Karioka Lounge (burlington) - Buffalo

WOW...REALLY BAD. Where do I even start. SERVICE 0/5. There was only 1 guy serving the whole place. And I only saw him twice when we got there and he took our order, and when he brought us our food 45 MINUTES later. FORTY FIVE MINUTES to get our food, crazy. He never checked on us at all. After waiting, I had to walk up to the bar to ask for the bill. And when I did, he said their debit machine was down cash or e transfer only. No backup payment plan? What if people don't have cash or do e transfer? Ugh. Guy shows me an iPad with an amount on it $226, with no order breakdown. Seems high. I refer to the menu and add up the amounts on my phone. Tells me that each of the 4 Mixed Grill plates we ordered are $35. No buddy, they're $30/plate, look at your own menu. Tells me the 2 Manakesh's we ordered are both $10. Nope, they're $8 $11 right there on the menu. Staff don't even know their own prices. Then charges me $6 for 3 bottles of water (Costco Kirkland brand). I never asked for bottle water to begin with, I asked for water. But then to charge me for it? Not good. Total after my adjustments? $195 AFTER tax. $31 cheaper than their amount! If you eat here, analyze your BILL! FOOD 1/5. We ordered 4 Mix Grills, 1 Maza Dip appetizer (Baba Ghanoush, Hummus and chopped Salad), 1 Zaatar Manakesh, 1 Zaatar Cheese Manakesh, and a Mango juice. I unknowingly ordered 3 waters too, but i'll get to that later. Only good items were the Manakesh, those were fine. The Mix Grill plate though? Terrible. All were VERY SALTY. Like, crazy salty. Meat not tender, dry, and very chewy. Rice definitely not fresh and actually came cold. My kids fries were the supermarket bagged style ones, and weren't even done well. Fries are supposed to be crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. These were soft and soggy. Fresh cut fries just like in Egypt would be nice. Mango juice was watered down, with little flavor more water than actual juice. The Maza dip appetizer came with regular pita bread that you get from supermarket. In an Egyptian restaurant where's the Egyptian staple...Balady bread?! Fresh baked bread would be even better. PRICE 2/5. $30 for a mixed grill plate...a little steep for the portions and and poor quality. But $20 for an appetizer of 3 Dips? My fault for not paying attention to the price, but $20 for 3 dips is a lot. How does 3 dips cost more than Manakesh? $8 for Mango juice is a lot too especially when it was mostly water. $6 for 3 bottles of Costco brand water? I never asked for bottled, just figured it was easier for them to serve it that way vs water in a glass. But then they charge me for it. Sheesh. ATMOSPHERE 2/5. When you walk into a Chinese, Egyptian, or Greek restaurant, it should look and feel like you're IN that country. Nothing really feels Egyptian about this place. Not a huge deal, but still a factor. Overall, a terrible experience and we're not even snobby people. Our first and last time. My wife is Egyptian. I'm Canadian with Egyptian background and have been to Egypt over 25 times in my life. We KNOW Egyptian food. This is NOT it. This place MIGHT survive on the Hookah offerings alone, but definitely not the food unless immediate changes are made. Karioka go see what Masrawy Egyptian Kitchen in Mississauga is doing, and LEARN. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: CA$30–40

This is place is pretty big. The menu shows wide options of middle eastern food. However, the service is not great. The staff needs more knowledge of the menu, as well as customer service. It is pretty bad, unfortunately. I wish it could be a better restaurant because I can see the potential, but, maybe is not well managed. The food is great if you order for takeout, but, to dine in, it needs a better attention to the customer

Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: CA$10–20 Parking space: Plenty of parking

Quite literally everything we ordered was cold. Plus the Shawarmas were incredibly bland Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: CA$10–20

Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: CA$20–30 Recommended dishes: Hummus