Almond Bar

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  10     

We loved this place. The Syrian take on osso buco was fabulous.

We ordered the Lebanese red wine Hochar on spec, and mainly because we had never had lebanese wine before. It proved an amazing drop and we would certainly have it again, though I have to say it lost some of its appeal after the food finished so I would recommend it with food only where it really shines.

Good, honest service, without the usual pretence of elsewhere.

Thanks for a great night, Almond Bar.

May 10, 2012 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

Delicious food, the staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. We shared beef sheen, lamb skewers and zata’r prawns and for dessert it was booza and almond pancakes. Every dish was utterly tasty. Will definitely come back.

May 06, 2012 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

It's a tight space and we were only able to get a table for two at 7pm for a quick dinner and leave by 8.00pm. Food was great and different. The staff were excellent. We will give more notice next time for a longer evening, but really a great experience all round.

Nov 17, 2011 

7.3 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  9      Value  7     

Tried here recently as drive past it regularly. The fried pumpkin balls were lacking in flavour and a tad disappointing, the lamb dumplings were reasonable but the inwards were a touch dry.

The lamb shanks were really the highlight with the meat being cooked to perfection. Love the 'mixed pickles' as I'm a sucker pickled chilli's and turnips. Good wine list and the complimentary almonds are a nice touch. Overall it's not a bad spot by any stretch but not 'Oh My God' amazing.

Nov 03, 2011 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

Great little place in Darlinghurst. Unique approach to Middle Eastern food, reflecting the fact this is an authentic Syrian family run restaurant. Set menu is a lot of food, we needed to take desert home with us. Could get away with a la carte. Decent wines served, and great service and ambience. Can't wait to come back to try the breakfast!

Oct 16, 2011 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

Fantastic restaurant! The generousity of the hosts shines through in the food and service. The food was great, with attentive service. Great value at $30 per head (and we ate alot!). Looking forward to returning to this little gem again.

Oct 03, 2011 

3.5 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  5      Service  6      Value  1     

I'm writing this review make it known how poor value this place is and salty the food was. We ate at this place for a friends birthday as a group of 10. We spent about $70 each (including drinks) for the set menu.

We got: Lebanese bread with dips, lamb skewer, chicken skewer, fried cauliflower, felafel with sauce, potato dish, salad and mince pastries. All very salty.

The servings were small and I left still feeling hungry (and that's also after including some cake that we brought with us). Had to go home to enjoy a microwave meat pie satisfy my hunger.

Oct 03, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     

I ate at Almond Bar on a friday night with 2 friends. The restaurant had a great atmosphere, it was busy and it is small but it did not feel cramped. The service was fantastic: very attentive and appropriate. The food is best shared and was of a very high standard. We really enjoyed the lamb shanks and the pumpkin balls. The kadifi and chocolate cream dessert was amazing, it had such great flavour. Highly recommend this place for good honest food.

Sep 10, 2011 

7.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  7     

Just had Fathers day breakfast at Almond bar and yes the tables are very small and sitting on a stool is not my ideal option but its a small space so they are obviously trying to maximise the number of settings. Most importantly if this is what Syrians have for breakfast where's the immigration forms. I had the Michel plate complete with Syrian scrambled eggs and sausages, stuffed baby egg plant. My wife had the Violets plate and ended up having to fend us all off from stealing her labna.

The girls both had the strawberry pancakes (more like crepes) with attah (like riccota) and rose water syrup. The sweet bread with cinnamon so so good we had three serves. Two pots of middle eastern coffee and numerous juices later we were very happily satisfied.

The service was good and the decor very atmospheric (if you are facing the wood doors/panels). All in all a fantastic Father's Day breakfast and something just that little bit different! After all isn't that what lifes about!

Sep 04, 2011 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  8      Value  7     

We ate here last Wednsday night, 6 of us were crammed on a table that was probably best for 4. Fortunately the plate sizes were small so they managed to squeeze them in. The waiter was very attentive with the water, the service was prompt and food came out on time too. With the exception of the whitebait which was on the rubbery side and stodgy, the food was very enjoyable. The beetroot dip was especially delicious and the pumpkin kibbe was very good too. The chocolate kataifi dessert could have had a stronger chocolate flavour. It came to under $40 pp (not including wine) and we left full.

Aug 17, 2011