Byblos Lounge

Had a VERY interesting experience last week at Byblos, a Lebanese place in Union Station. 7pm on a Friday night and hard to get into a lot of places w/​o a reservation. I had read about Byblos and decided to give it a shot.
It’s located on the opposite side of Union Station from Luciano’s. Luciano’s was hopping, with a large private holiday party that had taken over half of the atrium. We wandered over to find a spacious room, decorated in an eccentric and appealing way with dark, lurid colors — completely empty. Oh, except for one person behind a long bar. She confirmed we were in the right place and invited us to take any table. Most of the seating was couches with low tables, good for drinks and apps. We took one of the few conventional dinner tables.
The bartender became our waitress, and she started by explaining that they might not have everything on the menu. After she named a few things they were out of, we made our choices. Oops, they’re out of those, too. Eventually, with some heavy hints from her, we chose a set of dishes that they were prepared to serve.
«Oh, is there a wine list?» «Well, no, we drank most of the wine last night, but I think there are two kinds of red left.» «Um, OK, please bring us a bottle.»
Everything was EXCELLENT. Rich, thick labny was served with exotically spiced olives and pita chips, all without charge. We had the best tabbouleh I’ve ever tasted — almost no bulghur to speak of, just a touch of lemon and garlic, mostly silky, super-​fresh chopped parsley and tomato. Wonderfully smoky baba, light and delicious hummus with very little tahini in it, and some very solid kibbeh. Everything was nicely presented and super-​fresh.
The tab for a wonderful meal for two with a nice bottle of Cab was $ 62 before tip.
Turns out they’re only open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and while they open at 6, it’s mostly a late-​night crowd. But both our waitress and the chef, who came out a few times to deliver some bonus bites and see how we were doing, were very hospitable and clearly hoping we’d enjoy ourselves and come back. We definitely will.
This is NOT a place for someone picky, since who knows what they’ll happen to have. But if you are flexible and like really, really good middle eastern food, give it a shot. Oh, and I love the $ 1 parking in the Union Station garage, too.

Love this place! Met my friends for drinks there, and we had some of the best hummus I’ve ever had, yum! We complimented the hummus and our darling waitress zipped back to the kitchen to tell the chef, who then whipped up some complimentary fried cheese rolls for us as a thank-​you. We enjoyed everything we ordered, and had a lovely evening chatting away in the beautiful spot, while being perfectly taken care of. Cannot recommend this place enough! Parking in the train station garage is one buck.

Good food, good service
Cheesy décor .eh …the flowing curtains dont quite do it for me .
Anyway, the red wine (of the limited list) was nice
The waitress was very attentive
The food was tasty (better than El Basha)
But a couple of our first choices for entrée and dessert were not available
Also we were constantly bothered by the loud music coming from Luciano s Cotton Club across the hall :(
I went there because of the Groupon… Not entirely sure if I would go without it …

We thought a Groupon would be a nice opportunity to try this restaurant. We were not disappointed. All of our food was delicious. We had stuffed grape leaves, spinach pies and aged cheese for appetizers. The stuffed eggplant dinner special was fantastic as was the Spinach Halloom Salad.
We finished our meal with rice pudding and baklava. The pudding was very good (not too sweet with a nice hint of rose water) .
The service was friendly and informative. I highly recommend this restaurant if you are looking for great food in a comfortable atmosphere. We will definately return again.

We went to Byblos this past Saturday night. After sitting down at our table, we were IGNORED for 15 minutes, as the waiters walked past our table. Finally, one member of our party got up & spoke with the folks at the bar. After that, the server magically seemed to find us! However, I can’t say that I was very impressed with the service, even after that. There were only 3 people working that night, and they seemed very disorganized. Food came out a bit haphazardly, and a request for more bread was simply ignored, as was one for water. I finally had to go to the bar myself to get some.
How was the food? Fair, at best. I’ve had Middle Eastern & Lebanese food many times in the past, so I know what is should taste like. I can’t say that this was the best I’ve ever had. So so.
However, the poor service really put me off of this place. Yes, it appeared that all of the tables were full, but how much effort does it take to come over & say «I’ll be there in a minute — we’ve very busy tonight.» I didn’t see the tables turn over, which tells me that they’re probably not doing enough business.
The other problem is that there is absolutely no signage for the restaurant. It’s right off of the main lobby of the station (which is very nice), but you have to know that to find it. Parking was super easy, and one can’t complain about the price (a buck).
I don’t think I’ll be back for dinner. Perhaps drinks at the bar. I can’t recommend this place for dinner.

This is the worst food ever. Please do not waste your money in groupon. The food is not worth even if they offer you for free
I am wondering how these people are still in business.

I don’t think this place is getting a fair shake here. I’d give it 3.5 stars if that was an option. I went for apps/​dinner with a bunch of friends a couple of months ago. There were 8 of us, and we got a big table with a view of the live band that was playing. We ordered every mezza on the menu, and I’ve gotta say that pretty much everything was spot-​on… the meat pies, the cheese dishes, the hummusy stuff, I think there was a fattoush salad in there. There was one eggplant dish that we didn’t care for, but other than that we cleaned the plates.
The service was pretty disjointed and slow, and there was a small issue where out bar bill didn’t get transferred onto our table bill (a couple of the girls ran up to the bar to get a round of drinks since our waitress was swamped. They told the bartender to transfer the bill, but it never happened and then we had to explain that we weren’t trying to screw on the bar bill that included a $ 35 pour of Johnny Walker blue). It was a friday night, and the place was pretty recently opened at the time, so I’ll give them a pass on this.
The short: this came up again on Groupon today, and I’m gonna buy again.

I’ve had awkward waiters in the past but never a terrible one. The experience would’ve been much more pleasant had our waiter been as attentive to us as he was to the two other tables he was serving less than 5 feet away. We ordered to the hummus, which I will admit was delicious, but the waiter didn’t bring us pita bread with it. I thought something was odd the way he dropped our food on the table while still in conversation with the nearby table. We asked for water once and the waiter made a joke and then forgot our waters. Then 20 minutes later, after noticing he had brought drinks back and forth to other tables, we asked for water again, and he made the same joke. The waiter seemed taken back by us asking for the check with half-​eaten meals. It was a very awkward and unpleasant experience.
I always tip 20% because I receive tips at my work. And more if the waitstaff are great! But I couldn’t even bring myself to give him 15%.
And the food was just okay. Go to El Basha, not here.

I order 2 coronas $ 5 a pop, fine. I give the bartender (a female) $ 5 extra and ask for ones back. She gives me $ 2 back and says «is this what you wanted» with a smile that made me realize she took the 3 dollars thinking i would be okay with it. I told her no I wanted 5 ones. She looked at me and said «isn’t this what you wanted though?». Never going here again. I feel bad because the owners are nice. I even saw the same waitress pulling out dollars from the register and putting it in the tip can, and she definitely stole them, trust me. The waitress was slim, dark hair and had an attitude. If your reading this Byblos, fire her, for your own good.

Just checked out Byblos Lounge for the first time after buying a deal on Living Social. I am a big fan of the other mediterranean restaurants in the area (El-​Basha, Sahara) and wanted to try this new one. Overall, I was very please with my experience. I got the mixed grill and my boyfriend got the chicken kabobs, and we were both very please with our meal. The food was delicious and the portions were huge! They also have us Lebneh (sp??), syrian bread, chips, and olive to start our meal. Our meal took a little while, so the owner sent over some free hummus as an apology. This was thoughtful but too be honest, the hummus was really disappointing.
Pros:
Convenient Location, you can park in the garage (only $ 1) and never have to walk outside
Really unique décor, giving in a fun atmosphere, with a really small intimate feel.
Our waitress was very kind and friendly and offered good suggestions about the food
With the exception of the hummus, the food was great and the portions were gigantic — definitely enough for two meals.
Cons:
No signs, anywhere! It was our first time and the only reason I knew we were in the right place was because I had googled the place beforehand and had seen pictures
The beer selection was incredibly disappointing, only 4 or 5 beers (the best of which was probably Heineken, which I don’t think says much!) They should at least carry a Lebanese beer.
The place turns into a nightclub, which is probably fun, but while we were at dinner around 6:30 on Friday the DJ was setting up and testing his equipment — our meal was punctuated by really loud house music, and then silence.
Overall, I would say its worth checking out. If you’re looking for the best middle eastern food El-​Basha is still by far the place to go, but if you’re looking for good food and a different atmosphere, this is a place that has the potential to be something really unique and cool — just still needs to work out a few kinks.

The place is never open. Even during posted hours. Never

Groupon offered me a chance to invite a couple of friends for a modern Middle Eastern meal. The décor was modern however, there is an overwhelming feeling that Byblos lost its identity and you cannot exactly determine whether it is a restaurant or a lounge. They have a small selection of beers (4 beers, no draft), which is limited considering this is a lounge. I also found the wine selection very limited and did not complement the food at all.
As I am well acquainted with Middle Eastern cuisine, I came to this establishment with an open mind since the owners advertised that they serve modern Lebanese cuisine that differs from the authentic taste. Unfortunately, the food lacked basic seasoning along with some mistakes in seasoning, such as adding rosewater to the minced meat used in their kabobs and the dull tasting humous which does not get to the level of being compared to humous found in supermarkets. I have to say that the Kebbe appetizer was really good though it was greasy and needed more salt. Service wise, there were 3 servers (including the manager) for the tables and they forgot our order; so we had to wait for an hour and a half to be served. The manager offered to comp the bill but changed his mind towards the end.
I do not recommend Byblos for food, but if you are feeling like having a quick drink at a modern looking lounge in Worcester, you might want to try it out.

Byblos Lounge was listed as a participating restaurant on the Winter Worcester Restaurant week website. Per Byblos Lounge website, it states that they are open Thurs — Sat from 6pm-​2am. My husband and I arrive at Byblos at 6:45pm tonight (THURS) to find out that they were closed. We drove quite a ways to check out this restaurant and what a waste of time! Never again!

Coming out here for a night of revelry will give you hope for the nightlife in this city.
The moment that you pull in to the well lite, well secured, indoor parking lot that costs a buck all night, you know that your going to have a experience that is different then the chaos of most of downtown Worcester.
Without having to go outside, the parking lot leads you into this huge hall that is just as beautiful as the all white exterior. You’d never know that inside this museum looking building they have the two bars /​clubs in it!!! This is great because you can leave you coat in car, and you don’t have to worry about your girl busting her ass on the ice.
The vibe here is great, with all the ingredients for a great night out. Reasonably priced drinks, dance flour, DJ, cushy seating for big and small parties to make home base.
This place is never packed tight, always comfortable and fun.
If your sick of sticky floors, straight brimmed hats in the club, and feeling like you should take it easy on the shots in case you have to break out your Karate Kid moves on the way back to the alley you parked in, give partying in Union Station a go.