Maroush — Restaurant in Berlin

Are you looking for Lebanese food? Go elsewhere... Went here because of the good reviews and were very disappointed. Ordered the shish taouk plate (listed as chicken, tabouleh, coriander potatoes hummus) and the vegetarian plate (roasted veggies, falafel, tabouleh, stuffed grape leaves, hummus). On the shish taouk, the chicken was really dry and the coriander potatoes were soggy french fries drenched in tahini. Vegetarian plate had your typical gemüse kebab roasted veggies, a tiny stuffed grape leaf, and no falafel. The håummus was your typical factory-made stuff, and the tabouleh had been replaced with pickled cabbage. It was small for the price and the food was pretty uninspiring—maybe three google stars at best. BUT!! I give this place one star because of the attitude of the staff... we asked why we had no tabouleh or falafel, and the guy said he only had a small amount of tabouleh, not enough to give to us. The falafel? "Yeah I have falafel, so? You don't need it, do you?" Lots of incredulous looks.

Maroush is your typical tourist dive that is maybe okay for a drunken döner, but definitely no authentic Lebanese food to be found here. Skip this place and try the restaurants at Gorlitzer Bahnhof or along Kottbusser Damm instead. Smiling staff, delicious food, and a way better...

Maroush is a mainstay in your Kreuzberg dining experience. Over years (and I´ve been a customer for 13 years now) the taste or quality of their food has never dipped or wavered. It´s so good that I can eat the same dish over and over again and it will always taste yummy and interesting for my palate. While their dishes are great, I prefer the sandwich format because it just tastes like a bomb of flavours. My favorite is the makkali/halloumi sandwich which comes with the cornerstone tahini sauce and if you wish a dash of spicy red sauce. You can take your food to go or enjoy the cozy seating in the back room. It´s a magic place that closes very late, so a favorite stop for party people on their way home, random tourists or locals that appreciate their affordable but exquisite and delicious food. Truly and incredible place that food lovers will...

So, I'd really like to understand where do all those awesome reviews come from? As they are the reason i tried this restaurant in the first place (instead of the one just across). What I had was the kefta teller, and oh, was it bad!. The kefta themselves were just way to chewy (rubbery) to believe it was anything close to fresh. And on the flavor side, it was horrible, at least they could have doused the meat with seasonings to hide the fact that it was old. And as for the rest which came with the kefta, the salade was bland and soggy, and the hummous tasted of only a purée of unseasoned/raw chick peas. Now perhaps this was a bad day, but I won't risk it again! Might have been also because the previous day i had tried the lebanese on Rosenthaler, Adonis, which is probably the best i've ever had. But in any case, this one...