Amazing service, delicious food, beautiful atmosphere! They serve authentic Middle Eastern food and…read morethe ambience makes you feel like you are in Palestine. Highly recommend you try!

5 Stars - The best hummus and mint lemonade in Jersey!…read more If you are in Paterson, Al-Basha is an absolute must. We had an incredible spread, but let's talk about that Signature Mint Lemonade first. It's iconic for a reason, bright green, perfectly frozen/blended, and so refreshing that it balances out the rich meal perfectly. We ordered the Falafel Platter, and you can tell they do it the right way here. The falafel was crispy on the outside, light and green on the inside, and not oily at all. When you pair it with their Hummus (which is hands down the creamiest I've ever had, especially with the warm meat and pine nuts on top), it's perfection. The Mix Mashawi (grill platter) was also fantastic, tender lamb and chicken that actually tasted like they came off a real charcoal grill. Great portions, authentic vibes, and the service was super welcoming. I'll be craving that mint drink until I come back!

We ordered a whole range of things including chicken kebab, chicken gyro, tahini cauliflower,…read morelabneh, and hummus. Everything was delicious, but I'll leave the food writing to the Yelpers with more sophisticated palates than I. (Actually, I take that back--the fresh-baked pita was amazing and I would eat it with/for every meal if I could.) The real reason I wanted to leave a review the service, which went above and beyond. Let me start by saying that Al Basha takeout has a wonderfully efficient order-number-based system for managing the hundreds of orders they get on a daily basis. But if, say, the person who placed the order sent you to pick up the food with the wrong order number, you're going to struggle, and that's not the restaurant's fault. With that prelude and without getting into the details, we'll just say there was a user error issue with my order that led to a mix-up and a very late pick-up. Everyone from the Al Basha staff with whom I interacted could not have handled it any better. They were very apologetic, not because they did anything wrong (to be clear, they didn't), but because they were disappointed our meal hadn't gone well and wanted to fix that. The top priority of the manager with whom I dealt was making sure that my wife--it was Mothers' Day--got the best meal possible, and made sure to send me home with fresh bread and a treat for the moms. It was true hospitality, and greatly appreciated. TLDR version: great food, excellent service, out-of-this-world pita, and make darned sure you have the right order number.

So good and honestly always packed but moving like a well oiled machine. They seat you quickly,…read morebring out some pickled foods and bread and take your order asap. GET THE GREEN DRINK omg it's fantastic. They only have street parking and bottled water just fyi. But never had a bad piece of food any time I've been. Highly recommend.

I absolutely love Toros Restaurant. They offer a fantastic lunch special for $20 that includes a…read moremain dish, your choice of salad or soup, and freshly baked bread with a dip of your choice--an incredible value. When I first moved to Jersey, this place came highly recommended, and it quickly became a bit of a habit. For the first six months, I was going almost weekly--and for good reason. The chicken kebab is juicy and full of flavor, the shepherd's salad is a delight, and the lentil soup is comforting and delicious. My absolute favorite, though, is the homemade bread with labneh--truly to die for. The restaurant has a lovely ambiance and feels like a special treat every time. A wonderful spot for anyone looking for excellent Mediterranean/Turkish cuisine.

The place is very beautiful on the inside Unfortunately I…read moredid not make reservations so was forced to sit downstairs in the party room It was fine till a large group came The food was very good not great but good I wish I could give 3 1/2 starts

We went to Abu Rass for the first time the other day. It is unassuming from the outside, but we…read morewere happy we came in to experience the delicious cuisine. Ambiance was nice with folks smoking shisha. All the food we had was delectable and my Egyptian husband gave his stamp of approval, which is not easily granted. We loved the fresh bread, crispy falafel, mint lemonade, hummus and baba ghanoush. Honestly everything was good. Service was also polite and attentive. We will be back inshallah!

Amazing experience and the food was even better! I am in town to serve with City Relief, a local…read morenonprofit. Their leaders took us to Abu Rass for a group dinner. Everything from the first sip of Arabic coffee and to the last sip of post-dinner tea with baklava was incredible. And what a great atmosphere on the Abu Rass patio. We shared the 6 item appetizer assortment and then ate a large family style spread of meats and salads. I didn't order, so no idea what all we enjoyed, but it was all delicious. Everyone in our group of 9 was thoroughly satisfied.

We happened to pass by Nouri's Restaurant on Main Street in Paterson, NJ, and decided to give it a…read moretry--and we're so glad we did. This small restaurant is incredibly clean, welcoming, and well cared for. The service could use a bit more support, but our server was wonderful and worked hard to take care of everyone. The food was outstanding. The half chicken with French fries was absolutely delicious, the babaganoush was extremely fresh, the meat dolma was the best we've had, and the falafel tasted truly fresh and flavorful. The warm bread, made by Nouri Store, was thoughtfully cut and nicely packaged. What impressed us most was how clean and inviting the restaurant felt. If you're looking for a great lunch spot in Paterson, I highly recommend Nouri's Restaurant. We also got complimentary baklava as well. However, you need to try the fresh tea!

Only thing that needs to get better is service. The people aren't very attentive and tables aren't…read morewiped down. Also they have one restroom and the server sat in there for about 5 minutes, while customers waited. They charge gratuity of 12% on a party of four , that was a first for me . The food was pretty good but a bit expensive. I would eat here again but not running back . Food was good overall.

THE GOOD ----------------…read more+ The food and, more specifically, seafood was AMAZINGLY fresh and delicious!!! ++++ Grilled Octopus appetizer with lemon garlic butter was to die for. Octopus was soooooooo tender and the restaurant's signature lemon garlic butter was a perfect compliment to it. ++++ Surf and Turf was, once again, PERFFFFFECT. Order came with a (hugeeee) 12 oz. ribeye and 10 oz. lobster tail. Both were as good as it gets anywhere. ++++ Branzino with rice and fries was excellent! The branzino was extremely bony, as you would expect, but the fish meat was sooooooo good. Rice was very flavorful and the fries were some of the crispiest I've EVER had. ++++ Mint Lemonade was absolutely refreshing. One of the best refresher drinks we've ever had anywhere. + Spacious and bright interior. Bright blue and white walls and floors make you feel like you're actually in the Mediterranean. + Parking lot is right outside of the restaurant and there are 8 spots in total, but it's on a steep slope that leads up to the restaurant entrance. THE NOT SO GOOD ---------------------------- - The waiter was very, verrrry nice, but, for some odd reason, the side of rice for the Branzino came out 30 minutes after the Branzino arrived on the table!!!! This is not an exaggeration. The waiter kept promising it was coming out soon, but it just took longer and longer and longer to arrive till I was already done with my entree. - The restaurant automatically added a service charge of 15% for just the 2 of us. Typically, you see this for large parties, NOT for parties of 2. With that said, we were a bit surprised it was only 15% though considering 18% seems like the minimum these days. MIXED THOUGHTS --------------------------- = Nada. RANDOM OBSERVATIONS -------------------------------------- = Dined here on an early Monday afternoon from 12:15 - 1:45 and only when we were leaving did another party finnnnaaaalllly come in. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves until then. CONCLUSION -------------------- = Bottom line, the food is spectacular here. I don't use that word lightly. Our meal here was as good as we've had in a longgg time.

- Parking lot is conveniently located right out front, though it sits on an odd slope--head uphill…read moreto find the entrance - Spacious restaurant with beachy, seaside vibes, burning incense and Egyptian pop music in the background almost transports you to some place else - Refrigerated display case highlights an impressive selection of fresh seafood - Very quiet on a Monday at lunch--we were the only diners the entire time - Our waiter was very friendly, though service was a bit uneven--entrées arrived separately, and the side of rice didn't come until we were nearly finished - Still the food was AMAZING: Grilled Octopus is a must-order--tender, plump, and served in a sauce so good you'll want to dip your bread to soak up every last drop; Branzino was incredibly fresh and cooked to perfection; Surf and Turf featured enormous portions of both land and sea, all seasoned very well; Mint Lemonade, served slushie-style, was perfectly balanced between sweet and tart and incredibly refreshing - Automatic 15% gratuity and 3% fee if charging your credit card--gotta remember to bring cash next time! - Fun detail: the restroom (at least the ladies') is equipped with a bidet

What a unique place!! We decided to come here on a date night on Friday at the Clifton NJ location…read morearound 6:45pm. I made reservations on RESY and no issue during arrival. The place itself is beautiful and service was prompt and efficient - perhaps too quick. Since it's BYOB I brought a bottle of wine and they had wine glasses on the table already with bottles of water which was nice - not tap. We ordered spicey fries, avocado salad and chicken thighs platter, and spinach pies. The avocado salad was good but heavy on the onions. And the spinach pies were savory. Next time I want to try their borekas and halloumi. The chicken thighs were moist and juicy! We decided to order watermelon mint hookah after dinner which was my favorite part but realized we over stayed past the two hour limit as other tables were waiting, so we got booted out. Only criticism is they should be less transactional and give people time to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Also don't charge $10.00 for water.

I am rarely in New Jersey, but if I ever do frequent it, you can assure that I will have some great…read moreMiddle Eastern food before leaving. I went to Yasmeen with a friend as he said it's one of his favorite restaurants and it did not disappoint. We ordered the calamari to share & salmon. The calamari was good but I believe the portion could've been bigger. The salmon was also great & I loved the white sauce that accompanied albeit my friend wasn't a huge fan. Do note that the sauce is a bit on the sweeter side so it's not for everyone. In addition to the food, we also had the slush lemonade which was refreshing (despite it being 20 degrees outside haha) & the hookah (albeit the employee there didn't seem sure on how to use it for some reason) which was fine. All in all, I can see why Yasmeen is quite popular in that area.

I am not an expert of Turkish food, but I am very familiar with cheese pide (think Turkish pizza)…read more My family are allium-free vegetarians and the cheese pide fits the bill. We moved and it was finally time to try to find our new go-to place for our pide fix and out of the 10+ restaurants in the area that also serve pide... I chose this one. This place is conveniently located on a very central and busy street. It's mostly street parking (good luck) though they do have 2 dedicated spaces in front if you're lucky. It's a cozy place with maybe 4 tables when you walk in - all were full when we got there around 1 pm on a Monday that happened to be a federal holiday - and we were told that there were more seats around the corner. They built an addition - you will be briefly exposed to the outdoors for a few steps - and it's so much more roomier and brighter with more (and larger) tables. It's climate controlled as well. There was only one man manning the front and everyone else is in the kitchen so expect some wait if it's busy and especially if you're in the separate room, but it honestly wasn't that bad for us. We were all given menus (the two adults AND my two young kids) and given sufficient time to peruse. The menu is fairly simple: they specialize in pide and lahmacun. There's a small salad section and beverages but no dessert. Their pide is different from what I'm used to; they have a super long version that is at least 2 feet long (don't quote that; I didn't bring my tape measure) and a round one that is likely around 12 inches in diameter. I focused on the cheese pide section and the drinks and ordered: Kaşarli Pide (mozzarella pide) - this was for my daughter. It is LONG. I'd venture to say it could even be 2-1/2 feet long as the ends were longer than the board it was on. The dough for this is stretched thin so it comes out almost like boat shaped flatbread with an equally thin, but adequate layer of cheese. It's crisp with a chew and is positively delightful. It says mozzarella, but the cheese used in pide always seems to be more and wonderfully three dimensional. Yuvarlak Kaşarli Yumurtali Pide (2 egg and cheese round pide) - I actually wanted the cheese with tomato long pide but I was also intrigued by a circular one so he added in some sliced tomatoes in this as well! We weren't sure how to eat it as the eggs were still mostly raw but we ended up breaking it up and spreading it everywhere and just cutting it like a pizza. It was AMAZING. The dough on this is thicker than the long pide but not very thick either. Not as crispy but does have crispy edges. The combination I got from this was perfection. I can't pinpoint it but it's definitely juicier - whether that be grease, tomato juices, the egg, or all the above - and that made it nice. Very nice. Ayran - we always order ayran when we get pide. This place doesn't make their own, sadly, but it was nice. It's essentially a salty yogurt drink and still hit the spot. Şalgam (fermented turnip juice) - this is completely new to us. I got this because I noticed that almost every Turkish restaurant in the area also offered this as a beverage and adventurous me got curious. They don't make their own so it's bottled and they only have the spicy version (which is the default). This thing is STRONG. It's got an earthy taste to it like beets (but it's mostly made of purple carrots for color and turnips) but it packs a punch like pickle juice and V8. Salty, spicy, earthy, intense... deep flavors. And I LOVED it at first sip. I chugged the first third. It actually reset my stomach enough that I ate more pide, haha. BUT definitely an acquired taste. My husband thought it was okay and let me have most of it. This drink surprisingly contains wheat, so avoid if there's an allergy. Note: my youngest child has multiple food allergies including to wheat and eggs. They don't have a gluten free alternative, unfortunately. There's a sign saying no outside food allowed, but we brought him his pizza and he was perfectly content with that. We never managed to ask the man if it was okay since he was in and out fast, but he didn't question us when he caught a glimpse of the Pyrex. The pide both came with their own pizza cutter wheel for convenience. They also typically come with pickles on the side but we opted out because their pickles contain garlic. I'm supposed to be trying other pide places to give everyone a fair chance, but I've fallen in love with this place. Even my husband who mostly eats to survive... well, he said it was good (which is huge compared to his usual "it's okay"s). They have good service, the pides are stupendous, it's clean (antibacterial wet wipes at every table), single restroom is tidy, and they introduced me to şalgam. I'm thrilled Pide 28 was my first foray into Turkish food in NJ and am looking forward to trying all the cheese pides on their menu in due time.

Great pides We went two times past month and tried almost half of the menu Love the crunchy crust…read moreand fresh ingredients Staff was quick and nice

I know been there few time n I am planning to go bank ther soon…read more Food: great amazing Service: also great Ambience: I'd great too love setting up stairs by the window you can see a lot outside

We used to order from here all the time because the food was tasty with great portions. We usually…read moreget the mixed grill and it would last us a couple of meals each. Went to order today and it costs $12 more since we last ordered. Fine, we decide to press on. Food gets here and the portions are significantly smaller. Easily 1/4 of the rise compared to the previous version and significantly less meat, with gyro meat replaced with raw onions. This won't last more than one night. We're so disappointed and unfortunately won't be ordering again.

If you have not yet been to The Olive Bistro in Little Falls or Clifton, New Jersey, please stop…read morewhat you're doing and fix that immediately. This place is an absolute gem. From the moment you walk in, you're wrapped in warmth--by the people, the culture, and the unmistakable love poured into every single dish. The food? Spectacular doesn't even begin to cover it. Every visit, I either try something new or let them choose for me (which I highly recommend), and without fail, I'm blown away. Not once--not ever--have I been disappointed. Every bite feels thoughtful, soulful, and deeply rooted in tradition. The flavors are rich, comforting, vibrant, and unforgettable. You can taste the care, the history, and the pride behind the food. And the people? Truly some of the warmest, kindest souls you'll meet--welcoming you like family, not customers. I can honestly say I'm being slowly--but very happily--converted. The beautiful food, the incredible hospitality, the culture, the entire experience... it's something special. The Olive Bistro isn't just a meal, it's an experience, and one I crave again and again. Do yourself a favor: go hungry, go curious, and go often. You'll thank me later.

Went on a Thursday night and had a GREAT experience! We started with the hummus- incredibly…read moreseasoned, creamy, and drizzled with olive oil and served with tons of pitas for dipping. Mixed Grill and Chicken Musakh was amazing . Cute interior, good service, and delicious food.