Byblós Melbourne — Restaurant in Melbourne

Very disappointing. Dined here last night. Had a booking for 8.30pm, arrived at 8.35pm. It started off bad Immediately. The lady in charge standing at the front (head waiter perhaps) greeted us with a very weird & unwelcoming look. I told her we have a booking, & the first thing that came out of her mouth was "ohh, well you have until 9 to order". It was 8.35pm. I apologised for being 5 mins late & said we had trouble finding parking. (Very busy Saturday night). But as I was still talking, she literally raised both her arms/hands in the air & in my face and spoke very loudly on top of me & said "WELL REGARDLESS, KITCHEN CLOSES AT 9 SO HURRY UP & ORDER ASAP!". This immediately put us off & set up a bad vibe from the minute we got there. She could've very easily explained that to us in a different tone of voice & with a smile on her face instead of being so rude..

She took us to our table & I felt like she was rather annoyed because we had a pram. She shook her head in disappointment & said "this table is very bad for a pram, it's in everyone's way". I knew they couldn't move us because restaurant was full. So I didn't say anything I actually just apologised for having a pram! Which is ridiculous because no-one should made to feel bad for bringing their baby to a family restaurant. She continued by saying "I won't be able to bring you a high chair either because it's not suitable for this table". I said "no its ok she's sleepy & needs to sleep". She continued with "yeahhh but this pram is in the way you need to move it!" (Angry voice). I said I will move it as soon as we all sit down. She literally rolled her eyes & walked off. Not even 5mins in & she completely ruined the vibe with her unwelcoming attitude. Waiter that took our order was very calm & friendly. We ordered the banquet for 4 people, we were 2 adults & 3 children. It was $65 per person but we knew our kids will not eat much of it as they are fussy eaters so we knew the food was more than enough. Waiter asked if we wanted everything together & we said yes. Everything came out except for the chicken skewers. They took ages to come out. We became full by the time they came out which was very disappointing because they were the only thing that was very nice tasting.

Everything was bland & had no salt. The batata harra was a big let down, so oily & no taste. The halloumi salad was so confusing, did not taste good at all. The fattoush salad had no pomegranate & 4 pieces of crunchy bread! That is not proper lebanese fattoush.

We ordered mocktails at $10ea but couldn't believe how much ice was in each cup & the lemonade mint one wasn't even nice, tasted weird. The watermelon mocktail was nice but after 2 sips it was finished.

We were in & out in 1hr 10mins because we did not enjoy anthing. Started off bad & ended the same. Everything was a let down. That head waiter really needs to change her attitude she made us all so uncomfortable. And they are definitely not kid friendly. Such a shame because the atmosphere is so nice and the restaurant itself is beautiful but what's the point when you get treated like that? We honestly felt like we got ripped off but in other restaurants we've paid a higher bill & left happy & satisfied.

Bill was $319 in total. Was not worth it. Will spend my money in another restaurant next time. One that doesn't make you feel unwelcome and smiles to you upon arrival. One that doesn't make you feel rushed. One that has nicer food that we actually eat instead of leaving half the plates full.

In the past Byblos used to be 5 stars but definitely not after last night. 2 stars is for the nice chicken, even though it came out late, and...

I brought 3 customers here in early November for dinner, as they were from Egypt and I wanted to treat them to a good, Arabic style meal. Mixed thoughts on this place though- staring with the service. Nice location, parked nearby which was easy, walked and noted the name given on booking, it was NOT at all busy yet (only just gone 6pm) yet stood around waiting to be seated while a new employee was trained on a procedure. Tip- maybe come back to that training and seat the patrons first. Upon being seated, the young guy was the complete opposite of friendly, warm and welcoming. To be polite about him- he was rude and needs to learn how to treat customers in such a restaurant. This was a little embarrassing in front of my customers, the impression that they were getting of Australians. We reviewed the menus, and then ordered all of the meals ranging from dips and bread, tabouleh, fattoush, mixed grills (for 3 of us), Kebbah, potatoes, halloumi and a main shawarma (for one customer). The cold, rude, poor customer service continued from the same guy who seated us, but I tried my best to ignore it and look forward to the food. This started to come, with dips & bread first, followed by the Kibbah and Halloumi. Food was delish! The place started getting filling up, including a larger group of business patrons (who were served their food amazingly fast). We waited some time for the mains, mixed grills arrived, then the tabouleh, then some more bread (that we requested). 5 minutes or so pass- but no Shawarma and no fattoush or potatoes. Our mixed grills were going cold waiting for the last main, I FINALLY got someone to come over to our table (after having to try very hard) told the waitress what we were waiting on, she said she will check. 10 min later, still no shawarma, potatoes or fattoush... I get the attention of someone again, then go check, wait another 5-10 minutes, and finally the last main, the shawarma... 25min or so had passed though since the first mains arrived, we getting close to finishing the mixed grills, but still no potatoes or fattoush. By now, I didn't bother following it up as I figured they didn't actually put them on the order... at this stage of the meal, why bother. The shawarma, after waiting so long could not be eaten, maybe 1/4 at most. That guest ask to take it away, and was refused. I went up to pay, asked why he couldn't take it away and was told it was policy after meals had been on the table for more than half an hour. What!?! It had only been 10 min since his meal arrived so far behind the others.... I paid and left with a bitter-sweet feeling... Great food! The best Arabic/Lebanese I have had outside of the Middle East (travel there 6-7 times yearly for work) but the place was let down so badly by the service. Then to top it off. the next day I check the receipt. Wow! I was even charged for the fattoush and potatoes that never made it to the table despite the follow up attempts to get them served. To Byblos, if you're going to charge the prices you do- despite the food being great, the service needs to be improved, starting with the attitude and care factor of employees. Oh, but I must say the new girl (being trained) who I spoke to up the front when paying (I think she was Finnish) was kind and warm, unlike many others who worked their.

P.S. I sent an email as...

Extremely Disappointing – Misleading Venue Capacity & Poor Service

We recently hosted a special event at this venue and, while the food was excellent and well received by our guests, the overall experience was far from acceptable and left us extremely disappointed.

Despite thorough planning, the agreed seating arrangement was changed last-minute, just hours before the event. This rendered our professionally made seating chart completely unusable. What we received instead was a basic A4 printout stuck with sticky tape on a small easel.

The venue claims to accommodate up to 135 guests seated in the main dining room but that’s incredibly misleading. We had fewer than 80 guests in that space and it was still extremely cramped. Tables were packed too tightly, guests struggled to move around, and staff had difficulty navigating between tables, which slowed down service significantly.

Service overall was very poor. Children’s meals were delayed or forgotten, dietary requirements were not accommodated as promised, and there simply weren’t enough staff to manage the event smoothly. My wife and I spent most of the event highlighting and resolving problems instead of enjoying the occasion.

The most disappointing part came after the event. I sent multiple emails to the event manager to share our concerns and provide feedback, but all were ignored. No apology, no response and just complete silence.

We chose this venue based on its strong reputation and promises made during the booking process with the event manager, but unfortunately, on the day and in reality the experience did not come close. I would not recommend this venue to anyone planning an important event. The food was great, but everything else was a complete letdown.

Update 29/07/2025 – After posting our initial review, the restaurant publicly responded, stating someone would be in touch to discuss our concerns. Weeks passed with no contact, so we took the initiative to email the owners directly. Eventually, a manager did reach out and followed up on our matter.

As a result, they updated the online seating capacity in their events brochure. However, all we received was an apology and an invitation to return for dinner. Our event was significantly impacted, yet they failed to offer any meaningful resolution or compensation.

While we’ve been told that our feedback was passed on to the owner by the state manager, it's clear the owners have no interest in accountability now that they’ve received our money. A deeply disappointing experience. Avoid this venue...