Al Natour Middle Eastern Restaurant — Restaurant in Plantation

I've not written a food review in a while but I truly feel that this restaurant deserves one. I've never eaten authentic middle eastern food before. Sure, I've had kebabs, falafel, and hummus before. But so too has everyone who's eaten at a salad bar before. I walked in and was seated immediately by a host who seemed to genuinely enjoy their job. My beautiful waitress introduced herself by bringing me delicious side dishes. The garlic sauce, bread, salad AND pickled vegetables she brought were enough to be a meal on their own. I ordered the mixed grill platter and by my days it was MASSIVE. Enough food to easily feed two people. I didn't make it to eating half the amount I was given but leftovers are always welcome. The food was an 8/10 imo. When you take a piece of everything all at once by making a small sandwich, it is AMAZING. The chicken was cooked to the perfect tender texture which is harder to do than most think. I will say the meat is lacking a little bit of flavor. Because it is grilled, the grill looks of some of the spices that it was marinated in. It might help to roll the meat in its marinade after it has been cooked (of course one that didn't have raw meat in it). But because it's mixed with such flavorful sides like the spicy rice, garlic sauce and pickled veggies, that is easily forgiven. Overall, the food here was very yummy and left me very satisfied.

As for the atmosphere.... The sounds of people talking in multiple languages. The giggle of an infant permeating the air. The banter of family members bargaining with each other for a taste of their selected dishes. The clink of dishes as people finish their plate and start on another. The sight of a couple on their first date....it was perfect. The kind of environment a solo eater loves to be surrounded in. If I have any critique to make about the atmosphere is that the appearance of the restaurant could use a little bit of updating. Luckily, I think that this is already beginning if the construction signs outside are anything to go off of. But even if it were to stay just as it is, this restaurant feels like a slice of the middle east that a grandma cultivated for her loved ones. Warm, delicious, and inviting.

At $24.99 for my main dish with complimentary sides, this meal was a steal. I usually love love love cheap food but it kind of feels like robbery to be paying so low. I definitely think that they can increase their prices a little and keep their clientele. They give a LOT of food for the price. Though they seem to be doing well, I do think it would benefit them to raise their prices by $3 to $5 for dine in. The togo prices seem fine. But idk much about running a restaurant. I left a good tip both because my waiter deserved it and because I felt the restaurant deserved more money.

Definitely a place worth visiting.

(Excuse my pics. I am not a...

Our party was seated almost immediately and provided menus and a pitcher of ice water. We were provided with warm bread and a spiced carrot celery turnip dish. We ordered a kibbeh appetizer and also a moussaka appetizer. We also ordered the lamb chop entrée and lamb shank entrée. We did not wait long for our appetizer. Only the kibbeh came out and we never received the moussaka. The kibbeh was very very good. Our entrées came out. The lamb chops were cooked well but lacked that Middle Eastern Lebanese flavor. I had to add salt and pepper. The lamb shank with spicy rice...the lamb shank was very soft and juicy, but lacked any flavor. It also had more fat on it than should be served. No hint of salt or herbal spices. The rice was very good but seemed to have not been cooked recently or was from the bottom of the pot, having a hard texture and was actually only warm, not hot. Our waiter was not attentive to our table of two although he was quite attentive to other tables. He only came to our table once throughout the entire time. Our moussaka never came out and our waiter never returned so that we could inquire about it. Although everyone was given their check at their table, our waiter never returned. I watched him at the back counter standing there talking for 10 minutes so I had to get up and go pay at the counter as if I had ordered takeout. I advised the person at the register that my moussaka never came out and requested that they please do not include it on my bill. They apologized. I ordered 2 Turkish coffees to go which they gave me for free. I sat at my booth and waited. The coffees came, but not to go. We enjoyed it nevertheless. I qent back to the counter to order pastries (baklava) and stood there for 5 minutes staring at tbe girl texting on her phone who was completely oblivious to the fact that I was standing there waiting for her to lift her head up. The same gentleman who comped my coffees came back and he was able to assist me. All in all an ok experience. I still tipped the customary 20% of my bill although I usually tip 30% to 40% if the SERVICE was good. Would I return? Probably to give a 2nd chance...but...

We have bee going to Al Natour for as long as it has been open, and that too from Palm beach, but this Labor Day Sunday, we had a huge disappointing experience. Our waitress was juggling us with now getting very busy restaurant, and decided to not write down our order, when the order arrived it was wrong. I told her that we did not want Kefta but rather chicken, she said that if I make her to take it back she would have to pay for it, I explained her that we only eat chicken at the restaurant and she pointed out that my daughter was eating her lamb chops, and to me that was just not acceptable. She was happy if we wanted to just add another chicken order for extra money but would not accept a mistake was made, and wanted us to pay for the extra food. I did not want the waitress to pay for this and felt it was wrong of the restaurant to make waiting staff pay out of their pocket so I asked for a manger. The manger was nice and was more than happy to switch out food to chicken but the waitress came back and asked what the problem was as she already put in extra order of chicken for extra charge and I reminded her that she not only made me feel guilty about her paying and for claiming that we were lying that we only eat chicken at this place as my daughter was eating chops. At this point, we were very frustrated with the whole experience and decided to pay for the appetizers, my daughters chops and a for a salad and a chicken sandwich that went untouched. ($50) It’s quite sad that a thriving establishment such as theirs would allow their staff to treat a loyal paying customer like that. Very disappointed, now going to go to As Salaam, across the street when I...