Dinner at Kareem’s Lebanese Kitchen in Naples

Stevan Stanisic
Jun 28, 2018
3 min read


Kareem’s Lebanese Kitchen	I

is a restaurant that the discerning reader may surmise serves Lebanese cuisine. Kareem is a common given name in the Middle East meaning noble or generous. In the case of KLK, this does not refer to any individual but to the meaning of Kareem per se. The food at KLK is most noble, prepared by Chef Rachid Eido, who has been in some very good, and for this area, unique Kitchens.

I had heard very good things about KLK, and decided to take a look.

The restaurant has a beautiful indoor space that is very well done. There are outside dining options available as well.

On the first visit, my dining companion ordered a number of items, the first of which was the chef Rachid platter.

Chef Rachid platter

This is a very beautiful and comprehensive offering of the establishment’s starters and salads. It includes hummus (cooked, mashed chickpeas with sesame paste), baba ghanoush (cooked eggplant and sesame paste), tabbouleh (a salad of tomatoes, mint, onion, parsley and cracked wheat), grape leaves, falafel (a deep fried ball of ground chick peas and or fava beans), fatayer spinach (spinach in dough triangles), kibbeh with labneh aioli (cracked wheat, onions, ground meat and spices with a Lebanese cream cheese-based dip), moussaka (an eggplant based dish with ground meat topped with an thickened milk-based sauce), and an in house made eggplant salad. Wow! All of this was really good but unfortunately, due to the portion size of each item, this restaurant’s offering is not really made for sharing. Should you order the Rachid platter for the table, get more than one if all the members in your party want to sample each item served.

We also sampled the chicken shawarma on this visit. It was ok, but when I came back here again I wanted to try other menu items.

Though not photographed on the first visit, I was pleased to find another serving of Turkish lavas, otherwise known as “balloon bread”. This bread is thin, crispy and puffy and was a perfect foil for another menu item, Kareem’s hummus sampler.

Kareem’s hummus sampler

This was an absolutely amazing and delicious tour of this establishment’s hummus offerings. The chef really knows how to make hummus which is probably the best I have ever had. This came in 3 versions (counterclockwise) as spicy, regular and garlic, and were served with a variety of crudites. The vegetables served here were nowhere near enough to mop up all of this deliciousness but no worries, just ask for more. That goes for the lavas as well. This is easily a meal for one or a very substantial starter for two.

I ordered the Fatteh lamb, which was sort of a “salad” of chickpeas, pine nuts, garlic, fried pita chips, pomegranate seeds and yogurt. It was very good.

My dining companion ordered one of the “signature” dishes of KLK, chicken farrouj, or Lebanese grilled garlic chicken.

Chicken Farrouj

It was served with a sort of garlic aioli and an onion, tomato and parsley salad seasoned with sumac, that tart lemony spice ubiquitous in Middle Eastern cuisine made from ground flowers of the sumac plant. Sumac potatoes and grilled zucchini sealed the deal. Highly recommended.

The food, for the most part at KLK is very good to excellent. As Middle Eastern restaurants go, this is one of the best I have eaten at. The ambience is very pleasant, the service well executed and the food on the whole, extremely good. KLK is most highly recommended and I cannot wait to go back to sample more of this deliciousness.

It’s a wrap for another post on Forks.

Kareem’s Lebanese Kitchen

4270 Tamiami Tr. E.

Naples, FL 34112

(239)315-4167

Kareem’s Lebanese Kitchen Facebook Page

All major credit cards accepted; Monday-Thursday: 1130AM-230PM and 5-9PM, Friday: 1130AM-230PM and 5-10PM, Saturday: 5-10PM, Sunday: 5-9PM