Zatar Lebanese Tapas & Bar — Restaurant in Dallas

I found this place pretty hit or miss in every aspect.

I met with a group of friends for dinner here on a Sunday night. On our way in, the owner greeted us. Another couple in our party that arrived before us mentioned that he was a little aggressive about asking for their reservation when they arrived. Our server Wes was fantastic. He was timely, helpful,and super friendly.

We tried a few different plates and entrees and again, the dishes were hit or miss. The moujaddara croquettes were alright, you have to enjoy the earthy texture of lentils to enjoy them. The yogurt mint sauce that came with them was excellent. The zaatar fries were deliciously lemony, and the hummus was decent. The pita bread was nothing special, definitely the standard restaurant depot stuff. The shawarma flatbread was a bit dry and difficult to eat. The maklouba was heavily spiced with a healthy dose of pine nuts, and each piece of meat was a surprise - either perfectly cooked or extremely overdone. That could probably be attributed to the inconsistent cuts. The yogurt and cucumber side was disappointing. The chicken shawarma was basically unspiced fajitas drowned in garlic sauce in a poorly constructed sandwich. If you're looking for awesome lebanese food, head to Richardson and skip this place. I would love to try the deserts here though, the menu looked very promising.

The arabian tea pot was excellent, enough for 7 cups. The hookah was also decent - excellent at first but it burned ashy quite quickly. You also only get about an hour of smoke from the amount of tobacco in the head. There's a chill vibe on the patio.

Tldr; I'd come back for hookah tea and desserts, food...

I live in the neighborhood and attempt to try every place within walking distance. I don't normally write reviews, but I went with a group of friends recently for my birthday, we all agreed we hope this place survives slightly off the beaten path, as we'll definitely be back. Soon.

Our drinks were all VERY unique and priced competitively, using ingredients (arok, date juice, and cardamom respectively) mostly in combinations we'd not seen before. We opted to eat tapas style, sharing 8-10 small plates between the 7 of us. The pita was always fresh (and piping hot), and every single dish we had was delicious, from Mediterranean classics like hummus and baba ghannouj to less well known Eastern Mediterranean fare like muhammara (roasted red pepper, walnut, and pomegranate dip) and kibbet karaz (fried-ground lamb cups stuffed with sour cherries and walnuts), not to mention some of the lightest, tastiest falafel balls any of us had ever had. We all wanted to try just about everything on the menu, and based on our experience I'm sure we wouldn't have been disappointed. We were all full, but when the waiter mentioned they had knafeh, a sweet pastry/cheesecake hybrid I'd recently tried on a trip to Jordan, I convinced my friends we had to get some, and it was a big hit!

All in all, if you like Mediterranean or Lebanese food and are looking to go beyond the basics, I HIGHLY recommend Zatar. There are tons of interesting options for vegans and vegetarians, and both owners made us feel welcome and were happy to answer any questions we had, silly or not. We're already looking forward to...

Extreme disappointment. Not even a night club charges 40 dollars for a hookah. But I’m happy to pay it for a good quality hookah. But it’s not, absolutely horrible hookah. It wasn’t packed properly. The bowl was half the size of a normal bowl. I asked the guy if he could look at it and he says this is how they are, they won’t hit any more than this. I can bring you a new one if you like. The new one was just as bad. We were there for 15 minutes. The manager was standing there and saw our frustration. Didn’t bother saying anything, even when we left the hookah without smoking it and pay 40 dollars for it. Can’t say anything about he food but highly recommend not going here for hookah. I’ve had bad hookah before. But this is one of the most overpriced and terrible hookahs.

Update: So does anyone pay 40 dollars for a hookah and leave in 10 minutes. You saw the disappointment. You changed the hookah once. We didn’t smoke the first hookah because it didn’t hit. So definitely did not get a free re bowl. Please check your facts before responding. Also if we are used to a normal size bowl and yours are tiny and they hookah is not packed properly, maybe don’t serve hookah. I love going to places and leaving good reviews. But when I get bad service and horrible hookah. I’m going to let people know. Instead of apologizing you tell me I’m lying. I would have deleted the review if I got an apology. But not when my point is proven. Good luck.

FYI making people buy alcohol to get cheaper hookah or food is not allowed by TABC. So I’ll be sure to...