Nice Persian restaurant offering delicious food! I thought the establishment itself was beautiful…read moreand had a charming Middle Eastern personality to it. The garden setting was my favorite area; next time, I will definitively go back there to partake in a shisha session hehe... A little indulgence here and there won't hurt anyone! My group opted to go for the Mezza to sample a variety of dishes: Hommous, Baba Ghanoujj, Salata Arabia, Warek Enab, falafel, and shawarma. The falafel and warek enab were my favorites. They also had flavorful baklava... They don't sell alcohol, but you're welcome to bring your own. We brought wine and champagne since we were celebrating a friend's PhD scholarship. Habibi simply charged a small corkage fee, and were very accommodating.

Great arabic restaurant (it doesn't pigeonhole itself more than that). Set in one of Far Gosford…read moreStreet's old buildings - occupying both ground and first floor, extended at the back and with a HUGE tent beyond that - it's rather higgledy piggeldy with cushions, candles and carpets all around. The food is awesome, particularly the range of veggie stuff on offer. It's cheap too - I usually go in with one particular friend and order far too many dishes so have to sit for hours eating, drinking and chatting. Some tables are 'proper' - you know, real seats at the proper height with backs and everything some of the areas are on the floor with huge cushions and squat tables, great for huddling around and making plans. The star of the show at Habibi's though is the huge tent at the back, with a massive charcoal barbecue in the centre, where you can sit to eat and smoke shisha. Shoes off first though! Particularly good on a rainy night - it doesnt seem that the tent should be waterproof (it appears to be made from rugs), but it is. It's BYO here and there's an off licence just opposite.

I am glad that middle eastern community is realising that this city needs some authentic middle…read moreeastern restaurants. This restaurant has exceeded my expectations in the authenticity of arabic and lebanese cuisine in Birmingham. I am glad to say that I don't have to plan to go to edgware road in london to have good arabic food. It is all here now. Inside the restaurant they have ample seating space including curtained family rooms. The service is very good, the waiters are well mannered compared to some other arabic restaurants near by where they have no bloody manners. Not to mention any names. When eating out I carefully choose which restaurant to eat, especially if I am dressed up nice I don't want my clothes to stink of the food when I come out of the restaurant and this restaurant is on my top list now. You can't smell any food when you enter. Its clean and well equipped with ventilation system. Even if you are going to sit right next to the Shawarma counter, you won't smell any thing and you will come out of the restaurant still smelling nice with your aftershave of perfumes. When I ordered my food I specifically asked the waiter if the food will be as it is meant to be in middle eastern countries as I told him that I have not had any good arabic food in this city, the waiter smiled at me and said they are all fake. I kind of agree with him. Shwarma is the main dish I ordered to see if the waiter's claims were right about they having the authentic food and yes when the food arrived I was totally blown away. Nice and tender meat of lamb and chicken shawarma as it meant to be.. Lamb Tagine, Humous, Laban, Mixed Kafta they all tasted so tender and juicy with that authentic taste of middle eastern food. This restaurant has got lots of options on menu to choose from starters, side dishes, main courses, desserts, juices, ice creams, cakes, all tasting yummy. Fully recommend this place to all to try. If you are meat eater and like good food, then this is the place to be. Price is right as well, I would say mid range prices as with all the restaurants usually are. Most of the staff is arabic speaking but they do understand english, maybe won't be able to speak much english but they know what we are talking about in english. If you speak arabic then they will give you the best service ever, a bonus I guess. Parking is a problem at day time but in the evening there is plenty of parking spaces available around the restaurant on main coventry road.

It's Definitely better than the one star someone else gave it. I was really hoping I would want to…read moregive it the full Monty, but I I'm going to settle for four stars. Shout out for the incredibly clean and well appointed bathrooms. I love a place that pays attention to these kind of details. Food: My dinner date really loved the grilled bass. I found it flavorful but difficult to eat because of the bones. I'm not that good with fish to be frank. I'm super picky about falafel and this was probably a three star falafel experience for me but I'm giving it for overall. We also got the grilled halloumi which I thought was definitely a four-star experience. Five stars for their drink menu which features a lot of unusual beers and wine from places that you probably are not familiar with. And I loved their herbal tea selection. The stuff with rose hips is particularly recommend it. You really should check it out.

I visited this restaurant upon recommendation by many of my friends. I went for the chicken tagine…read morefor my main. It arrived warm but the chicken just did not taste right. I mentioned this to our waiter, who didn't seem to acknowledge that I disliked my main course. I raised the issue with the manager who also didn't seem to care. I ended up eating my sides and not touching my main at all. When our waiter came to clear our plates away, he didn't seem to acknowledge that i had left my entire main course on my plate. I was surprised that an alternative wasn't offered and that i was charged full price for my meal despite not eating any of it. I'm sure some of the other main dishes are good, but the customer service is totally lacking. I really want to like this place, but i can't bring myself to visit again.

I lived in the Middle East and ate Yemeni food weekly. Hadramout is a Yemeni restaurant and secret…read moretreasure in Manchester on Curry Mile. We arrived at the restaurant at just about noon when it opens. They saw us waiting outside though and let us in and gave us some karak tea! So warm and perfect. We thought that the only tables in the restaurant were downstairs at the entrance but it turns out there is a huge upstairs with carpeted rooms! There is a huge main room which seems to be for the men and then there are several smaller rooms in the family section. We decided to sit in one of the family rooms which is about the size for 2 people and maybe up to 4 if you squeeze in. As usual we started off the meal with some maraq lamb broth soup and salad. The salad dressing and sahawiq are in bottles which is so clever! It works really well to squirt the sahawiq over everything and it wasn't spicy here at all and tasted great with everything. I had also ordered some yogurt salad just in case to mediate any spiciness. For main dishes, we got lamb kebsa and chicken fahsa. I had originally ordered chicken ogda but the Yemeni guy said they couldn't make it in the black pots I think because there are too many bones. I don't like bones in the chicken ogda anyway and so he offered to make chicken fahsa which would fit in the black pot. It was my first time trying chicken fahsa and it was really good. They made it with a tomato base so it actually tasted like the chicken ogda that I like! So perfect. They also make malawah bread here which was awesome and made the meal complete. Another nice surprise is that they make fresh juice! We had fresh lime juice with the meal and it was really good. For dessert, we had some fatta masoob. It's very heavy and we were so full by the time we started to eat it but it was yummy. Hadramout is many times better than Queen of Sheba Restaurant in London and also 1/3 the price! We paid £22 for 2 people for this amazing and perfect lunch at Hadramout. For more information about Yemeni food, please visit here: http://yemenfood.blogspot.com/p/food.html

It's beyond inexcusable that I had my first ever Hadramout last week. How did it escape my…read moreattention all these years? How indeed! Hidden away on one of the side streets off wilmslow road, this understated, simple decor eatery was a gem of a find. Arabic food has always registered on my radar perhaps once a month, but this discovery may change all that. The menu is quite expansive and the pricing is extremely economically viable given the huge portions of food on offer. The roast lamb and chicken comes slow cooked with the rice and is nothing short of divine. One portion is easily big enough for two people and no one is gonna complain about food for the next few days it is THAT filling. There's also a host of sides that one can try, the lamb soup has a sharp taste that once engulfed by the palate has a delayed endorphin fuelled chemical reaction (in other words: its mint!) I have therefore declared thursdays as Hadramout day. It's a long menu and I intend to get through it next year! Canny wait.

Grill House serves the best shisha in Loughborough. The front works as a restaurant. The food they…read moreserve is authentic middle eastern and delicious (you can literally cut the meat with a fork). The also have a "secret" back garden where they serve the shisha. Dill, the guy who prepares the shisha, well take really good care of you. You can even get food there if you're hungry. Did I mention that the prices are really fair?

I've gotta say that I'm pretty pleased I used my trusty Yelp app to find this place, in fact it's…read morebeen on my radar for a while thanks to reading some great reviews from fellow Yelpers - but as I arrived in Rusholme and whacked out my app, it was handy to stand outside and have another good read of reviews which cemented my decision to go in! Basically this place does amazing Middle Eastern/Lebanese cuisine and on this occasion with it being Friday lunch time, I popped in just as they were doing their all you can eat buffet. For £11.95 I tucked into some amazing kofta, breads, dips, salad, wings - wow, so much great food just check out my snaps - plus there was lovely cake and pudding included to follow. The food was wonderful and tasty - really nice! To round off I bought an Arabic cardamom tea which was fantastic - really nice and complimented the meal well. It was nice to go somewhere not on my normal radar, I'll be back!

In the heart of where else but Manchester's curry mile will you find..... wait for it... BEIRUT!?…read moreYes that is indeed right. Nope its not a randomly named curry house, Beirut serves food deliciouso Lebanese-o! For those not in the know, Manchester's curry mile has seen a mini Middle eastern revolution of its own. The Mile of curry is now equipped with a plethora of Shisha bars as well as restaurants such as Beirut. In honestly of alls, my first impression of the place was not great. The capital could be described as chaotic from the kids running around whilst parents going to town on their meat feasts to the directionless type waiting staff, more laid back than the kobedas on show. First impressions however don't last and I'm here to announce that the food thankfully did make a lasting impression. I'd personally recommend the mixed grill, even if I struggled to get through half of it. Don't be put off by the cover, its the contents of the book that count. If Beirut was a book, I would highly recommend it, it was a great read.

We decided on the spur of the moment to go out for dinner and were craving Shawarma after a long…read moreday. We hadn't had it for years and decided to Google the area, we found Cafe Reem's website and drove over. The place looked so beautiful and inviting from the car, it's warm lights tempting us from the cold. We ordered and I tried to say thank you very much in arabic to show how appreciative we were - this sparked a most welcome conversation about the history of the place and the owner's passion for good food and great hospitality. I can tell you now, and with honesty, that we have not had Shawarma properly until today. We tried the fatera, (the spinach flavour paired with the pickle was delightful) the traditional kibbeh, (I could eat these every day) and both lamb and chicken shawarma (we shared half each and could not pick between the two, both were cooked beautifully)... before taking chai karak tea and some baklava home with us. Reem - My wife would not share the flapjack brownie she warmed up at home, and who could blame her?! Thank you so much for your kindness, warmth and the wealth of hospitality that was shown to myself and Nic. We were lucky to find this place by chance, and we will not stay away long.

From the owner: Coffee and Dessert. Mediterranean food, Tapas, Falafel, hummus, thyme flat bread, Focaccia,…read moreshawerma and lots more

Do you like Middle Eastern Food? I thought so, Everybody likes it. But to get a quality Arabic Food…read moreyou have to search for some good places, Maybe Edgware Road in London, hmmm But that would be too far but its worth. But if you live in Birmingham and for a change you want Arabic food you don't have to go to London for it, You can get it at Bab Al-Hara, in Sparkbrook, Stratford Road, Birmingham. Its not the best compared to London but one of the best in Birmingham. The taste of authentic. They don't have much on the menu but few dishes they have are really tasty. you surely will be licking your fingers and ordering more. I tried it out today and wow i loved it. The service is good. Sitting area is very clean and space for families as well. Who thought in such a area like Sparkbrook someone will open up a restaurant and serve authentic arabic food. But then again Sparkbrook has got a lot of middle eastern restaurants, This is one of the first one i tried out today. I will surely will go and try out some more in coming days and will update here for all to decide, which restaurants to visit.

Congratulations!!!…read more The restaurant of Ali's dreams... And a great presentation on internet that makes your so hungry... Fans from Raalte, Heeten and other places... where we miss their Ali's Hapjes...

Aladdin had been mentioned to me by a couple of friends on different occasions - how the food was…read moresupposed to be good and it's BYO so you can drink your personal favourite without having to pay extra. The interior is expansive, with lots of seating on both the ground and first floors - they look to have knocked through as the business took off, as the layout is too haphazard to be deliberate. It's nothing to write home about, but clean and no-nonsense. It was fairly busy when we arrived, so book ahead to avoid having to wait. Service was fine but there were so many diners you can expect a bit of a wait to order and in between courses. As for the food, the starters (or 'mazza') were definitely the highlight of the evening, so I'd recommend you order a few dishes to share if you're eating as a group. The mains didn't appear to blow any of us away with deliciousness - they were just underwhelming. If we went back we'd probably just order more starters. I've yet to find a Middle Eastern restaurant where all the food is great. Aladdin, unfortunately, didn't live up to expectations for me.

A hidden gem of Withington!…read more The food is scrumptious, the service is authentic and, the best thing, it doesn't burn a hole in a student pocket! From the exterior, the Aladdin looks like somewhat of a run down takeaway, however, take a moment to step inside and you are greeted with delicious smells and flavours of the the middle east. The food is freshly prepared, healthy and enough to make the mouth water. The Hummus Hab, Baba ghanouj and salads are not to be missed! Add that to it's BYOB policy (£1 corkage) and your set for a great night. Evidently, the Aladdin's has built up a good reputation in the local area and thus provides a bustling atmosphere, with a diverse cliental (Coronation Street stars have been spotted in here!), particularly during the weekend. For this reason, I recommend booking in advance. The only blip ever reported to me is it's portion sizes. However, this was a comment from two 21 year old males with ENORMOUS appetites! My advice- get yourself down there!