It's what's on the inside that counts. Came here and smelled the fresh food from the kitchen and knew I was in for a treat. I would recommend sitting in the back on the floor to get a true experience. Nothing like pretending to be in another country while eating your meal. We ordered the haneeth. You could share a plate but I recommend getting you own if you are selfish person when hungry. The lamb was so tender it was falling off the bone and straight into my mouth. The rice was plentiful and got to take some home for lunch. Skipping forward to dessert we ordered the Bint as-sahn and the Ma'sood. I would pull the trigger and order the Bint as-sahn every time. Here is the description: layered bread based with purified butter, eggs and honey topped with sesame seeds served warm. Enjoy! read more

Saba Restaurant - Bint as-Sahn on the top (YES) Ma'soob on the bottom - Middle Eastern Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

Excellent place for breakfast! Highly recommend the lamb dishes. Service was very nice, and employees wore masks.

I ended up trying this restaurant to-go because it was the only place that was open at 10pm on a Sunday. And I actually really enjoyed their lentil soup! It was not too thick or gritty and had great flavor. Needless to say I know where to go for some good lentil soup and late night food from now on. read more

Terrible service. Do NOT EAT HERE AT ALL COSTS. We had to ask multiple times just to get our food in the first place. When our party of 10 decided to leave since the service was atrocious and we were not getting the attention we deserved, the waiter started giving us an attitude and we payed our bill and left immediately. Terrible service and mediocre food at best. Not worth the money. Please take my advice and DO NOT EAT HERE the food is not good and the service is even worse. read more

Enjoyed a meal on our way back to Jersey. The Lamb Mandi was delicious, the samosas were so goooooood, the deserts were amazing and I mean I know I'm going to be craving all that goodness a few weeks from now. read more

Good food and atmosphere. Clean and comfortable. Food came out in less than 10 minutes.. we ordered mandi and fasab.. good taste. Ordered for carry out multiple times afterwards as well. read more

This was our first visit to Saba Yemeni Cuisine and our first time having Yemeni food. The waiter was very friendly and took her time describing all the dishes to us. The food was phenomenal, the chicken mandi and lamb (Haneeth) we have ordered were tender and delicious! And the portion size was very generous! We also end up ordering Fahsa to go. This was shredded beef with vegetables and the flavor was out of this world. We had great experience at this place and we are definitely coming back again and again. read more

Saba Restaurant - Chicken with rice and Saltah (Yemeni stew) - Middle Eastern Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

Delicious traditional Yemeni food. We ordered Chicken Khabsa, Chicken Mandi & Masoob (dessert). All of them deserve more than a 5-star rating. We will be back. read more

Great quality of traditional Yemeni's food with satisfying service and cleanness, just gotta work more on the wait time. I stopped by accidentally after my intent to get empanadas from next door. I knew this placed used to be Ethiopian resultant but now the owners and the menu have changed. I saw their menu which looked abit pricey to me but why not give it a try, the lunch was not ready yet because they just opened 15-30 minutes but they had breakfast. I told them I will come back and asked for my food to be prepared, I came back in two hours, picked up "Haneeth" which was slow cooked lamb over well spiced rice. I was not pleased with the price I paid which was 18.95+tax. But when I opened it home it was four pieces of lamb chunks combination of with and without bones, comes with salad and yemeni's style salsa. The portion was large that I had to leave half of it for my next meal or for tomorrow. Veeerrry tasty and worth the money. I just have few comments about the food. They could give our more salsa for that large portion and they can as well make that ice less dry, not that it was really dry but for that meat that melts in your mouth, you need more buttery and super well cocked rice. Will come again for sure. I also heard they will have a buffet soon, hope they have Yemeni style tea and milk with that too. I will try to take a pic next time, the food was too good Iooking I couldn't wait to dig in. read more

This place is straight up dirty. We sat on the lounge area where you are supposed to take your shoes off. People sat on the ground to eat or pray there as well. I would assume they will make sure it stays clean. But nope, employees walking around in the lounge area place with their shoes which been in kitchen, outside the restaurant, bathroom. No one came to check on us to take order. I had to wave down the server. She seemed to be very frustrated to to take the order as it was my first time there. The beef soup didn't have lotta flavor. The lamb was very dry. I ordered yogurt drink which they said they don't make it there. Just use the store bought plastic bottle. They served that to me in a glass with ice. Once I tried it, I almost threw up. It went bad and tasted like the yogurt was expired. I asked the server and she said we got them today. I asked another person to try mine and they said it tasted expired. I took it to the front to the server and she said " have you ever had these yogurt drink? You probably don't know how it taste" I was offended cuz I am part middle eastern and I had those like million times. She said she wouldn't even take it off the bill. Also where we sat in the lounge area, it has left over chicken bones just laying there. They don't do any cleaning for Covid-19 AT ALL. read more

Saba Restaurant - Flavorless Beef Fahsa ( kinda like beef stew) - Middle Eastern Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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+ Came back for the dessert, and SO GLAD I DID! WHAT A STRANGE AND CURIOUSLY SCRUMPTIOUS DESSERT, the areekah is! Haven't had anything like it before. Came out hot like a bowl of morning oatmeal and resembled chili, but when you actually ate it... sweet, sweet comfort food. It's like if you took a hot banana cream pie, mashed it up with lots of butter, added a salty finish (i.e. cheese--the best part!) and sprinkled some spice on top (i.e. nigella, or black caraway). Yes please! Also... the $20 portion easily serves 4. + I would come back for their unique tea. It's your regular hot spiced milk tea, but with a slightly bitter or burnt finish to it. My eating companion prefers the smooth and sweet finish of Indian chai and wasn't into it, but I kind of liked it. Like, I want some right now as I'm writing this, so that's probably a good sign for the tea. A bigger portion would have been nice, though! + I always appreciate complimentary stuff, i.e. their simple romaine salad with garlic/tomato/sumac "dressing"/salsa with crunchy cucumber and carrot. Actually better to eat with the meal than before the meal, actually, in my opinion. + Same goes with the shafout (the yogurt and spongy bread appetizer) -- great to eat with the huge bed of rice and lamb (see below). At $9, a generous portion to split among 4 people, easily. ~ We got the lamb haneeth (can anybody tell me how this is different from the mandi?) and since we were splitting among 3 people, we ordered the "portion for two." WRONG MOVE. The ginormous platter came out and could feed probably 6 really comfortably. So our $20 tab on that became $40. Noooooo. Appetite buster when we got the check. Anyway, I really liked the rice and the fried onions on the haneeth and the lamb was probably one of the most tender, falling-off-the-bone I've ever had. Howeverrrr it could use slightly more seasoning and definitely just more meat for all the rice/price ratio. - They need to update their menu! The menu on the website says that you can get a lot of the "family style" desserts in smaller, more manageable portions. I think I would have done that had I known. ...I think I said portion a lot in this review. I think it's the portion size that is always throwing me off and preventing me from having a 4- or 5-star experience. Anyway, although service can be spotty sometimes, it's genial and the atmosphere is very laid back and community-oriented (the guys in the back were praying together!). Solid 3.5, almost 4 stars for Saba. read more

Saba Restaurant - Shafout, a wide dish of yogurt-soaked injera bread. Like a soup! Refreshing and tasty with a main rice entree - Middle Eastern Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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Love this place ! Food is great and staff is awesome. We drive from NJ just to eat here!!!

Must try if you're in the area. Hole in the wall with some amazing food. We started off with the Shakshouka which was good but not different then making some scrambled eggs at home. What blew my socks off was the haneeth. The lamb melted in my mouth. Had great flavor. The rice was also great. Probably some of the best rice I've ever had. Hard to explain but you must try it. read more

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Delicious food and fresh definitely a fav spot now for kabsa! Their lemon mint drink is to die for! Must see spot read more

Saba Restaurant - Kabsah and Lamb Mandi - Middle Eastern Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

This was my first experience with Yemeni food and this place does not disappoint at all.This is a family owned restaurant. They have limited menu . We ordered the lamb soup and lamb haneeth. The food was just awesome.Lamb haneeth is slow cooked lamb on rice. The lamb in lamb haneeth was so soft that it literally melted in the mouth. The ambiance is ok. The service is good (they are trying their best). read more

Saba Restaurant - Lamb haneeth - Middle Eastern Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

The bread is phenomenal, but the food was lacking. The chicken and aromatic rice was a half-success -- it smelled divine and the rice was great, but the chicken had no flavor. My wife insists we need to go back and try some different dishes. read more

Arabic tea was nice but I prefer without sweetener. Stew was ok and lamb came with so much rice... service is little slow here but not bad. read more

So I am a visitor and my family brought me here once before and I really loved it. My mom decided on my most recent visit to VA to treat us to dinner here. So since it's Ramadan they did a buffet spread. I agreed to the buffet since they did have my favorite dish (Lamb and rice). But what i didn't know was that what they put out was it. So for the entire Ramadan crowd it was one late plate of lamb and rice and once it is finished it's finished. So for $22 dollars I got a plate of rice and and 3 pieces of meat. Sure they had lasagna but I didn't come to a Yemeni restaurant for Italian food. And to top it off, I asked one of the employees that I got only 3 pieces and he said with a smirk "welll that's more than some others got" Do not to Ramadan here save your money for another place who does It right. read more

Excellent service. The waiter was very friendly and helpful. He made sure we get our food fast. The food was excellent and fresh. Highly recommend this restaurant read more

Location: parking lot is kind of small, but I'm not sure if this little spot gets that crowded. Also there's litter everywhere in the lot at least when I want. Smh at people who litter. Service: friendly and attentive waiter. Speedy service too Food: I got the haneeth and 2 bowls of Maraq (lamb broth soup). The soup came out first and it was delicious. Light and soothing. I could probably go through a cauldron of this on my own. It's something I can imagine having on a cold day by the fireplace or waking up early and sipping on a bowl of this (i think bone broth is the current trend for breakfast in nyc, at least back in 2015). Be sure to squeeze the lime into the soup too. Side salad- the haneeth came with a side salad which had a tangy dressing and some sumac in it. It was refreshing when paired with the haneeth. Haneeth- this a big platter of lamb over rice. It's delicious. The rice had fried shallots on top which were banging. The lamb chunks were tender and succulent. It wasn't gamey either. Some pieces had marrow to for you marrow fiends. Portion wise, it was huge. We got the main dish for 1 person and split it. Make sure to get the sawaq on the side too. It's kind of like chutney or pico de Gallo. I went with mild but there was a hot version as well. It pairs nicely with the haneeth by adding a tart and fresh component. Price- $19.99 for the haneeth, $1.95 for each cup of broth, salad came with haneeth , total was was $25 with taxes, I tipped $8 for a total of $33 for the meal Verdict- I liked it a lot and I will be back. Definitely try it if you've never had Yemeni. This is my second time having Yemeni by the way. read more

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I discovered this restaurant shortly before moving away from the area, and I enjoyed their food several times before leaving. The flavors are incredible, the meats are so tender, and it is a lot of value for what you pay. It has been five years, and I still daydream about the Lamb Mandi. One of my favorite food memories. read more

This is probably the worst halal restaurant in the town. Staff isn't aware if they have a halal certificate and then they ask their chefs if they have one. After a long wait the chef came and tried to convince me that how useless a halal certificate. Moreover, he added wallahi brother are halal for sure no need to a certificate I am %100 sure. Once he said these I understood that the conversation was over for me and I left the restaurant directly. I would say to any muslim who has concern about halal meat should not go to Saba restaurant %100 for sure. read more

Delicious chicken mandi and lamb haneeth! Loved the Yemeni salad as well! We definitely recommend this place!

If you are foodie and around the area this place is a must visit, I have tried some dishes which are Arabic/Yemeni outside the country, this place is the best when it comes to authentic dishes. Try the Shafouth, Haneeth and any of their desserts, you wont be disappointed read more

Went to this place with my friend from Yemen. Was my first Yemeni food experience, we were not sure what to order and we wanted to try everything so we ordered everything that was on the entree section :) The Food and service was great and the owner was really nice coming over to greet us and ask us if we liked the food which we loved it. Just one advice is to make reservations because it might get busy during dinner time. We got lucky that a party table left within 5 minutes we got there. Will definitely bring my other international and American friends to this place to eat again. read more

Saba Restaurant - Awesome food!!! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

customer service was amazing! very nice people :) food was very delicious; beef fahsa, haneeth, & chicken mandi was very good and very filling! meat was very tasty and moist, meat sambousa (appetizer) is 10/10 & shai adani (tea) is very nice 100% recommend everything listed above. love this place!! :)))) Ambiance was very relaxing and comforting as well read more

Who sucked all the flavor out of the food? I don't get how my entrée could look so colorful, but completely lack flavor. I really wanted to like the place. It was the first time I tried Yemeni cuisine and I was pretty excited, that is, until I actually tasted it. NEVER AGAIN! read more

First experience with Yemeni food and it was an amazing meal. Welcoming staff, Friendly waiter, explained menu items, offered suggestions, and provided excellent service. Drink glasses were kept full, serving size was plentiful, we had leftovers for lunch the next day, and the price was decent. We are already planning our next visit and hoping to save room for dessert next time! We had meat sambousas, Yemeni style salad, fahsa, and lamb mandi. read more

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Great food and amazing service! I had the Chicken Mandi and the meat was juicy and fresh. The rice was the best basmati.

This was my first experience with Yemeni cuisine and it was wonderful! I tried the Haneeth and it was delicious. The lamb was very soft, tender and flavorful. It separated from the bone very easily, and was served over a huge portion of rice, which was also excellent. It came with a side salad, which I enjoyed as well. As others have mentioned, the portion size is quite large and generous. I ate around half of the dish, and had the other half for lunch the next day. Service was good. Definitely will be back to try other items on their menu. read more

Chef Taha is the father of the Yemeni cuisine in the DMV. I suggest to ask for Shafout (yogurt based appetizer), Maraq (soup), Haneeth (meat and rice) or chicken Mandi, bint alSahn (honey pie). Enjoy read more

Saba Restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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You just don't get enough from this 5 star traditional Yemeni Restuarant. Every time we go there, we get to enjoy the great Yemen cuisine in its full taste and authenticity. Thank you to the chef and his wonderful hosts for their generosity and courtesy. Love it. read more

Amazing customer service, great food and timing. Nice atmosphere and seating arrangements. You can sit on the ground and eat traditionally or can be seated and eat. Conveniently located and free parking. Highly recommended. read more

I've been to Saba three times in the last two months. The first two times I went with my ROMEOs (Retired Old Men Eating Out) group. The first time we went, we were blown away by the quality of the food and the quantity. We ordered three dishes (Haneeth, Chicken Mandi, and Lamb Mandi) for four people, and there was so much food that two of us had enough leftovers to feed ourselves another meal. The food was so good that my group decided to go back the next month. We'd never gone to a restaurant two months in a row, that's how blown away we were the first time. Since we had so much food the first time we were there, the 6 of us ordered the same three dishes. There was nowhere near the same quantity nor the same quality of food. In fact, we had to order a fourth dish. The quality of the food was also off a bit. Then my wife and I and another couple went back last week. The four of us ordered two dishes -- Haneeth and Chicken Mandi. There wasn't much chicken in the Mandi nor was there much lamb in the Haneeth; the chicken was boney and the lamb had a lot of knuckles in it. Both the quality and quantity of food was disappointing. What was especially disappointing was that two men who were sitting at a table beside us ordered two dishes which appeared to be piled high with meat and which they ate with relish. (I wasn't watching to see if they encountered lots of bones.) The bottom line for me is that, as much as I enjoyed Saba the first time, I will not be going back. Sorry, Saba. read more

The best Yemeni in food in Fairfax! I ordered the Haneeth and hummus and I was so amazed by the flavor! The hummus is sooooo good and the mild tomato sauce that comes with the hanneth is so good. Ask for it! 10/10 read more

I'm reviewing this incredibly late, but this place is wonderful for many reasons. The food is excellent enough to appease even the pickiest of parents and kids. My parents pretty much only enjoy home cooked meals but they loved this place and made plans to go back the week after. I will bring all my friends and family here for a good traditional meal. read more

This is our go to place when we want some good mandi and haneeth. They serve the best Yemeni dishes around the area. The mandi is very flavorful and isn't spicy so if you like spicy food then you can add the sauces they give you on the side. It's a cute restaurant which have a floor seating option on the side. You can sit on the floor and they put a plastic out and you can eat there. It's a good place for groups as well. I tried their dessert and they were good as well. read more

Saba Restaurant - Maraq Soup - Middle Eastern Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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It's not Iranian, not Afghan, not Turkish. It is absolutely delicious. Our taste buds were doing backflips. A wonderful atmosphere. The service was excellent. Very helpful when we were making our choices. The portions were huge. You will not be disappointed. read more

I couldn't tell whether I was lost in the middle of three dilapidated auto care/tire manufacturing facilities or on my way to finding a restaurant. Looking around, there didn't seem to be activity out here probably since Stonewall Jackson and his men were pushed back in the Battle of Chantilly. But....My GPS said 3900 Picket Road....? Why is there only an old crusty tire depot on the left and a white Civil War history post on the right side of the street? Screw the GPS, you just need to drive an extra quarter of a mile and you will see on your right a decrepit plaza with equally decrepit buildings complete with a Pizza Hut, a 7-11, and Saba Traditional Yemen Cuisine. This had to be an elaborate joke right? I mean I was dragged here a little reluctantly and somewhat against my will, but the gigantic posse I was with had one other option: Cheesecake factory. We opted to stay and much to my surprise it ended up being a cool experience. The food was good, the ambiance was decent enough, and the service was fast. What can I say, my expectations are always rock bottom when it comes to Middle Eastern restaurants but even every now and again, I am forced to eat my own words and have no qualms at all when I'm proven resoundingly wrong. And having a very paper-thin (at best) knowledge and experience with Yemeni cuisine, this intrigued me. I was even further intrigued when I spotted a "People love us on Yelp" sticker on the door - how appropriate and sure enough Yelp helped me justify my presence here where people spoke highly of the food. INTERIORS/ATMOSPHERE Now the first thing you will notice upon entering is that the place looks like a complete utter joke. I'll hazard a guess that the interiors have not been updated since they acquired the restaurant. The second thing that you have no choice but to notice is the total lack of air conditioning - I hope for the owner's sake that their crappy building was having HVAC issues and they weren't trying to nickel and dime their electric bill. There are two dining areas - one more straightforward and the other a total shitshow that we decided to partake in. In classic chauvinistic form, us men decided to sit in the upper area where you had to sit on the floor around a huge rug - throw the silverware out because you are eating with your hands. There was no way this wasn't going to be awesome. FOOD The menu is small and to the point - just the way I like to see menus. Just think, I could have been sifting through that Encyclopedia Britannica of a menu at Cheeseball Factory.... The hungry group of us wanted some provisions right away. Essentially there were three things on the must-try list - the Haneeth, the Mandi, and Fahsa - we tried them all. Haneeth are succulent pieces of marinated lamb over a bed of rice all roasted together accompanied by crispy onions. The Fahsa is a killer lamb stew, and the chicken mandi is essentially like a chicken tandoori also over a huge bed of velvety rice - all very very delicious dishes. I think many Yelpers would be intrigued and quite satisfied in venturing out here to try this interesting and tasty cuisine and it seems like many people are doing so to try something a little fun and different. While it isn't exactly for the faint of heart, I think most would find it enjoyable. I thought it was annoying that their breakfast items were not available for dinner - but oh well I'll just come another time for breakfast. And remember even though your GPS said that you have arrive, you need to keep going an extra block up the hill. You may even want to type in '7-11' on your GPS. read more

Saba Restaurant - Traditional Yemeni sit-down meal. - Middle Eastern Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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Let me first start off by saying I have been vegan for a year and gluten free for over three years. While the menu was not huge for GF vegans - they were SOOOOO accommodating with trying to find me something to eat. I had their lentil soup and it was delicious. Their salad with their 'salsa' dressing was amazing. And they made me a side of veggies simmered in spices, which was also very good. My partner got the chicken and rice and it was HUGE! Good for at least two meals! The chicken was fall off the bone tender, and the rice was cooked to a great consistency. The service was top notch. The food was delicious. They were more than accommodating of my dietary restrictions. The prices were decent. We will be going back (after we call and tell them about an hour out that we are coming as they said they would take some time to prepare me something special for my allergies). Thank you Saba for a great dining experience! read more