Karam Beirut

Excellent food at premium prices in the Dubai Mall 11 Reviews

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From Time Out Dubai Eating Out 2011

When we have visitors there are two things that sit firmly on top of our ‘to do’ list: show them the Dubai Fountain and eat great Lebanese food. A meal at Karam Beirut kills two birds with one stone. The in-mall restaurant feels surprisingly classy (given its proximity to a food court), what with tablecloths and smartly attired waiters. The food is consistently good and the view of the fountain one of the best in town.

Mezze here has always been satisfying – we love the well seasoned kebbeh and the deliciously smoky mutabbal but the pièce de résistance has to be the grills – shish taouk is of a melt in your mouth texture and the signature ‘kebab karam’ is a delicious study in ground lamb and pistachios. Our only complaint with the place is that the service can be a little haphazard when its busy (we prefer visiting for lunch for that reason – although that means the fountain isn’t running) and management has a tendency to shout at staff and look generally harried, although that does kind of add to the experience for a tourist...

By Time Out Dubai staff
Time Out Dubai, 28 March 2011

• Previous reviews
  • 07 April,2010- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 30 August,2009- reviewed by Daisy Carrington

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Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.

User reviews:

Posted by: Haytham S on 10 Feb ' 13 at 04:26

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Poor Service - no other way to describe it.
They have 5 waiters who are good for nothing since there is only 1 person who can take an order, forcing all newcomers to wait 15-20mins to place their orders.
I now understand why it is the only Lebanese restaurant in Dubai Mall that always has space - nobody comes back.
When a complaint was filed with the staff, they did not try to apologize or win their customers back.
Would never recommend and never come back.

Posted by: Ayad Alobaidi on 26 Mar ' 12 at 08:27

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

I have been to this resturant three times and each time have had the same bad experience with their service. It is really that bad service that I have decided never again. I had 6 guests wanted Lebanese and they were the only one had seats. Poor service at its worse. Cold food that I had to send back twice after a long wait. At Karam Dubai mall the sad faced waiters make sure customers pays the bill more importantly than anything else.

You can't possibly enjoy the food there which is rather ashame. The name of the resturant does not fit at all. Karam means generous but the staff and the manager are such unpleasant lot, that I had to my write frank opinion to warn others.

Very disappointed indeed. They don't look after you and they don't wait on you when you need them to enjoy your food.

Posted by: kaba on 30 Dec ' 11 at 06:23

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

We've lived here for years, and never have we been treated so poorly anywhere!
The staff, especially the manager, were incredibly rude.
They acted like it was a privilege for us to eat at their restaurant.

I wish I would have read these reviews before spending 800dhs in their awful restaurant. Another review mentions that the atmosphere was "tense" and I completely agree.
Even if the food was good, we couldn't have enjoyed it with the ever-present arrogant and angry faced staff and the manager who would yell every time he attempted to speak.

WORST EXPERIENCE WE'VE EVER HAD. HORRID, HORRID, HORRID!

Posted by: Jim on 23 Nov ' 11 at 14:03

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Perfect Food!. One of the few places I have been in the that makes Lebanese food perfectly every time.

This place is the real deal. There are only 2 or 3 places in the UAE who don't disappoint, and this is one of them.

A good place if you have guests or visitors.

Posted by: Ahmed d on 22 Oct ' 11 at 22:18

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Bad attitude by staff, tense atmosphere, food like any other rest. In deira, over rated prices, recommended only for ppl who want to start a fight with the staff members cause it seems they opened the rest, for that reason

Posted by: Hayder on 06 Oct ' 11 at 22:10

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

poor service, rude managment, the Manager is so rude when making reservation, alwas check your bill for exta things you didnot order, very disappointed

Posted by: chris on 24 Jul ' 11 at 15:34

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• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

nice location in the heart of dubai! very good prizes an eccellent shisha connection!!love it!

Posted by: Joey Phoon on 22 Mar ' 11 at 10:17

• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Poor service..the Manager is so rude when making reservation..very disappointed

Posted by: hot on 10 Mar ' 11 at 17:38

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• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

The Restaurant is very well situatated at the Mall and the Lake with the fountains near the Burj Khalifa. You can sit inside and open air. The food was indeed excellent and the people arround me were - as usual in Dubai - from all over the world. Also a lot of local (?) Arabic people, men and women, enjoyed after the diner their Shisha. Very relaxed place, BUT ...

... the service: The waiter was not able to explain to me as a foreigner the dishes, which I was intereted in. His English was poor and he misinterpreted my questions. Therefore I order something which I was not interested in from the beginning, but it was excellent.

Facit: Why such incompetent serive at a fist class location in Dubai?

Posted by: Rajan Raman on 08 Mar ' 11 at 05:09

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Very bad service provider from the Manager to waiters... Very disspoinment.

Posted by: Monica on 17 Oct ' 10 at 09:31

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

I have rarely experienced such poor service. Actually, it's beyond poor service. Poor service is when you do not get what you need/want, within a reasonable time frame. At Karam Dubai mall, they make it a point to disturb customers.

It started with my party waiting for over 10 minutes for a waiter to take our order. So we asked the Maitre d' to take our order, but no, that was something he was not willing to do, and though he was just walking around, he asked us to wait for someone to take our order.

I ordered almonds, and the waiter quite roughly informed us that we'd have to pay for them... which is something one would expect in a restaurant... so I agreed, and he kept on asking if i was sure about it. Anyway, something was peculiar about the almonds, because once they were on the table, 3 waiters tried to take them away!

I will spare you the carelessness with our order, and how slow they were to bring the bill, but what appaled me most is that we obviously were not happy, yet the Maitre d' acted purposely unconcerned.

I have to admit however, food is excellent, but should one be exposed to such bad service for that? It's up to you.