Stopped in for a quick bite for lunch and there's a nice lunch special with an included drink. Have…read morestopped in for some bakery treats in the past and they were quite tasty as well. The interior has ample seating in a nice open space. Staff very welcoming and friendly. Shawarma platter was very good sized, salad fresh and crisp, and everything was seasoned nicely. Pita came hot and fresh out of their big oven. As to the bakery, they have various beverages teas, coffees, and smoothies. Thanks

Yalla. Lebanese dishes. I'm wishing I brought my little ukelele. I would write a lil song about the…read moregentle welcoming smile of the staff. I felt their kind and patient heart. The loveliest of food items offered... in my opinion. I just loved too many items. I saw they had fresh iced karkede tea. I can feel the nostalgic breeze of exotic seasonings. Chopped mint and lemon juice , evoo dressing in my fatouche salad. A skewer of chicken kabob. The scent! The appealing color! Placed on a bed of buttery saffron rice & pickle. Wow. Flavorful !! Sassy ol' Baba Ganoush with evoo drizzle puddle. I am in heaven. Joyful! Zataar pita with labna. Manouche! So delightful. A flavorful invigorating taste. I feel like a million bucks. We shared it all! I would absolutely come back!!! Adorable nostalgic architecture. Delicious food. Nice music. Kind staff! Cute coffee /sweets cafe next to this restaurant. Soooo cute!

Had a great experience dining here last night. The food was fresh, flavorful and came out at a…read moreperfect pace. Everything ordered was well prepared and you can tell they put care into both the quality and presentation. The atmosphere was welcoming and comfortable. We were a large party of 11 celebrating a birthday. The staff was friendly, attentive and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the night. We had the tasting menu and it was perfect. We will definitely be back!

This place is a gem! Many delicious dishes and a hit for a more unique dining and gift experience…read more Buy a few gift cards every year, and they are so looked forward to! Staff is courteous, restaurant clean.

10/10 the vibes, 10/10 the food, 10/10 the community…read more incredible food and a great atmosphere I had my baby & my entire family and they were very accommodating. We'll go back again as soon as possible

Quickly has become one of my favorite brunch spots in the city!…read more Excellent food, phenomenal coffee, attentive service, and a beautiful view of the city streets.

This is a small Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant. The restaurant had booths on both sides…read morewith dim lighting, and was welcoming. I was traveling alone, so I ordered the Middle Eastern platter, listed as an appetizer. It included hummus, baba ghanoush, tabboulah, roasted vegetables, a salad, and a basket of fresh pita wedges. It was filling and very tasty. I'm not a fan of parsley, so I didn't eat as much of the tabboulah, but I'm sure it was delicious for parsley fans! This seems like a small family owned business and I encourage you to support them. Small family restaurants are much better than chain restaurants! This is within a one minute walk of the Holiday Inn Express on Walnut Street, so very convenient. The service was polite and friendly, and made recommendations. I also enjoyed the unsweetened Middle Eastern tea, made with mint and dried flowers. Tip - if you pay in cash, it's a little cheaper.

I've long been a fan of Sahara, but I don't get to Center City much…read more The return was as good as I expected. Friendly hosts and service. A great meal.

Excellent all around. They fit us in on a busy World Cup Saturday night…read more We had Shakshuka, cabbage entree, and the lamb meatballs. All were tasty and well presented. It reminded me of restaurants in Tel Aviv. Our server Brian added immensely to our experience.

corn hummus ($16) - this was actually so yummy it was smooth…read moreand delectable - Ive never had any bad hummus at a restaurant though; the only bad hummus ive had would be the grocery store bought ones - i especially liked the corn addition which made the dish sweet lamb kofte sandwich ($16) - very average and nothing special nor memorable about this - I feel like they didn't deliver with this because it just felt very plain with pita stuffed with big chunks of lamb meat rating: 4/5 - we agreed this place is just average; every dish was pretty good but not amazing nor memorable - the only thing that stood out was the corn hummus - service was quick and attentive - beautiful upscale interior but still a welcoming friendly environment for all individuals IG: @nom.noms.only

There are some stellar, multidimensional reviews of Zahav on this site - for example, Bunker B's…read moremagnificent contribution.. I urge you to read that for an comprehensive, informed description of Zahav's place in the culinary scene. Here I offer a more quotidian review, with the emphasis on practical tips. I am going to cut to the chase: the pomegranate lamb shoulder is the stuff dreams are made of. Tender and tart. Accompanied by sides that are a work of art in themselves: fluffy Persian rice with a perfect crust. Greens with the right amount of sweet and sour to balance the other two components. The composed dish beautifully thought out and executed. And a little extra pickle just in case. Zahav has commissioned a red wine specifically to accompany the lamb, so be sure to order the Galia Dabouki if you get the lamb. Now for some practical suggestions: unless you have a hearty appetite, do not attempt the four-course menu. You will fill yourself on hummus, salads and dips and mezze, and by the time you get to the star of the show - the pomegranate lamb shoulder - you will barely have room for more than a few bites. I suggest you go a la carte, and pick wisely from the first two courses. I am even going to be heretical and suggest you skip the hummus. Yes, I know Zahav's hummus is famous. Maybe you can pick some up at Whole Foods to eat at a different time. Even the salatim - as masterful as they are - have by now been reproduced at other Israeli restaurants that have caught up to Zahav's Israeli avant garde. So if you ask me: pick from the mezze list and go on to the lamb. And about getting reservations: if you are a planner, go ahead and snag a reservation by going online exactly four weeks in advance as the website explains. But if you want to be more spontaneous, you can get a seat at the bar as a walk-in. You do need to arrive early for that. The day we were there - a weeknight in July - the line started to form a little before 5pm, that is, a little before the restaurant's opening time. Everyone in the line at that time got to be seated, and there were still plenty of spots that only gradually filled up. No doubt on the weekend you would need to get in line a bit earlier, but it is entirely possible to do this without an advance reservation. So now I am looking forward to taking my own advice. I am plotting my return, and going in for the star of the show, the hell with opening acts.

Some restaurants capture a culinary movement, while Zahav helped propel one. Middle Eastern food…read morenow occupies a far more prominent place in global dining culture, but Zahav was well ahead of that expansion, especially in the United States. Alongside internationally influential figures such as Yotam Ottolenghi and Eyal Shani, Michael Solomonov helped introduce a wider audience to the depth, variety, and sophistication of modern Israeli cuisine. Philadelphia is incredibly fortunate that he and his longtime partner, Steve Cook, built their defining restaurant here. My wife and I visited for an early dinner around 5:00 p.m. and chose the prix fixe menu, which remains one of the most memorable meals I have had in Philadelphia. The mezze was exceptionally fresh, the hummus completely lived up to its reputation, and the pita with za'atar was delectable. I also remember the rice (tahdig), chicken, and famous pomegranate lamb shoulder being delicious, while a cold Goldstar beer was a simple but perfect touch. Looking back at the food photographs still makes me hungry. Zahav creates a genuine sense of arrival before the first plate reaches the table. The elevated entrance sits above the surrounding shrubs and landscaping, making the restaurant feel pleasantly removed from the street, and we entered along the side beside the patio. Inside, the stone surfaces, stained glass, and warm finishes evoke Jerusalem's Old City without crossing into theatrical territory, while transparent windows along the kitchen reveal the work taking place behind them. Because we arrived while it was still light outside, natural light filled the restaurant; photos taken by other diners suggest that the fixtures create an entirely different glow after dark against the Jerusalem-inspired stone palette. As we entered, Solomonov was standing beside the pita oven to the left, and we were honestly a bit starstruck. We occasionally see him around Philadelphia, but watching someone with his global reputation doing such basic, physical work alongside the staff was especially meaningful. He struck me as a servant leader who remains close to the craft and the people responsible for delivering the experience each night. The fantastic service throughout dinner reflected that same combination of confidence, warmth, and attention. Solomonov's culinary talent is matched by a rare instinct for marketing, brand building, and community presence. His social media, cookbooks, retail products, and appearances in Netflix and YouTube food programming have extended his influence well beyond the restaurant, and he is as cool and charismatic as he is gifted in the culinary arts. A subtler strength across CookNSolo is the group's command of operations and technology, from its reservation systems and point-of-sale experience to the digital integration that guests may barely notice. Solomonov and Cook have created distinct concepts that operate with discipline without losing their individual character, and that balance between imagination and execution may be the most impressive part of what they have built. That judgment also extends to where CookNSolo chooses to open. The arrival of one of its restaurants can serve as an early vote of confidence in a neighborhood or development, attracting attention and signaling the cultural momentum that often precedes broader investment and excitement. Laser Wolf's presence in Philadelphia and at The Hoxton in Williamsburg embodies that philosophy, and I am eager to visit both locations, as well as Jaffa Bar in Philadelphia and Aviv in Miami. Zahav deserves to remain the focus here, while the broader quality of the CookNSolo ecosystem will unfold through the many other reviews I still need to write, including Goldie, K'Far, Dizengoff, Federal Donuts, Merkaz, and others. !

Great food, and great service. Went at 9 on a saturday, and the place was not that full, but the…read moreservers were very kind, especially accommodating a 5 person walk in. Immediately, let us know what they had run out of. Ordered the hummus and falafel, fries, and chai for the table. All of which were delicious. The falafel was crispy, and fries well seasoned. Everyone liked the food they ordered. All the entrees came out in stone pots, with big enough portions that we could have also gotten a couple entrees for everyone to share instead.

This restaurant didn't live up to the hype at all. The…read moregamey flavor of lamb haneeth wasn't removed. Grilled fish, it's a rip-off. Fish not fresh at all, tasted mushy, tasted HORRIBLE!!!!! Also,it's steamed fish not grilled, the fishy smell had not been eliminated. I believed fish in between 1lb,$35 for for the trash, I learned the lesson.

Marrakesh is one of my absolute favorite places to eat in Philadelphia!!…read more I wish it existed in more cities. This is a multicourse journey through Marrakesh that cannot be repeated anywhere else except for maybe in the real Marrakesh. From the Bastilla pastry, which is DIVINE, to the salads, the chicken and kebabs... all the way to the baklava and tea.... there is no bad bite at Marrakesh. The owners are welcoming and super amenable and make you feel like you're coming home every single time you visit. It's in a odd location, and you may feel like you are making a questionable life decision as you walk up the alley to the door, but when you arrive, you realize that in fact, it was one of the best decisions you've made in years!! When you enter, it's like you've been transported to a beautiful room in Morocco. The music, the decor, even the authentic seating make for an unforgettable experience. And if you get really lucky, you also get to see the belly dancers who are top notch! There is not a single thing I can think of to say that Marrakesh needs to improve. It is a one of a kind experience that I feel everyone should have at least once in life!

What an incredible experience and much better than our last visit almost 7-8 years ago. The last…read moretime we came, the AC was broken on a hot day in the summer and it completely turned me off despite having an amazing visit my first time. I'm so glad my friends wanted to come here to celebrate our Friendsgiving. The food was as good as I remembered , the service as ever warm and welcoming. Since I hadn't been for so long, I ate everything as was prepared - but I'm happy to hear it sounds like they have veg options on their tasting menu. I'm looking forward to trying that my next return. But I couldn't say no to their chicken after almost a decade I highly recommend checking out this business for a delicious family style cooked meal.