by Bob S.

Looking for Middle Eastern/ Lebanese food?? Downtown? Habibi. In close Eastside? Nicholas. More East side? Arabian Breeze.  Great stuff. We had a Mezzo Plate for an appetizer, and a main dish each for three people and we left with food in a box. Big portions. Big Flavor. The lamb kabobs were super tender. The pilaf side dish is perfect and the baklava for desert was pretty good too. I think the baklava at The Blue Olive is better but...I'll be back, this place was awesome.

by Carissa w.

Love Lebanese? This place makes me drool. Get the Baba with bread to start with, and from there any dish is a good bet. Their menu is excellent for carnivores, veggies, and vegans. The atmosphere is a little strange, since it's ground level so basically a basement, but the family style table running down the middle is a good place to make friends and the individual tables are good for dates. It's painted brightly and never too busy, so if you are looking for a semi-quiet dinner spot this is good. The staff is always sweet, and they make recommendations and bring big boxes for all the extra food. One dish and an appetizer would easily feed two people, but it's so good you should order an entree each and take it home for later. This spring they change their hours to stay open until 2am on weekends, with happy hour from 10-2! This will be some of the best late night food in town, and I can't wait.

by christine s.

This is hands down my favorite Mediterranean restaurant in Portland. Reasonably priced and extremely delicious.Tortilla like bread is warmed and brought fresh to your table draped over a circular rack for everyone to share. The menu is more than impressive and can be ordered vegetarian or vegan friendly.The menu includes but is not limited to: Appetizers: hummus, cabbage rolls, makdous, baba, falafel.....Entrees:Schwarma's bigger than a dinner plate, rice dishes such as Freekah which consists of wheat rice imported from Damascas cooked with chicken, pine nuts, almonds, herbs and spices. Be Riz dishes which are slow cooked stews served over rice. Specialty drinks and desserts are also a nice treat but I unfortunately did not save room. You will not be disappointed with the food or service here!

by Reed W.

Did this place change owners, it's nothing like Nicolas...I went here for lunch recently. It was terrible. Maybe I didn't order the right thing but how can you screw up a mezza plate? Isn't that your main deal? The pita bread and dipping sauce was about all that was halfway decent. Maybe it's better at night, I doubt it...the food tasted like it came out of a can or was prepared a few weeks in advance? Go to Hush Hush, Nicolas or Alexis if you want quality. This place could be cool but the food I had was terrible.

by neena D.

this has become a new place for my parents to talk about repeatedly when i call home.  "i usually dont like bright places but that was so good, were those the people in the mafia that dad was talking about? there are just so many things on the menu etcetera etcetera"i really like this place, the staff is friendly and no nonsense, there are a  lot of vegan and vegetarian options and it is the best deal for feta... one could buy feta here as it is cheaper than supermarket prices and more delicious... also u will be heading home with left overs.  i had some pickled egg plant which may be an acquired taste but it revitalized some deep seated memories about a certain sea weed salad that had baby purple octopuses that still haunts my dreams... not in a good way. anyway say no to baby octopuses and yes to the arabian breeze

by Kay P.

I went with some friends on Saturday night to see my belly dancing teacher, Sharita, perform. She was awesome and so was the atmosphere and food. We were seated in a long hallway in the back. There are beautiful decorations--hanging silks, strange paintings, and enchanting lanterns. There is even a spot by the main little stage where you can rest on pillows by a low table. (And, for those interested, they have hookahs.) The music was loud and Sharita danced up and down the stairs so that everybody saw her up close, but if that's not for you there's a large non-show area in the front. (I added a photo of her above.)I have read a lot of mixed reviews about the service. As for us, our waitress seemed rushed and didn't come back often enough, but she was energetic and kind and gave me a second strawberry lemonade for free ($3.75). I was having so much fun watching the dancing that it didn't bother me.The food was good. I ordered a pizza with red peppers and various things; I forget the name. It was spicy and delicious, but not incredible. We tried the pistachio cheesecake and another dessert with honey and various nuts, and they were so good I almost wanted to order another! Even my strawberry lemonade was great, with a delicate addition of rosewater.

by Kristie M.

GREAT food, the service was wonderful! You really feel like you've escaped somewhere! We LOVED our waitress!!! We also loved the way the bread is served for convenient picking and piecing!!!

by Kelly M.

Ditch the long line at Nicholas' and head to Arabian Breeze on Broadway, a newer Lebanese restaurant opened by the same family.The mezza is amazing as always, and customizable to be full of meat, veggies, or vegan-friendly.  The bread is a little different from Nicholas' too, and still tasty--served up with oil and herbs.Different enough from Nicholas' to merit a change of pace, but just as reliable and delicious.

by clancey y.

how did I start?The food is excellent! that is depending on the service that night. A few weeks ago I went for pickup A server was making fun of another for being gay and "dumb" as he put it. This server also seemed to think he owned the place or needed to be put in his place one of the two, it was really un-called for. But the food is great and great price and the vegan and vegg selection is great, I would suggest not going on (upstairs) friday or saturday nights if you do not like really loud music and a dancer comming back for tip after tip after tip (after tip). I am giving 3 stars for the food if I was giving stars on food only I would have given 5. The service is really bad (most of the time).check out the "vegan mezza!!!!!" the kabobs, the baba is smokey very nice, and pizzas yes are great. I would suggest going if you are not in a hurry and have patience and or get it to go.

by anne h.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the food here. I had the vegan mezza, sort of a sampler plate, and each of the 5 dishes were delicious. My only quibble would be with the Turkish coffee which tasted as though it had been sitting around for awhile. I've been here both as part of a large group and in a couple and the experiences have been consistent. The service is very friendly and prompt. A head's up to families with small children though, bring toys or snacks as there may be a significant wait  (up to 40 minutes) for food to be delivered.

by Kate B.

We love Nicholas Restaurant and are so happy to have the same great food closer to home. The food here is just as great as Nicholas but without the wait! While there is something to be said for waiting for a table (when the food is good, it makes it even better) but with 2 young kids, waiting for a table can sometimes be just too much for all of us. The staff was friendly and patient. My daughter spilled her large lemonade shortly after sitting down and no one even gave us the stink eye. Always a plus in my book. We got there early on Saturday (around 5pm) and were the only ones in the place. By 6 there were a few more diners but not yet busy. Anyone who has been to Nicholas knows that by 6 you're likely to be waiting in line so next time head on over to Arabian Breeze -- and you'll breeze right in. (Yes, I'm groaning at that sentence too but it's true!)

by Cheryle R.

Although I am absolutely obsessed with the food at Habibi, I decided it would be fun to try another Mediterranean restaurant for a change. But which one should I choose? Fortunately, my fellow Yelpers made that decision easy -- Arabian Breeze.All the comments about the food being great and the portions being huge are true. I LOVE the bread they serve - piping hot right out of the over - it all the self-control I could muster not to hoover the entire thing, but having seen other diners' food come out before ours, I knew I had to contain myself. My Chicken Schwarma plate came and it was HUGE! Easily enough for two people, or two meals for one person. I actually laughed when the waiter set it in front of me. My husband, ever the picky Midwesterner, ordered up Chicken Kabobs with rice and even though he's got a heartier appetite than I do, wound up taking half of his entree home too. Of course I was too full to even look at dessert, but I did order a delicious Turkish coffee flavored with cardamom. It was unlike anything I had ever had before and definitely something I'd order again. Bottom Line: cozy atmosphere, friendly service, great food, enormous portions (good if you like to have lunch for the next day), fair prices. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because it seemed to take a long time for our food to come, but even that wasn't a big deal because they do bring you that delicious bread. I will definitely come here again, and I will bring others!

by Great M.

from  san diego, ca.everytime im in town, gotta come here, sometimes twice in a day.  kebabs are best i've ever had and pretty much all their chicken dishes.great decor, good service, miss it!!!it's been a while, can't wait to go back.

by Andy W.

Arabian Breeze is dangerously close to being too much of a good thing. The food is absolutely terrific. There's so much flavor in everything served here that you run the risk of some kind of sensory overload. If it weren't for the potentially devastating consequences of such flavor to my nervous system (or my bank account), I would eat here every day. The space is unique, lively and colorful, and the food matches every step of the way. If it's your first time, make sure you're plenty hungry and order the Chicken Meshwi. This is a chicken hindquarter marinated in all kinds of spices and served with basmati rice and garlic sauce. Veggies schmeggies -- you can eat vegetables some other time. For dessert, I'm a baklava nut. I've had mixed experience when it's come to service, but overall I like the people there. Also, while they've got an outdoor balcony, it would be a lot nicer if the traffic on Broadway wasn't so loud. It's best to stay inside. So if you haven't been there yet, go, I implore you, and then go back again and again.

by reece m.

I'd heard good things about this place, and it's relationship with Nicholas', which is definitely in my top five for Portland.  I had one mediocre experience there, and tonight we decided to pick up some takeout, since it's in the neighborhood. We called in an order, was told it'd be ready in 15-20 minutes. 25 minutes later we arrived, and the food wasn't ready. There were about 3 tables occupied in the restaurant, so it's not like it was a big dinner rush or something. We waited an additional 15-20 minutes and got our food. I double checked it to make sure, and sure enough, it was incomplete. after about another five minutes, we had the complete order.We had originally planned on picking up some takeout from Nicholas, and really wish we had. Arabian Breeze is significantly more expensive, and the food isn't as good. I'm sorry, Arabian Breeze, but you're officially off my list.

by Brian M.

What I love here are the cabbage rolls....and the BREAD.  The hot bread is the best here.  As soon as you sit down bam its there.The staff is friendly and efficient.  The meals here are excellent.

by Cindy I.

Mmmmm bread.... Yes we all agree the bread is great and addictive, I could have eaten the whole thing myself. I enjoyed the half chicken but the spices on the kabob were a bit overpowering for this style of food. The food should be flavorful but you should still taste the meat.I need to go back for a another try. I wish they didn't have so many florescent lights so maybe take out. Not sure if the bread would be as good for take out.

by Daniel P.

ok -that was the wierdest experience I have had at a "Lebanese" place.Food was all very odd flavor.Menu looks like a Denny'sStaff was completely confused by the menu as welltables were super wobblyBread was like a big flour tortilla.Please do not tell anyone I went here and we will be ok.

by Mike D.

I had high hopes for Arabian Breeze as it is 5 minutes from my house.Ordered a very simple lunch of 2 salads, a falafel and a hummus plate.The salads were the stars of lunch, however it is difficult to mess up chopped red onion, feta, olives and romaine tossed together.The bread of the falafel was stale and tortilla tasting. The falafel balls themselves were ok, but the sauce was off.Hummus was average, nothing I couldnt surpass at home in 5 minutes with a food processor and a can opener.Price was good at $15 for lunch for 2.I will stick with recreating this experience with provisions from nearby Trader Joes (whos flat bread puts Arabian Breeze to shame).

by Miriam M.

If you like garlic you want to go to Arabian Breeze. Ask for the toom.  That and the house-made flat bread will take you to garlic heaven. (Don't blame me for your breath the next day.  TIP: if you share your bed with someone you should BOTH have the toom.)  The tzaziki is also exceptional. Some of the stews are perfect on a cold night. The chicken kabobs are my favorite dinner, though the falafal sandwich is also good.

by RJ W.

I am shocked by the bad reviews here. This is one place I can take my uber-picky partner and we always leave satisfied and happy.When it's busy the service can slow down a bit, but you always have bread to munch on. The toum, which is creamed garlic, is unbelievable. The lamb kabob, mejadra, and pistachio cheesecake are all good too.Also, very recession friendly pricing.

by Petra L.

I'll stick with my four star rating, but I'd also like to take Nicholas down to a 3 or 3.5. It's cheaper to eat at Nicholas, and they *do* have vegan manakish (a sure way to win me over) but wow, Arabian Breeze has changed the falafel. It's superb now and infinitely better than the slightly mushy and sort of bland fare at Nicholas. I had the Arabian Breeze mezza and had my taste explosion of hummus, caramelized onions, baba ghanouj (amazing!) and some red pepper concoction.Oh, and do yourself a favor and order the Turkish coffee with hal (cardamom). Absolutely lovely for a morning of recovery. It can't quite top Nicholas for me, but I'm also lazy and this is infinitely closer to my house.The…

by Holly H.

Not sure why this place has so many bad reviews. I have eaten at Nicholas and thought it was bland. This place have some serious flavor going (alright, okay, sometimes a little too overpowering). The bread, as everyone states, is fantastic. Like a tortilla? Are you kidding me?  They make this bread fresh to order (and will continuously bring more to the table, free of charge) and has a nice yeasty flavor. If a good pizza dough met some nan bread and.. yea.. you get the point. Delicious!I had the lamb shawarma, the flavor was fantastic, the sauce superb, the wrap was a kind of flatbread, pretty thick, but you needed it to be something sturdy with all that lamb hanging in there. I got it with some hummus and a little salad. The salad had a refreshing lemon dressing, and the hummus was also rather lemony, and very creamy. I love lemon, so no complaints here.Also, the service was very friendly when I went in. The owner maybe (?) was going around and joking with all of the tables. I highly recommend this place for a large, flavorful, affordable meal.

by Scott A.

I just ate at Arabian Breeze and wanted to give this restaurant a serious thumbs up. I have a pretty crazy two year old boy and the owner was so friendly to my son and even made him a complimentary drink just for a gesture of being friendly. The food was great and I have a new place to keep on my radar for eating that is not a chain.

by Stanley T.

Four and a half stars really. Huge warm fresh sajh (like a pita). I've never had better Baba Ganoush, humus, tahini or zahtar to dip my bread in. Especially the tahini - so creamy! Their menu is immense and very vegetarian/vegan friendly. All of their (many) vegetarian offerings are in red print. Those that are vegan are clearly identified, as are those that can be made vegan by request. Our waiter (Kamal) was as friendly and charming as could be in explaining this to us. He recommended a lamb dish as his favorite, Riz-be-tfeen. I would have totally missed this without his recommendation and I'm glad I didn't. Jasmine rice slow-cooked with lamb, garbanzos, pine nuts spices - almost unbelievably delicious. Ronda had the Fatoush salad, which was good but a little heavily dressed for our tastes. Our niece had the vegan Kibbah be Batata: bulgar wheat, sauteed onions potatoes, herbs spices, filled with pine nuts and walnuts. This was served with the incredible tahini. Excellent. All of these were very generous portion-wise and a great value. We washed it down with a bottle of Lebanese Cabernet (recommended by Kamal and very tasty).The place was pretty empty when we arrived but filled to waiting by the time we left. Our service was superb start to finish. No doubt this is a place I will return to.

by Lucas D.

I've noticed Arabian Breeze on Broadway for what seems like years now - I always thought it was a funny looking building and a sign, and didn't pay it much thought.But a few months back I was looking for the Nicholas Restaurant menu online, and noticed it was hosted on the Arabian Breeze website - my interest was piqued. The menu looked almost entirely the same as the Nicholas Restaurant's, and I was determined to check it out on a night when the lines at Nicholas were too long to bear.I'm glad I did - the food is the same great quality as Nicholas, and the service is just as fast. And as a plus? They take credit cards, whereas (to the best of my knowledge), Nicholas doesn't.Usually I have dinner there, but today I decided to spring over for lunch. The menu is quite a bit smaller for lunch, but in any case, the food I was looking for was right there. My friend and I decided to split some beef grape leaves (with tzatziki, $3.50), a meat mezza platter (humus, falafel, tzatziki, tabouli, a triangle lamb pie and some kafta, $7.50), and a Gyros sandwich ($6.50).We quickly received a massive piece of bread and a dipping sauce (seemed to be olive oil, sesame seeds and mostly oregano), which is probably my favorite part of the whole experience. The bread is so fresh that it's still mostly inflated from the oven - setting it down causes it to rapidly deflate, spewing steam out from the cracks along the sides.Only minutes after receiving the pita, our grape leaves came out, slathered in tzatziki. They were piping hot and absolutely delicious. We received the mezza platter and the gyros sandwich. The sandwich had apparently been upgraded to the platter, which came with a wonderful little salad and some humus - which we weren't charged for. The sandwich was delightful, although a bit messy - the tzatziki inside was dripping out onto my hands as I ate it.The total for two people (with two boxes filled up to take home) was under $18, sans tips. No drinks, but still - that's not very expensive for two people to eat until they're about to burst.

by Windy S.

Just recently came across this place thanks to Portland yelpers! We've always loved eating at Nicolas' but don't go as often as we'd like due to the wait and miniscule amount of seating. Now we can go to Arabian Breeze and expect immediate seating! We order the meat mezza and just like Nicolas', one order is plenty of food for two people! At $9.75 it's a super cheap meal for two of us! On our last visit we tried the Lamb kebab and the chicken meshwi. Both were excellent! The lamb kebab was tender and prefectly cooked and the rice it came with was equally good. The chicken meshwi is a large thigh piece was lots of garlic flavor and it too was perfectly cooked! This is one of our new favorite cheap eats!

by dan h.

This place might have one of the best deals in town as far as amount of food and price is concerned.First the bread.  Fresh from the oven.  You can watch them make it at the front of the restaurant.  As others have said, they will bring you more if you want it and it is free of charge.  The meal.  3 words.  Meat Mezza Platter.  Here is how the menu describes it:  A combination of dishes served Lebanese buffet style. Your mezza comes with humus, falafel, tabouli and fresh pita. Order family style for one or more people.  Includes triangle lamb pies, kafta and a side of taziki.  Add lamb for $1.00.  This plate can feed 2 very easily.  The portion is HUGE.  Sorry for my yelling.  The price, or at least what we paid yesterday was $8.75.  I just looked on their website and it said $9.75.  Still a good deal, but an amazing deal for $1 less.The service was good.  We were the first people in late Sunday afternoon, but shortly after the place started to pack up.All I know is I didn't need to eat dinner last night.

by Deb P.

NO STARS FOR POOR SERVICEWell, I actually thought that Arabian Breeze was going to redeem itself.  A few days after I wrote my first review (about the terrible service at my terrible 40th birthday party),  the owner? contacted my friend and stated that they would be sending gift certificates to us to help make up for the fiasco.It's almost 3 months later and there is NO SIGN of the gift certificates.  I will just chalk it up to continued POOR SERVICE and continue to tell everyone I know.  What a disappointment. We have been to Arabian Breeze many times over the last few years and the food has been fantastic…

by Kristina B.

When I go to Arabian Breeze they treat me like family and I am not Lebanese!  =)I have yet to eat something I didn't like, I usually just trust them to have me try something different and I am yet to be disappointed. Salmon Meshwi has been my favorite so far and just last week as an appetizer I had Baba and it's my new favorite thing. I have celebrated many birthdays of my own and friends at Arabian Breeze, we usually have a party around 15-20 and they are always very accommodating!   I love this place!

by Kristina B.Deb P.

When I go to Arabian Breeze they treat me like family and I am not Lebanese!  =)I have yet to eat something I didn't like, I usually just trust them to have me try something different and I am yet to be disappointed. Salmon Meshwi has been my favorite so far and just last week as an appetizer I had Baba and it's my new favorite thing. I have celebrated many birthdays of my own and friends at Arabian Breeze, we usually have a party around 15-20 and they are always very accommodating!   I love this place!NO STARS FOR POOR SERVICEWell, I actually thought that Arabian Breeze was going to redeem itself.  A few days after I wrote my first review (about the terrible service at my terrible 40th birthday party),  the owner? contacted my friend and stated that they would be sending gift certificates to us to help make up for the fiasco.It's almost 3 months later and there is NO SIGN of the gift certificates.  I will just chalk it up to continued POOR SERVICE and continue to tell everyone I know.  What a disappointment. We have been to Arabian Breeze many times over the last few years and the food has been fantastic…

by Kristina B.Deb P.dan h.Windy S.

When I go to Arabian Breeze they treat me like family and I am not Lebanese!  =)I have yet to eat something I didn't like, I usually just trust them to have me try something different and I am yet to be disappointed. Salmon Meshwi has been my favorite so far and just last week as an appetizer I had Baba and it's my new favorite thing. I have celebrated many birthdays of my own and friends at Arabian Breeze, we usually have a party around 15-20 and they are always very accommodating!   I love this place!NO STARS FOR POOR SERVICEWell, I actually thought that Arabian Breeze was going to redeem itself.  A few days after I wrote my first review (about the terrible service at my terrible 40th birthday party),  the owner? contacted my friend and stated that they would be sending gift certificates to us to help make up for the fiasco.It's almost 3 months later and there is NO SIGN of the gift certificates.  I will just chalk it up to continued POOR SERVICE and continue to tell everyone I know.  What a disappointment. We have been to Arabian Breeze many times over the last few years and the food has been fantastic… This place might have one of the best deals in town as far as amount of food and price is concerned.First the bread.  Fresh from the oven.  You can watch them make it at the front of the restaurant.  As others have said, they will bring you more if you want it and it is free of charge.  The meal.  3 words.  Meat Mezza Platter.  Here is how the menu describes it:  A combination of dishes served Lebanese buffet style. Your mezza comes with humus, falafel, tabouli and fresh pita. Order family style for one or more people.  Includes triangle lamb pies, kafta and a side of taziki.  Add lamb for $1.00.  This plate can feed 2 very easily.  The portion is HUGE.  Sorry for my yelling.  The price, or at least what we paid yesterday was $8.75.  I just looked on their website and it said $9.75.  Still a good deal, but an amazing deal for $1 less.The service was good.  We were the first people in late Sunday afternoon, but shortly after the place started to pack up.All I know is I didn't need to eat dinner last night.Just recently came across this place thanks to Portland yelpers! We've always loved eating at Nicolas' but don't go as often as we'd like due to the wait and miniscule amount of seating. Now we can go to Arabian Breeze and expect immediate seating! We order the meat mezza and just like Nicolas', one order is plenty of food for two people! At $9.75 it's a super cheap meal for two of us! On our last visit we tried the Lamb kebab and the chicken meshwi. Both were excellent! The lamb kebab was tender and prefectly cooked and the rice it came with was equally good. The chicken meshwi is a large thigh piece was lots of garlic flavor and it too was perfectly cooked! This is one of our new favorite cheap eats!