Al Arez

This is an update to my previous 5 stars: this place should be rated at least 7 stars! The service is phenomenal! My family and I went back for dinner and the food was delicious again, the service was superb and they even packed our food to go! And I mean packed in a container and with pita — a whole new level of service! I wish we could have this restaurant, food and the nice people back home! Awesome and thank you!

We were in London for a week and ate at this great middle eastern restaurant twice. So it tells you how good the food is. We had hummus with chicken shawarma and my hubby had grill chicken plate and I had chicken shawarma plate with salad. Everything was delicious and service was great! Will definitely miss it when we go back!

Its great place for breakfast and lunch, but the only concern is that the majority of staff do not speak English.

First time on Edgware road. Looked up reviews on other places and walked around before choosing this place. Great decision. Food was great, portions very generous — coming from the U.S. And being used to their portions, this was a great treat in GB. Crowded on the weekend, nice atmosphere. Friendly staff. Awesome bakhlawa (complimentary).

Hukka was alright. Drinks were super sweet. We had rose water and date drink and a lemonade. Both were extremely sweet. Our appetizer never showed up. My husband had to ask for coal at least 5 times for his hukka before it came. The waiters looked confused and flustered.

Had lunch at Al Arez today and was unfortunately quite disappointed.
Ambiance isn’t the greatest. The restaurant is like a factory, has zero charm, and it isn’t super clean.
Service isn’t friendly but it’s fine for the most part. Food definitely took a while to come out.
Food itself was mixed:
– Husband liked his chicken shish and the portion was substantial.
– Daughter didn’t love the lamb shwarma and hardly ate it. I didn’t try it but it was visually unappealing so maybe that was the problem? The accompanying rice was excellent though.
– I ordered the seabass, which came whole (my fault for not double checking it was a fillet). The fish was flavorless and had so many tiny bones that I couldn’t eat most of it. Very disappointing.
Overall I wasn’t impressed and wouldn’t return. There are too many better Lebanese restaurants in London.

We had a good meze dinner here with all the classics present. the fattoush was really well done and the baba ganoush was fabulous. I think this place is as good as Maroush but half the price so wins my vote. The atmosphere was fun and busy too which helps. No alcohol served here but the lemon and mint drink was fantastic!

Great food, poor service! The food was very authentic and tasty. The lamb and chicken was very tender and extremely tasty! And the rice was pretty decent.
However the service was slowwwww! There was barely anybody in the restaurant and it was still so slow! We had to ask multiple times just to get our waters filled. The bad service totally ruined my ranking for this restaurant. Up the service guys!

Consistently solid food. Didn’t care too much for the service here because of its casual ambiance. Some favorites were: couscous, al arez salad, shish taouk, and the mixed shawarma.

This place knows how to do shawarma, kafta, etc extremely well.
I don’t know how else to articulate it. Everything is fresh, perfect tabouleh, pita nice and thin. Service is awesome, great atmosphere. Not a lot of choice for drinks, but on the other hand, it kind of leads you to choose one of their fresh juices, which are juiced right there when you order.
The portions are huge. This is important to note because if you want the proper experience (hummus, pita, tabouleh, etc) by the time you get your dinner you’re already half full, and this is even worse if you order rice with it like I usually would want. In reality, the dish comes with everything you need. Half of a pita is all you need to go with the massive amount of meat you get, and our food came with it.
I tried the kafta, and it was exactly what I wanted. Hummus, etc was also spot on… not sure why others would complain about water in it, since making tahini without water is impossible and its consistency does vary according to the type of restaurant/​situation. A thinner tahini is not only common, but sometimes desirable.

I have mixed feelings about Al Arez. I have been here a few times and each visit I seem to have a complaint. I do like sharing shisha in the outside seating area, even in the dead of winter. But, due to the high demand of tables and shisha lovers, the staff will tend to ignore you if you linger too long at your table. It was very rude as a customer to have to repeatedly ask for the hot coals to be replaced and to call attention for service.
The last time I visited, I was there only for the food and sat indoors. After receiving the bill, I learned that I had been charged double for an item size that I didn’t order. And, some items had an extra 50p or £1 added to the total cost per item. It was absolutely disgraceful and I doubt I will ever return again.
This is a shame because Al Arez was my go-​to-​spot for shisha/​Lebanese food on Edgware Road.
The two stars is solely for the food which I previously enjoyed like the hummus, lamb doner, and milk pudding. The complimentary baklava is a sweet treat too, which is much needed after the distress you may face…

Had lunch here the other day, the food is fantastic. The service was excellent and its a nice, cozy space. We both had the Shish Taouk plates, which was grilled marinated chicken. I had hummus with mine and my partner had baba ganouj. I really have never had anything like this in the US, the flavors and textures were outstanding. The olive oil that was drizzled on my hummus was incredibly flavorful. Unfortunately, i couldnt stop eating and had to walk a few extra miles just to breath.

Not really good. Looking at the cooks… I keep thinking ‘this is going to be awesome!’. But… No. My server sucked. No biggie… I came for the food. Ambiance was ‘blah’… But again I came for the authentic food. I even left some fancy place to come here… Looking for epic.
Food was average at best. Had the mixed grill. The usual overlooked flavorless chicken… Lamb kebob that just wasn’t great. Sauce like the tahini was crappy (watery… Not thick. So water added).
Yeah not pleased. Yes I am picky… But not unreasonable.

On the main st of Edgward road. Very good service & you can always see Hassan, the owner, with guys. Shisha taste is ⁴⁄₅ price is £12 considered good.

Food is amazing
Staffs are friendly but service is average
Wraps are less than 5 pound which is very good value
Do not recommend fruit smoothy, it’s not iced cold, 3.5 pound for a small cup
Grill meat is amazing tho, fresh and perfectly spiced.

Jesus-​tap-​dancing-​Christ this place is good. I came here with a group of people at about 9pm on a Friday and they seated us with no fuss. It was pretty busy, especially outside where people were smoking Shisha.
The service was friendly and very quick. We ordered a mixture of mezzé starters and main courses to share — all of which were very tasty. I had stuffed vine leaves, which were lovely, and my chicken stew was great. The portions were huuuuuuuge — we were all really full after the starters, so barely made a dent on the main courses.
It’s a no-​alcohol restaurant, but there are loads of fresh juices and smoothies to have, plus the usual sodas and everything.
Did I mention that this place is cheap? There were 5 of us and each of us had a starter, a main and a drink. The bill? Sixty of the Queen’s finest pound notes. As Tim Wonnacott would say, that’s a bargain.

Loved the Lamb Schwarma for 3.50. I got it for take-​away. Quick service, service kind of cold. But I would go back for carryout anytime!

We chose this place solely based on reviews from Unilocal and I am forever thankful to those who wrote awesome reviews!
Thus far Al Arez’s has been the best meal I’ve have had in London! Granted this is also my first time in London but in comparison to any other Middle Eastern restaurants I’ve tried in the USA Al Arez is top of my list!
Someone wrote to order food at the counter, good tip. On my visit someone actually sat us but then took forever for someone to take our order.
My sister and I started with the hummus, very good. Maybe not the best ever but certainly any points lost here they were made up for with the Lamb Shawrama & Tabouleh! Again Lamb Shawrama & Tabouleh, fantastic! My sister had a sausage wrap (not the spicy one) which was also delicious!
Not even close to the best service I’ve ever had but definitely tolerable for the oh soo delicious food :)

Al Arez Express is a newly opened Lebanese restaurant on the Northern end of Edgware Road. The restaurant is actually more like two restaurants in one. There is the area around the counter, very light, and not really a place where you want to rest too long. In the back, there is a more relaxed dining area that looked much more pleasant if you are not in a hurry.
When I went there I ordered a delicious chicken dish. Tender and nicely spiced chicken pieces, a tasty dish and a place I will visit again.

Que vous dire sur Al Arez si ce n’est que c’est le meilleur restaurant libanais ou j’ai pu mange a Londres depuis mon arrivee il y a plus d’un an maintenant. Le service est rapide, les plats sont bien garnis et les serveurs genereux. de plus, il y a un service shisha a l’exterieur pour les amateurs.
ps: Je vous recommende d’essayer le Falafel.

Also — try their tabouleh and hummos. So delicious !!!
Tabouleh — is fresh and full of flavour. Easy on the bulgur and tomato, hard on the parsley. Good use of lemon juice. Yum!
Hummos — Freshly made. Smooth. Soft whole chickpeas. Extra virgin olive oil. Spicy paprika. Warm khobz. PERFECT. Best I’ve had.

Hervorragendes libanesisches Restaurant. Hoummos Beiruty, Lentil soup, Shish Taouk, alles was das Herz begehrt in typischer Umgebung. Liegt nicht gerade da, wo der Wochenendtourist so vorbeikommt: ist aber einen Ausflug wert!