TarBoush Lebanese Bistro & Bar

So sorry to have to write this, but I was disappointed by my experience at TarBoush :-/​I love Lebanese food and this was supposed to have some of the best. Overall I just felt that it was overpriced and not worth the money. I have no problem spending money on dinner, but this just wasn’t a great value. My dinner of rice and grilled vegetables was $ 14. Albeit came with a small salad and bread, I felt that was pretty steep for something with no meat and no falafel. I had to order falafel separately, on the side for $ 5. Those were delicious though I will say. So overall my dinner was $ 19…
One of my dining companions also felt the same about the value. She got one of the lamb dishes and didn’t think it was worth the price she paid. Sorry, TarBoush, you just didn’t dazzle me.

We made reservations through Unilocal and even got a text reminder for our reservation day of. I came down to Portland to spend the weekend with a friend who is allergic to dairy and wheat so this was a good option a part from our normal asian food. She ordered the blood orange cocktail and I tried the rose water one. Both were delicious. Service was great, our server checked in on us often. We both had the beef shwarma and it was so delicious and comforting. The bread is served with an oil and herbs to dip. Everything was wonderful and I can’t wait to come back to PDX and eat here again. The prices are also very reasonable.

Let me start by saying the food is pretty amazing. However, the issue lied in the service we received when we found a piece of plastic in our food. The chef/​owner didn’t apologize, instead making a joke about it. Also, I believe that specific dish should have been comp’d in this situation as is common in most other restaurants.

TarBoush met all of their goals to deliver amazing food with supreme quality ingredients and outstanding service at an affordable cost!
I recommend this place to vegetarians craving for decadent Mediterranean food. My friend and I split the vegetarian mezza and a pumpkin vegetarian dish with bulgar wheat (forgot the name). If you eat slowly, your tastebuds and soul will embark on a transcending journey, exploring the flavors of Lebanon.
Not only was I blown away by the best pita bread, hummus and falafel I have ever eaten, but I was exceedingly pleased by the kindness of our server, Brody. Brody went above and beyond his duties to make sure we were comfortable and satisfied. He even brought my friend baklava with a candle since it was her birthday!
Everything from the ambience, food and service deserves a ¹⁰⁄₁₀ !!
I’ll be sure to return :)

Visited TarBoush with another couple for dinner. Very good Middle Eastern cuisine. As someone who got spoiled with good Humus on a semester abroad, it is nice to find a place that makes it as delicious as I enjoyed in Jerusalem.
If you can handle finding parking on Hawthorne, it is totally worth a visit. I’ll be back.

Excellent food, excellent service, reasonable prices, and the restaurant itself is beautiful. Lots of vegan friendly options too.

By far the best Lebanese restaurant in Portland I’ve been here several times and I’m never disappointed the tabbouleh is fabulous I recommend this place for everyone

The hookah is only for people who are 21+ which is ridiculous! My friends and I drove out here and we’re told «it’s just the rule» no it’s not?! Hookah is legal at age 18. Ugh whatever
Bad service also

Went last night. The place was backed up out the door. Date & I committed to sticking it out & the wait turned out to be only about a few minutes, as it was just us two.
And, boy, was it worth it!
The food was delicious & began flowing to the table surprisingly quick given how busy things were.
The ambiance — though a little packed — was not too loud, just — definitely — bustling.
Our server, though clearly busy, took pains to check in with us & slowed it down just enough to explain the items on our plates &, later, ask us about dessert.
Date & I both had a good chuckle over the way he approached our table, which was to give us a little dance as he approached.
Bottom line: date felt spoiled for sub 50 bucks, with drinks.
Will definitely be going, again.

Low score for customer service. The food we had was really delicious. Too bad I am never coming back here again.
I enjoy smoking a hookah pipe, and my best friend spotted pipes at this place while driving by, so we decided to give it a try. When I discovered the place closes at 9 I was already making a face. Even in Portland a restaurant on Hawthorne closing at 9 is a bit too ridiculous. But since we went on a Sunday and couldn’t stay out late, we took a chance.
I’ll say upfront: all the problems we encountered that night seemed to be because the owner was out of town. Apparently, when the owner leaves, the staff is short-​handed. Why the owner doesn’t make provision for this by hiring more people is a question for the ages. Whatever the reason (or excuse), the result was that everything took a really, really, really long time.
After a guy seated us outside he claimed that he was not waiting tables that night, he was only hosting, and our server would be out soon. 20 minutes pass, no sign of this person. finally called the restaurant and asked for them to send someone and who shows up? Same guy who seated us. Claiming he didn’t know he’d have to do this tonight.
We ordered food and hookah. He warned us that the hookah might take a while because they were short staffed because the owner was out of town.
Now, the place was pretty full but not overflowing full and it was Sunday night when one would expect it to be pretty busy. Why would you EVER put your staff in that position?
Our food finally comes. We eat it. We wait. No hookah. No hookah. Finally we’re ready to go and walk the 5 blocks to Pied Cow because obviously it’s not happening. When we finally see our waiter again at 8:35 he informs us that they are now not too busy and can make us a hookah.
«You close at 9, right?»
«Yes.»
“Looks pointedly at watch*
«So… you guys don’t want the hookah, then?»
«No.»
However, I do not hold it against the waiter or the kitchen staff at all. They were scrambling, I could tell. I blame the owner, who clearly doesn’t know how to manage a restaurant well. Closing at 9. Going on vacation and not covering your absence. Charging too much for the food. Yes, it was good. not worth the price we paid, though.
My suggestion: stay away. Even if they’re not having a bad night there’s no reason to give this business your money. If the owner can’t run it well they don’t deserve to run it at all.

This place is Uh-​Mazing! One of my favorite restaurants in the area. It had great service, great ambience, great food.
Definitely would recommend the Hummus, the Tabouli, the Chicken Kabob and their rice.
I will go back for more, anytime — any day!

Great outdoor seating placement, with excellent service.
Only ordered appetizers and beer, but both were delicious. The Foul Mouddamas here is legendary.

I would rather be giving 3.5 stars right now. Only my recent experience would warrant 3.5. Previous 6 experiences I would have given 5 stars.
So, they stopped bringing pita bread out before your meal. When I said something the servers tried to tell me it only came out with certain meals. I’ve ordered the same thing every time I’ve been there and this is the first time I did not get pita. If there has been a policy change I totally understand. But don’t try to tell me this is how it’s always been. 4 stars (should be 5 stars for the food) points deducted for tonight’s service. I’ll be back. Just tell me pita is by request now.
Thanks

I would give it 2 stars, because «meh, I’ve experienced better» is the perfect description for this review, but I DID eat all my leftovers, so I will stick with 3 stars.
My boyfriend and I went here for dinner on Tuesday, June 2. We decided to eat here because we were driving around looking for somewhere to go after being turned away at Chez Machin because they closed early. The big awesome Victorian house caught my eye and we decided to stop. As we were walking up we looked at the menu outside and I was really surprised how expensive they were, but I was so hungry that I had given up going anywhere else and just hoped the food matched the price (it didn’t)… It was around 8:30pm and they closed at 9 but were able to seat us.
Now to the food: I ordered the Lamb shawarma for a whopping $ 19. My boyfriend got the beef shawarma. It came with a house salata (salad) which was boring and tasteless. The waiter even apologized that it was really heavy on tomatoes. We also got pita bread and some oil & herbs to dip. That was decent but again, boring. Then we got our entreees. Maybe I’m just picky, but I greatly prefer saffron/​yellow rice over basmati. The basmati rice was okay, but just bland/boring…Is there a theme developing? My shawarma was pretty good, and tender for the most part, but I kept having to spit out fat and stringy tendony parts, which you shouldn’t have to do with lamb. My boyfriend’s beef shawarma was pretty tough. The only real thing to tie it all together was the tahini sauce to pour over all of it to give it some sort of flavor.
Overall, I was just not impressed. The food and price didn’t match up. I think RiYadh’s and Habibi are WAYYYY better, and they have great prices.

Amazing food and great service. We ordered the Beef Shawarma and a side of hummus for the pita bread. The hummus was phenomenal! The interior is gorgeous. Has a very quaint environment. Will definitely return!

I’m kind of disappointed in good ol’ TarBoush. I raved about this place to a friend visiting from out of town. I praised their outstanding customer service and wonderful food. We even forewent the Lebanese restaurant a few blocks away from my home, just so she could check out their amazing goodness.
Aware of their closing time (9pm), we arrived at TarBoush as quick as we could (8:15pm). The gentlemen turned us away 45 minutes from their posted 9pm closing time and suggested we try their «other location». We were not a large party… just two for a quick dinner. Though VERY empathetic to the fact that people want to get home and catch the last bit of sunlight on these long spring days, maybe TarBoush should advertise the time that they «stop seating» people instead of their «closing» time.
Sadly, I’ll be sticking to my neighborhood Lebanese restaurant from now on. Kind of a bummer.

The place is cute and cozy. The portions of humus and baba were generous which is always a plus. The server was attentive and very accommodating. All of the food that we ordered turned out wonderfully and we enjoyed our experience.

TarBoush is such a Portland gem. The experience started with the Victorian house and continued on to a tasteful interior. I really knew it was love at first sight as soon as the vegetarian mezza plate for our party of 9 started coming out! We tried the baba ghannouj, vegetarian grape leaves, tabbouli, falafel, and hummus.
By then I was pretty stuffed but did also have the Kryadis (Char-​grilled Black Tiger Jumbo prawns marinated in our new TarBoush sauce over a bed of basmati rice with steamed vegetables and a side of red sauce) which was also divine.
Oh yeah, their cocktails are strong but not necessarily good. The only drawback to an otherwise terrific dining experience.
Waiter was attentive to our large party needs at all times. Hands down some of the best Lebanese food I have had in my life!

In a snap: the food is good, pass on the drinks.
Housed in a Victorian style manor, TarBoush serves up really good Lebanese food. With tons of options for vegetarians, vegheads can feast beyond the mezza plate (though the mezza plate is really, really good). The food is fresh and flavorful, and I am eager to try more off the menu.
The drinks, however, were a waste of money. While the wine pour was certainly generous, I believe the bottle of merlot had been open too long and was going bad (it smelled reminiscent of wet dog, and tasted little better). A cocktail (with fernet, blood orange, and more) was too overpowering to be paired with food.
While the drinks were disappointing, this restaurant can stand on its food alone. Skip the booze and eat to your heart’s content.

My friend took me here because she’s obsessed with TarBoush. I can see why. I had the shawarma plate, and it was ridiculous. I inhaled the plate.
Their baba ganoush was delicious too. And I loved the mojito, even though just the one made me lightheaded. TarBoush is not joking around, and I’m seriously a fan. I would live here if I could.

Le narguilé, la nourriture, les bières, l’atmosphère: super expérience.