Al Balad in City of London, Westminster

Terribly long wait for food even though the place was empty

Great food and Great ambience. Also service was good. Thank you Bashar!!

Excellent Lebanese food! The atmosphere is a little busy but my mom and I loved our meal.

The food was delicious. The service was friendly and fast. We enjoyed our meal .

Nos llevaron aquí unos amigos que viven en Londres que habían estado antes. Les dejamos elegir pedir y tenía una excelente selección de comida muy agradable. Si visita Londres de nuevo sin duda volveríamos a visitar este restaurante.

Had the best dining experience of my life here. The food was not only delicious, the service was attentive and excellent. Never been treated so well at a restaurant in my life. Plan to come back one day!

We always visit this restaurant and every-time we order platter - each time found it great. However, my last visit was not good. We ordered dishes okra and lamb - which was not fresh and hence tasted very bad. My suggestion is to get fresh item such as grilled food.

Great food, friendly service, and a nice atmosphere—highly recommend!

Amazing food like always! Amazing service. Mariam and the whole staff are always so kind and accommodating!

I recently visited Al Balad on Edgware Road for dinner and would like to share my experience. I ordered the mixed grill platter priced at £65 and specifically asked if it was suitable for two people. The staff member confirmed this but did not clearly communicate that the hummus and salad would be charged separately as additional starters. Furthermore, the menu was taken back before I could fully review the pricing details. When the main platter arrived, the meat was undercooked, which was disappointing. Additionally, I ordered water that was charged at approximately £6. Based on the information provided, I expected the final bill to range between £70 and £75. However, the actual bill amounted to £100.05, which was 20–30% higher than anticipated. This included a £10 service fee, which I found excessive for the overall quality and experience provided. Given the lack of transparency regarding pricing, the subpar food quality, and the disproportionately high service charge, I cannot recommend this restaurant to others. I hope this feedback helps improve future customer experiences.

I visited Al Balad on Edgware Road and ordered the £65 mixed grill platter, expecting it to be enough for two people. The staff didn’t clarify that hummus and salad would be charged separately, nor did they explain the pricing clearly. The meat was undercooked, water cost £6, and the final bill was £100.05—much higher than expected, including a £10 service charge. Overall, the experience felt overpriced, with poor food quality and hidden charges. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant.

Great food and great service. They did an awesome job at the last minute for my daughters 13th birthday. Great people that make a great meal. Going back there again the next time I am in London.

I normally go to the smaller Al-ballad branch located a bit further away from the main branch. It’s a place where I often go to unwind and think about my day and life in general. My friends and I used to frequent this place quite often for sheesha. It offers the best sheesha ever - Ali makes the best ones. Abu Ali, Abbas, Mahanaass - they are all such lovely blokes, very friendly and respectful. They let you be and I always feel taken care of by them. 😇 In short, this place is my spot.

My mother very kindly took me and my sister there on 31st March. My goodness, what unbelievably nice food! One of the most delicious houmouses ever :) the absolute most delicious lemonade ever; very generous portions and a wide variety for vegetarians. Our waiter was incredibly helpful. We took every one of his recommendations and he was always right! At the end I asked if I could have a doggy bag and a member of staff very kindly gave me one of those plastic boxes to put all the left-overs in. They were all really nice there. Would most definitely and absolutely go there again!

The food is like the pictures but the taste is very bad In addition to the service, it is very bad, especially the Egyptian employee, who is a liar and ill-mannered

They always served me fresh food since 2015!

The most wonderful Lamb Shawarma I’ve ever tasted. The food was delicious and the service impeccable. Shukran Mahmoud and team

Very good food The lamb sandwich , falafel sandwich and hummus were authentic in flavour Good value for money

Unfortunately, the "old" employee's style is not good with customers

Great Lebanese place in London, portions are generous and well seasoned, staff is friendly.

A nice and clean restaurant, but sometimes it gets crowded due to the large amount of work and customers

Disappointing Experience – Overpriced, Rude Staff & Burnt Food I recently visited Al Balad in London with a guest from abroad, hoping to enjoy a great Middle Eastern meal. Unfortunately, it was a bad experience. First, the service was terrible. The staff were rude and unprofessional, forcing us to move from a table that wasn’t reserved. Instead of welcoming us, they made us feel uncomfortable. Second, the food was overpriced and not worth the money. We spent £112 for three people, yet the portions were small, and we left feeling hungry. Worse, the lamb chops were burnt—completely overcooked and dry. For this price, we expected much better quality. Note for manager : your staff should be prepared how to serve customers, and you have to teach them how to look after customers Overall, this place does not offer good value for money, and the bad service made it even worse. I wouldn’t recommend it—there are much better Middle Eastern restaurants in London with better food, service, and pricing.

The best food and shisha in the UK. In addition, very good staff, especially Muhammad. He makes the shisha very good and is very polite.

Their food is delicious, the meat is fresh, and the service is excellent

The most delicious lamb shawarma I had in London. I set outside to the street it was noisy... but the shawarma was best Frankly speaking, the most delicious meat shawarma...but I did not like the chicken shawarma :)

The food is rated 8 out of ten for honesty. But the treatment and service are very bad. The orders were taken incorrectly. The young men were angry and insulted non-Arab customers in Arabic. Loss of good food and bad treatment. I advise anyone to go without speaking Arabic. Because there is a difference in dealing.

Still so good. The staff is welcoming and available The flavors remain authentic. I remember the time when this restaurant displayed a stuffed sheep in the window

the food was okay to good, the restaurant wasn't clean at all and the service was below average and the atmosphere wasn't welcoming at all

Good food but there is areas of improvement. Best dish is grilled boneless baby chicken

The restaurant I visit most in London But on New Year's Day, it is so crowded that you have to wait outside the restaurant I recommend the grilled ones Hummus Lebanese kibbeh

Convenient place to eat if you’re parking close by otherwise it is close to a few stations. Seating area is good though can be a bit tight if crowded. Staff is quite friendly and efficient. Food did not take long to get served. Food itself was quite delicious!

The food was cold and was delayed for no reason, even though the restaurant was empty and the waiter did not welcome customers without experience, and the price was high compared to 2 shawarma for 30 pounds.

I don't get much authentic food from other background being from a small city in America. I loved the atmosphere, the food was amazing, is never had shawarma before and the Lebanese coffee was all amazing. Couple new experiences with amazing food amazing staff with wonderful smiles and amazing atmosphere. No one was weird with me either.

Used to be finest lamb cubes I’ve had in London.. always cooked well and juicy .. I return from time to time .. unfortunately this last time the quality declined and the prices just keep increasing .. so I had to revise my rating .. not sure I will return tbh

Great food, we really enjoyed it. Very well done!

The experience at this Lebanese restaurant in London was okay overall. It’s a decent option if you’re looking for a quick and easy meal with a variety of Lebanese dishes to choose from, including kebabs. The restaurant was quite busy, which added to the lively atmosphere, and they also offer shisha in the outdoor seating area, which is a nice touch. It’s a solid 4 stars for the convenience and variety.

The food was fine, but quite pricey for what you get in my opinion. On top of this, the guy working here seemed to adopt me as the brunt of his jokes whenever he would check-up on our table - not entirely sure what that was about, but each to their own I suppose. It’s nice that the staff here are friendly, but I’ve definitely had better Middle Eastern food elsewhere.

I ordered chicken and beef shawarma. The teacher's shawarma is delicious and I get five stars for the shawarma, but I am a fan of shawarma and their shawarma is from another world 👍. Cons: The tables are crowded and the place is cramped The order may be delayed a little due to crowding. At the time I came, the restaurant was crowded.

Quite surprised to see the reviews posted on this restaurant. We went there with 5 friends, everything was excellent. We had rice with chicken, hummus, eggplant caviar, kebbeh. Everything was really delicious. Only small negative: in the evening in the restaurant the music is very loud.

The food is delicious and delicious The service is good and the prices are reasonable

A terrible place to have food. Extremely overpriced, ie. not good value for money. Unfriendly staff. In fact took our plates away even when we were still eating!

When we first walked in, the staff seemed friendly and assumed we were tourists, attempting to sweet-talk us. We checked the menu carefully and knew exactly what we wanted to order. We even gave the item numbers—Falafel and Chicken Shawarma Wraps. However, the server tried to confuse us by asking, “Do you want it with rice or chips?” That’s when things started feeling manipulative. Without clarifying the options or pricing, he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll bring it with rice on the plate and chips separately.” At that point, he was making decisions for us instead of explaining what was on the menu. When the bill arrived, it was 38-40% higher than what we had expected based on our original order. I immediately questioned it and pointed out that this was not what we had asked for it was misleading and felt like a scam. The server struggled to respond and offered no proper explanation. I paid the bill but made it clear that I was very unhappy with how they had handled the situation. I also informed them that I would leave a review to warn others about this behavior. They had no words to defend themselves. This experience was extremely disappointing, and I hope this feedback ensures they don’t try to take advantage of others in the same way.

This restaurant is appalling, from the customer service to the quality and portions of the food. The manager and the waiters were rude, slow ignorant service like they couldn't be bothered. The food was tasteless the portions were so small and prices so high. They are just riping people off with attitude.. I would never ever go back there.

Terrible attitude. Staff are rude and incompetent. I took a party of nine, which will definitely not be happening again.

Absolutely appalling and rudely run shambles of a place. I have never come across staff who go out of their way to be so obnoxious. Do not waste your time here.

I didn’t go to this restaurant by plan; it was a random choice. The food was fresh and very tasty, especially the kebab, but the overall experience was disappointing. We waited for more than an hour to get the food, and the staff service was very poor. One staff member told us the chips were complimentary and placed them on the table, but another came shortly after and took them away, saying they were meant for another table. There seemed to be no proper communication between the staff. The portion size was small, especially considering the high price for just one portion. There was no complimentary salad or hummus provided, which was disappointing given the cost. To make matters worse, we were still charged service charges despite the poor service.

The food is really over priced and the service was bullshit

Small portion of food, really bad customer service. Worst experience service

Bad quality and quantity for the price

Horrible servicio al cliente, nos trató con un ambiente muy desagradable y habló con nosotros en un tono agresivo muy pasivo.

Serving people randomly. We came first and we get served last.

Houmous was nice, sharwarma ok but had better. Staff service could be better for sure.

Incredibly overpriced food along with rude and racist staff. Anyone who isn't fair skinned is treated with contempt

The food is delicious, but the kitchen deserves to be rammed, creaking, creaking, and rusty, and it is located next to the bathrooms, and the bathrooms hurt the liver. By God, I would have been shocked. If I had seen this, I would not have eaten.

Totally racist, there is no service sense in this restaurant, waste of money and time. Made us wait for more than an hour, but none of the staff was concerned about the table, people who joined us later were served quickly. When asked to cancel the order as it took way longer, the staff member rudely waved his hands by showing us the door to get out.

Had a long queue however looks fantastic food indeed. Staff Mahmud was very helpful to assist us to get accommodated in such a busy restaurant.

The food and service are bad and the prices are exaggerated

Expensive and not good sometimes bad

I paid £30 for a chicken shawarma plate and tabbouleh. The shawarma plate alone was £19. To be honest, I didn’t check the menu for prices or ask beforehand. The portion size was disappointing—it was barely enough to fill a standard sandwich. The chips were inedible, the shawarma was just okay, and the tabbouleh was awful. Safe to say, I’ll never go back.

Best Lebanese restaurant in London if not the UK 👏

Best shawarma I had in years. Had to say it to the chef myself 😎

Good quality very bad customer service bad they don’t care about the customers u complained about the small portions I’ve been told next time when you come we give you double very very bad service I wouldn’t recommend anyone to go there

Very very bad restaurant quality is bad customer service is bad disrespectful stuff honestly i never recommend this restaurant prices very high as well

Poor service, unprofessional staff, floor manager treated us bad, and asked us to leave because the food we ordered was less in his opinion to dine in.

Extremely bad service. The floor manager was so rude. Not recommended if you're with family or group of friend's

very bad customers service, floor manager was very rude , not recommended to come with friends and family , its really bad experience to came here with friends...

Very bad customer service. Extremely rude to the customers Not recommened if youre with a group of friends or family! 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻

The services were bad and the floor manager was rude not recommending to come over here

An Arabic restaurant, the food is delicious, the service is excellent, and the shisha outside is excellent

The price is worse than the portion, stay away from that restaurant.

I absolutely love Balad Restaurant in central This place has an incredible ambiance that perfectly complements the delicious food. The menu is a treasure trove of authentic Lebanese flavors, and everything I’ve tried has been fresh, flavorful, and perfectly prepared. The staff are friendly, attentive, and make you feel truly welcome.Whether you’re a fan of Lebanese cuisine or trying it for the first time, Balad is a must visit. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for great food and a wonderful dining experience!

My wife and I went to eat at Al Balad restaurant, and it was the worst experience. I do not recommend it at all. We ordered two plates of meat biryani. The order arrived. The smell of the meat was very rancid and the rice was doughy. When we spoke to the waiter, he was friendly, but I was told that he would inform the management. The price was very expensive for rancid meat, doughy rice, and not enough for the biryani. Basala is a very bad experience. We ate it a previous time. It was good and the rice was wonderful. The appetizers were very delicious. We ordered bad taouk instead of biryani. It is very harsh and I do not recommend it. The workers’ voice is as if you are in a popular market

Lack of commitment to time and one of the worst Arabic restaurants in the region, and exaggerated prices, I do not recommend it

I asked them for mixed grilled meats, hummus, and lentil soup, which tasted great and was not a mistake, Mashallah

Really bad customer service and very slow as well, we asked for water and some sauce 2-3 times, they say they are coming but forgetting every time, not coming back again.

La comida es excelente, buenos ingredientes y calidad. Kebab cocinado en la parrilla visible fabuloso. Humus gran plato. Tuvimos una buena cena, ok servicio y volveremos cada vez que estemos por aquí. Gente amable allí.

One of the best Lebanese food I ever had.

It is beautiful and worth the experience. All the employees provide excellent service. Thank you. Glory be to God and praise be to Him, Glory be to God Almighty

The food was lovely and the servers, especially Ammar, were always courteous and friendly! Would definitely recommend

Gran lugar para nuestro almuerzo / cena temprana, con personal muy acogedor. El servicio y la comida eran excelentes y me hicieron un plato de berenjenas que no estaba en el menú.

The food is delicious. The service is good. The place needs an old renovation and the chairs have cracked leather.

Fatoosh is beyond 😋 yummy for me is the best fatoosh I ever had.

Food was really good..our group enjoyed it I will recommend everyone..just go n have a fun 😍

Very ordinary and expensive food, and they increase the prices, especially the one who has a tall, bald manager and puts service fees on his head every day. I do not recommend it, be careful of it, and their chicken smells delicious and delicious 🤢

Food served so late, and they were so expensive, and a bottle of water was £6. It's not worth going there.

Rajaa gave excellent service and was so sweet, kind, and friendly. She was very attentive and considerate and made sure our table got everything we need. She went above and beyond. The food was amazing and ambience was perfect.The owner also came to check on our table and make friendly conversation. Best restaurant on Edgeware Road!

Excellent hospitality lipsmacking food Very beautiful friendly ambience Owner Hussein was very amicable and polite I wish to visit Al ballad again n again when I visit London maybe soon ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👌👌👌👌👌👍👍👍👍👍

With a lively ambience and chirpy crowd, Al-Balad gave us the best experience of Lebanese food in London. The menu hosts a plethora of Lebanese dishes and you get everything from starters to main courses with sumptuous quantity. The staff is super jovial and welcoming, always at your beck and call!

Excellent food and excellent service

A must try! You won't regret it!

I recently visited Al Baladi on Edward Road with my family after having dinner nearby. We were looking forward to enjoying some baklava and tea to end our evening. When we arrived, the gentleman at the entrance welcomed us warmly, gave us menus, and made us feel invited. However, things took a sudden turn when one of the managers inside, a short, bald man, approached us. To our surprise, he informed us that we couldn’t just order dessert because they only serve full meals. I explained that we had already eaten elsewhere and were simply looking to enjoy dessert, but he rudely told us to “go somewhere else.” There was no signage or mention of this rule anywhere, and his tone was dismissive and unprofessional. The experience left us feeling embarrassed and unwelcome, especially since we’d been initially invited in. It was disappointing to be treated this way over something as simple as a dessert order. We expected more courtesy and understanding, especially in a family-friendly setting like Al Baladi.

Buen lugar para un café libanés y baklawa. El café era excelente y perfectamente endulzado. Baklawa era sabroso. La comida se veía bien. Sin duda volveré a probarlo.

Tasty food, good service and friendly people

The food is not good, don't go there

Previously been to this restaurant and staff are always rude. Recently witness management being difficult with staff because they weren’t Arabic. They also told them to go else where because they did not want to serve them. If you’re not Arabic they will be very dismissive! AVOID

Amazing ✨, really nice restaurant, fresh and delicious food, great atmosphere ✨, friendly staff, good service, I recommend it 💯

The food is extremely delicious and the workers there are super nice specially Mustafa he is the best

The food is delicious. I tried the shawarma, it's expensive, but it's nice. When I first came, I said you would accept cash, haha, I can't fail!

One of the worst Arabic restaurants I have ever seen No good service or good food And liars manipulate prices

The food is good, but the prices are high, the atmosphere inside the restaurant is very noisy, and the shisha outside is annoying for families.