Al Diwan

Lebanese restaurant with rowdy crowds and entertainment Discuss this article

Never go to Al Diwan for lunch. It’s not the food, it’s not the empty tables, it’s the waiter. If he doesn’t misplace the reservation, he’ll try to talk people out of having lunch there, explaining rather rudely that they’re closing in the next hour and a half. He’ll also get the order wrong, and he’ll get the bill whether the diner likes it or not. This lone, vindictive waiter ruins absolutely everything for Al Diwan. For in spite of the bad service, the food is good. The wrongly named spinach sambousik — they’re actually fatayer sbanikh — are a little too juicy, the shish taouk is tender and the grilled fillet of hammour is excellent, if a little on the small side. Unfortunately the service leaves such a bad taste in your mouth that its difficult to remember how succulent the taouk was, or how good the hammour looked and tasted.

Visit at night when a belly dancer and her band entertain rowdy diners, with the added benefit that when the lights dim and the music and dancing heat up, you’re less likely to notice the scowl on the waiter’s face. With the excellent entertainment, diners are also less likely to notice the faux stonewalls (which are supposed to look like the stones used for homes in the Lebanese mountains and villages) and the weird, supposedly decorative gaping hole close to the entrance. Al Diwan is a festive option, but solely for the nightime.

• Previous reviews
  • 01 March,2002- reviewed by Carolyn Robb

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