Balqees Restaurant — Restaurant in Dearborn

The food at this restaurant was absolutely fantastic, and the owner and his son were warm and welcoming, which made us want to love this place. The menu was diverse, the dishes were well-prepared, and it’s clear that the chef knows how to craft incredible flavors. However, there were a few aspects of our experience that really stood out for the wrong reasons.

First, I was frustrated by the practice of charging for bottled water rather than offering a pitcher of water, especially when dining with a large family. Restaurants like Cedar Land, which have been in business for over 20 years, provide pitchers of water with cups as a standard—something so simple that shows they care about the customer experience. When I’m spending around $200 for a family meal, I don’t want to have to pay extra for water. It feels like a cheap way to nickel and dime customers, and honestly. Charging for water just doesn’t sit right, especially when it’s a practice that has led many restaurants going under because larger families are less likely to return.

Additionally, the service was uncomfortable. Our waitress seemed to be in her own world and, to be blunt, was acting more like she was strutting down a runway than attending to customers. She clearly had undergone plastic surgery, as her lips were noticeably overdone, and she wore tight clothing that, as a family, we didn’t feel was appropriate, especially in front of young children. It was distracting and unnecessary for the environment. Beyond her appearance, her attitude toward our table was cold and even a little snarky, especially when we asked for anything. She would purposely bump into me when bringing the food, and her interactions with us were probably how she deals with other, single male patrons who like this behavior.

In the end, we loved the food, and we’re grateful for the owner’s hospitality, but these issues—particularly with water and service—are things the restaurant should seriously consider addressing. A little more attention to the customer experience and less focus on squeezing extra money from families could make this a truly outstanding place to eat for me and my family...

We went to this place at last moment because M Cantina does not allow kids under 17. My nephews and nieces were visiting from NJ , and they have 18 month old daughter, so me and my wife volunteered and took our granddaughter and went to this Restaurant located on a opposite street of M Cantina. The place lacks cleanliness , dirty tables. Nevertheless we seated ourselves had to clean the high chair for our granddaughter with wipes as it had food and grease still on it. We checked the menu, the prices were high but we ordered an entree called lamb Mandi. The price on the menu for this dish was 28 dollar. Waitress brought us our salad which was fresh and nicely seasoned. The waitress came back and told me sir I am sorry but the owner is saying the price on the menu is not correct and the real price is $38. I was not happy i could have left but since we sat down and my granddaughter was comfortable, so I let this behavior slide. I was hoping the entree will be great tasting and plus large quantity that will offset this over charging. Unfortunately, it was neither very mediocre food taste and small helping. It was the worst Yemeni food I have eaten in Michigan. We finished what we could and ask for our check and waitress ( who was very friendly and kind was embarrassed already because owner decided to change the price) brought us our check and guess what they charged us $41.92 for the dish and plus 6% tax, so the check was for $45 and some cents. I got angry and called the waitress and complained about it. She looked very embarrassed and apologized and said let me take this back to the owner. She came back with the new check of $37.92. This restaurant owner or management is cheating. This restaurant needs to be avoided , not just because of high prices , mediocre taste and cleanliness, and unprofessionalism, but most importantly because the management is cheat. They are charging more than what is advertised on their menu. I am sure cheats like them will put bad quality ingredients in their food too. .Avoid...

Goods: The lamb Fahsa and lamb liver is delicious, and their hot tea is aromatic.

Bads:

1. They add a service charge.

2. They charge for bread, a practice that is so against middle eastern hospitality.

3. They overcharge for things you haven't ordered, like charging you for two breads, when you only had one

4. I love Yemenite food and it is in my top 4 cuisines, this cuisine has some of the best dishes in the world if they are made right. I was bummed to see that restaurant and some others in Detroit don't even have Cabsah rice, the most flavorful rice of all. Instead they have this subprime rice called Mandi rice or zoobian, which is basically white rice, and even worse, with 5%-10 of the white rice painted with sharp orange, red and yellow food colorings.

I am on a shaming campaign to shame any restaurant that uses food coloring as it is bad for health (specially for children) and does nothing for flavor. But it is even a bigger shame for a Yemenite (and honestly any middle Eastern) restaurant to use food coloring, as they are the masters of using heavenly spices to make rice FLAVORFUL like cabsa, and not COLORFUL by fake colors.

Use of food coloring is a big red flag for any restaurant that they are not authentic and trying to just trick your eyes with those sharp colorings instead of using spices that contribute to the flavor and health.

After trying many Yemenite restaurants, I have come to this conclusion that any Yemenite restaurant that doesn't cook Cabsah rice at least in some days of week and just has the boring Mandi rice, is not a good one and doesn't appreciate and spend any money on good spices, not to be mistaken with uniteresting hot things...