After writing and reading hundreds of reviews on Yelp, I've noticed a few "Yelp truisms".
For example, Yelp ratings are almost useless. It's nearly impossible for a restaurant to escape the 3.5 - 4.5 star range. Show me a restaurant with more than 4.5 stars and I'll show you either on of the best restaurants on the east coast or a restaurant with less than 5 reviews.
Another truism is that 1 and 2 star ratings generally fall under one of two categories:
1. Restaurant is high priced. Yelpers don't like high prices, regardless of the food.
2. There was a groupon / coupon / seamless encounter involved.
3. Service was bad.
There are always exceptions to the rules, but I see this over and over. For Mombar, the majority of the low reviews are cheapskates who were pissed off at the high price. Yes, the prices here are steep. But guess what? You get to see the menu before you sit down. *sadly shakes head*
As all the other reviews mention, the decor is a sight to behold. You have to see this place to believe it. When you walk in and take in the sights, sounds, and smells of this restaurant you would swear you've just stepped into a foreign country. My wife and I are world travelers and I felt like I was on vacation in some nameless restaurant in Egypt. This might be one of the prettiest restaurants I've ever seen.
The chef is one of the nicest, most pleasant men I've ever come across. Warm and personable, he takes tremendous pride in his cooking. He doesn't have take out menus or delivery service because he wants to interact with customers and see them enjoying his food. In all our travels, I don't think my wife and I have ever been made to feel as warm and welcomed as he made us feel.
The previous two paragraphs make this restaurant a seriously ideal date spot. The tables are definitely close together, but from what I've seen, this place doesn't actually get full, so I think you'll be able to talk and eat with relative privacy. Your date will *love* this place.
This restaurant specializes in southern Egyptian food. I'm not completely familiar with this particular cuisine, but Egyptian food in general is not a spicy like Mexican or aromatic like Indian. It's an understated cuisine.
Lamb Shank: A
Braised lamb in a bed of spinach. Lightly spiced, medium lean, nice thick bone to gnaw on. There is a foreign yet subtle spice that your nose is instantly greeted with when you walk into the restaurant, and it's definitely present in the lamb. I'll have to ask the proprietor what it is. One reviewer said the spinach was watery, but he didn't "get it". The spinach is a sauce, and meant to be eaten with the Egyptian rice. Think of creamed spinach but less creamy.
Salmon in Phyllo: A+
Salmon was flavored well. The dish consists of salmon, zucchini, tomato and green pepper wrapped in phyllo dough. The phyllo was light and thin; if it was any thicker, it would've overpowered the salmon; the amount was skillfully chosen. Think of a chicken pot pie, but the chicken is salmon the dough is phyllo. This dish is just spectacular.
Mombar: D / A+
I've never given a split rating before. Mombar (the namesake of this restaurant) is a sausage which is typical cuisine from southern Egypt. Now, I travel to foreign countries a lot, and eating is my hobby. I have to scoff at dumb Americans that say "ohh, this is authentic food! We love authentic food" I call bullshit. Most Americans would *HATE* authentic food, if we define "authentic food" by "as it is eaten in the country of origin". They would be horrified by it. What "authentic food" means to most people is "food with flavors I'm not familiar with" or "food how I imagine it must be eaten in another country". Let me get back to mombar. So it comes to the table, and let me just say that it looks ... a little different from sausages I'm used to. After taking my first bite, I realize just how authentic the sausage is. The casing is as authentic and authentic can be. Super chewy. Almost rubbery. I then realize I'm almost certainly eating the small intestine of a cow. It wasn't browned, so to my horror, I realize that it even looks like the bowels of an animal. I had a hard time getting around that. The sausage itself is very aromatic. Tasted of ... cloves? Nutmeg? Something like that. So. Let me say this. The idea of eating such an authentic dish which I imagine might be cooked in a typical southern Egyptian home definitely deserves an A. However, I didn't like the dish and couldn't bring myself to finish it, so in that sense, a D. It's not that it's bad. It's just not good for *me*. I love the idea of it, but didn't like it. Make sense? read more