Al-basha Mediterranean Grill & Hookah

I had mint tea and lentil soup here yesterday. It was delicious! I love the ambiance as well in the restaurant. I hope to enjoy a meal here again soon. — Edit review 1÷16÷15 I came back to edit my initial 5 star review to 3. I had a meal here again unfortunately the bill for the mint tea was quite high. I would not have ordered if I had known I was being charged each time. The price for tea was significantly higher than the price for the meal! Warning: if you order a mint tea you maybe charged excessively for each pot!

It was disappointing for us. Turkish coffee was not a real Turkish coffee. It was Arabic coffee or something else. Chicken kabob had no flavor. Beyond these we found the server’s hair on the meat. So I am so sorry that I have to rate them with one star after paying $ 70 for a dinner. With that much amount of money my expectations were higher.

Solid Mediterranean food — a good find in Charlotte, where pickings are kind of slim in this category! Very tasty hummus and falafel. Very friendly owner and server when we stopped in for a takeout order. We’ll definitely be back.

This is probably the worst mediterranean food i had in charlotte.
Here’s the BAD
— Poor Service: We had to sit for 10 mins after being seated before the hostess asked asked us if we wanted menu’s (I’ve never been asked if we wanted a menu in a restaurant… we were always given one). We asked for water and were given bottled water and when we asked for regular water, we were given water cups with something white floating in them.
— Old & Reheated food: The falafel we ordered was 99% reheated in oil. You can make this out because when you gently press on it, oil will ooze out. The chicken had this weird smell like it had been cooked and was sitting in the fridge for a day or two and then again reheated.
— Way to expensive: 4 falafel’s cost 4.99+ tax. A small side of plain rice is $ 5. Although this looks like one of your average mediterranean food joints, the prices are nothing like it. The prices are not indicative of the experience either. Just the opposite.
I literally cannot think of anything good about this place. My wife became sick after dinner.
I am not one to bad mouth a new restaurant but if they have any hopes of doings well, they have to improve all of their departments.

Great food. Even better service! Everything tastes and looks homemade. I ordered the lamb shanks with rice and salad and it was absolutely divine! The meat was juicy and tender sautéed a homemade sauce over night. I also got the watermelon mint drink. amazing! It tasted like I was drinking a fresh watermelon straight from the fruit. For dessert to top it all off we got the tiramisu cake. I highly recommend Al Basha to all my friends and family. Give this mom and pop restaurant a try!

Now this was a find! I was actually trying to clear out some credits at
when I stumbled across Al-​Basha. I sure am glad that I did!
Jenny and I cruised through six of the appetizers, and each one was a party in my mouth! We both found ourselves grinning ear to ear with each bite. I will have to keep coming back so I can work my way through the rest of the menu!
While we were there, we had the pleasure of meeting the Owners (father & son), and they couldn’t have been more welcoming and helpful in guiding us through our choices. Based on what I saw at another table, I can tell you that the Lamb Shanks are something you need to consider. What a meal!
I can hardly wait to get back there!

Very good food. We had many dishes, including hummus and pita, kibbeh, falafel, kafta, chicken shawarma — all excellent. The service is friendly but a little unorganized. Once that is fixed, this will be a real gem of a place.

We had dinner here Valentines night. I ordered the Chicken Shawarma and my husband got the Lamb Shank; for appetizer we had the Falafel. Our server, Kelly, was right on point and very friendly. The food was good, not as highly seasoned as we would have liked, but enhanced enough to be genuine. I’ve never had dark flat falafel but these were hot, crunchy and flavorful so that’s a plus. When we return to Charlotte we will stop by for another meal to try some other specialties and because we forgot to order the soup.
P.S: Be sure to drop by and get a drink called The Cocktail to make your commute better.

The food is amazing here. I ordered a chicken Shawarma plate, which by the way was huge. It was a very good size plate of the prices. I was amazed at how fresh the food tasted. The owner insisted I try the Restaurants signature Drink, the Lemon Mint Smoothing. It was very refreshing when i tasted the fresh mint.
The restaurant truly is beautiful in all aspects of food and culture. I am definitely coming back!