Khalil's II

The staff here is truly wonderful. The server and owner both checked up on us several times, and I am gracious that the owner reached out to me about my previous review. To update on our thoughts on the brunch here:- Jallab (date-flavored drink) was very sweet (like a date should be) with faint fruity and floral flavors in the background. It was garnished with nuts and raisins which adds a nice textural contrast.- Rose lemonade tasted sweet and fresh, and was a very pretty pink color. Safe option for a non-alcoholic drink!- Hummus is very smooth and savory. The olive oil is high quality-very grassy and spicy. It isn't whipped so it isn't artificially made smooth and the serving size is plenty.- Baba ghanough had a bit more texture to it, and the olive oil is similarly grassy/herbal. We had plenty leftover of both dips to take home.- The Damascene (traditional breakfast) is very rich and creamy and goes well with the bread. The fried pita and sliced almonds are delightfully crunchy and the chickpeas are tender and fluffy. If I would change anything about this dish, I would like the citrus and sweet flavors to be more pronounced.- The Shakshuka is very flavorful with a well-seasoned tomato sauce that pairs great with the complimentary pita. The eggs were poached perfectly, and the entree arrived hot in a cast-iron pan and stayed warm throughout the meal. I would say that this and the hummus were the highlights of my meal- The complimentary bread isn't anything special and seems store bought. However, their dips are extremely fresh and handmade and go great with the breads. - Lastly, some dishes were slightly under salted for my taste so it'd be nice to have salt shakers on the table (we didn't ask for it though). The restaurant is beautiful and their plating is very pretty, but I will note that the large plates they use can get excessive and take up unnecessary space when the dishes come out.

A few of us went to Khalil's to check it out for Pittsburgh Restaurant Week (PRW) because we have never been there before and overall we liked it! The decor is SUPER cute and their dining area has pretty good natural lighting. They were basically only serving the preset restaurant week menu so we picked a variety of items from there. The food was incredibly flavorful and we enjoyed every dish we got. The main dishes were wonderfully savory, the salad had this amazing dressing, and the baklava sundae had the perfect texture with crunchy cut up baklava sprinkled on top of ice cream. The service was definitely on the slower side so keep that in mind for your visit (I know the PRW website said they were short staffed and overall a lot of restaurants get pretty busy during PRW). The only other constructive thing I have to say is that one of our friends who is allergic to nuts (like anaphylaxis allergic) very clearly communicated that to our server but our server tried to give her rice with nuts on top of it anyways. Thankfully, my friend was pretty vigilant and pointed it out to the server before she consumed it but perhaps Khalil's isn't the best place for someone with a nut allergy. Our server was able to give my friend fruit on top of ice cream as a substitute for dessert but only after my friend pointed out that baklava has nuts in it. There is a very cute outdoor patio area where they offer happy hour specials so we may come by again to check it out.

Everything is amazing, drinks are beautiful, no pics of the food because we all ate so quickly. Have gone for brunch twice and this place doesn't fail.

I've loved this restaurant since the 70's. Family owned/operated with all the care that implies. I love the rooms, especially the one with the black sky and stars. Beautiful.

I had an amazing and family feeling experience here at Khalil's 2. The ambiance was as beautiful as described by other Yelpers. One of the best things is we never felt rushed as we came at 8:20 pm with closing at 9. In fact, we stayed all the way until 10:15. The rice that comes with our dishes was out of its world. The hummus Deja's, which has chicken shawarma and grilled onions. The icing on the cake was the Mediterranean espresso which gave me the energy to do some work, but it didn't keep me up all night either!

I had the best service and food experience at Khalil's. The ambiance was beautiful, the service was amazing and the food was to die for.Our group ordered various dishes and enjoyed the hummus, baba, falafel, spanikopita, dolmas and others I can't recall, but we were so blown over by everything. Service was provided by Dalel (sp?), the daughter of the owners, who was so attentive and wonderful to speak with. Will definitely be back and highly recommend this long standing gem to all that enjoy Syrian/Mediterranean fare.

Delicious Syrian food! Everything was great but the Za'tar chicken stew was everyone's favorite by far. The dolmas with their signature dressing and Ouzze special were also phenomenal. Food came out really quickly and despite having an even upstairs service was very prompt and friendly! Cant wait to go back.

Khalil's is hands down my family's favorite restaurant. When we have guests from out of town, or when anyone asks us for a dinner recommendation, my phone is already out to give directions. The hummus, the lamb shanks, the always perfect balance of lemon, salt, thyme, and sumac. Take yourself on a date. Go to Khalil's to get lost - in the smells and the ambiance and the sincere hospitality. Take your time, close your eyes, and let the hours slip away as you marvel in the care and history these culinary magicians cook into every morsel.

Went for restaurant week & had such a great meal! We ordered several things to share which I'd recommend doing (not all pictured). Our favorite was the Aleppo pepper chicken which is the dish at the bottom of this photo. Will definitely be back!!

The food and service here was amazing. We had brunch with a party of 8 and a baby. All the options were delicious and we all walked away with a full belly!