Maro's — Restaurant in Oakville

Our first visit to Maro's Bistro definitely exceeded expectations. A friend recommended the restaurant and were glad we finally went. We had an absolutely wonderful meal. The restaurant is small with very homey decor. Pillows and rustic tables and chairs with a long bench along both walls. Felt more like you were eating at a friend's home rather than in a restaurant except for the fact that you can see right into the kitchen. Loved everything about it. Tempting cocktails, craft beers and a decent wine selection. The waitress, Arielle (hope I spelled that correctly) was excellent. Helped us make choices from a menu that was detailed but unfamiliar to us, so her advice was very welcome. She didn't disappoint. We had a vegetarian platter called K-Saq that was a trio of delicious dishes and very filling. Cauliflower that was spiced and cooked beautifully and served on a bed of hummus. Marinated and grilled artichoke hearts served with baba ghanoush. This was my wife's favourite. The baba ghanoush was wonderfully smokey and very tasty. The last part of this dish was fried halloumi cheese served on something called muhammara. It was a spicy (but not hot) red pepper (I think) puree that was my favourite of the three. All of this came with a generous portion of pita bread that we were told was endless but there was more than enough for us to eat without asking for a refill. It was truly excellent, and we would order this again. Our second dish was a minced beef dish called Babel. Equally delicious. Seasoned beef patties covered with Lebanese garlic potatoes (think of roasted potatoes with fragrant garlic), bulgur wheat and sauteed onions and bell peppers. This was topped with a tangy herbed Greek yoghurt with more garlic. Fabulous dish! Again, the portion size was very generous. We took more than half of each dish home in their eco-friendly take-out boxes. Chef and owner Maro sent us a sample of his fantastic chicken shawarma and seasoned rice with the yoghurt sauce and a sweet hot sauce that we loved! Very nice gesture and it was appreciated despite the fact that we had more than enough food. Bottles of minted water were refreshing and cooling after the wonderful bite from the hot sauce. To finish the meal, we ordered Turkish coffee. Close to espresso but seasoned with cardamom. We really enjoyed the strong coffee with the exotic flavour of cardamom. Very unique. Desserts were next door, and you can eat in or take some home. We opted for the latter as we were both full. The desserts were delicious. Home made every day. We found the desserts were expensive, but you'd expect to pay more for handmade. The meal itself was extremely reasonably priced and we left feeling very satisfied. We will be back. We are returning to sample more items for a family party this summer. Thank you Maro! We were extremely happy with our...

Saw the reviews on google and was eager to try this Persian restaurant and excited to try their take on fish. Our hostess was very friendly and it was quite steady and social distancing was well handled. I ordered a really fragrant cocktail that was absolutely incredible. We decided to order and my friend ordered the Lebanese Grilled Chicken Breast on a bed of sautéed Onions, mixed greens and asked for some avocado if they had it. I ordered the HERE COMES THE BRIDE GF 24.95 Sea bass Fish Fillet marinated in Middle Eastern Spices, Sautéed with Onions and Peppers, on a Bed Homemade Baba Ghanoush and Hummus. I was enjoying my drink when not even 10 mins passed and a server came by and placed the dishes on our table. I looked at my friend and we were both shocked. I saw the hostess walk by and I asked if my dish was the sea bass and she said yes and took off right away. My friend's dish was so awful. There was so much stuff just thrown together, the chicken was drenched in curry seasoning, the avocado was cut in half and had a dollop of some red stuff not sure what that was. My fish was chunks of fried BASA! and was so oily and disgustingly rubber like. The only thing that was edible was the delicious Baba Ghanoush and Hummus which I ate and left all the fish behind. My friend's could not bear to look at her plate and covered it with a napkin. When the hostess came by I tried to stay composed and quietly explained that the fish was definitely not Seabass and asked when Persians start cooking with curry powder???? She said the chef is trying to put a Western spin on some dishes and their supplier and invoice said it was Seabass. I asked her if chunks of fish looks like a fillet of seabass to her and she said it was a fillet and the chef cut it up into chunks after, what the hell?????.Gordon Ramsay would freak. We told her we could not eat the food and the chef should be proud of his culture. To sling food on a plate and pass of basa as seabass is insulting. The chef cooks without passion or love and thinks foodies like myself would not know the difference. I told her I was so disappointed and she tried to offer something else and we declined. She offered me some dips to take home to try and asked me to try and come back. I will definitely not. I understand during this time, it is very difficult for restaurants and I go out of my way to support the industry by trying new places. If chefs are going to take shortcuts and fool people to try and save money, then this business will not...

Have heard great things about this place. However, maybe we caught them on an off-day because what we had left us quite disappointed. However, the food/taste clearly resonates with some people. It will be interesting to see how this place does now that we have many more authentic middle eastern options emerging in Oakville and the Greater Toronto Area. Nevertheless, best wishes for continued success to this place. Dear Maro's Owners You wrote: "Thank you for the review, I am sure we will do amazing. Our target customers are non Middle Eastern. After 14 years I am sure we will be more than okay, you didn't catch us at a bad time, our standards do not meet your expectations. Good food is not for everybody ... Many of those Middle Eastern restaurants fail to serve alcohol, which we pride ourselves with... Nevertheless, thank you for taking the time to write a review, sincerely Maro."

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Delighted to hear that we didn't catch you on a bad day and that the experience we had at your place - and therefore my rating - is actually representative of your service.

You are right. Your standards indeed did not live up to my expectations. You said, "good food is not for everyone"; I would go further and say everyone doesn't know how to MAKE good food either. Your genius is that you have been able to match your food-making ability with a strong, loyal base of patrons who have not yet discovered good, authentic Middle Eastern food.

Sales volume (and therefore success), however, is not directly correlated with quality food. Allow me to explain. A specialty coffee maker (like Sam James Coffee Bar, % Arabica etc) is outsold 10-1 by Tim Hortons. However, it would be idiotic of the Tim Horton franchisee to suddenly think that he/she is the better coffee maker. I am sure you get the drift.

You seem unaware that the Middle East actually has a sizeable non-muslim population, including the Menonites in Lebanon, the Coptics in Egypt, to name a few. These communities enjoy alcohol with their drinks. The good news is that with many wonderful restaurants opening in the western suburbs, these communities will soon be able to enjoy evenings out with alcohol AND good, authentic food.

Finally, I read in the reviews that the owners are rude and arrogant - and it saddened me to think that these comments are harsh. Delighted to see that is not the case. Keep up...