Abdallah’s Lebanese Cafe — Restaurant in Houston

I LOVE Middle Eastern food and consider myself a connoisseur. I've been partaking in the enjoyment of all types of Middle Eastern foods for well over 30 years. Whether it's breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert, I've had it all. I REALLY wanted to love this place, as we have Jordanian, Egyptian, Lebanese and Palestinian folks in the family. Unfortunately, it was a big disappointment for me. I understand if perhaps they want to cater to a more "Americanized" clientele. However, I think even most Caucasian people want some flavor and taste to their food. This wasn't a just add salt and pepper issue.

With that being said, I found all of their food (that I tasted and ordered) to be very bland, lacking in spice and flavor. I was pretty bummed by the portion size for my to go order in comparison to the price. Yes, I do feel it is quite over priced for what you get. However, I'm specifically comparing their prices and portion sizes to other places I frequent: Aladdin (near 610 and Ella) and my personal favorite Fadis on I-10 close to beltway 8. I've been going to Fadis since they had their old location on Westheimer close to Dunvale over 30 yrs ago. It's no longer there and hasn't been for years. I've been to Dimasis, Kesra and of course frequent Phoenecia. I've been around for a long time and know the Houston Middle Eastern food scene well.

Nevertheless my issues with what I ordered today were the following: the beef shawarma was very tough and not tender at all, it was not juicy or flavorful and was over all pretty bland, the chicken kabob was not super tender either but had a little juicyiness to it (not much), but it too was quite bland in flavor and in spice. The fried cauliflower was oily and not really fried and some peices were more al dente, while others were soggy and some were cooked ok. Again, there was no seasoning or flavor to the cauliflower. The babagonoush was actually a bit tart and overly lemony, but it was missing something tahini, salt, something. The only combo with meat I saw on their menu was what I ordered. 2 meats and 2 sides for $24 plus tax. They charge $2 extra for the beef shawarma (don't order the beef it was super tough and lacked flavor).

I also ordered pickles, and 2 extra garlic sauces. Oddly enough both Garlic sauces were very watery. I've never seen that before. My total was $33 and change for everything mentioned above. Again, in my opinion the portion size is small for what you get and my cauliflower portion could have easily fit another 2 to 3 pieces if not more. Maybe their portions are larger when you order to eat there? Maybe today was an off day or they have a new cook? Either way, I'd highly advise to visit some other places like Aladdin and Fadis first before coming here.

You will definitely notice a big difference in the price, portion size and most importantly the taste, even if you get your food to go from the aforementioned places. We all have off days maybe this was one of theirs. Nothing is wrong with trying other competitor's food, this way you can see, smell and taste the difference. Maybe you might not like it, but maybe you might actually be surprised and really enjoy it....

I came to Abdallah’s Lebanese Restaurant hoping for a solid meal and some authentic food. The place looked decent from the outside, but once I sat down and actually paid attention to what was going on behind the scenes, I started to lose my appetite fast. From my table, I could see into the kitchen area — and what I saw was honestly pretty unsettling. There was an older woman in the back, possibly a manager or family member, who was going through trays of food and reusing items like bread and sides that looked like they had already been served. I literally watched her pick through what looked like someone’s leftovers, sort out what she thought was still “good,” and put it back with the fresh food. That’s a major red flag when it comes to hygiene. To make things worse, the owner, Ferris, was walking around the kitchen with no hair covering at all, standing directly over food while eating a sandwich with his bare hands. Not tucked away in the back — right there in the middle of the kitchen. Then in between bites, he was yelling at staff in a way that felt unnecessary and just plain uncomfortable to witness. No professionalism, just a power trip. The food itself? Honestly, I couldn’t even enjoy it after seeing all that. It might taste okay, but I’d rather eat somewhere that follows basic food safety rules and treats their employees like actual people. Not trying to be dramatic — just being real. There are plenty of other places in town where you can get good Lebanese food without wondering if it was on someone else’s...

I don’t usually leave reviews, but what I saw here made me feel like I had to say something. While dining at Abdallah’s Lebanese Restaurant, I noticed something that completely turned me off from ever coming back. There was an older woman working in the back and seemed like she had some authority—who was taking leftover food and bread from used plates and trays, picking through it, and then reusing it for new customer orders. YES, you read that right. I actually saw her take pita bread that had already been served to someone else, check it, and put it back to be served again. Same with some sides. I was shocked and honestly disgusted. Not only is that unsanitary, but it’s also just straight-up disrespectful to customers. This isn’t just a bad look—it’s a serious health concern. I don’t know if this is something they do regularly, but from what I witnessed, it didn’t seem like a one-time mistake. I won’t be back, and I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone who cares about hygiene and food safety. If the health department hasn’t stopped by yet, they...