Teta's Authentic Lebanese — Restaurant in Sydney

We recently dined at Teta’s for our Father’s Day lunch.

It was our first time there and we had 7 in our group.

The restaurant appeared busy but I’m unsure if it was busier than usual. There was plenty of floor staff so I’m confused as to why the service was so bad.

Let’s talk about the positive first, the FOOD. I can’t fault Teta on the food. It was delicious. The chef had their own unique take on the usual Lebanese fare which resulted in some seriously good tasting dishes. BUT that’s where the positive remarks end!

The reviews appear mixed so obviously our experience is not isolated. If the food wasn’t so good I would have given this place a 1 star based on bad service and value.

I’m not sure if they are under new management or the regular waiters were on leave but I can’t explain how the service could be so bad considering how many wait staff were working at the time. The right hand had no idea what the left hand was doing. No ownership and certainly no leadership.

Our booking was for 1:30pm, half of our group arrived 10min early and we arrived on time. We were immediately seated and our drinks/food order was not taken for at least 15min. At no point did a manager or server introduce themselves or walk us through the menu, luckily we are experienced with this cuisine.

40 minutes later we are still waiting on our drinks. Our food actually arrived before our drinks (I don’t even know how this is possible?). We had to enquire about the drinks on three occasions and unsurprisingly they got the order wrong and then we had to follow up another three times until they brought out the correct drink.

What I’m about to say was the icing on the cake and totally inexcusable. 5-10 minutes after our food arrived (prior to the drinks), a staff member who did not take our order came up to me very abruptly and said in the most inhospitable tone, “this seating is for 2 hours and you then need to leave”.

I was in so much shock that this waiter had the audacity to say such a thing, that the food almost fell out my mouth.

I replied saying, “excuse me, we waited 15 min to be served, 30 min for Mezza and it’s 40minutes from the time we ordered our drinks and they still haven’t arrived and you have audacity to ask us to hurry up!” She replied with a cheeky condescending smile stating they are double booked. I quickly replied, that is not my problem, speed up your service and go get the manager. She nodded, walked off and unsurprisingly the manager did not arrive.

To me, this is totally unacceptable and no time did management or ownership come and “make good” the situation. This is the total opposite as to what Lebanese hospitality should be. I don’t think Teta would be impressed!

Would I go back or recommend this place to others? I would consider it if someone from the restaurant contacted me with an apology at the very least. But I won’t hold my breath.

There are far more hospital and better value Lebanese restaurants in the city and western suburbs. However I can’t fault the food but I would never pay these high prices for such...

What a delightful first meal in Sydney! We were living in Forestville for a month on a home swap, and we were tired and jetlagged and wanted a beautiful first meal and our host recommended Tetas, which was nearby. When we first entered, I was thrilled. Warm and cozy with low lighting. Excellent ambiance for a low-energy meal. Server was attentive and came right away.

Food and drink choices: Any time I go to a restaurant and see something on the menu that I don’t recognize, I feel compelled to order it! In this case I had never heard of fakra, a Lebanese drink. We ordered two shots. Fakra is a fennel based drink that tasted similar to other licorice-flavored offerings, such as sambuca and ouzo. Though fakra was more subtle and less syrupy.

We then had the hummus platter which was super creamy, and the bread served with it was great (selection of crunchy seeded bread and other non-seeded breads). I had the kibbeh nayyeh (raw minced meat with mint and onions). I love tartar and other raw meats, and this one was very flavorful. I was a bit surprised at the way it was brought out. It was formed into a shape, rather than flat. But it was very tasty.

My husband had the kafta main dish. Spiced minced meat (cooked!) and he loved it. It looked like a kebab and had a similar consistency. He said the flavors were excellent.

The only disappointment is when the belly dancer came out. The music was far too loud! I love it when the belly dancers come to the table, and, in fact, I’ve taken belly dancing lessons. It’s so joyful! But the music was blaring! I understand they need to get our attention to know that the dancer is on her way, but they needed to turn the volume down by about half. She was very good...

I cannot fault Teta's. It was an amazing coeliac dinning experience. The wait person our table had, she was so knowledgeable regarding coeliac needs. The menu had a good amount of gluten free entrees as well as two gluten free mains. The wait person ran me through the menu individually and informed me that a few entree items may say "GF" but are cooked in a place where gluten is cooked. (NOTE: This is more for those who can eat gluten but choose to follow a gluten free lifestyle. Basically those who are trying to minimise their wheat intake but who can still consume wheat without having a reaction.) She steered me in the right direction, was incredibly informed and was such a nice person. The food was AMAZING and probably the best Lebanese food I have eaten. Our bill came to around $255 for four people. I had a mocktail, others at our table had wine and beer. We ordered the Grilled Haloumi Cheese GF ($19.40), Lady Fingers ($17.40), Vine Leaves GF ($17.40), Batata ($17.40), Andalous Octopus ($23.40), Gym Junkie Chicken GF ($26.40), Mix Skewars Plate w/ extra skewars ($38.40 + extra), Hommos GF ($13.90) and Baba Ghannouj GF ($13.90). We left completely stuffed and noticed many others leaving taking their food away as they probably couldn't finish it. The vibe and atmosphere was so nice: it's chill but beautiful. You could go there dressed casually in jeans or smart casual. As a coeliac, I'll definitely be dining at Teta's again. What a great experience. For more coeliac reviews check out The Gluten Free Minx on Instagram and...