Bayroot — Restaurant in Shrewsbury

It honestly took me a few days to process the horrible treatment and service this place gave my family and I. Now, looking back and reflecting upon what occurred I realize not only was a contract not enforced, but I have never received such horrible and rude service in my entire life. We had my aunts mercy meal at this restaurant because it’s one of the only Lebanese places in the area. We were promised mezze for 45/50 people (only 42 showed up), and prompt refills upon finishing the “tray.” I put tray in quotations because as you can see, owner, Maher, literally used small plates for the amount of people that were there, and they were finished by the time HALF of the people showed up to the mercy meal. His only excuse was that we showed up 30 min early, which shouldn’t even matter because this food should be pre-prepared for such an amount of people. Hummus, baba, fattoush should be precut and ready with the dressing on the side, kibbe is quick, fattayer to heat up, imagine we ordered mashawi, it would have never even came out! There were only two girls working in the back, every time a plate would finish (for example only 20 borek at best were put out and NEVER refilled upon finishing), he would just leave them empty and focus on his take out orders. So many people, including myself, left hungry because he did not refill any of the food. We paid 2k total ($45 per person), for literally heated up fattayer, a few dips with nothing to eat them with, barely any utensils. He wouldn’t even give us plastic plates for the warbat because he ran out. That is crazy to me. I could have literally put out more food myself, or if I had this at another Lebanese restaurant in Paterson NJ (we are from north NJ were something like this would never happen). There was No hand soap in the bathroom for God sake. When I told him to refill the soap he yelled at me and embarrassed me by going to the bathroom and pumping the soap into his hands to show me there is some left (was mixed with water by my uncle) how incredibly rude to treat a customer this way instead of simply refilling the soap, which leads me to believe his employees don’t wash their hands. My family is in the food business in north nj (rated top 25 best new restaurants of NJ) and I cannot even imagine treating our customers like this, as if we can do no wrong or not express our concern and embarrassment over lack of food. Further, he did not care once so ever, his demeanor was so stoic, and was not remorseful at all for the lack of food and service. He laughed at my face numerous times when I expressed my concern. In the end, my uncle did not want to pay the remaining balance but did so, to avoid any issues and further embarrassment from our guests. Maher did not seem to care to compromise about his obvious mistakes, used a loud and disrespectful tone, his demeanor was unbelievably degrading. Rather than be remorseful at the embarrassment of 42 professional Arabs in a room for a mercy meal. His behavior was evident to all the guests who will not be stepping foot in this horrendous “restaurant.” He should be embarrassed and ashamed at his behavior, especially for an event like a mercy meal. $2k down the drain for fattayer and kibbeh I could have heated up myself faster...

I stumbled upon this Lebanese restaurant on Google Maps back in February while searching for authentic Lebanese cuisine.

The name, “BayRoots,” is a clever choice that pays homage to the restaurant’s location and its rich culinary heritage. It’s a testament to the owner’s passion for preserving the authentic flavors of Lebanese food.

As a half-Lebanese myself, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing Lebanese cuisine firsthand. I’ve dined at Lebanese restaurants all over the United States and the world, including Lebanon. This establishment, BayRoot, stands out as a true gem. (Wishing they were closer to where I live in Princeton)!

The food at BayRoot is simply delicious and authentic. The herbs and citrus used in the dishes are perfectly balanced, creating a symphony of flavors that tantalize the taste buds.

I ordered a generous amount of food, which I happily shared with my family when I returned home. I left with leftovers, and I couldn’t stop raving about the deliciousness of the dishes to family and friends!

The hummus, baba, fattoush salad, and tabouli were all standouts. But the black mint tea was the pièce de resistance. It was divine! Especially with the added Date, orange blossom simple syrup they offer as an addition. Gold! Their presentation of the dishes was one of the best parts for me! As a trained chef in NYC, beautiful plating is something I look for when dining out! People eat with their eyes first! BayRoot does a beautiful job with presentation! Especially the curls of crunchy pita chips on top of the Fattoush salad!

I’m writing this review a bit late because I lost my father, who was Lebanese. He had been eagerly looking forward to visiting BayRoot with my mom and me this spring. He would have absolutely loved it!

To the owner of BayRoot, I want to express my deepest gratitude for providing me with such an authentic and memorable dining experience. I will definitely be returning to BayRoot soon to savor more of your delicious dishes.

Cheers to delicious food and...

Along with Kitch this is my go-to spot. We lived in NYC & then Philly before Monmouth County and were spoiled by the great Leb/Turk/Syrian/Israeli/etc. spots in these cities. Coming here there’s also some great restaurants but they’re more Italian or American, and not that healthy. So I was ecstatic to find Bayroot!

I don’t really eat a ton of meat so I can’t really speak to that part of the menu, but I’ve ordered over 80% of the non-meat items (which is the majority of the menu) and I think besides the falafel everything was above average. Sure the prices are a little high but it’s Monmouth County so that’s the case everywhere. Great ownership too they have rewards program and also have thanked me for my patronage which I appreciate it.

My favs on the menu are the taboleh salad (I add half an avocado cut up usually), foul Bayroot style one of the most flavorful foul’s I’ve had, the zaatar or cheese & zaatar manakish/manoushe, and of course some labneh to have it with. Baklava is great too, imo Lebanese style baklava is better than Turkish and WAY better than Greek.

I do hope they add some more Lebanese items to the menu. I would love to see Fatteh with cashews and or pine nuts on there at some point, one of the most underrated dishes in the world, amongst some others. As for now though they’re they best of this type I’ve found...