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Manakeesh Cafe Bakery & Grill in Philadelphia
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Location on the map
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, US
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Phone: +1 215-921-2135
Opening hours
- Monday:9AM–9:30PM
- Tuesday:9AM–9:30PM
- Wednesday:9AM–9:30PM
- Thursday:9AM–9:30PM
- Friday:9AM–1PM
- Saturday:9AM–10PM
- Sunday:9AM–9PM
Comments (199)
Award for the worst food goes to this restaurant. The place is disgusting. I just wasted $75 on food that will go straight into the garbage can. The meat is dried out, old and flavorless. The waiter staff is disinterested in customers, they don’t even acknowledge your presence. One of the refrigerators housing the cool drinks was broken with water leaking into the bottom not to mention the whole place looked very badly kept. I’m not sure how they passed a health inspection and still in business. Please go elsewhere and save your money.
Terrible experience. Seemed fine at first sight until.... when ordered where charged much higher price than the one displayed.Commenting Owner just raised prices when asked. there was yelling from customers demanding refunds as the food took forever to arrive. Below mediocre oily food heated in the microwave, terrible atmosphere and very dishonest. People smoke next to you.
Ive been going here sporadically over the last four or five years. Its always a great place to take family and friends for a leisurely time out but with GREAT food. The desserts are out of this world. Literally!
Went for lunch with 3 friends, and found local TV recording them for a special about their bakery. Even though they were busy with that, they took our order and were friendly in spite of everything going on their end. The chicken shawarma wraps we ordered were really good, as was the bacalava we took to go. Really nice ambience and staff.
My favorite middle eastern restaurant. They have delicious chicken tawook kebab and delicious baklava deserts. It’s also a good place to study with a pot of tea.
We ordered food Thursday. Ordered 2 platters . We got food poisoning, me my wife & our two baby boys ages 2&4. Just be careful with this place, hit or miss.
This restaurant atmosphere is beautiful. I had an apple pie waffle it was delicious and I had Caffe Beirut. Everything was delicious look forward to going back again. Thansk for the wonderful experience
Great food made fresh, always on point. I came in this morning and was served by Talib and Samir. Customer service was excellent. Always a pleasure
Extremely unprofessional. Placed a large catering order a day in advance. Got a call past the time the order was due that they haven’t even started working on it and won’t get to it for another 3 hours. How is that acceptable with a day worth of time?EDIT: I’ve got catering again, the food is good, but they were late again. Probably not returning back.
First timer! I chose 1 each of the pistachio, walnut, and cashew baklava. They were soo delicious.
I love coming to this café. Their bakery is exceptional and the staff very nice. I biked over recently and made the mistake of forgetting my lock, they were very kind and let me put the bicycle in the patio while I ate there. I will keep coming back for sure!
I visited here on Saturday afternoon and ordered the chicken shawarma ($7) along with the flatbread zaatar (~$4) and a Ayran yogurt drink ($3) - the food was really good and delicious. I also opted to get a Turkish coffee (~$4) and three pieces of baklava ($5) over on the Cafe side. The service on the Cafe side, was really slow and felt like the staff was overworked and irritated at taking my order.
Really good Lebanese food, extremely fresh. Each sandwich is made with the pita bread that comes fresh out of oven, infront of you. Amazing backed goods. They call themselves a cafe bakery but to me it is a full restaurant. They also got international chocolates and goodies that they sell at the cafe...
One of Philly’s best middle eastern spots (Lebanese specifically). I get the gluten free vegetarian platter cause it comes with all my favorites. The tabbouleh is my favorite in the tristate area, hummus and baba ganoush are fantastic as well and freshly made pita is a real plus. Generous portions, fresh ingredients and the service is always 11/10.Today’s wait time was ~25minutes, but in my opinion, it was totally worth it!
Just get the Philly cheese steak, ginger ale and you will not regret it. It was my first time here and a friend took me to show this place, and I think I fell in love with the Philly Cheese Steak all over again! The people in the counter were extremely friendly and helpful and let us decide and take our own time to place an order realizing that it was our first time there. This is definitely a recommended food joint around Philly.
We loved the food. We were there during Ramadan and the restaurant was only open limited hours. They were incredibly busy. Beef shawarma platter was the best. Great hummus and tabouleh !! Lebanese staff there can come across rude ( but they really are not .. ) at first but they really are jolly, fun people once you start talking to them. We also had goodies from the bakery and it was amazing! Baklava and some Ramadan special treat were amazing!! We will be back. Great place!
Great food, only issue is it took an hour and a half to get 4 orders done.
I am so excited we found this place! The service was great and the food and coffee was delicious!
The food isnt spectacular. Its average. Maybe the bakery is better but I didnt try. I had the beef shawarma platter and the beef shawarma wrap. Usually these are safer choices of guaranteed quality at a restaurant like this but it was very underwhelming. The platter also only had meat. I always thought a platter has rice, veggies, meat, etc. There are so many items on the menu i would appreciate knowing what are the favourites or specialities of this place. Willing to give it another try.
We ordered our coffees and baklavas and sat there for a while but after some time one of the staff member literally was staring at us. Not sure what we did wrong as there were many empty tables but we just left.
It was good before, but now everything is not tasty as it was! I ordered chicken shawarma and i couldnt eat a bite because tge chicken was smelling and old not fresh at all. Will not waste my money there again..
I’m not one to complain on a Google Review, but the service currently for this restaurant is lacking. They staff is extremely rude and disrespectful. Food isn’t that great. Would love to give them a second chance, but for right now that’s not the case.
Horrible! First and LAST time here. I put my order in at 5:15 and it is now 6:40 while I’m literally writing this review. Beef kabobs should not take 2 hours to make. The staff is basically talking and walking around like a bunch of chickens without a head. My husband got the tiger fries, which we ordered at the same time, lucky him he only waited one hour for his…I can only review his food since mine isn’t even close to being ready. Decent but definitely nothing that I need to wait an hour for! This place needs better time management skills!
Good neighborhood bakery with selection of tasty pastries, and I especially liked anything that cones with pistachio. Coffee was just so so. Charge 4% extra if you pay by credit card.
Nice Arabic restaurant, serving different Arabic and Eastern dishes, I recommend Manakeesh is especially delicious with Zatar with cheese, grills, and sweet
Always busy Mashaallah. Best manakeesh ever, nice kufta and kabab. Wish you guys make a fresh Grape leaves (warq enab) instead of freezing one. Otherwise differents chooses of desserts and crepes.
Was here for my all time favourite baklava and kunafa 🥰😍Loved the ambience and of course the food !They are serving haleem for all of Ramadan season !! Can’t wait to go back
Waaw its unbelievable that people gave you 4 stars the taste of food was horrible we paid 41$ for horrible shawarma Im so sorry you have to change your minde guys
The chicken tawook kabob warp is my go-to meal whenever im in town. Food is good but the wait is long sometimes. Better call them ahead of time to place the order and then go to pick it up and save yourself sometime.
Their food is really amazing, I personally really like their chicken Shawarma
Got very bad food poisoning from their food. Maybe hygiene standards are slipping since they seem overworked and understaffed. They don’t effectively call out or keep track of the take out orders. Takes forever. Food is overpriced and the pricing isn’t transparent. So I was extra mad I ended up throwing it all up. The food tasted pretty good, all else being said.
Their Charcoal Chicken burger is the best. I come here only for this. The service is horrible. They mess up order easily. I had to tell multiple times the order but when I came to pickup, the order was messed up. If it was not for their food, I would have not bothered coming here. Their food is awesome so I gave 3 stars. If there order processing and service was good, I would have given it a 5 stars
Wonderful experience with even more wonderful staff especially the young fella at the cashier, so joyful and friendly, definitely made my day. would certainly recommend everyone to visit it at least once if possible!! keep up the good work
Came here twice. My boyfriend loved the smoothie and the pastries, I just got a chocolate chip cookie which was delicious. The next day we decided to go back to grab some coffee and a bite to eat before we hit the road, the customer service was horrible. The front staff was belittling to my boyfriend and extremely rude. I went to the bakery side to order a smoothie, I stood there for 10 minutes before the woman behind the counter acknowledged me. Then another worker came in and she greeted her with smile and had a side conversation with her while I was still waiting to order. I ordered the detox smoothie and added pineapple and avocado. When she gave me my drink it was the consistency of applesauce. My boyfriend ordered potatoes that tasted like they had dumped a pound of seasoning on them. I was so disappointed I didnt want to order anything else.He said his chia latte was the best he ever bad but beyond that nothing about this place or my experience here was good.
Best Lebanese restaurant in Philly… all freshly made.. parking can be a hassle because of the location.. else great place!
The dessert is awesome. Definitely get the baklava and cookies
Worst customer service ever. We went there for dinner and we had to wait for an hour to have the food ready. I had to get up twice to ask if my order was lost as we ordered only 3 things: one pizza, one kebab and one beef wrap. It doesn’t take one hour to prepare this food. Very poor management and probably understaffed. The restaurant wasn’t busy at all. The food was okay. I will never go back again. Instead, I will definitely go back to the restaurant in front of them.
This review is specifically for the bakery as I havent tried out the grill yet. But WOW, I was absolutely delighted by how delicious the cookies I got were. Freshly made, not too sweet, delicious flavors and super friendly service! What more could you want? If you havent tried this place check it out, you wont regret it :)
Great atmosphere and Arab Breakfast food.The Egg cheese and Chicken tawook were highlights. Easily recomend.
Generally a good middle eastern bakery.Turkish coffee and Labenese desserts are awesome, must have !!!
Delicious pastries! And turkish coffee!(pictured) I really like this place. Iced mocha is delicious. This is strawberry cheesecake which was great. If you need a full meal of food they have a separate section with a large menu! Service is impeccable, and the seating area is relaxing. The decor is traditional. They have couches and arm chairs, tables and outside seating. My favorite place in ucity to do my work or be productive. Amazing place! Highly reccomend!
I am going to leave the most honest review for this place: The food is very good- depending on what you get. I got the chicken shawarma and I am pretty sure my bread was not cooked. They were out of hummus when my husband ordered his platter so he asked what the other options were and she said that is it. and we felt rushed the whole time we were there. I completely understand having to close for prayer, but lock your door so no one can enter instead of rushing my family. No organization of when your food was was ready ( we sat outside) so our salads were sitting on the counter for a few minutes. The fresh juices were very delicious and I loved the bakery. The customer service really needs help. Needless to say, we will not be back, but I wish this place well!
Dont ever go there !Very poor costumer service!!!!The manager was really mean and insulting.We wanted to order phili stake and they didnt have it so we ordered some other food but as also bought philistake from the store next door. We sat down and ate for 3 mins and the manager asked us to leave !!!!!!We asked why and she said you brought food from outside ! What does that mean?!! We bought food from their restaurant and paid for it !!! Almost 20 bucks or food ! Why should we leave !!!!It’s absolutely unprofessional and annoying.They do deserve losing costumers as they don’t care about them.Very disappointing.
Food was room temperature when it got here an hour late. Manakeesh used to be a powehouse of culinary wizardry - the best falafel Ive ever had, literally - not sure what happened :-/
Amazing Lebanese resturant. there is a resturant section and a sweets section. loved the customer service. very friendly people.
Provided us with rotten rice in platter... please be aware..very disappointed 😞
Great authentic Middle Eastern food. They have a coffee/juice bar. I always get a smoothie and a dessert. Nice chill place for good food and beverages.
The whole first experience was a nightmare. Everything from the atmosphere to the service to the food. But the worse part was the service . Menu is black that you can barely see anything. The person at the cashier just act like he is paying for your dinner and im suspecting was the son of owner or related to him. He speaks like he was forced to stand at the cashier with half words. No way coming back here.Again, I dont recommend this place to anyone even for free.
I like this restaurant a lot! I like to get something from here when I am in the area. The folks are friendly.. The smoothies are tasty. Its this one entree I had and I cannot recall the name. It was so good! They also have baklava, which is a sweet treat I like to indulge from time to time.
Some of the best baklava in the city! Would recommend to anyone and everyone!
This place is hands down the best Middle Eastern restaurant in Philadephia. Great food, atmosphere and the staff are very nice and courteous. If you’re lucky, you also get to be serviced by the owner himself - Dr Chatila
Arrogant owner would yell at you. You are not the only one in business. Your food is below average anyways with attitude like yours it will shut down in week.
This is my favorite neighborhood cafe, from their early morning $1 coffee to the delicious and generous crepes and wide variety of vegetarian options and Lebanese treats. I love to study here, and soak in the international flavor, and its wonderful to have the outdoor seating option in the enclosed courtyard during these times of Covid.
I never write reviews but this ridiculous meal compelled me too.Ordered the kofta platter and lemonade with mint for delivery. The food was good… except that the prices are exorbitant and make no sense. The base price of the platter is 11 dollars, which it turns out, only pays for the meat and a handful of thinly sliced pickles. Everything that goes with the platter is an upcharge of 4 or 5 dollars, but unless you want a lonely plate of two sticks of kofta, you absolutely must get the sides so one plate of food ends up costing 27 dollars. That would be okay if it was serving two people, but no, it’s just one plate of food. The salad was just okay and the rice was dry. The baba ghanoush was amazing, and the kofta was delicious, but for 27 dollars I expected twice as much food.On top of that, I love lemonade with mint, but this was so not that treasured Middle Eastern drink, it really is just lemonade with two leaves of mint that didn’t flavor the lemonade at all. It was just plain lemonade.Also, they charge a very high price for delivery so you’d expect that to be reflected somewhere in the quality whether it be careful packaging or temperature, but I just feel scammed.So lame. Wish I could have my money back.
Wonderful service, I ordered my food without setting a time, called them to specify the pickup time, I was still late getting it, but they kept it warm for me and greeted me warmly when I finally arrived despite being 20 minutes late. The food tasted great and they gave me way more than I could even eat. Great value for what you pay for. They deserve their own parking space if it was possible!
Solid food for the most part , just extremely poor service. Outside their doors, hours state open at 9:30 am… website says 10:00 am however none are true as they actually open at 10:30 am. You only find this out by going to pick up your online order and they tell you to come back in 30 mins without apologizing for any miscommunication. Tried to give it another shot the next day by showing up at 10:30 am to place an order, and I was told their oven doesn’t turn on till 45 minutes later. Extremely unfortunate, you hate to see a cafe with solid food give little interest to its customers.
Their food maybe good but there is zero management. They seem to be fulfilling online orders faster. They are disorganized and and were rude once we asked where our order was but as soon as we asked they started to put to put mezze platter together. Very disappointed by their service. Update: Food turned out to be average and prices sky rocketed. Not going back to pay premium to eat out of paper plates in a fast food style!
Great taste! Loved the platter.
The food here has gone downhill tremendously. Went in for the first.time in almost 2 years. Had the chicken tawook kabob platter which was always my go-to. Chicken was lacking the usual flavor and the yellow rice was bland. My girlfriend had the kofta kabob and the meat was overspiced with clove and/or cinnamon. The baklava is not as good as it used to be. Tastes like cheaper ingredients are being used. Used to love this place and not sure Ill be there again any time soon.
If it’s possible to give 0 stars i would have done that. Thats how bad this place is. Staff and service is the worst!! Their konafe is literally not konafe !! Never go there.!
Always love to get take out when Im in town! Great food and friendly service!
Salam. Change that fish soup ...its horrible....nothing like what you advertised. Keeping the 4 stars on for all the other great food you guys have.
Good as always visited this place o many times clean and affordable family owned thank you again
So many things need to change:1) the prices are too high for the lower quality food served (lamb platter looks like freezer food put into a microwave)2) wait times are too long (a sandwich shouldn’t take 50 min).3) the place looks dirty and in need of renovation
Food order took about 2 hours and was not impressed with the quality of food
Just the best place to eat in West Philadelphia. Amazing Lebanese and Mediterranean-style foods, made fresh and incredible flavors. The garlic sauce is the bomb! I’ve never had anything bad here, and the outdoor seating is fantastic!
I was hungry for shawarma, as I was driving in Philadelphia, I noticed this place, at the door, it say shawarma. I went inside, I place my order, for four shawarma, more than $40. Usually the price isnt important to me, as long the food is good. I found the employees friendly, when I got home, opened, the presentation looked great, but nothing looked like shawarma. It was a waste of money, Usually shawarma come with variety of vegetables and dressing. Their shawarma is just chicken, saggy tomatoes and some type of sour dressing. We end up trashing all of the sandwiches, no flavor at all. It was misleading, that was not a shawarma. I usually buy from Israeli restaurant. Totally different.
Food is really good. Baklava is fantastic. Nice atmosphere. Friendly staff especially Mona. I really enjoy the potato and cauliflower sandwich with burger sauce. They had paper straws which was good but then is seems they changed back to plastic, but for the most part the plates and boxes are paper. Thats a plus.I do wish they would have more whole grain things.Definitely come back
The food is so good my wife and I drove 45 minutes to pick it up. When I got home, my meal was not in the bag. My wife called and they said that they had run out of an ingredient for my meal and forgot to call us. We demanded a refund and they said they would give it to us, but it seems like they forgot that too. Unacceptable.
If I could give this place negative stars I would do that. First of all the front lady had no customer service skills. But maybe she was having a bad day. We ordered a kabob platter with tabouleh, rice and baba ganoush. Rice was cold, kabob was pieces from a Seekh and reheated, tablouleh was watery and baba ganoush was old. We also ordered two beef shwarmas and the meat in it was watery(yuck). We did not eat that. Then came the lamb burgers which actually had meat ball inside the bun. So that was that. You have to go get the food from the counter which is fine but there is no announcement when your food is ready. One person from each dining family had to just be in and out to get their food. Not my idea of spending $85 for bad food and bad customer service. Never coming back!!
Food is great! Management, particularly a white haired man is rude and bit stand offish.Baklava is best in the area and the girls working the Café side are great!The rest of the staff is pretty friendly. If you order take out try to show up early,check in with them when you step in because they dont call names, food will be cold otherwise
One of the best places to get Lebanese food. The staff there are kind and I love hearing the music. If you are visiting Philadelphia, I would highly recommend going the for a bite to eat.
Best middle eastern food in West Philadelphia. The hummus is outstanding and the pita bread is baked fresh. The baklava is the best in the entire city!
Affordable and good food. Highly recommend the beef-lamb gyro!
Few days ago, I went to Manakeesh. To be honest, the quality of food decreased since couple months. The price of food increased and the portion of meat decreased also. Another interesting thing. The owner is saying that he is selling high quality honey from Lebanon. A small container is $30 and a larger one is $75. Frankly extremely expensive. I am not sure if the owner believes that he owns a 5 star hotel in Dubai or in New York. The baklawa and mamoul are full of sugar with little portions of nuts. I dont even taste the pistachio in the pistachio baklawa. One piece of pistachio mamoul is quite expensive with small size. Anyway, very disappointed.
Great flavorful food. The restaurant is really popular for its middle-eastern cuisine, which means you can expect crazy wait times. Service is slow and a little disorganized, but the food is worth the wait. The bakery is great too, serving delicacies such as different varieties of baklavah, as well as great fresh juices.
The food was pretty good but the service wasn’t good and the place wasn’t very clean. This was not because the workers weren’t trying their best but because they were spread so thin and needed help. The owners definitely need to consider hiring more people.
Food was delicious but the service was bad and the cashier was Rude honestly i am not eating here anymore
Service was horrible!! We understand sometimes fresh food takes a while but when you see people goofing off in the back and taking their sweet time, you know they don’t care about the customer. Took an hour just to get fries while our sandwiches were sitting there getting cold. I’d really like the owner to know they need better employees because they’re losing customers!
I recommend their cheese mamakeesh , chicken shesh tawooq , cheese with zatar
Food is so delicious, chicken is do tender, they have a nice selection of meatless options also, the flavors are amazing if you like grilled like taste, Mediterranean at its best and large amounts of food for me, I can eat 2-3 meals off one platter
Ive been to Manakeesh twice in the past year. Both of my visits left me feeling frustrated. The first time I went to purchase desserts. I told the lady that I only wanted a few pieces and she packed over a dozen for me and it contained items that I did not even want. Because there were other customers behind me, I went ahead and paid for all of it, thinking that I was supporting a small business after all. The issue afterwards is that the desserts were not fresh (there was even a piece of hair inside the container, too). I was essentially charged an enormous amount of money for low quality food and incorrect items.The second time I went, I avoided the dessert area and ordered food. The platter option on the menu listed the 4 steps (protein, rice/fries, salad, hummus), with each step costing around $3 each. No where on the menu did it say that there was a base price for the platter (it doesnt even make sense that there is a base price since the platter has only 4 items anyway, which I am already paying for). I thought my total would be around $12 ($3 x 4 items). I was instead charged $20 for a platter of 4 items, which was ridiculous. I also waited 30 minutes for the food to be completed.Until the price, service time, and customer service improve, I will not be returning. I highly recommend their next door neighbor, Saads, if you want higher quality service and reasonable priced food.
If youre ever around West Philly, you should definitely get food from Manakeesh! Everything was delicious from appetizers, entrees, down to dessert! The flavors were so fresh & amazing, and the people there were extremely kind & accomodating!
It was so disappointed to me.a little pricey, no table service, slow service.i did not like their Hommous
Very over priced rude and slow service. Food was not bad
I ordered a smoothie and Turkish coffee which were both amazing.
The food was good. The flavors of the food are amazing and remind me of Leisure Cafe (one of my favorite restaurants when I lived in UAE) HOWEVER COMMA the customer service is horrible. HOR.RI.BLE. I went to this place when they first opened and the guy, I believe he was the owner was so accommodating. He was around 27 years old and I believe he was from Lebanon. Well, Im not sure what happened but he needs to retrain his staff. Also, you have to muddle the mint for the lemonade with mint drink.UPDATE:I gave them one star because the customer service was HORRIBLE when I went a few weeks ago but I just went back yesterday and the service is so much better!! The food is consistently FIVE STARS
Excellent hummus and tabboulli. Great kabobs, a wide variety on menu. Savory and sweet crepes (try the goat cheese and fig!)
Authentic Mediterranean food. Chicken was tender and marinated well and the food tasted amazing. The only issue was the slow service. My order for a chicken shawarma wrap took almost 30 minutes.
My family and I are a customers of Mankeesh since they opened, they were very friendly and the quality of food was very good! About 2 years ago we started to see a big difference in the quality of food, they jacked up their prices, they charge a percentage on credit card purchase and most importantly most of them are very rude and doesn’t respect their customers. We will never go back to that restaurant.
Great selection of food and sweetThey have great baklava and Lebanese sweets. I enjoyed their coffee on daily basis also it is 1 dollar so you can not beat price and quality. Sometimes it is very busy so you need to wait . I like the hummus very much and I do enjoy it with their fresh backed bread. They have got a nice oven and you can see them making you the bread. It is a unique experience.
I ordered two Chicken Tawook Platters through phone and somehow they misplaced my order so when I went there I had to reorder and wait which was fine. So I ordered again there saying specifically chicken tawook platters like 5 times to the guy but I ended up getting normal chicken platter. I trusted him cause he repeated after me tawook platters but when I got home and started to eat there it was Chicken platter written on box and nothing special about chicken.Very very disappointed!
Fantastic food and service with standard wait times. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous!
At the beginning I should say that my wife and I have been frequently going to this restaurant for over 4 years. It was not the most amazing food but generally we liked some stuff there especially the pita and we liked that fact that we can find things to order though we are vegan. The Algerian baker and the African American cashier were always on top of things and had never disappointed me. During the past years I invited many friends to this restaurant and since then many of them have been loyal consumers. During the past years the customer service was fairly fine though was not best I have seen. However, recently I had a horrible experience that I cant let it go. I never wrote a bad review before but I can’t help but give this place a one star because in my entire life and in all countries that Ive visited, I have never had such a bad experience with a server before.A few days ago I went there for a take-out order and a grumpy middle eastern man who I saw for the first time and who seemed the manager, took my order. He had a Lebanese accent and gray hair and beard. I dont think he was the owner because I have seen the owner before. This person was a real-life representation of disrespect, sheer rudeness and an insult to what is known as customer service. It is really hard to explain what happened in the limited time I set to write this review but in summary and from the get go you feel that you are unwelcome and this person complained that I “kept changing my order” though I had changed my order just once and only when he told me that he was out of the thing that I initially wanted to order(Muhammara). There was no line behind me so I was not interrupting anyone and the whole interaction took probably less than 1 min. At the end when he finished taking the order and repeated it to me it was wrong so I tried to correct it but he crudely told me that he will retake it again and arrogantly instructed me on how I should place the order. The whole interaction was extremely awkward and I really was just looking at him trying to figure out what was going on and what was the source of all of this anger and rudeness but apparently he didnt like that I looked at him so he yelled at me because this made him feel that he is an idiot! (literally he said this!) I cancelled my order and left, of course he kept barking at me. I think I wont ever set a foot in this place again. My wife told me that I should reach out to the owner to tell him about this because they should know about this persons demeanor but I decided to write this review instead.After this unfortunate incident I went to another middle eastern restaurant and honestly it was cheaper and the food tasted very good and the service was great! We are in the process of exploring other/all middle eastern restaurants and so far we came across many good places!! Definitely will tell friends about them. Folks who want to visit this place should expect to be yelled at for merely trying to order food and pay for it.
Amazing lebanese food at an inconspicuous location with relaxed decor. They also make fresh juices and have a coffee bar with great seating. If you want to try lebanese food, Manakeesh is a great grill. They also have delicious baklava in their cafe.
Pita is made right in front you over a wood fired oven with plenty of vegetarian options to choose from! Warm and very friendly owner! Five stars!!!
The food is delicious and the price is very reasonable.
Manakeesh is truly a gem in Philly. I’ve been coming here for years. I relocated and haven’t been in Philly for some time. I had to make sure to stop by during the few days I’m here. I’m a sucker for their chicken tawook flatbread! It comes with a side of their special garlic sauce and it’s so delicious! The crepes from Bliss Cafe (inside) are also good. The ambiance and decor is beautiful, the staff is friendly and courteous, and the food is delicious!Please do check this place out!
Absolutely rude and incompetent staff. I ordered a chicken shawarma wrap to go. It was a slow afternoon with more employees than patrons, so after waiting more than 20 minutes I asked if it would be out soon. The person who took my order acted surprised and left the store for a couple of minutes. When he returned I asked to cancel my order. I was told he couldnt do that, and it would be awhile until a manager was on-site. No apology, no acknowledgement of what happened.
Absolutely amazing. Great food and very pleasant staff. The food is quite authentic and varied. My favorites are the Lebanese cheese and Sujuk pie. They make a good selection of sandwiches (e.g., Kabob and Shis Tawooq). They also have a great desert section that serves Baklava and Knafeh (Cheese pastries). I go there every Saturday and find it to be a very fulfilling and happy experience. The area/location itself is very lively and energetic.
My husband and I went here for the first and probably what will sadly be our last time. Although the food tasted good, the service was terrible! When we placed our order the man at the register never asked if we wanted to-go or dine in and he never gave us a number after we ordered. So we took some seats and waited patiently as number after number was getting called, eventually my husband had to go up and ask why we didn’t get a number and they just said they would call us by name. They finally called my husband after 25min and only gave him his food which was packed as if it was to-go. We waited another 35min (and my husband was so hungry he had already finished his food) before HE had to go up and ask what was going on with my order. Low and behold it had been sitting on the counter in a to-go bag the whole time. No one ever called us or bothered to let us know. Keep in mind this whole time we never wanted to go, we wanted to enjoy a nice valentines dinner together in the restaurant. By the time I got my food it was over an hour that we’d been there and it was COLD. And to make matters worse not one person apologized or took ownership, they just acted like it was no big deal. Very disappointed.
Good food , and wonderful design , but too bad , the ventilation / hood system is terrible , you only need to stay for a little time and the smell of food will be all over your cloths , and stay for a day after that. I could not even stay for few minutes in line to order food. Seriously you need a much bigger and powerful hood , specially over the flat grill , and you will draw much more Customers. Thanks
Ive been here maybe 3 or 4 times over the years. Maybe I just remember it fondly, the last time I was here I had a great brunch, but the food kinda disappointed this time around.I dont mind the cafeteria set up, but I took offense to the fact that they tried to charge extra $1 for pita thats supposed to go with baba ganoushe. I mean how else are you supposed to eat an eggplant dip? Its not specified on the menu. Only when I inquired about the missing pita did they mention that.I tried to order the lamb kabob but they were out of it, so I settled for a lamb bajeen manakeesh. The bready part was good, but that minced lamb is extra gamey.
The service was great at first till they somehow lost my order. The have two different sections that provide food and got one part from the first area but they lost my ticket somehow at the second area. They didnt want to accept that something was wrong until I asked the person who took my order. Took forever to finally get the food and it was sub par. I have had Lebanese food before and this was no where near as good.
My favorite restaurant in Philly! The beef shawarma is simply delicious 😋 highly recommended:)!!♥︎♡ I also love their bakery!! Their crepes and baklava are delicious!!♡♡♡
This is by far the best place to eat at in Philly. They have a great variety of food and its great quality. Very well cooked, well served. I come here at least 3 times a week and I always leave satisfied. The knock-out if wraps is my favorite. They juice bar is also a great place for shakes or smoothies or even fresh fruit. And they some amazing sweets. You get a very warm feel there. Great for studying and the staff is always smiling and friendly.
Manakeesh has a beautiful design and fantastic cuisine, but its problem is that the service is not good.
For a place with flavorless Lebanese food this place has the audacity to charge the prices they do. I went in specifically looking for shawarma and was told they were out of all shawrma however a customer placed an order for a shawrma platter 5 mins later. The customer service is horrible they point to the menu if you ask a question rather than just answering!! Absolutely horrible service and tasteless food.
Excellent everything: customer service, rapid delivery to table or whatever pick-up choice, and the food, always delicious! We love the veggie platter, best babag, hummus, Greek salad, fresh lime aid with mint - outdoor seating as well as indoors.
If you dont eat here youre an idiot. Thank you for coming to my Tedtalk.
Best baklava ever 😭 All the food there is good too. They have spacious indoor seating as well as an outdoor area set back from the street
I recently rated a different middle-Eastern restaurant at 4 stars. Manakeesh made me seriously consider downgrading that score to make this score stand out more. Amazing food. This is not a formal location, and they wont serve you. You may also eat near the door like we did and get a draft every once in a while. But its so so worth it all - the food is delicious and it comes fast from friendly staff in a very nice location. Go for it.
Wonderful selection of breakfast, lunch, and desserts/sweets. The staff is always kind and willing to accommodate if necessary. Delicious mint lemonade!Their prices are reasonable for a brunch place, but the cost can rack up quick if getting multiple items. If you are hoping to go on a weekend for breakfast/lunch be aware that indoor seating may be tight, especially during the colder seasons.
Authentic Lebanese and other Middle-Eastern dishes that dont disappoint! Their prices are reasonable for what you get, but its not fast food, so if youre eating a meal youll probably spend more than $10. The ingredients are fresh and everything is really tasty, and the staff is nice, too.
Very good shawarma! Its definitely good, one of the best I tasted. The meat shawarma is so flavorful and gets your full really fast. The fries are super crunch.
The is the best place for a $10 dinner. If you plan to have dinner here, keep it in your mind, the wait time can be 30 minutes or more. They do not sell alcohol, no sure whether they will allow you to bring your drink there or not. Try their platters not the wraps.
Pastries and coffe are really delicious. Customer service is on point! And the lounge area is very nice. Highly recommend
Unfortunately and sadly had a not so good experience here dessert was good but Service was poor. My mother and I wanted to get smoothies and baklava. On the dessert tray it said that it was pistachio and so she asked for it but the guy serving says that it was Walnut. He then got irritated out of the blue with an issue that wasn’t really even an issue nor our fault ( given that the signs were mixed up). So he then complains and says that he has to go get the pistachio baklava from the back in the kitchen. We were going to get more but, the guy really tampered with our experience and we weren’t in the mood to buy anything else. Smoothie wasn’t rlly tasty..good baklava though
Thats my spot! Love the food and the bakery. Tip: if youre Indian, look at the ingredients before making the order, the one roll I had have vinegary onions, olives and curd , the kind of flavors most of us are not comfortable with in large quantities... The signature pizza is amazing.
Their prices have gone extremely High and their service is extremely bad, they charge a lot and do a little.
I ordered baklava, mamoul cookies, and smoothies. The baklava was excellent, I will say. The mamoul did not keep well. I couldnt finish my smoothie. Its rare that I cant finish any of my food, let alone that I pay for. The smoothie was extremely subpar - really gross - not even cold.I realize I havent even mentioned the service. This took over a half hour and 4 people blowing me off while trying to order, and I didnt even get hummus, which I fully intended to order. I would have tipped out of respect, my partner and I have both been in the restaurant industry. However, I was offered the merchant copy of the receipt only, and no pen. I couldnt locate a pen, and didnt want to ask peers in consideration of the pandemic.Which to mention, each employee I spoke too had their nose outside of their mask even while willingly moving and standing close to me.I was upset all the while because my dog my Mr Man was waiting outside in the hot sun for over a half hour with my partner while I was receiving extremely poor service and I see people ordering Boba tea in 5 minutes across the street and people moving in and out of Saads in no time.
My favorite place to eat in the city. Very good price for what youre tasting trust me. I can fill up here for less than 10 dollars most days and thats a miracle. The food is very healthy and the staff is funny and friendly. Going on a Tuesday is worth it if you have the time to wait for the 2 dollar smoothies!
French Fries is good! dessert is huge
Authentic Mediterranean food. Way better than the next door amateurs (Saads). Good prices. Better sitting facility. The best thing about this place is the cafe where you can get coffee, milk shakes, sweets and much more. Highly recommend.
The food is fantastic over here, but the service and hospitality is not. Staff tends to be rude and not as customer friendly. If your order a few dishes it may take upwards of an hour at times and if there is a phone order being taken all in-store orders come to a stand still. Today my food for my family and I took about an hour and after it was done it sat on the counter for 10 mins untill the phone order was done. Food is very good though, I just wish is was more customers conscious.
Delicious Lebanese food served in a relaxed, cafeteria-style atmosphere with both indoor and outdoor seating. The adjacent cafe serves desserts, coffee, and fresh-made juices & smoothies. Try the amazing baklava!It can get a bit crowded and confusing, and the cafeteria style means youll have to get your own beverages and cutlery and remember to clean up after yourself. Tons of healthy and vegetarian options are available.
My first experience with shawarma was here about year ago, and I got hooked. The staff is really friendly and knowledgeable. The only reason I dont give it 5 stars are the prices. The pricing of the desserts especially seem just way too high for the neighborhood where this venue is located. Other than that, I really enjoy going here and eating either a meal or a dessert option.
The Lamb Manakeesh is just perfectly authentic.Dont go there for a Chicken Shawarma though. Dont buy it even if you visit that place. Taste is not bad. But it is far away from Lebanese Shawarma.
I used to eat a lot here 3 years ago when I lived in philly ! I came again and it changes! The cashier was very rude and was lost! He didn’t know what he was doing! The owner with his wife saw this and they went to put order at the cashier and kitchen areas and everything start to flow again! But, the food is delicious!
Manakeesh is delicious. of the big three around it (manakeesh, Saads, and the food truck across the street) manakeesh is the most pricey but the atmosphere and TLC they put in the food makes the price worth it. From what I hear, there are some things on the menu that may be worth finding at a different restaurant but I have not had that experience myself. Nothing but good things to say about Manakeesh, just pricey!
1. Lost my order. I was waiting for my order about 40 minutes inside.2. Prepared medium, not well done. The meat was grilled after checking the second time.3. The meat was too salty.4. Workers in gloves, in which they touch food, calmly touch their clothes. It might be clean special clothes, but it made me nervous.
The food & drink was okay and they do have an awesome collection of desserts including a variety of baklava.The half-hearted effort that was put into packaging my half dozen baklava pieces was disappointing and I was not surprised when they arrived in a terrible mushed up condition. Also whole place is seriously lacking in customer friendliness.
I dont know what happened but wow has the quality gone downhill somehow. I hadnt eaten at Manakeesh in about 4 years and I probably never will again. We got grape leaves and manakeesh (lahm bajeen) as well as baklava. I would have given it 0 stars if not for the baklava. The grape leaves were so incredibly bad, we threw them in the trash. They were so dry and tasteless. Please, if you love yourself, dont even think about the grape leaves.The manakeesh was also really dry, it was completely flavorless, undersalted and there was a pathetic quantity of beef. We did eat it because we were hungry but it was one of the worst things Ive eaten in a long time.The baklava was amazing, good job there, but Im not going to rate a place highly on its baklava alone. Call it Manakeesh Bakery, drop the savories and Ill give it a 5/5 on the sweets. For now I wasted almost $20 on some of the worst food Ive ever had.By the way - it was very busy in the restaurant and people were NOT adhering to mask rules properly, so we felt very unsafe waiting for our takeaway.
Tried giving this place multiple chances. Most recently I waited 40 minutes for a gyro.Food is overall bland and boring. Not the flavors youd expect.
Ordered pickup with a group of my friends from their phone app last night. The app said it would take 15 minutes, so we gave them some extra time and got there 25 minutes after ordering. Upon arriving, they said it would be another 15-20 minutes. We proceeded to wait for an hour for our food after we got there. They gave us free baklava which was nice, but didnt make up for the hassle. They were extremely disorganized behind the counter, constantly checking receipts, seemingly confused as to which food items belonged with which orders. Once we finally got our food and got back to my friends house, we noticed they forgot the pita bread which was supposed to come with the three platters, so I had to walk back. I will not be returning and caution anyone putting in a large order.
Yes, yes, and more yes. The food is made fresh to order and absolutely delicious. It hit the spot when I was craving middle eastern food. The bakery also offers three different kinds of baklava. I ordered one of each and polished them off within fifteen minutes.
First time trying this style cuisine, and this restaurant did an excellent job at preparing my meal! The cheese manakeesh is INCREDIBLE, and the falafel was a unique style to what Im used to and very flavorful. All the food was delicious and well seasoned, I highly recommend ordering from this restaurant!
First impressions should always be the best, but sadly sometimes they are the worst. Yesterday, I went to Manakeesh for dinner with my brother and a friend to try Lebanese food. The kitchen itself looked very dirty, so that was my first step back. there was a line and I though, Ok its busy, so that means its good. Nope:The food was could, nothing tasted good, for instances, the hummus was salty, the oil taste weird, the pita was undercooked, the salads were very lemony, and the meat dried as hell. On top of that, the service is bad; the menu was missing items and the orders were mistaken. Something is for sure, I am never coming back to these place and neither I will recommend it to anyone!!!
Average spot. Decent menu. Breakfast Omelette was heavily loaded with garlic...a lot of it. There was only one person working (cooking and the register) so that likely had something to do with the food quality...can’t do both. Hit or miss. Only have eaten here twice. First time was better (fully staffed)...just need to be more consistent.
Worst customer service ever, specially the short Middle Eastern man with little bit hair loss , he doesnt know how to speak with the customers , he is very unprofessional,he provided the worst customer service Ive ever seen in this restaurant, i asked him that i want to talk to the manager to complain and he refused to call the manger or the owner for me. This is definitely the last time for me and my family to eat in this restaurant.
Yummy food, slow service. A nice place if you’re not in a rush at all.
Real great food for any occasion.
The food is pretty good but the customer service isnt great. always order ahead of time, makes things a lot quicker
Slowww service, great food but pricey. Can get better in the neighborhood.EDITI dropped my review down to one star because Ive come 3x for food and every time its been messed up. First time they never started my order and I waited an hour. Second time it took forever and then when I got home, they had forgotten portions of my meal. Third time I ordered online, waited 30 minutes, walked in to pick it up, and they said they never got my order. I placed it on their website. Heres to hoping they refund my $2 convenience fee
This a staple of authenticity. Amazing food and options. well made, tasty, large sizes. Does not disappoint. Very consistent with taste. Service can be slow if there is alot of people. But its worth the wait. Did I mention how good the food is? It is.
Amazing food, Excellent meats cooked by NANA on the grill ❤️❤️❤️💯💯! very friendly and polite staff. Me and my family enjoy this place the most among middle eastern restaurants in Philadelphia!
Not good at all, service was the worst, we ordered fries with our food came after we were done alreadyOrdered beef shawerma gave us chicken shawerma and said we dont have beef now!! Why u didnt say that before
Manakeesh Cafe is an amazing bakery/restaurant to dine in.. the atmosphere is always full of energy and full of hungry civilians looking to get the most of out of their stay therein.. I love the diversity there and the multitude of languages being spoke by everyone. I myself since learning arabic, speak on Arabic every chance I get, challenging myself to under the different dialects of those speaking Arabic from different countries. On top of that, the food from the grill never disappoints and the juices always seem to taste fresher.. I leave out satisfied 9 times out of ten. Not bad for a cafe that used to be a bank then a printing press, now a top notch cafe/restaurant going strong in university city. If you havent been there before, I suggest you try it before you miss your chance.. we all know life is short!
This is a great place to eat at West Philly! They have the main kitchen where you can order Manakeesh (Lebanese flat-breads with great toppings) and also has a cafe were you can order coffee, sweet and savory crepes, fruit smoothies (with protein if you want), Lebanese and French pastries, and now great ice-cream based desserts!They are usually quick in orders and very friendly. The place is very nice and clean, and usually quiet as quiet goes for restaurants. I would recommend it for everyone!
Big roomy space. Terrific menu. We had something that could best be described as a meat pizza, but so much tastier than the name would imply. They also have some amazing Comfort type food, including a peanut butter and jelly waffle. Theres two areas to order from, one is a bakery and coffee section, and the other area has more substantial fare. Its street parking, which like every place in Philly is a pain, but if you find a spot at least its free! Theyre open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner , but many of the items they serve all day long. With so many cool things on the menu - I cant wait to go back!
Worst customer service ever. I went up to the counter multiple times to ask how long the order will take. The first few times, the lady completely disregarded me and went to help the next customer. Absolute nightmare.
Very good #Halal
Lebanese food, mmm, yummy. It was so delicious. Nothing but great experiences here. Prices were good for how much you get. Menu is similar to a restaurant in El Paso I loved.
I cant relate Manakeesh to restaurants of its kind but I can tell you that my family and I absolutely love their food and desserts. The ambiance is great for the casual day out we have never been disappointed. The staff was/is more than helpful in helping me understand the menu and various options.
Oh my god. The best Shwarma I’ve ever had. The falafel was delightful and the baklava divine. Really fast as well.
We planned our trip from Lancaster PA and called a head if they are open or not. So just heads up for whoever isbgoing to read this review to know how much we drove to just have a good experience not only good food. As soon as we have arrived, it was a mess, we were standing in line to make our order, meanwhile the guy who worked on the oven was arguing with one of the customers, we immediately turned and left the restaurant.I am not sure how can a worker argue with a customer about their food so loudly and let everyone see.Bad experience...
Walking in I was immediately treated by the sweet smell of anise, it only got better from there
Good hang out spot with tasty food. No alcohol but many great options. Authentic French Crêpes and yummy baklava. The Lamb Burger is a must -if you eat meat. There are plenty vegetarian options also.
I like the chicken tawoog and the tabule, its delicious.
The walnut and pistachio baklava was flaky and fresh and we loved it. My husband and I also had the white chocolate fruit layer cake and it was also fresh and delicious. Their Manakesh special blend black tea with fresh mint was aromatic and flavorful as was the Caffe Beirut. Everything was reasonably priced and the service was great. The staff was attentive and our turn came quickly even though it was a Saturday night. Were definitely coming here again.
I went in for the baklava but decided to get a meal as well. Though the chicken was ok, I was served old and rancid hummus. When I called to let the restaurant know about the hummus, I was treated with disdain and asked to call back later. Never will I return. I have enough health issues without inviting more.
Loved the beef and chicken, but there wasnt any warning about allergens, after eating some food, I had a minor allergy attack. Thankfully a family member was able to go and get some allergy medication from a nearby pharmacy. Overall, Id reccomend this place but be weary about allergens!
Its an pricey cafe, but surprisingly they charge extra 4% for credit card use, because this sell would count by state to collect sales tax. This is a regular practice exclusively by immigrant owned business to avoid the govt taxes. Most of the cash sell, they never show as sell so they dont have to pay sales and other taxes. This is open and no one care about it at all.
Ordered delivery. So disgusted. 40 dollars worth of food tossed right in the trash. Both orders of tabouleh were super warm and watery. Salad and rice tasted like cleaning products. The zaatar manakeesh was dripping in oil barely any zaatare on it. And the chicken is not kabob white meat it is just slabs or dark meat which needs to be specified!!!! Called to complain, they hung up on me 3 TIMES. called again. Both lady and the guy I spoke to are rude they horrible customer service. Whole bag of food directly in the trash. Never eating here again.
Five stars because everybody is really nice. But what is really amazing about this place is the baklava collection. Cashew baklava, almonds, and of course pistachio.
I ordered a falafel platter, and a falafel sandwich and the manakeesh blend tea with mint. Everything was great. Their falafel has a unique flavor and color but its very good. I love the middle eastern seating near the bakery. Service was super friendly. Im coming back as soon as I can
Editing my post, as it was from a few years ago. This is my new favorite place. The food is outstanding. My favorite is their shawarma and babaganouj. I love coming here. Not sure if I changed or if their food changed, but I no longer have any issues with customer service and the food is large quantity and delicious. The Creme brûlée is also amazing just wish they had it all the time.
Great Middle Eastern Food!! That simple. Its seat your self and order at the counter but thats simple enough. The folks making all the traditional Lebanese and Syrian dishes are super friendly and helpful with menu choices. Attached to the restaurant is a awesome bakery, coffee/tea shop. Once again, awesome traditional Middle Eastern pasteries, shakes, smoothies and juices. Ill be back for sure.
My wife a few friends and I decided to eat here. It was a pretty bad experience we wont be coming back. Cashier whom is the first impression of this place had a unfriendly demeanor. Found out they prefer cash which isnt a problem unless they charge you extra for anything under ten dollars. The receipt they gave me didnt have our initial order of drinks on it just ten dollars even. When we ordered food again just a price. Everyone got their food before us. We had to remind them three separate times what our order was. The third time my friend had to tell them because I was so mad I could have started flipping tables. It took 30 minutes for my food then they forgot about my wifes food and it took 55 minutes. And they didnt even remember us and had to argue that we actually ordered. Food was pretty so-so. Awful service food not that great were not coming back.
Authentic, delicious, Lebanese food! They do a lot of take out business, but also have seating, including some outdoor seating.
This place is amazing! I especially love to come here for their baklava & tea. The kids love their brownies and blondies. The food is good too. Portions are not too big. Overall a very cozy and quaint spot!
Awful food quality, and the customer service is really bad. Overpriced, and no heart or love put into the food anymore. Shame. This place used to be amazing.
Pathetic customer service to say the least. Avoid the dessert section of this restaurant at all costs. The white haired man there made me wait forever to take my order while preparing juice for another customer and then overlooked and avoided me to attend the guys who came after me.
The chai tea, baklava and coconut macaroons were delicious!
Their chicken tawook kebab wrap is one of my favorite foods period. Outrageously juicy meat, tangy garlic sauce, and that oven-fresh flatbread come together in a symphony of delight. The baba ganoush and baklava are great too. You need this in your life
Ive visited Manakeesh several times while visiting friends in West Philly and have enjoyed the atmosphere (nice selection between the restaurant, bakery and smoothie shop).There arent a lot of options in the area that have reliable wifi so its nice to take some time there to get work done while enjoying a nice meal. The staff has been kind and the outdoor seating is a great option when its warm outside!
One of my favorite places in West Philly for lunch or dinner. Delicious food, friendly service, and an attached bakery with baklava and all sorts of cakes and pastries. The Chicken Tawouk is a highlight of the menu, and their take on the Philly Cheesesteak (called the bacon steak on their menu) is excellent. Platters come with way more food than Im ever able to finish. Outdoor seating is available in the warmer months.
Really loved the All types of Baklava. The Baklava is heavily stuffed with dried nuts not much sweet which I didn’t mind.The service was good 😌
Very good service .varied menu.and the platters are very tasty, especially half farouj
Not into Middle Eastern food but for a first I kinda like it. This place they serve delicious food especially the lamb burger and kebab. The staff was friendly also Cylia was great Try to grab a bite here
The food is good, but the staff is intensely incompetent. I waited over an hour for 1 sandwich to go there, while a morbidly obese waiter kept busting the chefs balls to give him food faster. Id see customers come and go as I waited. These people are so slow and incompetent they make the government look snappy, quick, and dynamic.
Great place for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Great selection of foods juices and dessert. The Crepes are really good made in front of you. Its a run by a very nice group of people and their food are Halal.
Sooo delicious! It is one of my favorites in Philly now! Establishment is clean and the staff are very nice. Chicken manakeesh was fabulous. And chicken tawook platter was also great. Didnt really care for the muhamrah side though. My husband got the lamb burger and loved it! He also said the hummus and pita are the best he has ever had, even better than the restaurants in the middle east.
OMG this place is the best! Nice ambiance, great crepes, desserts and dinner entrees. I personally have eaten the chicken curry & fruit crepes and the Tawook chicken platter. It was absolutely delicious. Prices are reasonable and serving size is good. Great value. The people are nice as well. I will continue to patronize them again and again......
Excellent location for tasty Lebanese food. Service is excellent even when they are busy. The place has a cool feel to it. I can see why they have so many reviews.
The food was ok, not waw.The service is very very slow.They forgot something from my order then someone followed me to give it to me, when I arrived home I found someone elses order with my order!!! They gave it to me by mistake, its really weird specially that it was not crowded or anything!
Theyve got the best baklava Ive had since i had the good fortune and pleasure of getting to gorge on some that had been flown in from.an Istanbul bakery earlier the same day. Great coffee, too. Lebanese culture wins again. Favorite Lebanese entity next to the cinematic prog rock band Ostura.
I really love the chicken shawarma plate, and I always get it with hummus and fattoush salad. The hamra smoothie is also amazing-- I never thought Id like pistachios in a smoothie, but they are the best part! This place has great ambiance-- the interiors are so nice. It is clear people love to gather here. The staff are very nice.
A nice place for Lebanese cuisine. I like their baklava varieties. They do catering, they are timely and courteous.The manakeesh themselves are good while fresh and hot, but when they cool off, they are nothing special.
Total reviews rating 4.2
199 Reviews for Manakeesh Cafe Bakery & Grill 2023:
Review №1
2021-12-07Found this place by asking the locals where I could find food that was actually “halal” and they insisted this place was. It’s a bit pricey but there aren’t many places that are actually halal so I’m going no matter what!! Food was pretty good, had grilled chicken and rice and also a chicken shawarma sandwich, fries. And a dish with cheese I forget the name but it was really tasty. Oh and I also had the freshly made lemonade (highly recommend).
Review №2
2022-02-26This place has a special place in my heart. Are used to eat here all the time when I was a student. It was always warm and welcoming in a great place to study or read.The food is also something else. I always get their chicken tawook and some of their Turkish tea. The chicken tawook is phenomenal. The white yogurt sauce that they put on top, all the juices that it gets, and how warm it is coming out of the oven. It makes the entire thing a wonderful and delightful experience.The way that they serve their Turkish tea is one of the authentic looking carafes is also wonderful. The atmosphere is great in the adjoining shop where you can get some of the best sweets and drinks. If you’re visiting Philadelphia and are in the University of Pennsylvania area I would 100% recommend the shop.
Review №3
2021-07-31July 2021: Amazing food, good service, good vegetarian options, decent ambiance. Watch your food getting prepared in this open kitchen design. No table-side service when I was there. Dining area was a bit warm, maybe because of the open kitchen. But youll forget all that once you get your food.Did I mention the desert and coffee section. Best tasting baklava. Definitely a must try if you like Mediterranean food.
Review №4
2022-06-10Everything was fresh & delicious! Everyone was very helpful & friendly. Very nice ambiance & a beautiful outdoor terrace to eat too. Desserts are not overtly sweet, which I love!
Review №5
2021-09-27Loved the overall experience. They have a seperate section for sweet stuff. We tried beef burger, lebanese kabob, cheessteak, chicken grill (farooz), tiger fries. Orher than the Farooz, every single item was really good. The burger was just freaking perfect and was way better than the one at saads (next door), the cheesesteak was fabulous (was in a pie form), the tiger fries were really good too (we took another order togo). Unfortunately, no one should be ordering the farooz (half grilled chicken) here. It is wrong by design and also was old and tasted weird.But they gave us the free cheesesteak after we gave them feedback.We also tried their chocolate baklava and latte. Pretty good.
Review №6
2022-03-30This place is still my go-to Middle Eastern restaurant in Philly so far. Their service was not pleasant and I kind of noticed that their food quality is going downhill a little bit. But their pita/flatbread is still the best in Philly & I will still come here to just get their flatbread pizza (Manakeesh)! I recommend to try their chicken tawook (creamy & spicy) or Kafta (beef & lamb). We also ordered chicken shawarma platter, but it took much longer than the chicken tawook manakeesh, so I suggest you to get the manakeesh dish if you want something quick/to-go meal. We also added rice into our shawarma platter, but their rice was flavorless, so get the pita bread instead or rice. Their hummus was really creamy & rich, but it was too sour to me. I probably will try their other hummus-like dip “Muhammara” (roasted red pepper dip) with pita next time.
Review №7
2021-09-19Selling Halal food? how about also Halal service? You guys have taken the excuse of covid and abusing the customers. You get a big order on phone and refuse to serve the customer who is standing in front of the counter. Shame!Fast forward 3 months, i wanted to give them a second chance. Half of the menu isn’t available to order. But the arrogance is what annoying. And it’s not one employee but the arrogant culture is instilled in the lady cashier to old man at wrap station. My 4 burgers came on time but the wrap took for ever; when repeatedly asked and after almost an hour they admitted to keeping our order in takeout bin. The falafel wrap was all cold and soggy but the old man claimed it’s good. Serving halal food is one thing and what about earning halal income? Are the Lebanese worst at hospitality?
Review №8
2021-09-08Highly recommend!!! Super amazing food, very fresh and the interior will take you to places. Its thats good Turkish restaurant in philly
Review №9
2022-05-30The main reason why im giving 2 stars is that each time i make an order it takes forever and, when i arrive they dont have any idea about my order. I never got orders without issues. Each time either delayed in time or they never start working on it. I hope owner/managers can see my review and improve this. Also, i tried many time to share my feedback no one care about what Im saying, employees and manager. Their food is amazing i wish they work on their customer service and listen more to customers.
Review №10
2022-02-06I gave this place multiple chances thinking they would get better, but they never did. Every time I order from this place, my order is messed up. Either missing something or they did not prepare it as ordered. Their prices are very high and you would expect exceptional service and high quality food for that. However, the food is average and the service is really bad not to mention the long waiting time. Usually it takes around 3-5 minutes for someone to come to the counter and take my order, and then an hour to get a $50 order ready. I also want to mention that by the time you leave the place you will have to go back home and take a shower because you will smell like you have been in a barbecue pit. Ventilation is very bad and dining-in is a no no. The floors are always dirty, and the hygiene level doesn’t seem to matter there.