Al Khaleej - DOCKLANDS

The service at this restaurant was very poor. I was misinformed over the phone about the name of the restaurant, which was originally said to be Al Khaleej but was actually called Downtown. The waitress was not knowledgeable about the names of the restaurants, showing a lack of employee training. As a newcomer to Middle Eastern cuisine, I did receive some assistance from a waiter who spoke limited English. Despite being seated inside, the doors were left open, allowing hookah smoke to flow in with the cold Docklands breeze. After receiving an initial platter and dip, the staff did not return to check if I needed anything else. For dessert, they seemed too preoccupied with setting up hookahs for other customers, neglecting my needs. The food itself was bland and underwhelming, not worth a return visit.

I visited this restaurant soon after they opened and was not impressed by the slow service. However, I recently went back to Alkhaleej and had an amazing experience. The food, atmosphere, and service were all excellent. I think they may have had a rough start, but I now highly recommend this restaurant to all my friends and family. The prices are fair at $35 per person and we tried a variety of dishes including dips, salads, appetizers, chips, and grills - all of which were delicious. This is hands down the best food I have ever had in Melbourne.

We dined at the restaurant on a Sunday evening and found the service to be excellent. The waitress was friendly and attentive. We ordered the trio of dips, which were tasty, but were disappointed with the deep fried bread that accompanied them as it was overcooked and greasy. For our main course, we shared a mixed grill consisting of three skewers, 2 lamb cutlets, rice, and a side salad. The lamb cutlets were good, the kafta was okay but lacked flavor, the chicken was a bit dry, and the lamb had too much fat. Overall, we left feeling disappointed with our meal.

This place is that bad that you have no option but to laugh. We went down on a Sunday arvo thinking me might give it a crack being a new local restaurant. We arrived to an empty restaurant which should have been a sign, we were meet at the door by a casually dressed man who told us to sit where ever we liked. We grab a table outside in the sun and enjoyed the view. The menus were quickly brought out by a friendly waitress. The menu itself was an A3 page that covered some basic middle eastern meals and then seems to lose its way half way through as I start listing for burgers and steaks. The waitress came out to take our order, we ordered a couple of plates of entrees and then our mains (two of the mixed grills and two other middle eastern dishes) we were ask by the waitress if we would like the entrees first to which we said yes. After about a 45 minute wait the waitress came out and said sorry for the wait on the entrees, the head chef had bumped his leg and there was a delay, we were then told all the food would come out together. A little annoying but no massive drama. Straight after that 3 of the mains came out, one of which was so cold it was like it just came out of the fridge. After waiting 5 minutes I decided to ask about the 4th main meal and get the other reheated. I as I walked through the door to ask I was abruptly met by the man in casual clothes who rudely told me the last meal was getting made now. 15 minutes later, after the other two meals had been finished the 4th meal and the microwaved meal appeared. I asked about the entrees which had still not arrived and I was told the head chef broke both his legs yesterday and wasn 't able to do the prep this morning in other words there not coming . Food was really average maybe a 1 out of 5. I 'll give them credit, they did try to smooth it over with free dips and bread and take 10% off the bill but it was still a shocking experience. There are plenty of other options for middle eastern food right across the city. Please find one and avoid this joint.

Very bad service. Over the phone I was told the restaurant was Al Khaleej but then walking to the spot all I saw was the name Downtown. The waitress didn't know anything about the names. So much for employee training. For someone new to Middle Eastern cuisine I did receive help from a waiter who spoke little English. I got a table inside but the doors were kept open which allowed hookah smoke to waft in on the drafts of cold Docklands breeze.After the initial serving of a platter and a dip, they next didn't even bother to come back to my table asking me if I needed anything. As for dessert they didn't even bother being too busy setting up hookahs for the drones of Middle Eastern women who wished to smoke the night away.As for whatever food I ate it was insipid to put it mildly.Not worth a second visit.