11/07/09

No good until new managment

by henklfchma

the manager had adttitude all the time

he should not be in thsi filed, he wantsus to tips the waitress more that we should and we give 40 % and he wants more for the blonde one, the brazilain boyz and the middle eatern are good worker,

but the other no way

Place was good and pack once now is so empty and wonder why....... wonder if the owners knows why

03/01/09

Great space & Entertainment, Poor Food, Poor Service

by LoveCityLife

Food: below average, burned and tasteless. A good advice: stick to the appetizers if you were to eat anything there.

Service: poor, slow and below average. Manager/Owner has no people or PR skills, he does not bother himself to greet or acknowledge his customers.

Place: is Great, the room is beautiful, decorated with gorgeous carpets and exotic lamps. The way they have the bar and the dining room separated is great. They have a gorgeous space and it looks like they spent the money on renovating it.

Parking: Excellent in the back of the restaurant, it is spacious and free.

Entertainment: is the best thing they have beside the space. On Friday, they have Armenian & Turkish band (good musicians a bit stiff). On Saturdays they have a Middle Eastern band (one main singer who manages to pull it off and create a good ambiance - musicians are good). Belly dancers change often, I have seen two lousy ones and only one real good one.

Not great for dinning but it is a good place to go to with your friends, order few light appetizers, have a drink, enjoy the music and dance.

• Pros: Space & Entertainment
• Cons: Food And Service

03/01/09

Good Music, Excellent space, Poor Food, Poor Service

by lovecitylife

Food: below average, burned and tasteless. A good advice: stick to the appetizers if you were to eat anything there.

Service: poor, slow and below average. Manager/Owner has no people or PR skills, he does not bother himself to greet or acknowledge his customers.

Place: is Great, the room is beautiful, decorated with gorgeous carpets and exotic lamps. The way they have the bar and the dining room separated is great. They have a gorgeous space and it looks like they spent the money on renovating it.

Parking: Excellent in the back of the restaurant, it is spacious and free.

Entertainment: is the best thing they have beside the space. On Friday, they have Armenian & Turkish band (good musicians a bit stiff). On Saturdays they have a Middle Eastern band (one main singer who manages to pull it off and create a good ambiance - musicians are good). Belly dancers change often, I have seen two lousy ones and only one real good one. On Sunday they have Jazz music on the evening and are planning to have Arabic music on the afternoons. Can't say much about Sundays because I never been there on Sunday!

Not great for dinning but it is a good place to go to with your friends, order few light appetizers, have a drink, enjoy the music and dance.

• Pros: Ambience, Music, Space
• Cons: Food And Service

02/16/09

Totally Red Disaster on Valentines night.

by Turkman

On Feb 14th , the night of Valentine I was at the Red Fez Bar getting a double Scotch ( I had specified the brand ) , When I was asked by the bartender how this particular drink is made , I must have been out of my mind to even stay another minute there When a bartender Doesn't speak english and lacks the knowledge of his duties behind the counter . But I don't Blame him ,, I Blame the Owner of this joint Cause after finding out that the Owner doesn't speak simple communication Language Called ENGLISH , that's when I felt the air inside is going to Suffocate me , the owner decided to call the cops Just for letting him know that he shouldn't have bartenders working in a bar when they don't speak English or Know how to mix a drink . And So Boston Finest Arrived in Numbers to escort me out because of the non speaking english owner russhed like a coward to call them and threatened me to be arrested if I ever went back there EVER AGAIN . So Good Luck Folks

• Pros: Terrible
• Cons: disasterous

01/17/09

The Red Failure

by FoodieJubee

Knowing that The Red Fez is the oldest Middleastern restaurant in the Boston area my friend and I decided to try it out. Upon entering the restaurant I felt like I was walking in Disney World's Epcot Center with a fat belly dancer and blaring music. It was very Cliche to say the least. After the hostess seated us, we had to go through several servers to have our waiter take our order. We waited 40 minutes for our hummus, yogurt dip, and grape leaves to reach our table (Each item needed to placed in a dish and sent to our table). Following came the luke warm green watery main course. We each took a bite and threw it out into our paper napkins. This was by far THE WORST dining experience I have ever had. Be careful enter with caution.

12/05/07

Very good experience

by aerlinnel

I was really surprised to see all the negative reviews on the Red Fez, although I suppose a number of them date back a while. I went with my boyfriend for my birthday dinner last Friday evening, somewhat randomly (we were going to go to the Franklin Cafe, but the 1+ hour wait put us off). The Fez was a very pleasant surprise! We had some very tasty meat-stuffed grape leaves for an appetizer. My entree was the lamb (kebab-style chunks) wrapped in roasted eggplant and cooked in Neapolitan sauce. It was *delicious*, rich and hearty -- perfect for a frigid late-November night. My boyfriend had the lamb loins, also very good, although he said it was quite a bit of work to get the meat off the bones. My pear mojito left something to be desired -- it was very alcohol-y except for the layer of sugar at the bottom -- but the busboys were extremely zealous in making sure that my water glass stayed full. In fact, they were extremely zealous about everything, to the point where they actually cleared our silverware with the appetizer dishes and our (attentive and very nice) waitress had to bring us more. It seems that the Fez ownership has taken criticisms of its service to heart and made improvements.

The dining room is only barely separated from the bar area, so at times it was difficult to hold a conversation over the music from the bar (and some music -- Abba and old-school Britney Spears?!) Nevertheless, the ambience of the place was nice, and I really liked the decor. And even on a Friday night, the dining room was only about half-full. Check this place out! I know I'm glad I did.

• Pros: Fast service, not too expensive, ambience, *great* food!
• Cons: Bar music is sometimes loud

08/05/07

TASTELESS/OVERPRICED FOOD, WHAT A WASTE OF A NICE SPACE.....

by toneperc

SHAME THAT THE FOOD IS SO BAD HERE, THE SPACE IS SO NICE, INCLUDING THE OUTDOOR PATIO SPACE. IT WOULD BE SO NICE TO SEE A TRADITONAL ITALIAN RESTAURANT MOVE INTO THIS SPACE OR A MEXICAN RESTAURANT. WE NEED A MEXICAN RESTAURANT IN THE SOUTH END....

• Pros: GREAT SPACE INSIDE AND OUT....
• Cons: FOOD IS JUST NOT GOOD....BORING....

10/13/06

South End's festive Middle Eastern restaurant serves dependable fare to a loyal, local following.

by Contributor

The Scene
Awash in warm colors and authentic touches, an upbeat atmosphere fills this popular South End spot (and the patio, when weather permits its use). An eclectic mix fills the airy bar for one of Boston's most unusual drink menus. Nearly 100 wines are on offer, including about 30 by the glass.

The Food
The user-friendly, predominantly Middle Eastern menu satisfies, from light snacks to heavy meals. Most diners start with a selection of hot and cold mezze (appetizers); spinach-cheese dumplings, hummus and tabouleh do not disappoint. Another excellent starter is the moist, lemony mako shark skewer. Entrees include several standards, such as a healthy-sized char-grilled chicken skewer plate. Seared breast of duckling is prepared with a flavorful chutney of almonds, apricots and dates. Strong Turkish coffee and Moroccan mint tea wash down pleasing homemade desserts, including a surprisingly good tiramisu.

08/16/06

Never Go Back!!! Worst service in the city.

by agt1997

I've been a fan of the Red Fez for years but after this past trip, will never go back. We ordered a few drinks, all of which were horrible. The pomegranate margarita was really gross. The normally fabulous Moroccan martini was missing an ingredient and was so sour we couldnt even drink it. The waitress was rather clueless and non attentive. It was dead, we were the only people in the bar area. She kept disappearing for long periods of time and we had to flag her down several times to get drinks and apps. They advertise "Big Screen TV for Red Sox". Three innings into the game, the bartender decided HE wanted to watch something else and changed the channel. We were the ONLY people in the bar. The only paying customers. We asked for the channel to be changed and were told NO, in a very rude manner. The staff wanted to watch football. We promptly got the bill and left for Union, across the street, who served us fabulous drinks with attentive service and Red Sox. The food at the Fez was good, not great. And the drinks are usually good. But on this night, everything was off. You would think on a dead Friday night during the summer, the Fez would be grateful for the few patrons that showed up to keep them in business. But instead, they ignored us, were rude, and showed that they cared more about football than their business. There are too many other great places in the area that have attentive service and treat their customers well.

• Pros: Decent food, apps are cheap
• Cons: Service and attitude. Obnoxious

08/03/06

Bad Service! Will not go back!

by ginger123

My husband and I went here for brunch on a Sunday afternoon. There was a sign on the outside that read "LIVE JAZZ BRUNCH" but when we went inside, we found the place to be completely dead and there was no such live jazz, as we were hoping. We were seated outside and ordered standard brunchy sort of items. The food was decent - not great. But what really made this an overall bad experience was our waitress. She had an absolute terrible attitude - was not friendly nor attentive -and we were the only ones there! She didn't smile once and she made us feel like we were putting her out or something. When I got my food, I asked if I could have some ketchup and she pointed to my husbands plate, who had a side of ketchup sitting on his plate and said "there's some" and walked off! I haven't been back since. With all the top notch restaurants in the South End to pick from, I would not bother with this place.

• Pros: outdoor seating
• Cons: bad service, mediocre food