Maison Libanaise — Restaurant in Hong Kong Island

Don’t get me wrong: their food is not bad even though we only ordered 2 appetisers. But their service is baaaaaad. It was a Friday evening with thunderstorm, when we booked the table, there is no statement about how much time we can have for the table, when we checked in, there was neither a “warning” about it. After we sat down, a friend was late due to an urgent client meeting, so we ordered some drinks and snacks. Five minutes after we started, one waiter came to ask if we still need the wine glasses (they were there for every table), we said “we don’t know yet, we are still waiting for our friend”. Because later the 4 of us might order a bottle. So he put down the glass that he already lifted. After a few mins, another one came to ask the same question and we gave the same answer and explained why we wanted to keep them. We thought this was annoying but then, a waitress just came and took away the wine glasses without saying anything. 🤔🤔🤔 We were shocked about what happened but we still didn’t say anything as we were engaged in conversations. Then a few mins later, a guy came to our table and said: “When would your friend be here?” We said we didn’t know but we already ordered some appetisers. Then he said “I suggest you order some main in 10 mins as we need the table by 8”. The way he said it was like an order, and he even put his finger on the menu. At the same time, we also noticed that we were peeking on other tables to check how customers were progressing with their food, and the way they did it was just so unprofessional. So we discussed and none of us felt their service was good enough for us to order more food and we decided to leave and not go back again. When we left, there were still 3 empty tables and there was no queue outside, so we didn’t know who they needed the table for, but we returned the table before 8! It’s not like there is no other restaurants in HK with good food. People eat out to have a good time, not to be “ordered” to eat quickly and leave. Even if your restaurant is so popular, you should have given customers warnings about turnover in advance, so people could...

I recently dined at Maison Libanaise on the Midlevel escalators in Shelley Street Central and wanted to share my experience. The interior of the restaurant is absolutely stunning, and the rooftop ambiance adds to the overall charm of the place.

Let me tell you, the Lebanese food at Maison Libanaise is hands down the best I've ever had in HK. The flavors were exceptional, and it truly felt like a culinary delight.

One convenient aspect is that they offer kebabs for takeaway downstairs, perfect for a quick and tasty meal on the go.

However, there were a couple of things that didn't sit well with me. It was 10 degrees Celsius and There was a cold draft coming through an open window, and when we asked to have it closed because our child was cold, we were told it couldn't be done as it would get stuffy. Yet, when another white couple made the same request, it was accommodated. It would have been nice if they had considered our situation, especially with a child feeling cold.

Towards the end of our meal, just as we were about to order dessert, a waitress approached us rudely, handed us the bill, and mentioned that people were waiting to eat. It was off-putting, especially when there were empty, uncleared tables around. They eventually cleaned up, but by then, the mood was already dampened, and we decided to skip dessert and leave.

In summary, Maison Libanaise offers a beautiful setting, amazing Lebanese cuisine, and convenient takeaway options. However, there were some issues with the service and responsiveness to customer needs that could be improved to ensure a more enjoyable dining experience...

This place is incredible and 100% worth a visit when you’re in HK. It’s in a side street in Central, and very very cute. The menu is comprehensive, and they have a lovely wine list featuring Lebanese wines. We had a vegetarian spread of four items and were STUFFED. The foundation underpinning all the amazing food here is the olive oil. Say what you will about Italy and Greece but the Lebanese olive oil they use here (which they unfortunately don’t sell, we asked!) is the best olive oil I have ever tasted. We got and can highly recommend the hummus, baba ghanoush, halloumi rakakat, and the bulgur. The pita here is off the hook and is drizzled with that same ridiculous olive oil. For two incredibly well-appetited people this was plenty. Service is excellent. Prices are high for HK but expected for non-local style food in Central, and most of all it was worth it. I wish we had more time in HK so we could try their lunch set menu but we’ll definitely be back.

Update October 2025: Came back, for lunch this time. This place is still awesome. Lunch set menu is an amazing value, and would definitely recommend adding the baba ghanoush. The shish taouk (the chicken option on the lunch menu) is perfectly cooked, so tender and juicy. The fattoush was a sleeper hit for me, and really balanced out the richness of the ample tahini and hummus elsewhere in the meal. Falafel is one of the best I've had. We were stuffed and so happy at the end. Only complaint is that when it's busy, the acoustics of the upstairs make it loud enough that it is quite difficult to have a...