Food and service are very goood. The only issue the wait time to get a table on weekends.read more

First of all I've been talking up Au Za'atar since my first visit, have sent many friends their way…read moreand have gone a few times since my first meal. My most recent visit this month changed all that. I went with my son because we were in town. As it was the first place we knew we wanted to eat, I made a reservation well in advance and we showed up on time. It was noisier than usual and pretty hectic. We ordered a few appetizers and meals and a drink. No one ever checked in on us or refilled our water. I flagged someone down for to go containers as we wanted to save room for dessert and a second drink. They brought the containers and then we proceeded to sit again with no one checking in. We had been there for approximately 40-45 minutes total and were still waiting on someone to come back with the dessert menu when the host came to our table and said "there's a party with a reservation who needs tho is table so could you please leave soon?" Never has this happened to me. How insulting. When I expressed confusion stating we hadn't even received a check so why would we leave, rather than offer a proper apology and/or a "can we get you anything else?" She just said "oh that's not what I was told." And then a server brought us a check. I asked him if 45 minutes was the usual amount of time they give customers with dinner reservations and he said "I'm not sure. We're just really busy and probably overbooked." Again, no offer to make it right. Initially I wasn't going to leave this review. I reached out directly to the restaurant via email to tell them about the humiliating experience of being asked to leave when we weren't even done. Instead of offering to make it right (anything would have been appreciated - a dessert on the house next time - just some token indicating they valued me as a customer) they just explained that there was confusion and that they've talked to their staff so it doesn't happen to anyone in the future. Both the experience and the response put a horrible taste in my mouth and sadly I will probably not be back.

The best eat I had on my trip! One of the people in the group reserved this restaurant as they have…read morebeen here before and raved about the portions and how good the food is. Definitely did not disappoint. All the food here is sharable and for 4 people it was enough. Sadly could not bring it all with us, but would have if we lived here. From what I remembered, we ordered the Lamb Shank, Sumac Fries, and Kouda Bi Zeit. All delicious, all notably the favorite. Probably the reason why I remember these out of the rest of our order. Drinks were also delicious. We ended up ordering each other's favorite drink. Mine ended up being the Mediterranean C vs the Once Upon a Time. Overall, highly recommend! Best mediterranean food I have ever had.

I genuinely wanted to like Au Za'atar, which made this experience even more disappointing. During…read moreour brunch visit for 3 on May 9th 2026, I experienced the first significant allergic dining reaction of my life. Rather than immediately posting a public review, I contacted management privately because I believed they deserved the opportunity to address the situation professionaly. Their initial response was that they would review the incident internally. After I followed up, they specifically offered to send me a complete ingredient list for everything we ordered so I could review it with my healthcare provider. I accepted that offer but, the ingredient list was never sent. Months later, there has still been no meaningful follow-up. My frustration isn't about demanding compensation or proving what caused the reaction. It's about customer care and accountability. Making promises that are never fulfilled leaves the impression that guest concerns only matter until the bill is paid. Once our $471 tab was settled, the commitment to help simply disappeared. The food and atmosphere may attract people, but how a restaurant responds when something goes wrong is what defines its hospitality. Unfortunately, based on my experience, the follow-through did not match the promises made, and I can't recommend a restaurant that handled a serious guest safety concern this way. Its NYC, 1000s of restaurants will charge less serve higher quality ingredients and treat you with greater hospitality, and this place is located in midtown east.

So So good- cute little spot (not huge venue but comfy). Service was great and BYOB which is a nice…read moreoption. Went with a couple friends and able to share dishes which was perfect- ended up getting a couple platters (chick and steak) along with dips (tziki and hummus). Everything so good and great atmosphere- recommend

Ordered delivery on Uber eats the chicken platter was buy one get one and the lamb sandwich was buy…read moreone get one. The lamb didnt come and the chicken was so salty it was inedible the rice that came with it had no flavor. The garlic sauce was chunky and very salty too. It seems like someone made a mistake and just said send it for delivery it was terrible and wouldn't recommend.

This was a stunningly great meal! We had the Tabbouleh (best I've ever tasted), Hummus Beirute…read more(delicious), Balade Falafel (more below), and shared a Mixed Grill Platter (SO good and so much food!). We eat a lot of Mediterranean food but haven't had anything like the Balade Falafel before. Instead of the usual patties, the falafel was formed into cups and filled with tahini, pickles, and fresh herbs. Excellent balanced flavors and such a great presentation! The service was extremely friendly and attentive. Pleasant, quiet interior. Very good value for the money. Only wish we lived in NYC so we could revisit this wonderful place!

Had dinner at Balade yesterday after a really long time because Fattoush (across the street) was…read moreclosed for a private party. The food here has only gotten worse since my last review, and the prices are now 2X. Additionally portion sizes are smaller than ever. We had the loubieh, hummus beiruty, eggplant entree (I forget the exact name), and the grape leaves. It was all average at best, bordering terrible. The best thing was the rice and the pita bread. I definitely won't return.

Live music was great, ambiance was very pretty, food was portioned well with plenty of different…read moreoptions. The menu was huge, and waitstaff were ready to answer any questions and make any customizations to menu items. Would recommend this place for upscale dining with a relaxed pace or for a nice celebration. Food was flavorful.

3.5 stars, a beautiful dimly lit dining room and huge no less. There are a few steps walking up to…read morethe dining area. Great for groups of all sizes, reservations suggested but on this weekday visit, it was not too busy. We had a resy any way. Service was fair. Our waiter checked in with us once after we ordered and we had to beckon him twice - once for water refill and second for condiments/questions. What I didn't appreciate but understood, since we were two people dining, we got a corner table for two. It was not busy so we asked for the table next to us since we ordered plenty. They did not accommodate us saying they may need it for later. I did not think that was necessary since the place was not busy. This was 6pm on a Wednesday. And to boot, huge dining room - plenty of seating available. This was off putting as we said we ordered plenty. Our plates barely fit and they brought everything almost at once. Onto the food, I may not have ordered their popular dishes but nevertheless, nothing to rave about. Portions were shareable but it was just okay. There was not one stand out dish. I had higher expectations based on other reviews and photos but it was likely what we ordered. This was a vegetarian meal for me since I was dining with a vegetarian. - Moussakaa, this was a very tomato based sauce dish. Fried eggplant and chick peas combined had a nice texture. Mild flavors. - Arayess cheese - sorely disappointed. Very little flavor and I love my cheeses. It needed something to make it more appealing. It literally looked like cheese in a pita. And yes, by description it was. No condiments or side of anything to offset the plating. Visually flat. It could've used a sun dried tomato paste or some acidic side dipping sauce. - Yara Fries - shockingly simple, zaatar and spices. But they didn't put enough. It still looked like regular fries. And by the name, I expected more punch of flavor. It was not there. - Falafel - tricky dish if it's not cooked well. Simple again by name but the ingredients were just mild in flavor. Crunch was perfect. The chickpea, onions, cilantro and garlic was not pronounced. It was ok. Not memorable. - House wine, by the glass, decent and went well with what we ate. Would I return is the question... Likely not. The menu was so promising but nothing to bring me back.

I stopped here for a quick bite & enjoyed it very much- the chicken however was a bit dryer than I…read morewould've liked it to be but it was alright overall. The portion is more than adequate & it's any topping(s) that you want. I also wanted to give a shout out to Lara who is a really sweet employee & deserves all the best.

Fresh Mediterranean food. I opted for the chicken shawarma salad bowl…read more The salad consists of green lettuces and cabbage. I liked the plethora of toppings offered (sumac onions, jalapeños, cucumbers, tomatoes, banana peppers, feta olives and etc). The chicken shawarma was tender and I got a decent sized portion. The toum was garlicky and creamy. I really like the spicy green sauce! A pleasant deviation from C**a! I'll be back.