Food so delicious service 10/10 never wait that long to get my food Never wait that long to get my food read more

We haven't tried too much Yemeni food in the past and wanted to expand our horizons a bit. Aldaar seemed like a promising bet, given the feature in the Metro Times a couple of months ago. We decided to stop by for a late lunch over the weekend and as we walked in, we found the restaurant to be pretty empty, with only one other party eating. After we picked a table and sat down, the waitress came over and spread a sheet of plastic on top - I believe Yemeni food is traditionally communal and eaten with the hands, so it helps to contain any mess. While the waitress wasn't able to answer all of the questions that we had (and we had a number of them, given that we aren't too familiar with this cuisine), she was very friendly and patient while we were trying to determine what to order. We went in with the express intent of getting the fahsa, and then yielded to her recommendation for the second dish. Lamb Broth (Complimentary) - Rich, savory, spiced and warming. Just a tad bit of lamb gaminess with small shreds of meat at the bottom of the bowl. Salad (Complimentary) - Mixed chopped salad of lettuce, tomato, red onion, and red cabbage. The diced tomato has all of the seeds taken out so it doesn't make the salad watery. There's no dressing added; instead, they give you a slice of lemon that you can squeeze on top to give some fresh and aromatic acidity. I never would have thought to use straight lemon juice as dressing, but it works surprisingly well. Fahsa ($17.99) - Like all other fahsa, this is served piping hot and bubbling in a stone pot. The fahsa is fantastic, with deeply savory shredded lamb mixed with just a tiny bit of tomato and other vegetables. We didn't request it, but the waitress gave us hilba on the side since she wasn't sure if we would like it or not. And yes, we did try it by itself before dumping and mixing it into the meat. The hilba, made of fenugreek mixed with herbs, is slimy and gooey, almost like a blended okra. The taste is quite earthy and a bit vegetal. I don't think it's something I would ever eat by itself, but it mixes perfectly into the fahsa, adding nice herbal notes to counteract some of the fattiness of the meat. (5/5) Chicken Mandi w/ Rice, Half ($16.99) - The half chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender, like it's been slowly cooked for hours upon hours. The spice mixture lends a fiery red color to the skin and seeps into the meat, giving an orange hue on the interior. The chicken is served on a large bed of rice. Half of it is brown colored, with a deep cardamon and cinnamon taste, and the other half is a yellow rice that's spiced pleasantly, but not nearly as much as the brown. The yellow rice is mixed with sultana, adding a burst of fruity sweetness. Both are perfectly cooked, fluffy with an al dente bite. We find that a lot of places don't give nearly enough rice for the amount of meat - here they give you more than enough. Even the heaviest carb lover should be satisfied. (4/5) Rashush ($2.99) - This thing is massive, probably something around 20+ inches across and is served fresh right from the oven/tanoor. It has some very distinct layers that are able to flake off and tastes slightly buttery. The thinner areas are crisped up from the heat of the oven, while the thicker layers are more chewy resembling a texture of a nice pita. It's sprinkled with nigella seeds, giving the bread a rich earthiness. Overall super delicious and the perfect vessel for the fahsa and mandi. We saw another table get the double rashush and holy cow is that thing huge. I'm talking like 2.5 or 3 feet across. I have no idea how they cook a flatbread that big. (5/5) Everything is served with sahawig, which in this instance is served unmixed, with the bottom layer a salsa-like chopped tomato mixture, and a topping of what seems to be blended jalapenos. Quite spicy, but adds a nice fresh herbal taste to all the food. As we ate over about an hour, the restaurant started getting more and more full - in fact by the time we left, it was almost completely full, with additional people waiting in front of the register to pick up takeout orders. One thing we noticed was that there was one party of only women, and they had a folded screen door blocking their view from the rest of the tables (the other tables were men only). I wonder if that's a cultural thing? We found the food at Aldaar to be exceptionally delicious, and were especially impressed with the massive rashush. We will be back in the future to try more of the offerings - I'm especially looking forward to the maloog and rateb breads on the menu. Bathrooms - Two individual rooms, one for men, one for women. The women's room has a changing table. Note: As with most other more traditional restaurants in the area, they do not have ice water on tap. Pay for bottled water/drinks only. Overall rating of the food this visit: 4.67/5 read more

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This rating is just for the food. We had the complimentary soup, which was really delicious. We ordered lamb haneeth no rice and lamb Mandi with rice, but they combined both orders to be served on one big plate. The rice and meat were good enough for 2-3 people. And both tasted great. Lamb haneeth is softer if your preference is for more tender easily falling apart meat. Their rice tasted good too. Better than the rice at other restaurants we've tried earlier in the week. The restaurant is casual service. Everyone was nice. After getting the food orders I got up to ask for whatever else I needed and you pay at the counter at the end. We got to sit in the booth tables with cushioned seats so that was comfortable. Also they have some diagonal parking space in front. All in all, if back in the area I'd definitely be happy to eat here again. Very happy with the food. Hope the food continues to taste great and may this place keep up the good work and be blessed. read more

Aldaar Restaurant - lamb Mandi Lamb w/ rice / and Lamb haneeth only. Combined together. Delicious and recommend! - Seafood Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan