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.