Al-Madina - Castle Hill

Large party on a Saturday night. A good evening could have been a great evening if more attention was given to the finer points of service. Little things like only 2 water bottles among 20 people when five would have been more adequate and saved the need for asking for it to be passed down from other end of table. Ditto for food which was shared banquet, so much easier if everyone can reach the shared plates - solution more plates with smaller servings on them.Food was ok.Belly dancer for entertainment was excellent.Good atmosphere with many large groups in party mode.

I heard good things about this place, so I thought I'd give it a try with my wife and a couple of friends. We were sadly disappointed. I love Lebanese food, yet to pay an average $24 for a main dish that was OK at best, was a bit of a shock to the system. It didn't help that the service was super slow, taking 40 minutes to get our food, yet the place wasn't even packed. I had the meat platter with chicken skewers, beef skewers, lamb balls. It was accompanied with a yummy tabouleh, however the hummus was the blandest I ever had. Portion-wise, this was a letdown considering the price you pay. If you want good Lebanese food, I suggest going to Inflames Grill, just a few minutes walk away, which is almost half the price and bigger portions.

A few of us had the banquet - so disappointing. Very little food, bland, no vine leaves, sausages or garlic sauce. Got a couple of small bowls of tabouli for 14 people, got a spoonful each. Had a skewer of chicken, beef and lamb each, a plate of boiled rice (??). One kibbeh, falafel and one other fried piece each - all of which were bland and looked liked they'd been bought frozen and fried. Apart from bread, that was the whole banquet. When we asked if we could have more tabouli and bread, the owner wasn't overly pleased but gave us another small bowl of tabouli and bread - big deal! This would have to be one of the worst restaurants I've been to. We went there a few years ago and it was great, but obviously this must have changed hands.

Went here with a large group of friends. The owner was super nice and friendly, the food however was extremely disappointing. As an Arab I've grown up with middle eastern food and as each dish came out I was convinced the chef certainly hadn't. The food was incredibly bland, nothing was made as it was meant to be traditionally & my favourite dip "labne" which is a staple in Arab entres was left out! Please don't visit this place if you're introducing people to Arabic food. $40 later and I'm still hungry..

I do appreciate their hospitality, and, I would really recommend this for their dinners (chicken and Lamb skewers with hummus)