Cedars Lebanese Restaurant

One of my new favorite restaurants in Roanoke. I love Lebanese food, anyway, but I must say that they have some of the best falafel I’ve had! My boyfriend had the lamb wrap and was very pleased. Overall, I would certainly recommend Cedars to anyone who likes Middle Eastern food.

Everything here is amazing and priced just right. Nothing really more to say!

This being my first experience with Lebanese food outside of the yearly Lebanese festival, I went in with an open mind. To start me and my dining partner began with 2 sampler appetizer platters and for our entrée we decided to share the combination kebab platter… I was not impressed to say the least. Maybe it was because I am not necessarily a fan of Lebanese food, or maybe it was what we ordered, I just don’t know. The 2 sampler appetizers we ordered were just ehhh ok… certain nothing to rave about however the hummus was delicious.
The kebab platter we shared was massive well worth the 32.00 but the taste was not worth the 32.00. Our server neglected to explain what was what on the platter so we were left to figure out which meat was which, and that alone took away from the overall dining experience.
Overall I give Cedars 2 stars, the service aspect of this restaurant has some room for improvement, and especially being such a unique restaurant in the valley the waiters should have more knowledge about the food. The food while decent, was not remarkable. I don’t think I would go back.

Probably the best of all of the places we’ve eaten on these day trips to Roanoke. I don’t know what was best, the food (which was amazing), the service (which was spectacular), or the overall vibe (which was perfect). We will definitely eat here again.

Our first is it was over a month ago. The food and service were so amazing that we returned again. Our server, Tamara, went out of her way to accommodate our allergy request. Sitting outside was another highlight. We plan to become regulars

I grew up eating Lebanese food so that may be the reason I don’t like their food. The tabouli is oversalted, which I actually don’t mind, and their wraps have way too much garlic sauce. Their falafel, humus, grape leaves, kibi, and kebabs are also just ok/​subpar. That being said my friends usually enjoy the food so I may be overcritical.

Appetizers were amazing. We had the vegetarian sampler. Also had vegetarian wrap. They have several vegetarian wrap choices. I had cabbage rolls just like my grandma used to make. It is available on Monday & Wednesday & I highly recommend it. I finished off with Lebanese rice pudding which was heavenly! The service was exceptional. I highly recommend this restaurant

I was going to get carry out here, but the girl (Tara) at the register had such a snarky, condescending attitude that after asking a couple of questions I just put the take-​out menu back in the rack and left. No wonder this place was absolutely empty at 7:00 p.m.
Not recommended. Go somewhere else where they value their customers.

Please note that the 2 star rating was largely influenced by the service and experience with the service. The food would have received a 3.5, but poor customer service can overshadow even the best of meals.
A group of 3 of us came by for lunch on a Friday and were seated promptly. Water was served immediately and then we were left to hang out on our own for 15 minutes with no contact. There was only one waitress, and to her credit she was taking care of all the tables (6 maybe?). The owner (I overheard a convo in which he introduced himself to customers) stood at the counter the entire time and observed the restaurant while the waitress tended to everything. Our group wondered why he didn’t chip in & help. Shortly after he went to the kitchen and grabbed a plate of food and ate it at the counter instead.
Anyway, our waitress came and got our orders and we started off with the vegetarian platter. It included a little bit of everything: hummus, grape leaves etc. It was good but odd that it was only served with about 5 pieces of very thinly sliced pita. We then placed our order and two of us got gyro and one of us got the lamb schawarma. The gyros were served with fries and I substituted mine for a cucumber yogurt salad. The lamb came with rice. Apparently the lamb was a good choice because our waitress said, «that’s excellent and I’ll bring you out some hummus to go with it because it’s fantastic» *NOTE* remember this for later in the review.
Our food arrived and it looked great. The lamb was excellent and served with rice. My gyro was disappointing as the bottom of it was very soggy and wet. What was even more disappointing was the cucumber yogurt salad. There was literally 3 half cucumber slices in a bowl of yogurt. It resembled much more of a sauce than salad. I ate my 3 halves and was content.
My largest disappointment was when I received the bill. It wasn’t cheap at $ 52, but I didn’t mind as I thought it was nice to try something different. My attitude immediately changed when I noticed that the waitress charged us for the «extra» hummus she brought out with the lamb meal. You know… the one she suggested and insisted on, without even asking. It wasn’t expensive at all, but that wasn’t the point. I just think it’s shady to do that to customers. It shows that you’re not really interested in the experience or that you’re cheap. Either way, it frustrated me enough to know that I wouldn’t want to visit again. Call me old school, but that’s rude and offensive.

I ordered one of the appetizer platters in the hopes of trying a little bit of everything. Some things were tasty, but overall the meal was ok. The service was good and they have an interesting selection of beers. I may be back to give another dish a try.

Absolutely amazing. Fresh, well seasoned and excellent texture. I’d recommend the hummus and chicken platter.

Some of the best Mediterranean food I’ve ever had. I ordered the veggie sampler. The grape leaves were way more than addictive. Perfect texture and flavor. Nice atmosphere and Tara was a super server!

Love the food here! The falafel, meat pies and hummus are delish. We ordered the Mezza, which included a sampling of 10 dishes, which is great for exposing newbies like us to Lebanese food.
We are outside in the warm weather. Friendly service and fresh food. We will be back!

My husband and I stopped in here on a whim and we were pleased with everything. I had chicken shawarma and he got the falafel. All was so delicious and full of flavor. The staff were helpful and service was super quick. It doesn’t look like much on the outside but inside the atmosphere, food, and service are great.

Visiting from out of town. Found this place on Unilocal with good rating. Not so good for us. We eat middle eastern food regularly from places across the U.S. and this was disappointing.
First the service was slow and not friendly but not rude, just short. Ordered some hummus and pita to get started and thought the bread was dry. My stuffed cabbage rolls seemed to be cooking too long as the cabbage was like soggy paper. The side which came with my entry was rice, I had rice in my cabbage rolls. Talk about rice overload.
My wife ordered a wrap which consisted of meat and parsley with no condiment/​sauce. Any other time this plate has been ordered there has been yogurt dressing/​sauce. So the wrap has a large amount of parsley and guess what the side is, tabouli. Overload of parsley this time.
Sorry to say this establishment needs some reworking.

Cabbage rolls on Monday and Dolma on Thursday. How can you argue with that!

We’re driving through from Atlanta to New York and just happened to stop in Roanoke for the night. Through the reviews my wife found this interesting option and we had no idea it was situated in the amazing Marketplace area. Chock full of really neat walk up restaurants, shops and an awesome coffee house.
My wife went with the Vegetarian Sampler appetizer for her main dinner course. Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Falafel and a really good salad that featured a lemony mint dressing. Incredibly good. I went with the Lamb Rib Rack based on the recommendation of my server and it was outstanding. A little fatty but then lamb always is. Incredible flavors and just the right sized portion, not too large.
The meal was the perfect portions, excellently prepared and the service was very friendly and helpful. Highly recommend both Cedars and the entire Marketplace area for dinner whether you’re staying in Roanoke or passing through.

I visited Cedar’s on the one-​year anniversary of their opening — they had a Happy Birthday banner on the wall, balloons on the counter, and I overheard the staff celebrating the event with a cake — the waitress even offered me a piece before I departed :-) If I had not already had dessert, I would have gladly partook!
I ordered the Baba Ganoush after reading mixed reviews and found that it did in fact have the overwhelming smokey flavor a few reviewers had mentioned before. I was not fond of the pita either, as it was very thin, flat, and hard — not the soft, light and easily tearable pita that I am used to.
I tried the Ayran (original flavor), as I had not ever had it, and really enjoyed the unique, salty flavor of this yogurt drink.
For my main dish, I ordered the Shish Taouk and it was wonderful! The meat was well-​seasoned and the side of garlic butter was a nice compliment to the meat. The rice side was also very tasty and cooked just right. The portion was amazing! Even for a big meat-​eater like myself, the large chunks of chicken were more than enough! More than half of my dish had to be boxed to-​go.
Finally, I ordered the Namourah for dessert — this cake had a wonderful flavor, soaked in simple syrup with rose water, coconut, and an almond on top.
The atmosphere was nice-​the restaurant is located in a quaint space and generally clean. The service was friendly, but matter-​of-​fact and not overly talkative. My table was generally well-​attended. The kitchen was loud, but understandable in such a small space.
The prices were reasonable and nothing caused me sticker shock!
Overall, a good experience and I will be back to try other dishes.

How cheap can you be giving patrons one pita bread with an order of hummus? or baba ganoush?
The food is pretty good, and I can understand how some can rave over something thats so rare for the area. All of the kebabs are seasoned well and cooked perfectly. The hummus and baba ganoush also are a winner.
The stuffed deep fried pockets all strangely tasted the same.

Cedars has delicious AUTHENTIC Lebanese cuisine. The historic downtown location is superb, we were staying at Hotel Roanoke and it was a quick walk across the walkway. The downtown area was lovely to walk around after a late lunch. The restaurant is clean and atmosphere is comfortable and inviting. Large windows fill the restaurant with natural light and there is window seating and outdoor sidewalk seating. No restaurant of this kind exists where I live — DC — I know, right? Well, it’s true. There are high-​end Lebanese restaurants, but no home-​cooked/​authentic tasty cuisine in a relaxed comfortable atmosphere.
The food was superb! The Baba Ghanouj is grilled/​smoked eggplant; authentic in flavor and preparation to Lebanese cuisine. So delicious!
The Taboulleh was fresh and light; not overly salted or oiled that you will typically find in many restaurants. The ingredients were all finely hand-​chopped. If you LOVE Taboulleh and try to make your own, you know the work and effort that goes into the process; save yourself the time, order extra and take it to go!
I ordered the delicious Mezze sampler with five items and it was a generous portion of each; spinach pies, meat sambousek (pies), french fries (a lebanese staple), taboulleh, and baba ganoush. I also ordered a side of rice — perfect lebanese style with vermicelli noodles.
Next meal: Taboulleh, cooked kibbeh, rice, baba ghanouj and french fries. One of my favorites and a highly recommended meal!
French Fries: my favorite food in the whole world. Next time I’ll order an extra serving — SO perfectly done.
My husband ordered a wrap — can’t remember which one — it was ground beef, slightly spicy, the meat was SO juicy, they said it had some tomato sauce cooked with the meat. This is definitely a must-​have!
Another favorite: try the Raw Kibbeh — Kibbeh Nayye — this dish is a Lebanese style steak tartar. It is served with a side of garlic whip, mint, raw onions and pita bread. The meat is very rich and flavorful, the garlic whip goes a long way, use a bit as to not mask the flavor of the meat.
Why are you still reading? Go! Eat! Enjoy!