Maroush

Dined here for the first time on Saturday evening 19/02/2011.

There are so many things wrong with this place, I don't don't where to even start. We booked a table in advance on the Friday afternoon and said that we would like a table for 3 – 4 people and that we were going there for the live entertainment.

We arrived at the downstairs reception area and waited for several minutes for the maitre'd to arrive.He eventually did and were imediately ignored while he attended to a larger party who arrived several minutes later and were waiting behind us.

Despite making it perfectly clear at the time of booking, that we were going there for the entertainment, we were seated at the rear of the restaurant, in an alcove with the the view of the entertainment completely obscured.

The maitre d apolologised and said that he would try to move us to a better table if he could. A waitess then appeared with a bowl of salad vedgetables, which were whole and not cut up. When asked what we were expected to do with them she said make your own salad. If we had wanted to make salad, we would have stayed at home and certainly wouldnt be paying for the privelidge

After about 15 minutes and ordering a reasonably expensive bottle of wine, the maitre 'd somehow managed to make space for us

We had ordered the set meal for three people, priced at £35 per head. The meze course was fine and the portions were generous. The problem arose when the main course was brought.

The main course consisted of grilled chicken that appeared to have been reheated so many times that it had the texture of cardboard. The lamb shank was devoid of flavour.

I promptly complained to the manager about the quality food and they then returned in 5 minutes with what looked like similar food which I also refused to eat and told them to take it away. I asked them just to get some fruit and not to bother with the main course.

The cost of the Maroush dining experience = £240.00

3 x bottles of wine = £90
3 x set meals = £115

Thats right do the maths, on top of all of this they over charged us and had the nerve to include service.

The staff are courteous but at the same time indifferent. They are only concerned about taking money and nothing else. This is not a true reprasentation of lebanese cuisine and I would strongley recommend people to stay well clear of here if they care about food.

You would be far better eating at one of the many other good smaller street eats on Edgeware road where you will get good honest meal at a fraction of the price

The bellydance Farah Nasri was amazing and the musicians were ok, but all in all its an evening best forgotten about, along with the restaurant.

I am a huge fan of Lebanese food –mainly thanks to Beirut Express, which is run by the Maroush group – and had been to Maroush I a few years ago. Impressed with the food, price, atmosphere and service, I recently went back for dinner with a group. Unfortunately, our experience this time Maroush was in complete contrast to our last visit.

Firstly, the service was downright poor. Once we had sat down, our pitta bread was plonked on our plates and left to go cold as we waited for the waiter to take our order. The drinks took ages to arrive – and they had forgotten to bring over about 4 of our drinks. This in itself wasn't a problem, but we had to then remind them about 3 or 4 times to bring the drinks over! Each time we reminded them politely, the waiters were incredibly rude about it. Perhaps if it was a very busy night I would understand but there were only 4 other people in the restaurant!

We then ordered our starters with the same experience . The waiters forgot to bring over some fo the starters and when we reminded them politely, they were very defensive and rude to us. Finally, we ordered the mains. However, some cutlery was missing which required a 10 minute wait – by which time the food was cold. Whilst most peopled enjoyed their meals (the starters were their usual great standard and enjoyed by all) my chicken shish taouk was over cooked and the wrap was cold. I have had much fantastic taouks and shwarmas at Beirut Express so that was very disappointing.

To top it all off, there was a £6 cover charge per head!!! I know that there is usually a 12.5% service charge for large parties, but £6 is ridiculous. All we got for that was a couple of bottles of still water for the table and cold pitta bread – and terrible service to boot!

So, if you are thinking of going to Maroush I, I would suggest either a) checking out a different Maroush to see if service and atmosphere is any better b) only go if you are prepared to put up with rude staff and your orders being forgotten. Alternatively, you can have the exact same meal for less than half the price down at Beirut Express!

One thing I will definitely say for Maroush is the food is usually great – whether it’s worth the bad service and rip-off cover charge is another thing! For me, £30 for terrible service and a terrible meal is just not on.

Maroush has become to The Edgeware Road what Starbucks has become to Oxford Street. Having visited Maroush 1 many years ago and had a positive experience I tried Maroush #6 which is virtually opposite and found it had indeed turned into a chain. The service was verging on downright rude, the atmosphere not enhanced by the background of noisy staff disputes in Arabic and the whole place looked a bit tired from the decor to the furniture and shabby laminated menus. I couldn't wait to get out. Sorry Maroush, I will see you again, but probably at 3am for a kebab when I will care far less.