Red Fez

I think this place is great. Food is terrific. I have been there several times & even had my engagement party there! The Chicken & Lamb Kabobs are great. Salmon is very good as well. As others have noted the appetizers are very very good. The middle eastern Beer & international Wine selection is a great fit for the food & this place is NOT expensive, especially with free parking in the back. I don't understand anyone who says this place is expensive; maybe next to the average greasy kebab house. The drawbacks are when they are busy; New Years Eve, a popular music act, my engagement party. The quality of service definitely goes down. Please note: Everyone of my guests enjoyed themselves. As for 'bad tasting food' I think commentators are talking about the Kofta. Their recipe is unique, and one night I saw a couple return it for that reason, but I like the Kofta! I think there is a lot of parsley which can be over powering. If you enjoy Arabic & Turkish food then you must go. Its been around for decades for a very good reason! Pros: Food & Wine Cons: Service to some extent more

A local music ensemble that I adore, called Dünya, was playing here. I made a reservation a few weeks in advance and then when I showed up, I was left there standing for about 5 minutes. The maître d'hôtel came and said they had no record of our reservation, he said pointing to a ruled sheet of paper covered with scrawls. I can see they have a sophisticated record-keeping system. They made me stand there like a schmuck pleading for a table. Eventually, I just had to leave, it was so rude. The funny thing is, we had had the exact same problem last year when Dünya played there. They haven't got their act together after a full year. The food here is OK, but way overpriced. As you can see from my other reviews on Yelp, which are mostly 5 stars, I am a very tolerant person. However, to be called a liar, effectively, in front of the other people who were waiting to be seated is unacceptable. Pros: I'm drawing a blank. Cons: rude maître d' more

the manager had adttitude all the time\r 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, \r but the other no way\r Place was good and pack once now is so empty and wonder why....... wonder if the owners knows why\r more

Food: below average, burned and tasteless. A good advice: stick to the appetizers if you were to eat anything there.\r 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. \r 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.\r Parking: Excellent in the back of the restaurant, it is spacious and free.\r 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.\r 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 more

Food: below average, burned and tasteless. A good advice: stick to the appetizers if you were to eat anything there.\r 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. \r 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.\r Parking: Excellent in the back of the restaurant, it is spacious and free.\r 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!\r 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 more

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 more

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. more

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.\r \r 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 more

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.... more

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 more

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 more

I went there with high expectations to get good middle eastern food.\r I got dissaponted from every aspect of this restaurant.\r The food was dull and there was nothing special in it. \r And another thing- the owner has the worst attitude ever and he didn't hear the phrase 'the customer is always right' that is very important, especially in the food business. Cons: Everything more

It supposed to be middle eastern food BUT it's really not. I went with a group of friends, two of them are with middle eastern background and nothing was like we expected.\r The salad was very simple and tasteless. The atmosphere was nothing special like you expect from this kind of place. The service was bad bad bad. \r None of my freinds nor myself will never go back there and I recommend you to do the same.\r Pros: Parking Cons: Everything more

First week of May 2006, new owners decended on the Red Fez. Former skilled wait staff is GONE! Food is burnt, overcooked, or tastes like Stop and Shop takeout. Bartender has no clue about mixology, orders or check etiquette. Local favorite appears RUINED. Beware and guard your wallets. Go elsewhere! Sad demise to a neighborhood favorite. Pros: formerly nice Cons: clueless service, bad food, improper check more

truly bad food, overpriced, spacey unattentive service..overall just a very bad dining experience Pros: atmosphere Cons: , awful service, parking more

After hearing it was great, we ventured to Red Fez for a Saturday night out. Excited about hard-to-find mediterranean fare in Boston, we were disappointed from the start. The turkish salad was mediocre (memu says it includes syrian bread - it was two tiny pita's), cucumber yogurt was tasteless, and hummus was average at best. I did enjoy my seared tuna entree and if the horseradish mashed potatoes had been served hot, they would've been great. Our waitress was not the sharpest tack in the box and forgot about us MANY times. Very average, won't return. Pros: Good parking, Reasonably priced, Location Cons: , Service more

Myself and 8 friends were treated like royalty for my birthday dinner at Red Fez. Our waitress was not only on top of her game service-wise but had personality and attitude that complimented our whole experience. The food was amazing, not one person was disappointed with their choice. Our wine glasses were never empty...like magic. Try the Duck dish....so good and plentiful. Pros: Delicious Food, First class service, Reasonable more

The service was horrible! We were never checked on and had to catch our waiter to order, all the appetizer plates were still in place when the entrees came--that happens when no one checks. The food portions were huge, but how much duck can one eat? While the meats were quite nice, the accompaniments were totally uninspired. The chicken liver appetizer came recommended, but I, a chicken liver lover, found it only OK--a bit bitter, with tendons still in place... Won't be coming back. more

Fabulous middle eastern fare and only slightly diminished experience by virtue of mediocre waitstaff. Best middle eastern food I've had in the area (my boyfriend is middle eastern and confirms the opinion). The Lamb was to die for!!! Expansive wine selection. Restaurant environment romantic and comfortable. Wierd that they were playing blues music...? Service was slow and we had a small billing problem. A small tarnish on an overall good experience. Will return with guest soon! Pros: Delicious food, Wide wine selection, Ease of parking Cons: Slow service more

Loved the martinis and the atmosphere. Easy to find parking and the staff is great Pros: atmosphere, parking, drinks more