La Marsa

Delicious food and friendly, prompt service. The complimentary bread/​garlic sauce is some of the best in the area. We ordered the chicken and hummus, shrimp gallabha, and a fattoush salad which were all fabulous. We will certainly be back!

This place is the best. Have been a regular for about four years. From the minute you walk in the door, yo have a good experience — you are greeted, shown to a table, given menus and then piping hot bread from the brick oven appears along with some of the best garlic sauce around.
My favorite meal is the shish tawook fatoush salad, grape leaves (with meat), shish kabob. The Dervice is great — attentive without being intrusive, the portions are large, and everything is served hot snd fresh. Have taken many friends and family members to La Marsa, and they in turn have brought people. This is a great place and a great value.

Can’t get enough of their fattoush! OMG it is addictive! The service is efficient and friendly, much better than the Troy location.
Let me add that I get take-​out here at least once a week– it is always ready within 10 minutes even though they say 15. The bread and garlic sauce are amazing.

Visiting from Chicago with our soccer team and was eager to enjoy some of Greater Detroit’s extraordinary middle eastern restaurants with our group. La Marsa’s Woodward Avenue location proved to be the right venue.
Beautiful, hot from the oven, pillows of pita bread and garlic spread welcomed us. It’s very good. The hummus and slightly smokey baba ghanoush were up next and were delicious. Everyone raved. The Kibbeh Neyeh, however was a star. What a treat. The mix of freshly ground lamb wheat, paprika, onion and mint were perfect. We can’t find this dish in Chicago. La Marsa, please open a Chicago outpost. We need you!
Shwarma sandwiches of chicken, near and lamb were tightly wrapped in freshly made flat bread, coupled with small and tasty pickled veg and sauce. These sandwiches delighted the entire group. A salad finished with freshly made feta, olives, and fresh veg was very refreshing and lightly dressed. Thanks so much!

My Fiancé & I stopped at La Marsa Monday night after being at St. Hugo Church which is around the corner from this spot. I looked on Unilocal to see if there were any decent Middle Eastern or Mediterranean spots near by (I was craving it LOL) and this one seemed to have many decent reviews.
Upon arrival– it’s in a dumpy plaza, and looks small. We arrived and staff let us pick where we wanted to sit, we chose a booth. There were only three other tables full in the entire restaurant. Server was fast and friendly, and especially fast because I guzzled my diet coke and water down so fast and he kept re-​filling it without any hesitation.
We order hummus for appetizer, my meal was the Shish Tawook w/​Lemmon Oregano and my fiancé ordered Beef Kafta. Instead of rice we both had vegetables and both had side Fattoush Salad. The portions are huge in my opinion. but the food was great and service was excellent.

This is a great place for lunch. Good service and very good food. They make their own bread in house and consistently deliver a good meal. I recommend this place to anyone who enjoys Lebanese cuisine.

I frequently go to lamarsa and have enjoyed their food on more than several occasions they have gotten my orders wrong and I or my husband have had to return. They apologize and we have continued to return but make sure we accurately request what we want they are expensive and it’s our choice to spend where we want. Today my salads were welted and some of the tomatoes were rotten not apetizing at all I asked for fresh salads and they returned my money and the young man threw my food in the trash outside in front of my face. I guess they showed me! I will not be returning. No apologies needed this time.

These guys are a staple in our house. I took some of my girlfriends here. 5 of us. We got the 2 person platter, added fattoush and hummus and we still has leftovers! Their shawarma sandwiches are really good as well. I really enjoy the fresh bread they give with the hummus. Also their garlic sauce is on point. It’s not to overpowering, I’ve been to some places where it also feels like it’s burning my throat! Also get their lamp chops!

This review is for a take away. The food was good and very reasonable prices for the portions you get. Found everything undersalted and no salt was added to takeout bag. The chicken schwarma was deliciously spiced but needed some sauce as it was quite dry. The baklava was standout delicious and their fresh juices were a treat.

I recommend the lemon oregano deboned chicken and the fattoosh salad with toasted pita chips and authentic dressing with pomegranate molasses. Great service as well.

A dear friend brought me here for dinner since where we were going to originally go was full. This place is located in a strip mall on Woodward Ave and Long Lake Rd.
It is an easy place and the food is solid :-) We ordered the grilled chicken dish with extra vegetables. They were kind enough to substitute the extra vegetables for the rice. As well, they serve wonderful small sized pita, fresh, out of the oven with the garlic spread and babaganoush (sp).
The Staff is quite attentive as it was reasonably busy on a Saturday evening. I think my only «complaint» was that the chicken was a bit too lemony for my taste, however, it was not dry at all and on the whole, our meal was quite good.
It is a nice «hidden» gem for this area, located in the strip mall. Worth going for an easy night of dinner with friends :-)

Went here a while ago and forgot to leave a review. Excellent food, friendly and spotless service. A homey yet elegant establishment, highly recommended.

Excellent food don’t know about the dine in experience but my take out us always plentiful. Service is good, from what I see it’s very clean I would recommend to friends an family.

The food is delicious. I love the chicken and mushrooms. The mjadra (I know the spelling is probably wrong) is terrific. The pita bread… amazing. My family has been coming here for several years and we have never had a bad meal. We carry out from here often. The owners and waitstaff are very nice and friendly. It’s a gem.

I have had a few things off of the menu and it’s usually good. The salads are fresh and the meat is very tender and fresh. The garlic sauce is super super super garlicky, I’m from the Middle East so I have had plenty of garlic sauce but this one is a little overpowering even for me. The bread is fresh and delicious, but this place is a little too pricey for me. Will go again but it won’t be my first option.

Fantastic Shwarma sandwich! Bread as good as LaShish! I’ve only gotten carry out, but it is always a huge hit with everyone in the office. (the garlic is VERY strong — so go mild on the garlic if you can’t handle it!)

We picked up dinner from La Marsa: the vegetarian party platter, which comes with tabbouleh, hummus, baba ganoush, spinach pies, grape leaves, falafel, rice, mujadra, and two sides (we went with lentil soup and salad), as well as pita and garlic spread. The spinach pies and falafel were meh; the spreads/​dips and mujadra were good. I don’t like parsley so I left the tabbouleh for my sister. I find there to be a massive disconnect between the amount of food and the way it’s apportioned.
We called in our order ahead of time, then drove over to pick it up. When we arrived the guy at the host stand said he didn’t have our order in the system. So then he put it back in and we waited 20 minutes, and about 5 minutes before our food came out the manager came out and told us the order was in the system and they made it again. It seemed confusing that they made us continue to wait if they already had the order ready to go.

Top restaurant in the area for Middle Eastern cuisine! The place is big to have nice family dinner and it is spotless clean. Very friendly staff members and u can’t beat the garlic and the warm pita bread made right in front of you. Defiantly will cater from here on my next event, I recommend you to try this place

The service is poor, we were waiting for a long time for someone to assign us a table. The guy at the register saw us and still didn’t care to do anything about it. the food tastes great and is very cheap. so you aren’t paying for any good service, only the food…

La Marsa’s food is really good. I like the service but, I usually get carry-​out. My favorites are Chicken Shwarma or Shish Tawook sandwiches, fresh bread with hummus and salad. It’s conveniently located at the Northwest side of Woodward and Square Lake. Dining in is a nice experience. It’s quiet and clean and the bathroom is clean as well.

Absolutely loved my carry out! I have been craving Mediterranean for over a month. My husband and I were suppose to go out the other night but kid stuff came up. Any way since I couldn’t go out last night, I decided to do carry out today at La Marsa for lunch. I ordered a sample platter because I could not make up my mind on what I wanted. Plus I wanted to have leftovers for husband and dinner. Best decision I’ve made so far today! The food was great and still nice and hot when I got home! One of the waiters also volunteered to help carry everything out to my car, which I thought was very nice of him. Grape leaves amazing! One of the things I had been craving. Falafel excellent and all the meat was tender and juicy! They gave me a huge bag of bread which gets a plus in my book. A lot of places can be a little stingy on the bread when you do carry out! Definitely will be coming back!

You got to check out this place. I started with a glass of fresh juice… which was very refreshing.
Followed by tasty, savory lentil soup and falafel.
The thing that I actually liked the most is the fresh hot Pita bread and Garlic sauce… I would go there just for the bread if possible. its that good.
I ordered the Mjadra Sandwich which was equally awesome.

This restaurant has typical Detroit mid-​east restaurant fare: piquant & delicious garlic butter, hot, freshly baked pitas, carrot juice. Their hummus, baba ghanoush, & falafel are outstanding!
The décor is nice & updated from the previous restaurant (Lashish) on the menu.
They have family trays both veg & non-​veg which is a good value for money.

Ate hear last night with my family of six. We arrived around 8pm and the resturant was basically empty, but the food was amazing so I am not sure why. We were quickly seated, given drinks and bread. Our food also arrived quickly. My husband and I split the beef kabobs and vegetables. The entrée also came with a salad. Everything was excellent. If I lived closer (I’m from kansas) I would be back.

Hands down one of the best chicken shwarma sandwiches I have ever had. The fresh juices are also very good.
Service can be a little slow sometimes

THE WARM PITA AND GARLIC SAUCE. Can I get a hell yeah?
My wallet and stomach are in agreement that La Marsa is a fantastic lunching spot. Any restaurant that brings out a delicious snack of pillowy carbs and fresh garlic spread before I’m finished with my first read-​through of the menu is on my good side. While I usually fall on the adventurous side of ordering, I must admit that at La Marsa I’m guilty of many a chicken shwarma lunch. Mostly because it’s a perfectly portioned little wrap for a midday meal, the taste is mighty fine, the price! so cheap!, and I can easily slather it with extra garlic sauce.
Because that garlic sauce, yesssss, mmm hmmm. After a few bites you’re already committing to garlic breath, so you might as well order up 2 or 3 extra plates for ultimate dipping pleasure.

I have been here about 5 times now and each time it’s been a awesome experience. Great customer service. They are always very polite and professional. The food tastes great and is a always fresh. The menu has plenty of offer. They get quite busy at lunch time and I would highly recommend.

Have eaten at the restaurant on Rochester Road in Troy, frequently at the Elizabeth Lake Road in Waterford and recently at the Woodward Ave restaurant in Bloomfield. Even had the Woodward Ave location cater an in house lunch for 20 at work in March. The catering was top notch.
They NEVER disappoint with the food. Service, eh. I’d say the service overall is ok to good.
Definitely better service at the Rochester Road and Woodward Avenue locations for lunch. I frequent the Waterford location often for dinner and while the waitstaff is fairly stable, they’re young and not as polished/​thorough as they could be.
Cuisine may be the best middle eastern outside of Dearborn.
Crushed lentil soup is smooth, rich and savory. The garlic is always served with hot bread. I usually order the lamb kabobs with salad and rice. They salads are fresh with romaine lettuce, cucumbers and herbs. The dressing is full of great flavors and is worth purchasing to use at home. Have had the chicken kabobs as well. They are ALWAYS tender and moist, with wonderful marinated flavor. The lemon oregano sauce which is available with the chicken kabobs is creamy, a little rich and definitely worth adding.

Really like the Chicken Schwarma sandwiches. We normally do pick-​up — food is always there on time and always tastes great.
Did the buffet at another visit — which was over the top good

My husband and I have been fans of La Marsa for quite a while. But today was the first time we tried their buffet. The first Sunday of the month La Marsa has a full Middle Eastern buffet.
All our favorites were there including chicken shwarma, chicken kabob and lamb kibbee. They had salads including tabbouli, almond rice and roasted veggies. The dessert selection was wonderful and had two kinds of baklava, fruit and some kind of pudding.
Their excellent pita bread and garlic spread were brought to the table piping hot. And our drinks stayed full.
At just under $ 30 for the two of us, this buffet is pricier than an Indian or Chinese, but the expense of the ingredients and the quality definitely make this a great value.

I like coming here for lunch.
The lintel soup is really good. The Wife and I usually get a couple pita sandwiches and split the soup and traditional salad.
They have a juicer here too if you feel like having some.
I hear they do a killer buffet once a month like the first ***day of every month, but I can’t remember what day it’s on.

I had received an invitation from Najar at La Marsa asking me to act as a «mystery shopper.» The invitation was interesting. He wanted me to dine at the restaurant, not to announce to anyone working there that I was a mystery shopper, and to order whatever we wanted for a party of up to six. Then I was to post a review (no holds barred) of the items we ordered, and Najar promised to pay us back whatever the meal cost. This was all supposed to happen before the end of January. I had planned to invite extended family members and/​or friends join us. But it never seemed to work out. A lot of Flu was going around this month and I found it to be ¹⁄₃₁ and I still had not taken advantage of this opportunity. So tonight my wife and I went to La Marsa and just had a nice dinner for two.
La Marsa was really packed. We have been to this location many times and a few of them were Friday or Saturday nights. But I have never seen the place packed as it was tonight. I wondered if other guests might have run the clock down as we had. We waited to be seated and fortunately were able to get a table far from the door. It was really cold outside and I didn’t want to sit near the frozen tundra.
So here is what we ordered. We were not glutinous. They brought us the omnipresent freshly baked bread and garlic sauce. It was hot, fresh and tasty as always and the garlic sauce was, as always, addictive. We usually order the crushed lentil soup. It is fantastic. But strangely our server told us that for the first time since she has been serving there (3 years), they ran out of the crushed lentil soup. So my wife ordered the salad instead. You get either a soup or a salad and either rice or fries with main dishes. I ordered the lamb chili. That salad was huge and tasty. In fact it was so big, she really could not finish it. The dressing, typical of middle eastern places is oil and lemon juice based. The lamb chili was thick hot and tasty. I had plenty of lamb and was quite satisfying.
For entrees, my wife ordered the Shish Tawook with rice and I ordered the Lamb Chops with fries.
The Shish Tawook was more than a generous serving and the chunks of chicken were juicy and tender. The rice side dish was also tasty and was more than most people can eat. The Lamb chops were ordered medium rare. The first chop was a little bit under-​cooked, while the second and third were perfectly medium rare. The meat was served with grilled vegetables. I wondered, when considering my options, whether the standard 3 lamb chops was going to be enough. There was an option to add chops ala carte. I must say; 3 chops was more than enough. The lamb was so rich and flavorful. There is no way I would have appreciated another chop. The fries were thankfully hot when served and that portion too was over the top.
There was no room for desert and we took home leftovers. My wife took about half her chicken and more than half her rice home and I took at least half the portion of fries home.
The meal came to $ 49.60 with tip and tax.
So it was another great experience at La Marsa. Thanks to Najar’s offer, it was not only tasty, but should prove to be at the perfect price. We eat at this place more than a dozen times a year, and we often bring friends and family. Needless to say, we will be back.

Holy. Moley. La Marsa is incredible! I had heard about the La Marsa locations in metro Detroit for years from a friend and colleague who is local to the area, and she has never let me down. As a loyal, Elite Unilocaler who relies on others’ reviews to discover local gems, I will not let you down in recommending La Marsa for some of the best Mediterranean food you’ll ever have the pleasure of consuming.
I stopped in to their Bloomfield Hills location on a weeknight with the hubby, and there was definitely a steady stream of customers dining in as well as carrying out. We were served immediately and enjoyed friendly, consistent, and knowledgeable service throughout our visit.
Although La Marsa has a very extensive menu with all of the «typical» Mediterranean favorites, they also offer some really cool more Northern African/​Mediterranean specialties that are unique to Morocco/​Tunisia/​Egypt that I definitely want to check out next time I’m in the area. Great for adventurous types or for those who have tired of kabobs, hummus, and tabbouleh.
For our palates that evening, we wanted a little or everything, to truly sample the wares, so to speak. Fortunately, La Marsa has an AWESOME selection of «sampler» menus for any size party, and my husband’s and my mind were blown when we found a $ 40 option that included the following:
Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Tabbouleh, Lentil Soup, Greek Salad, Stuffed Lamb Dolmades, Stuffed Vegetarian Dolmades, and a HUGE platter of almond rice, grilled vegetables, chicken kabobs, kofte, lamb, more beef, and more chicken. Of course all of this bounty was served with plenty of fresh and warm puffy bread. We were obviously stuffed, fat, and happy by the time we threw in the towel. But man, did we want to lick those plates clean. I could not believe my eyes that all of this wonderful food that really exemplified what La Marsa does so well only set us back $ 40, plus the nominal charge for my extra side of raw veggies for dipping.
We had plenty of food for leftovers, and our waiter was so helpful in his timing of bringing out the various «courses» and explaining to us what each dish was, and constantly topping off our water glasses! I can’t wait to go back!