Hoda's - Authentic Lebanese Restaurant & Catering — Restaurant in Portland

If you have any dietary restrictions or just care about being told the truth about what’s in your food, avoid Emma - and probably Hoda’s - entirely.

We specifically requested egg- and dairy-free options due to my husband’s autoimmune condition, and she took our order assuring us that our items met our needs.

Halfway through, we happened to overhear Emma speaking with another staff member by the bar. We heard her say that vegan requests are “usually just a preference” and “I won’t say anything”. Fearing they were discussing us, we immediately stopped eating. When she returned I asked Emma to double check whether our food was honestly dairy-free, and she walked behind the front bar to speak with two other employees.

We were alarmed to then hear Emma say “they didn’t ask specifically if the baba ganouj was dairy-free”, obviously trying to lie her way out of trouble. She returned and reluctantly admitted that there was dairy in our food.

Hoda’s: This dangerous, negligent behavior is not acceptable and reflects poorly on your establishment. Emma clearly does not care about your guests or reputation. She chose to hide this information from us, and it was sheer luck that we overheard the suspicious conversation before finishing our food. We immediately left to get home to get medication for my husband, but even with that he had a painful and sleepless night. This kind of “poisoning” can have effects that last for days or weeks, so we are sadly still not done with our Hoda’s experience.

We absolutely do not expect to be accommodated everywhere and we understand when restaurants don’t choose to offer things we can eat. We DO expect honest answers to simple questions about what we will be eating and are never okay with being lied to. We loved your hummus but we won’t be returning. Please consider training your staff about allergens before you put someone with more severe reactions to their allergens in an ambulance.

(Side note: other training may also be useful - when Emma introduced herself, she complained about how tired she was since kitchen staff was focused on catering orders and not helping her out. Also, she proclaimed to another staff member that he should buy them all shots. Not...

I love this restaurant with all my heart and my family and i have been going to Hoda's every time we are in town for nearly a decade now. and have never had a problem. Our experience there last night was an odd one, and unfortunately has put us off of making it a destination on our trips again. Our waitress was a sweetheart, and nothing was her fault and she was slowed down by the kitchen. Menu has changed, and service was slow were the first things we noted right away. Bread came cold and when asked for hot bread it was clearly older bread that had been warmed up. They used to make the bread fresh all the time. ALWAYS ноТ. We ordered labneh as an appetizer and it came over half an hour later. Mind you it is just a cold yogurt dish. Thin layer of it on the plate when it arrived. The tabbouleh was also fluffed in the bowl with unnecessary lettuce leaves to make it look fuller. One of the owners son's I have known to be in the restaurant was eating in the open kitchen space while also moving food for customers around. Again another thing I would have NEVER seen before at this establishment. Food arrived not all at one time. Food was interesting. My food came out first and then every 10-15 minutes another dish would come out. We stopped waiting to eat together and had to eat separately as our food would get cold otherwise. My mother got falafel and it was clearly not homemade like all the times before, tasted good though. My brother and Father got kebobs, a lot of oil on the plate. Tasted fine otherwise but not the flavor we loved and remember being. The rice I don't think was saffron or even basmanti rice as far as I can tell. I am aware restaurants go under change! This is just my opinion! We also haven't been to Hoda's in almost a year since last time so maybe we caught them on an off day. And service was very nice but not enough service people for the amount of tables, a little slow. I am saying all this because I have loved this place for a while and I know what it can be. Just minor...

I'm truly disappointed to report that our dining experience at this restaurant was nothing short of a disaster, severely tarnishing its reputation within the Arab community—a community known for its exceptional hospitality. From the moment we were seated after 30 mins. the tone for the evening was unfortunately set. Our order, which included an appetizer and sides, was botched beyond belief. The much-anticipated "kebeh" was missing entirely, and our salad arrived looking as though it had been halved with a magician's trick, barely a side to our entree.

When we requested something as simple as salt, we were presented with a lid harboring a few lonely grains, a clear indication that even basic condiments were not properly managed. The wait for our entree stretched to an agonizing 45 minutes, and to add insult to injury, we were informed that the "kebeh," along with one kebab and one shawarma sandwich, would require an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Our patience wore thin, and we opted not to wait any longer, a decision that seemed to perplex the staff.

The final straw was the billing fiasco. We were charged an astonishing $38 for the appetizer alone, a price that would have been excessive even if the order had been complete and satisfactory. In a misguided attempt at appeasement, they offered us "baqlawa," which we declined, our appetites spoiled by the experience and my wife visibly upset over what can only be described as the worst service we have ever encountered.

It's disheartening to see a business that represents the Arab community fail so miserably at customer service. Such experiences not only reflect poorly on the establishment but also on the community as a whole. This restaurant has a long way to go in understanding the importance of quality service, cleanliness, and customer satisfaction. Without significant improvements, I fear for its future and the impact it may have on the community's reputation for warmth and...