Bazar Vest ★ 4.3
The bazaar in Brabrand is one of the most genuinely multicultural food destinations in Denmark. Kitchen leans middle eastern and asian market food.
Signature: Turkish lahmacun, Afghan bolani, Somali sambusa
Middle Eastern cuisine is an umbrella term covering the cooking of a region that stretches from Morocco to Iran and from Turkey to Yemen, though in most Western usage it refers to the eastern half of that range: the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, the Arabian peninsula, Persia, and Turkey. There is no single Middle Eastern cuisine, but there are shared grammars: flatbread at every meal, rice pilafs as a foundation, lamb as the prestige meat, yogurt as both ingredient and condiment, and a spice cabinet that includes cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, sumac, saffron, baharat, and ras el hanout in regional blends.
What unites the region is also a hospitality tradition built around mezze, communal platters, and tea or coffee that closes every meal. The cooking is generally slow and ingredient-led, with stews simmered for hours, breads baked daily, and rice prepared with the precision of a fine craft. Sweets are syrup-soaked and often built around nuts, semolina, phyllo, and rose or orange blossom water.
Within the umbrella, the regional kitchens are distinct enough that 'Middle Eastern restaurant' as a category is usually a Lebanese-Palestinian-Israeli hybrid in practice, with Persian, Egyptian, and Iraqi food typically requiring their own dedicated restaurants to find authentically. Travelers who use the broad label as a wayfinding device often miss the most interesting cooking, which sits inside the regional kitchens rather than at their intersection. A serious eater treats Middle Eastern as a starting point rather than a destination, and learns to distinguish a Damascene from a Beiruti from a Tehrani table within a few meals of arriving in the region.
Regional variations
Levant
Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan. Olive oil-led, herb-forward, mezze culture, grilled meats, sumac and za'atar. The most internationally visible Middle Eastern kitchen.
Persia
Iran. Rice as the centerpiece (tahdig, polo), saffron and dried lime, slow stews (khoresh), kebabs over charcoal, herb-heavy soups. Distinct grammar from the Arab traditions.
Egypt
Ful medames and ta'ameya (the original fava-bean falafel) as breakfast staples, koshary as the national street food, mahshi (stuffed vegetables), molokhia, hamam mahshi (stuffed pigeon). Heavier use of legumes and grains.
Turkey and the Anatolian-Arab borderlands
Often grouped with Middle Eastern in Western markets though geographically and culturally distinct. Kebabs, meze, pide, lahmacun, and an Ottoman legacy that shaped much of the Levant's restaurant culture.
Iraq and the Gulf
Masgouf (grilled river fish) in Baghdad, machbous and kabsa (spiced rice with meat) in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, biryani-influenced rice dishes in the eastern coast, dates as a sweet and savory ingredient throughout.
Defining middle eastern dishes
- Hummus
- Chickpeas pureed with tahini, lemon, garlic, olive oil. The signature shared across the Levant and increasingly served region-wide as a starter.
- Falafel
- Deep-fried chickpea (Levantine) or fava-bean (Egyptian) fritters, served in flatbread or as part of mezze with tahini, pickles, and salad.
- Shawarma
- Spit-roasted marinated meat shaved into flatbread. The street food of the modern Middle East from Beirut to Dubai.
- Kebab
- Grilled marinated meat on skewers, in dozens of regional forms: shish (cubed), kofta (ground), Adana (spiced ground lamb), tikka (Persian and Indo-Persian), kabab karaz (Aleppo's cherry-sauce version).
- Tabbouleh
- Levantine parsley and bulgur salad with tomato, mint, lemon. The benchmark herb salad of the region.
- Baba ghanoush
- Smoke-charred eggplant with tahini, lemon, garlic. The smoky cousin of hummus.
- Kibbeh
- Bulgur and lamb shells, fried, baked, or eaten raw (kibbeh nayyeh). The most technically demanding Levantine dish.
- Manakish
- Za'atar flatbread, the Levantine breakfast, often eaten folded around fresh vegetables and labneh.
- Mansaf
- Jordan's lamb-and-jameed national dish, served over rice and shrak bread for communal eating.
- Koshary
- Egypt's national street dish: rice, lentils, macaroni, chickpeas, fried onions, tomato sauce, vinegar-garlic dressing.
- Baklava
- Layered phyllo with nuts, butter, and syrup. Turkish, Levantine, and Persian versions all claim heritage; the gold standard is Gaziantep's pistachio baklava.
- Kunafa
- Cheese pastry soaked in syrup, with shredded phyllo or semolina topping. The defining Levantine dessert.
How to order
A Middle Eastern restaurant meal almost always begins with mezze. Order five or six small plates (hummus, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, fattoush, labneh, muhammara, stuffed grape leaves) for the table and ask for warm flatbread. Then choose one or two mains: a mixed grill (mashawi mishakal), a stew (khoresh in a Persian restaurant, yakhneh in an Arab one), or a rice dish (kabsa, machbous, maqluba) to share. Sides are not really separate; vegetables, pickles, and rice come with the main.
The rookie mistakes: under-ordering mezze (the plates are small, the meal is built on them), ordering one of every protein on the grill platter for one person, expecting individual plated courses (this is a sharing cuisine), skipping the tea or coffee at the end (it is part of the meal, not an option), and treating bread as a side rather than a utensil (in much of the region, bread is the spoon, the fork, and the plate-cleaner). Pace yourself; a Middle Eastern dinner can stretch over two or three hours, and ordering everything at the start is the most common foreigner mistake.
What to drink with it
Tea, mint tea, or cardamom-scented Arabic coffee are the universal accompaniments to a Middle Eastern meal. Alcohol varies sharply by country and community: arak in the Levant, raki in Turkey, Lebanese and increasingly Israeli and Jordanian wine, and almost nothing alcoholic in the Gulf states. With grilled meats, a medium-bodied red works well; with mezze, a crisp white, rose, or arak with water is traditional. Fresh juices (pomegranate, sour cherry, tamarind) and yogurt drinks (ayran, doogh) are the non-alcoholic table options.
Where to eat it
Beirut for Levantine; Tehran and Isfahan for Persian; Cairo for Egyptian; Istanbul for Turkish; Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the broadest pan-regional scenes. Outside the region, London is now the best Middle Eastern food city in the West, with serious Lebanese, Persian, and Palestinian restaurants. Paris, Berlin, Sydney, Toronto, and New York all hold strong scenes anchored by their respective diaspora communities.
A short history
Middle Eastern cuisine descends from the agricultural civilizations of Mesopotamia and the eastern Mediterranean, with continuous written recipe traditions going back nearly four millennia. The medieval Arab cookbooks of Baghdad (Kitab al-Tabikh, 10th century) document many dishes still recognizable today. The Ottoman Empire (1299 to 1922) standardized much of the modern mezze and kebab vocabulary across the region.
Frequently asked
Is Middle Eastern the same as Mediterranean cuisine?
Overlap, not equivalence. The eastern Mediterranean (Lebanon, Syria, Greece, Turkey) shares ingredients and techniques with the wider Mediterranean. Inland Middle Eastern (Iraq, Persia, Gulf) is distinct and not Mediterranean by any measure.
Is all Middle Eastern food halal?
Most restaurants in the region serve halal meat by default, but the cuisine is not exclusively Muslim. Christian, Jewish, and Druze communities have shaped the regional kitchens for centuries, and pork appears in Christian Lebanese and Coptic Egyptian cooking.
What is the difference between Middle Eastern and Mediterranean diet?
The 'Mediterranean diet' as a nutritional concept refers to the eating patterns of southern Europe and the Levant. Middle Eastern food includes the Levantine kitchen plus inland traditions (Persian rice cookery, Gulf rice dishes) that are not part of the Mediterranean diet framework.
Middle Eastern by city
Middle Eastern in Aarhus
Middle Eastern in Albuquerque
Yasmine's Cafe ★ 4.4
Yasmine's Cafe on Central Avenue near UNM in Albuquerque is the Middle Eastern counter, with shawarma plates, falafel sandwiches and a long regular line.
Signature: Shawarma plate, Falafel sandwich
Yasmine's Cafe ★ 4.4
Yasmine's Cafe on Central Avenue near UNM in Albuquerque is the Middle Eastern halal counter with falafel sandwiches under $10 and shawarma plates.
Try: Falafel sandwich
Yasmine's Cafe ★ 4.2
Yasmine's Cafe on Central Avenue near UNM in Albuquerque is the halal Middle Eastern counter with shawarma plates, hummus and house-made pita baked daily.
Why locals love it: Tiny Central Avenue Middle Eastern counter near UNM with a long student regulars line that tourists never join.
Tip: Order the shawarma plate with extra garlic sauce, sit at the counter, watch the chef wrap the wraps in real time.
Middle Eastern in Amsterdam
Bazar Amsterdam ★ 4.1
Bazar on Albert Cuypstraat is the cavernous, soaring Amsterdam North African-Middle Eastern room set in a converted church, all halal, all-day from breakfast.
Signature: Mezze platters, Tagine, Couscous royal
Order: The full mezze platter with the chicken tagine to share.
Tip: Halal-certified. Big room, walk-in friendly. Pre-market breakfast is the value.
Maoz Falafel Leidsestraat ★ 3.8
Maoz on Leidsestraat is the Amsterdam late-night falafel counter, hot pita stuffed with chickpea balls, the salad bar open until the early hours on weekends.
Try: Falafel sandwich with build-your-own salad
Maoz Falafel ★ 3.8
Maoz on Leidsestraat is the Amsterdam falafel counter, hot pita stuffed with crisp chickpea balls, then back to the salad bar to build the rest yourself.
Try: Falafel sandwich with build-your-own salad bar
Middle Eastern in Antwerp
Exotische Markt ★ 4.0
The Exotische Markt on Theaterplein every Saturday serves Mediterranean and North African plates from a row of stalls. Lamb tagine, lahmacun, falafel.
Try: Saturday market street plates
Tip: Bring cash. The food stalls clear by 14:00; arrive before noon for the freshest plates.
Middle Eastern in Atlanta
Yalla ★ 4.3
Yalla at Krog Street Market in Atlanta runs Middle Eastern fast-casual: $12 shawarma pita with fried eggplant and tahini, falafel, fresh laffa bread.
Try: Middle Eastern shawarma, falafel, kebabs
Tip: Chicken shawarma pita with fried eggplant and tahini for $12 is the sleeper. Eat on the market patio.
Middle Eastern in Auckland
Kebab City ★ 4.2
Kebab City on Customs Street East in Auckland CBD runs halal kebabs late into the night. A reliable post-bar shawarma at 51 Customs Street East.
Try: Halal lamb shawarma and falafel
Middle Eastern in Austin
Halal Bros (West Campus) ★ 4.0
Halal Bros in Austin is the West Campus halal chicken-and-rice counter on Guadalupe, the cheapest reliable halal plate in town and the closest meal to UT.
Try: Chicken-and-rice platter
Tip: The chicken-and-rice platter is the campus default; the white-sauce-and-hot-sauce combo is the menu hack.
Middle Eastern in Boston
Oleana ★ 4.8
Ana Sortun's Inman Square room has run an Eastern Mediterranean kitchen in Cambridge since 2001. Turkish, Syrian and Lebanese plates from Siena Farms produce.
Signature: Sultan's delight, Spiced chickpea fritters
Order: The sultan's delight: tamarind-glazed beef on smoky eggplant cream.
Tip: The garden patio in summer is one of Cambridge's best outdoor seats. Books out three weeks ahead in season.
Sarma ★ 4.8
Cassie Piuma and Ana Sortun's meze room on Pearl Street in Somerville has run Turkish-style small plates since 2013. Kitchen leans eastern mediterranean.
Signature: Meze plates, Lamb manti
Order: Lamb manti, Turkish dumplings with yogurt and chili butter.
Tip: Order the chef's choice tasting; the kitchen will send the best of the night unprompted.
Oleana ★ 4.8
Ana Sortun's Inman Square room runs a tasting-menu Eastern Mediterranean kitchen in Cambridge since 2001. James Beard Best Chef Northeast 2005.
Middle Eastern in Brisbane
Gerard's Bistro ★ 4.6
Gerard's Bistro is the long-running modern Middle Eastern room tucked into the James Street arcade. Sharing plates, wood-fired flatbreads, deep wine list.
Signature: Lamb shoulder, Fatteh, Wood-fired flatbreads
Naïm ★ 4.6
Naïm runs Middle Eastern brunch and dinner from a Paddington worker's cottage on Collingwood Street. Lamb bacon and baharat waffles, all-day mezze plates.
Signature: Lamb bacon, Baharat waffles, Mejadra rice
Naïm ★ 4.3
Naïm runs Middle Eastern brunch and dinner from a Paddington worker cottage on Collingwood Street. Lamb bacon and baharat waffles, mezze for dinner.
Signature: Lamb bacon, Baharat waffles, Mejadra
Middle Eastern in Budapest
Mazel Tov ★ 4.4
Mazel Tov on Akacfa utca in the Jewish Quarter is a Mediterranean ruin garden in an early 1900s courtyard, with mezze, lamb shawarma and live klezmer most.
Signature: Mezze plate, Lamb shawarma
Order: The mezze plate to share, then the lamb shawarma.
Tip: Open noon to midnight daily; book a week ahead for weekends.
Mazel Tov ★ 4.4
Mazel Tov on Akacfa in the Jewish Quarter is a Mediterranean ruin garden in an early 1900s courtyard, with mezze, shawarma and live klezmer most nights.
Signature: Mezze plate, Lamb shawarma
Order: The mezze plate to share, then the lamb shawarma.
Tip: Open noon to midnight daily; book a week ahead for weekends.
Middle Eastern in Burlington
Honey Road ★ 4.8
Cara Chigazola Tobin and Allison Gibson opened Honey Road on Church Street in 2017. The eastern Mediterranean mezze room has been a James Beard finalist.
Signature: Harissa chicken wings, Tirokafteri whipped feta, Lamb shoulder for the table
Order: The harissa chicken wings, the whipped feta with hot honey and the whole lamb shoulder for the table.
Tip: Reservations open on Resy 30 days out and book out the same day. The bar holds walk-ins and serves the full menu.
Honey Road ★ 4.6
Cara Chigazola Tobin (formerly chef de cuisine at Ana Sortun's Oleana in Cambridge MA) and Allison Gibson have been finalists for multiple James Beard Awards.
Middle Eastern in Chicago
Galit 1 ★ ★ 4.0
Galit in Chicago is James Beard winner Zachary Engel's Michelin-starred Middle Eastern dining room on Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park, with a choose-your-own.
Tip: Order the laffa straight off the hearth as your opening course; the warm bread is the anchor for every spread on the meze list.
Middle Eastern in Cleveland
Zhug ★ 4.6
Zhug on Cedar Road at Cedar-Fairmount, chef Doug Katz's Middle Eastern mezze room named one of Esquire's best new restaurants, runs a casual high-energy.
Signature: Mediterranean mezze, Tagine
Order: Order four to five mezze for the table including the namesake zhug sauce.
Tip: Reserve on OpenTable; small-plate dinners run faster than the prix fixe.
Zhug ★ 4.3
Zhug at Cedar-Fairmount in Cleveland Heights, chef Doug Katz's Middle Eastern mezze room named one of Esquire's best new restaurants, runs a high-energy.
Middle Eastern in Cologne
Habibi ★ 4.8
Habibi on Zülpicher Strasse in Cologne's Kwartier Latäng serves a fully loaded falafel wrap with houmous, cabbage and hot sauce for under €5; the benchmark.
Habibi Falafel ★ 4.6
Habibi Falafel on Zülpicher Strasse in Cologne's Kwartier Latäng serves fully loaded falafel wraps for under €5; best-value street food on the student strip.
Habibi Falafel ★ 4.4
Habibi Falafel on Zülpicher Strasse in Cologne's Kwartier Latäng is open until 02:00 most nights; a fully loaded falafel wrap for under €5 at any late hour.
Middle Eastern in Columbus
Hoyo's Kitchen ★ 4.5
Hoyo's Kitchen at North Market downtown serves Somali sambusas, suqaar and rice bowls for Columbus's significant Somali population since 2014.
Why locals love it: Inside North Market, the Hassan family's Somali counter is one of the few US Somali restaurants visible to non-Somali Columbus eaters.
Tip: Order the beef sambusa and a chicken suqaar over rice Word-of-mouth is the only marketing.
Middle Eastern in Dallas
Big Guy's Chicken and Rice ★ 4.4
Big Guy's Chicken and Rice on Elm Street is the post-bar halal institution in Deep Ellum: Zabihah-certified chicken over saffron rice with white garlic sauce.
Try: Halal chicken over rice with white sauce and hot sauce
Tip: The standard order is the large chicken-over-rice with both white sauce and hot sauce. The line moves fast.
Wava Halal Grill ★ 4.0
Plano halal Mediterranean grill serving shawarma wraps, falafel bowls, and garlic chicken plates with scratch-made sauces and Zabihah-verified meat sourcing.
Order: Chicken shawarma wrap; falafel plate with garlic sauce; mixed meat plate
Tip: Zabihah-verified halal certification on-site. The garlic sauce is made from scratch daily; order extra. Good for group halal dining in North Dallas suburbs.
Middle Eastern in Denver
Jerusalem Restaurant ★ 4.4
Jerusalem Restaurant in Denver is the University-area Middle Eastern kitchen since 1979, open 24 hours Friday-Saturday with halal kebabs and a hookah lounge.
Try: Falafel combo plate
Order: Falafel combo with hummus and baba ghanoush.
Tip: The hookah lounge is the room's late-night gathering point; the back garden patio opens in summer.
Middle Eastern in Detroit
Yemen Cafe ★ 4.8
Yemen Cafe on Joseph Campau in Hamtramck is the quiet Yemeni dining room plating lamb mandi and saltah with cardamom coffee to finish a meal.
Why locals love it: Most visitors stick to Polish or Lebanese; Yemeni cooking in Hamtramck is the city's quietest immigrant cuisine.
Tip: Lamb mandi and saltah are the orders; cardamom coffee finishes the visit.
Yemen Cafe ★ 4.5
Yemen Cafe on Joseph Campau in Hamtramck serves Yemeni cooking in metro Detroit. Halal counter, mandi and saltah are the canonical orders. Priced at $$.
Signature: Lamb mandi, Saltah
Order: Lamb mandi with saffron rice and the bubbling cast-iron saltah stew.
Tip: Open from 08:00-01:00 daily; cash is welcome, cards work. No alcohol served.
Yemen Cafe ★ 4.5
Yemen Cafe on Joseph Campau in Hamtramck serves Yemeni cooking in metro Detroit. Halal counter with mandi and saltah as the canonical orders.
Signature: Lamb mandi, Saltah
Order: Lamb mandi with saffron rice and the bubbling cast-iron saltah stew.
Tip: Open 08:00-01:00 daily; cash welcome, cards work. No alcohol served.
Middle Eastern in Dublin
Brother Hubbard South ★ 4.4
Brother Hubbard South on Harrington Street in Dublin 8, Garrett FitzGerald and James Boland's sit-down Middle Eastern room and the all-day brunch reference.
Signature: Shakshuka, Lamb shawarma plate, Cardamom French toast
Order: The shakshuka at brunch, the lamb shawarma at lunch, with a cardamom-bun cinnamon roll to take away.
Tip: Walk-in only Saturday morning; the queue starts at 09:30. Bookings open Sunday to Friday on the website.
Tang ★ 4.3
Tang on Dawson Street in Dublin, an all-day Middle Eastern counter, the city's most reliable lunch-grab and weekend brunch in one room. Priced at €.
Signature: Halloumi wrap, Shakshuka, Chia bowl
Order: Halloumi wrap with house slaw and a turmeric latte to go.
Tip: Two-floor venue; the basement is the table service room. Walk-in only at lunch; book the basement for weekend brunch.
Middle Eastern in Edinburgh
Baba ★ 4.4
Baba on George Street in Edinburgh's New Town, opened in 2018 by the Kyloe steakhouse group, a Levantine small-plates kitchen serving mezze.
Order: Baba ghanoush, the lamb shawarma flatbread and the house pita with za'atar.
Tip: The mezze deal at lunch (four plates plus a drink for £22) is one of George Street's best value menus.
Middle Eastern in Gothenburg
Sunset Falafelkungen ★ 4.2
Sunset Falafelkungen near Kungstorget fries chickpea falafel to order and stuffs them into flatbread with pickled cabbage, tahini and fresh vegetables.
Order: ['Falafel wrap with tahini', 'Hummus plate', 'Falafel plate with sides']
Sunset Falafelkungen ★ 4.2
Sunset Falafelkungen near Kungstorget fries fresh chickpea falafel and stuffs them into flatbread with tahini and pickled vegetables for one.
Order: ['Falafel wrap', 'Hummus plate', 'Falafel + salad combo']
Middle Eastern in Istanbul
Aheste ★ 4.4
Aheste in Beyoğlu, a 40-seat Michelin-listed mezze room running modern Turkish and Levantine small plates from a kitchen on Meşrutiyet Caddesi nightly.
Middle Eastern in Kansas City
Habashi House ★ 4.4
Habashi House in Kansas City's City Market runs a family-owned Middle Eastern counter with halal meats, including beef shawarma and falafel platters.
Signature: Beef shawarma, Falafel platter, Combination plate
Order: Beef shawarma platter with rice, hummus and salad.
Tip: Open Mon-Tue 10:00-14:00, Wed-Fri 10:00-17:00. Cash works fastest; takeaway is the move at peak lunch.
Habashi House ★ 4.4
Habashi House in Kansas City's City Market runs the city's cheapest halal Middle Eastern lunch counter, with beef shawarma and falafel platters under $14.
Try: Beef shawarma platter
Tip: Cash works fastest; the combination plate is the value Cash is faster than card.
Middle Eastern in Ljubljana
Abi Falafel ★ 4.1
Abi Falafel's stuffed falafel sandwich with hummus runs around 8 euros on Trubarjeva, the city's first Middle Eastern budget counter run by the Shaar family.
Try: Falafel sandwich with hummus
Middle Eastern in London
The Palomar ★ 4.5
The Layo Paskin brothers' Jerusalem-leaning counter and dining room on Rupert Street in Soho London, opened 2014, runs a kitchen-counter front and a calmer.
Signature: Kubaneh bread with tahini, Octopus mishmish
Order: Kubaneh bread (warm pull-apart with tahini and pepper jam) followed by the octopus mishmish main.
Tip: Counter seats face the open kitchen and take walk-ins. Tables in the back take bookings two weeks ahead.
Middle Eastern in Los Angeles
Saffy's ★ 4.3
Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis's Saffy's in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, is a wood-fire shawarma room from the Bestia team. Open since 2023.
Signature: Lamb shawarma, Hummus
Order: Lamb shawarma off the rotating spit, with hot pita and hummus.
Tip: The bar serves the full menu walk-in; reservations are for the dining patio out back and book three weeks ahead.
Middle Eastern in Lyon
Nafas ★ 4.1
Nafas in Lyon's 1er is the Rue Rene Leynaud Middle Eastern counter cooking hummus bowls, wraps and daily falafel plates with house pickles and tahini.
Signature: Hummus bowl, Wraps
Order: The hummus bowl with kebab and sumac onions.
Tip: Lunch and early dinner only; closed Sunday.
Nafas ★ 4.1
Nafas in Lyon's 1er is the Middle Eastern counter on Rue Rene Leynaud cooking hummus bowls, wraps and falafel plates with house pickles, tahini and sumac.
Try: Hummus bowl with kebab and sumac onions
Order: The hummus bowl with kebab; add the falafel side for €3 more.
Tip: Lunch and early dinner only; closed Sunday. Take-away through the side window after 14:00.
Middle Eastern in Marseille
Le Femina ★ 4.4
Le Femina in Marseille's 1er Noailles has cooked Algerian Berber couscous since 1921, the same family carrying it across generations, the barley semolina.
Signature: Berber couscous, Barley semolina couscous
Order: The Berber couscous with lamb on barley semolina; the kitchen turns the dish all day.
Tip: Closed Sunday evening and Monday; reservation strongly recommended.
Middle Eastern in Melbourne
Zareh ★ 4.8
Zareh on Smith Street in Collingwood applies Armenian and Lebanese heritage to a wood-fired menu of roasted lamb, spiced rice and labneh; opened in 2025.
Order: Wood-roasted lamb with spiced rice and labneh
Zareh ★ 4.8
Zareh on Smith Street brings Armenian and Lebanese cooking with a charcoal focus that makes it one of Melbourne's most exciting casual rooms.
Order: Chargrilled flatbread with yoghurt and lamb fat
Middle Eastern in Milwaukee
Shahrazad ★ 4.7
Shahrazad on North Oakland Avenue on the East Side serves Middle Eastern food in a long-running family-run dining room with shawarma, kebabs and mezze.
Why locals love it: An East Side Middle Eastern room locals book but tourists miss, run by the same family since 1991 today.
Tip: Order the lamb shawarma plate with extra garlic sauce and a side of tabbouleh.
Middle Eastern in Montreal
Boustan ★ 4.2
Boustan is a downtown Montreal institution for cheap, garlicky shawarma, its Rue Crescent counter feeding students and night owls well past midnight.
Try: Shawarma pita
Tip: The Aladin potato pita is the cult order and barely dents a tenner; extra toum is free and essential.
Boustan ★ 4.1
Boustan has fed downtown Montreal since 1986, a late-night Rue Crescent counter with garlic-heavy shawarma and the fried-potato Aladin pita past midnight.
Try: Shawarma and pita
Tip: Ask for extra toum garlic sauce and pickled turnip; it stays open long past the bars for a good reason.
Boustan ★ 4.1
Boustan keeps its garlicky shawarma coming past 2am on Rue Crescent in Montreal, a downtown late-night fixture for students spilling out of the bars.
Try: Shawarma pita
Tip: The Aladin potato pita soaks up the night; ask for extra toum and pickled turnip on the way out.
Middle Eastern in Nice
Marche de la Liberation ★ 4.1
Marche de la Liberation on Avenue Malaussena is the working class daily market north of Place Massena, halal kebabs, North African counters and the Docks de.
Try: Market lunch from the stalls
Middle Eastern in Paris
Chez Omar ★ 4.0
Chez Omar in Paris has plated couscous royal under brass lanterns on Rue de Bretagne since 1978. Located in 3E. Kitchen leans north african.
Signature: Couscous royal, Tagine
Order: Couscous royal with merguez, lamb and chicken; baklava for dessert.
Tip: Cash only. No reservations; arrive before 20:00 to skip the line on Saturday.
Middle Eastern in Portland
Tusk ★ 4.4
The bright, plant-forward Middle Eastern room on East Burnside in Portland, open since 2016 with Pacific Northwest produce on every plate. Priced at $$$.
Signature: Lamb shoulder, Mezze platter
Order: The slow-roasted lamb shoulder with sumac and pomegranate
Tip: Open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday. The covered patio is the best seat in summer.
Tusk ★ 4.4
The plant-led Middle Eastern dining room on East Burnside in Portland, with a chef's selection menu of mezze, lamb shoulder and seasonal vegetables.
Tip: Order the chef's selection menu for the table. The covered patio is the best seat in summer.
Middle Eastern in Portland
Evo Kitchen + Bar ★ 4.4
Evo Kitchen + Bar at the Hyatt Place Old Port opened 2016, with a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern menu of wood-fired flatbreads, mezze and grilled kebabs.
Signature: Wood-fired pita, Lamb kefta, House mezze plate
Order: The full mezze plate with wood-fired pita, plus lamb kefta off the grill.
Tip: Daily from 17:00. Reservations via OpenTable; bar seats hold for walk-ins.
Evo Kitchen + Bar ★ 4.2
Evo Kitchen + Bar at the Hyatt Place Old Port, since 2016, runs a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern menu of wood-fired flatbreads, mezze and grilled kebabs.
Signature: Wood-fired pita, Lamb kefta, Mezze plate
Order: The full mezze plate with wood-fired pita, then lamb kefta off the grill.
Tip: Daily from 17:00. Reservations via OpenTable; bar seats hold for walk-ins.
Middle Eastern in Providence
East Side Pockets ★ 4.3
Thayer Street's Middle Eastern late counter for Brown and RISD students. Falafel, shawarma, kebab wraps until 02:00 weekends; only late option here.
Try: Falafel and shawarma wraps
East Side Pockets ★ 4.3
Thayer Street's Middle Eastern counter has fed Brown and RISD students cheaply since 1997. Falafel and gyro wraps under $13, hummus plates, late.
Try: Falafel wrap with hummus and salad
Middle Eastern in Reykjavik
Mandi ★ 3.9
Mandi on Ingolfstorg square serves halal shawarma, kebab and falafel from a fast counter in central Reykjavik, a reliable cheap feed in a pricey city.
Signature: Shawarma, Falafel wrap
Order: A chicken shawarma wrap, or the falafel plate for a meatless option.
Tip: Fully halal and open late around the square. Good value when the sit-down rooms feel out of budget.
Middle Eastern in Rotterdam
Restaurant Bazar Late Night ★ 4.4
A Witte de With landmark in a converted church, Bazar serves North African tagines, mezze, and baked flatbreads until midnight on weekends in a spectacular.
Mecca ★ 4.3
A Middle Eastern-style brunch cafe on Noordsingel serving shakshuka, mezze platters, and specialty coffee in a lively room. Located in Rotterdam Noord.
Order: Middle Eastern breakfast spread with specialty coffee.
Tip: The shakshuka with feta is served in a cast-iron skillet and is large enough to share between two.
BY AMI ★ 4.3
A Middle Eastern brunch cafe on Witte de Withstraat with an Israeli-influenced menu: shakshuka, sabich, labneh, and fresh-baked pita alongside specialty.
Order: The sabich plate: fried aubergine, hard-boiled egg, tahini, and amba pickle on fresh pita.
Middle Eastern in Sacramento
Halal Muncheez ★ 4.2
Halal Muncheez on K Street, downtown Sacramento, runs daily 10:30-03:30, the city's longest-running late-night halal stop, kebab, gyro and rice plates.
Try: Chicken kebab and rice platters, gyros
Middle Eastern in San Antonio
Ladino ★ 4.5
Ladino is chef Berty Richter's Eastern Mediterranean room at the Pearl, built for family-style sharing across mezze, hummus and a wood-fired grill section.
Tip: Go family-style across the mezze with the grill section as the anchor. The hummus and the lamb are reliable openers.
Middle Eastern in San Jose
Falafel's Drive-In ★ 4.5
Falafel's Drive-In in San Jose is the 1966 Stevens Creek landmark on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, serving crisp falafel in pita with tahini sauce.
Try: California-style falafel sandwich
Falafel's Drive-In ★ 4.5
Falafel's Drive-In in San Jose is the 1966 Stevens Creek drive-in where crisp falafel pita with tahini and pickled vegetables comes in under ten dollars.
Try: Falafel sandwich in pita
Falafel's Drive-In ★ 4.4
Falafel's Drive-In is a San Jose icon on Stevens Creek serving crispy herbaceous falafel at a retro walk-up window, a Food Network-featured local institution.
Order: Falafel sandwich with house-made banana shake
Why locals love it: Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives yet still unknown to many San Jose visitors, this walk-up window has served the same crispy falafel recipe for decades.
Tip: Order the banana shake alongside your falafel sandwich; this generations-old pairing is what regulars always come back for
Middle Eastern in Singapore
Fat Prince ★ 4.2
Michelin Guide-listed Mediterranean and Middle Eastern restaurant on Peck Seah Street. Bold mezze and grilled meats; back in Tanjong Pagar in 2025.
Signature: Shawarma plate, Mezze spread, Fattoush
Order: The mezze spread to share followed by the slow-roasted lamb shawarma
Tip: The bar programme is genuinely good; a cocktail before dinner is part of the Fat Prince ritual.
Middle Eastern in Sydney
El Jannah Granville ★ 4.8
Quarter charcoal chicken with toum and chips for A$15 on South Street, Granville, Sydney. The canonical Sydney charcoal chicken takeaway, open late.
Try: Quarter charcoal chicken with toum and chips
Aalia ★ 4.7
Paul Farag's two-hat modern Middle Eastern room on Martin Place, Sydney. Saj manakish on the open hearth, Iraqi masgouf and slow-roasted shoulder of lamb.
Signature: Hummus with smoked lamb, Saj manakish, Iraqi masgouf
King of Sweets ★ 4.5
Middle Eastern sweet counter on Haldon Street, Lakemba, Sydney. Diamond-cut baklava, knafeh and zenoud by the piece; counter slices under A$8.
Try: Diamond-cut baklava slice
Middle Eastern in Utrecht
Carmel Market ★ 4.2
Carmel Market on the Janskerkhof serves Mediterranean sharing plates spanning Italy to Lebanon, with a spacious courtyard terrace open in summer.
Signature: Mediterranean mezze, Lebanese small plates
Order: Mixed mezze sharing board for two with house carafe
Carmel Market ★ 4.2
Mediterranean sharing plates from Italy to Lebanon on the Janskerkhof square. Large courtyard terrace in summer; all-day kitchen at weekends.
Signature: Mediterranean mezze, Lebanese small plates
Order: Mixed mezze to share with a carafe of house wine
Carmel Market ★ 4.2
Mediterranean and Middle Eastern sharing plates on the Janskerkhof. Menu spans Italy, Greece, Lebanon and Malta; courtyard terrace in summer.
Middle Eastern in Vienna
Homam Falafel ★ 4.5
Homam Falafel on Brunnengasse next to the Brunnenmarkt in Ottakring is the local cheap-falafel pick, the wrap with tahini and pickled radish under six euros.
Try: Falafel sandwich
Tip: Cash only; pair with a Brunnenmarkt walk for fresh produce on the way back.
Habibi & Hawara Landstrasse ★ 4.3
Habibi & Hawara on Kundmanngasse in Vienna's 3rd district is a social-enterprise kitchen run with refugee chefs, the falafel sandwich plus a small mezze.
Try: Falafel sandwich with hummus
Tip: Takeaway counter at the side runs faster than the sit-down room at lunchtime; the inner-city Wipplingerstrasse flagship closed in 2023.
Middle Eastern in Warsaw
Tel Aviv Urban Food ★ 4.3
Tel Aviv Urban Food on Poznanska in Warsaw opened in 2010 as the city's first strictly plant-based room. Kitchen leans middle eastern vegan.
Signature: Hummus, Falafel pita, Shakshuka
Order: The hummus mushabbaha with extra warm pita and a side of pickled vegetables.
Tip: Walk-in friendly at lunch. Dinner Friday-Saturday is the harder slot.
Tel Aviv Urban Food (Poznanska) ★ 4.3
Tel Aviv Urban Food on Poznanska in Warsaw is the original 2010 vegan-pioneer location of the three-restaurant Tel Aviv group. Located in Srodmiescie.
Signature: Hummus, Falafel, Shakshuka
Order: Hummus mushabbaha with warm pita and pickled cauliflower.
Tip: Three Warsaw locations: Poznanska is the original, Mickiewicza the Zoliborz outpost.
Middle Eastern in Washington DC
Maydan ★ 4.7
Maydan in Washington DC is Rose Previte's James Beard award-winner above 14th Street, a courtyard around a live-fire pit serving North African.
Signature: Whole-fire lamb shoulder, Flatbread from the live fire
Order: The lamb shoulder cooked over fire for ten hours, ordered as a family-style bookend.
Tip: The booth seats face the fire; ask for one. The pre-shift cocktail flight at the upstairs bar is the value pick.
Zaytinya ★ 4.4
Zaytinya in Washington DC is Jose Andres's Penn Quarter Eastern Mediterranean room on 9th Street since 2002, a high-ceiling space drawing from Greek.
Signature: Spicy fries with feta, Wood-grilled octopus
Order: The Greek-style spiced fries with feta; the most-ordered single dish in the room.
Tip: Pre-theatre reservations from 17:00 are the fastest seat; the upstairs bar runs the full menu without the reservation pressure.
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