Salwa's Garden Lebanese Restaurant 32 Oatley Avenue, Oatley, New South Wales 2223

"This is a fantastic local restaurant with some really top quality food. As other reviews have stated, the authenticity is a big plus! The building and it's surrounds are charming too, in my opinion. I would definitely recommend going here. However... ... I have two relatively minor drawbacks (which should NOT stop you from going here!). The following are nitpicks: Firstly, the food is quite dearly priced, especially in the context of the current economic climate of working age adults increasingly struggling to get by. This probably explains why the clientele there when I (23yo) visited (7pm on a weekday) all seemed of retirement age - this is definitely not somewhere in the price range for young adults to frequent! Still, I understand that at the end of the day, premium food demands premium prices. Ultimately, if you're not too worried about spending a fair bit for a really good meal, don't hesitate! The second, more disappointing issue I have, is that the staff, although polite, seemed to assume that because my mate and I were sat outside, that we'd eat and then run off without paying. The waitress would come outside to check on us fairly frequently, which we thought at the time was good service, but when we walked back inside to pay the bill, a man not in uniform (I assume the manager) quipped "you didn't run away, then?", which explained that we weren't being checked on for customer service, but rather surveillance! As somebody who has worked in customer service for years now, I do understand that two young adults sitting outside may cause some concern in the overly paranoid, but seriously? We aren't 12 years old, for crying out loud. If you must know, the reason we sat outside on a cold evening when everybody else was inside was because we didn't feel comfortable inside. All the other customers were at least 30 years our senior, and were giving us looks when we walked past as if to say "why should you be here? You're too young to be here". So, we sat at the furthest possible seat away from them and had our own conversation and company. I was pretty disappointed with the rude encounter when paying. I thought that comment was totally inappropriate to a customer. Having said that, as I said at the beginning of this review, I will still recommend this restaurant, as the food is fantastic and there are still many dishes for me to try. However, I personally won't be visiting for a little while, so that my wallet can cool off, and that the sour taste left from the judgement of the staff can fade away."

"A great spot for authentic Lebanese food. All delicious and in a nice old house but lovely and colourful and also green out the back, heaps of room for small or bigger groups too. All the mains we had were great and the hummus was so good we got too with the flat bread! Baklava melted in your mouth too. BYO is good to bring what you like. Great value all around. Service was good and friendly also."

"A great place for lunch or dinner! Food fresh and full of flavour. Service is a little slow during peak time but worth the wait and staff super friendly."

"Beautiful dinner with friends at Salwa Garden! Thoroughly enjoyed their foods, everything tasted very fresh. Service was on point and the ambience was very nice and warm! Great space for outdoor patio and indoor private group dinner dining as well! Highly recommend!"

"Amazing flavors and the textures were out of this world. The food looked vibrant you could tell it was it was freshly prepared. Ian was welcoming from taking our order to having Mira seat us and serve us. I have to say it felt like I was at home growing up with mum. I look forward to returning to Sydney’s best Lebanese Restaurant."