Ambiance: the restaurant is clean, the lighting is dim. I think this was a problem for some visually challenged individuals because I saw at least two people use their phone flashlights to look at the menu. Tables are small and uncomfortably close together. A guy next to us was getting into his chair and his rear end almost knocked our water off our table. I get that space is limited in NYC, but as a sit down restaurant it’s a little too close. Especially given the fact that the restaurant wasn’t full, I’m confused as to why everyone was seated next to each other.

Service: As a part of the pre-fixe menu some items of food were not brought out together which to lead to some confusion (see below). The server was apologetic (we did not say anything) and brought us an extra side. Our water was refilled frequently and our table cleaning/turndown was quick between each meal.

Food: as mentioned we got the Iftar pre-fixe menu so I’ll detail each element separately:

Meal 1: two dates, nothing special just medjool dates that you’d get from the store. Lentil soup so they brought out one bowl of lentil soup with one spoon which was really confusing because soup isn’t easily divided between two people. It was average, lentil soup is pretty hard to mess up so I’d imagine you could make a similar quality one at home by just googling any recipe. Also not served with lemon wedges. Anyways the server brought out a second bowl 15 minutes later which was supposed to be brought out with the first one. Jelab juice: they didn’t bring this out until the second meal, but it’s technically a part of the first one. Very refreshing, sweet mix with hints of rose and pine nut.

Meal 2: honestly the best one. Hummus was authentic and well textured, the pomegranate seeds in the baba ghannoush was a welcomed surprise. The tabbouli and fattoush were below average.

Meal 3: this was an assortment of different meats, but the flavor profile of each didn’t really differ that much. It felt like eating the same thing each time. The meat was tender but nothing special. The Phoenician fries and sauce were good, but I didn’t come to this place to eat French fries.

The server brought us a tray of fatayer because of the soup situation. Essentially deep fried dough rolls filled with cheese. Felt more appropriate for a county fair and tasted like oil.

Meal 4: lamb shank, the main entree. The meat was very tender, juicy, and flavorful. Though it is a fairly small shank even for just two people. The meat was buried under a mountain of vegetables. There are far better lamb shanks for less money all throughout the city (with more meat).

Mint tea: this was literally a single mint leaf in a cup of boiling water. I get that mint tea at its core is just that, but it tasted like hot water. (See image)

Meal 5: honestly just wanted to leave at this point. But the clotted cream was like a delicious hybrid between ice cream and kunafe. The mouhalabiyyeh tasted like flavorless flan.

Conclusion: I have no idea who the Iftar menu is designed for. We told the restaurant a week in advance we planned on breaking our fast here and they told us they would accommodate us by serving dates and water on arrival. We waited about 20 minutes for both of those, which kinda defeats the point. We spent $95 per person and the menu takes about 2 and half hours to complete. There is no space to pray. In general, the menu choices are strange. It’s not authentic Lebanese food, and twist seems to be more about saving money than trying to present a creative dish. There are far too many better, cheaper Lebanese and fusion restaurants in NYC to spend an evening here. Overall this is an average restaurant.