Bab Tooma Grande our flagship restaurant — Restaurant in Bradford

May 2024 Update Looking through my camera roll at photos I've taken each time I've eaten here is quite sad. Prices have gone up since each subsequent review and the portions are smallest they've ever been. On this particularly unremarkable Sunday, the complimentary soup had run out, as had the Hot Potato dish.

Considering how common these ingredients are, I'm baffled as to why they had run out.

Secondly, the portion sizes on my shish taouk main was woefully lacklustre. Look at my previous pictures and imagine half of that rice portion. The chicken lacked a delicious golden colour and had not been cooked to a chargrilled state. Flavour was okay but all in all a far cry from experiences past. Gone are the adornments like some vegetables, pickled beetroot slices or a grilled onion piece.

Bab Tooma has regressed massively in quality and quantity and it's quite sad because I used to look forward to visits here. I don't think I'll be eating it recommending this place any time soon.

Oh and I think the worst thing, the cash machine was 'not working today's and I was directed to the convenient one outside the shop with a £1.75 transaction fee. Nah.

May 2018 Update Visited again and tried the chicken kebab skewer and the mince lamb skewer along with the spicy red humus. As a result of this visit, updated my review to 5*. The food was incredible. Very filling and tasty from start to finish. Where there was missing heat, a spicy house sauce was provided to give the food the kick it needed.

In addition, service was pleasant with constant check-ups even during a busy period and all service was delivered with a smile and politely. A must visit if looking for something a bit different than your standard curry.

__ Quaint little Syrian restaurant located 5-10 minutes walk from town centre.

When I ate I enjoyed the humus and lamb skewers served with rice. I think it definitely captured the Syrian authenticity and the portions did eventually leave me full but I feel like I was missing out on the good stuff and may have to visit another time to try more of the menu.

The lemon-ice sorbet style drink was amazing, however. Fantastically sweet garnished with fresh mint. Order a jug for the table upon any visit. You...

Went here for tea tonight - my second visit - and the food and service were just as good as last time.

I had the mango and lemon drink tonight, and it was the best drink of them all in my opinion. Properly sharp lemon with sweet mango to give a lovely balance. This would definitely be my recommendation for anyone going!

The staff were brilliant when I asked if it would be possible to have a little chicken shawarma with the houmous to start. I'm so pleased I did as well, as it was gorgeous and the flavours went so well together.

For main I had another two starters, as I like small tasty bits. I had the veggie kebbeh and the chicken livers. I had the meat kebbeh last time, and I think those are nicer than the veggie ones. The veggie ones had a lovely filling, but just didn't seem to go together, especially not with the pomegranate molasses that came with it too. Though I added some leftover houmous to it, and for me it married it all together.

The chicken livers were excellent - but I wasn't brave enough to try the chilli on top! I actually tried the livers with the pomegranate molasses and LOVED it! If we go again, I'll definitely be cheeky and ask for some molasses with them!

And I can't forget to mention the free soup that came to start. A very tasty lentil and veg soup, with lovely spices to get your taste buds watering!

I was full after this, but my partner - who'd had the sujuk, followed by the chicken kebab - went for the kunafa to finish, and he wasn't disappointed. Crisp pastry, salty, sour cheese, sweet syrup - lovely.

The only down side tonight was that it was quite loud, unlike last time, as the music was turned right up. Last time we could sit and easily chat, while tonight it felt like we were needing to shout at one another to be heard. However, there were lots of happy couples, families, and celebrations going on around us. So lots to people watch when we couldn't chat.

Definitely a place to go if you want a good feed at a good price. Highly...

This place is really REALLY amazing. A true gem ✨! We dined there earlier in the year and last year at the Leeds location whilst looking for places to cater our wedding. At the time we were living in Manchester but this was better than what we've had there (which is still good).

We were looking for an authentic Syrian restaurant as my family and I are from Syria and Lebanon so it's rare to find an authentic taste anywhere for us when we go to a restaurant. But this one straight away brought me to the homemade food that I grew up with. Honestly absolutely fantastic and anything you want to try is authentic and delicious!

We decided to have them cater our wedding and it was the perfect choice. My family was absolutely IMPRESSED, they kept saying how it was really delicious and authentic. All of our friends who never tried Syrian food before were amazed and kept on talking about how incredible the food was. It is still the first thing that people mention about our wedding months later. Many have said they want to make the trip to the restaurant itself. We had more food than we needed and people were delighted to take it home with them.

We were so happy about everything on the wedding day. Qusay looked after us and was super helpful, really kind and made it so easy for us! We cannot recommend his restaurant/catering enough. Also to mention that my husband and I are vegan and Qusay was able to make a full vegan buffet as we requested which included a few adapted dishes too. Gluten-free options as well.

(We are waiting for the pictures of the wedding from the photographer and will add more when we receive them)

All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better catering experience for our wedding and we were honoured to have them part of our day. We cannot wait to go back to the restaurant and bring our friends there. Thank you so much 🙏 Qusay and the staff for such a special day....