Fantastic food and a great atmosphere! Great for a date night! Service is excellent! Faris was an excellent server! I just wish that the baklava wasn't sold out.... Oh well, next time, I will definitely be back! read more

Very good food, good prices and friendly servers. The Damascus bread is to die for and the Baba Ganoush is also delicious. Fast service and great relaxed atmosphere. I definitely recommend this restaurant. read more

My lunch experience was not that great. The lamb kebob's and accompanying vegetables were overcooked and the whole meal was somewhat bland given my previous experience with Lebanese cuisine. Even the rice, while lightly spiced(very lightly, almost imperceptible), was bit too dry. It took them quite some time to serve the food as well. There's better Lebanese food options in Columbia IMO. read more

Greatest food ever,, I had to talk to the chef and thank him,, make sure to order the hot sauce "shatta" and the garlic paste,, amazing food!! read more

Very average restaurant. We went on a Sunday evening and they were empty, and the service was still very very slow. It took about 20 minutes for the appetizers to arrive, and another 20 for entrees. The sampler appetizer was delicious with fresh bread and hummus. The chicken curry was very bland, and chicken was a little dark/questionable. The pizza crust was very fake tasting. Nothing was bad, but it was all around average so we probably won't return. read more

AMAZING FOOD my family and i were there last week for a birthday we had amazing time with our waitress shelly ask for her when you go if you want a good service. read more

Went here for my my friend's graduation dinner, and while I didn't even know this place existed before then, I must say I'm glad I went. The food was good, and looking around the table made me jealous I didn't get what my friends ordered I literally wanted to try EVERYTHING. The pizzas are huge btw read more

The concept and thought of the dish I ordered was great. However, I ordered the lamb kabob which left me feeling unsatisfied. The lamb was unseasoned, the rice & grilled veggies were ok. The best part was the hummus with with the olive on top. I probably wouldn't eat here again. I wouldn't want to pay top dollar for unseasoned lamb. read more

My mom always spoke highly of this restaurant. I was so excited to try it. We try to visit 5/26 around 5:30PM. We walk in with our masks on and stand at the host desk, waiting to be greeted. An employee swiftly rushed past us to go to the back, without looking our way. There wasn't anyone working the hostess desk, so we waited. Stood and waited. I noticed the two bartenders laughing with customers, in plain view. We found a menu at the hostess desk so we started to look that over, hopeful that some one would greet us. We waited 10 minutes and were never once greeted. We quietly left and went to another restaurant. Although the reason is unknown, I will attribute this experience to a lack of customer service. The bartenders saw us waiting in plain view... there's no excuse for this treatment. We will no longer return to this establishment. Not being acknowledged by anyone, in 2020, is truly unacceptable. Do better, Arabesque. Do better. read more

Arabesque is probably my favorite restaurant in Columbia. Order the Damascus bread, Baba Ganoush, or anything else for that matter. I have never ordered anything which I did not thoroughly enjoy! They also make some of the best pizza to be found in town. The wait staff is quite helpful if you are unsure of what to order, and it is a pleasure to be treated so warmly in a restaurant. I am not sure where the commenter Katie D. ate, but I can assure you that I have eaten at Arabesque over a dozen times and never had a bad experience. Yes, there are times when they are busy, but a meal is to be enjoyed, not rushed through at all costs to hurry back to work. I also question why if she were in a such a hurry to get back to work after lunch, she chose to enjoy the narhile (hookah). If you want real Mediterranean food (not the typical cookie cutter/chain food), this is the restaurant you should try. read more

I am a service and I understand the service industry and when I went there to eat today I experienced the WORST SERVICE EVER. For starters, the coke was nasty and the table wasn't wiped down. The server had the worst customer service ever and did not care about his customers. He never asked how we were doing or how the food was and failed to take dirty dishes from the table and refill my drink. I understand waiting tables can be hard and frustrating but this was completely unnecessary. Let's just say we were thoroughly disappointed and will not be returning. So sad to see places with such great food go downhill like this. read more

After a two year search for good Lebanese / Arabic food with the warm atmosphere and wine, we finally found it. Everything was great. This family/owners are the nicest people I have met so far in a restaurant. There food is as good as the old world middle eastern restaurants I have in my home town.Quality ingredients. The best grape leaves and bread. We will be there every weekend. And like all good Mediterranean people do, take your time, enjoy the food, drink and company. read more

My boyfriend and I really liked this place. Frankly we would've gone sooner but we hadn't heard about it until the Free Times posted about it. Maybe they need more exposure? The restaurant was a bit empty on a Saturday night, which worries me, but we had a nice time. It was comfortable, mellow, and the food was tasty. Price-wise, expect to pay about $20/person to have a well-rounded meal (like with a drink and appetizer). The service was slowish I guess, but I actually prefer that. We got their appetizer sampler and omg, dat babaganousch...so good. Well everything was good, but that was the standout for us. So garlicky and smokey. That alone makes me want to go back. But everything else was good too, we got a the kabob dinner for 2, it was plenty for us after the appetizers. I would encourage people to go. I think Arabesque should try a little harder to get some exposure, maybe be more active on social media, because if not I could see a place like this disappear from not getting enough business. I'll be crossing my fingers! read more

Not sure how food really was because service was so bad I only had a salad... The salad however was drowned in dressing and had mushy pepporcini. We waited for at least 25 minutes before noticing half of our order sitting on the counter. Once we noticed, we waited another 5 minutes before saying anything. When we asked the waitress, she argued with about the amount of time the food had been sitting there and said she was waiting on bread. However, another table that arrived after us, got bread so not sure what their problem was. If you want snotty waitresses and really long waits, this is the place to go!!! read more

Food wasn't extraordinary, as I am used to my grandma's mastery of Egyptian food. But still very good, and good enough to come back! Service was also great! read more

I don't understand some of the negative reviews. This place has the best Middle Eastern food we've found in Charlotte or Columbia and we lived in Detroit for many years where this type food gets no better (large ME population). We had excellent service and the food was phenomenal. We had grape leaves, hummus, falafel, tabouli, and lamb shank. Also they have a very nice bar which I don't believe Al Amir offers. We will be regulars here. read more

Great place on Devine st! They have excellent brick oven pizzas and their falafel is amazing. I am a huge fan of falafel and theirs gets my seal of approval. They do serve alcohol which is nice to have. Wine and pizza always go well together. Only down side is the 4 times we have been there we had to wait almost an hour for our pizzas. We keep going back hoping it will be quicker because we do enjoy the food. Last time we went if was incredibly warm inside, maybe their air conditioner broke, but if was hard to eat the food. Overall I do love the place, just might get carryout next time. read more

Since discovering this place, I am have been a regular customer. Ask for Silvana, the owner she is wonderful and will give you an exceptional service. The food is well made and competitively priced. Hey, try the Euro wrap, it's delicious! The Demascus bread is great. You got to finish off with Arabian green tea. read more

I was really looking forward to eating here. I hadn't had Lebanese/Arab cuisine in a while and really love that type of food. I noticed the good ratings on Yelp and knew it would be great. I must be the exception because my experience was a disappointment and I will not go back on principle. Keep in mind, I love giving good reviews because they are usually shorter. But I have to be honest so people who read this will get a more accurate picture of the experience at Arabesque. I went there with my wife and another married couple that loves Lebanese cuisine. The first thing that went wrong, although small, was that they were out of the only Lebanese beer they carried. It's a Lebanese restaurant, they had Lebanese beer on the menu, but were out of it. This is a very small setback, although a little disappointing. But it turns out, they were out of a lot of beers that were on the menu that they didn't have so they server had to make a hand-written list of available beers, which was appreciated. Second, the server, although very nice, was scatter-brained. She was extremely nice but she kept forgetting things, giving people wrong drinks, leaving lots of plates and empty bottles on the table, and seeming very unsure of what she was doing and saying. She would start to say something, then say "never mind". But again, she was very polite. My food was pretty good, so there is nothing to complain about there. But my friends ordered a pizza and they put ground beef all over it even though it was only supposed to be on half the pizza. I love ground beef, but evidently one of them hated it and did not want it. The server said it might take a while to make another one since they were busy. What she should have said was that they will make another one immediately since we had already been there a long time before it got busy. The manager did come out and say she would take it off the bill, which was very kind of her. And, she offered each one of us a free drink, which seemed awesome at the time. You're probably wondering why in the world I would only give it two stars at this point. I'll get to that. When the bill came, I was charged full price for an appetizer even though it was supposed to be half price due to happy hour. And the thing that got me was that I was billed for something that I didn't even order. On the menu, they have beef kabobs for $13, and beef tenderloin kabobs for $16. I ordered the beef kabobs for $13 but was billed for the beef tenderloin kebabs. I showed the server the appetizer discrepancy and where I was billed for the wrong item. She admitted that the appetizer should be half off and also admitted that she did bill me for the wrong item. She said she rung it in as the beef tenderloin and that is what I did get, but she remembered that I only said beef kebab, not tenderloin. She came back to the table with the amended check and said the manager was willing to take half off the appetizer but would not change the charge for the beef tenderloin even though we all know I did not order it. Had I known it was the beef tenderloin, I would have said something. I was eating it and it tasted no more tender than a sirloin steak, not a tenderloin. The manager personally came out to us when things went wrong at first, making things right. But when it came to wrongly billing me, she hid in the kitchen and let the server come out and deliver the bad news. I am the most forgiving and understanding restaurant patron, but the manager was basically saying that I was lying. The server even told her just to take it out of her tip, which I told her that I was NOT going to do. This was something I could not deal with, although I actually did and paid the dang bill. The free drinks for the screw ups were a nice gesture, but telling me that the bill would not be corrected to accurately depict what I actually ordered crossed the line. The manager just lost a future customer over $3. She told the server that she had already taken enough off the bill. The service was slow, the server kept forgetting things and seemed frazzled the entire time, and food came out incorrectly. All that would have been fine until the manager insisted I pay for something I did not order. That was an unwise move because I will never go back now. And I'll tell everybody I know never to go there. $3 is almost nothing to me. But not changing the bill to what I actually ordered because I ate it unknowingly wasn't cool. The server messed up, the manager was unwilling to make it right. The pizza my friends ordered was mediocre. My food was pretty dang good, not great though. But the manager insinuating I was a liar by not making the bill right and hiding in the back to let the server tell me.....well, that is pathetic and disrespectful. And that is just bad business. read more

Delicious food. I am of Arab descent and love me some good authentic middle eastern food. The mixed grill platter was amazing and the hummus and Damascus bread was delish as well. Highly recommend for some authentic food. Also the hot tea was great. Only con - kind of pricey for Columbia but hey I'll pay a little extra for good food. read more

Overall we enjoyed our lunch. Alittle pricey but worth it for the flavors, we ordered most dishes from dinner menu, probably why they gave us the dinner menu instead of the lunch menus. And yes its different because the lunch menu has gyros and dinner didnt. And my daughter wanted the gyros and honestly the gyros were probably the best dish. The mixed grill for 2 (wish it was sizzling) was ok because we ordered medium but it was more well done (meat got dry and hard quick). So maybe order raw to get a medium done. Now the veggies was grilled good. The rice was awesome, excellent flavor. Definitely will visit again for the gyros and anything with the rice. I can still the rice, mmmmm. read more

Amazing food with solid service. They're menu has something for everyone. If your a vegetarian they're falafel is crispy and delicious. Looking for ethnic fare? They're Damascus bread/Baba ghanouj/Hummus/grape leaves is filled with rich flavor and seems to be made with quality ingredients, all of which comes in the Arabesque sampler! You may not expect pizza to be a hot item at a Lebanese restaurant but it was amazing. Thin crust, beef pepperoni, chicken, and gyro meat all under a layer of melty mozzarella will make you weep in awe! read more

Walked in the restaurant and saw no smile on female waiter's face. Ordered humus and Coke as a starter. It took 10 minutes to get Coke and another 10 minutes to get hummus. We ordered entree's right away so we don't have to wait again to place order. Food came after 20 minutes and asked for more Coke and two Garlic Sauce . Waiter never brought Coke or water and he brought only garlic sauce after we were done eating . My glass was empty and he did not even bother to ask for more Coke or drink the whole time . On top of the that, he charged for garlic sauce which we did not need anymore. It was terrible service. read more

The food was good but the service was bad. There may have been about four tables occupied but we waited for an hour for the food to arrive even though we made a reservation. They forgot to give the olive oil seasoning with the Damascus bread and the waitress was nowhere to be found during the hour that we waited. When another waiter asked if he could get us anything, we responded :"our food!" read more

Staff was ultra friendly. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to eat, so they brought me samples of both to try out! Good good good food. Was so stuffed they almost had to roll me out of there. read more

I absolutely love this place. The atmosphere is warm and cozy. They have middle eastern music playing softly over the intercom which helps set the mood. The wait staff is VERY friendly. The humus is by far the best I have ever eaten. I had the beef tips over rice. Came with a salad. Everything was seasoned to perfection. I was a little skeptical of Lebanese food, because to be honesty, I was not really sure what it was. So glad I tried it. There was six in our party. We all love it. This is a gem of Columbia!!! read more

They must have changed owners. The prices have gone up and the good quality has gone down. Their beef kabob use to come with 10 or more beef tips, filet quality, Now it is a quarter inch flank steak. Cost went up, and no longer comes with a salad. This use to be our favorite restaurant, but no longer. read more

The food is good and fresh but service is always very slow. Not sure if this is because we are always there at lunch or if it is always slow. read more

The food was great. Sadly, the service was not. I went with a group, we ordered pizzas and waited. And waited. And waited. Not only that, we ran out of water and the waitress was not on top of it. 45 minutes before the appetizers showed up. 1/2 half the table was done eating before the other was served. Don't go if you're in a big group or expect to leave in under an hour. It's not worth it. read more

i took my family for the first time there for my dads birthday and he is very picky when it comes to his food and service when we go out. he loved it everyone there was very warm and the food was amazing the owner silvanh and peter were the best host ever. if you never went there my family and i suggest you should go and try before reading the reviews you well not regret it. thank you arabesque for a great night. we be back with more friends. shadi read more

My husband and I have consistently enjoyed excellent food, beautifully presented, as well as some different and interesting wines here. The service is friendly, casual and "homey." The management always makes a point to check on the tables and speak, as well as offer suggestions. My favorite dish is the Damascus hummus with lamb. Delicious! read more

We had such a great family meal here! Every dish, side dish and salad was superb. The waitress Shelley was so nice, I imagine she was part of the family that owns the restaurant. Our kids liked the food as much as the adults, HIGHLY recommend. read more

I have been dining here for years and through several name changes. I think it is the best it has ever been. Have been known to go for lunch with one friend and return with another for dinner the same night. Only two other restaurants in Cola that I can say that about. Wait staff are great young people who always ensure you have a special dining experience. The food is some of the best Lebanese cuisine I have ever tried. Silvanna, the owner, is so interesting, very personable, and has been known to serve you her homemade dessert, just to get your opinion. Hosan, the chef, makes the best Baba ganoush, Damascus bread, and lamb humus I have ever eaten. Compliment the food and if not busy he comes out personally to humbly say thank you for the compliment and patronage. The kabob grill for two (add lamb) is healthy and delicious. Have not had anything on the menu I didn't like. Faris is our favorite wait staff.... such a great conversationalist! He always goes out of his way to be polite, charming, and even picked fresh mint once to add to our hot tea. It is not fast food, made fresh with each order, so a little patience if crowded will help to make your dining experience better. Go here for great food, but engage with those connected with the restaurant for an amazing dining experience! Columbia needs more restaurants like Arabesque. read more

I have eaten here probably about 3 or 4 times; Always because I have purchased a Living Social coupon since the location is far from my usual stomping grounds. I love Mediterranean cuisine, and this place is par for the course. The food is good, but the service can be an adventure. The Last time I ate here, my friend ordered the Damascus bread, which came without the dipping sauce. When we asked about it, the waitress asked""Oh did you want the sauce too????" Really. Yes, and when I order a salad, I don't feel I have to specify that I would like salad dressing on it. The first time we ate there, my friend was brought a completely different entree than what she ordered. She chose to eat it anyway, as you really can't go wrong with their food. She didn't mention it until we were asked whether everything was OK with the meal. The waitress was suitably apologetic. She even brought her her original order to go on the house, even though she was assured it really wasn't necessary. That was above and beyond. So I didn't mention why they only reduced the bill by 18.00 since my dealsaver was for $20.00. We will be back, ever hopeful for an incident-free meal. Ha Ha. read more