In short: cute atmosphere, friendly service, but food was way too expensive and not tasty enough to merit the high price tag. Owner ignores issues about health concerns sprinkled through the reviews.
We reserved a table here for 6:30 on a Saturday, but the reservation was not necessary. Plenty of tables available (which should have been my first warning sign.)
So the ambiance was nice, and the service although a tad slow as there was only one girl available to serve tables, was efficient and friendly. I do need to mention that it's customary for servers with long hair to tie their hair back. The server's long wavy hair was as free as can be. Other reviews I saw here mention the same thing, even finding hair in their food. Hair restraints are mentioned in the NJ Dept of Health Code for restaurants. I don't believe the owner could read previous reviews about hair falling in customer's food and not fix this simple issue immediately. Red flag.
The hummus was excellent, and the salad was delicious and flavorful. I got the signature dish which was very visually appealing. To their credit, the meat was cooked perfectly - - chicken juicy and tender, and the beef was a perfect medium rare that I asked for. But, the only flavor that I actually tasted was charred grill flavor--which was a little too intense, bordering on tasting burnt. I was expecting extremely flavorful Mediterranean meat bursting with garlic, lemon, and slightly salty. But I got none of those flavors whatsoever. It was as if the meat wasn't even marinated at all. Even if they could have provided a lemon slice on the side, or a more flavorful sauce than the tahini, it would have helped immensely. The rice was slightly dry as well. The tagine was... Ok. But not outstanding.
The baklava was disappointing as well. We shared a pistachio baklava, and I have never eaten a more soggy limp baklava in my life. The flavor was excellent, but The Baklava phyllo layers were not crispy whatsoever. The texture made it hard to eat, as it tasted and looked undercooked.
So when you mix the fact that the food was bland, PLUS everything was a few dollars higher than it should have been, you walk out spending $91 on an average meal for two people. We could have gone to Philly for that.
To the owners : these reviews should be your template for what needs to be done to make your restaurant a 5 star experience. So when I see MULTIPLE bad reviews mentioning the SAME things: "food that tastes burnt, bland, dry, server doesn't have her long hair tied back" etc.--the trend is easy to spot. It makes me wonder if anyone is reading these reviews. Including mine, there are 5 reviews that either mention hair in the food, or hair dangling over the food over the past few years. I hope for you to take these reviews constructively and make your business that you've worked so hard on more successful. Your restaurant could be packed on a Saturday night if some things were done differently. Good luck to you. read more