Bacchus of Lebanon

I love this place not only for its elegant décor and great food but also for the wonderful service!
One of our dishes was made a little too salty to eat. I casually told my server when he asked me how the food was. They immediately replaced it with its delectable original. The chef came by all the way to apologize. Next, he sent a magically tasting dessert (I regret not remembering its name). And just as we finished relishing it, he sent us a check with 50% off the entire price!

Not much to add given the other reviews. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty damn flavorful food. Décor is plain and the service can sometimes be slow. The outdoor patio is awesome in the Summer. For better or worse, the presentation of the food is sort of like a really great home cook not your usual high end fine dining presentation.
If you’re looking for to impress someone, need impeccable service or a fancy location, this is probably not the place for you. If you want a place that feels down to earth, is a little quiet, and serves tasty food, this is the place for you.

This is our go-​to restaurant for Lebanese carry-​out, but last night we dined in. While the décor is a bit plain and a seat facing the wall on the raised platform is claustrophobia-​inducing (try to get a table in the non-​raised area of the restaurant for this reason), the food very much continues to please.
When eating in, you are served a complimentary Za’atar dip (a savory mixture of thyme, sesame seeds, sumac and olive oil) along with fresh, warm, traditional pita bread. We got our standard mezze dishes — Kibbe, Tabbouleh, Hommus and Foul Akhdar Bel Zeit. All were incredibly fresh, flavorful and beautifully presented. We added Fatte Bel Lahm to the mix. The menu description says it all «Succulent chunks of lamb splashed with sizzling butter, served on top of deep-​fried Lebanese bread smothered with yogurt, garlic and pine nuts». We finished our meal with a complimentary dessert of baklava and rosewater custard with a crunchy crème brûlée type topping. (We weren’t offered a complimentary dessert previously, so maybe it was a holiday time treat?).
They also know how to prepare a hell of a Gray Goose martini and a traditional Lebanese-​style arak. Overall a great meal!

Came with my mother and had a wonderful experience! To quote my lovely mother, «THIS IS THE BEST LAMB I’VE EVER HAD. YOU SHOULD TELL YOUR INTERNET FRIENDS ABOUT IT»
So, internet friends, seriously, the lamb here is amazing. The Ouzi (lamb over rice with a yogurt sauce) was absolutely incredible. The rice underneath it was also up at the top of the list for the best rice I’ve ever had.
We also had the following mezze:
Shankleesh– this was a spiced goat cheese dish that tasted a lot like feta. Tasty, and went well with the generous amounts of pita we were given.
Yalanji Bethenjan– cold eggplant stuffeed with a spiced rice mixture. Also delicious, although the eggplant itself was very thin. Definitely not a bad thing, but don’t expect this to be a vegetable heavy dish.
Soujok– super flavorful beef and lamb sausage. Would definitely recommend!
Overall, we had a wonderful meal and I’m looking forward to coming back to try more dishes.

Everybody liked the food, specially the combination of fish and chicken kebabs. My big problem was with the salad; lettuce totally drowned in dressing; I had forgotten to ask for it on the side, but I thought it was going to be «sprinkled» on. Ruined the salad for me; it sat in a half an inch of liquid, wilted and soggy.
Although just the same rice with every dish is a little uninspiring, food and ambiance were good

Love the service, love the décor, love the patio seating but the Bethesda curse strikes at Bacchus of Lebanon. So bland! No salt! I had the Combination (Extraordinaire Bacchus) kebab which was one lamb shish kebab and a shishtouk (chicken kebab). It was average at best. The lamb wasn’t juicy and succulent (and only had three chunks, glad I didn’t go for the entire lamb shish kebab entrée!) and the shishtouk was downright mediocre. I am going to be honest and say that there’s a better meal to be had at Moby Dicks’ House of Kebab than here.
My favorite was the lebanese salad, which was diced tomatoes and cukes tossed with lemon, mint, and olive oil.
The SO got the Ouzi which is like a tender, stewed lamb on top of seasoned rice. I enjoyed the texture, but once again, pretty bland.
Without booze, our tab came out to be about $ 60 something dollars which is too much for food so unremarkable.

Really good, authentic food. Sit outside if you can. The people who work there are nice, but the service is really slow.

I have been here twice and love this place!
The food is absolutely delicious — fresh, authentic, and flavorful. The portions are large and I always end up bringing half of my meal home, meaning I get to enjoy this meal twice!
My personal favorite dish is Chicken Baalbeck. This is a perfectly grilled and charred (yum!) chicken breast topped with a lemon garlic sauce and sauteed mushrooms. It comes served with a side of basmati rice with toasted almonds.
Complimentary pita along with a spiced olive oil dip comes with your meal. I would recommend ordering the houmous, which is addictively good. Funny story — the first time I went here the waiter thought he knew my mother, so he brought it to us for free even after my mother told him she had never been here before and thus did not know him!
The interior is inspired by the Temple of Bacchus in Lebanon, creating a nice and somewhat upscale ambience, though dinners are causally dressed. There is a wonderful patio for outdoor seating. It is perfect for warm evenings during the spring and late summer.
The staff is friendly, attentive, and efficient. What more could you want?
There is parking in a nearby garage. Word of advice bring quarters! It is metered parking during the weekdays.

Solid food and staff but only three stars due to such GREAT food available throughout Bethesda area. Traditional offerings will satisfy and the price is reasonable. Only three stars as this was just a so-​so experience.

I don’t usually review a place unless I have gone there more than once (doesn’t apply to chains).
This place blew our minds after one visit. First of all, I don’t usually venture out to Bethesda but I am so happy we did that day. We initially wanted a different Lebanese restaurant but it was July 4^th and it was closed so we came here.
Parking: all street parking. It was free that day because of July 4^th.
Location: beautiful building at the corner with outdoor seating and large entrance.
Ambiance: authentic Middle Eastern décor and beautifully placed water fountains/​falls inside and outside. Colorful and vibrant.
Food:
1. Fattoush is amazing. So fresh and had the right amount of lemon, sumac, and olive oil. The pita bread in it was perfectly toasted as well.
2. Eggplant appetizers were very good.
3. My fatte dish: I don’t know how to describe it. The flavors come out differently in every bite. The bread was crisped to perfection. The yogurt was also well balanced with texture and spice. (Does that make sense? Not sure. I’m not good at describing delicious food. It’s just DELICIOUS!!)
The service was excellent.
The dessert was decent.
The warm bread and zaatar are amazing.
I can’t wait to return to this restaurant.
The food is amazing. You won’t be disappointed.

I don’t know how this place is still open because the service is so bad. I’ve been going there for years because the food is so good. I’ve been there two times in the last month and the service has been horrible. I’m done with this place. We were there last night. It took them forever to take our order. Then it took forever to get our food and then it took forever to get the check. This is no exaggeration. I am done with you Bacchus.

Good food, ambience, outdoor seating! Service is good but often slow! It took them 30 minutes to get the check out to me. However, the food made up for the lack of service speed.
The lamb and fish dishes are revered and acclaimed
.I tried the chicken and mushroom entrée with lemon herbs and almond rice. It was delicious!

I want to give this place 5 stars. Actually, the food totally deserves five stars. But I think that there are some current staffing or management issues — there were only two people working as servers for a Thursday evening, and we had to wait a while to get our order taken. This was after asserting ourselves for a seat, as no host was present at the door.
That said, the food was fantastic. Everything was very flavorful and perfectly prepared.
However, it was by no means a quick dinner, but rather a relaxing hour + of just hanging out outside as plate after plate came.
I hope that next time I am in town they have sorted this out, because the food and outdoor areas are awesome.

A friend introduced me to this restaurant a couple months ago, and I can’t get enough of it now. I’m totally hooked.
The food is incredibly fresh and authentic, we especially love their Lebanese salad and pretty much all their eggplant dishes (I think we’ve tried all of them now).
Food here is 10x better and fresher than Lebanese Taberna.
Main dish I’m hooked on? Grilled swordfish kebab, always cooked to absolute perfection! The staff are very knowledgeable and the pita bread is always coming fresh and hot from the kitchen whenever we need.
During good weather, the patio is such a wonderful place to enjoy al fresco, with their garden fountain. Love this restaurant so much! Thank goodness I live far enough away, or else I’d be broke on eating here
.

Never found out about the food, walked in and expected to be seated immediately as a table was opening up and no one was ahead of us. As they were clearing the table, an old couple walks in and promptly sits down and the hostess doesn’t bat an eye! Ask her what just happened and the couple doesn’t have a reservation, the hostess has no explanation for us, and then turns around walks off.
Don’t come here!

This place is pretty awesome who is very authentic and pasted the same time. I tried there couple of dishes and they’re all awesome. The grape leaves and cubbah are very great appetizers as well as the hummus.

Fairly phenomenal food, only held back by slow service on an extremely busy night. An eggplant starter impressed, as did a fried cauliflower and home made babaganoush. Try the lamb kebab for your entrée. Portions are huge and reasonably priced, and the crowds are not here by accident. Recommended.

On a rainy evening, my date and I came here for dinner. The restaurant was pretty quiet for a Tuesday night. The restaurant is dimmed, making this restaurant perfect for a romantic date. The ladies room is really nice! When we entered the restaurant, the host said we could sit wherever we like. There were so many great choices for appetizers. I read on a previous review to get 2 – 3 appetizers per guests so that’s what we did.
We ordered:
1. Beef Shawerma — tender slices of beef marinated in Middle Eastern spices, grilled and served with tahini sauce, pickled beets and peppers, onions, and diced tomatoes
2. Bethenjan Makli — deep-​fried eggplant served with yogurt dip and slices of tomato. The deep-​fried eggplant were half crescent shaped and crispy. Honestly, it was my favorite dish of the night.
3. Bacchus Calamari — fresh calamari (rings and tentacles) marinated and stir-​fried in olive oil, fresh coriander, garlic and a dash of lemon. This dish was garnished with a slice of lemon and a tomato wedge. We felt that the dish was a bit too lemony.
4. Bacchus Scallops — fresh scallops stir-​fried in olive oil, fresh coriander and garlic. This dish came with five tender small-​medium sized scallops. The flavor resembled the other seafood appetizers except without the lemon.
5. Frog legs — tender frog legs, spiced, lightly floured, deep fried and served with garlic sauce. This was my least favorite dish — the flavor wasn’t strong and the meat wasn’t as tender as I expected it to be. They looked and tasted like chicken wings.
I’d definitely recommend this place to anyone who’s looking for good Middle Eastern cuisine or anyone who’s looking for exotic delicacies and flavors :)

Wow. I’ve been here 3 – 4 times over the past couple of years. Always good. Tonight, middle eastern food went to an entirely new
level. Fatte lahm — order it and be awed. Succulent, buttered lamb chunks on fried Lebanese bread with yogurt sauce, pomegranate, and almond slivers. Should be illegal it’s so addictive. I seriously almost cried. Service was flawless. Dinner was only $ 22. Damn!

My advice: Order only appetizers, 2 – 3 per person.
Put everything in the middle of the table and share everything, mezze style!
Always delicious.
My favorite: the Kalage Bel Jiben, cheese in crusty filo leaves.
The large terrace is also a must!
Finally, for the women, check out their restrooms for a feeling of immensity ;-)