Sultan Mediterranean Restaurant — Restaurant in St. Louis

We went to Sultan Mediterranean restaurant on a Mom’s night out to have a little break from kids and houseworks. And had a really upsetting experience. We Googled the nearby restaurants and this one came out with decent reviews so we decided to give it a try. As a last minute plan, we didn’t make reservation. So we kinda expected some wait time before arrival. When we asked the front desk we were told it would be 20 mins wait time but we would be next. The restaurant was packed with tables with NO waiting area, not a single chair. And there was an empty table at the corner. Some people finished and left when we went in so there was another available table. So we asked if we could be seated at either table and how long it would take. And all in a sudden the waitress raised her voice and started yelling at us, telling is to wait outside and saying that we blocked the kitchen door. Feeling upset and unwelcome, we immediately left. My friends have left their honest comments and the owner has responded. There are a few things I would like to point out: As everyone can see from the photos. The front desk/check in counter is NOT near the entrance where it usually is, but right at the kitchen entrance. You go through ALL the tables to get to the front desk AND congratulations you are at the kitchen door! With such fraud in layout, there is NO WAY that the waiting line (before checking in) will not get in the way of the service. Blaming customers for an existing layout mistake just reveals how arrogant and biased this restaurant owner and their people are. Go fix your check-in area before pointing fingers at others! From being told that we would wait 20 mins till we left, it was only less than 3 mins. And from the best of my knowledge the “waiting direction” was never repeated to us twice. First we checked in, then when we asked about the empty tables we were yelled at, then we left. Every restaurants are busy during dinner time, or at least one with decent review scores. But this one is by far the most arrogant, rude, and ignorant one I have ever encountered in my whole life! I have been to much busier restaurants and was fully respected. Using busyness as excuse or blaming us for blocking the kitchen door (which due to your messed restaurant layout) can never justify your rightfulness to yell at customers. Shame on you! I don’t care how tasteful your food is because your rude service already turned us away. There are so many other good restaurants in the area and I...

The worst service I had ever experienced in St. Louis! There was no waiting area inside the restaurant, only a checkout counter in front of the kitchen door. The waitress informed us that we were the only group waiting for a table and that it would take about 20 minutes for a table to be available. But we were told to wait outside on the street. Just as we were leaving the restaurant, we saw a table being emptied, so we want to asked the waitress if we could be seated. But no one was there to answer, so we wait there until we saw the waitress came out from the kitchen. However, instead of politely explaining the situation, she started shouting at us like “I told you wait outside! I know there’s a empty table, but I need 20 minutes to clean it up. You are blocking our kitchen door! Wait outside for 20 minutes!”blablabla. We were taken aback by her rude behavior and were left feeling unwelcome. Overall, I was extremely disappointed with the service at this restaurant. The lack of a waiting area was inconvenient, and the attitude of the waitress was unacceptable. I would not recommend dining here.

Update comment:

I am disappointed that the restaurant has not taken steps to address the ongoing complaints about their poor service. Instead of finding solutions, the restaurant's response to negative reviews appears to be to blame the customers. This kind of attitude only reinforces the negative experiences that so many customers have had. I stand by my review and encourage the restaurant to take customer feedback seriously and work towards...

The proprietors are wonderful Kurdish Muslims and all meat products are certified halal in accordance with Muslim/Islamic religious law. Food is excellent, homemade -- I met the Chef while I was there.

The decor is simple but lovely with beautiful Arabic tea and coffee sets and the service was extremely attentive. What really shines however is the absolutely fantastic food.

My dinner came with a complimentary lentil soup which was excellent and although there are many choices for appetizers, entrees etc on the comprehensive menu, I chose of a fatolah (spelling) salad which had lettuce, herbs cucumbers and tomatoes, homemade croutons and I forget what else in an excellent flavorful dressing. I followed this with the main course which was a lamb kebab, which came with some middle Eastern vegetables, a large serving of very flavorful spiced saffron rice and a hot partially sliced full tomato. it kind of reminded me of stewed tomato without the bread that is traditional in some Americana recipes. The dinner also came with what was clearly homemade naan. Although the portions were large, I tried the tiramisu for dessert which apparently was the only dessert they were offering while I was there. It was oh, like the rest of the meal, excellent but I don't know if it was made from scratch. (I should have taken pictures of the lamb kebab before I started eating it because the presentation was nice.) "Inshallah, this restaurant will be very successful for quite...