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    YS Mandi Restaurant

    4.4 (93 reviews)

    Order YS Mandi Restaurant Takeout or Delivery

    YS Mandi Restaurant Photos

    YS MANDI RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Classy
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - YS Mandi Restaurant

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    Chicken Shawarma Dish, Tilapia Fillet Platter, and Falafel Salad
    Kat V.

    I had majboos chicken and Biryani chicken long time ago but I still remember a huge portion for spiced rice and juicy chicken. Delicious! Recently I got tilapia fish rice plate. The fish is perfectly seasoned and cooked. Rice is always tasty. I enjoy them with falafels and some chicken shawarma.

    Hummus
    Zakir S.

    easily one of my favorite spots in AZ, whenever we have family in town we make it a point to visit YS Mandi. the food is always sublime, I've never had Yemeni food before but i'm not convinced it's one of my favorite cuisines. the owners are incredibly gracious people-- if you are in/near Tempe, please support this incredible restaurant!!!

    Chicken Mandi
    Tushara S.

    One of the best mandi s I ever had. The food is delicious. I ordered a chicken mandi and a goat mandi, the meat just melted in my mouth. Everything is good about the food but the place is a little dirty. Kinda scared by the way it looked from outside and the interior is ok ok (Had to make a to go because of that). Can't forget how good the food was.

    Goat Meat Kabsah (goat)
    Talha M.

    Amazing!!!! Delicious food and huge portions. Prices are awesome too. Staff is very friendly.

    Traditional dining available
    Terry W.

    For something different, try Yemeni food. That's what they have here. It's familiar if you've had other African and Mediterranean cuisines, but still is uniquely different. (Yes, I know Yemen is not on the Mediterranean, but they do have hummus and shwarma and falafel, and I think the spice palette is similar. The decor is non-existent. Nothing hanging on the walls. But they do have tables, and also an area that appears to be more traditional seating (remove your shoes, sit on the floor with pillows). We didn't see anyone using the traditional area, so we weren't brave enough to go there (and perhaps violate some custom or tradition). Maybe that area is for private parties?? Don't know. But it is there. As others have commented, traditional music streams out of the kitchen area. I didn't understand a word of it, but it does help create the atmosphere of an African or Middle Eastern cafe. I liked it for that reason. American top 40 would have clashed, as it always done when one is in an ethnic restaurant, in my opinion. Kudos to them for keeping it authentic. We ordered chicken mandi and chicken kabob. Both were very nice. Full flavor. Each was served with a seasoned rice. The flavors were very good. Familiar if you've had Middle Eastern cuisine before, yet distinctly different. The portion size was sufficient.

    Mandi Lamb and boneless Chicken Mandi
    Ayesha S.

    I was not familiar with Yemini food and had never tried it before but after eating at YS Mandi, I am a fan! Family owned and serving very delicious dishes! They have tables and chairs in one area and a nice low seating area with cushions in another area. The food can be ordered individually or family style. We ordered Mandi lamb and boneless thigh chicken over rice and it was served family style in a large platter, with a side of yogurt and a side of chutney. The lamb was finger licking good as was the chicken!! Service was very good and the wait time after ordering was not that bad - under 20 min. Everyone in our party of 16 (kids and young adults and us adults) all enjoyed it! Definitely will be back again

    Picture of goat mandi and chicken biryani

    First, I have to mention that their food is delicious. I noticed in other reviews that people mentioned the food from this restaurant reminding them of a home-cooked meal, and I agree with this sentiment. The food was good, and while the service was not outstanding or terrible, it was decent. The ambiance is not very fancy. However, the food is worth the price, which is fair. I tried their chicken biryani and goat mandi; both of these items were very tasty.

    Middle Eastern beverages
    Karen W.

    Aww YS! I love how Tempe is growing to be a community of different backgrounds and cultures, and no greater manifestation of this can be shown by the food that is offered here. I had never had cuisine from Yemen before so I was excited to go on a food journey and try some dishes. The restaurant itself is very nondescript and the overhead signage simply says "Restaurant". The name of the restaurant is plastered on the front glass walls and on a sidewalk sign though. The interior is similarly nondescript, with tables and booths in the front although there does look to be a nice area in the back where people can sit on cushions and eat on a low table. The menu offers various Middle Eastern dishes you will find at other restaurants such as falafel and shawarma but also has a few unique offerings you won't find elsewhere in Tempe. After finding out that fahsa/salteh (Lamb stew) was the national dish of Yemen, I knew I needed to try it out! It arrived scorchingly​ hot, so I needed to wait a bit for it to cool down before trying any. I ended up trying a few bites of falafel, hummus and rice from my husband's plate while I waited. I found the to be hummus smooth and creamy, the falafel crisp on the outside with a good texture and flavor on the inside, and the rice to be soft and well seasoned. The stew was so good; I can see why it would be called the national dish! It was bold and spicy, yet had a comforting homey feel to it from the slow cooked, soft lamb to the thick rustic broth. It was served with some pieces of pita. Note that they don't seem to offer any glasses of water. All the water is by the bottle in 2 drink cases to each side of the counter. There is also a selection of American and Middle Eastern sodas to choose from. When I asked if they offered cups of water the cashier said they did but when the server dropped off our food and I asked for a cup of water he brought me a bottle of water. Our server also neglected to give us any silverware for our meal which I had to remind him to provide to us. Service in general was genial though and we were checked up on as needed. That lamb stew was so good I'd definitely be back to try more Yemen style cuisine. In my opinion, definitely say Yes to YS!

    Goat Mandi
    Abir L.

    A quick update after about 2 years of my first review. The smell of great food hits you as soon as you walk in. You can order at the cashier or at the table. The food came out super fresh and super delicious. Traditional music was playing the whole time which was cool. I love going to ME places especially Mandi restaurants; they remind me so much of Dubai! This was a great experience. I'm glad we came here for lunch today! So yummy! Isn't it great when you find food from Yemen all the way in the valley? I sure felt glad! Having lived in Dubai all my life, I grew up fond of this kind of food, Mandi, Mathbi, Madfoon, Bukhari, etc. Yemeni and Saudi food in Dubai was and still is very popular and is known for delicious taste, huge portions, and very reasonable (sometimes even cheap) prices. We were referred to this restaurant by a family member. Not sure how she found out about it bcz she never tried it so far but we, my husband and I, decided to give it a shot and head there. We arrived at around 12:45pm. We expected to find some people when we walked in but it was empty. Not a problem. The first thing that I would say is probably the only major negative in this place is the smell. My husband was about to take me some where else bcz I was getting uncomfortable. As you walk in, you are hit with a strong smell of cleaning chemicals that do not smell good at all. I am not sure what the reason is but I decided to just ignore the smell and order and go in as soon as possible bcz the smell was mostly only at the entrance. I ordered the goat mandi and my husband ordered the lamb with rice dish. We were asked to pick a seat either on the table or in the traditional Arabic section and they would bring out the food. We also were offered to get our drinks from the fridge. We decided to sit in the Arabic Jalsa area since there was no one there. The food came out in a reasonable time - about 10 min and it looked great. The meat was in the center of the dish with some browned onions on top, both dishes looked very inviting. The food was served with a lime wedge, some cucumber yogurt and a green chili sauce on the side. We dug in and the food was delicious! I was so glad at that point that my husband did not insist on making us leave and that I was able to survive the entrance and try this good food. The meat was delicious and very tender and the rice was cooked to perfection. Portion size as always in these restaurants was just right. Having not had breakfast, I finished my dish and of course my husband did too. After eating this great meal we left feeling drowsy lool, a typical feeling after you have such a good big rice meal We paid at the entrance just before we left and the price was $39 for 2 dishes and 2 drinks. Slightly on the expensive side but not too bad. I hope they will find a solution for the smell in this place because the food and the service are so good, it would be a shame if ppl decide not to come in because of that.

    Lamb Meat Mandi with salad instead of rice

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Very good food, so good that my picky eater (toddler) who eats less than 10 types of food ask for their rice everyday. Highly recommended.

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    9 years ago

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    3 years ago

    They offer the best mandi and kibseh in the US. However they can work on the interior decorations more.

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    5 years ago

    My favorite place to hit every time I'm in tempe. Can't beat their scrumptious lamb mandi plate and free serving of aromatic tea.

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Always a go-to place for fresh tasty food and good service. The free tea is sooo yummy so well.

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    6 years ago

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    Ask the Community - YS Mandi Restaurant

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    I damariel deem this Mediterranean restaurant the best in arizona!! There chicken swarma is…read moreunmatched chicken taste marinated a day I advance and it cooked all the way thru to prefection. The saffron rice is undefeated!!! You can literally eat the rice by it's self man!!! God!!! This place is the best! There Greek salad is the best Greek salad I had in my life ask for extra olives and cheese I promise you and the dressing that goes with the Greek salad ask for extra!! I have had everything on the menu!! This place is super clean and chill it's owned my a beautiful family!! The service has always been amazing the food is not such a long wait!! I miss when it was a full restaurant I hope they open a bigger location the world needs it's I damariel cotton guarantee satisfaction here!! I bet momma you not leaving with your socks!!!

    Stopped by Wessen Int'l Kitchen for some takeout last month. I am always in the mood for…read moremediterranean and the Yelp reviews raved about them so I didn't need much convincing! The dining space itself is small, with a few tables. It is definitely not the spot for group dining, but they do seem to have large family style offerings, so takeout seems like a solid choice for larger groups! You can tell they are popular, as they had a good flow of guests coming in and out. The dining space was a bit messy, not the restaurant as much as just trash from leftover guests, though that could be due to the traffic, but definitely noticeable. I ordered a classic gyro, greek fries, tabouli salad and baklava. The price point is extremely reasonable and it was plenty filling with leftovers. The food itself took quite a bit to get out, but again traffic and the staff was kind enough to give us some dolma for our long wait time. Everything I tried was really good, I haven't had dolma before and I would most definitely get it again, theirs was delicious! The value and quality is definitely there and I will most definitely be adding them to my rotating takeout list. I would consider dining in again as well, but find them better suited for my grab and go needs.

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    Either Yelp is messing with my mind, or somehow I have managed to never write a review for one of…read moremy favorite places to get takeout near me. I was fairly sure I had given this place 5 stars in the past, and posted photos. But alas, I don't see a review from me. So here it is... 5 stars! I'm sorry that I don't even have pictures, usually we just get the food To Go and bring it home, then get to eating. I love their hummus, it's so creamy and smooth! We generally order the combo plate with kabobs of grilled chicken pieces, ground chicken, and beef/lamb. This comes with delicious basmati rice, small salad, grilled onion & tomatoes, hummus, and a piece of pita bread. I also like to try a different item each time and I think the pecan baklava is awesome so I usually get that too. We've been coming here for years, I think we ate inside the restaurant just once or twice. It's clean and plenty of seating and the staff are friendly. Next time I'll take pictures and post them. I'll definitely be coming back.

    This place has so many options and everything I tried was really good! Serving authentic Arab food…read moreyou can get everything you've ever dreamed of here! From pizza to shawarmas to rice plates and more. Definitely a must check out spot for a more lowkey cozy feel with amazing taste! They also have a wide array of drink options in that fridge and make sure to check it out!! The cardamom karak chai in there was so good I dream about it. That and the labneh zaatar bread!

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    This is my second time leaving this review - im not sure if my first one was deleted or what but it…read moreis important the business owner knows so they can correct: I want to be clear this review is SERVICE and EXPERIENCE based and NOT based on the food itself. I am an uber driver who was dispatched to this location on 1/24/26 at 2:06am. When I arrived the doors were locked and nobody was inside. I checked the business hours online and it says they're open until 3am. I called the restaurant, no answer. I then had to cancel the order due to the business hours being incorrect, which counts against our cancellation rating even though it's not our fault for cancel. Uber looks up the business hours online and if it says they're open online - they ding US (even though they weren't *actually* open)! After so many times of this we risk our accounts being deactivated, which directly impacts my income - at no fault of mine. I am willing to edit my review with acknowledgement from the business owner that their hours will either be changed online - or assurance that their business will be staffed during business hours. If not - I believe this review should stay as a message to future customers, to let them know that they may end up driving across town on any given night just to be met with locked doors during active business hours :(

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    Chicken Shawarma Bowl

    Shawarma Factory - Beef Shawarma wrap

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    4.0(83 reviews)
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    The best middle eastern food on tempe. Great options to choose from the menu and they taste amazingread more

    FEAR FACTOR-Y I fear…read moreif you come here, you might not like it. Stopped in around 11pm on a Sunday night because it was one of the only places in the area that was open if you didn't choose to go with fast food. It was busy with customers at that time of night, surprisingly, maybe due to the fact they cornered the late-night eatery niche. The gentlemen taking the order was friendly. But I don't know if they were caught at a bad time because they were not prepared for the influx of customers. The worker could not even take an order for 15 minutes because they were backed up trying to cook and finish existing orders. The worker did let the crowd know that it would take a while before we could order. Once we ordered, then it took another 20 minutes to get the food. Was it worth the wait? No, sorry. SHAWARMA FRIES- They must have been using old oil, fries were a dark and unpleasant grease bombs. The meat in shawarma was not great. To me it lacked the spices and seasoning and was underwhelming. It was basically Carne Asada without spices. All it was was meat and fries which came with a cream sauce on the side. It could have used some tomato or greens or pickled veg to brighten up dish. It was just heavy and greasy and one-note. I would not order this again. FALAFELS were much the same. Dark and almost burnt, crunchy, hockey pucks, except they were ring-shaped, I think to allow an efficient, even cook, so why were they over-cooked? HUMMUS was pretty decent, creamy and smooth, I wouldn't mind buying this by the cup. It's a shame that the pita bread was so generic, it did not do the hummus justice. The rice also tasted generic. Nothing really felt authentic here. The place needs some detail cleaning really badly. There is dust all over the furniture and decor and it was unappetizing. The bathrooms smelled like a hobo encampment. The tidiness was scary. The friendly staff and hummus is all they really had going for them on my visit. It would be hard for me to comeback unless they really do an overhaul of their restaurant.

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    YS Mandi Restaurant - mideastern - Updated May 2026

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