We went to Elie's yesterday on July 1, 2016. At first glance, it looks like a nice restaurant. It was very busy. The service was lacking and was painfully slow. Our order took forever to order!!!!! We had to ask the hostess for bread, oil, salt and pepper because our waiter was not returning to the table plus our order was taking soooo long to get served. The service was friendly though, the food was expensive and very disappointing. Not at all worth what we spent on it. We won't be going back there again. read more

Excellent, consistent and yummy food! The best lentil soup in town! Say hi to Doug at the bar, he will take good care of you. read more

I am from Montreal and grew up eating Mediterranean cuisine and this place has the best kefta and hummus. And as a plus, they have a good cocktail menu. read more

Very bad experience with male host/manager(?). I am a woman and walked in during the middle of the week and 4:15 in the afternoon. No other customers were in the restaurant. The manager/host passes in front of me, stands approximately 4 feet away from me, facing me, with a male waiter standing next to him. The host/manager stares at me, as I stare straight back, for approximately 20 seconds. He does not seat me, ask me how many in my party, but just stares at me as I stare straight back him while the male waiter stands next to him grinning at me. I finally make a hand gesture, like well?, and he seats me. A different waiter than the one standing next to the host/manager grinning at me waited on me. The service from this male waiter was fine. I will NEVER go back to this restaurant. Been there before like the vegan/vegetarian options but NEVER again. I had a transgender woman friend who went there and the manager who sat her made a lude comment about her appearance. She said she asked for the manager and he stated he was it. When she asked for an apology he did not give one so she walked out. Bad, bad businesse practices to say the least. read more

I have been a long time customer however lately the service I have been giving has been very poor. I have celiac so I have to be gluten free. Most places you can make a simple substitution and not be charged. However when trying to order the mixed appetizer and opt of the normal tabouli for the quinoa version they said it was not possible. On another occasion they overcharged me on a take out order and the bar tender made his tip bigger on the receipt. Won't be coming here again and don't recommend it for people with gluten allergies or intolerances. read more

$21.00 for 2 mixed drinks and an owner who would rather take up prime seating for his own purposes than for paying Customers - forget this place!!!!!! There are too many other restaurants in B'ham where ownership "cares" about their Customers, I will never go back to this arrogant place. read more

Fast Beer Switcheroo: Ordered a bottle noon "Oh it's not quite chilled, please wait". 5 minutes later, a glass of beer arrives, no bottle. Same for my friend. Discovered different beer brand was served. Not Cool read more

This restaurant is just more Birmingham BS-overpriced food with little value. I ordered the Chicken Ghallaba, which was a different version than what I was used to-it was tomato based. The dish had great flavor, but it was not worth the $21.99. My wife and I could have gone to any of the other hundreds of Mediterranean restaurants in Metro-Detroit and gotten the same dish for $16 and we would have gotten more food. Neither of our dishes came with soup or salad and the portions were small. In addition to that, we were brought some hot bread, but our waiter did not bring us some garlic sauce. The wait staff basically hung out at the round table near the back and one of the cooks opened the door to the kitchen so we could watch her take a bite of the bread she had in her hand. I thought I saw the owner there, but it would be hard to tell because he was text messaging as he toured the restaurant throughout our entire stay. Our waiter was friendly and attentive, but that doesn't make up for the lack of value for the entire experience. Furthermore, we watched the bartender make a tiny snowman on top of someone's car outside. It just seemed like poor management at this place and the food was way over-priced. Also, the restaurant's phone was ringing off the hook and the ringer was obnoxious. We will not be back. read more

Just there today. I ordered a Fatoush Salad and Babaganoush to go. 20.00 and so small it would have barley served a small child. When I brought this to the attention of the Bartender some woman came from the kitchen and tried to tell me how much salad it would be if it was on a plate! I mean really? I then told some old guy i wanted a refund and as if to shame he says to the bartender "here this will be your lunch". First time there and the last time.I will tell everyone I know to avoid this place. Zero stars! Oops can't indicate zero stars so i'm giving it one star :( read more

The most delicious, succulent Middle Eastern food I have ever had. His white wine sangria is addictive. Try the bruschetta old style and then the Chicken Diane. read more

Husband and I and a former student met at Elie's last night for dinner at 6:15pm and had our choice of seating, which was very nice. We chose to eat outside in the covered patio. Hummus and tabouleh appetizer came with flat bread fresh from the oven. The loubiye was delicious, the smashed lentil soup was divine, and the service was excellent -- not hovering but not absent. A little problem with the wine list, which is fairly large, by the way. I like a vognier but they didn't have it. Second choice from the wine list was vouvray, but they were out. If you love chardonnay, you'll have a full choice. This is not a budget restaurant, but it isn't too bad. Appetizer dish for four was $16 and the loubiye entree was priced at $22. People claim this restaurant is pretentious, but c'mon guys -- do you know of a non-pretentious restaurant in downtown Birmingham? Four stars - would have been five if the wine list weren't so frustrating. read more

This place used to be so good. The service has been awful and the food just ok the last couple of times I have been there. Today I went to pick up take out and it took 20 mins for them to bring it out and I had called in the food 30 minutes prior to showing up. When I got back to work to eat, they had gotten the whole order wrong and the food was horrible and cold. Wont be going back ever again. Way to over priced for bad food and even worse service. read more

Jeez this is a tough one. I like this place sometimes and sometimes not. Place is very pricey and some of the items are pretty good. I do love the shawarma sandwiches. There really isn't much good middle eastern in the area so we did carry out sandwiches from here a few times. They only serve shawarmas for lunch though which is kinda annoying. My wife and I got carry out from here and we asked for an extra side of garlic with the shawarma sandwiches. They actually charged me $4 for it. That was almost the price of one of the sandwiches. I was in disbelief and when I mentioned it the bartender who rang it up she was apologetic they had to charge me for it. Thought I learned my lesson. Next time we ordered and my wife still wanted to get the side of garlic despite them nickel and dining us on it. Since we were ordering for a few ppl I thought it was ok since everyone could share. When I went to pay they had a large side of garlic which they charged us $8 (I believe that was the price) for. This was without anyone asking her if she wanted the large one. Being in a rush, I just paid and moved on. Was kinda disappointed with this. Haven't carried out from here since. Otherwise, for dining in it had nice outdoor seating in a good area of downtown Birmingham and good food if you stick to the middle eastern stuff. Did not like the sliders though. Def over priced for what you get though. read more

delicious upscale mediterranean with great service and cute little outdoor patio seating right in the middle of downtown birmingham. i love the variety on their menu and the fact that the menu is on a tablet and you can see pictures of each dish-very helpful! the portions are generous. read more

Elie's is definitely the best restaurant in Downtown Birmingham. They have great food, friendly service and amazing ambiance.

Best Lebanese food around. A little pricy as mentioned by others, but the food is worth it. Great hummus and try the sangria!

Had lunch today, Lamb Shish Kafta and Lamb Warak Enab for spouse. The Shish Kafta was served with grilled zucchini and carrot and a mound of rice with a wonderful chunky tomato sauce. The salad was lack luster with unripe hot house tomato (and honesty, it's tomato season in Michigan) and the dressing was nondescript. We had to ask for a bread basket rather than be offered. No fresh ground pepper offered on the salad and I stole a pepper shaker from a neighboring table. The menu has left the primarily middle east fare of the past. It is the small things that make a meal memorable. Out with the hot house unripe cardboard tasting tomato and nondescript dressing! Total $27.00 read more

Overpriced Coney Island. $20.00 for Shawarma? Save your money. Service was bad. they would not honor a gift card given to us last year for the holidays. There was no manager on staff to deal with the problem. Only the cook who did not speak English and the waiter. read more

This remains one of my favorite spots in Birmingham. Consistently. Elie of Elie's is such a great host. His menu is outstanding. The atmosphere is so inviting. I love the fire baked bread, too. I am highly recommending the BEST middle eastern food around town..it's at Elie's. (I'm salivating now!) LOL read more

Great shish tawook and salads. Nice to be able to get Lebonese food in Birmingham!!

reservations and call ahead are out, unless you know the owner or bartender. this place is overly pretentious, expensive, and don't think you'll be able to sit on the patio when the weather is nice. a connection to management is required. empty tables are reserved for "friends" of management. being next on the list is irrelevant, and the host admitted as much. i felt like i was at joe stone's crab in miami...but at least the stone crab is worth the pomp and circumstance. don't put yourself through the garbage this restaurant is happily willing to put you through. below average food and by far the worst customer service in the state of michigan. go elsewhere. read more

the restaurant is a must stop in the Birmingham area. the food is very good and creative. my only complaint is that the appetizers are over priced and the portions are small. everything else about the place is great and i would recommend to all that enjoy or want to experience this style of food. read more

Ate next door but there were a bunch of people being served in their outdoor area who were smoking, drinking and eating. It was disturbing and illegal (Michigan law prohibits smoking in a public restaurant). I asked to talk to manager and she said that it was the owner who was outdoors with his friends smoking and I should talk to him. I introduced myself, and informed him about the law, and asked him to stop smoking. He told me he was the owner and could do whatever he wanted, and he really did not care about the law. He then called me foul names and told me to walk across the street and file a report with the police, which I did. I find that anyone who thinks he is above the law, should not be patronized. Michigan has created laws like this to protect workers who are forced to inhale second hand smoke. The owner, and the manager, who ignored this law should have to face the consequences of breaking the law. read more

like outdoor seating, pleasant, food is average

Been here a few times for drinks in the summer months when it is very busy...finally stopped in last night with some great friends and had dinner. The dining room was perhaps 2/3 full and the bar was lively as usual. We were sat at our booth quickly and experienced very good service the entire evening. The Wine selection was very good with decent prices for Birmingham. The bread...amazing, Apps....very good...but the Lamb Chops were OUTSTANDING! Best I have had in the Detroit area! The wait staff was super friendly and professional and the owner came back a couple times to greet us and spend some time telling us about the restaurant and some of the interesting décor that was personally made by him. Elie's is a Gem in this town. It's quaint, comfortable upscale feel is all Bham! The Service and Food is very, very good! Definitely a place I would recommend as well as frequent more often in the future! read more

This was an overall shit experience. First of all the atmosphere of this restaurant is so oddly tension filled its as if you're sitting in the middle of the set of Goodfellas or the goddamn Godfather. The service was sub par which consisted of a non enthusiasitic waitress showing no care to better the experience of her customers. Also an awkward bus boy/water server who had not said a single word within the hour duration of our poor late evening dinner. Regardless of our Service endeavors, at least the food was good right? Wrong? So far wrong that the actual eating experience here was such a buzzkill that it consisted of overly dense meatballs resulting in them also being overcooked. The taste being of Ikea Swedish Meatballs lacking no Mediterranean flare or freshness. The Samboosik was was cold, and had absolutely zero flavor. Only flavor able to be picked up on was the godforsaken yogurt dipping sauce. Literally Greek fucking yogurt in a cup. The Fried Portabellas with feta cheese were the only somewhat okay thing to eat, that being they were also a luke-warm shit show and a Panko breaded mess. Feta flavor was almost non-existent. And last but not least the Calamari, which we went with the fried preparation. First off lets get this straight, how can a fine dining Mediterranean restaurant in the middle of downtown Birmingham at least not put out a decent plate of fried fucking squid. It being an $11 dollar plate of a rubbery, cold, and soggy mess. It was like they took a flash fry basket of squid and decided to throw the condiments and toppings of a Coney Island Greek salad atop of it. Making it cold and wet. It was virtually inedible. With all that being said the pretentious and "fancy" approach of interior design leading to shit service and even shittier food was an awful experience. Get your shit together Fellas. read more