byblos

great gone bad. was until our mother's day visit my favourite place for middle eastern food.
menu choice has been cut down as is the portion size, flavour and presentation. standard stale tabouli , tough kebab - now each meat cube alternated by a cherry tomato !
more like the local doner kebab joint than a restaurant
must be depending on the bar to keep it going.....
.off my list now

food excellent, wait staff ok, wine list good whilst not extensive but clearly this restaurant has a strong focus on being a cocktail lounge... although i don't know why! in spite of 6/7 bartenders there was a 15 minute wait to place an order with only 5 people at the bar. apparently it is more important to talk amongst themselves & take 15 minutes to make 1 cocktail for women they are chatting up rather than to serve others by the time we interrupted the entertaining hi-jinx behind the bartender chose to take 3 orders as by now it was at least 2 deep, i am sure he did his best he remembered 2 glasses of wine, 1 bottle of wine all for people behind me but 2 dirty martinis was too much, on the third occasion he remembered then took 5 minutes to look for the chosen vodka ( they have about 20 on the list) unfortunately it appears they actually only have 1 .... the closest to wherever your batman is situated, so 25 minutes for 2 martinis...... suggest you stick with the tap water, that only took 10 minutes

i’ve been a few times, and i would say the drinks are really good. the service is generally ok, but is inconsistent so it depends on who you get served by.

however, i personally won’t dine in again. the food experience was disappointing, and was ill for a few days. the meat was quite dry, and there was generally nothing that was amazing. the thoum and bread was ok, but like others i didn’t feel like everything was fresh or home made.

there is a generally nice feel about the place, especially the outdoor seating for a beverage on a warm day.

visited for melbourne cup day with our work team. the food was delicious. the cocktails were spot on and the service was very professional. highly recommend to try this place.

a lavish restaurant serving up some of the best lebanese food i've had in a long time. the skewers were my favourite dish of the night followed by the white bait then the dumplings. portions were generous and it's safe to say that i didn't leave with an empty stomach. also, this place serves the best moscato - i've been on the hunt for a bottle ever since!

if you'd like to read more of my reviews, please check out my zomato page and visit @cynthiaeats_ on instagram for more photos!

the location, staff, cocktails and food were all fantastic, best feed i’ve had so far in brisbane.
everything we tried was delicious, my favourites were the pumpkin balls filled with spinach and spices (i forget the name) and the calamari.
definitely likely to return!

we dined here on saturday 25th 3pm . ordered a platter for 2 . for the price i could best describe it as very poor value for money . cold , stale store brought breads , dry almost unedible chicken and lamb , and dry stale/old pastries with very average flavours for $79 dollars i was totally underwhelmed. my local pub puts out better finger food for free !! i must say the service was excellent. we told the waitress about the food when we paid and she passed it onto a manager who in turn did nothing about it and didn’t even acknowledge us 😡

good food, came quickly. booked a last minute table with ease. would recommend. they have booths which makes it easy when you have a number of kids with you,

this review really has been a long time coming. after coming here for years, i would strongly argue that byblos is one of the best restaurants in brisbane.

shrouded in moody lighting, byblos manages to weave a fantasy-like experience. as soon as one walks down the canopied enclosure towards the restaurant, it feels you’ve almost entered another world.

when walking in, one is promptly greeted and led to their seat. i recommend booking a both in advance. it’s a much more private experience and the seating is quite comfortable.

on my most recent visit to byblos, we started off by ordering some drinks. my drink of choice is usually a cocktail at byblos, so this time i ordered the xxx spritz. the fresh berries elevated the drink and overall, it was quite refreshing. i was also quite surprised at how large my glass was (see photo!).

to start, we ordered a few meze and then skewers to share. the ‘rekakat’ is delicious and cheesy, encased in flaky pastry. this is a favourite among my friends and family. i personally love the ‘lahim bil ajeen’ and the ‘falafel’. the former is filled with tasty lamb mince that is elevated by delicious spices. the latter has a crusty shell but the insides are soft and fluffy. i truly believe that this is the best falafel in brisbane.

i am also quite a big fan of the ‘trio of dips’, which comes with a large bowl of flat bread triangles, hummus, baba ganouj and labneh. each dip stands out in its own right, but the baba ganouj is rich and smoky in flavour. i always go back for more. additional highlights include the batatas haras (lemon potatos) and the falafel salad.


now to the main event, the skewers!! i have tried all of the skewers offered by byblos but the john dory skewer is out of this world. paired with the accompanying toum (garlic emulsion style cream), the flavour combination is out of this world. every time i have visited byblos, the fish skewers have been cooked to absolute perfection. the fish is lightly golden, but still tender, flaky and with the perfect amount of seasoning. i have tried all of the different skewer types, and i really would recommend all of them!

whilst this restaurant is quite expensive compared to other places i review, i would highly recommend coming to byblos. the quality of the food, excellent service and general atmosphere is (in my opinion) worth the higher price point.

it is truly one of my special places and i guarantee it will quickly become one of your special places too. enjoy 😊

currently this is the hammers go-to in the home territory, omg the lamb is too die for and the halloumi salad is a bonus, located on the river is an added bonus and staff are usually on the ball- do yourself a favor

can’t fault this place, food is delish. staff are helpful and welcoming. we have brought family each time and no one left disappointed. will be back for more.

went with a group of friends to byblos for the first on the weekend. i had heard mixed reviews about the food and now having eaten there i can understand why. the venue itself has a nice fit out. i like the decor and atmosphere it creates. if portside was a bit more lively, maybe it would help. the problem is that it’s a little bit isolated and a little bit tame. the food is quite good without being amazing. there were definitely delicious dishes devoured. however it did lack a little finesse in its presentation. the cocktails were good but not really a place i would go to drink as it’s just a little too far from city/valley. overall, good experience but quality of presentation would be a nice touch. in terms of the quantity, i’d say great value for money!

dined here with a mate, we shared a platter for two for 80 bucks. we demolished it! the pastries filled with cheese were amazing among other items.

my family went here for a birthday last night. firstly we had booked for 10 people. when we arrived there was certainly no table ready for 10.

we were seated and the drinks were ordered. fast service i must say. then we ordered our food. a couple of platters to share and some main courses. the food did come out quite quickly. i had ordered the byblos mixed grill. a couple of lamb skewers, a chicken and vege. no veg came out. instead a fish skewer i don’t eat fish, but ok a mistake. i gave it to my wife. the menu stated each skewer is 100grm. wow. the smallest 100grms i have ever seen. very small chunks of lamb.

but the worst part was that one of our group had ordered a steak meal. well it didn’t turn up. so we asked. oh the chef looks like he had forgotten this meal. 20 mins after everyone else had finished, his steak appears.

the waiter apologised, but certainly not good enough. we went to pay, and you would have thought you might get a small discount for the problems. but not even an apology

so to sum up. very expensive for what you get. don’t really care about their customers, and a very disappointing evening

beautiful turkish food, well presented. efficient, knowledgeable service. a great atmosphere that feels welcoming and upbeat. good value for your money.