First Look: Old Damascus Brings a New Syrian Food Experience North of Dallas

A quick Yelp search yields a plethora of Mediterranean restaurants around Dallas. Narrowing that long list down to Middle Eastern cuisine and then finally focusing on just Syrian fare still yields a decent number of results. Richardson has been blessed with two recent openings of new Syrian spots: Peace Middle East, in February, and the newest entrant, Old Damascus, which had its grand opening in June.
The dining space is a cozy, warmly lit space of wood and tile, decorated with numerous Mediterranean-style earthen pots, bronze trinkets and wall art. We took a table near the window during dinner and started to study the menu, which had several popular Mediterranean favorites such as falafel, shawarma and baba ghanoush, but also included options from Lebanon, Yemen and, of course, Syria. Offerings from Syria included yalinge, a vegetarian stuffed grape leaf appetizer, and sujuk, a spicy fermented sausage wrapped in pita bread with pickles. It's playfully referred to as a Syrian hot dog and is listed under sandwiches.
We started with the muhammara, a Syrian dip traditionally prepared with walnuts, red bell pepper, pomegranate molasses and breadcrumbs. It came with a decent amount of thin pita pieces. This was a thicker dip than we were expecting, but the flavor profile was unique (in a good way) and satisfying.
Next up was kibbeh, considered the national dish of both Lebanon and Syria. These fried balls of bulgur wheat are stuffed with beef and onion and come four to a serving. They arrived at the table attractively presented in a small earthenware pot.

For mains we went with a lamb kabob and kabsa, neither strictly Syrian but each with a slightly different spice profile that set them a bit apart from their generic Mediterranean counterparts found elsewhere.
The kabob was prepared with two skewers of seasoned ground lamb served atop a bed of rice and accompanied by grilled onion and tomato as well as some raw onions. It was fine: the lamb was not overcooked and the rice was flavorful, but it wasn’t ground-breaking. We prefer chunks over ground lamb for our kabobs, so we’re perhaps a bit biased.
Kabsa is a rice dish that originated in Yemen but can now be found in places such as southern Iran, Gaza and Syria. This can be ordered with either lamb or chicken; we went with chicken. This ended up consisting of half a chicken served on rice seasoned with flavors such as cardamom, saffron, pepper and cloves, garnished with peanuts and parsley, and served with some vinegary dipping sauce. The chicken was well-cooked in what appeared to be the tandoor style. This was $20, but could definitely be shared by two people.

We had read mixed reviews on Yelp about the service, but we had no issues in this regard. The server was shy but friendly, and the food came promptly. We wish that more of the menu was of the Syrian variety, but we’d come back if for no other reason than to try the Arabic ice cream (made with milk, sugar, cream, sahlab, mastic and topped with crushed pistachios) and that Syrian hot dog.

1310 W. Campbell Road, No.108. Tuesday – Sunday, noon – 10 p.m.; closed Monday.