Bar Beirut — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

The food was amazing, and it's a cool little place with low light ambiance. I've taken my friends and family here a few times, wonderful experience. But recently, the waitstaff were unbelievably rude and incredibly unwelcoming.

The blonde waitress was lovely but the waiter with long hair and the waitress with the dark eyes and dark lipstick were so rude and felt extremely unwelcoming.

Despite having a reservation, we were told we had a time limit of 1hr unless we sat at the high table. So we sat at the high tables. The waiter proceeds to be sour my friends and I were there for no discernible reason, as if we were taking up space despite just arriving at the beginning of service. We were only there for a total of a 1h 30mins, after waiting 30 mins for our food to start coming out. He literally start clearing and wiping down the table while we were still sitting there, even though when the table wasn't even cleared when we had arrived (and they had just opened...). I've never experienced this in my life. My friend and I have worked in hospitality and we would have been reamed over the coals to pull a stunt like that.

I have no idea what their issue was but I was so embarrassed to bring my date and my friend to this restaurant, after having such lovely experiences before, only to be made to feel immediately unwelcomed and a bother that we were even there. The waiter acted like we didn't have money to pay for our food for some bizarre reason?? I don't know whether it boiled down to racism, homophobia, or just a bad day but it felt very snobbish and distasteful.

The only reason we didn't walk out was because the food was damn good. But I will not be recommending or bringing anyone here again to feel so completely insulted...

Three of us turned up for my first time at Beirut Bar and found ourselves in a tasteful cafe and bar with a wonderful feel of the Middle East. We ordered four entrees for three of us and were delighted to find that instead of them all coming out together, they arrived one at a time, so we were all able to delight in their individual taste sensations. Kingfish Tartare, Koftas, Baba Ganoush and Charred Chicken, were all spectacular and a great introduction to the two shared main courses that followed. Seared Lamb rump and Grilled Octopus were accompanied by a simple dish of pumpkin and a dish of "Dirty Rice" and all of those dishes were a delicious as the entrees. My take on this place? So many places are just a room to eat some served food. This place is a warm, inviting place to truly indulge in a Lebanese Fusion, dining "experience" and was thoroughly enjoyable. A credit to Soumi and his team whose food actually saw me enjoy for the first time ever, Egg Plant and Octopus! Highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to experience warm and friendly Middle Eastern hospitality...

We visited Bar Beirut for our wedding anniversary. From the instant we were seated, we experienced the best in hospitality. It is such a great experience to be served by staff who know the range of food and drink that is available. Speaking of which, the drinks menu is vast and the cocktails all looked deliciously enticing. The food was equally amazing, and was a mixture of Middle Eastern style food with a modern twist. Be warned, portion size is generous, and while you'll want to try everything, you'll find your tummy will run out of space quickly! We had the lovely May looking after our dining needs, and she was so helpful to describe the dishes of interest, that we had the most satisfying dining experience. I highly recommend you visit Bar Beirut for amazing food and drink, and a very warm and friendly dining experience. Thank you to the team at Bar Beirut for making our wedding anniversary dinner a most...