this is some fantastic yemeni food without a doubt. we went for the saturday buffet and they had just about everything i could think of. when you walk in, just go ahead and find a table, grab a plate and go to town, the waitstaff is helpful, but they also kinda expect you to know what youre doing. try the meshekel and the chicken, and the lamb and rice is a no brainer. good stuff! read more

Great place to cater work or social large group events! The food travels well and general dietary notes are listed on the menu.

There staff is amazing. Whenever I order food from here they give me a good quantity, I always eat half and half later like for dinner. The rice and stew I get tastes so good. They also give a soup with the stew which is so healthy. The cook just has the touch. read more

Their salmon with rice is MAGNIFICIENT, food so good I scrolled through my photos for 5 minutes to find the pictures. Their soup was incredible and the spicy sauce was flavorful. I Definitely recommend this spot, especially if you like spicy food. read more

Al Jazeera - Plate cleaned - Middle Eastern Near Me - Falls Church, Virginia

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This place is a gem hidden behind a whole lot of Ethiopian stores. I just landed here in DC and my friend took me to a place to eat and I didn't really have any expectations so I went there open minded. When the soup first came as an appetizer, oh my lord, my jaw just dropped. It was the best soup I ever had, unfortunately because we went there too late, they didn't have the mendi that we wanted. However the owner was gracious enough to have us try the chicken mendi and I couldn't be any happier. I had an amazing dinner and it was the best chicken I have ever had. The customer service was great but we were the only ones in the restaurant. read more

With another Snow Day, my husband and I decided to check this hole-in-the-wall near Skyline. Parking was a little rough, as it was jam-packed to the brim and there were trucks delivering food for the stores in the plaza. However, we were lucky to get a spot in the corner! When we walked in, we were told that we could sit anywhere. All the tables were pushed to the perimeters, and the buffet was set up in the middle. There were stuffed grape leaves (very well-packed and it was delicious), tabouleh salad, salad with dressing, diced vegetables, hummus, bone-in chicken in a savory tomato sauce (one of my favorites as it was quite tender), roasted bone-in chicken, spinach, okra, rice with lentils/pasta (I loved the little lentils), soup, fried fish, a tomato-based ground beef with eggplant, and puff pastry filled with minced chicken, topped with sesame seeds (I would love to eat these for breakfast!). There was even a chef who was carving a whole-roasted lamb and he gives you a generous piece (there is rice next to it as well)! The lamb was not game-y at all, but it was a whole roasted lamb - you can season it yourself with salt and pepper at your table, but I didn't think there was any need - it was quite delicious, and almost resembled pot roast. Yum! It's a buffet style, so you get a new plate every time you go up and you eat to your heart's content. The staff were very friendly, and I enjoyed the fruit punch that was also available - very refreshing! There was also lemonade and tap water if you choose. I thought it was a great find, and I'm glad I was able to try this place out! +AYCE lunch buffet +stuffed grape leaves +whole-roasted lamb (!!!) +limited seating available read more

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I'm going to let you in on a little secret with this review. I've been guarding this place since I was first taken to it in March of 2008. I almost didn't Yelp it because I wanted to save it for myself and the few American Arabists who know about it. I've been four or five times now and never seen another American inside. A couple of times I've seen a few Latinos, but otherwise it's a mostly Arabic speaking crew. Because I feel loyalty to my soon-to-be-fellow -American friend Miriam, to her favorite Washingtonian (and mine too), and to her wonderful enterprising spirit, I've decided finally to post a review. Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I'm leaving the country and can't really justify hogging this place to myself. First, you should know that this is a Yemeni restaurant. This means it is Gulf cooking with a heavy horn of Africa spice inflection (after all, it's a small straight separating Yemen from the African mainland). If you have Saudi friends, or know someone from the Levant, they'll probably tell you it's not really "Arab". Especially Syrians and Lebanese who vie for "best cuisine" in the Middle East. Saudis might even look down on the whole idea of eating Yemeni food. All you need to know is that it is great: better than Fairouz and better than The Jerusalem Cafe, or whatever it's called. Second, the owner is Yemeni, but the waitresses appear to be Ethiopian, or Eritrean. I'm not precisely sure; I only know many of them don't speak Arabic. The cooks do (or some do) at least. Don't let the mix of nationalities throw you off track. Everyone there is extremely nice and happy to see you. Third, AND MOST IMPORTANT, for your first trip you MUST go for the lunch buffet on either Friday or Saturday ONLY!!! Why? Because these are the days and hours in which they roast whole lambs and serve them whole (minus the head) on a gigantic bed of Yemeni rice. The rest of the food is fabulous with real textured flavors: lots more cardamom, cinnamon, and turmeric than you might find at other Middle East joints. In fact, I kind of think the stewed lamb dishes are better than the roast lamb...but when they bring out the whole lamb, it is really a sight to behold. The pleasure and excitement in the room is palpable. The buffet is around $11 or $12; I think it's 12 if you get a drink. Oh...the drinks are lifeless juices that seem to be made from some instant mix. Stick to the water or soft drinks. The coffee is pretty good...if you get the Arabic variety (see the wizened man behind the coffee bar upstairs in the hookah room). Be aware that every taxi cab driver in the area (they all seem to be Sudanese) is waiting for this meal. Get there on the early side and start in on the buffet, but pace yourself. The first lamb doesn't usually come out of the kitchen until 12:30 or so. They'll usually do two or three for the lunch buffet, depending on the crowd. So...pace yourself and enjoy the hummus, the babaganouj, the meat-stuffed pastries, the soup, etc. The selection of buffet items changes a little bit each time, so it's hard to say what will show up on any given Fri. or Sat. Note that this restaurant is in the same strip mall as Fairouz cafe, but it's on the other side of the building. It's not big, but there is an upstairs hookah room that is large and has tables where you can eat should the downstairs be completely full. Yeah, the guys smoking and watching soccer might eye you warily, but it's worth it for the buffet. If you can greet people in Arabic, that's even better. read more

Yeah, not like the TV Station... Why weren't we helped even after the man who seemed to be the owner spoke to us? We asked for some (spicy) chai and we waited...and we waited...and we waited some more...and then...we waited UNTIL we caught his attention and told him we hadn't received our chai. He was surprised no one had come along to take our order...but we told HIM! After he got the attention of a waitress, we ordered a bowl of lamb soup and a piece of cake (the name escapes me.) Well, just so you know, the lamb soup actually does not have any lamb in it - it's just broth. It does come with this really good spicy sauce you can add in though! The cake - overly sweet, completely doused in the syrup that is used on baklava. I wouldn't call it a desert or even a decent accompaniment to the chai, it was just sugary syrup over a not-so-moist cake. A second chance? Sure. Only because we didn't order a proper dinner and everyone around us who had, looked like they thoroughly enjoyed their meal. It all looked yum... But the service here seemed pretty disorganized. read more

Lunch buffet with a beautiful roasted lamb sunbathing on a bed of rice. Delicious side dishes and salads to stuff your belly till you can no longer remember your own name. Top it all off with the spice tea with milk. All this at a reasonable price so you can do it again next week. read more

Al Jazeera - Middle Eastern Near Me - Falls Church, Virginia

I am not quite sure how this place has earned four stars at all. The restaurant is pretty small to start, the wait is very long until you can get the attention of anyone, and if your a newbie your often unnoticed. More importantly, the parking although it sucks to find a spot to park, whats even worse is everyone is parking very close to you, to the point you cant even open your car door, or double parking and leaving their car in the parking driveway so you cant even drive off. The food, it sucks to be quite honest, for $11-13 plus tips, I feel like I am being ripped off. Most of the food lacks flavoring, spices, or even salt. The only big hype or main focus of every diner is the lamb offering which isn't properly juicy, almost every portion I had was dry and the meat wasn't chewy, it was like I am chewing on a beef jerky or something. The juice is overly sweet and tastes like concentrate with large amounts of syrup, very unhealthy especially on your teeth. Not a very good experience, but I give it a 2 stars because the staff seem to be nice. read more

the worst damn Resturent I've ever been to, so dirty, so expensive, and the food was the worst, checkin is uncooked, the order took literally an hour !! And at the end, tasteless, and not worth it even if it was free. We found a hair in the salad plate, plus the bathroom was so bad. In short, go to a Walmart, and get a pre made potato Salad, or get something from McDonald's dollar menu read more

The food at this local VA Halal spot is pretty tasty! I have been going there for a few years. If you go during the time that they are busy, you must be patient. Parking during holidays (Ethiopian/Muslim) is always packed so be ready to hunt for parking. Lunch time is usually wide open for this strip mall. Lamb Hanif is excellent. They don't always have ice and the drinks are general soft drinks, fresh mango and fresh orange juice which is on point. The customer service is ok but does get pretty bad when it's packed and real busy. It requires a lot of patience. The food quality does take a hit when it's super packed and busy but if you pick a time (lunch) and non-busy days in the evening it's excellent. We love it. Their fairly friendly. However, remember, be patient. If your not a patient person your going to complain and be mad. read more

Al Jazeera - Interior - Middle Eastern Near Me - Falls Church, Virginia

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Amazing food. Some of the best lamb I've ever had. A bit expensive for the atmosphere and ambience. I highly recommend the Al Jazeera special with lamb. Parking is sometimes a challenge since it shares a lot with the rest of the plaza. read more

Al Jazeera - a woman sitting on a bench in front of a restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - Falls Church, Virginia

As a sheltered American having no passport and having been to about 10 states, I can't say I'm really rich on culture or foreign cuisine. As a result, when my friend coerced, err convinced me to go to Al Jazeera for the Sunday buffet, I was a little skeptical, not because I was afraid of the atmosphere, but because I was worried that I wouldn't find anything other than salad to eat. What can I say? It was absolutely steller - well worth the traffic nightmare getting down to VA from DC. It had some of the best tabbouleh that I've ever had, as well as an excellent yogurt dish. I'm not sure about the meat dishes, but my friend loved them, so I assume they were as good as my veggie dishes. This place was great for a Middle-Eastern style buffet, and is totally veggie-friendly. They also have a traditional menu, but I didn't order anything from that, so I can't really comment on it. read more

Ate here for the first time today and decided to try the lunch buffet. Got there at about 11:00 and found the restaurant (on the opposite side of the building from where we parked). It's kinda one of those places where you go in and they just look at you and expect that you know what you are doing if you look like you don't belong there. I think the mentality is, "If you found us, it must be for a reason. So you probably know how it works." We settled into a table and dropped our belongings on chairs, and headed for the buffet after finding the plates. We tried a little bit of almost everything, but we were mostly just waiting for lamb to come out. Pretty much everything I tried was good, but I guess I prefer Lebanese style food more because that always seems to have lots of lemon in the tabouli and hommus and such. I don't know if Yemeni food isn't like that, or if this place just does it different, but I followed my husbands lead and tried to just use the lime to add a little tang myself. The first lamb came out at 12:30, it was good, but not extremely flavorful. I used lime and sauces to add a bit more flavor. Don't get me wrong though. It's all still very good, especially for the price, and the fact that its AYCE. I'll be back sometime, but it is not my new favorite Middle Eastern place. read more

My first experience here was a little weird coz when i saw the place from outside I didn't really wanna go inside, it looked kind of spooky to me(I'm a picky person when it comes to the places I go to eat or hang out) but my friend who brought me there assured me that the food worths it. So I sad ok and I have to say that I was impressed, the food was great, the service it's far a good one, but for me the food says it all and my 5 stars are for the food only. So now I go pretty often and I bring my other friends who didn't know about it before and they all love it. You should definitely try their food, if you don't like the place, just take carry out. read more

The closest to authentic Yemeni food I've found in the area...

It's an ok place! Food quality and the waitress didnot impress me. We were the only one infact! Fish was fried so much that there was only bones left! Lamb was too smelly! Didnot enjoy dining here! read more

Stopped here for lunch because I was in the area for work. First, it's impossible to find. It's BEHIND the shopping center. When you go in, it's not obvious that this strip mall is double sided. When you get to the back side, there are lots of trucks, and dumpsters, and you may find yourself looking out for broken glass because that's the kind of back alley this feels like. Once you find it and go in, the atmosphere is a little intimidating. It seems like you've just walked into someone's private party in their living room. There was a large buffet in the middle of the room, and a register way at the other side of the room from where you enter. It's not entirely obvious what you, as a customer, are supposed to do when you walk in. Do you walk across the restaurant and ask to be seated? Do you just grab table and hope someone will come to you? I chose the former, and by the time I walked (squeezed) between the people and the buffet to get to the register, I knew I didn't want to stay. The food all looked and smelled really good, but I just felt like I didn't belong there. I did take out from the buffet and left -- and learned the hard way that the alley the store faces is one-way. Rather than just let me go or give me room to turn around, the other cars just boxed me in and stared at me. I think it took a 17-point turn to get out. The whole experience was really, really strange. read more

I went to this restaurant based on the positive yelp reviews. I wasn't disappointed. I came in with two of my friends who are not quite as adventurous with food as I am. When I asked what spices were in the food, she responded "It's arabic food". Not much on descriptions but I went with it. She recommended the special which was either chicken or lamb with rice, soup, and salad. I had the chicken and it was absolutely amazing. Seasoning was good with a bit of spice but not too spicy. The portions were so enormous that I ate my fill and had a couple meals left over. You may want to split the entrees here. The negatives were that the staff weren't really very attentive. You have to wave them over to get their attention and they are not big on refilling your glasses. Also, the location leaves much to be desired as it's behind the shops facing S. George Mason. My friends had a little trouble finding it as a result. Overall, I'm quite pleased with this restaurant and would definitely come here again. read more

They have started putting a little rice with your entree to make you ask for more. When you ask more, they will charge you $4 for a 3-spoon rice. I was in a harry and the old lady in the cashier charged me $7 for that amount of rice!! CHECK your bill before you pay.. Poor service and NOT RECOMMENDED read more

The Restaurant ... three words: DIFFERENT & FLAVOR & SPICES I visited the restaurant for the first time today. It was very clean and the waitress was nice with me and my friend. We were looking to experience a different type of food, and we knew that in the small shopping center there were different Middle East restaurants. We went to Al Jazeera just by luck. The ambiance was relaxed and friendly; no smoke around. We were able to get sited on the first floor; however it was difficult at first to find a parking in the shopping center (8PM) The food... You will get a small salad and soup with most of the main dishes. We had samosas and falafel for appetizers. The beef samosas were too hot for our taste; the falafel was richer in flavor. However, not sure why, I preferred to put the falafel in my soup and eat it from there. (Yes, I am not a soup lover; the soup tasted ok and my friend loved it, but I needed something in it - its just my nature). The portions are huge for beef or lamb and rice. I am still not sure what was the yellow mashed side, it was not mashed potatoes, but it tasted soooooooooooooooo goood! The rice was ok and different; you will get a portion for 2 persons in each plate. The beef I had was not good and not bad, it tasted similar to the ones used in most Mexicans and American restaurants for fajitas (kind of beef-fajita). I tried the lamb too from my friend's plate and the same, not good not bad; it was ok. The dessert... I was able to try the chocolate cake, and unfortunately it was a little dry and not sweet as I expected. Maybe next time I will try the tiramisu. Overall, if you are looking for a friendly restaurant with DIFFERENT choices and to try something out of the common places around the area, this is a good place. They have spicy and hot food, but you can ask the waitress how to be cooked. Our fault was not to specify it when we ordered the samosas, and they were too hot; my friend's face turned so red and almost cried when she tried them. It was fun and we both had a good time. The food is rich in FLAVOR and SPICES. read more

Freshly cook lamb is impressive.Their chicken was very good. The buffet prices were very affordable with a good food selection. I would give this place 4.5/5 and since it was only my first time there ill lean to 4 starts. I would be willing to try a tradition meal here in the future read more

It was such a long time ago since I last visited Al Jazeera with my Yemenis buddy (probably last visited in 2011), but I still remember how delicious their roasted halal chicken was. The meat was just so juicy and tender and fell off the bone so easily that it melted in my mouth. If I go to Falls Church area, this is one of the restaurants that I want to revisit and try again, but until then, I will just drool about the chicken in my dream. The end. read more

Best rice ever, the grilled chicken is one of the best, they have buffet and it is so good, love it. read more

Al Jazeera - Grill chicken one of the best - Middle Eastern Near Me - Falls Church, Virginia

Really. Really dirty. From the plates and utensils to the actual place. I was a regular customer but I just can't take the lack of hygiene anymore. Started seeing hair in my plate, roaches running around, stains on the spoons. It's not worth it. There are other lamb haneit places in fairfax that are much cleaner! Also the owner is a #1 scum bag. I was a regular customer and she thought I was new, was asking her how much the weekend buffet was she started saying 13 but then changed her mind ( thinking I was a new customer) to 16:13....wtf!! read more

Al Jazeera is by far one of my favorite restaurants in the DMV... the service is always quick and the food is fantastic. I generally stick with the masloog, hanith, or mendhi but occasionally show up for the buffet at lunch on Fridays and Saturdays.... Even though it gets crowded, Jazeera is best experienced at sundown during Ramadan... their food is fantastic on normal days but is a billion times better if you haven't eaten all day. read more

Worst food I've ever seen. Everything was old and cold. When the bill came the waitress overcharged me (beside the food is already over priced). When I opened the menu and showed her the menu prices she admitted that she accidently overcharged me and told me I can get "a pepsi" for the 5$ overcharge. I asked to talk to the manager and she said "There is no manager here, I'm the manager" ... there are plenty of good resturant in the area don't waste ur money here. read more

Food is great !!! Love the girls working there. They are currently closed due to construction, not sure when they will be back in business. Hanith is delicious. Maslog and Humus with beef is really good as well. Portion has definitely gone little smaller but taste still good. read more

We visited this cozy little restaurant tonight for the first time. Excellent food and service. The people who work here are very friendly. Very diverse menu. We will be back. read more

This place sucks. We were a group of 23, after sitting in we started to feel VERY hot. Soon we realized that they are switching the air conditioner off just to save electricity. The waitress asked us whether we would like to have white rice or yellow rice. Some of us chose yellow. When the check came, those who chose yellow rice had to pay 50% more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only because it is YELLOW!!!! This was not mentioned in the menu, neither the waitress said it. We spoke to the owner, all what he said was SORRY!!!!!!!!!!! That sucks. I do not recommend this place. I will never visit it again. read more

I came here for the first time based on the fawning reviews above and came today (third time) to finally experience the lunch buffet. The food is good but does not stand out and is certainly not Yemeni if your expected food like what you would get in Sana'a. After eating here three times, I don't find the food worth making a special trip. You've probably got similarly good food at a middle eastern restaurant closer to you. If you're expecting Yemeni food like that found in Sana'a then you'll be disappointed. There's no salta, fasha, aseeda. That's not to say the food wasn't good; it was. It's just similar to other Arab restaurants in the area but with a greater focus on hearty rice and lamb plates versus Levantine dishes. A lot of people seem to rave about the lunch buffet. The full roasted lamb is notable. Other than that they had standard (but good) side dishes. I suspect that the rave reviews above give the restaurant a lot of points simply for being shaabi. It's in a strip mall full of ethnic grocery stores and restaurants and much of the clientele is Arab. This certainly adds to the atmosphere if you're an Arabist looking to recall your study abroad experience. But the food? Nothing extraordinary. read more

Amazing food, big portions - Just a different experience especially for a guy from TX, it is the exotic experience you want to have. However, do not expect a 5 star service. There are a couple of waitresses that know what they are doing, I had a very pleasant conversation with one of them and she spoke Arabic and French along with a perfect English; the second time I went there a met two more that were very helpful as well. The biggest thing that irritated me, was the presence of a weird lady, just sitting there and staring at the client (in a weird way!!!) while SCREAMING at her waitresses (It was disturbing!!!). read more

I was at the place last night and my sister found a cockroach in her soup !!! The management barely even tried to rectify the problem. I love the food here but always was a little uneasy about the hygiene of the place. Last night just confirmed my worst fears. I have been a customer of this place for the last 6 years but I will not be coming here again unless I want to get myself and my family sick. read more

The place is dirty and the service is bad. We will not go back there ever. The restroom was dirty, the tables, the high chair they gave us for the baby, everything was dirty dirty DIRTY. read more

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. I would never recommend getting food catered here. Last weekend I ordered a platter of rice that would feed 10 people. The price was $59.95. When I called to order the same platter again this weekend, they put me on hold, told me to call back and they finally answered after several attempts and the very rude owner named Sozanna. She tells me that the new price is $70.00!! I asked why it went up and she said "That is just the price if you want it you order it or leave it" I ended up ordering it. They said it would be ready at noon, it wasn't ready until 1:30!!!! Oh, and this gets worse. We get the rice and it is completely difference from the week before and it was disgusting. Seriously?? Where is the customer service? This is AMERICA! You can not operate a business this way!!! read more

Very good food with reasonable price and serving is well but if you go when they are very buzy your waiting time is very long and the food quality still good, read more

One of my favorite places in the area. This place has a extensive buffet filled with goodies that you wont find elsewhere. Tabooleh, fish, Yemeni style veggies & chicken and their whole lamb. The lamb itself attracts many attention as you will not find it in any other restaurant. They serve a entire lamb on the buffet and the chef cuts up the portion for you. Too bad this place is far from me as I live in Leesburg but I try my best to visit here at least twice a month. It surely is worth the drive. The service is good too. read more

Al jazeera is a fantastic restaurant. If you like eating lamb meat this is the place to go to. Place is clean, service is fast, price is even better. The owners are very friendly people. read more

We found this place while visiting VA area and we wanted to try different ethnic food , since we are from puerto rico and cuba.This restaurant serves Yemen food. From the outside this spot does not looks like much but this place its great, the buffet is awsome, the cook and staff are very nice and helpfull. I would go there again. read more