Polarized over Snaubar

It’s good, it’s bad, the service is great, the service is
awful…does everyone have an opinion about new Lebanese eatery
Snaubar? It’s easily the most polarized debate I’ve heard about one
restaurant lately. Since it’s been open a few months now, I’ve got to
find out what the deal is for myself.

Snaubar (pronounced “snow bar”, meaning “pine”) is visually
stunning. A gorgeous glass-tiled bar back, long banquettes upholstered
in plush burnt orange, and creams and browns provide a chic backdrop
for elegant dining. Snaubar offers live music, belly dancing, cocktail
hours and bills itself as fine Lebanese dining.

The first time we’re at Snaubar, it’s not good. The service is
indifferent at best (although I notice a younger crowd getting more
attention) and the food inadequate. A repeat visit yields more positive
results: a competent server and marginally better food.

All of the usual Lebanese dishes appear—hummus, baba ghanouj to
kebbahs and shawarma—plus a couple of more unusual findings, like
frog’s legs and chicken livers.

Frogs’ legs “provincial” (very French), served with garlic and lemon
juice, are mild in flavour and rubber in texture. Kafta balls are well
seasoned, and a bright light is the pomegranate molasses. The tartness
of the sauce elevating the meatballs out of the ordinary—but there’s
not nearly enough of it. Mjadra, lentils and rice, is a mushy mess.
Fattouche is the classic salad of tomato, radish, onions and cucumber
topped with crispy pita squares, and there’s nothing wrong with this
version.

For main courses, I ask about the special, listed as “a homemade
Lebanese meal, made fresh daily.” It’s not a special, though—just
something off the menu. I am not given a satisfactory answer as to why
it’s “special.” It’s almost as though when the menu was printed, the
idea was to have a daily special, but that idea never came to
fruition.

Lamb shawarma sounds appealing, as does the grilled veggie plate.
The lamb has a nice garlicky taste; the hummus and tabbouleh on the
side are good. Like the fattouche, there’s nothing wrong, but there’s
nothing to get excited about, either.

Our server assures us that the grilled mixed platter is big enough
for two. Two what? We wonder, as we look at the paltry pieces of
chicken and beef set before us. There’s hardly enough to taste. We have
better luck with chicken taouk, as the portion is larger and the
chicken is juicy and tender.

For dessert, we have a small cup of the very strong, very sweet
Arabic coffee, which is really very good indeed.

The kitchen really seems to be struggling with flavours and
consistency; perhaps the restaurant is taking a long time to get
through its opening growing pains.

While the food may be lacking, the bar is not. A small but broad
wine menu includes vintages from Lebanon’s Ksara, but no Nova Scotian
bottles. All the colors of the Johnny Walker rainbow are here, along
with a lovely selection of martinis.

In the restaurant business, the money is made in beverage sales;
restauranteurs get higher profit margins from drinks than from food.
That’s a good thing for the owners of Snaubar, because while this is an
excellent cocktail lounge, the food is many inconsistent degrees of
mediocre and the kitchen has a long way to go before it can truly call
itself “fine dining.”

Snau job? Go to the Snaubar page at thecoast.ca and post your review.

This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2009.