Le Bistro

Very, very good. We arrived late for a pleasant lunch in this smallish bistro. Luckily someone was just leaving so we did not have to wait, which seems as if it would often be the case since the food is so yummy. I enjoyed my gyro and the accompanying salad. His chicken Parmesan rated high marks as well. We were glad to have found this spot while wandering around the area.

Dinner at The Bistro is a real treat and a culinary experience.
We were looking for authentic Mediterranean cuisine and found everything we were hoping for and more.
The restaurant is small and can sit only 30 people but feels much more spacious.
The owner welcomed us and was very hospitable and friendly.
The Mediterranean salad was beautifully presented and was delicious.
We received complimentary Hummus that was outstanding.
The dinner portions are big. The grilled veggies were done to perfection. The Chicken Kabob and the Beef Kabob were tasteful, extremely soft and grilled just right.
As the owner heard that we are celebrating our 46 wedding anniversary he treated us for desert with his delicious authentic BAKLAVA.
Although we live two hours away, we will definitely come back !!!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

A++ on the food.
C– on the service.
Let me first start by saying the owner is fantastic. Truly authentically interested and passionate about his food, gracious, accommodating, friendly, flexible, hospitable, friendly, and genuine.
The food is outstanding. All of it. Hands down the best most amazing hummus we’ve ever had. The Fate is to die for, I could go on.
Just one, but important piece, is the service/​ambiance. The waitstaff is just plain awkward. Every time we go in there I just want to leave — with the food of course! The staff needs to lighten up, be hospitable, inviting, happy, easy, smile, warm and welcoming.
Beyond awkward, they are slow. I often feel we’re left out in left field. The prices are not extraordinary, but it’s not cheap, the service needs to be ramped up. I’ve been in the service industry in my day, and it’s not hard, especially with a ¼ full dining room. Given how many parties there are we, typically very few, waters should be filled, suggested drinks as glasses get low, checking on food once it is dropped, is everything alright? Can I get you anything else for the moment? etc. I’d like more sour cream BEFORE my food gets cold.
Perhaps some music, or louder music, might lighten up the place a bit. It’s small, and so quiet, that when you walk in you feel suddenly the center of the room. The right music could defuse that.
Perhaps if the waitstaff found their way it wouldn’t be so quiet when people walked in because they’d be more customers enjoying the food there, rather than dashing out the door w/​their take out.
This place is inches from fantastic, and given how wonderful the food and the owner is I’d like to see them wildly successful. We’d certainly go there more often.

Great dinner. Hummus app was creamy and perfectly spiced and garnished with plenty of pita for dipping. My beef/​lamb kabob w rice pilaf was full of flavor and aroma. My wife’s Bistro Shrimp with rice and spinach equally superb. A+++

I am so happy to have this place within walking distance from our home! The quality, the freshness, the service and the attention you’ll receive are all fantastic. The owner is kind and very proud of every dish he serves. He will most likely be the one serving you!!!
Just coming back from Italy, we where so saddened to have to once again eat the low quality food and deal with the poor dining experiences in the U.S. Thankfully, we will survive due to Le Bistro. The menu has many things to satisfy the «foodie» or the picky eater that only likes French fries. With so many subpar restaurants in Marblehead, it’s a blessing to have a place that will make you feel like you’re thousands of miles away.
Take out is excellent and breakfast on the weekends is a secret I hope no one else figures out!

Went in for breakfast yesterday, the food was phenomenal, service was impeccable and the atmosphere was great! Ordered the blueberry pancakes, which were amazing. Definitely will be returning very very soon! Perfect breakfast spot on a Saturday or Sunday!

Fantastic service and even better food! Order the manoush and add lebneh, it’s to die for! Will definitely be coming back!

This restaurant is so inviting. The décor and the service alone make you want to come back, but the food is what really wins you over. You can’t get food this authentic and tasty anywhere else unless you get on a plane. Fresh home made dishes made to order and portioned perfectly. I will be a repeat customer for sure. You have to go check this place out.

Great authentic Mediterranean restaurant. Very generous owner and yummy food! Highly recommended!

I had one of the most memorable meals of my life in this wonderful, intimate, authentic mediterranean restaurant. My boyfriend and I, along with his parents, had an incredible dinner from start to finish. The owner immediately befriended us, had multiple extra courses sent out to us, free of charge, merely because we expressed enthusiasm about the amazing food. The baba ganoush was insanely delicious and I still think about it two years later! I need to go back here stat!

The best Mediterranean food in Massachusetts! The food is delicious and the service is impeccable. The owner is a gracious and generous host who makes you feel like you are right at home. I am always looking forward to my next meal at Le Bistro!

My wife and I have always enjoyed dining at Le Bistro. The food is excellent and the service is wonderful. This past Friday we hosted a dinner for family and out of town guests in celebration of our niece’s wedding this past weekend. We had the dinner at our home catered by Le Bistro, and Salim personally organized the food and stayed for the event to serve and answer questions about all the wonderful dishes he prepared. We hosted people from the East coast and the West coast, and throughout the weekend guests raved about how delicious the food was, and how gracious Salim was as he offered up phenomenal dishes including the most fabulous babaganush (they smoke the eggplant) and hummus, along with tabbouleh and falafel. He also prepared stuffed grape leaves, kibbie, cheese rolls and fattouch and Greek salads. The entrees included Mediterranean pasta and grilled chicken with vegetables. The baklavah was like a bite of heaven. We couldn’t have been more thrilled with our decision to have Le Bistro cater this affair, and we recommend that anyone looking to cater an event consider talking to Salim at Le Bistro.

My dear god that was delicious. The gyros, the Greek salad, the tenderloin, the bacclava — out of this world! Michelin should come here! Yum!

Great food, Friendly staff, Fast Service. The menu has a vast array of Mediterranean options but not so many as to make the menu overwhelming. The waitress was very attentive and made sure everything was to our liking. The gyro I got was moist and cooked to perfection. I will definitely be returning here in the bear future.

Really disappointed with the salad. I could have gone to Costco and bought lettace, cheese and jared peppers and put in a bowl. No imagination or enthusiasm went into the salad I had today.
This is another mediocre Marblehead Restaurant –but I will keep trying.

Everything was perfect for our dinner at Le Bistro. The wait staff was attentive and polite, the food was absolutely delicious, the wine was great, and the atmosphere was energetic.

Excellent Lebanese cuisine with many vegetarian options. Has wine and beer too. Small business owners and local. Support them!

After moving recently from Washington, DC to the North Shore, I found it interesting that most restaurateurs of Mediterranean decent have focused primarily on pizza and Italian foods. So my craving for a good gyro had gone unanswered for several months. That is until my wife told me about this little gem in Marblehead.
Although we showed up in between the lunch and dinner shifts while some of the kitchen staff was grabbing a bite, owner Salim Elouche made us feel completely welcomed. When asking about the wine and beer list, he recommended I try the new stock of Almaza beer from Lebanon. It was a wonderfully crisp pilsner. Yum!
We started with the baba ghanouj and it was fabulous. Creamy, smokey! (I talked Salim into giving up the recipe and technique) and abundant. No need to ask for extra pita — they provided an ample supply. In fact, we didn’t even finish it all, as good as it was.
As we were working our way through the baba ghanouj, out came a few complimentary (and decadent) lemon poached lamb and rice stuffed grape leaves. I am totally ordering this complete appetizer next time with the ful mudammas!
Our lunch soon followed. I had the traditional gyro and the wife, the chicken shawarma. Safe bets, but hitting the craving dead on. The cucumber sauce was the perfect companion to the gyro and the tahini chicken on the shawarma was lip smacking. Both were served with a side. I had fries and the lady the side salad. She didn’t love the vinegrette, but who cares.
Salim next insisted we had a dessert on the house. He produced two homemade cookies. One a pistachio stuffed semolina cookie and the other a date stuffed cookie. Both were delightful, but my belt buckle was begging for mercy.
All in all it was a fabulous experience. Not sure how much attention would have been paid to us had it been lunch rush, but we felt the love. Our chef was terrific (and commutes daily from Norwood!?!) and our host a complete pleasure.
For a small place with a small kitchen, they turn out some big flavor! Next visit I am going with the sujok and the kafta. And next time will be very soon…

Went last night for dinner… it’s a small place that seems more suited to take out dinners. The dining area is nicely laid out I don’t think it would be too crowded if the tables were full… but it was a lonely dining experience as we were one of only two people sitting for dinner. Which kind of was a little awkward because if I laughed it seemed so loud!
The sampler platter was great… grape leaves came out warm, the hummus was smooth much like my homemade. Fattousch salad was perfect. The man got the veggie kibbi… so flavorful, and I got the falafal sandwich (still looking for the perfect one on the north shore) which was pretty good… the falafal was warm, crunchy with less parsley then I’m used to and the wrap didn’t have the pickles I’m used to but I still ate almost the whole thing.
The woman that was our servicer was the slightest bit awkward… almost like not used to talking to customers but the gentleman (?the owner?) that came at the end of the meal was warm and friendly.
It’s not a first date type of place… the interior is sort of like local takeout place tries to become a sit down place… probably wouldn’t eat in again but would do take out.

I’m not sure why we never visited this restaurant before. After all, we’ve lived in Marblehead for years. However, we tried it for the first time this week and absolutely loved it.
The tasted of grilled lamb was perfect. The salads were very tasty and filling. The wine choices, while few, were perfect for the flavor of the food. Plus, the chocolate cake was a perfect end to a great meal. Loved it!
I will absolutely return.