Got a take away for family and we all loved it.
Despite the very nice food they serve, waiting for the food is a killer.
We waited for about 45 mins for the food to be served and we almost felt full as we waited after the appetizers for the mains.
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It was to celebrate a 30th birthday that we sought out Keshk for an evening. A celebration indeed was had, but at what cost?
Upon entering the establishment we were made to wait 20 minutes, at a different table before being seated at our own. As a party of 5 we assumed we would be seated at one of the two empty tables already laid out with place settings, but no no, we must wait for our specific table to be prepared.
Not 4 minutes has transpired once we were sat and given menus that we were approached for our orders. "One more minute please" was asked of the service person. Where upon she glanced at her watch, uttered the mournful phrase "sure, OK" and sequestered herself back in the stress-box that was the staff quarters.
ALL this changed when our food arrived, and what I can only assume was a metaphorical cane being dragged out to pull the aforementioned service person off the floor, as the food and service from then on was nothing short of immaculate, friendly, poised and efficient.
Chicken in puff pastry to begin was beautiful. Falafel was tasty, but heavily adorned with a lined creamy sauce. No no, falafel needs no such accompaniment.
The chef's choice of leaves needs to be expanded. Cos, arugula, romaine, am I reaching for the stars here? Iceberg is not the only girl at the ball.
Mixed grill with rice for main. Beautifully charred meats with a bowl of rice on the side. Tasty, but awfully dry once one starts to consume. Atkin's would be proud. But some dips or sauces to share, dollop and adorn would raise this dish from off the rack to haute couture.
The restaurant employs a "bring your own vintage" policy which is a welcome addition to the Dublin restaurant scene. However, don't be fooled into thinking this will lower your bill price. Service charge is included and enforced, despite the size of your party. Ice is hard to come by and your table will never be cleared to enough glassware to cause a crashing disaster.
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I've visited Keshk several times over the last few years and have experienced it as part of a large group (dinner and lunch), medium group (dinner) and a couple for dinner.
There are many positives about Keshk. The food is fantastic - tasty, big portions, always served piping hot and the meat had that lovely chargrilled flavour I love. The spicy potatoes warrant a mention alone- they are just divine. The staff are extremely nice- we once were leaving a tip for a particularly excellent waitress and she was all shy and said "please there is no need, it's too much". Another time, at a work lunch the waiter brought a few extra dishes for us to try at no charge. It's BYOW and I think you can bring beer as well which is a massive money saver. All in all it is very good value for money considering the quality of food you get.
To give a fully rounded review there are a few things I would say you should be aware of. Keshk is massively popular with large groups so can be very loud if you're there on a busy weekend (this is also a positive- they do cater excellently for large groups but if there are only 2 of you it is a bit noisy). The ladies bathrooms unfortunately on the Saturday night I was there were reminiscent of a nightclub - that was to be very honest the biggest negative for me. The BYOW thing is great but it does mean you will see lots of hen parties, birthday parties etc so if that's not what you're going there for, consider going maybe on a week night to make the most of the experience. They do tend to put the larger groups downstairs but upstairs can still be busy. Also, we found the service to be almost too prompt- we asked to hold off on dessert for a bit as we were finished starters and mains after only an hour (there were 5 of us) so felt a little rushed.
I would definitely go back here but for me I much prefer it when it isn't quite so busy.
Love this BYO! Staff are so friendly and helpful! Great place to go for a party as they are very relaxed and generally don't kick you out too early! Food is really tasty! One of the best BYOs I've been too!
Keshk Café Restaurant is an unassuming but very popular Middle Eastern restaurant near the canal. In fact, it’s so humble that KS and I almost walked past it while looking for a fresh and healthy place for dinner. Luckily KS did a double take and noticed that it was pretty crowded inside – a telltale sign that the food has to be good. The upstairs was full so the waitress seated us in the downstairs area. We laughed to ourselves as soon as we received the menu because it was almost exactly the same as the one at Alladins Café, a restaurant we had visited just the night before! We decided to stay and were glad that we did. I had the Shishtaouk - boneless cubes of chicken served on a bed of salad with an amazing side of yoghurt sauce. The chicken was cooked perfectly – lean, juicy and full of flavor. The side of deep fried spicy potatoes had a good kick, too. Apart from the slightly slow service, a meal at Keshk was a great experience.
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Keshk is one those Mediterranean restaurants that appeals to the sense almost immediately upon stepping into. The ground floor seating seems a little cramped, though. However, they do have a slightly more spacious area downstairs. The food here is more or less in while with what most Leavantine/Greek/Mediterranean restaurants serve - hummus, baba ghanouj, falafels, vine leaves, and a series of kebabs and grilled meats.
The baba ganouj is pretty good, and so is the hummus. The smokey flavours of the roasted aubergine comes through and blends quite well with the olive oil added in it. For mains, we ordered a chilli mesh we (lamb) and a shish touk (chicken). The meshwe is served in gravy that's slightly spicy, but tastes amazing nonetheless. The shish touk too was grilled nicely and the chicken cubes were still nice and juicy and not dried out. The service was a little slow at our table - all the other tables around us seemed to be getting a priority over us. However, the food was really good and luckily we weren’t in a hurry, and we were in a forgiving mood I guess.
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