Al Arabi in Derby

We ate in a couple of weeks ago. We had two different types of kebab. Both were freshly cooked and served with lovely bread and salad. Place was very clean & service was very good. Will definitely go again (P.S. this is an alcohol free establishment but a good range of soft drinks fairly reasonably priced).

really cannot believe the lamb curry that was sent, it went straight in the bin, like a carton of flavoured water with a tiny bit of mushed up lamb, rice had no taste and nan bread was a chapatti, only thing that was ok was my chicken, ive eaton in restaurant quite a few times and it’s always been nice but not this meal

We had a lovely dinner there! Great food with vegetarian options and lovely service! The price was great too for those on a budget. They gave us free tea and tasty pastry after our meal as an added bonus. Would recommend.

They have no idea how to cook. They have probably copied the names from the menus but have not seen those dishes. A lot of the food is straight out of the tin in the microwave.

I visited with my wife. We were looking for a different Arabic restaurant that we could not find and came across this one by chance. They have a mixed menu of supposedly Arabic food and some Pakistani dishes and Pizzas plus burgers. We ordered Lentil soup which was served after being microwaved out of a plastic container and served lukewarm. Moutabal was straight out of a tin. Lamb shish was OK in taste but it was mutton and not lamb. Lamb Karahi was something that their chef has probably never seen before either. It had so much water in it that They should have given us diving kits to fish out the overcooked, reheated meat pieces. I could not even eat properly and left after paying and went to another place to eat. Avoid if you can.

Visited for dinner with husband and daughter, food was great and love the freshly squeezed juices, the manager made the experience very pleasant. Husband is very picky but was impressed with the chicken which was cooked perfectly. Not Much floor staff could be seen and we waited a while until order was taken. Thank you

I visited this place yesterday evening with my husband. I thought we should give it a try despite the reviews on TripAdvisor but regretted it. The service was terrible. We ordered a mezze selection for two which was quite tasteless but was presented in an ok manner so we were hoping to be more impressed with the soup. This did not arrive until after the main course. It was ordered as a starter! My soup was hot but my husband’s soup was cold in the middle which made it obvious that it was reheated from chilled in a microwave, which the staff later admitted to. My husband sent back his soup as his main course was getting cold and he did not wish to wait longer for soup which should have been served earlier anyway. I had mine. It was ok. I will upload a photo of my husband’s mixed grill exactly as it arrived. The coleslaw seemed like it was from a supermarket, as did the reheated bread. The seekh kebab was only warm. The chicken and sheesh were hot and tasted fine. The rice spilt around because of the way it was served. The salad was of a very poor quality. I think this place wants to cut corners wherever possible but rip customers off anyway. We asked a waiter for some water which he said he would bring, but didn’t, until we reminded him. When we were paying, we were asked for feedback and then were offered free shisha and/or desserts in the rear premises but declined as we couldn’t really wait to get out of there. I would never go back to give it another chance as they have no real respect for customers.

Went for shisha ; drinks and dessert today. Great atmosphere, very clean and very friendly and prompt service. Will be returning soon :) was advised it's under new managment since yesterday and they are determined to make changes and really care about customer experience so worth going again now i would say as it wont be the same as before ( my first time going today so cant compare but read the poor reviews and thinking my experience was nothing like that)

Place is in great location just opposite the Derby main shopping centre Intu. Few things that need ironing out , Service is slow, not slow on taking you order ,then you wait ages as certain things are not ready and in place for the restaurant opening time this is big issue if you are on lunch break, have seen customers leaving. However the food is good if you don’t mind the above also maybe the restaurant runs in better order later in the day.

Came to Al Arabi for the first time and always had an eye on it. Me and my boyfriend came and we were greeted by a young waitress lady. She was welcoming and respectful not us and we were seated. The place was empty, none except the workers but the place looked good. We ordered a King Prawn Pizza, Mixed Meat Grilled and two Cokes. Waited for 30 min for our orders to come and they tasted good, Pizza had too much Cheese unfortunately. However, there are some problems with the restaurant... Its unhygienic. The fork and knifes weren't properly cleaned and the toilets are just simply nightmare. No toilet paper, floors aren't clean... They are sticky! I'm thinking that the staff haven't cleaned the floor for a while and that's concerning. My boyfriend went to the toilet as well and it was just same as the ladies toilets, no toilet paper and filthy. The tap water didn't work! How can you wash your hands after that? He had to wash his hands at the ladies, thankfully there were no costumers... Would I come again? Unfortunately no, sorry.

Highly recommend the tagine. It was really amazing and lots of it. Didn't take long to arrive at lunch time.

We went along to try an proper Shawarma grill, as previously been to some excellent places in Sheffield and elsewhere. Staff are overbearing and intimidating, not given chance to decide what we wanted off menu, felt obliged to have what he reccomended, we had the sharer grill £15, had to pay over £2 per bottle of still water, food took a long time to come, when it did it was served with a ceramic 6-egg egg holder of various sauces such as BBQ, mint yoghurt and sweet chilli like any old takeaway, kebabs seemed undercooked and sloppy, served with rice and couscous that was plain and re-heated, salad was some sort of ready made coleslaw and a bit of lettuce, all served on an unhygienic wooden board (so rice fell all over table), glassware looked grimy, bread was a ready-made chappati warmed up and folded- tasted like cardboard. Ate what we could whilst being watched like hawks by doorman/waiter, went to pay and then told cash only til, luckily had enough money on us. Never again. Spent most of the next day on the toilet with an upset stomach (though I can't prove this was their food it seems likely). Never again. Not authentic, not a proper Shawarma, staff terrible, food substandard, hygiene questionable. Seriously, do not waste your time.

We went here to celebrate my friend’s hen do. The staff couldn’t do enough for us and the food was amazing. Hot and fresh and delicious. Nothing was too much trouble and one of my friends had fish and she said it was cooked to perfection and tasted excellent. All the food was good and plentiful. There were a few choices for vegetarians too and I had a mixture of vegetarian starters. One of the guys gave us a tour of the bar upstairs which is beautiful. This place is cash only but there are lots of cash points around.

Very dirty place, toilets horrible and floor sticky everywhere! Food was bang average. Seems like a good place to go after a few pints but for sure not great with the family

Food is honestly the best you can get in derby Lovely staff and great customer services. Lots to choose from and always enjoy eating here

Do not visit this restaurant. I visited this restaurant and found the staff were rude, the floors were dirty, the tables were dirty and the food was over priced. I would not recommend going to this restaurant.

Me and my husband went to this place for lunch the food was all put on a wooden plate they did give us some spare plate that were so greasy that made me feel sick, the rice was cold the meat was tasteless, no glass...

I ordered an takeaway but the lamb chops was raw and i rang in to the restaurant and i've been told speak to a manager and they hang up the phone .poor customer service. I will never order again.

Food is delicious! I love the middle eastern cuisine and I tried many restaurants of the kind in different countries. This one is great! They could improve the drinks menu. As they don’t serve alcohol (it is not a complaint!), they should offer ayran and...

The meat is delicious and the atmosphere is great. Fairly priced and good sized portions. I will definitely be returning

We love the Lebanese/Arabic cuisine, so we tried Al Arabi for the first time. It was all we hoped it would be, the only thing missing was the dish of pickles that are traditionally put on the table. The food was excellent and plenty of...