Byblos Cafe & Grill

Their food is good, but their for-​here service can be slow, so I prefer to call in my take-​out order, and then walk over. A lot of my classmates at the law school patronize Byblos because it’s so close.
Their garlic sauce for their pita bread is off-​the-​chain good.

This little restaurant at cass & palmer in the midtown Detroit was disappointing. I saw this place & thought I would give it a chance as they sure had a lunch time rush. I ordered a chiken

I got a salad and hummus. No brainer, should taste good anywhere right? The salad was drenched in «house» dressing which I’m pretty sure was mayonnaise… My bad for not asking what it was but every other Mediterranean place has a more vinaigrette house dressing that I am usually cool with so I just assumed. The salad just tasted bad.
The hummus was meh. Hard to mess up hummus but it just tasted kind of factory like. Really oily and tasteless. The pita was stale.
I was really excited. I was hungry and I like this kind of food.
Then I was sad. Really sad.
Go to lapita fresh.

Extremely disappointed! !! I took a group of my high school students there and thought it was extremely expensive for what we received… over $ 12.00 for A chicken shwarma with rice and a drink at lunch.!! Additionally, I can honestly say I have never had a shawarma that I haven’t enjoyed, however, the shwarma that I got today was dry, how can chicken shwarma be dry?! And it was cold! They didn’t even heat up the chicken! I have never left a negative review at a restaurant but I cannot believe how disappointing this place was.

YUM! Try the shawarma as well as the hommous.
Great place to stop in between class!

Byblos– Seriously, Bro, let me tell you the truth. I love you. Like for real. I get that you don’t have like 3 Michelin stars or anything and I see the alley cats hanging around your garbage cans or whatever. But seriously, I love you. You have $ 5 shwarma with the thickest, most garlicky garlic sauce I’ve come up on in a long long while.
When I feel like some all-​American ethnic junk-​food remix I get that Chicken-​Fries-​Wrap good-​good. That weird, super tangy, only-​Byblos-​barbeque sauce keeps me up at night. It’s like 1990’s Chinese food restaurant red barbeque pork sparerib sauce meets Ronald McDonald holding a jug of vinegar and a tiny bottle of Tabasco.
Do you double fry your fries? Are your fries actually battered? Either way, they’re bomb.
Your Fattoush is fire. Whenever I’m eating lunch with somebody and they get a regular garden salad as their side for their lunch combo and they really want a salad, I enjoy looking at their defeated faces when my Fattoush rolls around to the table covered in crisp, olive-​oily, highly seasoned fried pita bits. I’m like «And wha??»
Byblos, why do you insist on serving your side salad on tiny plates? It’s dumb. It doesn’t make me think there is more salad because you heap it on a tiny plate. It just makes a big mess. Put it on a normal plate, homie. Give me less. I don’t like spilling greens all over the table. It’s uncivilized.
I’ve ordered most of the menu. I secretly like your super-​thin, prison grade lentil soup gruel. My favorite order is Shish Tawook wrap+ extra pickles + bbq sauce +no lettuce + Tabouli, fattoush, Turkish Coffee. Possibly a last meal depending on my crime.

Excellent waiter, attentive, friendly. Gave great advice about menu strategy. Baba ganoush was outstanding. Definitely will be back.

Superb place for lunch. Pocket friendly. Chicken shawrma lunch is enough for lunch and brunch. Just love the rice items.

I’ve always had god experiences at the Palmer location of Byblos, but the Cass location has never been spectacular. Today, the food I received may be enough to keep me from coming back.
I ordered a standard chicken shawarma pita but it was possibly the worst I’ve ever had. The chicken was so over cooked that it had a consistency closer to oatmeal than actual meat, and there were practically no toppings; just a soggy piece of lettuce and a few pickles. It’s not the type of quality you would expect if you frequent their Palmer restaurant.
I would still recommend their raw juices but, in my experience, they don’t seem good for much else.

I think Windsorites are spoiled with our authentic Lebanese cuisine, as Byblos in Detroit is pale in comparison. The fattoush was soggy and lacked seasoning, the lunch portions are obnoxious, and the grape leaves were dry. Service is friendly and familiar, and the location is super convenient for students, but those are really the only highlights. If only a Mazaar or El Mayor can open up shop in Midtown, life would be complete.

Good food, great prices. INSANE portion sizes. Service is OK, ambiance is lacking. I ate with a large party and everyone was very satisfied with the food. I thought the falafal was especially good.
Want good food at a moderately priced casual dive? This is your place.

It’s allllright — nothing great. The tabbouli has a lot of stems in it, meh! It appears semi clean, the staff is okay — nothing great.
Food — C+
Cleanliness = C
Wait Staff = C
What can I say it was okie dokie!

I made the mistake of ordering Tabbouli at a few other places before I tried Byblos. Hands down, the best Tabbouli I can find in the area! I also LOVE LOVE LOVE that they have Groupon rewards & the Flock reward system. Ordering is a breeze, their prices are more than fair, and they reward their customers! I try to get lunch here at least once a week.
Never change Byblos!

We used our first groupon now at this place. Was very pleasantly surprised. Lots and lots of food which was very good. Great deal

I was at the law library studying and then I got hungry. I really didn’t feel like cooking lunch so I came here to get take out. On the weekends you can only get dinner portions which is fine since it last two meals for me.
The whole process of ordering and getting my food was pretty fast. I ordered the chicken shawarma with a side salad. Also comes with pita but it was a bit tough. I like how they give you the garlic sauce. I love the garlic sauce. I have been to places where they don’t give you the garlic sauce. I did wish it comes with hummus to go with the pita they give you. I really like their mini pickles. Too cute. The chicken was a bit tough but you get a lot.
I will probably be back. Maybe I’ll try something new.

I wandered into Byblos for a quick bite to eat at lunch and I’m glad I did.
I’m new to the area and maybe places like these are a dime a dozen, but I was delighted. I ordered the Chicken Schwarma wrap combo with the Fattoush. The portions were VERY generous, the flavors were spot on and the service was excellent. I left sated and happy… only minus $ 7.25. A great lunch in my book.

I’m reviewing the catering they do every Monday at Henry Ford Hospital in downtown Detroit. I’ve never been to their actual restaurant but if what they serve at the cafeteria is not representative of their food they shouldn’t put their name on it.
Stuff is overpriced and their chicken is more often overcooked than not. It’s like they never bother to taste the batches of food. If it’s overdone they just serve it anyway because they know we have no other alternative– it’s either overcooked chicken or nasty cafeteria food.

Thank goodness for Byblos! I live on Chicken Schwarma during my twelve hour school days.
The Seattle’s Best coffee is a decent alternative to the machine coffee we get in the basement of our building, as well :)
My one complaint, the service leaves a whole lot to be desired… in some instances, I’m thinking it’s due to be understaffed and some servers are wholly apologetic about it, which I totally understand. However, sometimes its just bad when they’re dead. And I mean bad as in slow, unfriendly, unapologetic, and never come back to see if we need anything else or liked our food… total bummer.
Solution? Always get it to go! :) food is still good, no server issues. Voila.

Things I like about Byblos:
1. Inexpensive. Even with a pop and soup or salad added, my meal has never topped ten bucks.
2. Huge portion sizes. I ask for a to go container when I order and stash ²⁄₃ of my food in it before I even start eating. I usually get another full meal and a snack out of the leftovers.
3. Lebanese versions of foods I love. The American stuff on the menu is all done with a Lebanese flair. They use zatar as a spice in a lot of the foods. Yum.
4. Freshly juiced carrot, apple, beet juice. sounds like a weird combo but it’s great.
5. They frequently donate food for community groups and events.

Byblos is close to Wayne State’s Law and Nursing School making it a popular place for faculty/​staff and students. I was there at noon and the place wasn’t packed which scared me.
The menu was extensive with vegetarian and meat options. I had the chicken sharwarma wrap and it was great. The hummus was also very good. I think the prices are very good.
Being as it’s located on Cass, it seems to get vandalized frequently and have spray painted graffiti on the exterior. I feel bad for the owners so I try to patronize as much as I can because it takes guts to have a restaurant on cass!
I reccomend Byblos for a quick, authentic mediterranean lunch. Vegetarians and carnivores alike will find plenty to choose from and leave with full happy bellies.