The food is well-seasoned and authentic. The hospitality makes you feel like you're visiting someone's home. They give you plenty of space and time to relax and enjoy both your meal and the hookah without feeling rushed. When it started to rain and the porch windows were open, the staff immediately made sure we were comfortable and quickly moved us so we wouldn't get soaked. Their attentiveness and care really made the experience even better. read more

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Pretty darn tasty!!!! We tried it and were pleasantly surprised. The decor is a little fun yet tacky in a good way, if you know what I mean. Service was good.. maybe a little overkill with lots of checking in on us as we were trying to talk but very pleasant. Cheap beer if you are in to that- my 21 year old son was! We will go again while visiting. read more

We discovered Ali Baba Mid Eastern Restaurant while browsing Yelp for local recommendations, and I'm so glad we chose this place! Everything about it--the food, ambiance, and service--was excellent. Overall Ratings: * Restaurant: 5/5 * Service: 5/5 * Food: 5/5 * Parking: Street parking & back lot available Restaurant Atmosphere: I love the authentic décor and the thoughtful layout. The restaurant offers three distinct seating areas: -A main dining room with booths and chairs -A traditional Middle Eastern seating area -A covered outdoor hookah lounge I was initially concerned that the hookah smoke might affect our dining experience, but the setup ensures a comfortable atmosphere for everyone. Service: The staff was incredibly friendly, welcoming, and knowledgeable. They offered great recommendations and, best of all, provided efficient service. What We Ordered: -Spanikopita - Delicious. -Lamb Tajine - Absolutely delicious! -Moroccan Chicken - The chicken was unbelievably tender and flavorful--one of my favorite dishes in a long time. The portion sizes were generous! Almost every guest, including us, left with leftovers. Final Thoughts: Without a doubt, I'll be returning soon to explore more of the menu. Ali Baba Mid Eastern Restaurant has easily become one of our favorite spots in Delaware! read more

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I hadn't been here in over 7 years and it's still the best middle Eastern restaurant!! The service is wonderful and the decor is so cool. They make the only baba ghanoush I like and my fav is the lamb kebabs. I'm sure every dish is delish and their portions are generous. This was a real treat and I look forward to the next visit. read more

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The ambiance was very traditional and warming. I went in on a Tuesday evening and it seemed to be slow but steady with to-go orders. The service was friendly and attentive. BUT THE FOOD best Mediterranean food I've had! Best meal I have had in a while (& I love food), to be honest. There were so many flavors in everything. The hummus, whoa! Please try the Samke Harra. It was moist and the garlic sauce is sooo yummy. read more

Ali Baba - Hommus (V), Fattouch Salad (V), Samke Harra - Mediterranean Near Me - Newark, Delaware

Enjoyed the spicy half chicken meal. Flavor from the harissa was out of this world. Staff were friendly and efficient. The interior had fun decorations, and tons of hookahs. Would go back. read more

Easily the best restaurant for made to order dishes. I've eaten here several times, and they never cease to amaze me. The food is always delicious and the service is speedy. From the kabobs to the lamb and salmon, you cannot go wrong. read more

Such a colorful, colloquial dining establishment. A little homely inside. But it was all the warm of the food going down that really delights. They have a good amount of options that will always keep you full. The hummus and pita is fresh. Just make sure they warm the Pita. They may need a more seasoned bartender. But, the drinks were fine. The Kafta Kaboob was great. Get plenty of water. read more

Delicious food at this unique restaurant. I had the chicken dish and it was one of the best things I've ever eaten. My wife wasn't happy with the service, but I was fine with it. Ambience is definitely there. read more

If you like middle Eastern food, this is the place for you. the decor makes you feel like you are in the Middle East, and the boss comes over to say hello and give you some recommendations from the men. Great place. We always enjoy it. Mark and Marcia read more

I came in with a friend and while the place is not the fanciest and could probably use some upgrades at some point, wow my dinner was so good! We started with the hummus (which was huge even to share with 2) and then I got the special which was a slow cooked chicken and mmm was that tasty! So tender, it just melted in my mouth and not spicy at all. We also got glasses of wine which were generous pours. Overall a pleasant dinner on a cold evening! read more

The decor was fun and definitely Middle Eastern themed. Three male waiters took turns circulating around the table and took excellent care of my wife and I. I got a gin and tonic that was pretty heavy on the gin which is not common. My wife and I both greatly enjoyed the meals that we selected.. I jokingly complained to the waiter that they serve too much food and that I'm gonna have to take some home. He smiled and said they plan it that way. All in all a very enjoyable dining experience. We would definitely go back. read more

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There's something different about a family run restaurant, isn't there? The experience is different, and subsequently, the review must be different. It's impossible to rate a dinner at a friend's home against the same criteria as dining out. And so I'm rating my experience at Ali Baba as if Khalid, Imad, and the rest of the family were personal friends because that is what they became by the end of the evening. Traveling to Newark frequently for work, I kept passing by and promising to make this a stop on my next visit. This week, I kept my promise and was happy I did. Environment is always important to me, and I enjoyed the aesthetic that complimented the Middle Eastern influenced menu. Service was warm and prompt. Portions were large enough to share with a few others, and I enjoyed the abundant but balanced use of herbs and spices. Flavors were as strong as you'd hope but not in an overwhelming way. The Moroccan chicken was recommended as the family favorite, and it was falling off the bone tender and I enjoyed it as I got to know each of the fine folks who worked there and were kind enough to chat with a solo traveler. Next time, I look forward to the Bastilla, which is hard to find, especially in my home city, and which can be customized with the protein of your choice. One request I'd make is to consider a different situation for the music. It was constantly interrupted by loud commercials, which felt a bit abrupt and distracting from the rest of the experience. read more

Ali Baba - Mediterranean Near Me - Newark, Delaware

Great time with a great friend. At first we thought service was a Little slow. We were greeted promptly drink order and food order good. The food took longer then we liked. We saw that the waitstaff was going in and out of the kitchen quickly. Considering it was OK. Food outstanding!!! Ordered soup to go they only had a cup left so it was no charge Had enough food leftover for 2 meals The staff remembered all the repeat customers. They said to me you usually get take out which is true. Highly recommend read more

Have been meaning to come to this spot on main street and it did not disappoint. The inside was extremely cozy, the service was great as the owner was very attentive and made good conversation. Has a lot of room for bigger parties in the main room, and the food was lovely. The food was an absolute treat, will be coming again. read more

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The food s delicious Nice flavour Nice people Price s good Near to university Y have to go and try it read more

Great food, Ambience and Service. I never miss a chance when I'm in the area. Their Hookah is pretty smooth and flavorful too. Must try. read more

Ali Baba - Moroccan Chicken, Homemade Vegetarian Lentil Soup (V)lentil - Mediterranean Near Me - Newark, Delaware

Love the food here! The salads are amazing, love the Moroccan chicken, mint tea, and baklava.

I dream about this place . When I lived in NJ I would often drive to Delaware just for this food . There were markets I went to also of course but honestly this place was the draw . My husband always gets the harissa chicken spicy and it's delicious but too spicy for me . I usually get the lamb and the carrot salad . The humus is also wonderful but the portions are so large we can't order all the things we want . The saj bread is thin and great to eat the humus with . I've never seen it anywhere else . Anyway try it I promise you'll love it . read more

I actually had it delivered through one of the delivery services. The food is excellent! I really want to go and eat in the restaurant, just haven't had the time. I got the vegetarian platter, vegetarian lentil soup, shrimp kebabs and Baba ghanuh. Everything was excellent! read more

Always a great meal at Ali Baba's. The staff are very friendly and the food is amazing.

Delicious food (their baked/marinated chicken is a delight), enormous portions (like, you're not going to finish it off), and pleasant traditional-style seating. Service can be a bit pushy, but the food is good enough to keep bringing you back. read more

What a wonderful place, it felt as if we were in Morocco.. beautiful place.. the food wonderfully delicious! The eggplant, the baklava... everything .. the guy that took care of us was very nice. Price perfect! A MUST ! read more

I was ill when we ordered Ali Baba but the food was so fragrant it was hard to lose an appetite! Ali Baba is a great place for garlicky, flavorful mediterranean food. Not only do the food taste good, they also serve giant portions, even when we ordered to-go. The place comes with hookahs as well if you're into that. They have a website that lists the full menu. I ordered the Moroccan chicken and my boyfriend got the Samke Harra and they were both delicious! We also ordered the Bastilla for an appetizer and it was a huge appetizer. It could be a meal on its own. The Bastilla is very interesting texture and taste-wise. It's savory but also dessert-like! We highly recommend it to people with adventurous palates. Needless to say our Airbnb room in Delaware smelled of very strong, scrumptious spice-filled food. Hope the host didn't mind it! And there was so much food, we had a lot of leftovers for next day's meal. :) Highly recommend! read more

The best middle eastern restaurant in town! Everything was so delicious and the people who work there were so nice. We had the chicken kabob meal, the kibbi, the falafels, and a salad. The garlic sauce was amazing. We bought a separate serving to take home and added it to our caprese sandwich (instead of pesto) and it was a great idea! Also the fries were addictive. We were so full when we left, with still some leftovers to take home. read more

The food is great and the staff is very kind. The ambiance is causal and is a great place to get dinner and smoke hookah.

Food: 9.1/10 Atmosphere: 8.8/10 Service: 7.6/10 Bang for buck: 9.3/10 Overall, an AMAZING experience. It transforms you to another culture upon entrance. Rice is amongst the best I've had. Great portions - I always ask for more of the garlic sauce and pickled onions. Must try. read more

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This a tough one to review with stars. The food was EXCELLENT. REALLY good. Prices were a little high. The service...well...it was excruciatingly slow. It seemed to me that there must've been only one person working the kitchen and maybe two waiters doing the best that they could. We were told that our dishes would take some time, but previous visits from others had us believing that we might wait 20 minutes as opposed to an hour. They didn't really check on us unless I flagged them down. They forgot our appetizer until they served the rest of the food...and having the appetizer earlier would have helped with the long wait. The staff was polite and friendly, but they were just overwhelmed becasue there wasn't enough of them. I'd Neve go back to the place to eat there. But I'd definitely do take-out, but my guess is it's going to take longer to prepare than other placed. Definitely order the Mujadara Hamra (Bulgar and lentils) It was spectacular. read more

Great hangout to grab food and even had some hookah. There were really culture based rooms that were closed but really nice as well. It's something not to crazy to do. The margarita were not good at all but, that's not what you go to get margaritas. The regulate margarita was sour and the strawberry margarita had a syrupy taste. The food was pretty freaking good if you ask me. The KAFTA KABOB did it for me I love it it was plenty of pita to eat with the food and rice. The Vegetarian Platter was alright it was a lot of grease. Also we had the blueberry mint, idk what it did but I definitely felt more chill and ready to cuddle and watch a movie. I had a look inside and man those rooms looked so cool. The hookah set up was really cool because I got to see all the different hookahs and one of the servers had explained how hookah worked. It was very good info and I could appreciate it. Check out the pics of the room, I love art and that's what I thought when I got to view the rooms. It was a chill night not to busy, it was the off season from what I was told. I would go back or take friends there if they asked for something to do and didn't want to go crazy partying. read more

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I went on a Tuesday night and the service was RIGHT!! I went in for a hookah and I was told to sit at one of the tables. When I got here a group of people was sitting next to me and they had the AUX on FIREE! Once they left the vibe was more on the quiet side but still very enjoyable! I had a good time all by myself :) If they had music as a regular part of the outside vibe it would be A1! read more

Ali baba Is Easily one of the best places to get food in Newark! This past weekend was my first time there and I was not disappointed! The ambiance and the decor of this place was lovely. Very colorful and the cushioned seats and pillows made it feel like you were in a home environment rather a restaurant. I ordered a sex on the beach as my drink. They have a small bar but they do carry some good liquors as well as beers and seltzers. We wanted to try a little bit of everything so we ordered quite a lot of appetizers. We ordered the chicken and cheese samosas, the falafel and the baba ghanuj. All of them were excellent and incredibly flavorful! It was my first time trying most of them so i was very pleased! For entrees we ordered the chicken kebabs with rice and the dajaj mashwy with hummus and salad. The chicken kebabs were good but it was nowhere near as flavorful as the dajaj mashwy, it was the best chicken I've ever had! The chicken literally just fell right off the bone! The rice, hummus and salad were also tasty! Loved eating the meal with the pita bread. As full as we were, we knew we had to get the baklava. I was so excited to try it because I never had baklava before. Let me just say that it did not disappoint! The staff here was very friendly! They all seem like they truly love working at Ali Baba and care about the customers. I seriously can't wait to come back! read more

Ali Baba - Baklava - Mediterranean Near Me - Newark, Delaware

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I'm so grateful this place exists!! :~) Let me tell you, Ali Baba serves some of the best falafel I've ever had. I've had a lot of dry falafel at other restaurants before in my lifetime, but this was not the case here. I ordered the vegetarian platter which came with tasty baba ghanouj and absolutely divine stuffed grape leaves. I was overjoyed by how good the falafel was and even more pleased that the whole rest of my meal was delicious. My partner ordered the chicken kabob platter, and I tried a piece of the chicken and some of the rice. The chicken was tender, juicy, and the rice was nicely seasoned (but not overly). We were both happy with our food and agreed that this should be our spot for Mediterranean food. Truly can't wait to eat here again! read more

Ali Baba - Vegetarian Platter - Mediterranean Near Me - Newark, Delaware

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My 1st time hookah. It was fantastic. Their Baba ghanoush is to die for Oh and by the way the staff are super friendly read more

I've been here a couple times, and it's never really bad, the wait can be kinda long for servers. But last night I went with my sister and friend to do hookah, drinks, a lil food, and I am a little upset with the service. They're nice, but forgot about us for long periods of time about two or three times. They even forgot about us when it wasn't that busy, but got worse when it did get busy. We determined to cut our experience short (we did want to do one more round of hookah and drinks), but they never came so we went up to the desk to get the check. The food is not really worth the money in my opinion, I had better food for less at other places. It was good at first, but I am upset with my overall experience. read more

This place is so good!!! I ordered for a pick up and was told it would be a 30 min wait. I was gonna cancelled because we were about 15 minutes away from the restaurant. Then I was asked when do I need it for and was told they can accommodate us after all and have it ready in 15-20 mins. I'm so glad I didn't cancel. The food was absolutely delicious! We had eggplant salad, house salad, cheese samosas (to die for!!!) and chicken shish platters. Everything was so fresh, big portions and very tasty! Chicken platter has 2 skewers and a side of rice was very generous. It's a bargain for $16! Cheese samosas were out of this world. They reminded me a little bit of mozzarella sticks but crunchy on the outside. Definitely give this place a try! If I'm ever in the area, it's a must stop! Sorry no pictures because everything was devoured in a matter of minutes by my family. read more

Unassuming facade but lively interior. Food was top notch and filling. Service, impeccable. Everyone very polite and helpful. Started with Moroccan Carrot salad, bursting with flavor, and the Ali Baba Hummus. Hummus was fresh and full of flavor. Best we've ever had. For entrees, my wife had the Lamb Kabobs and I had the Lamb Tajeen. Both were healing portions we couldn't finish. Beverages are in cans unless you order water or hot tea. 5 out of 5. Atmosphere seals the deal with comfortable seating (get a table, not a booth). read more

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Ali Baba is a magic carpet ride of Lebanese cuisine in an unassuming restaurant on the main drag in Newark, DE. Once inside, the dining rooms transport you to the Mediterranean eastern shore with richly upholstered benches and stools and low inlaid wooden tables and bead/silk covered chandeliers setting a dusky semi exotic mood. We were hungry enough for a filling snack, and ordered Kibbi appetizer, Shwarama wrap and Lamb & Beef Gyro sandwiches. We waiting as Middle Eastern music played seductively in the background. The Kibbi, a deep fried combination of ground beef, chickpea, nuts and spices was good, served on a small colorful plate on top of greens and sliced tomato. It seemed a bit overcooked given the dark shade of its exterior and the taste of the oil clinging to the surface. Still, not a real issue. The Shwarama came in a large thin pita with tahini sauce, onion and cucumber yogurt dressing. It main ingredient was thin sliced roast chicken off a vertical spit. The Gyro was constructed similarly with a Lebanese pita, rather than the smaller thicker Greek style. It also was stuffed with Tabouli along with the cuke/yogurt dressing, and finally wrapped in aluminum foil coated sandwich paper. Both were exceptionally delicious. We felt so into our meals that we chose to prolong it long enough to enjoy a sample of their Baklava. They were nice size triangles for $2! Well worth the sweet caloric overload for the day. There is something about the combination of phyllo dough, honey and pistachio that is instantly addicting. The dark thick Lebanese coffee helped with the nightrider. Ali Baba is a great place for a cheap date with or without the 40 thieves. read more

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Wanted a nice place to have dinner and came here upon a recommendation. There are 2 sections here , the front is for hookah with food and the back is for normal dine in. We took our seats inside and ordered a hummus and pita to start. The consistency of hummus was very good with chilli sprinkled on top. Went great with the flat Pita breads. Ordered a mint tea to along with it and it was also made well with a strong hint of mint in every sip. For mains we ordered a lamb kabob and a chicken kabob. The best part was the cooking of the meats . It melts on your mouth and it does say something about the perfection they have achieved here. The Mediterranean Rice side could have been better and that was my only complaint here. Overall a really nice place to get some good food at pocket friendly prices. read more

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This is my favorite restaurant. My family and I have been going there since it opened 20 years ago. We now live in Baltimore and always stop at Ali Baba on our way home from road trips up the East Coast. This is a family owned small business and all the staff is incredibly kind and helpful. The carrot and eggplant salads are LEGENDARY. I dream about them and we always get extra to take home with us. Our favorite entrees are the Samke Harre and the spicy Chicken. The Bastilla is also the best I have ever had. The will bring you as. Much pita bread as you want, FOR FREE. Everything is made in house and fresh. I can't speak for the hookah bar area because that's not my thing, but it is a large area and people seem to enjoy it. I hope Ali Baba stays on Main St forever because it brings much needed small business flavor to Newark. Main St is mostly corporate chains now, which is sad because Newark used to be quirky and have its own personality because of all the small businesses. read more

Ali Baba - Bastilla. Delicious and different. - Mediterranean Near Me - Newark, Delaware

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Just had my Moroccan food fix and came away very satisfied. Had lamb kabobs, hummus, tabouli and Moroccan salad. Everything was so fresh and obviously homemade. Portions are generous as well. The service is very good with everyone making sure you're pleased with your meal. Just 2 criticisms. First, the pita is thin, dry and leathery. Second, the place seems a bit dated. I understand it's supposed to have a casbah vibe but it seems a bit drab. The more important thing, though, is that the food is authentic and great. read more