El Basha is a popular Mediterranean restaurant with multiple locations, particularly known in the Massachusetts area (Worcester, Westborough, Sudbury). We started with hummus, and baba ghanoush. Then we ordered chicken shawarma, and various kabobs (chicken sirloin, lamb, shrimp). The atmosphere is elegant yet casual, suitable for both family meals and date nights. read more

The food is consistently excellent through all the years I have eaten at El Basha in Belmont Street, Worcester. The attentive staff complements the good food experience. Best time to go is during the week. Packed on weekends. Excellent bar and coffee. read more

One of our favorites - great variety - hard to choose a single dish. Food is well made, great Mediterranean tastes. Staff os friendly and attentive read more

A quiet night with a light drizzle drew us to to El Basha to share a meal and an appetizer. I was told to give it a try by a coworker. The hostess was prompt and friendly inviting us to choose our seating as it was a slow night. We chose the bar. Bartender was impersonal but friendly enough. She was quite busy which was odd due to the low crowd. We went with the tuna tartare ($10) and the vegetarian port saiid ($16) with a beer and Mai Thai. They don't have a cocktail menu. Tuna tartare missed the mark. A much too hefty portion of tuna was cut unevenly thick and mushy atop a romaine leaf. Tuna was nervously not fresh, and it was dressed up with spices and chopped herbs to add some good flavor profiles, which sadly did not reconcile the tuna. Two bites and was over it. I would have liked a smaller portion and more attention to detail and quality. There were no crackers to accompany but we used complimentary pita bread for a starch base. The vegetarian port saiid was even more disappointing. It took far too long to come out, and it reminded me of a dish I would throw together with what's in my fridge forgetting to add seasoning. The dish was hot, but it was bland. Had to salt n pepper it. Finished half the dish and held my tongue while paying. Simply subpar. Overall the food disappointed me and my partner, and having been glad to check El Basha off the local restaurants list, I am not surprised I had never been and don't see much of a reason to return. read more

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My sister and I were looking to order something different for takeout for a girls night in on Friday 15/Jan/21. We decided on El Basha on Park Ave and were not disappointed!! We like "appetizer" meals, so we ordered a bunch of apps off the menu, homus, labneh, feta cheese, stuffed grape leaves, kibbee balls, falafel and tabouli salad. So much food and everything tasted great! The portions were good sized and it came with ample Lebanese bread for dipping. We will definitely be back. Online ordering was easy. I waited a couple of minutes when I got there for the order, but after, I realized I had gotten a text message about when it would be ready, so I probably wouldn't have waited if I had just looked at my phone lol Only minor complaint, everything was packaged well for takeout, but the tabouli was packaged in a styrofoam takeout container and it had leaked onto the bag. It would have been better served in the plastic containers with a lid that the other items were in. And, the next time I order the falafel for take out (which I will be doing again) I would ask for the sauce on the side, it was a little mushy by the time we got home. All in all, HIGHLY recommend and we will be back!! read more

the restaurant was nice , this was my first time being in this place . service was just ok .... you know it takes a little bit effort to go from good to great !!! and that's what they failed to do today when I went to that place . I ordered my food and didn't realized that lunch chawarama was different to dinner chawarama... I was not told and again this was my first time . I was expecting them to make it right by me , to make sure my first experience was the best one .... it was not gonna cost them anything to make the costumer happy for their first time . I was very disappointed about the service ..... again, that's what's make the difference between good to great , a little effort, i am pretty sure if this was other "ppl" , they would've treating them differently. Treat ppl equally and show it on your service and presentation.... The reason I have you graded 2 , the food was at least very good .... Thanks , that's how I feel , and thats my story with el basha today ... BLM read more

This has always been, and I expect always will be, one of my favorite places in Worcester. Went back last night, and the food was outstanding (I fear that I might have found my favorite menu items, the only downside of which is that it might stop me from trying other things). Michael (the server/waiter/bar guy) was as friendly and wonderful as always. Thank you El Basha for -- once again -- creating a great dinner experience, I love this place if I eat alone at the bar, I love this place when I'm joined for dinner with a friend at one of the tables. read more

They are not open for lunch Monday through Wednesday. We drove all the way there and was disappointed it was closed.

Quite possibly the best Lebanese food I have ever had. The Port Saiid in phenomenal and I could not recommend it more. Michael was an awesome bartender. Everyone was friendly and this is our favorite spot in the Worcester area. Can not recommend it more! read more

Just phenomenal. Their fattoush is incredible. Their meat grape leaves are sublime. Their baba ganoush is the stuff dreams are made of. Staff at the restaurant is really kind and sweet and friendly. This is my favorite restaurant in Worcester and I don't mind paying more for such fresh and high quality food. The restaurant is cozy and beautiful, and their takeout is also terrific! read more

Service and food were amazing. Our server was helpful, attentive and so nice! For our entrees, I opted to get the mezzeh platter with spinach pie, sembousik, baba ganouj, and stuffed grape leaves (because, honestly I couldn't decide what to get, it all looked so good). My boyfriend got the port saüd with lamb. I am glad that I ordered the platter for my first time here-- baba ganouj isn't something that I would generally order out at a restaurant as a stand-alone appetizer, but the subtle eggplant flavor along with the smoked paprika had us side eyeing each other to see who was going to make the move to snatch up the last bit. His port saüd was ah-mazing. The garlic lemon sauce was beautifully complimentary to the lamb. The lemon and garlic were fresh tasting, from the hands of a skilled chef and not prepackaged or dulled with unnecessary sweeteners. Everything seemed calculated, measured, and honestly fantastic. We will definitely be back! read more

Been coming here for many years now. My wife and I drive over an hour just to dine here. If you are looking for authentic Lebanese/middle eastern food than this is the place for you. Normally I will order many small appetizers just to pick at. Then we will order one main plate to share. To be completely honest I love the appetizers here. read more

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Not a very popular place, but the food was decent. It felt very authentic and we had a lovely waitress with nice seating as well. Even though we are not the biggest fans of Middle Eastern food, this was a good place to try. read more

It was another early Friday night dinner (5 p.m.) for my companion and me. This was my first time dining at El Basha, my companion's third. Upon our arrival, the dining room and bar areas were rather dimly lit by elaborate chandeliers and wall sconces. The bar had a handful of customers seated on stools; the dining room was completely empty but for the two of us. A little after five, however, a steady stream of people came in, more and more tables for four being filled. I found the dining room appealing despite the dim lighting, tables topped with crisp white cloths, each wisely covered with a sheet of white paper for easy cleanup. They were set with stemmed water and wine glasses, square white bread/appetizer plates, linen napkins and pristine silverware. The appetizer of vegetarian stuffed grape leaves we shared was served warm, came six to an order on a bed of iceberg lettuce, a fresh lemon slice on top of the rolls. While the filling of perfectly-cooked rice, chick peas, a few vegetables, herbs and a hint of lemon was quite nice, some of the grape leaves that encased the filling had very tough veins, making them hard for me to thoroughly enjoy. We did enjoy the complimentary basket of warm, fresh, gossamer-thin pita bread slices (I've never had pita this thin)---great with our dolmas. To be very truthful, I prefer the cold vegetarian dolmas I purchase from a local market. I felt El Basha's could have used more lemon and seasoning in the mixture, and would have been better served cold or at room temperature---that's just my taste. There was nothing really off-putting in these rolls, and my companion had no complaints. My companion chose for her entree the combination kabob plate, consisting of grilled steak, chicken and kefta (seasoned ground meat), served with a mound of tasty pilaf, and perfectly charred tomato, green bell pepper and onion wedges. She was ecstatic about her food and found her entrée totally satisfying. I snitched a small piece of her kefta and found it to be a tad bland and a little dried out; she disagreed. I opted for the marinated and grilled baby lamb chops, served with the same pilaf and charred vegetables. Oddly, I found the first chop I tasted a bit tough, but the rest were tender and succulent---how the heck did that happen?! On the whole, I found my meal delightful. El Basha does not currently have a dessert menu, but we were told by our server that the offerings that evening were baklava and rice pudding. We passed on the sweets, being too full after finishing most of our dinners (there were some of each of our entrees to take home to enjoy the next day, and we surely did scoop up the remaining slices of that delicious pita bread). I must mention that we were quite pleased with our server, Alda. She was efficient and extremely pleasant. Our tab came to $88, tax and tip included (we ordered one glass of Montepulciano and a bottle of San Pellegrino mineral water). We'll definitely be back when we get our next hankering for Middle Eastern food, nicely done. read more

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Back after a long absence. Super nice wait staff, plenty of tasty Syrian Bread. Shrimp kabob was tasty. Loved the grilled veggies. The rice pilaf did not taste super fresh. The salad, oh my gosh, SO good. The dressing is lemony and awesome. The veggie grape-leaves were mushy and perhaps microwaved. Mom loved her kibbee. Heavy on the salt, here. read more

Went to this location this past Saturday night with a friend to have appetizers including labneh, foul Moudamass, Mousaaka and Armenian tabuleh. Everything was delicious and the prices couldn't be beat. The only downside was that the next day I noticed my card was charged $30 more than the bill including tip. I quickly went to this location and spoke to the same waitress, Anny and manager, Lisa. I was told because the owner was away they couldn't authorize a refund to my card but I could get a gift card. The food and service were exceptional and I planned on returning either way so I accepted the gift card. I ended up ordering appetizers to go afterwards. I recommend this restaurant, just remind everyone to keep an eye out for these types of errors. read more

El Basha Restaurant - Park Ave - Tabuleh with feta - Middle Eastern Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

We often go to their sister restaurant in Sudbury, always dependable great food and service. Saturday night we were going to a show at the DCU so we decided to try El Basha - Park Ave. What a disappointment in every way. From the time we entered the restaurant. We were greeted by a very abrupt hostess only to realize that was as good as it was going to get. I have never met such a rude, in competent waitress. Asked four plus times for water, certainly not an unusual request, I finally got up and got it from the bar. When the food came it was swordfish and shrimp thrown in a disorganized pile rice all over the plate, all b of which were way over cooked thus vey dry. Even the facility has seen better days, years ago. It was abundantly obvious that if you weren't a regular you really weren't welcome. The waitress's spent all their time talking to tables of regular customers to the lack of attention of all others. Never again return and will do my best to spread the word. We will return toSudbury where I have never had a bad experience but never in Worcester there were four of us w And all had the same experience, we all dine out at a minimum of five nights a week. read more

Wow this is some of the best Mediterranean food I have had in a long time. So much flavor! We actually didn't even get the hummus we ordered for takeout and that still doesn't knock a star off this place. So yummy! read more

I ordered food for my fiancé, daughter, and myself. The food was so bland, the lamb chops tasted as if it was boiled. The lamb chops, beef kabob, and the Kafka kabob, had no salt whatsoever. The vegetables were very underwhelming. The only decent thing that was in the order was the rice which was thoroughly cooked. With the price of the food I just expected better. read more

El Basha has become me and my husband's favorite regular spot. We love the friendly staff who remember what you like, and the casual atmosphere of the bar and lounge area. There's a nice ambiance and a fun vibe. Most of all, we love the delicious food! You cannot go wrong with so many choices on the menu. It's always a satisfying experience all around. read more

Had a meeting across the street, so decided to get some takeout. The place was clean, the staff I interacted with were friendly. It was fortunate they had Guinness on tap, however the bartender had no idea how to properly pour a Guinness. I then selected my items, two appetizers, and two lunch entrees. The quality of the food was above average however the price was unrealistic. The cost was $60, and the portion size was incredibly small. As noted by the picture, the Hummus and the Labneh each came in very small styrofoam containers. Each individual kebab order consisted of only one kebab.I do not know if this varies if you visit the restaurant in person, but I will never get takeout from there again. read more

El Basha Restaurant - Park Ave - This was a $60 lunch! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

I came here with a big party, and we had a pretty good time. They were able to accommodate our party, but they rushed us with the menus (they said they didn't have enough for the rest of the restaurant if we took to long with them) weird. anyway, onto the food. we ordered a cold platter and a hot platter of appetizers. they were both pretty good! the hot platter in particular was excellent. the entree i ordered was the chicken kabob and it was so so. nothing spectacular. so it was just ok. i wouldn't come back. read more

I've always have been a huge fan of El Basha, having a boss who is Syrian/Lebanese sort of makes the introduction of Middle Eastern food a must. I've been going to El for about 15 years now but I've never been to the 2nd restaurant that they opened on Park Ave until recently for Mom's Day. The decor in this restaurant is far different than the one on Belmont Street. It's upscale, more of a rich wood, classier style rather than the Middle Eastern flair. Nice contrast between the 2. The food is outstanding as usual. They have the BEST Baba Ghanouj I've ever had. My party ordered Hommus and Baba Ghanouj along with stuffed grape leaves, falafel, kibbeh and tabouli for everyone to try. From the sounds of everyone muching away and nothing being said except Mmmmm, oooo, wow...I take it everything was a big hit!. I ordered the Fatouch which is a cucumber salad with toasted pita bread and house dressing of lemon and olive oil...absolutely awesome!!! And I don't even like cukes! But for some reason I can't get enough of this! The waitress was fine...a little frenzied for being only our party present and no one else had arrived for lunch yet. Maybe she wasn't in the swing of ordering yet...dunno. I was a tad surprised that they were not ready for patrons and it was 12 noon. Normally restaurants open at 11:30 am for lunch but they were still vacuuming and putting things out and the door was still locked at noon. We had reservations for noon so I don't think we were out of line and expecting to go in. She looked annoyed when she opened the door. But she finally relented and let us in to sit down....strange. Other than that...wonderful time!! Very nice experience, totally worth going and will be back at this address. read more

My fiance and I tried El Basha tonight in hopes of finding a local place that has a killer shawarma. I've only had one sharwarma and it was from a place in Boston and it was delicious! The one I had from El Basha was just eh...so so. There was nothing wrong with the food, it just wasn't stellar and we've already decided we won't be going back. Just not flavorful enough I guess. It was more like an overpriced chicken salad without the spicy garlic sauce and not rolled in a pita. The place is conveniently located right off rt 9 in the UMASS hospital area. There is a parking lot with dedicated spots for the restaurant but the lot is quite small. The decor was warm and inviting...or maybe it just seemed that way because it was cold and rainy outside. It appeared to be clean and there was a faint smell of spices in the air. read more

I came here for Plant Nite on a Sunday, when they are normally closed. We were placed in their large, private banquet hall which looks really nice for a private party. The service and food was very good. There were no mixed drinks - at least for Plant Nite! They had a decent wine list and a few beers on tap. We just got a fattoush salad with chicken and a small hummus appetizer to share between two. The fattoush is the best rendition of the dish I've ever had. SO good. The hummus was also fantastic - creamy and flavorful. It came with a large basket of pita bread which was refilled upon request without extra charge. The pita bread was just OK. Wish we were there for more than just a hold-over...we definitely want to come back for more to get a better sense of the menu. read more

Contrary to other reviews, I have had a party/catering event thrown at El Basha. I don't remember the price I paid for it but I ended up literally with a weeks worth of port said, chicken saiid, and hummus which is a personal heaven of mine. There was maybe 25 people there and everyone ate to satisfaction. I was always a fan of the port saiid or chicken saiid. It's the best deal they have at the restaurant in terms of how much food you get. A giant serving of delicious rice with lightly seasoned and lemon steak or chicken for 15 dollars. Other dishes like the kabobs were also a nice refreshment. Great grilled vegetables and meat on a skewer with rice as well. What really stands out the most to me is the hummus. In my personal opinion I have never, ever found another place that has hummus as good as el basha's. I'm sure it would have to literally be homemade to match it's quality and taste. I would buy it by the bucket if I could. They also have the best babaghanouj I've ever had as well. It's actually the only baba I can stand to eat. I'm not sure if their tiramissou is made in house but it's a very nice balance between the coffee and cream. I guess people complain about the prices. Yea for Worcester the prices are a bit high. But how many places serve food on the same level as El Basha in Worcester? Not many. No, TGIF does not count. And Ribs from Chuck's Steak does not count either. For the cultural variety that El Basha is able to bring to a largely Caucasian Worcester, the price is fine. Especially compared to other cities where a meal is going to cost 30-50 dollars for the sane quality. I don't think other people remember/realize that. I only wish there were an El Basha for the same price in NYC, Hawaii, Chicago, and California. read more

We went in on a Saturday night to get dinner before a show at the Hanover. The place was packed. One member of my party went in first to make sure there was seating. She managed to get three seats at the bar right away. When we got inside, she already had a glass of win in front of her. There was some confusion over which of the two bartenders was taking care of my party, so no one came back to get a drink order for the rest of us. After a few minutes, we had to flag someone down. Once we had their attention, though, everything went smoothly. The menu contains many Lebanese and Middle Eastern staples. Customers receive complimentary pita bread to be eaten plain or with one of their many dip options (like hummus and baba ganouj). We didn't order an appetizer, but we wished that we did when it took almost 45 minutes for our entrees to come out. For dinner, I had the Seafood Mixed Grill. It came with swordfish, salmon, and shrimp, along with rice pilaf and grilled mixed vegetables. The fish was all fresh. The swordfish was a little overdone and dry, but everything else was really good. The vegetables were fresh and the authentic rice pilaf was fluffy and flavorful. Overall it was a good experience. There were a few hiccups, but I'm chalking it up to how busy they were. I definitely recommend this restaurant. read more

This is my second time here at this Resturant. The first time was for business, today I was here for dinner with a friend. I opend the door only to find women at the front eating their dinner with their mouth open. She told me to seat myself. She continued to eat as I waited for the waitress. She is fifteen feet from me and the sound of her eating is drowning up the taps from my keyboard. I have now been here for 7 minutes and no one has come to see me. I am now listening to them argue that the door should not have been opend if there was no wait staff present. I wold leave except I am waiting for my friend to get here. Let's hope that the food is better than the service read more

Tried El-Basha the other night. Keep in mind I come from a Lebanese family so I might be tough to please in this category. Ambiance and service were great. Nice interior with a fireplace, tasteful decorations -- somewhat modern and dark. I liked it. Menu was extensive with a long list of appetizers, main dishes and even a listing of non-Lebanese dishes for those less adventurous. Prices were very fair. We had the artichoke hearts and grape leaves for apps. Both were excellent. For the main dish, we both had kabobs. Only reason I am not giving this place higher than 3 stars is that my dinner was only so-so. I found it dry and not very flavorful. Others might find this appealing, but I tend to like more flavor in my ethnic food. Again, I might be a bit harsh here due to my ethnicity, but its how I feel! Still, I would recommend it to others to try and would go back myself -- I am just not in a hurry to try it again. I might try Sahara Cafe next time. read more

Great restaurant, one of my favorites. Atmosphere is elegant but casual. Service is polite and prompt. Portions are huge. And the food tastes great! I especially like their port saiid, either vegetarian or chicken. They also stand out by giving *lots* of Syrian bread (aka pita) for your hummus, and will bring more at no charge if you get through it all. (Unfortunately, most places won't do that anymore.) The only downside to this place is the location. It's easy to find, right on Park Ave., just not the loveliest street block. And although they have parking, it's near C. C. Lowell, not next to the restaurant, which is confusing. If you park in the lot by the restaurant, you could get towed (according to the sign...fortunately, I'm not speaking from experience). Oh, one more very small negative: it can be a bit cool/drafty in here. Just enough that it takes a few minutes before you feel warm, coming in on a cold evening. But this and the parking situation together aren't enough to subtract a star. Overall, this is a great restaurant. So, if you're in Worcester and have already been to O'Connor's, eat here! I haven't found a better Middle Eastern restaurant, in Worcester or elsewhere. Last night I tried the much touted Oleana in Cambridge, which was disappointing...it only reminded me how much I like El Basha. read more

On this Saturday night, we decided to give El-Basha a try, having dined out recently at some of our regular venues such as Bocado's, the Chop House, Sole Proprietor and Volturno's. The hostess was very prompt and courteous, offering us our choice of seating areas. Our waitress arrived quickly, and asked if we wanted water, which we did, but requested new glasses as ours looked dirty (a bad omen?). We decided to share the Spinach Pie appetizer ("homemade crust with spinach and onions $8"). This arrived at our table quickly, perhaps too quickly, as it was barely warm on the outside and cool inside. The home made crust was unappealing, doughy and chewy in a bad way, perhaps exacerbated by the serving temperature, or perhaps it was simply under-cooked. We told the waitress and she brought them back into the kitchen for a re-fire. When they arrived again, they were hot, but still unappealing. We wondered if they microwaved them? They sat at our our table throughout our dinner untouched, until clearing, which I'll discuss at the end of this review. For dinner, we ordered the baby lamb lollipops, and the chicken with mushroom. The lamb lollipops were plentiful and very good, by far the best thing we sampled on this evening. The rice was warm (not hot), and the grilled vegetables were cool and unmemorable. The waitress didn't seem to notice that the spinach pie appetizer sat at the edge of our table, throughout dinner. When our dinner was cleared, the person clearing (not our waitress) asked if we enjoyed our dinner, and if we were finished with the spinach pie. We said the appetizer was terrible and could be tossed. Out of the four dough filled quarters, we didn't finish one. When our bill arrived, the appetizer was still on the bill, and we decided that we were unlikely to return. read more

I haven't been here in awhile, not sure why! It looks as though the bar has expanded, the bartenders took awhile to notice us about 10 min. They were talking to the men next to us and never even saw us sitting there. After we put our order in everything came quickly and they were very sorry. We ordered falafel, hummus, eggplant and spinach pie. It was so delicious!! Can't wait to go back!! Thanks Christine! Nice sweet young bartender read more

A Worcester gem! Excellent food, excellent ambiance, reasonable prices. The waitresses are always super friendly. No reason to not keep coming back. read more