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Damascus Restaurant
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- None
7 reviews for Damascus Restaurant
This is the best Middle Eastern restaurant in the Lehigh Valley. I say this solely on the basis of the tastiness of the food. That being said it is not by any means the best I've ever been to but just the best in this area and its all relative. This restaurant is technically a Syrian restaurant but they seem to serve the same stuff as Lebanese restaurants and the fare is what you'd expect. They have gyros, kebabs, baba ganouj, humus, etc. All of the food is great including the appetizers, deserts, and entrees. Portions are ample for the price. The service is great and the family that runs it are welcoming. The seating is fairly limited so it's usually best to have a reservation. The only downsides to this place are the interior and the location. The interior is a bit run down and scarcely decorated. The location is not the best part of town and the parking can sometimes be difficult. That being said it is worth going over there for the food. The place is BYOB which is always a plus.
Overall
Best Middle Eastern in the Lehigh Valley but it has a few downsides
I'm a huge fan of this place. In the past few years I've become obsessed with Middle Eastern food, so I've been trying as many places as possible, both at home and at school.
Damascus was one of the best Middle Eastern experiences I've had. After ordering one of the main dishes and being way too stuffed (and wanted to sample more) I discovered that ordering appetizers for the table was a better idea. The 3rd time I was there with a group of friends, we did that and we walked away full. The hummus and baba ganoush are delicious, might be the best baba I've had. The fried cauliflower is yummy too. The baklava was also a nice choice, you could tell it was homemade. The lamb kebab platter was a winner. True that the decorations are minimal, but who cares. You'll be too busy enjoying your food to notice.
First, since someone else mentioned the decor: it's true that there's nothing special about the decor other than a few appropriate pictures and wall-hangings, but I go there for my stomach, not for visual stimulation (although the food is nicely presented)!
I've been there before, but I decided to try some things that I hadn't tasted previously. I had the special Damascus Salad, with a nice spicy dressing, lots of small cucumber pieces--along with the usual lettuce--some very tasty, crisp flat croutons ... and I chose the chicken from the list of meat choices. It was filling, and I appreciate large portions!
Along with the meal I had 2 Turkish coffees, a side order of yoghurt spread (there's plenty of pita bread on which to spread the spread), and a scrumptious piece of cheese baklava, along with an extra piece to take home.
The bill came to about 25 dollars, and the service merited a nice tip because of the speed and friendliness, even with a group of about 20 who were there when I walked in some time before noon. I was surprised to see some of them eating things like cheesburgers given the more appropriate and tasty opportunities on the menu.
During that time a mother and her children ... and several white collar males arrived with the young server having no trouble taking care of all the customers.
A great eating experience!
Quite tasty middle eastern place in the middle of Allentown. I got the lamb kabobs which were excellent, as was the baba ganoush and the humus. It's a bunch of small tables in a small restaurant which gets busy at lunch, so get there early.
In my opinion, Damascus has the best babaganouj in the area. It also has many vegan options such as falafel, fried cauliflower, and hummus sandwiches, and a variety of appetizers.
The decor is a little run down but the food is amazing.
I finally made it here after hearing wonderful things about it for years. This tiny place lived up to my high expectations. Prices were reasonable, and the middle eastern cuisine was outstanding. A great casual restaurant to meet at with some adventurous friends.
Read so many good reviews I had to try this restaurant. Sorry, but it did not live up to my expectations. (I always feel bad when this happens, but I'm also quick to admit some things are just a matter of taste.) I dropped by and took home an order of grape leaves, an appetizer order of falafel, and a shawrma sandwich (marinated thin sliced beef with raw onions,parsley, tomatoes, tahini sauce).
The grape leaves filling had little flavor (by anybody's standards), not as good as the ones my brother's mother-in-law makes (English bride of a Lebanese husband!) - the rice and beef is a given, but it's the spices that make all the difference - these were missing something.
I was introduced to falafel in a little shop across the street from my daughter's apartment in San Francisco - loved it! This falafel was so disappointing I actually threw it away after eating one or two pieces - just plain boring and an odd texture. I was curious, so I looked up falafel recipes on the internet, and again a variety of spices can be added and comments indicated that some were boring and some were great, depending on how they were made. Even the thickeners used were different (flour, egg, mushed bread), also changing the taste and texture.
The sandwich was okay, similar to gyros sandwiches that are popular in San Diego, and that I love. But again the sauce didn't have that extra something that gives it great flavor. Also, the gyros sandwiches in my favorite place are wrapped in the whole pita bread which keeps the sauce from making it soggy - this sandwich on a split pita was so soggy that it fell apart in my hands, and I ended up eating it with a fork and dribbling all over.
I really like my brother's mother-in-law's kibbee, but probably won't go back to try it due to the lack of great flavor in the things I did try. I love hummus, but get great hummus at Trader Joe's so didn't bother to try it at Damascus. I have it on hand all the time in small containers in the freezer, along with crumbled feta cheese. Had babaghannou at a great Mediterranean restaurant in Philadelphia, and it was delicious - haven't tried it at Damascus. I've made my own taboulli and don't see cucumbers in the description at Damascus. I've had this in restaurants, but learned to make it from a lady at work and prefer my own. Apparently, according to my research, many of these foods are made differently depending where you go in the Middle East. For instance, in some places falafel is made with fava beans, which would change the taste. And the spices used are frequently different also.
So if you like Mediterranean food, by all means give the Damascus Restaurant a try. Your taste may match their taste better than mine did :-)
Also, the dinner prices were a little higher than I expected - $11 to $20. A 'dinner for two' special was $60! The appetizers ($3 - $6) and sandwiches ($5 - $6.50) were reasonable.
