Best Middle Eastern in NYC
The 10 best Middle Eastern restaurants in NYC, from Bay Ridge Palestinian institutions to Astoria falafel and haute Lebanese in Manhattan.
Corrected
- Oct 3, 2026: We called Balade a Michelin Bib Gourmand honoree. In fact it is not in the current Michelin Guide, and we did not find it on any of Michelin's New York Bib Gourmand lists we checked from the 2016 guide on. Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6, Source 7, Source 8, Source 9, Source 10
- Oct 3, 2026: We called Ayat a Michelin-featured spot. In fact the Michelin Guide listed it as recently as February 2026 but has since removed it. Source 1, Source 2
- Oct 2, 2026: We said Kabab Cafe seats 14. Published accounts from 2011 to 2015 put it at 16 to 20 seats and we could not find a current count, so we now call the room tiny. We also corrected the chef's name to Ali El Sayed. Source 1, Source 2, Source 3
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- 1Bay Ridge · $$ · 77 St (R) · 7523 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11209
Also No. 1 on Best of Bay Ridge →
Chef Rawia Bishara's Bay Ridge Palestinian institution, repeatedly ranked among the city's best Middle Eastern kitchens. The baked kibbeh and fatteh are the reasons regulars keep coming back.
Every plate carries Rawia Bishara's fingerprints, layered with tahini, pomegranate, and decades of practice.
It is closed Mondays, so reserve ahead and let the kitchen steer you toward the daily specials beyond the printed menu.
Photo: ceonyc, CC BY-SA 2.0 - 2Bay Ridge · $$ · 86 St (R) · 8504 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11209
Also No. 2 on Best of Bay Ridge →
A Palestinian restaurant on Bay Ridge's Third Avenue, run by a husband-and-wife team. It does full maklouba and mansaf feasts plus quick grab-and-go shawarma.
The maklouba, flipped tableside into a tower of rice and chicken, turns dinner into an event.
Order the maklouba for the table and grab a shawarma on the way out.
@ayat.nyc ↗Ayat
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From @ayat.nyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 3Flatiron · $$ · 28 St (R W) · 236 5th Ave
Chef Philippe Massoud's haute Lebanese dining room, open in the Flatiron since 2007. It remains a destination for elevated mezze and its signature duck shawarma.
The duck shawarma is proof that Lebanese cooking can be both refined and deeply comforting.
This is the original Flatiron flagship, not the newer Midtown room, and the duck shawarma is the order.
From @ililirestaurants on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 4East Village · $$ · 1 Av (L) · 188 Avenue A
A family-owned Lebanese spot in the East Village famous for shawarma towers carved tableside from a vertical spit. Braised lamb shank and kibbeh round out the menu.
Watching the shawarma tower carved at your table is dinner and theater at once.
Ask for the tableside shawarma tower carved at your table for the full show.
Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim (edenpictures), CC BY 2.0 - 5East Village · $$ · 1 Av (L) · 208 1st Ave
A lively East Village Lebanese restaurant. Warm hospitality and a strong happy hour make the mezze spread the move.
The mezze spread and easy hospitality make it feel like a party you were invited to.
Hit the happy hour and build a mezze spread around the muhammara.
@baladenyc ↗Balade
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From @baladenyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 6Chelsea Market · $$ · 14 St (A C E L) · 435 W 15th St
The New York outpost of chef Eyal Shani's global Israeli pita chain, tucked into Chelsea Market. It is fast, casual, and built around the whole roasted cauliflower pita.
That whole roasted cauliflower, blistered and tucked into warm pita, ruins every other vegetable for you.
Order the whole roasted cauliflower pita and eat it standing, this Chelsea Market stall is fast and casual.
Photo: Toosu, CC BY 2.0 - 7Astoria · $$ · Broadway (N W) · 30-15 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106
Also No. 3 on Best Halal in NYC → · No. 7 on Best of Astoria →
An Astoria institution that grew from an award-winning food cart into a permanent Palestinian restaurant. The New York Times named it a Critics' Pick in 2016.
The white-sauce chicken over rice explains why the cart won awards before the storefront ever opened.
The old food-cart energy lives on in the white-sauce chicken and falafel over rice.
Photo: Shezadi10, CC0 1.0 - 8Astoria · $$ · 2512 Steinway St, Astoria, NY 11103
Also No. 3 on Best of Astoria →
A tiny Egyptian room run since 1989 by chef Ali El Sayed, who cooks everything himself with no fixed menu. The cult following is entirely earned.
Handing the meal over to Ali El Sayed is the best decision you will make all week.
There is no fixed menu, so trust Ali El Sayed to build the meal, and go early since the room is tiny.
Photo: Kent Wang, CC BY-SA 2.0 - 9Fort Greene · $$ · Fulton St (G) · 184 Dekalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Also No. 3 on Best Brunch in Brooklyn →
Chef Tomer Blechman's Israeli-Mediterranean garden restaurant in Fort Greene. The whipped labneh and shakshuka shine in a plant-filled patio setting.
The whipped labneh in that leafy back garden is Brooklyn at its most quietly luxurious.
Ask for the plant-filled back patio and start with the whipped labneh.
@missadanyc ↗Miss Ada
From @missadanyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 10Greenwich Village · $$ · 6 Av (1 2 3 F L M) · 464 6th Ave
Chef Melanie Shurka's Greenwich Village room spotlighting Kurdish, Iraqi, and Syrian cooking rarely found in New York. The namesake kubeh dumplings come in a range of broths.
The kubeh dumplings deliver a taste of Kurdish and Iraqi cooking you simply cannot find elsewhere in the city.
This is one of the only Kurdish and Iraqi kubeh specialists in the country, so order the dumplings in broth.
From @eatkubeh on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
Good to know
- What is the best Middle Eastern restaurant in NYC?
- Tanoreen in Bay Ridge tops this list. Chef Rawia Bishara's Palestinian kitchen is known for baked kibbeh and fatteh, with every plate carrying her touch of tahini and pomegranate built up over decades.
- Where can I find Palestinian food in Bay Ridge?
- Bay Ridge is home to two of the list's top picks. Tanoreen is Rawia Bishara's long-running institution known for kibbeh and fatteh, and Ayat, from a husband-and-wife team, does full maklouba flipped tableside plus grab-and-go shawarma.
- Where can I get a dinner that's also a bit of a show?
- Au Za'atar in the East Village carves its shawarma towers tableside from a vertical spit, right in front of you. Ask for the tableside carving for the full effect.
- Where's good Middle Eastern food in Astoria?
- King of Falafel & Shawarma grew from an award-winning food cart into a permanent Palestinian restaurant and is often named among the city's best falafel. Kabab Cafe is a tiny Egyptian room where chef Ali El Sayed has cooked since 1989 and now works with no fixed menu, so it's best to just let him decide the meal.