Palmyra — Restaurant in Tokyo

Sorry for the low rating but I was made to feel uncomfortable. I fancied a quick bite to eat so popped in. There was a lovely belly dance performance.

The waiter (and I believe owner) put the menu down and told me "course only". The courses are a fairly pricey selection of multiple dishes. I didn't mind the price, but wasn't hungry enough to have 4-5 dishes by myself. I presume the "course only" policy was because there was a belly dancing show.

I asked the waiter if I could just have a dessert and tea as I wasn't that hungry. He then said that isn't "fair" as everybody in the restaurant had ordered a menu (everybody else was in groups, there was no option for one person).

Anyway, he allowed me to just order a dessert and tea but here's what annoyed me. When the belly dance finished, the owner made a strange speech in both Japanese and English talking about how we should enjoy our lives by not holding onto money - while looking at me. It was a clear swipe at me, him obviously thinking I was being cheap by not wanting to order 5 courses for myself when I wasn't that hungry.

So here's my tip. If there's a belly dance, add a cover charge for it. Don't make your guests uncomfortable for ordering what they want or guilt them into order what they don't want. I felt insulted and unwelcome.

It's a shame because the dessert...

After seeing some delicious Lebanese dishes on TV, I decided that I wanted to try actual Lebanese food and this place was highly rated on Google so I thought I would check it out. It did not disappoint. When you walk in, it's as if you are transported to a completely different location. You feel as if you are actually in a restaurant in Lebanon. The owner was smoking shisha in the corner. When we walked in they had just opened. It was such an interesting vibe. The food was delicious. It made me want to keep trying various Lebanese dishes that they had. Only the course was available but it was the perfect size. Afterwards, the owner spoke with us and he was really friendly and easy to speak. He himself is quite interesting, having lived in Japan for 30 years, has a PhD, worked as a computer scientist, and now owns this restaurant. He made me really feel like I was welcomed. I'm definitely going...

I have been here multiple times. I used to have a great impression of it. Unfortunately, that changed recently.

The food is very good. No question about that. If you love quality food, you will not be disappointed.

The owner and staffs are friendly.

They usually also have imported merchandise like perfumes, sweets etc. I have bought them and they were good too.

However, recently the service hours have become very sketchy. In multiple occasions, I have found the restaurant to be closed during operating hours. Nowadays, unless you call them first, you are basically taking your chances.

I would have given it a solid 5* before. But, having experienced multiple bad moments, especially making a trip to the restaurant only to find it to be closed is really not a good way to earn customer's trust in my opinion. I believe some effort is needed on this part of...