Hannibal - Surry Hills

Perfect amount of food and royal treatment even visiting on A Groupon gift voucher. Good atmosphere and authentic feeling decor and music. Each dish was full of flavour and nothing was too spicy. Will definitely return for more.

We ordered the mixed appetizer which consisted of 3 falafels, 2 dips, tabouli, and bread for $20. Unfortunately, the bread was stale and nearly moldy. Additionally, we ordered a spinach pie which tasted like it had been stored in the fridge for a week and reheated. Despite being advertised with cheese, there was no cheese in the pie. We are disappointed as no one enjoys eating food that is not fresh.

Hannibal offers Lebanese in Surry Hills, an area that surprisingly has multiple options in Middle Eastern fare. However, contrary to expectations, Hannibal is expensive and inefficient service. The food does not taste or seem fresh too. At best, the ambience is pleasant for a relaxed, cultural meal but that is inadequate redemption for the food and the service. We would be reluctant to recommend Hannibal to our friends.

Five stars for the name, but everything else was a horror. Delivery took 2.5 hours. The chicken was under-cooked to the point it almost tasted rubbery. Could not manage to eat the batata (hot chips), tasted as though they had been cooked in old/cheap oil. Save your self the frustration of being left hungry and with a bad taste in your mouth by avoiding this place.

Let's start with the positives about Hannibals. The host is courteous and accommodating, and the ambience good with appropriate Middle-Eastern furnishings and background music. Unfortunately though, for us, these were overwhelmed by the negatives, namely the slow service, and the fact that the food is both ordinary and expensive. We visited on a quiet night, it was less than half full with just two other tables occupied. And from what I could see there was no-one in the 'cushion room' out the back. Still, the meals seem to come very slowly and in drips and drabs. But when I saw the kitchen I could understand why - it's a tiny galley affair, narrow and crowded with two people at work. (The only reason I saw the kitchen was because I was taking back a meal they had wrongly delivered to our table.) So, I wouldn't like to visit when the place was full.Then, the food: we ordered hummus, taboulie, baba ganoush, falafel, baked kebbe and fried cauliflower. The baba ganous was fine and the taboulie freshly made though serving of the latter was on a plate barely bigger than a saucer - and cost $13. The hummus was as bland as ever I had tasted: it needed more garlic and I suspect lacked lemon juice. The falafel was too crunchy, having spent too much time in the deep fry and 'baked kebbe' was in fact pan fried. The fried cauliflower was too wet. My partner - who knows more about these things then me - said it should have parboiled first, or at least parboiled for longer. Anyway, it was not a great culinary experience to say the least. The meal was $68 for two, and that is food only as we only drank water. Not even BYO. That's pretty expensive for the 'Little Lebanon' precinct around Cleveland St/Elizabeth St corner, and where we find we can get change from $50 and a much better dining experience from other restaurants only a matter of metres down the street. Needless to say, we don't expect to return to Hannibals.