Beirut Express literally opened within the last week, and I don’t know how long it will stay open. I really shouldn’t have ate there tonight, especially after eating at Al-Sultan yesterday. A friend at work was saying he tried something at Beirut Express yesterday, so I thought I would give it a go. It was an unfortunate experience, and alas, 10 dollars I will never get back.
I’m not very experienced with falafel, but I know enough that this falafel from Beirut Express was borderline inedible. Anything with ‘Express’ usually translates to ‘ in rushing, we forget about quality and consistency’. The falafel wrap I tried was gross and left my stomach in knots. The three dark balls of chickpea flour and bits and pieces were dry and very salty. It had almost a powdery texture, and really put me off. The wrap was basically pita bread, and disintegrated within minutes, not exactly something you want to happen when trying to eat a wrap.The falafel tasted old and dried out, not a very pleasant experience. I’m struggling to find anything positive to say about Beirut Express. It’s clean and new inside?
It’s a shame, but I would avoid eating here, save your money and get better bread and ingredients at Al-Sultan down on Douglas St.
Sounds like the owners of Al-Sultan are worried about a bit of competition to me!
Nice attempt at sounding like a random customer.
Competition is healthy. Good for the consumers and keeps the businesses honest.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your comment. I find it funny how you think I’m affiliated with Al-Sultan, my passion for food can be extreme, but I believe I’m entitled to that as a critic. I dined at Al-Sultan one day, and Beirut Express the following day. I honestly wanted to like Beirut Express, because it looked like a nice addition to Fort St. But the quality was unacceptable, and the freshest comparison was Al-Sultan where I had eaten the previous day. I agree with you that competition is healthy. I hope that Beirut Express reads my review, perhaps they had an off day and the falafel was not up to scratch. But judging from the other reviews on Urbanspoon, my experience wasn’t unique, others had similar negative dining experiences.
Bye-bye, Beirut Express
I eat lunch out seven days a week, so I’ve had the good, the bad and now, the inedible. I looked forward to giving Beirut Express a try. I figured they’d been open long enough to have had a chance to work out any kinks. Their printed menu states that “freshly shaved” meat is used in their shawarmas. I have had delicious meat shaved off a vertical spit at “lowly” Food Fairs, so that was the least I expected. Well, I watched as the server prepared my chicken shawarma by filling the pita from a warming drawer. I was the first customer of the day and already the meat could not have been drier! I guess to compensate, lots of garlic sauce was squeezed on top. I like garlic, but this was totally overwhelming. The lamb shawarma was just as dry. I really had high hopes, but I had to throw out at least half my lunch and I can honestly say that I’ve never done that before….ever. I, too, have eaten at Al-Sultan with whom I have absolutely no ties, There is NO comparison in quality and customer service.
Thank you for taking the time to try eating at my establishment, and providing feedback.
While I was initially hurt and a bit defensive of the negative review, I must fully acknowledge that if you did not have a good experience then as a business we have much to improve on. As you mentioned in your review, we are very new, and while things are going well we are certainly working on improving our recipes, preparation, and service. We have had many compliments and return customers, but obviously we must take responsibility and accept criticisim, learn from it and try to improve.
We are working to improve where we get our ingredients, and how to prepare food as close as we can to authentic Lebanese cuisine for everyone to enjoy. I grew up in Beirut and now call Victoria my home. I am proud to live here, and share Lebanese dishes with everyone.
I would ask that if you would please do not cross us off your list, but do come back again and let me know if we have improved, and what you would like to see changed. It is my hope that you would enjoy our food and become a repeat customer.
Thank you
charbel
Ok, so I went there today. It wasn’t bad. Best Chicken Shawarma in Victoria. The only thing I was lacking in my shawarma was some sauce. Maybe the owner and employees need to start asking if customers would like some sauce on the side? Hope you guys are around for a while. I also think that now that they’ve gotten some constructive criticism, they can only get better. Totally worth the $7.
I also believe comparing to Al-sultan is a waist of time because they are totally different. Both great places with one being a restaurant style service and the other fast food.
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