Lebanon Restaurant & Cafe — Restaurant in Spokane

I have thought about writing this publicly for 18 months. I do not take negative reviews lightly. I was privy to interactions between teenage workers and either the owner or general manager. The leadership-style was revealed to be abusive and discouraging to young people trying their first work experience. I do not recommend letting your high school children work here, nor do I recommend supporting this establishment because of what I learned. Threats were involved, including refusal to pay wages when a worker was helping others on the prep line and not keeping up with his assigned job, and I witnessed one of the leadership also making comparisons between workers using language such as "they are better than you and everyone else agrees" when reviewing performance. It was unimaginable to hear such things communicated to a teenager who is learning how to even do a job in the first place, and wants to work. It is unconscionable--imagine if this were your child. So, I guess I got a peek at how some people choose to live their lives and make it worse for other people while doing so. Zero stars for being a part of our community and lifting up Spokane. I'm sorry for the other employees trying to do well in their job, but the leadership is what makes or breaks an organization in the end. People need to come first, not revenue.

Anyway, for the two stars, I also had several items off their menu. Normally, middle eastern food is my favorite cuisine of all time. However, the food was seasoned oddly sometimes, the meat was dry and overcooked, and although everything looked appealing, sometimes the ingredients tasted stale, such as the rosewater or syrups used in the desserts and baklava. It tasted like the fried desserts were fried in oil used to fry meat or something else. I think the oil was too old, or something, it was just not a good situation. The cucumber tomato salad was good, and I did like the cheesecake-like item which had a flaky pastry.

In response to the reply, unfortunately I am not mistaken. I have been there several times. The Qatayef is an example of one fried dessert on your menu. What I tried among the other sweets, that I'm referring to, was a maakroun/maakron (Lebanese macaroon). The cheesecake-like pastry I tried had a soft creamy filling with phyllo dough layers. Several Ferris high schoolers have worked at the restaurant since 2022, at least. It's not illegal to hire teenagers in the U.S.. That's...

My new Favorite place to eat in Spokane!! How did we not know this restaurant was Here? Apparently, they have been here 3 years and we don’t get to Spokane often. But Finally we have an excellent option for lunch, dinner or appetizers when we do get downtown! I'm half Lebanese and was raised on home cooked authentic Lebanese cuisine and the offerings rivaled my mother's, grandmother's and aunties' cooking. I ordered at least 5 different options to sample in order to determine quality and frankly everything looked amazing so it was hard to choose- lol First- we started with the Tabouleh. My hubby is from the south as in Mississippi, but he Loved it! It was delicious and fresh. On to the Kofta skewer. Tender, flavorful and just charred enough on the outside- my favorite of the entire meal. Then I ordered the cheese and meat patties. The dough for the actual patties were sooooooo good I wished they offered either a mini bread basket or side of just the dough or whatever it was they made their patties with. Yum. My husband ordered a traditional and 'safe' gyro that came with the seasoned fries. Loved the fries and we both enjoyed the gyro- but most gyros are good so for me it didn't stand out as a place to go to just for gyros especially since all the offerings are a bit on the pricey side. And the best Taziki I've ever had- which came with both patty dishes and the gyro...great consistency and tangy/flavorful. The price for me is worth it if you want authentic delicious Lebanese/Mediterranean food which we can't find everywhere. But I wouldn't go just for the gyros (you must try the other options- for a full experience), although they were very good- similar to a price of a good burger in most areas ($17) though so I'd pick the gyro over a burger as it was full of meat- and tasty. We ended with a fresh made rice pudding to go. Will definitely go back- often. Highly recommend when you are looking for something unique and delicious. Also, my husband reported bathrooms are super clean. The outside seating looks very nice, but due to the heat, we sat inside. Finally, our server helped round out a very positive and enjoyable dining experience- friendly, helpful and relaxed- just an all...

I’m not sure if the people who left bad reviews for this place reviewed the wrong restaurant or if they experienced early growing pains right after they opened, but I’m glad I didn’t listen to them! We stopped by for dinner on a Saturday evening (12/11), it was around 6 PM so there were a decent number of diners, but we didn’t have to wait. The restaurant itself isn’t fancy but it’s clean and there’s plenty of seating. What I would describe as more a cafe style. Exactly what you would expect from a place serving this kind of food. Our server this evening was very kind and attentive, stopped by our table often and kept my husband’s water glass full - which is almost impossible to do. The food came quickly, was all appropriate temperature, cooked perfectly, and very tasty. The fries (regular and sweet potato) were hot and crispy and perfectly flavored. My gyro was huge, and the meat was DELICIOUS, big thick slices and great taste, and all the vegetables were crispy and fresh! (I’m incredibly picky about this). The chicken shawarma plate was also a good size portion, the grilled chicken was tasty and juicy, and the Mediterranean salad was again really well done. Also got the taziki dip with pita, only note on that would be that it didn’t come with nearly enough pita to eat all the dip. I would imagine they will get you more pita if you ask, but we dipped our fries and added extra to our sandwiches and used up every drop so we didn’t ask. Also had the beef kofta sandwich, really well spiced and cooked perfectly, veggies were grilled in this one but also really good. All in all, delighted with this little gem, I’ve already told at least 5 people to come check it out and I can’t wait...