Marib Restaurant — Restaurant in Virginia

This is my second time and experience at the Marib Restaurant in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on my way home from a beach trip, even though I go to the Springfield location all the time. I take business partners there and recommend my company events to cater there; I always go to this place and have usually enjoyed it. A couple of friends started complaining about the food and service a few weeks ago, but I insisted on going because I never had a bad experience before.

As I was driving from Virginia Beach, starving, I stopped by the Fredericksburg location. From the first impression of customer service, compared to my past visits, the initial experience was negative, but I hoped the food would improve. After 10 minutes I received four orders of Haneeth and beef Fahsa.

The food simply sucked—no taste, no flavor at all. This is the four orders of Haneeth: so many pieces of meat, yet not a single piece of meat that was actually meat to be found. It was all fatty bones and chunks, with an enormous load of fat. I called them and showed the staff what I received. Instead of a constructive response, they said, “This is what we get to serve from the other location; they are the ones providing the butcher meat.”

Then I reached out to the owner and sent pictures and video. The owner apologized, but I felt as if someone fed me dog meat. In my culture, we never sacrifice quality or look after a stingy way to feed with cheaper meat—food is something that touches the heart and feelings, especially when you’re feeding your family and business guests. This is not acceptable for any human, and there is no blessing on this kind of business. Unethical and shameful. After a little while of eating, my kids started to feel sick and wanted to throw up. I felt extreme anger and guilt at having brought this to them.

My advice to any customer: honesty is our duty. Share your thoughts and experiences so others can get the best treatment, because food touches the heart. This was not just a bad meal—this was a fail on every front: quality, ethics, and care. I am furious and disappointed that the place could deliver such subpar food to families and business guests. This is the last time I will tolerate such experiences, and I urge others to be cautious and voice their concerns if you encounter the...

Food is ok but the Springfield location is better. We got served by a very young lady. Her attitude aside (which was ok considering her age) I had a bad experience with the way we got charged! I knew exactly how much food we ordered and how much would cost before tip and tax but I saw an upcharge in the amount for $13 on the food that we ordered, which I assumed they automatically added the tip (the Springfield location does this too tip is mandatory, not that I wont pay 20% regardless but I still like to be in control, not the restaurant). And then I asked her if this amount was correct? How am I supposed to pay tips? She said it's ok you don't need to pay a tip our system has changed blah blah 😳 i said ok give me a break down of the prices cause the one you gave just has totals and tax and based on that I give you cash tip (which I was about too since I thought maybe I made a mistake in calculating and she didn't get any tip which is not fair to her). She said ok and gave me exactly the same bill with no break down! After I saw this dishonest behavior, we left the restaurant. I checked the menu again with the prices and saw exactly $13 over charged without any explanation which could be her tip which is ok no problem but at least be honest! I don't want anything bad to happen to her after this review but the restaurant needs to reconsider the way they present the bill to the customer, it should be...

Read many positive reviews about Marib since they opened and finally went in to give them a try recently, going on a weeknight for dinner. They weren’t busy at all while we were there, which is sad considering how incredible the food is. It’s a Yemini place and their menu is loaded with many of the tasty Mediterranean items and kabobs that are quite popular, as well as some items I’d never heard of before, but they sounded pretty good.

We started with their hummus – it was smooth, creamy, and very tasty and the bread was really good too. The olive oil in it was very nice as well. I also got a cup of their Shai’ (black tea with mint) to enjoy with it – really good! Like the addition of mint, in what’s a typical Middle Eastern style chai, but without cardamom. We also enjoyed an amazing bowl of lentil soup – their lentil soup is incredible!!

Our entrées were really good and included so much food! Their Yemini Kabob (ground lamb with spices) was excellent! And their chicken kabob was flavorful, spiced nicely, and cooked perfectly to not be dry. The kabobs each came with a large amount of rice, which was really tasty and also a side salad with a tasty dressing on it.

Definitely enjoyed this visit – not sure why people in the area complain about there not being nice restaurants when we have places like this that hardly get business, yet all the typical chain joints are busy – Come here…...