Arabesque Melbourne

Tare jem in the CBD. The entrance does not reflect the beauty of the restaurant inside. Their menu is online, so you order it from your table. That way, you actually know what is available on the night. The cuisine is a mix between Jordanian and Palestinian. Full of flavour, this food brings back memories of childhood that have passed and long gone in the beautiful mountains and valleys of the Balkan lands. The portions are generous, so you can actually share 1 main with your dinner buddy. The service is fast, and the kitchen is open style, so you can see the chefs preparing your food. The walls are decorated with nice calligraphy, which one most standing out for me was the saying of our beloved Prophet Muhammad PBUH: Jannah is under your mother's feet. This restaurant is 100% halal, which is very rare in the Melbourne CBD. There's also a shisha lounge part of it just as a disclosure.
Must try it. And I'll be back again and again this time with my kids and close family.

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Arabesque Restaurant & Lounge, and overall, it was a delightful experience. The food was exceptional, offering a diverse and flavorful menu that truly impressed. The ambiance added to the enjoyment, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

While the positives are noteworthy, I believe there is room for improvement in the customer service department. Although the staff was polite, a more attentive and proactive approach would enhance the overall dining experience.

Nonetheless, I would recommend Arabesque for its excellent cuisine and charming ambiance, with the hope that they continue to refine their customer service to match the high standards set by their food and atmosphere.

Food was delicious and served very fast. Service from the employees was even better. 10/10 definitely recommend would be eating here all the time if I lived in Melbourne. Was reasonable priced too

Amazing food, would highly recommend to anyone looking for a Middle Eastern experience. Very great service. The staff are super friendly. And ontop of that the shisha is to die for

Great food, shisha and drinks.what more could you ask for?
Highly recommend Arabesque Melbourne for such a fantastic experience! The staff there are very welcoming!

The food is delicious especially the okra and their grilled chicken. The mandi is also authentic. It’s a good Arabic restaurant within a walking distance from CBD. Yet, I think they should work on the quality of the meat they cook.

Overall good ambience. Nice Arabic decor. Ordered the Mansaf (منسف) but wasn’t authentic at all. The Jameed (جميد) lacked taste. Seemed like soaked yogurt. Ordered the Kinafa, but was told the cheese is out of stock. Ordered Muhalabiya instead, but got a small bowl with a liquid which was nothing close to Muhalabiya. Did not have orange blossom (ماء زهر) or Arabic gum (مستكة) tasted more like Indian Suji. Did not touch it. None of the dishes we ordered were authentic. Overpriced and not up to par.

Where to begin….

Walked into the restaurant & were the only customers upon arrival…. They ask you to order using their online menu but everything was almost sold out? So the waitress had to take the order manually, which was not an issue for us!
We were a family of 6, after 20 mins only 3 people received their meals. Entrees and dips came out when they finished their food. The other 3 of us received our food 15-20mins AFTER the 3 finished, food was cold and not nice.
During this whole incident we asked multiple times where our food was and she kept saying “a few mins”, till we overheard the chef say “the waitress didn’t put it through correctly so I’m only starting their food now”.
This was after they told us a few mins TWICE. THE FOOD WASNT EVEN GETTING COOKED?
To top it off the owner only cares about his pay check as he didn’t want to honour some sort of discount but then after complaining - he honoured a “10% discount” which he claims is the “public holiday fee” being wiped off for us but we didn’t even eat on a public holiday or even a weekend. If you sit down stairs it’s very loud and you hear banging from the level above! Worst service I have EVER experienced in my life, I eat at restaurants atleast once a week and I have never left a review before for a restaurant being horrible, but this one deserved it! Please do not go.

Good was nice and friendly staff, but took really long time before they serve the food, we were about to lose hope

Food was amazing, really great flavours and dish options for all. Would say service could be better but realistically I’ll be back and recommending to others anyways

I visited more than once and will do again

Authentic Jordanian food top quality and spotless restaurant

Perfect place to invite friends and family

The last time I tried ‘foul bi laban’ (photos attached), Iskandar wrap was also great, and the always satisfying Arayes

We had a work dinner here tonight and decided to go with the banquet option. The food was absolutely delicious particularly the halloumi salad, fattoush & trio of dips was superb! The grilled lamb chops was by far the best I’ve had in a while. Very friendly & attentive waiter. Good atmosphere. Good interior decor. Overall we had a lovely evening and prices very reasonable.

The food was absolutely fantastic. The zarb rice was one of the best dishes I've ever had

I strongly advise don’t visiting this shisha due to their extremely slow service, including at the cashier, where you can wait up to 30 minutes to receive your shisha. Additionally, the taste of the shisha is not worth the wait.

I’m a regular customer for years but I came in couple of days ago and I was really disappointed because everything was mostly sold out so we had to order from what’s left! And we had the kebsah literally what we had was two pieces of chicken, a lot of nuts and two spoons of rice when I asked the waiter he said this is the normal quantity and it’s only for one person so I was like everything was already sold out and this is what u have left and u said it’s a normal amount so he didn’t even apologise! I paid $70 for couple of things which wasn’t worth it!

Great food. Flavourful. Good service. Didn't do shisha, will try another time. Big serves worth the money. Nice environment, good money. The service staff do not speak Arabic which caused bit of confusion. Otherwise all great.

Tonight’s dinner at Arabesque was delicious and they also have the friendliest customer service.:)

I've had bamya (okra) all my life, and tasted it overseas. This was easily one of the best I've had in my life! Fresh and rich. Fantastic service and the falafel was crispy inside and soft and moist inside. And the beautiful middles eastern oud playing in the background, Absolute pleasure

I was so excited to try out this restaurant but my excitement was met disappointment.
My friend and I waited for our food to arrive for over 2 hours. I ordered coffee before the main course and the coffee took 2 hours to make! My order arrived first and my friend's order didn't. We waited for another half and hour only to find out that my friend's order was not even registered in the system.
Overall experience was very disappointing.

One of the best Arabic restaurant in Melbourne. Excellent, tasty and quality homemade food. Second time visit and every time i came i was impressed by the food.