Middle Eastern in Dallas

1901 Abrams Rd. East Dallas & Lakewood

214-823-8235

Greek, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Recommended, Menu

Ali Baba is one of Dallas' best bargains for excellent Middle Eastern food, despite a cramped location with odd hours. We especially like the golden chicken, a half-chicken baked on a rotisserie and crisped under a broiler. Boston Market take note: Whatever they do at Ali Baba, this is how you're supposed to make rotisserie chicken. The flesh is fork-tender and moist, not mushy, and the skin is as crisp and savory as Peking duck, with no gobs of yellow fat marring the underside. That's a lot of chicken, and it also comes with very fresh pita bread and "garlic sauce," which is a dollop of extremely pungent garlic mashed potatoes. Also good is the shish tawook, marinated chicken cubes with rice pilaf, and the mazza plate, which includes hummus, egg plant dip, tabouli, dolmas, pickles and olives. The mashwi shish, marinated cubes of beef or lamb with rice pilaf, wasn't quite up to the standard of the chicken entrées and had an overpowering grill flavor. Ali Baba also lists several vegetarian appetizers that could easily serve as entrées. Service is a bit spotty, and you might have trouble getting a table at lunch.

12 articles

Amsterdam Falafelshop

2651 Commerce St. Downtown/Deep Ellum

Fast Casual, Middle Eastern, Slideshow

2 articles

Arabica

1403 E. Campbell Rd. Richardson & Vicinity

469-372-5595

Middle Eastern, Mediterranean

Arabica is a family-owned restaurant that aims to offer different dishes from different countries in the Middle East. Try the mandi chicken on a fluffy bed of basmati rice, easily shareable among two. The aromatic, biryani-esque mandi was vibrant in a hawaij seasoning (a blend of Yemeni spices) and garnished with small, golden fried onions that we couldn’t get enough of.

1 article

Bilad Bakery & Restaurant

850 S. Greenville Ave. Richardson & Vicinity

972-744-9599

Middle Eastern, Bakery, Critics' Pick, Best Of, Slideshow, Essentials

The Iraqi restaurant Bilad is a neighborhood institution. The superb bakery got its start turning out excellent samoon bread from Iraq and trays of delightful desserts like pistachio puffs and baklava. Bilad has an excellent kitchen serving Iraqi specialties, including some of the region’s better shawarma and falafel, zhug (an acidic hot pepper sauce), fresh tabbouleh and garlicky hummus. Kebab meat may look charred on the outside, but the interior is still perfectly tender. Grab a bag of that samoon bread as you leave, or visit the small grocery next door.

Top pick: The shawarma sandwiches, served on loaves of fresh Iraqi bread with fluffy soft interiors, are no-doubt, unanimous-vote choices for the Texas Sandwich Hall of Fame, especially if you ask that your sandwich be made spicy.

Fun fact: Bilad makes a point of providing food for their neighbors experiencing homelessness.

8 articles

Board Bites

6100 K Ave. Suite 104B Plano

469-929-6955

Middle Eastern, Recommended

Across from the taco truck, every street corner in America needs a Lebanese fast-food joint for falafel emergencies. Until that utopia arrives, we’ll all have to head to Plano, where Board Bites has been serving up a short menu of shawarma wraps, kebabs, spicy hummus and not much else since spring 2018. Of course, not much else is necessary.

2 articles

Bubala Cafe and Grill

17479 Preston Rd. North Dallas

469-466-8818

Middle Eastern

Byblos

1406 N. Main St. Fort Worth

817-625-9667

Middle Eastern, Recommended

If there's a better lunch buffet to be had in Fort Worth, we haven't found it. Byblos lays out a delicious spread of Lebanese and Middle Eastern specialties in the Stockyards, including chicken roasted in lemon juice and herbs; a savory rice dish, Dajaj Bil Riz, with chunks of chicken, finely ground sirloin and a dash of cinnamon; and fall-off-the-bone-tender roasted legs of lamb. All of these items and much more are also available for dinner off the menu, but the inexpensive buffet is a perfect way to get a sampling of Byblos' specialties. The Kataifi (baklava), made with pistachios and delicately flavored rose water, was also superb. If you want to impress your friends, order a hookah at your table.

2 articles

Café Istanbul

5450 W. Lovers Lane Park Cities

214-902-0919

Middle Eastern, Restaurants, Recommended

Dallas' most popular Turkish restaurant opens in the suburbs, and it's even better than the original. Designer space and classic Mediterranean fare, from dolmas to the famous Iskender Kebap.

7 articles

Cafe Izmir

211 N Ervay St Downtown/Deep Ellum

469-998-0123

Turkish, Middle Eastern, Menu, Readers' Choice

2 events 3 articles

Casablanca

200 N. Bishop Ave., No. 113 West Dallas

972-863-9600

Pan-Asian, Middle Eastern, Best Of, DrinkHere

The Silk Road-themed Casablanca sits like an oasis in the heart of the Bishop Arts District, just a few steps off the main artery. Here the mood is a desert oasis with sandy hues and a Moroccan aura. Like any cool desert hangout, it's centered on a calming pool of water (which is not for swimming). The menu of small bites stretches from the Middle East to Asia, from smoked edamame to pork and plum dumplings. Casablanca also expanded, adding an adjacent outdoor post called The Palm Bar with grab-and-go cocktails and a sandy lounge area. But if you and your friends like to get loud, get a room: Casanova is a sing easy in the back, with several swank private karaoke lounges for up to 15 guests. Reservations are a must.

5 articles

Celaborelle Phoenician Buffet

2257 Hemphill St. Fort Worth

817-922-8118

Middle Eastern, Restaurants, Recommended, Menu

Celaborelle's "Phoenician buffet" surely represents the best all-you-can-eat option in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. For less than $10 at both lunch and dinner, you can feast on lentil spinach soup, beef-stuffed grape leaves, roasted chicken, hummus, outstanding whole-wheat pita bread and much more, including a full range of vegetarian dishes. (Phoenician food, by the way, is Lebanese to you and me.) The unusual thing, though, is that certain dishes are available in freshly made individual servings and are included in the buffet price, such as spicy, lemony chicken shawarma.

Chai Khanah

580 W. Arapaho Road, No. 406 Richardson & Vicinity

972-234-1500

Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Critics' Pick, Menu

The Top 100 Dallas Restaurants, No. 47: One of the finest Iraqi restaurants in the Dallas area — and there is more competition than you might suspect — Chai Khanah is helmed by an owner who fled Iraq after hearing that Saddam Hussein’s henchmen had him on a list of targets. The breakfasts here are excellent, but the kebabs are spectacular and some of them are truly rare in Texas. Kashkash kebab stars meat so finely diced it’s fabulously tender; shish tawook is aromatic from its time over the charcoals. Your table is likely to groan under the ample side dishes, including buttery rice pilaf, jajeck (like tzatziki, but the cucumbers are pickled), just-fried falafel balls, good hummus and samoon, the soft boat-shaped Iraqi bread.

Top pick: At breakfast, makhlama is a nearly equal-parts combination of scrambled eggs and ground lamb, plus tomatoes, onions, spices and pita bread.

The downside: Service here can be quaintly amateurish. Expect delays, and if you start wondering where the check is, just go to the front desk and ask to pay. Some menu items are daily specials, but the menu doesn’t explain them.

Fun fact: Every table comes topped with a Kleenex box.

2 articles

Eat Street Kabab Factory

2640 Old Denton Rd. Carrollton/Farmers Branch

972-242-9999

Middle Eastern, Critics' Pick, Slideshow

One of the best restaurants in the area to feature foods from the Muslim cultures of the Indian subcontinent, Eat Street is tucked around the backside of a strip mall in Carrollton’s Korea Town. Here, even the lunch buffet is given unusual attention, but look out for super-tender tangri chicken legs with a bold spice rub, beef seekh kebabs grilled on skewers and aloo keema, a seconds-worthy stir-fry of ground meat, potatoes, peas and cumin. There’s even a pretty good halal diner-style cheeseburger.

Fun fact: Upstairs, a banquet hall is available for large private events.

1 article

Ephesus Mediterranean Grill

10455 N. Central Expressway #118 North Dallas

972-803-3750

Turkish, Middle Eastern, Recommended, Slideshow

Ephesus is the kind of restaurant where the first impression is misleading. Its atmosphere is peculiar, and its appetizers can be shaky, but dig deeper to reveal a kitchen turning out delightful Turkish comfort foods. The best starter choice is a sample platter of meze, the small dishes and dips that introduce a traditional Middle Eastern meal: a huge platter of unusually thick, garlicky hummus; baba ghannoush (eggplant dip); a dip of diced feta cheese bound together by paprika; minty stuffed grape leaves; and pita bread still smoky from the oven.Keeping it simple is good advice for the main courses, too. That means kebabs, like iskender kebab, a genuine pile of beef-lamb mixture, carved off the rotisserie and served under a tomato-based sauce. Another dish just waiting for Americans to fall in love with it is beyti kebab. This one’s a regular beef kebab skewer wrapped in a tortilla-like flatbread and doused in both spicy tomato sauce and tzatziki.

1 article

Fattoush Mediterranean Kitchen

2304 W. Park Row Drive, Suite 25, Pantego Arlington

682-321-7650

Middle Eastern, Critics' Pick, Best Of, Essentials

Fattoush is tucked away in an obscure strip mall in the even more obscure town of Pantego that somehow earned squatters’ rights in the middle of Arlington. The chef here, Bashar Al Mudhafar, emigrated to the U.S. in 2010 after befriending American soldiers who frequented his Baghdad restaurant. One meal led to another, and after applying for and receiving refugee status, Al Mudhafar is serving some of the best Middle Eastern food in North Texas. Try the grilled lamb chops dusted with ground pistachio or a fire-kissed kebab made with in-house ground lamb (he uses 5-10% beef and fatty pieces of lamb for more flavor). Anything from the Iraqi Grill section of the menu is a surefire winner.

Top Pick: We’ve never had a bad meal here, but a favorite is the shish tawook with grilled chunks of chicken marinated in olive oil, lemon and spices. It comes with grilled vegetables and freshly baked flaky naan-like Iraqi bread so big it covers the entire plate.

5 articles

Fenjani

2238 W Walnut Hill Lane Irving/Las Colinas

Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Lebanese

1 article

Food From Galilee

6710 Snider Plaza Park Cities

214-750-0330

Greek, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Recommended

This is Lebanese home cooking: dozens of simple, hearty dishes, served on humble plastic plates in a cozy storefront in Snider Plaza. The cornish hen, available only at dinner, was the star of our visits--plump and golden brown, stuffed with rice and almonds, pine nuts and finely minced ground beef. (Call 30 to 45 minutes in advance for the hen; they're made to order.) Food From Galilee also has excellent gyros, some of the best in the area.

Cafe Izmir

3711 Greenville Ave. East Dallas & Lakewood

214-826-7788

Deli, Greek, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Recommended, Best Of, Readers' Choice

This shop boasts it has the best hummus in Dallas, but what it really gives you is the option of teleportation to the Mediterranean or New York when you enter under the yellow awning. Customers can order myriad mezze at this sister joint to Café Izmir up the street. Among the most popular mezze are the falafel and tzatziki sauce. Try the cheese plate, perhaps a gyro or eegra or an eggplant dip. Wash it down with a demitasse of the rich, knock-you-off-the-stool Turkish coffee at the curvilinear bar or get anything for take-out, like the flatbread pizzas. Either way, what you'll experience is a sampling of the cuisines born at the center of the ancient world.

2 events 15 articles

Kasbah Grill

2851 Esters Rd. Irving/Las Colinas

214-596-9206

Middle Eastern, Restaurants, Best Of, Menu

While it may look like an old 7-Eleven from the outside, dinner at the exotically appointed Kasbah Grill in Irving may be the cheapest, quickest way to take your taste buds to North Africa. Moroccan dishes like lamb tagine with couscous and bastilla -- think pot pie but sexier and spicier -- share the menu with Middle Eastern fare such as hummus, babaghanoush, and kabobs. If you’re lucky, you’ll snag the traditional-style table in the corner draped with lush fabric where you and your date can lounge on cushions and sip a pot of the traditional mint tea. Kasbah Grill is a Middle Eastern establishment, so there’s no alcohol served, and you may want to tell your date to save the Daisy Dukes for another night. Despite these minor setbacks, the food ought to have you and your date Moroccan the Kasbah in no time.

4 articles

Laili

920 S Harwood St. Ste 112 Downtown/Deep Ellum

214-484-3735

Afghan, Turkish, Middle Eastern, Recommended

Dallas Farmer's Market has a standout in Laili, a “Silk Road” fusion counter. Its chef-owners are two women from Afghanistan and Turkey, Afifa Nayeb and Nevin Kaya. The menu happily jumps between the two countries’ native cuisines, a roster of home-cooking dishes presented with integrity. Even surrounded by the Farmers Market’s array of stylish macarons and ice cream sandwiches, the desserts at Laili stand out as some of the neighborhood’s best.

Nora

1928 Greenville Ave. East Dallas & Lakewood

214-828-0095

Afghan, Middle Eastern, Best Of

The sleek, modern décor at Nora boasts whitewashed walls accented by a pair of long, dark wooden boards and chandeliers with thin, opaque, tinkling things that illuminate like ice sculptures from above. Middle-aged couples sit at the bar sipping wine, while larger groups fill out the dining tables and more tables spill onto the patio out front filled with Greenville Avenue residents who have grown bored with the neighborhood's other offerings. Matt Pikar, who is also the chef and owner of the Afghan Grill, offers comparable cuisine at his second restaurant. Leek and meat dumplings and pumpkin topped with yogurt and meat sauce join a host of kebabs and curry that are perfect for diners who are new to Afghan flavors.

4 articles

Oso Food and Wine

11910 Preston Rd., No. 209 North Dallas

972-789-1630

Middle Eastern, Recommended

This North Dallas spot defies expectations, going beyond typical Middle Eastern restaurants to give diners something new to chew on. And that’s not at the expense of authenticity. The scent of sumac wafts up from the plate of sirloin beef, and nuts and fruits are used effectively to create complex dishes with plenty of character. Don’t skip the grilled tuna if you’re used to other restaurants plating the ruby fish in boring ways. Harissa and spicy yogurt make this a solid choice. And whole branzino dances with honey and a tart vinaigrette. The dining room is boring but the starters are not. Order the mezze platter if you have two or more diners at your table, and enjoy a mix of pureed eggplant, hummus, falafel and other Mediterranean preparations that are thoughtfully brought together on one plate. Dessert? Yes. Any of the choices here will soothe your sweet tooth.

1 article

Sayyad Mediterranean Cuisine

310 E. Main St. Richardson & Vicinity

972-234-9900

Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Seafood, Recommended

The specialty here is Mediterranean-style grilled seafood, offered in a weekday lunch buffet, but the real action at Sayyad is in the evenings, when grilled fish and seafood kebabs can take center stage. The seafood specialties here include singari fish casserole, in which a whole fish is split, butterflied and marinated, then topped with an enormous mixture of vegetables, herbs, peppers and lemon juice and baked in an oven. At some times, though not any times we visited, customers can choose their whole fish on ice and have it prepared in a number of styles, served with fragrantly spiced rice pilaf.

1 article

Shishkabob's Cafe

7879 Spring Valley Rd. Richardson & Vicinity

972-680-8989

Middle Eastern, Recommended

Great spot for inexpensive Middle Eastern food – specifically Persian cuisine, the owner's specialty. Check out the lunch buffet, which features a couple of meat entrées, plus rice, fresh salads, soup and shishkabobs of spiced, marinated chicken and ground beef. One of the buffet dishes, the Khoresht-e-Quymeh Bad Emjoon – braised beef in a delicious sauce of chickpeas, eggplant and tomato – was especially tasty. Also on the menu are stuffed grape leaves and other types of shishkabobs, including lamb and Cornish hen. Service is very friendly; environs attractive but a bit cramped.

Siedos Mediterranean Grill

3758 S. Carrier Parkway, Ste. 100 Grand Prairie

972-642-4400

Middle Eastern, Restaurants, Recommended

A Middle Eastern restaurant in southern Dallas County, serving mostly Lebanese dishes. The maza appetizer is eight small plates of specialties such as hummus, tabouleh and cucumber salad-enough to share with the entire table. Standout entrees include exotically spiced beef and chicken shawarma and a hearty, tender lamb shank. Located in a Grand Prairie strip shopping center, Siedos is spotlessly clean and also offers breakfast and what it touts as the "best hookahs."

T. Blanco's Mexican Cantina

15207 Addison Rd. Addison

Mexican, Middle Eastern

1 article

Vegan Kebab Mediterranean Grill

2011 Spring Creek Pkwy. #2000 Plano

469-588-4669

Vegan, Middle Eastern

All of the menu items are crafted from 100% Gardein meat — a meat substitute made of soy, wheat and pea proteins — and flavored with the same spices and condiments as a typical kebab. Gardein is lauded for its unique ability to assume the stocky textures of meats ranging from more common ones like chicken to those more obscure, such as lamb.

Try their Chicken Rocket Sandwich, one of the most popular items, largely a result of how it mimics both the flavor and texture of a real chicken shawarma wrap. A warm pita is stuffed with shredded “chicken” that has an elastic texture when bitten into, much like real chicken meat. Tender potato slices add a starchy consistency to balance out the firmness of the “chicken” inside. All of it is smothered in spicy garlic butter.

The gyro sandwich, another popular menu item, consists of chunky Gardein meat, thinly sliced like a typical gyro. The meat is coated in savory spices then blended with tomatoes and pickled bell peppers to form a slightly tangy and aromatic gyro stuffing. A creamy tahini paste adds unexpectedly cool tones to finish off an otherwise spicy dish.

They even have a vegan baklava.

2 articles

Yia Yia's House of Gyros

904 E. Davis St. Mesquite/Balch Springs

469-802-9797

Middle Eastern, Greek, Critics' Pick, Best Of, Essentials

The original Mesquite location of this charming family-owned mini-chain is a tiny dining room full of proof of chef Vasili “Bill” Kaprantzas’ Greek immigrant roots. There’s a poster of the chef’s grandmother, quotations hand-scrawled on the walls and, of course, a bottle of Windex displayed with pride. The Rockwall location, in a shiny strip mall, manages the impressive trick of replicating the original dining room’s homey feel, complete with even more quotes, like “Let’s Make America Greek Again.” Nowhere else in Dallas feels like such a true portal to the Aegean Sea and its food.

Top pick: Grab an enormous overstuffed gyro wrap which comes with pretty darn good steak fries. Lamb souvlaki, pastitsio and calamari are superb, too.

4 articles

Middle Eastern in Dallas

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