I stopped into Sahara Restaurant for lunch, and if there's one thing I learned quickly, it's that the lunch combo might be the best value in Dearborn. The owner was running the counter and he was friendly, welcoming, and clearly proud of the place. I went for the combo and I was greeted with fresh bread, soup, and their excellent garlic sauce, which deserves its own shoutout. I was dipping my pita with it and even added it to my rice. The soup was a pleasant surprise: a chicken‑forward broth with a thicker texture. The mixed shawarma (lamb and chicken), was enormous! Easily enough for two meals. The meat was tender, well‑seasoned, and came out fast. Between the value, the portions, and the hospitality, this feels like a hidden gem. read more

Sahara Restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

We ended up here by accident looking for a different restaurant. How fortuitous. The guy working the front was outstanding. He was exceptionally kind. The pita bread was fresh and crispy as it was served straight from the oven with a garlic sauce. This is complimentary. I opted for a steak shish kabob sandwich that was outstanding. My dining companion got the falafel. They were big, bountiful and delicious. We both had leftovers because we couldn't stop eating the fresh pita. It is really nice to find a surprise restaurant to add to the list. I haven't had such good pita in years. read more

I got carry out. My husband really enjoyed the shawarmahummus plate with rice, very tasty. I loved my falafel sandwich not overcooked and dry but very moist and flavorful. The vegetarian grape leaves were also enjoyable. I Plan on going back. read more

Sahara Restaurant - Shawarma and hummus - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

We went to Sahara once when they first reopened during the height of COVID. As it was take out only at the time, we decided to go back. It's a goal of mine to visit as many spots in Dearborn as possible. This may take awhile, as I live out of state and only come back twice a year, at best. Sahara is just 'ok.' Yes, the food is plentiful and the price is decent, but the food is average. Spend a few extra dollars and go elsewhere. My favorite part was the bread, which was made in house. The fattoush salad was also delicious. My lunch combo leftovers are probably going to wind up tossed... My mom had a veggie dish with undercooked carrots. She found the lentil soup to be missing flavor. Service was fine and there are some tables. A lot of their business seems to be carry out and catering. read more

Sahara Restaurant - Pita and Toum - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

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Immediately greeted by who I assume is Sam, who is charismatic, enthusiastic, and funny. The standout items here are the garlic sauce, and the fresh pita which was crack, and makes for a nice sandwich. Sahara is another top option with a more casual sit-down space. The fattoush was absolutely fantastic at a 9.5/10, and the hummus was also amazing but on par with other local options. As for the kabobs and what not, they were all solid with the best being the tender pieces of the chicken tawook at a 9.7/10. What you get here is incredible value for the sheer amount of food you get and will definetely have leftovers. Overall, I would rate this place at a 9.7/10, subject to change as I explore more Dearborn Lebanese spots. read more

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Simple... great food, AMAZING service, large portions, no frills, relaxed family-like environment. Recommendation the Saj Shawarmas (beef or chicken). So juicy and delicious!!! Plenty of parking, clean bathrooms, good for families, small, and medium sized groups, not a romantic "date night" kinda place but perfect if you're craving some delicious Middle Eastern food. read more

Sahara Restaurant - Saj Combo plate (beef) w/ hummus, fries, salad - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

I was impressed at the good value that this restaurant provides. Lunch specials are available all day. Portions are large. Prices are good. I ordered Mjadra and a side salad. The Mjadra is the rare, moist kind. The lentils and well cooked onions coalesce to produce a homey flavor and texture. The salad lettuce was dark green Romaine, nicely crisp, with a strong dressing. We also received a large basket of fresh, warm pita bread and a substantial bowl of classic Lebanese garlic sauce. Yum! Finally, I like the relaxed, casual feel here. The owner, Sam, is very friendly. read more

Great experience! We came on a Sat around noon and were quickly and warmly greeted. They immediately brought out a generous basket of pita straight out of the oven with a dip that was outstanding (whipped feta, garlic, lemon?). My bride ordered the Chicken Shawarma lunch special ($14) and I went with the Shawarma Combo ($15). They both came with hommous and side salad. Everything was outstanding! My bride commented how most and flavorful the chicken was....and my beef was as well. The owner/staff is super friendly....like we've been friends for years :) We love this place! read more

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just moved to MI from AZ. best middle eastern food I have ever tried. the deboned chicken WITH the sauce is truly a masterpiece. rice is very flavorful. hummus is perfect in my opinion, almost refreshing and smooth. salad is crispy, could be tiny bit fresher but no worries. staff is very friendly with a great vibe. 10/10 will come back. read more

We dined in at Sahara in Dearborn last weekend. I like the convenience of this location. Parking is right at the door; and It's also much more quaint than the location in Oak Park. The service was imbeccable. The gentlemen there really treated us well. I was there with a party of three. Everyone liked the experience and the food. The greek salad looked amazing and was piled high on the plate of my fellow diner. She asked for a soda midway throughout the meal. The gentleman waiting on us noticed that she didn't have a huge appetite and offered to put her drink in a to-go cup. I haven't had service like that since leaving the South. He also made sure that we had all of the proper carryout trays and bags upon the end of our lunch. I had alacart chicken kabobs and a small fatoosh salad. There was enough food for three servings. The pita chips on top were delicious. The chicken was fresh, succulent, and grilled to perfection. I loved the huge bowl of garlic sauce that accompanied the bread for the table. I appreciated that so much, as you don't see that much these days. I LOVE garlic and pita bread; and since I decided to put my diet on the back shelf that weekend, I ate most of it myself. Our bill was right around $35 for three people. read more

Sahara Restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

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Great spot! I got great guidance on gluten-free options. The food was excellent. The portions were large. Highly recommend this restaurant! read more

Outstanding homemade food and gigantic portions. So delicious! Super friendly server. We loved it!

With all of the Middle Eastern choices in the area, competition is high, and it's easy to judge good from average. And Sahara is better than good, it's great! From the traditional, commonly found items, to fantastic specialities like the tangy and oily Sojok sausage, which comes piled high, griddled with onions and mushrooms all swirling in a flavorful grease, to the sautéed Cauliflower with onions that is sure to please the vegans AND meat eaters in your crew. Service is delightfully friendly, and the food comes out really fast. Highly recommend for a delicious lunch in Dearborn with friends. read more

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Nothing extraordinary here. The best part was the fresh bread, they were quite good. Hummus was mediocre, and so were the kaboobs.

Sahara is more of a quantity over quality kind of restaurant - but that's not a bad thing! Sometimes you just want a huge amount of food that's of reasonable quality that can feed a large gathering and still have a bunch of leftovers. Sahara Combination Shish Combo, w/ Rice and Lentil Soup ($40) - The portion size is absolutely gigantic (the aluminum takeout tray was bulging from the amount of food), filled with all types of meat, rice, 5 small packs of pita, toum, small hummus and two bowls of lentil soup. I actually decided to weigh everything since I had a scale handy - almost 10 pounds of food here. The value is insane. The chicken shawarma is reasonably juicy, but doesn't have much of a crispy sear on the outside. The taste of the chicken really shines here due to the relative lack of seasoning. The meat shawarma is quite a bit paler looking than other places, quite tender though with a bit of a sour seasoning mix. The texture is honestly kind of strange, strangely too tender. The beef kabob is appropriately cooked with some pink still inside. The pieces are absolutely giant - probably 2x the size of other places. Tawook - again, super huge pieces of chicken, this one you can taste the spice mix on the outside. More dry than not internally though. The kafta was my favorite - good, densely packed beef, seems to be 100% beef with no filler. All meats were on the saltier side. The rice was quite good, with a nice al dente chew, cooked perfectly. The hummus is not top tier, but pretty good with a nice balance of lemon, tahini, chickpeas. There's a bit of a smoky quality to it. The toum is kind of grainy, but dissolves on the tongue to a smooth finish. Might be from mashed potato. Can't taste it though (unlike some other restaurants in Dearborn). A good garlic flavor, but also quite lemony. If you like a more lemony toum, you will like this one. The lentil soup is quite peppery and a bit tart from lemon juice, with not as much cumin and spices as other places. Still a good and refreshing lentil soup. Tabbouleh, Small ($6) - They really fill that takeout container to the absolute brim. The tabbouleh has way too much lemon juice though - the lemon taste dominates. Is probably just a fluke - I've gotten this multiple times before and it's never been this lemony. Once again, if you're looking for the most flavorful, high quality Lebanese food, there are better places to go. But if you're looking to feed a giant crowd, Sahara is where you go. read more

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The servers were extremely friendly, attentive and kind. Food was generous portions and very tasty. Salad was fresh and full of cucumbers and tomatoes. The kids loved the chicken. read more

The food was very bland with no flavor. Very disappointed. I would think with the area competition that it would have been better. I would not recommend. read more

Amazing service! I honestly don't think I have seen one server be a host, run takeout orders, communicate to the back of the house, and take care of 5-6; and doing it all WELL. We got two entrees with rice and salad, and a side of hummus. It all tasted great and the portions were enough to feed 4 people easily... it was just two of us though. The restaurant very clean. read more

Sahara Restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

Had the lunch special with chicken Shawarma, hummus and lentil soup. The soup was delicious with a slight taste of lemon at the end. The Shawarma and rice were overflowing on my plate. Fresh baked bread was also served. Enough food for three meals easily. Staff was extremely nice. Will make a stop here again next time you I'm in town. read more

Ok let's talk about this place... staff is very nice. Those guys are a trip, honestly.. hilarious. Restaurant is clean, welcoming. Menu, well there's a lot to choose from.. I must say coming to yelp for the pics definitely helped me make a decision :) The starter of the house, fresh warm pitas with garlic sauce. I haven't been able to stop dreaming about that garlic ever since.. it's so good, it's haunting me to make it at home. The dishes, do bring an appetite or share, especially if you're traveling and coming here, do share because there's no way you can finish a plate by yourself. These plates are huge!! There's carbs with carbs and more carbs to finish it off. The hummus is delish and fresh, the potatoes just so good and the meats, depending what you get will be pretty flavorful. The combo shawarma plate comes with a ton of chicken and beef. Chicken did turn out to be better than the beef. We also had a strawberry banana shake of sorts which was really yummy. read more

Sahara Restaurant - Chicken beef combo shawarma plate with rice - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

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I can't say enough about Sahara. Their food is great and they are great people. My family comes to Sahara every time we come to Dearborn to visit my son who attends UMich Dearborn. We even get the sampler plate to go when we don't have time to eat in. Their baba ganoush is the best i have tasted. Their fresh warm bread is the perfect complement to the meal and i warn you, you cant stop eating them. Their location is unassuming but clean and friendly. Give them a try, you wont be disappointed. read more

Fantastic experience at Sahara. Wonderful tasting large portioned Lebanese cuisine that will leave you full and satisfied.

This place has the best food. Service is fast. And I always have food to take home. Sam is the best.

Ate here this past Saturday and both the service and the food were top notch. We are gluten free and all was great.

Absolutely phenomenal service and the food is the best in town. It was my boys' first time trying chicken shawarma sandwiches. They couldn't stop complimenting how good it was, and they ate it up quick! It was a very busy Friday evening, and I had left without grabbing part of my takeout order. I called to let them know, and Sam sent a guy to my house to deliver it! I even offered to come back and get it, but he insisted. Just goes to show that these guys really care for their customers. I've been here many times before, and this is just one example of how their excellent service compliments their amazing food! read more

Food was great overall, could have been cleaner inside, a bit dingy. Service was good as well.

Place was not busy at lunch time. Ordered the fresh lemonade, very watery and not flavorful. This is a theme. Garlic spread was thin and not flavorful. Ordered the Ghalaba with Lamb. That is correct, no Lamb at all Mediterranean restaurant! Got the beef which was not good grade meat and the Ghalaba was not flavorful. Sorry I do not recommend as I will not be back read more

The best garlic spread I've had since the old La Shish in the early 2000s. My family used to love them because of their unique recipes for shawarma, the best pickles, and garlic spread. This place is even better in my opinion. The staff are incredibly friendly and they have fast service. The price is super affordable as well. Whenever I come to town I'll be dining at Sahara! read more

Sahara Restaurant - Chicken shawarma - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

I went there for a huge basketball party. The food was excellent. Chicken and beef dishes with lamb and rice was superb. The hummus was first rate. The Fries were very well done and scrumptious. Fatoosh salad, get outs of here! Overall a very nice experience and the service was exceptional. Go there! Great food! Good service read more

A+ plus food. Sam is amazing !! Love there garlic there hummus. Good food. I recommend this restaurant ! read more

The BEST garlic dip and pita bread I ever had! Came all the way from VA to have some Mediterranean food and this place was amazing. Not only was the food fantastic the service was excellent and the staff super friendly! 1000/10 would recommend! read more

Sahara Restaurant - Combo Shawarma Plate - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

Food was delicious and reasonably priced. Best garlic sauce . Always great service, highly recommend

Easy parking good location however it's not on main street it's 20 yards in so you may miss it. Good service friendly people. Bread one of them was burned a little bit, lamb chop was good but I had better in five stars restaurants. Baba ghanouj is definitely the bomb and the star of this restaurant. Rice was decent I am more of a Biryani rice person nowadays. I couldn't decide if I give it four or five stars however the greetings coming in and leaving the place of the server made me give them five. read more

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this is my 2nd time coming here. so many ppl rave about it, so I had to try it again. To me, there are some good things and some disappointing things that I had. I always order fattoush at a Middle Eastern restaurant, both times I hated the dressing. I think there is zataar in it, I love zataar, but not in dressing. The salad was otherwise very fresh, maybe I would ask for olive oil and lemon if I got it again. The shish combo was plentiful and not over-cooked (I think the chicken was actually a bit undercooked actually), the fries were good and I liked the garlic sauce. On the previous visit, we had the same issue with the salad, the hummus was bland, but the chicken Shawarma sandwich was hefty and delicious. The people working are friendly, I think maybe the owner was working the counter, very friendly and seemed to know many of the customers by name, as they must have a good following. The menu is very hit or miss for me. Never dined in, just took take out home. read more

Sahara Restaurant - fattoush and shish kabob combo - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

They deliver!!! I've ordered from Sahara several times throughout COVID but was already a huge fan previous to the pandemic. I've done pickup and delivery several times. The food is always fresh, hot and plentiful. My favorite thing to order is the full deboned chicken meal, which costs $18 and comes with: six large pieces of grilled chicken, an entire banquet tray of rice, a shareable side of hummus, a fattoush salad, an entire package of pita bread cut into triangles and a hefty side of garlic dip (toum). Y'all!!! This plate has provided meals to four adults on one night with leftovers for two adults for two more nights. It's SO.MUCH.FOOD. And so delicious. The delivery fee is usually $5 and so worth it. I love Sahara. You should definitely check them out. read more

Sahara Restaurant - Sampler! So much food. - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

Don't sleep on the roasted cauliflower!! It's amazing! Great service on a very hot day!

Phenomenal simply put. I had the chicken swarma lunch portion and it was amazing. The pita bread is so fresh that you got flour on your hands. The garlic butter adds to the taste of the tender chicken and fresh hummus. The Mediterranean salad was a little watery, but still tasted amazing. The portions were so big you could probably split between two light eaters. The service was friendly and helped navigate the best things on the menu. The ambience was nice and small. Not a fancy restaurant but very clean and nice. If you haven't visited, you won't regret giving this place a try. read more

Sahara Restaurant - Chicken swarma lunch starters: fresh pita, hummus, Mediterranean salad, and garlic butter. - Middle Eastern Near Me - Dearborn, Michigan

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HOLY SMOKES. If yall want a KICKASS chicken shawarma in the face- drive by down and get some. Friendly faces in the restaurant- it's also pretty fast. Nothing fancy on the inside but fast food, huhe portions. Even bigger then my bathtub read more

This place deserves the high ratings. Employees were super nice and courteous. The food was delicious. Yelp don't lie and either do I. Eat here! read more

Good portions and friendly service. Lunch special could feed a village and the warm bread freshly baked was so nice.