Reem Al Bawadi

Eclectic mix of traditional Lebanese and American food 34 Reviews

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From Time Out Dubai Eating Out 2009

A perennially packed out restaurant is a sure fire way to tell a good egg from a bad one, and we can only jostle for space in the ever growing crowd singing the praises of Reem al Bawadi.

This Lebanese restaurant ticks every box: atmosphere, convivial, helpful staff, tasty food and a certain quirky something that sets it apart from the rest. Set rather inconspicuously next to the HSBC bank, the exterior is flanked by an outdoor terrace; chock full of diners puffing on shisha.

The interior is a huge, leafy den of wooden tables and cushioned seats; teeming with groups of people eating, playing cards or backgammon. The ceiling is a jungle of foliage and the coils of delicious-smelling shisha smoke seems to permeate the entire restaurant. In fact, you’ll find it difficult to resist the shisha and you shouldn’t; it’s easily one of the best in the city (the pineapple is rather ingeniously served in hollowed pineapple husks for Dhs 50.

It’s the kind of place to order plenty of Lebanese plates like houmous, fattoush salad, shish taouk and have a feast with friends ‘till the wee hours of the morning (like Time Out did) With such a vibrant atmosphere, reserving in advance is an absolute must.

By Time Out Dubai staff
Time Out Dubai, 30 March 2009

• Previous reviews
  • 22 March,2012- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 26 March,2011- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 07 April,2010- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 01 July,2002- reviewed by Carolyn Robb

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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: Julie Riise on 12 Mar ' 13 at 06:50

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FoodAmbienceValue

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

Edited by TimeOutDubai.com

This was my first trip to this restaurant and all i can say is wow. It's huge and it feels like a maze. The decor is fab and the ambience of the place is second to none. The service was with a smile and the staff were very knowledgable. Were always at hand. The food arrived piping hot and the portions were huge, especially for the price. Once i tucked in the taste of the sheesh taouk took me back to my time in Lebanon a decade ago. Amazing. A must visit, i will be going back for sure

Posted by: Zeina Moughrabi on 11 Mar ' 13 at 13:26

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

Best EVER!

Posted by: caroline on 12 Feb ' 13 at 18:20

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Value

• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

BAD BAD BAD SERVICE!!! You have to ask to make an order, you have to ask for the bill , you have to ask for sauces to complement your food. Staff not smiling, staff not following up, many flies around. I will not recommend this to anyone!

Posted by: Raaj d on 10 Sep ' 12 at 18:23

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Zucchini is absolutely right. They do push you to order far too much food. For a start, while the Hostess is seating you, a waiter will open a large bottle of water and pour it for you before you know what's happening. They do it as if it's on the house - without asking whether you want it chilled or not or whether you need a smaller bottle or whether you need water at all - but it ends up on your bill at 9 dirhams. Then they push their 25 dirham, awfully sweet juices, a Sheesha and about three times the amount of food that you could possibly eat. The waiters are probably on a commission. Hence the high pressure, virtually intimidating push to order more than what you can eat. There is so much food wasted on most tables and it can't be that they don’t know how much a person can eat.

Service is very quick but far too many waiters walking around and giving you the thumbs up – probably for their success in pushing upwards of 150 dirhams per head . The whole place is covered in garish plastic wine leaves and dusty kilims. Also take care to keep your feet tucked away from the hot metal buckets carelessly swung around by the Shesha minders

Posted by: Zucchini Anonymous on 29 Jul ' 12 at 23:19

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

Surprisingly overrated. This place, while frequented by a lot of people is purely because of its "brand value". From a true Shisha fan, this is probably one of the WORST shisha places in Dubai, infact I've been to some pretty shady places that make better shisha.

As for the food, not a bad try, but definitely not worth going back to. Very average, and very slow service. Most disappointingly very discriminating as well. They serve you only if you have women, else good luck getting any attention. They gladly forget your order and try to shove you out indirectly if you don't "order enough"

Being in Dubai for over 22 years, this is definitely one of the MOST over rated places in Dubai

Posted by: Gorky on 26 May ' 12 at 11:03

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FoodAmbienceValue

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

Absolutely will go again. Awesome place, very good food, friendly and helpfull stuff. Service is excellent. For the price and quality this is the most valuable place I have ever been.

Posted by: alex on 16 Dec ' 11 at 20:15

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

if you wanna be the best you gotta try the best ... and in this case its reem al bawadi ... if i could i'll sleep in this place ... i love the shesha its AMAZING ..

Posted by: Hanno on 08 Dec ' 11 at 23:47

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FoodAmbienceValue

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

Reem al Bawadi is a place where I can meet my memory, the restaurant but in my mind an experience of enjoyable, they offer food of the best quality the service have ambience of five star and the Shesha it has unique flavors of its blend I hard to get anywhere else, the most important thing to me is that is the restaurant is very clean and shiny all the time I can go with my vip associates and be proud of it and realy value for money.
Thank you Reem al Bawdai.

Posted by: KL on 12 Nov ' 11 at 10:59

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Edited by TimeOutDubai.com

I had the misfortune of visiting the Jumeirah branch this weekend. While I know this place is decent at most times, I've had 2 horrible experience and my last one this past weekend is definately a one to share. After shisha, salad and hummous, we ordered a mix grilled platter. As soon as it arrived I had a bite of the araeesh and it was not even warm but cold. The manager asked to try a piece to chicken to see if it was just the araeesh or the whole plate and it was the latter. He apologized and promised me to get a new one. Once in a while these things do happen but when my supposedly "new" plate of mix grilled platter arrived, the piece of araeesh of which I had taken a bite of initially was in there and was cold as well. I called the manager and he was shocked and apologized sincerely and said would get me a fresh plate. By this time my patience was saturated but I thought to give them another shot. The 3rd time to my surprise I received the same plate just a new piece of araeesh and cold chicken, lamb and fries which were served to me during the first attempt. Disgusted I asked the manager for the check and they had the nerve of putting the mix grill on the bill. While all the waiters and coal changers were witness to what I was going through, the senior manager arrived, gave his side of the story which dint make sense, cleaned my table and gave me a tray of fresh fruits. While i had lost my appetite in the one hour this incident took place, I was in no mood for fruits and returned their gesture untouched. I chose to ignore their cheap efforts of hiking up the bill by getting you a large bottle of water and emptying it asap and charging you for tea not by the pot but by the cups you order in a single pot, I was in no mood to entertain the cold food brought to me thrice and promised never to return back. Completely ruined my Thursday night.

Posted by: lkiug on 13 Jun ' 11 at 09:47

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

Posted by: bassam on 04 Jun ' 11 at 21:56

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

the best grills (mashawi) in dubai.. very good service and one of the best friendly places in dubai.. shisha is great.. appetizers are not bad but the best is grills.

Posted by: Alex on 09 Feb ' 11 at 11:25

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Definitely worth trying, a nice change from my usual JBR fare. The decor is, um, interesting... A bit over the top, but it did remind me of some of the places I went to in Lebanon. Also given its mostly Arab, shisha-puffing clientele.

No complains about the food or the shisha (which can be a bit on the stronger side, if you aren't used to it). I was not happy with the service though: they messed up up our order (we got lemon mint juice instead of grape-cherry-mint shisha (!), and get to get it switched). My main dish was chicken in mint sauce, which was really good but on a salty side. When asked about the side that comes with it, the waiter said french fries, but it was actually rice -- I didn't ask them to change it, though they messed up again. Also, the service is generally too attentive for my taste but not really mindful, i.e. they basically forced a napkin holder out of my hands in order to serve me a napkin (!!!), they took our plates the minute we put our forks down, and in general, I felt rushed.... But also, it might be a cultural difference, i.e. I prefer waiters to leave me alone to eat my food, and not interrupt me every 2 minutes trying to help. It gets overwhelming, especially when you have 5 people doing this to you (in France, they would probably have 10 times less waiters for this size of the restaurant, no joke). No wonder that food arrived very quickly as (10 minutes).

So in short: great authentic food & shisha, not-so-great but possibly authentic service...

Posted by: Yazan Habib on 08 Feb ' 11 at 10:16

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

The decoration is really stunning, a mixed of romantic and family friendly atmosphere, The Filipina hstesess are very accomodating, attentive but the dresses they have is not the same to each other unlike the waiters whose all the same. I will surely comeback

Posted by: Rashid Ebrahim on 06 Dec ' 10 at 19:05

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

An absolute treat for the taste buds and the wallet. Great value for money, excellent staff, and the Sheesha...To die for ! Me and My girlfriend frequent it all the time ! The Um Ali....the best in Dubai ! We keep going there and will continue too ! :)

Posted by: BELAL on 03 Oct ' 10 at 08:34

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

Posted by: samer on 29 Sep ' 10 at 14:19

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

amazing falafel sandwiches at the new branch in jumeira, the falafel is by far the best in the country and the managment at new falafel restaurant is very friendly and extremly nice..

Posted by: Maro And Fady on 29 Sep ' 10 at 09:13

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

Posted by: Stefanie on 31 Aug ' 10 at 15:36

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

Posted by: Greg on 06 Aug ' 10 at 21:06

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Went here purely for the shisha and I was really pleased. GREAT atmosphere and a comfortable place. The actual shisha water pipes are well maintained which makes for a very smooth smoking experience. My only complaint about the restaurant is the service. The staff are not attentive and always seem to be staring off into space. Like there is something better to do than actually take care of their table. And the coals were not attended to as often as I'd like. Asking for ice and receiving it 15 minutes later is a good example of the overall level of service. Nonetheless, I'd go back. Soon.

Posted by: AHMAD on 30 Jul ' 10 at 09:44

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

best for evrybody

Posted by: tricia bailey on 28 Jul ' 10 at 02:26

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

The best in Dubai. Go often and enjoy a truly authentic Arabian experience. The food is outstanding - fresh and of the highest quality. The ambience - relaxed perfection. The staff - doting and charming in every way. I can't wait to go back.

Posted by: hamadan on 21 Jun ' 10 at 15:13

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

6rrrrr shisha!!
6rrrr cheese sticks!!
6rrr juice!!!
6rrr food!!!
6rrr decor!!!
Everything is amazing there in go there everyday!!!!!!!!
fantastic amazing great ecxellent restaurant

Posted by: ali adnan on 06 Jan ' 10 at 19:07

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

Posted by: fawzi on 06 Sep ' 09 at 12:52

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

i had the time of my life , went there with the wife and had the best mixed grill ever, the best hommos,and fantastic sheesha , will go back for more

Posted by: ahmed on 06 Sep ' 09 at 12:15

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

Posted by: Adi Kaul on 27 Aug ' 09 at 22:29

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

great food, very mediocre service, great shisha..loved the little old guy with the tamarind lemon thing.

Posted by: Mustafa Al Rasheed on 17 Jul ' 09 at 06:19

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

A lovely place with delicious Lebanese food

Posted by: Mic on 10 Apr ' 09 at 14:05

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

This place is the best in Dubai!!! If you end up going, you won't be disappointed.

Posted by: lara najjar on 06 Apr ' 09 at 20:42

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

out of this world shawerma's, the best n town will go back,

Posted by: Rachel on 25 Mar ' 09 at 21:25

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

Wonderful selection of sheesha and great food to go with it. Very authentic feel with an interesting international crowd. Bring your out of town guests so they get a small taste of Arabic traditions.

Posted by: Naila Aamir on 13 Mar ' 09 at 11:57

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FoodAmbienceValue

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

My husband n me, along with our friends go to reem al bawadi like 4 times a week, they have the best sheesha, u have to try the grape cherry mint special sheesha...
The staff is amazing n they r very friendly... our day is not complete till we dont go there...
A must visit in ur list!

Posted by: naim wardeh on 06 Mar ' 09 at 19:57

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

fantastico

Posted by: adam h on 06 Mar ' 09 at 19:46

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

the best sheesha everrrrrrrrrrrrrr,and trust you me i've had my share of sheesha's, u cant go wrong with the grape one.

Posted by: momamed attif on 06 Mar ' 09 at 19:34

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

i went on afriday,and let me tell the buffet was amazing they have one of th biggest spreads ,its amix of lebanese and intenational cuisene,i will definetly come back ,though i had towait for 30 minutes for atable but it was well worth it, please please keep it up if you read this