Zaatar - Shawarma & Falafel — Restaurant in Região Geográfica Imediata de Salvador

We chose to visit this restaurant based on its location and the decent reviews online. We genuinely expected a good experience, or at the very least, basic customer service. What we got instead was the opposite.

There were no other clients when we walked in. Four staff members were sitting in the dining area — eating, talking loudly, and behaving like they were on a lunch break at home, not in a business serving the public. They saw us walk in, made eye contact, and immediately turned their heads without a single greeting, smile, or acknowledgment. They stayed there, laughing, chatting, eating — ignoring us completely. Not one person made the effort to welcome us.

But what made it worse — and what motivated us to post this review — was the owner’s response to our feedback. Instead of taking responsibility, apologizing, or even pretending to care, the owner replied with a passive-aggressive message blaming us for how we “reacted” to the situation. In short, they tried to gaslight the customer — turning the blame back on us for being disturbed by their unprofessional staff.

Let us be very clear: We both work in customer service and hospitality. We know what basic respect and professionalism look like. And this was not it.

In more developed countries — or in any serious business — this kind of reply to a customer review would be absolutely unacceptable. The owner’s behavior is immature, arrogant, and a perfect example of how not to run a restaurant. It tells you everything about the mindset behind this place.

We rarely leave bad reviews, but this was necessary. People deserve to know the truth behind the facade of good ratings. Don’t let the location or positive reviews fool you — the atmosphere is uncomfortable, the staff is untrained, and the management is clearly not open to feedback.

If this is how they treat customers, it’s no wonder the place was...

Let me be even clearer: I walked into an empty restaurant, was completely ignored, witnessed your staff loudly chatting and eating in the customer area, and received zero welcome, zero eye contact, and zero basic manners. That’s not just poor service — that’s total disregard for the customer experience.

And your reply? Condescending, defensive, and downright arrogant. Rather than apologizing or showing the slightest intention to improve, you gaslighted the situation and suggested I was the problem.

I’ve traveled the world, eaten in street stalls and fine dining — and never encountered a response as immature and unprofessional as yours. If this is how you treat honest feedback, it’s no wonder your restaurant was empty.

Shameful.

Entered the restaurant, no clients at all, four staff members chatting, no greetings no smiles, no conversation...they just turned their head and avoiding eye contact...staff members eating in the clients area, chatting very loud, like they are in their home, disturbing my meal...one of the...

Tinha muita expectativa para conhecer esse local, mas quando cheguei lá fiquei bem decepcionada com o atendimento. Pedi dois Shawarmas para montar, fora do cardápio. Um de frango e legumes...ok. O outro era de carne, somente alface e batata frita. Quando falei que queria batata frita, o cozinheiro simplesmente parou de montar e me disse que não podia colocar a batata, pois eu tinha que ter avisado antes para que ele pudesse ligar a fritadeira. Não bastando, o rapaz do caixa veio confirmar que sim, era minha responsabilidade ter avisado que antes queria batata frita... que...