Barbar Mediterranean Grill — Restaurant in Houston

The owner guy who is there really needs a reality check. I live in The Woodlands and drive quite a distance to get food in the south side. I could go anywhere and both of the times I went here, I regretted not going somewhere else.

Cold rice. Told them about it. They didn't say a word, took the rice, microwaved it, and gave it back. By that time, the lamb chops I got were cold and not worth it. I got the combination platter. Waited forever. Cold fries. The shawarma wrap was laughably small. I made the joke to the employee (not the owner) that this wrap is as thin as a spring roll. The employee walked in the back and talked to the owner, we could hear the conversation. The owner says he's not going to do anything about it. The employee comes back out and lets me know that IT IS SMALLER than normal but it's because there's less sauce in it. I laughed and said whatever, I've gotten it before and it's Def not the sauce that's making it smaller. Regardless, nothing was done for the customer, I didn't say a word. I figured I would get my justice by leaving this review. The community should hear about how you treat the customer.

What made me most upset, is that there's a young Hispanic girl that works here, and the owner called her by the wrong name. The other employee that works there corrected the owner in front of all the customers and said to him "why do you always call her that name, that's not her name", the owner responds "Yes that is her name" and the employee says "no it's not"....all of this back and forth Infront of customers. The owner doesn't care enough to EVEN LEARN THE EMPLOYEES NAME AND CALLS HER BY THE WRONG NAME. This is horrible and at the same time kind of funny. This is how you run your business?

I could've gone ANYWHERE. Houston has tons of halal food...and I ended up in this D- grade situation. Don't make the same mistake I made.

Food is decent, nothing special. Their half chicken with that red sauce is the best thing and this last time I went, it was flavorless. Very disappointing. I didn't mention it because I KNOW they won't do anything about it. It tasted like fire and char. Not good.

The employee (who was the best person in the store who SHOULD BE managing the place maybe then it would be better) offered me a free water due to the cringe situation between us and the manager/employees. Dear owner, get your head out of your ego and into the game. Your customers TALK ABOUT HOW RUDE YOU ARE. BELIEVE ME. I shared my experience with a few friends and the first thing they told me was THE OWNER HAS A PROBLEMMMMMM.

I agree, maybe my review can fix that problem for future customers but I can guarantee that I won't be back here with my...

Update - their toum (garlic paste) is back on point! Life makes sense again! 5 stars! Update - I have to downgrade Barbar from 5 stars to 4, as their toum (garlic paste) has dropped in taste. Everything else remains on point. Shish Tawook - succulent, tender, bursting-with-flavor pieces of chicken, with a crispness. I grew up in the Middle East and the Shish Tawook that this fine establishment serves just might be the best I've tried. Shish Tawook pieces dipped in 'toum' (garlic paste). Heaven.

Chicken sandwich - succulent, well-seasoned chicken slices placed on a bed of tahini, garlic paste, wrapped in a sandwich, grilled till crispy, sprinkled with sumac ....... ultimately dipped into a creamy, garlicky 'toum' (garlic paste). Sandwich captures the right amount of moisture, while maintaining its crispiness. Heaven will meet you in that first bite. I assure you.

Crispy chicken wings - so crispy, it will make you want to cancel the rest of your day's plans and order a few rounds more. Again, dip leisurely in 'toum' (garlic paste). Always.

Their fries ..... thick, juicy (yet crispy), sprinkled with sumac ..... dipped in 'toum' (garlic paste). When in doubt, dip.

Flavor: 10/10 Texture: 10/10 Quality: 10/10 Service: 9/10

Overall: 9.75/10

Excellent job guys. Thank you for feeding us...

What happened on the night of 04/11 was unacceptable and should not be dismissed with carefully worded replies. I’ve been a regular customer of this restaurant for over five years, but this experience was beyond frustrating and the response from management has made it worse.

As I was walking into the restaurant, the tow truck showed up and attempted to tow my car despite me being an active customer. I spent nearly two hours arguing with the tow truck operator, trying to prevent them from taking my vehicle. During this entire ordeal, the restaurant staff and manager stood by doing nothing. The manager was visibly present offering nothing more than a smile—while my evening was ruined.

Let’s be clear: no one from the restaurant helped, no explanation was offered, and now the management is publicly denying what happened and implying I made it up. That’s dishonest and extremely disappointing.

This review is not to “harm” your business, as your response suggests—but rather to warn others. If this towing situation is really out of your control, then take action with the property management. Blaming customers who are clearly affected is not only irresponsible. it’s insulting.

If you care about your guests, especially your longtime customers, then act like it. Empty replies and denial...