Steve’s Back Room

First time here. The chicken kabob was delicious! The garlic dip was spot on authentic and the hummus as well. Warm fresh bread, yum. I met the owner and his wife, pleasant people. I will definitely make Steve’s Backroom my new go to Mediterranean restaurant!

What happened to Steve’s? I had been going there for years and years due to its proximity to my parents’ house. My husband and I used to eat there at least weekly. Over time the service started lacking but we gave them the benefit of the doubt. The quality/​flavor of the food also started going downhill within the past year or so. My last few visits there have been the nail in the coffin. I ordered a pick-​up of one of their shawarma sandwiches, as had become a routine. The woman taking my order seemed like she wasn’t paying any attention (honestly she sounded half asleep) as I placed my order so I made sure to repeat it over the phone. I arrived to pick up my sandwich and the owner’s wife started arguing with me about what I had or had not ordered. When I continued to insist that no, I did not order all of the food that she was trying to charge me for, she became very rude and raised her voice saying that I did not place my order correctly over the phone. I mean she would not let it go. I was about to leave without my food. I’m not an unreasonable person and after a certain amount of time you have to be willing to admit that your customer is right. She finally conceded, threw my food in a bag and shoved it across the counter.
After years and years of ordering this food regularly and bringing friends and family in, I have decided that this place is not worth my time or money, and certainly not worth being yelled at about an order. You can imagine how disappointed I was to get home with my food and realize it was completely flavorless. They serve decent food here sometimes… You can never go wrong with tabbouleh or grape leaves or a small selection of their dishes, but there are so many middle eastern restaurants in the area and this one has become quite the dud. The worst part is the owners don’t really seem to care.

Me, my wife and my 1 year old son had dinner here a few weeks ago. While at first we were uncertain about how would like this restaurant because at first blush it seemed small and disorganized, we quickly grew to love it. Delicious food, attentive service and an amazing family atmosphere. We felt like part of the family during the service as people came to greet us and ask about our baby and to make sure everything was good. The owner even came by, cleared some our plates and shared conversation with us. Overall a great experience. If you are in the mood for Lebanese food, I highly recommend Steve’s back room.

Hit or miss. Depends on what you get and how fresh it is. Avoid the pizza stick to soups and classic dishes such as grape leaves and gousa.

On three seperate occasions I have had little pebbles in my lentils and rice. One time I bit down on it and chipped my tooth. I have been a lot more careful since. Today, another little pebble, I felt it in my mouth before I bit down. They sell this crap at my work and sometimes I get hungry. Gross.

Finally got my husband to try it after I looked and saw they had a kids menu with American food. I thought I remembered seeing something about brick oven pizzas and sure enough, even though they are middle eastern, they have pizza. So, it was perfect for everyone in our family. The kids had pizza, which my husband also shared and he said it was one of the best pizzas… generous with the cheese, and cooked perfectly.
I got a hummus app plate and it was creamy and delicious! They served two types of pita bread and although we devoured the fresh baked kind, I’m sure they would have brought us more. I tried something new, stuffed artichokes with a yogurt sauce and it was amazing. Even better the next day. Everything was great and it had a very homey atmosphere. We will for sure be back!

Had raw kibbeh there for the first time, it was fantastic. The service was a tad slow but it didn’t matter — the food was delicious, the drinks were on point. This is my go-​to Mediterranean stop from here on out!

CABBAGE ROLLS. ORDER THE CABBAGE ROLLS. everything I’ve had from steve’s has been tremendous (particularly the kibbeh nayeh, sheikh-​el-​mashi and koussa), but the cabbage rolls will make you believe in god. sahtein!

After deciding where to go for carryout for Mediterranean food, I am confident in saying I’m never getting food from here again. I ordered a Chicken Schwarma pita and a fattoush salad and neither had any flavor or hardly any taste. I have never had such tasteless food in my life and the price wasn’t cheap either. I’ve had better tasting food from other restaurants in the area, which is where I’ll be going back to for better food.

Homemade pita was crunchy and dry served with gritty spices and olive oil. The garlic spread served as a staple at other like restaurants costs extra. Son ordered a chicken shawarma plate and found it tasty. Husband ordered a beef kebab and liked it but I found it bland. I couldn’t eat my Kafka. It was over spiced and looked like black logs. Fatoush dressing was sour and overpowered the greens which were not the freshest. I prefer Kebob House in Warren.

Gave them a shot today by ordering a chicken shawarma sandwich to go. Odd fact: their chicken shawarma sandwich doesn’t come with pickles. You must ask for them to be added. Nor onions… same deal, but chicken shawarma doesn’t necessarily come with onions. Pickles, though? Always.
Service was fine from the server at the counter. It took a bit longer for the sandwich to be made than I thought, but nothing of consequence.
The sandwich itself, though? Almost completely lacking in flavor. Believe it or not, the chicken was still pretty juicy, but *nothing else* was helping it out: the tahini sauce was there, but bland as nothing, and the onions were flavorless. In fact, that’s kind of the theme of this sandwich: flavorless. I did eat it, and it’s not as though it’s getting me sick or anything, but weighing in at almost $ 6, I would never, ever order from here again.
This is the second time I’ve been here, and I’ve yet to be even somewhat impressed. There are just too many other quality ME restaurants in the area for me to go back here. I completely do not understand the draw of this place.
«Meh. I’ve experienced better.» is the perfect rating.

The food and service is always excellent! We stop in every few weeks and are never disappointed. The salads are fresh, the sandwiches, entrees and soup all very good.

I recently stopped in here for dinner during a trip to Michigan and thought the food was incredible!!! I’m half Lebanese and the food here reminded me of my family’s home cooking but even better. The service was great and staff very nice and attentive. The fattoush salad, kibbee and rice were out of this world. My fiancé got the lamb and kibbee nayee and loved both! We wish we lived closer!

Ok I have to update and agree with another reviewer that I would give 3.5 stars if I had that option but since I do nor I have to err on the side of lower here unfortunately because the service is SO bad. I just reread my first review from almost three years ago where I stated this was not a problem and only now realized on that first visit we sat in the bar area; perhaps that makes a difference. I have been here quite a few times since then and the service has been bad every time. So why do I keep going back? Because in my opinion the food really is that good. The hummus is kind of bland but I often find hummus bland and therefore am not the biggest fan to begin with. And the rice also is very bland. I love the airiness and texture of it, but zero flavor. Also very important is that although the service Is SLOW I do not really find it bad beyond that. You always get what you need eventually and the staff are actually overall pretty nice… just really really slow.
Now that the negatives have been addressed I will say I stand true to all of the praise from my original review. I usually get the number one combo that comes with raw kibee, baked kibbee, koussa (a stuffed zucchini) and grape leaves. Every single item in that combo is delicious. Today I got brave and had lamb kabobs… and they totally sent me to my happy place! So tender and delicious and cooked perfectly (I ordered medium) and my husband who thought he didn’t like lamb agreed. I just need to remember not to get the rice. My husband (who was my «boyfriend in the first review. …awwwww!) said the fries are always very crisp and fresh. They looked good, I should have tried one!
So… I would encourage others to go here, just heed the important parts of both the good and bad reviews because they are both right. On this day… food wins!

The food is amazing. Wish I could take the restaurant home to Houston with me. Especially enjoyed the Kibbe tray that’s my favorite. But everything is very good. Can’t wait to come back.

I ordered (4) boxes of pita chips online, 26.61 $ including shipping. The order never came then I had called and she informed me that I need to go to the bank and have a stop payment issued because «it happens a lot» and then I can call her to re-​order… I have some news for Steve and the lady that answered the phone, if I need to drive to my bank to issue a «Stop Payment» then I no longer wish to do business with you! Your pita chips are good but not that good.

Seriously this is one of the best Lebanese cuisine i ever had. Finally a place that capture the real flavor and the taste. Its a amazing place. Will definitely comeback.

I had my first experience at Steve’s Backroom and I must say it was excellent. The food was great and awesome service! The staff was very nice and the food was fresh and very tasty.

I remember this place when it had a tiny restaurant at 7 ½ and Kelly. They have been around for years and I still adore their pastries. Aside from that… Their food AND service could be better…
I was not impressed by the waitress at all. You could really tell we were inconveniencing her by wanting to eat there and ask questions in regards to the food. Some people really need to stay out of the food business if they can’t leave their poor a** attitude behind. Consider yourself and actor when you take care of tables and put on a great show! DUH.
The salad that comes with your entrée has way too much dressing. Its very acidic so I didn’t even finish it.
On to an important topic… So you are reading the menu and see dishes that state the meat being used is LAMB… DO NOT be fooled. This place, among other Mediterranean restaurants in the area do not use 100% lamb in their dishes… if at all. We asked and were told the combination is «80÷20» (whatever that is suppose to mean)…this is a crock. If a restaurant is not going to use 100% lamb in the dish, they need to state that on the menu… but then again this place among others outright LIE about using lamb. They are probably thinking, «Those stupid Americans won’t be able to tell the difference between beef and lamb.» THINK AGAIN! There are actually some people out there who cook with lamb often and can tell the difference!

I am not a fan.
I’ve been here for breakfast and dinner, and neither were any good. The food was bland and tasteless, which is tough to do with middle eastern food. The hummus had little to no garlic in it, the shish kabob was over cooked and bland, and the rice was boring and tasteless. On top of that, it was grossly over-​priced. I have to sincerely question anyone that thinks this place is even decent. Ikes in Warren is much better, but I can’t imagine anywhere claiming to serve middle eastern food being much worse.