Stone House

My husband and I happened upon Stone House in a happy accident and we are so glad we did! This is a small Yemeni restaurant that outdoes itself with phenomenal traditional food and the most welcoming service one could ever want. It is a tiny place that features traditional textiles and clothing as decor. You can dine in traditional mini rooms with comfortable cushions on the floor and curtains should you wish to draw them or you can dine with western style tables and chairs. For the rooms they place a disposable table cloth on the floor and food is served atop that. Yemeni music plays at a comfortable volume and is incredibly soothing and perfect for ambiance whilst still permitting easy conversation. On our first visit we both got lamb dishes with traditional seasonings but prepared very differently. Mine came literally bubbling in a heavy clay bowl and had shredded stewed lamb in a sauce made with vegetables. My husband opted for a dish with roasted diced lamb and vegetables with traditional seasoning. Both came with enormous flatbread fresh from the tandoori. The bread is served on a handwoven large circular tray and initially is puffed up with steam like a roti. As it cools the thinner bits get a crisp cracker like texture. We tore off bits and used them to eat although they do provide silverware. The entrees are complimented by the house made sauces: a tangy stone house sauce, a fabulously flavourful garlic sauce, and a Yemeni version of salsa for adding kick to your meal. Our taste buds were in ecstasy! Sodas are available in cans and they also have salted and sweet yogurt beverages in bottles. I opted for the red tea which is a sweetened black tea flavored with cardamon and clove. It comes as a tea service on a silver tray with tea glasses and saucers and is delicious and feels opulent.On our second visit my husband got lamb mendi which is an underground roasted lamb that is falling apart tender and succulent. It arrived atop a bed of delicious seasoned rice. I chose the salmon which is 30 minute wait and well worth every moment. The salmon is moist and perfectly cooked but has a lovely seared spice layer on the top along with slivered fruits and nuts. This is served with your choice of rice or bread. Phenomenal is an understatement for this absolute gem of a restaurant. If you have room for dessert you NEED to try the arika! It is an incredibly rich decadent dessert that is unlike anything we have ever tried before. It is a layered dish consisting of a moist bread with a texture similar to bread pudding (but slightly lighter) with date paste, a sweet cream, and drizzled with flavourful Yemeni honey. The entire thing is dusted with black seeds that I think might be black cumin?It absolutely dances on the taste buds. My husband took one bite and commented that having tasted it he could now die happy. The entire overall experience is peak culinary joy! You NEED to dine at the Stone House.

I have always wanted to try this out. Never had Yemenis food. We are always open to try new cuisine. The food and service brought us to Yemen! Our server Ahmed made us feel very comfortable and patient with all our questions. I already have Stone house plate in mind before coming in. Ahmed warn us it will be a lot! And it was! We are very happy to try different things, bursting flavors in our palate. Our picky eater lil monster had a blast too, and ate a lot.We couldn't choose a favorite , they were all good Stone house plate consist of at least 5 different meats (chicken, lamb) Im sorry if i do not remember the names but they were all so tender, juicy and flavorful. This is paired with flavorful rice full of fresh spices, freshly bake bread and fresh salad makes the whole experience wonderful!The dipping sauces also adds much to the experience.I love the appetizer, the soup and Sambosa was delish!We also tried their soda Vimto! Reminds me of root beer and we like it too!Thank you for amazing service and food! We will be back! Only thing we wish was to also try Yemenis Dessert lol maybe next time.Give yourself a favor and try it out. All freshly made. Eat local.

Lamb Mendi & Rice: 8.4/10, we loved it. If we hadn't also ordered the next dish, it might have been a full 10/10. Lamb was flavorful, juicy, well seasoned, and set atop a bed of perfectly cooked rice. Paired with their house made Stone Sauce, the dish did not stand a chance. Handith Chicken & Rice: 10/10. This was delicious. Again, flavorful, juicy, well seasoned. I rated this higher than the lamb dish because it was a truly stellar dish that packed a punch. The meat is falling off the bone, yall. So tender. I have no complaints. (These dishes are each large enough to be shared between two people.. or don't. I wouldn't blame you.) Bread: for my Latinos, this must be the cousin of the flour tortilla. It was delicious, well baked, easy to rip, had a good flakiness. Sauces: we had our choice of three sauces--- garlic sauce, Stone sauce, and a third spicy sauce that almost sent me in search of the nearest box of tissues. I can't handle spice but it was very good. Delicious, 8/10. Service was friendly, with the staff attentive to our needs and ready to jump in to check when needed. It was a clean, quiet place. Loved the curtains above each stall for added privacy when eating-- absolutely needed. Definitely check them out, we will be back soon!

First time here and first time trying Yemeni food and it was a success! My son stops here occasionally and recommended it. If you are looking for something different, this is it but not too different to try though! We had the amending chicken and the Yemeni bread while my son had the Mendith chicken and we enjoyed all of it. The bread was perfect for the food and everything was quick and hot!A nice surprise!

If you like to try new food styles Stone House is for you! Tried lamb fish dishes and both were good, lamb was a table favorite. Bread was huge and fantastic(great for eating the sauces). Service was very friendly and waiter will help you steer through unfamiliar menus items. Ambiance is simple but pleasant. Yemeni tea and coffee were both very different than I was expecting but loved them both. Definitely go back,to many dishes still to try.

Back again to celebrate a bday we got the mega stone house plate and it did not disappoint. So much food amazing everything was just so flavorful our party of 7 could not stop talking about how good the food was. This restaurant is truly Bakersfields hidden gem.

Not only did the Fahsah taste incredible and stayed piping hot the entire meal, the bread was delicious and generous portions. The service was excellent with great recommendations given. This is a new hidden gem in Bakersfield and we can't wait to go back again!

We were just driving past Bakersfield and needed to stop for lunch. I found Stone House on Yelp and it did not disappoint!! Great food, cute place, and amazingly friendly service! I had the Mendi Chicken and it was huge, definitely enough to share. Husband had the Lamb Hanith. It was also huge enough for two to share. We both loved our meals! We'll plan on stopping in again anytime we're passing by Bakersfield on a road trip again!

Tried this new Yemen establishment today and so happy we stumbled on it. The service was great, provided perfect recommendations and very friendly. The food was delicious with different spices that pleased the palate. We had a lamb dish and a chicken and rice dish. They served flatbtread on the side and we had a slice of Yemen flaky bread drizzled with honey for dessert. The dessert was like a flaky sopapilla. Loved it and can't wait to go back and try something else. Portions are huge!

About time Bakersfield got a Yemeni restaurant with such a large and active Yemeni community here! The service was great and they even had floor seating private booths with curtains. Everything we had was amazing. The maraq was seasoned perfectly and piping hot (I would suggest using a different bowl though because they had a metallic taste). The aseed was soft and fluffy and stayed hot for a long time. Don't get me started on the sambusa! The dough was so crispy and thin with flavorful beef filling. I highly recommend the mango juice as well. I can't wait to go back and try more things!