Well, what can I say? Every time I go to a restaurant without checking Yelp I get burned. My record in that regard is 100%. In this case, it would have saved me from one of the worst restaurants I've been to in a long time.
I knew there was going to be a problem when I asked for some water and the waitress, without saying anything, brought over bottles of Poland Spring. The reason: there's a "problem with the sewer" so it is restaurant policy to not serve tap water.
What a total hunk of B.S. First of all, if the water isn't good enough to drink, it isn't good enough to wash the dishes or make food or make ice, and as a matter of fact they ought to shut down the place. But like a dummy I say, OK, fine, and then I look and I see there is ice in the glass. The manager happens to be there so I ask, if the water is bad how can you make ice? He says, "that's different." I guess they truck in water from New Jersey to make the ice.
So either the water is undrinkable because of a sewage main break, or they are violating the health code by refusing to serve water to customers because they want them to buy bottle water.
We were then penalized for not walking out by some of the worst food and service I've ever had in Astoria, which of course has some terrific restaurants.
The humus and babaganoush were provided in tiny portions barely enough for one person, and were far inferior to what you can pick up in the supermarket for $4 a pound.
They were out of half the stuff on the menu: no fish, no soup, no this no that.
The main courses sucked. Tough steak, tough lamb. My few chunks of "lamb cubes" (an appetizer portion for ($19) came with inedible rice, a few shreds of roasted pepper out of a jar and broccoli. Broccoli? Yep, this is one hell of an authentic Lebanese restaurant, that's for sure.
Meanwhile, as the evening ground on, the sickeningly sweet smell of the hookahs was making everyone gag.
To add to the discomfort, loud music was blaring all the time.
So, end of meal. After crappy food, indifferent service and no water, they have the unmitigated gall to slap on a 20% service charge, unannounced, for a party of three! The manager removed it, but only after making a huge fuss, saying what a wonderful restaurant it is and how every restaurant charges for service.
Hello? What planet is this jerk from? It's not only not customary to impose service charges when they are not plainly stated in the menu (which these aren't), doing so is *illegal*.
This smelly, rude, stomach-turning dump is great if you like to smoke hookahs, don't mind being ripped off for that (see other reviews), and aren't eating much.
Advice: If you've been to this dump with fewer than eight people and they added a service charge to your bill, file a complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs. Service charges for fewer than eight people are illegal in New York City.
P.S. I see from a later review that they haven't got the hint yet. DCA told me they were warned that tacking on service charges is illegal for small parties. Here's the website for filing a complaint: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/resources/complaint.shtml Be sure to retain any receipts, as they may ask for them later. read more