Em Sherif Cafe — Restaurant in Minet el Hosn

Absolutely disgusted with the organisation of this restaurant. I do not live in Lebanon and travel a lot and have experienced many Michelin star and amazing restaurants world wide. I stayed near this restaurant and went past about 3 times to see if I could get a table for 2, all 3 times I was told they were fully booked but I seen so many empty tables available so I was a bit confused how they couldn’t fit us in. Thinking this restaurant must be amazing due to them not having availability I sent a request online, it’s been over a week and still haven’t heard anything. I also decided to call them most of the times they wouldn’t answer and when they did they said they were booked so I’d ask on the phone if another day and time was available they would say “ NO”. Quite funny and very surprising that this place had no availability EVER. In the west when you try to make a booking and there’s no availability they give you the next available day and time, but at Em Sharif Cafe they kept saying no date is available but yet so many empty seats. It was like they couldn’t be bothered with either finding a table or getting us in on a different day all I kept hearing is “nothing available”. As a westerner It’s so disappointing to see a restaurant that’s so unprofessional situated in the heart of Beirut I believe their staff are very unwelcoming and backwards and don’t know how to deal with customers and attend to their...

Em Sherif is one of my favorite restaurants in terms of food. We usually go to Em Sherif restaurant in Achrafieh, however today we decided to try Em Sherif Café. The food was good, but the portions were a bit small. We ordered Fattoush, Falafel, Hommos, Mtabbal Batenjen, Bokjet Cheese, Soujouk, Fattet Hommos, Fries and meat Ras Asfour. The food was delicious especially the Falafel except for the Ras Asfour meat that was was undercooked, overpriced and came in a small portion. As for the dessert we ordered Em Ali and Ashta Ghazel El Banet that were both good, but the Em Ali was exceptional. What I didn’t like is that we ordered an extra plate of tomatoes with the falafel, since the portion that came with the plate was small and we found out later that they charged Lbp 28.000 on the invoice for one tomato cut into pieces which I believe is unacceptable. Second the service was slow, we had to ask several times from the waiters to bring us extra bread, tomatoes…. Noting that we came on a late lunch at 4 pm and during the peak time. Third, the waiters were always standing in the middle of the hallway not even bothering to move if you need to pass by. Overall our experience was good in terms of food, however in terms of service it was...

I visited Em Sherif Restaurant for lunch and was very disappointed with the overall experience. First, they only offer a barcode menu, which feels unprofessional and inconvenient — I would expect a proper printed menu, especially at a place that positions itself as premium.

The atmosphere was extremely unpleasant. The restaurant was filled with heavy Shisha and cigarette smoke, making it very uncomfortable to breathe, and it was so noisy that it was difficult to enjoy the meal. The tables are crammed so closely together that there’s barely room to move, and the chairs are old, dirty, and worn out — the place really needs an upgrade.

The service was equally poor. The staff placed the dishes on the table without any eye contact or hospitality, almost as if they were rushing to get rid of us. For the price they charge, I would expect professional, attentive service.

The wine experience was also disappointing. The glasses were very cheap and not suitable for the quality or price of the wine we ordered. For a restaurant of this level, they should invest in proper glassware.

Overall, I left with a headache from the smoke and the overall chaos. Unfortunately, I will not be visiting again — it’s not worth the...