Alarabi is a quaint and comfortable restaurant in the heart of Friedrichshain, serving a delicious…read morearray of Middle Eastern dishes, along with an extensive cocktail menu and a smaller but still very respectable roster of shishas.
On a pleasant summer evening, I was drawn to Alarabi by the clean, uncrowded outdoor seating and the specials board which listed dishes that went beyond the usual Berlin fare. The presence of a stuffed squid dish especially drew my eye. The outdoor seating is directly on the sidewalk; however, the sidewalk is wide enough that pedestrians and al fresco diners can share it without much nuisance. The picnic-like tables and chairs were clean and decorated with pots of flowers in various states of vitality. Later in the evening, when the sun went down, staff replaced the flowerpots with candles--a nice touch. The restaurant sits directly across the street from the popular Boxhagenerplatz municipal park, which makes it a prime spot for people-watching.
Visitors from the U.S. who dine out in Germany are accustomed to adjusting their expectations of service. I am pleased to say that at Alarabi no such lowering of expectations is necessary. A few minutes after I took my seat, a smiling server appeared with a menu and asked for my drink order. About five minutes later, she took my food order. The food arrived about ten minutes after that. And so on. Two servers attended the diners eating outside, and rarely did much time go by without seeing one. Both were friendly and competent.
The menu includes a range of mezze--Middle Eastern appetizers such as hummus, mohammara (a paprika-walnut dip), eggplant dip, chicken skewers, etc. You can also order a variety of mezze in combinations designed for either one or two diners.
I briefly contemplated this option but then opted for the chicken shawarma. This is a fairly standard dish that one will find offered by food vendors all over Berlin. What made this particular version stand out was the description in the menu: this shawarma was made with poulard breast.
Poulard is not a very common ingredient in the U.S.; in any case, I had never encountered it until I came to Berlin for the first time several years ago. A poulard is a hen that has been spayed. The spaying process makes the hen's flesh fattier, juicier, and more tender.
So this shawarma was going to be a cut above.
The platter came to my table and made a stunning impression. The food was beautifully plated and included: a generous swirl of hummus drizzled with olive oil; eggplant dip decorated with six plump red currants on top; a glorious pile of dark green tabbouleh salad; and of course, about twelve strips of succulent, crisp-skinned poulard breast nestled in a small pool of thin yogurt.
The chicken shawarma was a knockout. It combined the fatty tenderness usually only found in dark meat with the mild, delicate flavor of chicken breast. The skin stayed perfectly crispy even as the chicken mingled with the slightly tangy yogurt.
The hummus was good, presentable, and relatively light, but not otherwise remarkable. It was certainly tasty enough to scoop up every bit of it with a few of the provided slices of thin pita bread, though, which is exactly what I did.
The eggplant dip (I would normally call this baba ganoush, but it had a different name on the menu--a name that escapes me now) had the sharp flavor of undercooked eggplant, which is one of my culinary pet peeves. It was also too heavy on the tahini. I took one bite of it and that was quite enough.
The tabbouleh was lemony, bright, and refreshing. The parsley was almost kale-green in color, very fresh and bursting with flavor. Dotted with just a light smattering of bulgur, the salad was very visually appealing as well. I would absolutely encourage you not to skip the tabbouleh.
The platter cost about seven Euro and was a good deal, even by the standards of a local restaurant scene that tends to support much lower prices than other cities' do. Cocktails and shishas are also affordable at just four Euro each.
I would definitely recommend Alarabi as a nice spot to have a delicious, relaxed meal with good service at a great price.
