El Shams in Croydon

This restaurant has been gone for ages! Sadly before I had a chance to try it. Replaced by some sort of "fusion" place.

The hotel staff were helpful and accommodating. It was all inclusive which made it even better. Will definitely revisit

If you’re partial to a spot of Middle Eastern cuisine El Shams won’t disappoint. A group of us dined out on a wonderful spread of hot and cold home made mezzes followed up with a mixed grill cooked to perfection and a couple of cold beers to wash it all down with. The presentation is as good as the pics!

Lovely lunch inside this small and very friendly restaurant. The mezze dishes were all really tasty and good portion size.

Visited a couple of weeks ago Always best to book as it’s very small Friendly staff and quite quick service A good menu choice and the food was delicious The toilets again could be made nicer as they weren’t the cleanest I wish they didn’t have the TV on the whole time during dinner!

Second time going there so it must be very good Portions are big my husband who usually finishes his plate couldn’t. Staff pleasant and very friendly Everybody should try it Definitely book very few tables

Delicious delicious delicious. My sister recommended it and it didn't disappoint. Great service, great food, great wine and cocktails. Very happy indeed. Also discovered they have their own app so we can order from home too. I shared a hot mezze selection with 2 others and the special mixed grill with others. Perfect. Will definitely return, and have already ordered takeaway.

Family of 6 adults enjoyed a wonderful dinner, food and service hard to beat. The mixed grill did for Sunday lunch as well

Fantastic. Can’t express how fantastic they are. Food is amazing. 2nd time and will defo be going back. Thank you for everything

Visited a few weeks ago for a good friends birthday. Didn’t know what to expect as I had never tried Lebanese food before. My goodness! The food was stunning, full of flavour and portion sizes impressive. Lovely atmosphere and staff were so friendly. Reasonably priced and house wine was fab! Will absolutely return. Thank you!

We used El Shams to cater for my dad's 70th birthday party and everything was perfect. Dealing with Paul at El Shams to ensure everything was as we wanted for the party and Paul made sure we got exactly what we wanted at a reasonable price. On the day of the party the catering came on time, all packaged very well and easy to sort out. The food was cooked perfectly and tasted wonderful, all the guests complimented us on the quality of the food. Thanks again to El Shams for helping us have a wonderful time. I would recommend to consider El Shams to cater for your party etc.

What can I say, El Shams was booked for my birthday get together, the organisation and communication was fantastic. 20+ people including kids for lunch. My expectations in large groups are always lower than a meal for two but WOW the team pulled it out the bag. The food was presented beautifully, plentiful and outstanding in taste. The kibbeh was amazzzzzing and the baba ganoush was one of the best I have tasted. The juicy chicken wings kept coming and our belly’s were filling. The mains did not let us down either the most flavoursum succulent chicken taouk with seasonings I just couldn’t put my finger on, an aubergine dish that I could’ve eaten all day long, along with rices, shawarma, a mild curry dish, falafel and prawns. The vegetarians and vegans were equally happy and all the kids found something they liked. We travelled from West London to Purley as El Shams was strongly recommended and I would do it all over again. Thank you so much to Nicky and the team for an amazing birthday lunch. I can not recommend this restaurant highly enough, if you are blessed to live near by you MUST check it out. 10/10

Dining at El Shams recently was a really good experience. From the moment we walked in we had a great warm welcome from Paul AKA Jamal. Food was wonderful with generous portions but the warmth of the welcome and continuing excellent service will have me coming back and often

We have heard good reviews so thought we would try for ourselves. Lamb, pan fried sea baas with saffron rice and salad was delicious, followed by cheesecake and ice cream. All delicious and reasonably priced. The restaurant is small inside but cosy, looking forward to going back to their new premises. Would definitely recommend and go back

Having heard great reports of this newish restaurant, we had a birthday celebration meal here. We opted for an inclusive meal with a Hummus starter and then a plate of meat, meat, meat and more meat with saffron rice and a salad. It was cooked to perfection and whilst we were told we could take home anything we did not eat, i am afraid that we both left nothing at all for another day. Washed down with a lovely bottle of Malbec, we really enjoyed the meal, and the owner was on hand to talk us through the various meats, how they are cooked and how this has been a dream of his for many years. His only problem now is that the restaurant is to small for the customers he has already has. We will certainly be back, either here or at new premises! Thanks for a very pleasant night.

We have never eaten here before .Just had a taker away and we highly recommended you try .Next time we will be booking to eat in the restaurant.

Top quality cuisine by a very friendly family run business. Each dish lovingly prepared, the tabbouleh, babganoush, batara hara, Koshery (egyptian street food) all top notch. I would recommend ordering a bunch of starters, in the same way you would for tapas as there is...

Had a meal at this wonderful place last night, we visited because of the great reviews and were not disappointed, started the night with a jug of pimms, delicious!! Followed by lamb kebabs and prawns again delicious, service was outstanding, helpful informative and so welcoming,...

The taste of the Falafels in El Shams exceeded our expectations! Crispy on the outside, moist and tasty on the inside which are the best we have tasted since a very memorable trip trying the street food in Alexandria. Farida is clearly passionate about food...

Popped in on the off chance to try out the food and was pleasantly delighted. We was greeted by friendly staff. It is a fairly small restaurant and we chose to sit outside as it was warm. I had the mixed mezze which was so...

Have had 2 different takeaway wraps now and quality is amazing. I will defo try main menu and eat in as is fully air conditioned and spotlessly clean. See you soon and thank you. Asha x

What a treasure for Puey this is. Welcome. Friendly. Helpful! And the food. What a treat! From the welcome (wheelchair friendly) to the goodbye, our visit was one to remember. Food was super! It had an authenticness.to it that tooke back to previous trips abroad....

Delicious food and a friendly, fantastic team. Went with the whole family for a bday and everyone had an amazing time. A little gem in Purley! So glad you’re here!

We went in a group of four for the first time to El Sham and were not disappointed. The restaurant is small inside but it makes up for it with the fabulous food . Everything we had from the starters tasted wonderful . It was...

Another excellent meal! We have had 3 takeaways and each time the food has been fantastic and the service brilliant. Highly recommended

Just had a lovely takeaway delivered from El Shams in Purley. Delivery was on time, safely distanced and polite. Good portions tasty lamb and halloumi burger with nice fresh salad and chips. Hummus and baba ganoush with lots of pitta bread. Would recommend and will...

Had a vegan mezze and husband had lamb and halloumi burger. He food was excellent and good portions and altogether a very nice meal