KADMUS Lebanese Drummoyne — Restaurant in Sydney

“Could we at least have one with a tablecloth,” my dining companion asks as we are seated at the only undressed table in the mostly-empty KADMUS. This Drummoyne restaurant attracts mostly five star Google reviews so I was expecting, at the price point, more than minimal service and a meal easily surpassed by any number of Lebanese restaurants I’ve visited in Western Sydney. However you can BYO ($5/person), so that’s something…

Mezze here seem predicated on more than two diners, with small plates like lamb-shawarma topped hummos ($29) coming in just shy of thirty bucks. This drove us onto the set menus available as seafood ($73/person), vegan ($68/person) or the peculiarly-named “meatfan” ($68/person). All menus come with a selection of mezze and refillable baskets or fresh and fried flatbread. Three dips, hommus ($18), toum ($16) and coarsely-mashed baba ganouj ($18) were silently deposited. Smoky eggplant came up best, continuing into delicious soft spears batinjan ($16) that arrived without yoghurt sauce. There was something drizzled over the felafel ($19/4), which that arrived pale and cool in the centre. Kibi ($20/4) also lacked flavour, though the interior lamb mince was good stuff. The tabouli ($20) lacked burgul but impressed anyway with roughly-chopped mint and tomatoes that actually had flavour across both it and the less-exciting fattoush ($20).

Pomegranate molasses didn’t do the bland shish tawook ($31/3) any favours on our platter of meats. Eggplant could have been left off the overcooked lamb en brochette ($35/3), as it was better handled everywhere else. The shish kafta ($30/4) were the standout, with loosely-packed (and actually seasoned) coarsely minced lamb given a decent amount of char. We were only afforded two serving utensils across the whole meal (for the salads), and no dish announcements. To order we were provided with a texta to circle our selection on a menu encased in plastic. Can’t...

We went to this restaurant on recommendation, it is by far the best Middle Eastern food I've ever eaten outside of the Middle East.

Kadmus, the food is incredible, taste and quality is superb, authenticity is right up there, as is the presentation. Really glad I was encouraged to change my reservation from another place we were heading to.

The service has much to be desired but I was willing to overlook that because of the food. To make it top notch in hospitality, they need to do plenty about their service.

It was my birthday dinner so we wanted a special place. I booked online but they didn't receive the notification. Then my husband called and asked for a special table and something special for my birthday. He was promised both.

We arrived almost 2 hours later, there were many tables available but we were asked to stand and wait while they made up a table for us - which wasn't anything special at all. We waited 15 minutes. Then we were seated. Eye contact was minimal and interaction was minimal. I asked to speak to Osama the manager/owner and was told he's too busy he will come when he can. I saw Osama speaking at length to other guests near the front and waited. He never came. We paid and left. Then he came outside and called my husband in and said he was going to bring something special when we ordered dessert. No communication. No eye contact. We were expected to read their mind. When my husband spoke to him and said we weren't happy with the way things went - Osamas reply was - well these things happen.

No, these things don't happen. As a restauranteur you should look after your customers.

So my very special evening was unfortunately spoilt by them at Kadmus and no effort was made to rectify it or call us back to experience it...

Nice food , service not so good ! Went for dinner last Saturday , the second we walked in it seemed like the place was having a bad night , they lost our booking , took a fair while to take our order , didnt bring the drinks / wine list and when we did order dips came quickly , one main came before the rest of the entrees and then we were waited for over an hour before we had to ask where the rest of our food was .. the remainder of the entrees came out yet we continued to wait for the 2nd main .. we could see that the restaurant was having a bad night .. so we didnt have much of a problem with what was happening EXCEPT .. the female owner proceeds to walk around all the table and talked to them supposedly apologising as there was a big problem in the kitchen , she manages to get around to every table but misses ours .. No problem .. then after we requested the waiter the final main be cancelled after 2 hours of waiting for it .. the female owner proceeds to bring it out 10 minutes later which we then mentioned we had asked to be cancelled as we had been waiting too long and didnt want it , she then rudely proceeds to tell the waiter to throw it in the bin ..

So we continue our night and sit there chatting to some nice gentlemen on the next table for he next while , as the same owner proceeds to bring a dish to that table one of the gentlemen proceeds to tell us a joke to which all of us begin to laugh .. she turns around and rudely tells us not to laugh at her as she is here to serve us even though the laughs were not directed at her ..

While the food was delicious and the restaurant was having issues in the kitchen ...the reason i would not return to the restaurant is because of the rudeness...