“You can hear the grilled meats sizzling as soon as you walk into this BYOB Lebanese, which is also renowned for its baked vegetable pastries and homemade sweet treats. Best Dish: Mixed Charcoal Grill - €26.90"

“You can hear the grilled meats sizzling as soon as you walk into this BYOB Lebanese, which is also renowned for its baked vegetable pastries and homemade sweet treats.”

By Rachel Collins
“(…) A simple place with Lebanese art and keffiyeh hanging on the wall, rattan chairs, dark wood tables and enormous portions(…) ”
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“You can hear the grilled meats sizzling as soon as you walk into this no corkage BYOB Lebanese establishment which is also renowned for its baked vegetable pastries and homemade sweets of the sticky honeyed variety! Best Dish: Chicken Mishwe – €15.90
Best Deal:Two-Course
Set Dinner Menu-€19.90″.

“Rotana is one of the stars of hip Portobello. If the cookery books of Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi have given you a taste for a falafel sandwich with tahini sauce, or for dolmades, or for chicken shawarma with Lebanese bread and garlic sauce, or for lamb tagine cooked the Lebanese way,then you have to make your way to Mohammed Abuissa’s lovely bright room in the hipster district of Portobello.Mr.Abuissa has been carving out a reputation as the creator of some of the very best Middle Eastern food that can be found in Dublin since he opened in 2008. You can just pop in and grab a fatoush salad to keep the hunger pangs at bay, or arrive with a brace of bottles, determined to make the night a long one as you eat your way through the delights of the menu.The room is simple and bright and atmospheric, just perfect for trying the homemade stuffed vine leaves, the crispy kibbe,their signature dolmades, the light tabbouleh and there is a fine moussaka. Great value for money, excellent service, and a great experience.”

“…No wonder it’s all bells and whistles; they have the best falafel in the land…”

Certificate of Excellence

“Leslie Williams rates the Rotana dolmades as being amongst the best in the city of Dublin. That is some accolade for Mahammed Abuissa has been quietly building a reputation for serving some of the best Middle Eastern food in Dublin ever since he opened the restaurant back in 2008. Others will nominate the Rotana falafels as the don’t miss it! dish – served in Lebanese bread with tahini, pickles and salad. And others always go for the Lebanese special dishes – the rice with minced lamb; the meatballs with Lebanese rice, the moussaka dishes the sweet, tender, homemade stuffed vine leaves, the lovely crispy kibbe, and always make sure to have lots of their smashing hummus on the side. It’s great food, cooking that has an enviable lightness of touch it’s terrific value, and the fact that Rotana is BYOB makes for one of the best value nights-out the city.”

“Mezze Made Simple”
By Ernie Whalley
“Owner Mohammed Abuissa has kept standards high, authentic, well prepared fare and a bring your own wine policy makes this one of the best-value places to enjoy good Middle Eastern cuisine in the city.”

“While their legendary falafel is the most popular dish, they’re no one-trick pony, and there’s much choice for the veggie and carnivore alike. Special mention must go to the bread, paper-thin and perfect for tearing, dipping, mopping and rolling.”

“Rotana is diffrent, completely unique for Dublin, and with the great Lebanese food friendly service, bring your own booze policy and great value for money its an option you simply cannot ignore.”

“Simple yet serious food at low prices this place has been one of our best dining experiences of the year.”

“Owner Mohammed Abuissa has kept standards high, authentic, well prepared fare and a bring your own wine policy makes this one of the best-value places to enjoy good Middle Eastern cuisine in the city.”

“Put This in Your Pipe”
By Ernie Whalley
“The food, simple yet serious, is fresh tasty and, as far as I can judge, authentic; the ambiance is welcoming and mellow and the staff utterly charming.”

“Give the gang of Lebanese fellas eternally smoking al fresco a big “Marhaba” as you head inside. The main dining room is a pleasant, modern affair, peopled by fans of the falafel. It really is the star of the show here; bang on with the spices and good enough for carnivores to enjoy as well as veggies.”

“Savouring the taste of home”
By Ken Doherty
“Formerly one half of Christy Bird’s antique shop, Rotana has become a shared meeting point for the Palestinian and Lebanese communities in Dublin. Palestinian owner and chef Mohammed Abuissa admits that he “misses home a little less because of what I do”. Homemade falafel, manakeesh, foul medammes and lamb kefta, all contribute to a cuisine that can be traced back.”

“The Rotana Cafe: We visited this lovely middle-eastern cafe and restaurant owned by a Lebanese chef Mohammed when we happened upon it for lunch a week ago. It is delightful, authentic, spotlessly clean and the food is delicious. Middle-eastern food at its best. We had a mezze for three (which would have done four people for a little over twenty euro fora plate of mixed starters). We had the smokiest baba ganoush, that?s roast aubergine whizzed usually with tahini, a sesame seed paste ? and it tasted as if we were sitting up a chimney eating it. It was as good as any The Gobbler ate in Jerusalem. They sat next to little daschund burgers, well that?s what we called them: dark fried meat in a sausage with spices,an ugly cousin to the aubergine but yummy. We had five of the best falling-off-the-bone meatiest chicken wings in a spicy sauce; a roll of Labneh, a cheese made from drained yogurt served with homemade flat breads for dipping and lots of other morsels that were just splendid. ”

“We visited this lovely middle eastern cafe and restaurant owned by a Lebanese chef Mohammed. It is delightful, authentic, spotlessly clean and the food is delicious. Middle-esatern food at its best. The ingrediens were excellent, everything was home-made and servings were generous”.

By Aingeala Flannery
“Where do you take a heavily medicated teetotaller for lunch? Rotana, to be fair, has a broader appeal than that. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the fact it doesn’t serve alcohol, it struck me as one of the most socially inclusive places around, falling between Beirut and Bundoran.”

By Aingeala Flannery
“(…) Rotana is clean, bright and comfortable. There’s a coffee bar, with a dessert fridge packed with pretty honey and nut dainties. To the rear, mezzes and hot plates are prepared to order. Arabic, French and English convertsation collide, the local crowd come for soup, the Arabs drink espresso and read the papers. Rotana would be a great place for eating lunch alone and for people-watching.”
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