Al-Dar

I just have seven words i want to say it : it's the best resturant in all london.

The food : 100%

Service:100%

Atmosphere:100%

Value of money: 100%
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clare king
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, May 01, 2008

friend and i visited last night. Lamb shish and lamb Kofta ordered. Chicken Kofta arrived instead. Lamb overcooked and poor quality. Salad poor, tasting bitter. Service rude. Would not go back
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top cat - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Thursday, March 20, 2008

We used to visit AL-Dar regularly, but I hadn't been there in about a year until the other day. I was very disappointed by the food and the service. While my friend ordered a chicken shawarma sandwich which she liked, my meat version was horrible-- all gristle and fat. We complained to the waiter but got charged for it. The man at the till (not our waiter) said that as the sandwich had already been put on the system, he couldn't take the item off, but that next time he would give us an extra sandwich without charge. Really?! That is not how to treat customers-- no apology, no attempt to make the situation better. My friend and I won't be back.
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Fran - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 5
Saturday, March 08, 2008

This isn't a place to go for dinner in - as one reviewer did below - it's a lunchtime slot to take a break after shopping on the Kings Road. Nobody would say it was glamorous - it's very functional and your table is right up against the one next door. The food is solid Lebanese fare - not haute cuisine - and I think some people need to realise that what it is. There's no frills, just a big slab of meat on your plate and a wedge of salad. The houmous is very good and would recommend as a starter. Ditto the taboule. If you're a vegetarian I suspect this might be a so-so experience though there are enough vegetable based dishes to stop you going hungry. It's very much a conveyor belt - endless queue of people waiting for a table - and if you expect to be whisked to your place then forget it. This is a very workaday and extremely busy eaterie. Best to swallow your pride, expect the waiters to be pretty brusque and just take it on the chin. if you can't handle that, go to Mandaloun on the Fulham Road for similar food in a more normal, quieter restaurant setting.
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Ross Todhunter
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 6
Sunday, August 19, 2007

I've been here several times, most recently last night, and have never had any of the sorts of problems described below. They sound pretty bad and I don't blame those reviewers for vowing to never return. All I can say is that, so far, all my experiences have been acceptable. And I'm pretty fussy!

Yesterday, for example, I had baba ganoush (roasted aubergine puree with olive oil, garlic, mint, parsely and beans) which came with a dish of crunchy pickles and a basketfull of warm flatbread, none of which was indicated on the menu. I also had a lamb shawarma sandwich, tightly wrapped and stuffed with tasty grilled lamb slices and salad. The fresh lemonade was BEAUTIFUL - whizzed up to order, frosty with ice and zingy with chunks of not-quite-broken-down lemon. On a hot day, it was heaven. And the restaurant itself was an air-conditioned oasis of coolness. Including two big glasses of the lemon, the total was £12.50.

Yes, the service is never exactly welcoming here but I've not found it to be so to the point of rudeness and it was briskly efficient. It sounds like, to date, I've been a lot luckier than the reviewers below - or perhaps they've been supremely unlucky. My advice is to give it a try.
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Backdrifter - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 8
Friday, July 21, 2006

I went to this restaurant this evening and was appalled by the service. My two friends and I ordered a vegetarian mezze starter platter and a side order of falafel - which would have totaled 14 pounds. The starter came without the spinach pastries and without the cheese pastries. The server did not point this out to us, we discovered this on our own. After we discovered this we asked why we did not get the spinach or cheese pastries. They said that they were out of these items. So, we asked for more vine leaves and more falafel to make up for this. The server said that this would be fine and that he would NOT charge us extra. However, upon receipt of the bill we had been charged for 2 extra orders of vine leaves and 2 extra orders of falafel for a total of 29pounds! My partner discussed the issue with the head server and he unapologetically lowered the price to 23pounds. I would not go to this restaurant again and would not recommend it to anyone else. If you want to be ripped off, receive small portions, and the worst customer service you have ever experienced by all means go ahead!
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, June 25, 2006

I am shocked to see how high this restaurant has been rated. I came across this place whilst out shopping on the King's Road with some friends and all I can say is that this was by far the worst restaurant (of any cuisine) that I have ever been to.

We asked the head waiter for a recommendation, and he suggested the Meze Platter for starters and a 'sandwich' for the main course. The only thing that I could eat in the Meze Platter was the falafel, which was actually quite nice. However, the houmous, green beans, meat falafel (don't know the proper name) and stuffed vine leaves were quite frankly inedible. The 'sandwiches' that we were all given afterwards were little more than greasy kebabs, and to make things worse, mine was undercooked.

Needless to say we had to leave this restaurant earlier than we had wanted as we couldn't enjoy the food. The head waiter was offended, which couldn't be helped of course.

My friends and I certainly won't be going here ever again!
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Angela
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Saturday, May 06, 2006