Byblos Falafel & Deli

The food was ok. But the owner is so Rude I would never go back here again.

I loved Byblos; I saw it closed for business a month ago. The amount of food for the price was ridiculous, and the food flavor and quality was always fantastic. Too bad there isn’t a «Yay! I WAS a fan» star option. RIP.

Great veggie plate– the baba ganoush is nicely lemony & smoky. The hummus & dolmas are yummy. The salted pickles are something I’ve never had anywhere but here & they go well with the smoothness of the tzatziki.
The meat is always juicy but just a little crisp on the edges– perfect
Everything is fresh & flavorful.

This review is for his North Austin location, in the strip mall by Walmart, on the southbound IH-​35 Access Road just north of Parmer.
I’ve been here pretty much every month for the last 2 years, and I love the place. Its got an amazingly great fusion of Lebanese cuisine and Greek, giving it that flair that you can’t get a a token Greek place.
The food is fresh, grilled and savory… my personal favorite is the Shih Tajwuk (sp?) or the Chicken Kabob. I personally am NOT a fan of baba ganoush, but I’ve heard theirs is fantastic. I also adore their falafel and pita bread.
Every time I go, the owner says hello and recognizes me, and says he is pleased to have my business… you don’t get that a lot nowadays.
My only minus would be that if you go around a busy Friday, expect a line and to wait a good long time… so if you to go, try to go early or late… but expect great food at an excellent price.
I will also say that their baklava is by far some of the best I’ve had in town. (When its there, its fresh, trust me.)
I’ve only ever gone at lunch, so I always get stuff freshly made… and I’ve never had any issue with foodborne illness here. I also have been a world traveler, so I have the flora to prove it… apparently.

I am a huge fan of Byblos Lamb Kabobs. This Lebanese restaurant is in a strip center by Walmart so don’t get excited for location or the décor. But the food is good at a good price. Lamb is alittle more. All their meat is purchase at special meat market that slips my mind for now. But great quality meat. I personally have not had problems but I would recommend going when it is busy at lunch.

If you want arabic food in Austin, your choices are limited:
— Marakhesh used to be good, now it’s just below average.
— Pyramids was so so, closed.
— Ararat’s: was great, then terrible, then closed.
Byblos is probably the best remaining one (or not? let me know). I’m a big fan of middle eastern food: I lived there for a year. I love it.
Byblos is not a proper restaurant, but more of a fast-​food style eatery, good for a quick lunch during the workweek.
The pita is, like every other pita in Austin, from Phoenicia (so-​so). The schawarma is great, the dolmahs are great, the kebab is great, and the most important thing, the hummus, is really good. Portions are big too, which is a good thing.
Some reviewers claim to have gotten sick. I have never gotten sick eating here, but then again, you should see the places I used to eat while growing up in Mexico: my stomach can take it all.
I’d give it five stars if a meal was one or two dollars less and if they had a soda fountain with free refills and free water. All they have are cans and bottles.

My brother and I ate here for a late lunch over the summer, and I have to back up the other Unilocalers who say they got violently ill afterward. Before I was out of the parking lot, my stomach was at war with me. We wrestled all day, and I finally achieved peace some 12 hours later. I called my brother to see if he was suffering the same consequences. Indeed, he was. I haven’t returned since because of this.
We both ordered the chicken shawarma plate (everything served was just so-​so), if I recall correctly, but I really try not to conjure up those memories.

I normally get the meat plates. The beef sajuk is my favourite. The beef dishes are served with 4 side dishes of your choice. The servings are very generous. If you aren’t terribly hungry the wraps are always a good choice.

TABOULEH is HELUOBAT spelled backwards.
I’ve been bugging my boyfriend for awhile to go to this place. We finally went. I LOVE IT. He… not so much… So, let’s just say I will be venturing here by my lonesome.
You walk in and you are greeted by some VERY NICE people. I got the lamb wrap combo with tabouleh and hummus as my sides. OK… I usually have one main dish that I love about any type of foodie culture I eat. In this case, when it comes to Mediterranean food, I LOVE TABOULEH. Other than Phoenicia, this is probably the best in town. The hummus was thumbs up as well.
The lamb wrap comes in a pita with onions, cilantro, and sauces… They cook it right on a charcoal grill in front of you. It was wonderful. The whole meal costs $ 10 with a drink and I had some fresh baklava.
The ambiance was great. We met the owner, his wife and his family. They were really amazing and friendly. They were patient to tell my boyfriend every side since we didn’t know what Mdardarah, Fatoush or Zada was. Also, WE DIDN’T GET SICK. My boyfriend wasn’t a fan of Med food before we went here anyways.
Overall, go out and eat the best tabouleh in town.

I ate there on 8−31−07 for dinner in the evening. Food was good. Did not get ill. Most expensive menu item is 9.95, most plates are 7.95. The only drawback was that the food is served on paper plates, so you have a tasty meal on thin paper plate. They only serve soda, tea and water in bottles or cans as beverages.

I have to agree with Red H. I ate at Byblos a year ago on the weekend during off peak hours and become violently ill. Doesn’t really matter to me that the food tastes good, I won’t go back and eat there. The memories of «worshiping the porcelain God» are still vivid.

I love all the meats, but the chicken shawarma is my favorite. Given some of the other choices that might seem boring, but one bite and you will be hooked. I usually get a plate because the sides are good and honestly the wrap is not enough food for me. I tend to eat a lot, however, so if you are a lighter eater the wrap is probably the way to go.
This is the only place in Austin where I get humus (hummus? hommus? hmm, I am just going to use what they have on their menu). I am generally not a big humus fan, but they’ve got the best I have had in Texas. I tend to rotate ordering other sides because none stand out like the humus, although most are good.
They have more sides than listed online.

I work in one of the «Keep Austin Corporate» technology campuses up north so Byblos is a staple. Seriously, at least weekly we are there. I’ve been all over the menu and it is, without fail, a dream fulfilled. I usually get one of the plates, you can’t go wrong with any of it: chicken or beef, Lebanese sausage, or their new lamb addition are all bursting with flavor, like one of those Gushers from back in the day, except instead of sugary synthetic grape flavoring, it’s meat juice, GOOD meat juice.
The sides: I always get the hummous with olive oil, it’s like revisiting an old friend. The babaganouj is smoky and ripe with taste. The falafel is generally good but I’ve had much better. Tabouleh is a welcome kick to the tastebuds. Garlic and parsley potatoes are both very good. The rice is tasty but not excellent. DO NOT RESIST when they ask to apply the garlic sauce. It will awkwardize all close conversations for 19 hours afterward but no intimate encounter is worth missing that sauce, mmmmm.
The wraps are also very good but are about half the amount of food as the plates. Some guys will not be able to finish a plate but brawny ones like me will finish with relish. The baklava is sooooo good, some of the best in Austin. I’ve had the pies as well for a change of pace, very tasty but best to share among a group as the flavor can be intense.
Finish it up with a yogurt drink by the cash register or the owner can pour you a nice Styrofoam cup of water from the sink. I prefer the yogurt.
Final note: Byblos should expand. If you go at lunch with more than 4 people you won’t be able to sit together. Now go.

I would give this place 5 stars, but it loses a star for ambiance. Think Luby-​style but for Lebanese food, and the interior is a bit warm so opt for the seating near the windows. The only thing I’d like to add is that YES this is by far the BEST Mideast food you can get in Austin and I speak from native and overseas belly experience.
The hummus taste is dead on, and the meat spices? Why they should have a plate of just meats alone! Try the beef kofte or kebabs. juicy succulent creatures grilled right before your eyes. A meat plate (with several sides) costs approximately 10 bucks. Highly recommended too are the yogurt drinks in the fridge (similar to Kefir).
I have to say, I cheered when Ararat shut down… that was an insult to Arabic food (in the past two years). One downside? It’s in the strip mall adjacent to Walmart and Walmart owns the strip mall… blah.

I freakin’ love this place. I wish I lived closer. As a Lebanese-​American, I take my Middle Eastern food seriously, and I compare everything to my dad’s cooking, which I don’t think can be beat. Byblos comes close though.
I don’t see many places in this part of the country with mjadra (or, as Byblos spells it, mdardarah) on the menu. It’s a combination of lentils, rice and onions and one of my favorite Middle Eastern foods. The Fatoush is also amazing here. It’s bright green with beautiful red tomatoes (how do they find those year round?) and perfectly seasoned with parsley and olive oil and the like.
The kafta is seriously good as well. My dad used to make it and I wasn’t a huge fan all the time (too much allspice or cinnamon or something), but at Byblos they season it just right. I can’t wait to try the schwarma, which is the thing I seem to judge a Middle Eastern deli on.
So if you’re jonesin’ for some Lebanese home cookin’, or you’re in the area, try Byblos. You won’t be disappointed.

I’m unlucky enough to work in far north Austin, just down the street from this place. I had forgotten about it until I read Clarisa R.‘s review– so thanks!
I went yesterday over lunch and the place was hopping – so much so that they were dragging tables outside on the warm December day. And no restaurants last in this little shopping center despits the Dell crowds – so good for them! Expect to wait in the queue a bit to get your food and check out – there’s the serious lunch crowd, then there’s little old ladies, who are like, «What’s that green thing… Ah, lord, I can’t decide on a fourth side.» But it can be overwhelming on the first go.
There are a ton of choices, but you can’t really go wrong. I’m not sure what half of them are myself. But you can’t go wrong with the chicken shawarma (a little untraditional I think – with pickles!). And the $ 7.95 lunch plate looks like a ton of yummy food.
I like it because Austin is definitely lacking in Middle Eastern food, especially delis. And it it’s as good as the stuff I had in little delis in Europe. I miss those 3am gyro runs…

This is the best Middle Eastern food I’ve had in the Austin area. It was recommended to me by my Arabic friends, who deemed it simply «okay,» yet it certainly kicks but compared to other places around here. **cough*Ararat*cough**
We drove all the way up to the Dell area to check out this cafeteria style deli and it was worth it. My friend and I split a delicious, spit cooked chicken shwarma plate topped with pickles, hummus, fallafel, taboulli, dolma wraps (pickled grape leaves stuffed with rice, which my friend adored) and fattoush (thanks Jessica). For some reason or another, we got free warm flat bread, steamed potatoes and water. Awesomeness!
I’d go again, but I wish it wasn’t so far up north.

This is by far the closest you can get to Lebanese home food in Austin. I go there on average 3 times a week for lunch!
They have the best chicken shawarma (along with the famous garlic sauce), great wraps, tabbouleih salad, falafel, beef kafta, and delicious cheese and thyme pies.
Try to leave room for dessert: home cooked baklava!