Arabian Breeze

Came Back for Lunch & was Satisfied!
I took my staff here for lunch & was satisfied by the service and food. I had the Chicken Kabob and the rice was soOO delicious! Our service was fast, efficient and friendly, unlike my first experience there. They only had one waitress, but she managed to take care of us in a timely manner. The price and quantity for their lunch menu is very reasonable. My huge plate was less than $ 8. I intend to come back here for lunch. However, I might just skip the dinner experience since it seems very chaotic and they don’t have enough staff to cater to the demand of their customers.
BTW, the menus were a lot cleaner this time =)

As with other places I’ve been, I can’t withhold a fifth star from this place any longer — the food is great, the wait staff (especially Beth, who seems to work most Monday nights) are fantastic and the portions are certainly reasonable for the money.
Last night was a fantastic way to start my Birthday Week. My only disappointment is that they will soon be changing their name to match that of their sister-​restaurant, Nicholas. Whatever, I’m hoping it’ll bring in a lot more business — the place has certainly been picking up lately, so something they’re doing is working well. This place is currently like the awesome, takes-​credit-​cards, bigger version of Nicholas.
I’ll be gladly coming back to this place often.

I’m tempted to give this 5 stars, but I’m going to need to go there a couple more time to confirm my feeling.
Arabian Breeze is great! I’ve been there twice and thoroughly enjoyed my meal, as have my dinnermates — the fresh bread is tasty, the humus is really good, the falafel was top notch, I had some sort of lamb+rice soup that was, if possible, even better the next day as leftovers, and the couple of darker beers they’ve got on the menu have been delicious as well. The money is totally reasonable given how much food you’re served, and it hasn’t been crowded both times I’ve been there (admittedly not exactly during dinner rush hours, but still.)

When I go to Arabian Breeze they treat me like family and I am not Lebanese! =)
I have yet to eat something I didn’t like, I usually just trust them to have me try something different and I am yet to be disappointed. Salmon Meshwi has been my favorite so far and just last week as an appetizer I had Baba and it’s my new favorite thing.
I have celebrated many birthdays of my own and friends at Arabian Breeze, we usually have a party around 15 – 20 and they are always very accommodating! I love this place!

I love the food, the atmosphere, the bread, the culture and the people. I go there whenever I can and always have a nice experience. Eat here, enjoy the food and the way you feel when you leave.
–Kari

NO STARS FOR POOR SERVICE
Well, I actually thought that Arabian Breeze was going to redeem itself. A few days after I wrote my first review (about the terrible service at my terrible 40^th birthday party), the owner? contacted my friend and stated that they would be sending gift certificates to us to help make up for the fiasco.
It’s almost 3 months later and there is NO SIGN of the gift certificates. I will just chalk it up to continued POOR SERVICE and continue to tell everyone I know.
What a disappointment.

Sorry

It’s with a small amount of sadness that I write this review. Up until last night Arabian Breeze has been one of our favorite restaurants for atmosphere, good food, reasonable prices and decent service.
Last night was my wife’s 40^th birthday there; coordinated in advance complete with the number of expected guests (about 35,) complete with two telephone confirmations on the date, time and number of guests. Despite the confirmations, we received one waitress who seemed new and put-​out to deal with the large group and another person who appeared to be extremely new that was helping by occasionally bringing bread and water to us.

To be fair, 1 of our 3 tables was reasonably happy with the service they received, their dishes came in a reasonable time and they did not feel horribly neglected. The other two tables, ours included, received unpleasant, inconsistent and in some cases, non-​existent service. Most notable were the many strange comments made by the server which I am about to go into.
Our table which received the night’s middle of the road service, received our meals approximately a ½ hour after ordering, received one drink that was passable and another of the same drink that they apparently ran out of one of the ingredients and decided to ad-​lib on, making it unpalatable. When asked if they could make other drinks, we couldn’t get a straight answer, just «we have a limited bar,» and other non-​committal remarks. Although I was not present to hear the remarks, two other people at our table were upset by the server’s attitude and snippy comments which they did not repeat to me.
By far and away, the worst service was received by the last table where several people waited two hours for their meals which they NEVER RECEIVED. When they brought this up to the server, she made the comment that «oh, this party was only scheduled for 15 people» so there for we should not expect quick service and that «for parties this large, they only do buffets.» We specifically asked during the confirmations if 35 people ordering separate dishes would be OK and the owner said «yes.» The server went on to say that «you know, the owner speaks Arabic, don’t you?» To which, my friend responded that «he spoke English on the phone.» Other strange comments made were that they «had to do dishes to have enough plates,» and others indicating that even though our individual bills weren’t necessarily the food we ordered, they were for lesser costing dishes.
Overall, I would have been content if they would have just been honest but it seemed to be restaurant policy to try to lie and cover they short comings. I completely would have understood if they told us to be patient because they were short staffed or that they really didn’t have the ability to make mixed drinks. I am also embarrassed that my friends left after two hours to go to another restaurant because they were too hungry and frustrated to wait any longer and that the restaurant did nothing to correct, make up or even address the situation with them or us which has led to this unfavorable review.
To qualify this, I do not generally write negative reviews, but after feeling embarrassed and lied to as friends walked away from my wife’s birthday party, I felt this was a valid exception.

This place might have one of the best deals in town as far as amount of food and price is concerned.
First the bread. Fresh from the oven. You can watch them make it at the front of the restaurant. As others have said, they will bring you more if you want it and it is free of charge.
The meal. 3 words. Meat Mezza Platter. Here is how the menu describes it: A combination of dishes served Lebanese buffet style. Your mezza comes with humus, falafel, tabouli and fresh pita. Order family style for one or more people. Includes triangle lamb pies, kafta and a side of taziki. Add lamb for $ 1.00. This plate can feed 2 very easily. The portion is HUGE. Sorry for my yelling. The price, or at least what we paid yesterday was $ 8.75. I just looked on their website and it said $ 9.75. Still a good deal, but an amazing deal for $ 1 less.
The service was good. We were the first people in late Sunday afternoon, but shortly after the place started to pack up.
All I know is I didn’t need to eat dinner last night.

Not sure why this place has so many bad reviews. I have eaten at Nicholas and thought it was bland. This place have some serious flavor going (alright, okay, sometimes a little too overpowering).
The bread, as everyone states, is fantastic. Like a tortilla? Are you kidding me? They make this bread fresh to order (and will continuously bring more to the table, free of charge) and has a nice yeasty flavor. If a good pizza dough met some nan bread and. yea. you get the point. Delicious!
I had the lamb shawarma, the flavor was fantastic, the sauce superb, the wrap was a kind of flatbread, pretty thick, but you needed it to be something sturdy with all that lamb hanging in there. I got it with some hummus and a little salad. The salad had a refreshing lemon dressing, and the hummus was also rather lemony, and very creamy. I love lemon, so no complaints here.
Also, the service was very friendly when I went in. The owner maybe (?) was going around and joking with all of the tables. I highly recommend this place for a large, flavorful, affordable meal.

I had high hopes for Arabian Breeze as it is 5 minutes from my house.
Ordered a very simple lunch of 2 salads, a falafel and a hummus plate.
The salads were the stars of lunch, however it is difficult to mess up chopped red onion, feta, olives and romaine tossed together.
The bread of the falafel was stale and tortilla tasting. The falafel balls themselves were ok, but the sauce was off.
Hummus was average, nothing I couldnt surpass at home in 5 minutes with a food processor and a can opener.
Price was good at $ 15 for lunch for 2.
I will stick with recreating this experience with provisions from nearby Trader Joes (whos flat bread puts Arabian Breeze to shame).

I’ll stick with my four star rating, but I’d also like to take Nicholas down to a 3 or 3.5. It’s cheaper to eat at Nicholas, and they *do* have vegan manakish (a sure way to win me over) but wow, Arabian Breeze has changed the falafel. It’s superb now and infinitely better than the slightly mushy and sort of bland fare at Nicholas.
I had the Arabian Breeze mezza and had my taste explosion of hummus, caramelized onions, baba ghanouj (amazing!) and some red pepper concoction.
Oh, and do yourself a favor and order the Turkish coffee with hal (cardamom). Absolutely lovely for a morning of recovery.

ok –that was the wierdest experience I have had at a «Lebanese» place.
Food was all very odd flavor.
Menu looks like a Denny’s
Staff was completely confused by the menu as well
tables were super wobbly
Bread was like a big flour tortilla.
Please do not tell anyone I went here and we will be ok.

Mmmmm bread… Yes we all agree the bread is great and addictive, I could have eaten the whole thing myself.
I enjoyed the half chicken but the spices on the kabob were a bit overpowering for this style of food. The food should be flavorful but you should still taste the meat.
I need to go back for a another try. I wish they didn’t have so many florescent lights so maybe take out. Not sure if the bread would be as good for take out.

I’d heard good things about this place, and it’s relationship with Nicholas’, which is definitely in my top five for Portland. I had one mediocre experience there, and tonight we decided to pick up some takeout, since it’s in the neighborhood.
We called in an order, was told it’d be ready in 15 – 20 minutes. 25 minutes later we arrived, and the food wasn’t ready. There were about 3 tables occupied in the restaurant, so it’s not like it was a big dinner rush or something. We waited an additional 15 – 20 minutes and got our food. I double checked it to make sure, and sure enough, it was incomplete. after about another five minutes, we had the complete order.
We had originally planned on picking up some takeout from Nicholas, and really wish we had. Arabian Breeze is significantly more expensive, and the food isn’t as good. I’m sorry, Arabian Breeze, but you’re officially off my list.

What I love here are the cabbage rolls… and the BREAD. The hot bread is the best here. As soon as you sit down bam its there.
The staff is friendly and efficient. The meals here are excellent.

Looking for Middle Eastern/​Lebanese food? Downtown? Habibi. In close Eastside? Nicholas. More East side? Arabian Breeze. Great stuff. We had a Mezzo Plate for an appetizer, and a main dish each for three people and we left with food in a box. Big portions. Big Flavor. The lamb kabobs were super tender. The pilaf side dish is perfect and the baklava for desert was pretty good too. I think the baklava at The Blue Olive is better but… I’ll be back, this place was awesome.

Although I am absolutely obsessed with the food at Habibi, I decided it would be fun to try another Mediterranean restaurant for a change. But which one should I choose? Fortunately, my fellow Unilocalers made that decision easy — Arabian Breeze.
All the comments about the food being great and the portions being huge are true. I LOVE the bread they serve — piping hot right out of the over — it all the self-​control I could muster not to hoover the entire thing, but having seen other diners’ food come out before ours, I knew I had to contain myself.
My Chicken Schwarma plate came and it was HUGE! Easily enough for two people, or two meals for one person. I actually laughed when the waiter set it in front of me. My husband, ever the picky Midwesterner, ordered up Chicken Kabobs with rice and even though he’s got a heartier appetite than I do, wound up taking half of his entrée home too.
Of course I was too full to even look at dessert, but I did order a delicious Turkish coffee flavored with cardamom. It was unlike anything I had ever had before and definitely something I’d order again.
Bottom Line: cozy atmosphere, friendly service, great food, enormous portions (good if you like to have lunch for the next day), fair prices. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars was because it seemed to take a long time for our food to come, but even that wasn’t a big deal because they do bring you that delicious bread. I will definitely come here again, and I will bring others!

Arabian Breeze is dangerously close to being too much of a good thing. The food is absolutely terrific. There’s so much flavor in everything served here that you run the risk of some kind of sensory overload. If it weren’t for the potentially devastating consequences of such flavor to my nervous system (or my bank account), I would eat here every day.
The space is unique, lively and colorful, and the food matches every step of the way. If it’s your first time, make sure you’re plenty hungry and order the Chicken Meshwi. This is a chicken hindquarter marinated in all kinds of spices and served with basmati rice and garlic sauce. Veggies schmeggies — you can eat vegetables some other time. For dessert, I’m a baklava nut.
I’ve had mixed experience when it’s come to service, but overall I like the people there. Also, while they’ve got an outdoor balcony, it would be a lot nicer if the traffic on Broadway wasn’t so loud. It’s best to stay inside.
So if you haven’t been there yet, go, I implore you, and then go back again and again.

I went with some friends on Saturday night to see my belly dancing teacher, Sharita, perform. She was awesome and so was the atmosphere and food.
We were seated in a long hallway in the back. There are beautiful decorations – hanging silks, strange paintings, and enchanting lanterns. There is even a spot by the main little stage where you can rest on pillows by a low table. (And, for those interested, they have hookahs.) The music was loud and Sharita danced up and down the stairs so that everybody saw her up close, but if that’s not for you there’s a large non-​show area in the front. (I added a photo of her above.)
I have read a lot of mixed reviews about the service. As for us, our waitress seemed rushed and didn’t come back often enough, but she was energetic and kind and gave me a second strawberry lemonade for free ($ 3.75). I was having so much fun watching the dancing that it didn’t bother me.
The food was good. I ordered a pizza with red peppers and various things; I forget the name. It was spicy and delicious, but not incredible. We tried the pistachio cheesecake and another dessert with honey and various nuts, and they were so good I almost wanted to order another! Even my strawberry lemonade was great, with a delicate addition of rosewater.