Just did carry out here because we love the El Basha west but was very disappointed! The Kibby was not made the same and was dry and tasteless. The stuffed grape leaves were so tough and dry we had to peel off the grape leaves to even try to eat the but the rice stuffing inside was like a brick-so we threw them out. The pita was stale and the salad was way over dressed. We will never try them again Definitely not worth the $ 31!!!
L T.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Shrewsbury, MA
The décor and ambience is nice, the food was delicious, but the place is overpriced. Our waitress was very kind and welcoming, but she tried to upsell us many times, even bringing out things that we didn’t order and said we just«had to try»(ex: baba gannoush AND hummus when we ordered only the baba gannoush). It’s a trap. But a delicious trap. Beware of this as you come here to dine.
M R.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Northborough, MA
We ordered a dirty martini with tabasco, two of them. I specifically asked for the martini to not be too overly salty. When I sampled the drink it tasted like ocean water. The tabasco was just ‘dropped’ in, the beverage was never shaken. You could see the orange-red color sitting on the bottom of the glass. The bartender had no idea what to do about it. Instead of making new drinks, I suggested she pour half out and make a third martini and try to dilute it somehow. The drinks were still so salty it took around 90 minutes to consume them. We were charged ‘half’ for the third drink, which was already beyond repair with the others. We asked to speak to the owner/manager. He walked right by our table, never looked at us or spoke to us. For $ 14 a martini this establishment should know how to make one. We spent $ 40 on three disgustingly salty beverages which should have been made the right way the first time.
Steven S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Framingham, MA
Excellent food and service. Tried it because we had a gift card, and on a Saturday at lunch time we were the only ones there, which surprised us because the food was excellent — perfectly prepared, excellent spicing. Ordered the lunch special for 2(included mixed grill, salad, grape leaves) and baby lamb chops. Reasonable prices.
Erin R.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Fitchburg, MA
«PHENOMINALFROMSTARTTOFINISH» An awesome dining experience! Food was impeccable, very fresh and seasoned beautifully ! The timing of our meal was perfect! Service was spot on! Kuddos to the chefs and thank you Melinda for your warm and great hospitality !! Can’t wait to return!
Leila Y.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Marlborough, MA
Only place that has REAL Lebanese food and REAL hookah!!! They have great kibbeh balls and stuffed grape leaves. Their hookah lasts for hours and never tastes burnt. Love this place!
Mike S.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Lunenburg, MA
We’ll go here again for sure. We had heard good things about El Basha, but this was our first dinner there. Two of us had the Saiid, one lamb, one beef, both delicious but the lamb was best. Another had the stuffed grape leaves, excellent. And one had the chicken kebab, also very tasty. It was a quiet Sunday evening, so not too busy and outstanding service. We had the amazing Melinda as our waitress, and she could not have been more attentive or charming. She started us off with pumpkin martinis, which were excellent. The hummus was good, but the baba ghanoush was fabulous. Put this place on your«must try» list.
Julia M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Shrewsbury, MA
The food here is fantastic. Everything on their menu is delicious. We always take fatoush, Armenian salad, grape leaves, tabouli and sembousik as appetizers. Lamb lollipop chops are above comparison, but there are so many other excellent entries there as well!
San D.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Worcester, MA
This place is highly racist in nature and rude. We went for lunch and the waiter took an order for sandwich. After about 45 mins wait he came with two plates that had rice in them. We were not sure if this was the sandwich material and whether we have to make our own. So I called the waiter and asked if this was the sandwich, he said no and he had brought an absolutely different stuff. It was Ok until then he said he will change it. But the main lady who was at the bar comes running and insulted me by saying I was making this up and I was being dishonest and I can eat this up and the waiter should not do anything. That was extremely shocking behavior. She was being highly quarrelsome and rude with us. Then she rudely asked the waiter whether we had ordered sandwich when he accepted she took the plates away. After which they just wrapped up what they had given before and served us. My friend had ordered Shawarma which was not even served.
Marissa B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Worcester, MA
UPDATE: As mentioned above, I have always been a huge fan of this restaurant for dining out. Recently, I was in search of a venue for a surprise 40th birthday party for my husband and was really struggling to find a place that could accommodate my needs. One of the last places I checked(still not sure why it took me so long!) was El Basha(the Park Ave restaurant, the rest don’t have function rooms). I spoke with George, who was incredibly kind and helpful. Instead of this lengthy list of do’s and dont’s I was receiving at other restaurants(crazy food and drinking minimums, time maximums, etc) George basically said«sure, whatever you want!» He let me order exactly what I wanted for food(more of a cocktail hour than a sit down meal), we were there for an extensive period of time, they cut the cake that I brought in for no extra charge, and the servers were incredibly polite and helpful. They helped us set up music and a microphone for people to speak. The room was gorgeous and all the tables and chairs were set up when I arrived, the food was delicious and the spread was beautifully laid out, and we felt very private while still getting great service. They packaged up my leftover food and cake for me before I could even notice it was gone and made it easy for me to bring home. The price was incredibly reasonable and the whole experience just went so well. I will certainly look to El Basha first for my next venue rental!
Niholas P.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Berlin, MA
Great Middle eastern Place. We have been going for many years. Always perfect. I suggest the complete dinner for 2. You don’t have to make any decisions. And the food is very nutritious. You feel full after eating but not bloated. Service is always flawless.
Robin Z.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Worcester, MA
Ordered a bunch of food for New Years Eve. Appetizers, salads, entrees. I cannot say enough good things. The order was ready in record time. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. The prices were fair. The food was outstanding taste-wise. Can’t speak to presentation because it was takeout. I would order again in a heartbeat.
Jon R.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Worcester, MA
El Basha, hands down, has the best Lebanese/Mediterranean food anywhere around! Not only that, but their customer service is top notch. The owner and his son remember me by name, know how I like my orders and drinks, and you can tell genuinely like talking with you. They also greatly appreciate your business and let that show through their service levels,. Anytime I walk in, I’m greeted with friendliness, courtesy, and respect. Did I mention that the chicken shawarma is one of the most delicious yet healthy meal I’ve ever had? The Kabobs are fantastic, the Mezza Platter is awesome because you can get a taste of 4 or 5 different apps. The hummus blahme is delicious, grape leaves etc. Bottom line, you can’t go wrong with El Basha. food is terrific as well as the ownership and service!
Fouad E.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Shrewsbury, MA
El-Basha has the best authentic Middle Eastern food in New England. It is as good as your grandma’s cooking. I eat at El-Basha for lunch multiple times a week because of how good the food is here. Every single item on this menu is really good and would reccommend the Mezza Platters. This is a great restaurant for big groups of people and they also do a great job catering.
A. A.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Shrewsbury, MA
I’ve eaten at this El-basha ~5yrs ago and recall the food being good, but my experience last weekend was not so good. The service was quite friendly and attentive from the minute we walked in to the minute we left, very well done. However the food was just simply put not good at all. Ordered the stuffed grape leaves and Kibee balls — the grape leaves were quite strong in taste(maybe just didn’t suite my palate) and the kibee balls were terrible, like it was made a week ago ago, frozen and then simply thrown in the deep fryer to heat up. My date had the lamb lollipops which he said were okay and I had the Shish/steak/chicken kabob mix. The only thing that tasted like it was made that day was the steak, everything else on the plate was bland and tasted old and simply re-heated. The ground meat was to be honest, horrible. I took only one bite. Very very disappointing. The pita bread was simply put terrible. Smelt stale and old, with one bite that was it for us. There are so many restaurants in the area so I probably won’t be going back here by choice. As I mentioned earlier, the one good thing was the service. Very friendly and attentive so major points for that.
Cara W.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Worcester, MA
I recently visited the Belmont Street location with a large group for lunch. They were very attentive and accommodating for our party of a dozen or so. I highly recommend the fattoush salad, veggie grape leaves. I generally order the falafel plate as a dinner since I am a vegetarian and I find the pumpkin kibbee to be a little heavy for me. About a month ago, I ordered a falafel sandwich to go and the falafel were not as wonderful as I had remembered. They were a bit dry, and all the sauce was pooled towards one end of the pita, leaving one end soggy and the other dry. Perhaps it was an off-day. It won’t stop me from returning! For dinner, I prefer the Park St. location.
Joe S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Salem, NJ
We have eaten at the Belmont Street El Basha 4 times and the last 3 have enjoyed the complete dinner(Azeeme). Our most recent visit was Saturday night 8÷23÷14, and our dinner was quite good. The fattoush was really fresh and flavorful, kibbeh and grape leaves were good also although the«garnish» on the plate was bland shreds of iceberg lettuce. The hummus/baba ganoush dips were standard. As others have mentioned, the pita tends to be a little dry but OK for scooping the dips. The star of the meal was the lentil soup; mixed grill was also very good — tender meat and well spiced. We had baklava for dessert and it was standard also. Interestingly, the last time we dined, the dessert was on the house according to our server because we had ordered the complete dinner; this time it was not gratis. We do have some experience with Middle Eastern cuisine and this seems to be a bit above the middle of the pack, not the best but certainly a good meal. They have a few Lebanese selections on the wine list that are tasty also.
Jason H.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Aliso Viejo, CA
Amazing food. So fresh! Owners are very nice and accommodating.
Nadia N.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Montavilla, Portland, OR
My grape leaves good once I squeezed lemon on them. My shawarma was horrible! It was like I got someone’s dried out leftover chicken that they then sprinkled with tahini and spices. The pita bread was like store bought that was starting to go stale. Just no love in the food. I asked for tea and received hot water and a Lipton tea bag– seriously?! Good waitstaff though. Don’t waste your money. Not worth it.
Anthony P.
Rating des Ortes: 5 North Grafton, MA
Simply the best middle eastern food anywhere! The Greek salad is the best on the planet and I’ve looked everywhere! The grape leaves are simply amazing squirt some Lemmon on them and your in heaven! The kebabs are cooked to perfection there chicken is seasoned beautifully and the rice is delicious! Definitely worth checking out and tryn for yourself!