Byblos Restaurant in Norwood, MA

Twice now I have had the pleasure of eating at this fantastic Lebanese restaurant located in Norwood, MA (Norwood is about 30 minutes away from Boston). Byblos Restaurant serves traditional Lebanese fare that tastes homemade. My husband and I decided to split one of the family platters for two people. The first part of our meal was an excellent Tabouli Salad:

This is a salad made using diced fresh italian parsley, diced onions, diced tomatoes, diced cucumbers and cracked wheat. The dressing on the salad is a lemon and olive oil salad dressing. What I love most about this salad is the texture of it. Some people take shortcuts and chop the parsley in a food processor, which makes the salad a little soft and soggy. At Byblos, however, no such shortcuts were taken. This salad is absolutely my favorite salad in the world! The next item was Hommus:

Hommus is a spread made from garbanzo beans. The beans are cooked and mashed along with garlic and lemon juice. The hommus here was very well done. The main dish was a wonderful platter of rice, Kibbee layers, stuffed grape leaves, chicken kabob and beef kabob:

Kibbee is a dish baked in the oven that consists of two layers of meat mixed with cracked wheat and a layer of ground meat, onions, and pine nuts in the center. Every bit of this platter tastes just as good as it looks. Have I convinced you all to try this restaurant yet?

The price of this platter, $40, is very reasonable considering the sheer quantity of food we received. The atmosphere of the restaurant is very elegant yet friendly. As a diner, you're bound to see the very kind owner Maurice going around to all the tables to welcome his guests. This indeed is Lebanese hospitality at its finest. The restaurant has been open for approximately 15 years. The waiters are impeccable. I'm normally quite disappointed with waiters in most restaurants but I never had a cause for complaint here.

I asked the owner if he had trouble introducing Lebanese food into the community and he told me that there are many descendants of immigrants from Lebanon in the area. These immigrants came to the US in the late 1800's when Lebanon was still part of the Ottoman Empire. For the descendants that still live in that area today, the food Byblos offered brought them memories of food they ate as young kids with their immigrant grandparents.

On Fridays and Saturdays, they have live music in the restaurant. There are two bands that play there: an Arab band and a Greek-Armenian band. I went last night to hear the Greek-Armenian band playing. They are talented musicians and the singer has a beautiful voice. At one point in the evening, a belly dancer came out to perform. So come on, have I convinced you to go yet? Here's their contact info:

Byblos Restaurant
678 Washington Street
Norwood, MA 02062
781.762.8998
781.278.0000