Al Ferdaws Restaurant — Restaurant in North Governorate

During the lazy Summer days of my childhood, Ehden was a place we visited to avoid the heat radiating from the scorching sun. One of the popular restaurants we could escape to there was Al Ferdaws. However, it wasn’t just us that sought this restaurant as a refuge; in those days a person would have to struggle to find an empty table. Well, when we went this time, there was no need to search for a space to be seated in. We decided to try it anyway, although if you’re a parent, you should be aware that high chairs are not provided. A noteworthy issue is that the service was really great; the waiters were very attentive and friendly. The cool breeze was refreshing, and the vast greenery that the restaurant overlooked was luscious. It was time to try the food. For those of you who do not know this, Ehden is well-known for its voluminous spherical “kibbe”, especially the one filled with “shahem” (fat). Actually, the kibbe with fat was the best thing I tasted at Al Ferdaws, other than the fattoush which was fresh and well-seasoned. The mezze/appetizers were fine; the only one from the platters we ordered that I did not like was the sambousik. As for the grilled meat and chicken dish, the most flavorful and succulent was the kafta. Some meat pieces were more tender than others, but the chicken was borderline chewy. When all the Salted was taken off the table, the restaurant offered us an assortment of fruits on the house. Then, like in most Lebanese restaurants, a person wearing a traditional attire dedicates himself to passing around the tables to pour coffee for those who want some bitterness to accompany the sweetness of the fruits and the biscuits with lokum cubes. I left Al Ferdaws feeling content to have returned to a place that I used to go to in my...

A recent visit for lunch to this restaurant was not nice and enjoyable as the name suggests at all, definitely it was the opposite very bad and sickening... The food quality was rubbish, expensive and overpriced to start with. The kebbe wasn't as expected to be as the pride and signature dish of the ehden/zgharta district. The barbequed chicken was not properly and fully cooked from inside and was served without the side garlic paste (toum) even though many of these waiters made sure that the chicken will come with toum to the table! In addition, the plates were not regularly replaced between the dishes... When we asked for some ice blocks, the reaction wasn't welcoming at all. Most of the time we could hear their senior waiter and boss shouting and yelling at the younger waiters to do their job properly. These waiters kept going around the dinner table like beggars and they were harassing the diners trying to enjoy their meals. At the end, when we approached the boss to pay the bill, he was very rude and didn't issue the bill and he only accepted American dollars instead of Lebanese Pounds and threw the change on the table. I really hope someone will teach him one day a lesson how to deal with people politely. By not issuing a proper receipt is actually scamming the customers and avoiding paying tax to the Lebanese government as well. To add to the bad experience at this place, the car park officers were rushing the customers to leave and drive off quickly so other car can park in the same parking spot... We definitely won't ever come back to this "street restaurant" and absolutely won't recommend it to anybody. AVOID THIS PLACE...

Beware of food poisoning! The restaurant is usually well known and recommended to us by everyone. Seems like none of them have been there lately though. We sat at a table that had little dead flies all over it. The staff tried their best to clean it up, but to no avail. There were still flies there. In addition, they tried to take the money out of our pockets, that was the manager's only mission. Portions were small and billed as "large" either we were ripped off or it’s grossly overpriced. Such prices are only justified and willingly paid when everything is going well, the food tastes good and you don't go home with poisoning. I couldn't eat half of the meat because it wasn't completely done. Pregnant women are advised to only eat well-cooked food. Even though I left out most of the meat, the salad hurt me. Either the work was not done properly or the vegetables were not washed properly. Anyway, dear mothers-to-be, better go eat at another restaurant. To the Restaurant: Thank you for the food, the service and the...