet. The pricing has changed recently I think they realized they were a bit over priced on some of the dishes. Some of the food is amazing, some of its meh.
Really if you are reading this, get your menu sorted out and you will have an amazing business. I don’t care if a restaurant has only six main courses. If they are good then it doesn’t matter. Don’t have 15 main courses but only 5 are any good. The worst dish on your menu should be as good or as near as good as the best dish on the menu. a decision on what to eat should be based on personal taste only.
I am only taking this time to write such a long review (unusual for me) because I really think some of the food is amazing and with a bit of work I could be coming back and re-​writing this review with 5 stars.

This place is another neighborhood gem! Yes, it’s quite crowded and a management seems a bit overwhelmed with the influx of patrons; but, it’s worth the wait and knocking elbows with the guests at the next table…
The food is fresh and fabulous! We ordered the hummus topped with lamb — fantastic! The falafels were incredibly tasty as well. We were pleased with every dish — and there’s a dish for everyone from the fish of the day (which was sold out unfortunately) to the chicken and lamb to a number of vegetarian entrees.
As for dessert, order the pecan white coffee cake — it’s heavenly! And, be sure to have a cup of Turkish coffee with it.
It’s crammed, yes. And, there was a bit of a wait in spite of our set reservation. But, it’s worth it if you want to be taken away to another world of flavors and culture. And, the ambiance adds to all of it — lovely.
There are four dining spaces, outdoor, main area, middle section (a bit tight) and a back room for ‘smokers’.
If you get a chance to meet the owner, Gandhi, you will love him from the get-​go. What a smile and warm nature. I practically hugged him when we departed!
Tip: Order individual bowls of hummus, you’ll want to lick the bowl clean, believe me.