Kababji — Restaurant in Ras Beirut

Kababji Hamra operates like a textbook case of consumer scam. The advertised $25 mixed grill — allegedly inclusive of large fries and medium hummus — was delivered with none of the promised items. Instead, the contents were shockingly minimal: half a piece of bread, a mere three spoonfuls of hummus, few fries not enough to be a small order, and kafta skewers so thin, the same thickness as one single fry, they bordered on misrepresentation. Requests for additional bread were ignored, and no cutlery was included despite clearly stating I was eating at a hotel. The grilled items were not just lacking in flavor but clearly not fresh, suggesting either poor storage or pre-cooked reheating. The tabbouleh was inedible, marked by a bitter, acidic profile — consistent with spoilage. The garlic sauce was passable, but in the context of this overall disaster, it only highlighted how bad the rest was. Kababji Hamra delivers a calculated, corner-cutting scam — one designed to exploit customers who expect quality. Avoid this place at all costs—unless you enjoy throwing $25 straight into the garbage, like I...

Whilst scanning over simple places to eat around Beirut. Kebabji comes up a fair amount since they have branches all over by the looks of things and all of them have pretty decent reviews. I picked the branch near my hotel because it was 2 blocks away, right in the center of Hamra. I went for the Motubal and Fatoush salad, the great thing is they offer 1/2 portions for a majority of the starters, this is something other restaurants could learn from. Both were very good. For the main I went for the Taouk (Chicken) and Kebab platter, which came with grilled onions, tomatoes and potatoes. Both kebabs were great, the Kebabji twist is that they use veal for all of the kebabs that would usually be beef. This means the kebabs are much juicer and tender. Being a Friday I was expecting it to be busier since it was around 9pm. There were only a few diners seated. Hence why I have marked down the atmosphere. Lots of people collecting takeout orders and...

Not awful, but really substandard and pricy. The prices are higher than ever, AND the quality and sandwich sizes are shrinking. Plus, I felt a little nauseated after my sandwich (a sandwich that was once my fave, and is now fatty, dull and tasteless).

We could tolerate before the economic crisis Kababji's average decoration, getting the tables sandwiches piled up on a white boring plate, a below average service (a smile or hello? Anyone?). But now, the sandwiches are crazy expensive… and the quality and taste are just not there. Save your bucks and go to other yummy snacks in Hamra (I will not name them here, but ask anyone in the neighborhood where you can have a good lahm bajine or barbecued meat, they will recommend...