Al Aseel

1.8 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  4      Service  1      Value  1     

I can believe this is a Lebanese restaurant, being Lebanese my self I know how authentic Lebanese food taste like, to start you have the entire restaurant staff from India no offence, my girlfriend took there last weekend, seriously I thought we ware at Indian restaurant, which bother way I love Indian food, cut the story short the food was terrible, and there have bunch armature running the restaurant, the waiter was very rude. I'm definitely not going back.

Jan 27, 2012 

5.8 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  5      Value  6     

It is probably a nice place to visit, service is good but really not authentic. Servers are not Lebanese, so nothing to compare with the mother branch in Greenacre where you get served like in Lebanon. Tried it once and that was enough.

Nov 20, 2011 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

My partner and I are very fond of Lebanese food- we often stroll the streets of Surry Hills and found Al Aseel. Environment is very modern and clean compared to some others around Surry Hills, were given lots of bread, olives (Yes!) and chillies before our meal which is always nice! Both of us ordered mix meat platters which were HUGE! and very satisfying! Delicious chicken, especially the dips were very enjoyable. Have been to many Lebanese restaurants and this is now my favourite! Will be bringing my family there this weekend for my birthday.

Oct 11, 2011 

3.8 Below Average

Food  6      Ambience  3      Service  2      Value  4     

We were served up dishes we didn't order, and when I asked if we could please package up the leftovers, I was given containers at the table and told to do it myself. To his credit the senior staff deducted $20 from the bill for the items we didn't order, though he blamed us for not sending it back.

Considering it was lamb kebabs and we'd ordered these as part of our mixed plate, we had no reason to suspect it wasn't part of our order. In any case, there are plenty of other Lebanese restaurants in the local area that are cheaper and less austere. We won't be back.

Sep 23, 2011 

2.8 Not Recommended

Food  3      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  5     

After my friend had told me so much about how good their establishment was in Greenacre we decided to try the Surry Hills Restaurant.
We both ordered the lemon garlic chicken, mid meal my friend finds a piece of plastic in her mouth. We both cease eating our meal in fear of more plastic throughout the dishes.
We call over the waitress & tell her what has happened she gives us a blank look & say's that wasn't in the meal!
I immediately ask for the manager he presents himself & we explain what has happened. My friend then says i hope we get a good price for this, & he rudely responds with "what do you expect me to pay for the meals"!
Shocked we ask for the bill & the total price is for both meals, 5 minutes later the manager comes over & says wrong bill. When we do eventually get our bill we have only been charged for 1 meal.
We will definitely not be returning to this restaurant!

Aug 29, 2011 

6 Average

Food  9      Ambience  6      Service  4      Value  5     

Food - was amazing
Service - one of the guys was nice, one of the guys was just flat rude and one of the guys was ok
Ambience - the decor was quite nice, a modern lebanese feel, the only reason i gave it a 6 is because I am tired of restaurants full of square tables all lined up.

Value - well for some reason they load your tables with bread and olives and other things, but no dip. This is all on the 'entree' menu, and range from $8-$9 - I'm not sure how I feel about this, I guess it protects them from people who just come to a leb restaurant to freddy freeload and eat the dip and bread while their friends pay for full meals, but for some reason it kind of annoyed me. I like the concept, although the dips were delicious I just think they should be a bit cheaper, maybe $4-$6 instead.

Overall I have to say just when I promised myself I wouldn't go to lebanese restaurant again, these guys turned my opinion around, the food really is quite yummy.

May 27, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

Quite a good Lebanese eatery. The portions are very generous. I would have rated it higher for food, excepting the fish (calamari and octopus) were quite average- the rest was really good. Friendly service and great atmosphere. The belly dancer added a bit of entertainment for the night. She tied her best to get my mate up for a dance --but wait for it he declined saying he had a hernia! The belly dancer , being a true professional didn't crack up laughing and took it in her stride and moved onto the next table.

Mar 13, 2011 

6.5 Recommended

Food  6      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  6     

It's ok, but not as good as the prices would have you believe.

Nov 16, 2010 

5 Average

Food  5      Ambience  6      Service  4      Value  5     

Al Aseel Surry Hills is not even close to the service, value and most importantly the quality of the food of the Greenacre establishment. This seems like a way to cash in on the success of the Greenacre mothership and they appear to have forgotten their roots.

The serving sizes are significantly smaller while the prices are noticeably higher. This would be easier to swallow (pardon the pun) if the food was better than or even as good as Greenacre. Sadly, it isn’t. The Lemon Garlic Chicken was excellent as always, the Falafel was first rate, however, the lamb was tough. Not to mention that we felt a little stung by the “fresh lemonade” at $6 a pop. This is basically the same lemon drink you can buy in almost any half decent Lebanese restaurant (e.g. Jasmine at Lakemba).

We will eat again at Greenacre (how could we not?), but never again will we darken Al Aseel’s doorstep at Surry Hills.

Oct 30, 2010 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  7     

Friend from work recommended it after going to the one in Greenacre. I loved the atmosphere and the staff were really friendly. Great for something different, I think it would work well in a group or in a pair.

Oct 26, 2010