Located at 6378 Thompson Road in East Syracuse, the Middle Eastern eatery Ali Baba offers a variety…read moreof halal food prepared fresh, from mixed-grill skewers and gyros to chicken shawarma on top of rice or in a sandwich. The restaurant also serves chicken wings and tenders, seasonal soups, tabbouleh, falafel, hummus, and jalapeño poppers, and a couple of its walls are lined with pre-packaged candy. There's also a selection of cakes and smoothies, with flavors of the latter including strawberry, mango pineapple and banana.
Kaib Saleh, who goes by the nickname Adam and runs the restaurant with his brother Shihab and their Jordanian business partner Alaa, says he opened Ali Baba because he likes to share all the different Arabic and Middle Eastern food there is to offer, plus the sweet stuff too. The establishment had converted what was briefly intended to be a smoke shop into the sweets section to give off more of a family-friendly and kid-appropriate atmosphere.
Starting out, the business was meant to be a convenience store with a carry-out deli, but when the owners noticed that people were sitting down to eat at the chairs and tables used for the grand opening, the trio decided to take out the shelves and pay the extra licensing fee to properly turn their place into a sit-down restaurant with takeout and delivery options.
I work in East Syracuse and have driven by Ali Baba every day since it's been opened and thought "I gotta get lunch there one day." I love Mediterranean food, so I decided it was time. I was able to easily order online on their website, and went with the simple chicken over rice combo to try them out.
There's a small parking lot to park in, and this isn't an extremely busy section of the city, so there's always open parking spots. Went in and my food was not ready yet. The girl at the counter didn't tell me my food wasn't ready, just took my name and walked over to ask and then stood waiting for it, but she seemed pretty shy so no big deal. It's very nice inside, not at all what I was expecting, with several tables to sit and eat, and a couple tables outside to eat at as well.
My food was ready about 5-10 minutes after I arrived. I decided to just eat thee at one of the outside tables, as it was a bright sunny day outside. Everything was tasty, although I could've used a little more of the white garlic sauce personally, and it was enough food to feed me twice. Prices were comparable to similar other restaurants in the area.
What I love about the place is that it's open 24/7. I honestly am almost never out late at night, or even near the area other than for work, but I like knowing that if I ever were, there is a place I could go to to get fresh cooked, delicious food at any time, in an age where there are very few late night food establishments open anymore.
I definitely plan to go back and try other stuff.
