Seray — Restaurant in Minet el Hosn

First of all I want say that I am a very old customer for Saray and that I was a loyal customer to Saray even before he opened in his previous restaurants. I came for a visit to Lebanon in Ramadan so I wanted to make a iftar for my family and loved ones so I decided to go to my restaurant that I trust and love. So I started inviting my people for the iftar at Saray but they highly recommended me against it saying that the quality and service was going down unlike what you might have had in mind. But I insisted that we go to Saray trusting in their quality and service only to find out that I was very wrong. Some people accepted my invitation and some people refused for certain reasons later on I knew that they refused to come due to the bad quality of food and service. First thing the set menu was very poor, the French fries came half fried, the Kibbeh wasn’t edible, stuffed vine leaves we only ate a bite from and we spat out the rest. Fateh was a tragedy, the dates that were offered are some of the poorest quality in the entire world. The cheese rolls came along with the main course instead of before as appetizers should be served. The vegetables soup was probably Maggi or something of the sort. Frakke was good. We ordered kibbeh Naye and Habra as an extra they were very tasty but what ruined them was the olive oil which was very low quality. Regarding the daily dish, we choose the mixed grill and rice kharouf and what unfolded was a very a sad story. God knows what type of meat they used in the kafta and meat shoqaf/tikka it was horrible. In the kafta other than the disgusting taste we discovered a huge slice of onion 10 cm’s or more. However regarding the meat skewers the meat was very soft, tasted very weird and it’s color was astonishingly white, I just want to know in what powder did you marinate this meat to get this color and softness because it’s very scary. Tawouk was acceptable but not like before. For the Rice kharouf, one can only say that it seems the rice was made a day earlier because it wasn’t freshly cooked, above it was roast beef type of meat which was cut up in a terrible way and the platter’s display and finish was uninviting, if we ate at a street vendor the display would have been better and definitely more tasty. The sauce used in the rice kharouf was only tasting of cinnamon and nothing else just cinnamon. The Jeleb felt like I was drinking bakhour/incense only. Regarding the desserts, they served us a fruit platter and they served us Kullaj which was tasty and kattayif bel jouz, it was almost devoid of any walnuts we cut it in half and we requested another one instead which has walnut inside. Finally, I didn’t write this review in this way only so that perhaps you might wake up and notice and take the necessary steps to take care of your customers and the name which you built instead of just thinking how to make money. You need to keep your customers happy and your name strong and also make money. Your customers are paying a premium expecting the best quality and service in return, I suggest you...

If someone ever asked me what's the best lebanese restaurant I have ever went to, without any hesitation I would say it's Seray. It's unbelievable how every dish you order there has it's own unique taste and flavors. I've tried many lebanese restaurants in the past but this one surpasses all my expectations. I cannot understand how some people could leave bad reviews for such restaurant. The food is freaking amazing. The staff is super friendly and always around to serve you food. The shrimps provenciale are to die for, the Warak anab are mouthwatering. On top of that you get several plates filled with fruits served on the house. We literally went there two days in a row. I think this place doesn't get enough recognition. Although It looks super fancy, the prices are still surprisingly more affordable compared to less luxurious places. You are missing out if you haven't tried...

Never going back again. The food tasted awful and our guests were food poisoned.

We invited our good friends to Seray, knowing it’s one of the top restaurants in Beirut. Unfortunately we had a terrible experience. We ordered a fish that wasn’t even cooked, sardines that were not fresh (although the waiter claimed they were), and to top it off one of my guests got severely food poisoned and had to be admitted to the ER. We complained to the staff after our guests left and they laughed it off without any apology. What a shame, we should have gone...