Arabesque

Arabesque is truly a hidden gem of Boulder. The food is absolutely delicious and I adore the owner. I've noticed some people have left poor reviews about her and this breaks my heart. She has a strong personality and reminds me of my Russian ballet teacher because of her passion and intensity. Anyone who can't handle it may not have an understanding of cultural differences... or are too sensitive (sorry, not sorry). I've had nothing but positive experiences with her and her food is what I miss most about Boulder since I've moved away. Be sure to get the chicken special if it's on the menu when you go! I'm also in love with her chai, the spices she uses are divine. 10/10 I recommend this restaurant to everyone I know

The food was decent (4/5 stars) but the service was quite awful. I was yelled at for asking whether I can pay at the counter ("No, I come to you!") and generally not paid attention to...

It's difficult to write this review as I always have the utmost respect for local restaurants and this is my first negative review in years - but this one was pretty awful. Would not return.

Two of us went in for lunch on Friday We remarked how the menu was so appealing and looked delicious. The owner immediately told us she was Palestinian. We said we were Jewish. First calm then escalated speech from the owner. After her diatribe of Israeli hatred we got up to leave. We hadn't even ordered.
She was screaming at us to get out slammed and locked the door behind us.
Distressed that this hatred exists in Boulder! No stars!!

An absolutely horrendous restaurant with an owner who has completely lost her mind. I highly recommend to stay as far away as possible from that establishment also got a stomachache as a result of the food and had to spend the night at the emergency room for me that was not well tended.

What a wonderful way to end a weeklong vacation with friends. Stumbled across this middle eastern cuisine... not only was all the ingredients, clean and fresh, the chai tea was homemade like no other that I've ever tried. The Turkish coffee was perfect with the tiramisu and baklava desserts.

Next time I fly into Denver, I will go out of my way to visit this lovely couples, amazing restaurant!

This restaurant was filled with charm and the food with the secret ingredient, TLC!

I arrived here right when they opened and immediately received the best service! The chef who also seems to be the owner is on top of everything, it is a one women show!
She gave us some recommendations such as the middle eastern platter(delicious) and a chai tea with Arab coffee (so good).
At the end she served us some homemade Baklava that was probably the best baklava I've had in a long time.
Wonderful ambience, will come again.

I have never written a Yelp review before but Manal, the cook, is a piece of work. I entered the restaurant and it was empty save for one group of 6.
Since I saw no one at the front, I walked upto the counter. She then rudely and sharply said "This isn't like a fast food place, sit down at one of the tables, my husband will be late". I was taken aback by the curtness of the response but I thought it might have been a momentary lapse.

Another group of three came into the restaurant and she then immediately said the same thing and also shouted,"If you want fast food go to a pizza place or something". I'm not sure what she has against fast food because I hadn't heard anyone talk or ask about fast food or try to hasten her.

She then shouted ,"You four are together yes". I think she assumed I was with the other group because we were all brown. I stayed for one more minute but decided to get up and leave because it seemed she treated everyone with this disrespect.

Halfway down the street I hear her shouting and she follows me onto the street screaming "CLOSE THE DOOR, I DON'T LIKE WHEN PEOPLE DON'T CLOSE THE DOOR" because apparently it didn't close behind me. Never going back there again.

Service: 0 star.
This review is not about the food, only about the owner's behavior.
A few years ago, I had noticed that she was on edge, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, after all, it's a local business, things can be tough. After this last experience, it doesn't matter how good the food is, this kind of behavior is simply not acceptable.
I went for lunch recently with three other friends and immediately something was off. No greeting, she was running around, seemed overly stressed even though the restaurant was half empty. She came to take our drinks, offering chai and whatever is on the menu but we asked for just water, except of one of us who wanted to know if she could have an Arnold Palmer; no such luck, she was told it's only made for two people.
We were already very uncomfortable when she took our food orders cutting off one of us abruptly and moving to the next one; it was all very strange, like we had done something wrong, but not knowing what.
The owner came back with water and literally threw the glasses on the table. At that point, I asked her if something was wrong and if somehow we had offended her. She started saying that's the way she works, getting more and more heated, we didn't know what to do, looking at each other and wondering what the next step would be. She started rambling about working hard, and being a Palestinian and that's the way they do things over there, adding while we were mostly silent, that there are plenty of pizza places around, we should go in one of those.
Shocked, we asked if she didn't want to serve us and she replied she was not giving us food.
I tried again to ask if we'd done anything wrong, but it was useless, she was not listening, lost in her own angry world.
Looking at other reviews, it seems to happen regularly, like us, clients leave puzzled, wondering what they've done to be bullied by the owner.
Since we had already paid for parking, we walked a short distance to Avanti on Pearl Street where they also serve middle Eastern food that's delicious and we enjoyed it in a relaxed atmosphere with beautiful views of the mountains on the top floor.
I am all for supporting local businesses, but not at all cost, and I feel I should warn others of what to expect when visiting Arabesque, depending on the mood of the owner, it might be a very stressful experience.

So. So. GOOD!!
Omg - so we got there late - like 1:30/1:45 for lunch. The owner seated us promptly and gave us recommendations for lunch. Asked what we liked and then with no menu just made recos. I was unsure but it was perfect!
We had the special - chicken and potatoes with the most perfect sauce with such depth of flavor. We had the mezze platter which we ALL shared and loved. My son is gluten free so he had the schwarma plate, minus the pita. Excellent. Each bite was better than the next. Such a fun local gem.

I really enjoy Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food and Arabesque does a wonderful job. So I really enjoy the food, it's all so fresh and delicious. I could eat here every day of the week!