Arabesque Family Restaurant | |
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Restaurant information | |
Owner(s) |
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Food type | Lebanese |
City | Kitchener |
State | Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Coordinates | 43°27′47″N 80°27′59″W / 43.4630°N 80.4664°W |
Website |
www |
Arabesque Family Restaurant, also known as Arabesque Café, is a Lebanese [1] restaurant in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, located at 869 Victoria St N.
Arabesque is known for its hummus and freshly baked pita bread. [2] Some appetizers include baba ghanoush, stuffed grape leaves, lentil soup, and kebbah. [3] Meat entrees, such as chicken tekka, shawarma plates, or falafel, are served along dips, pita bread, salad, rice, and fries. [3] All of the meats are halal. [3] The restaurant also serves a number of Arabic sweets made daily, including baklava, nammoura, and kunafa. [4] [5] For drinks, non-alcoholic beer, juices, and smoothies are served. [3] According to a 2013 Record article, the portions are large. [3]
The co-owners of Arabesque, Mohamad Yanes, Mamoun Yanes and Bassam Chaban, were born and raised in Syria with Palestinian descent. [2] [4] An engineer by trade, Yanes immigrated to Canada in 2009. [2] The owners had little experience with restauranteering before opening Arabesque, and so "learned by doing". [2]
The location of Arabesque was previously a fast food restaurant. [3] In 2011, the restaurant opened a second location, Arabesque Express, for takeout only in Waterloo at 465 Phillip St; [6] it later closed. In 2018, part of Victoria St. N was closed for construction, causing a significant decrease in Arabesque's business as customers needed to take a 15-minute detour.
Due to the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, the restaurant temporarily switched to being takeout and delivery only. [7] As well the restaurant experienced a drop in business and laid off about fifty staff members. [7] As part of the 2021 Canadian federal elections, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh held a rally outside the restaurant. [8]
Dwight Storring of the Waterloo Region Record reviewed the restaurant in 2013, praising the food and atmosphere. [3] Storring concluded by saying Arabesque "is restaurant that should be on everyone's list. The food is delicious, abundant and it caters to a wide range of palettes". [3] In the Record's best of 2018 summary, Sandra Walneck recommended Arabesque's baba ghanoush appetizer "which makes any store-bought version pale by comparison". [9] Writing for CBC News, Andrew Coppolino has recommended the restaurant a number of times, including on his 2017 local shawarma list, [10] his 2021 halal recommendations, [4] and a 2022 article about the Region's food. [11] According to a 2018 Record article, the restaurant has a "loyal following". [2]
Arabesque Family Restaurant | |
---|---|
| |
Restaurant information | |
Owner(s) |
|
Food type | Lebanese |
City | Kitchener |
State | Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Coordinates | 43°27′47″N 80°27′59″W / 43.4630°N 80.4664°W |
Website |
www |
Arabesque Family Restaurant, also known as Arabesque Café, is a Lebanese [1] restaurant in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, located at 869 Victoria St N.
Arabesque is known for its hummus and freshly baked pita bread. [2] Some appetizers include baba ghanoush, stuffed grape leaves, lentil soup, and kebbah. [3] Meat entrees, such as chicken tekka, shawarma plates, or falafel, are served along dips, pita bread, salad, rice, and fries. [3] All of the meats are halal. [3] The restaurant also serves a number of Arabic sweets made daily, including baklava, nammoura, and kunafa. [4] [5] For drinks, non-alcoholic beer, juices, and smoothies are served. [3] According to a 2013 Record article, the portions are large. [3]
The co-owners of Arabesque, Mohamad Yanes, Mamoun Yanes and Bassam Chaban, were born and raised in Syria with Palestinian descent. [2] [4] An engineer by trade, Yanes immigrated to Canada in 2009. [2] The owners had little experience with restauranteering before opening Arabesque, and so "learned by doing". [2]
The location of Arabesque was previously a fast food restaurant. [3] In 2011, the restaurant opened a second location, Arabesque Express, for takeout only in Waterloo at 465 Phillip St; [6] it later closed. In 2018, part of Victoria St. N was closed for construction, causing a significant decrease in Arabesque's business as customers needed to take a 15-minute detour.
Due to the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, the restaurant temporarily switched to being takeout and delivery only. [7] As well the restaurant experienced a drop in business and laid off about fifty staff members. [7] As part of the 2021 Canadian federal elections, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh held a rally outside the restaurant. [8]
Dwight Storring of the Waterloo Region Record reviewed the restaurant in 2013, praising the food and atmosphere. [3] Storring concluded by saying Arabesque "is restaurant that should be on everyone's list. The food is delicious, abundant and it caters to a wide range of palettes". [3] In the Record's best of 2018 summary, Sandra Walneck recommended Arabesque's baba ghanoush appetizer "which makes any store-bought version pale by comparison". [9] Writing for CBC News, Andrew Coppolino has recommended the restaurant a number of times, including on his 2017 local shawarma list, [10] his 2021 halal recommendations, [4] and a 2022 article about the Region's food. [11] According to a 2018 Record article, the restaurant has a "loyal following". [2]