The Most Delectable Middle Eastern in Dallas

Maya's Modern Mediterranean

★★★★☆ 4.4 (322) • $$

"Having passed by Maya's regularly for several year I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. Located in Casa Linda Shopping Center, Maya's offerers its owner's own take on Mediterranean cuisine. I had the beef plate with a generous serving, delicately seasoned. Tabbouleh and babaganoush were the sides. I also got an order of falafel with tzatziki sauce. One pita was included. My friend had the roast chicken pita and cauliflower rice. Everything was delicious and filling. Service was helpful and patient carefully explaining to menu items to my friend, a first- timer to Mediterranean food. Ambience is basic and non pretentious. Outside seating looked comfortable and perfect for some Texas days. Maya's Modern Mediterranean is a small gem and worthy of its reputation. Certainly worth a second (and third) visit."

Bilad Restaurant & Bakery

★★★★☆ 4.1 (126) • $

"Great food and great price-portion ratio! Would come again. Line and wait time is long and the chances of getting a seat inside is rare depending on time of day."

Aderet

★★★★☆ 4.3 (68) • $$

"I finally got to try the food and I really enjoyed the Israeli salad, schnitzel, onion rings, grilled chicken skewers, hummus and falafels. The restaurant had all tables full around 7pm and you can seat yourself. The cashier wasn't the most friendly but the food was two thumbs up. This seems to be a family owned authentically kosher restaurant.They are closed on Saturday and do not take orders maybe 15 mins before close (8:30). I came by here four times in two weeks because I enjoyed it so much!"

Food From Galilee

★★★★☆ 4.3 (176) • $

"Lovely. Elegant. Familiar. Nestled in Snider Plaza is this subtle gem. How did I miss it? So cozy. The atmosphere is welcoming and a table is warmly waiting for you. Gentle flavors, smiles and repeat customers grace refill this space. Yelp reviews drew me in. It's good isn't it. Cozy home kitchen table experience and bring a friend."

Grand Cafe

★★★★★ 4.5 (161) • $

"Loved it! The owner was at the grill making dinner. He's been working at this location for over 24 years! The owner recommended the platter - and the price is one of the best you will find for the portion size / quality in DFW. The soup is strongly recommended - I can see it quickly becoming a winter favorite. Plenty of spice that grows in flavor as you reach the bottom of the bowl. The hummus was spot on - really well made with the Kofta kebab having a great balance of spice and char from the grill. This is very much a family run operation where you can't help but feel welcomed in for a home cooked meal. Very casual atmosphere - perfect for lunch, dinner, or takeout/delivery."

Sultan

★★★★★ 4.6 (228) • $$

"We were going to the Heard Museum for Halloween and stopped here along the way. The wife identified this place on Yelp and what a wonderful find! This restaurant is outstanding in every respect. Truly an excellent experience and worthy of more than 5 stars. If we lived closer, we would be here once a week. The interior is very attractive and gives a homey vibe. There are definite signs of a Middle Eastern restaurant but it is not gaudy or overdone.Service was excellent. We were seated and the waiter appeared shortly thereafter. His English was perfect and his demeanor was gracious and polite. Throughout the meal it was easy to get his attention for something we needed. The food is stupendous. Beyond outstanding. Beyond amazing. Beyond "awesome" (the most overused word in the English language). It was nothing short of stupendous. We started with the trio appetizer, which is three dips: roasted red pepper (the menu says spicy but it is not really spicy); hummus; and the eggplant dip that I can never spell correctly, but the one that starts with a "bag". You know what I mean. All three dips were excellent, and they came with a type of Syrian bread that I had never seen before. It was hot and went perfectly with all three dips. I had the shish taouk which is seasoned cubes of chicken breast. Oh my gosh, it was the best I ever had. By far. The chicken was very flavorful, so tender, so moist, so utterly delicious. It came with delicious rice, all served on very attractive tableware. At $23, my first impression was that it was a bit pricey but after eating it, the quality and even quantity was worth every penny. The wife had the lamb shank and she loved it. The lamb was cooked to perfection, very tender and moist. It was high quality lamb. I am not a lamb person but I tried a bite and the meat did not have the strong flavor that you sometimes get with lamb. The price was $30 which I thought was high but again, the quality was worth it. It came with the same rice as I had, plus some bean soup. Everything was absolutely delicious. The portion was so large that the wife took it home and got two lunches for the week. This restaurant is quite a drive for us or I would return the day after. We are definitely going back and I hope it will be soon. This restaurant is an absolute gem. The wife and I joked that we should move to Allen just to be close to this restaurant."

Shawarma Press

★★★★☆ 3.7 (31)

"I found this place while getting gas across the street. My son spotted it and wanted to give them a try. When we walked in we were greeted by a guy who seemed to be the owner. He showed us the menu and there were so many delicious options to choose from on the menu, but my son was set on the falafel sandwich that was advertised on the front window. He placed his order at the counter and sat in the dining area to wait for it.The dining area was clean and brightly colored in hues of orange and white. There were bar height tables off to one side and a bar table overlooking the parking lot. There were some other lower tables with booth seating on one side and chairs on the other in addition to some tables in the middle of the dining area. The food is very decently priced and you get a generous amount. The falafel wrap was super hot and crispy! My son said he throughly enjoyed eating it and is looking forward to his next visit, so yeah, we are going to return!"

Ariana Cuisine

★★★★★ 4.7 (47)

"We stopped here on a whim, as we cruised Lower Greenville, looking for something different, something new to eat.The exterior of Ariana didn't really leap out at us; but the idea of Homestyle Afghan food did. The interior of Ariana has been spruced up; but it didn't strike me as somewhere to dine in. It was cold temperature wise and the subway tiles and the one lone metal table with four metal chairs didn't help warm it up. The low slung couches against the wall with low tables in front didn't work for us either. So, "to go" it was, as the menu seemed to be amazing.The afternoon we were there it was the Chef Mother and her Daughter running the show. Most food was cooked to order it seemed with the front handled by her oldest. Frankly, I had to lean in to what I already knew about Middle Eastern food to ask intelligent questions about the menu; but it was still a little difficult to grasp the flavor profile from the daughter.Although they call the well seasoned and flavorful Qorma sauce "curry," it's not like any curry that I've had to date. My husband's Chicken Qorma was wonderful braised dark meat chunks (with a rare bone chip or joint piece) in a deep red tomato sauce that was rich and a little oily. The rice was perfect. The accompanying salad was uninspiring and undressed.We ordered these terrific ground beef stuffed dumplings to share called Mantu Dumplings. Shaped similarly to a tortellini, they were steamed and topped with lentils in a savory tomato sauce. There was a tzatziki type sauce with the 7 of them and they were absolutely delicious.I eventually decided on the Chapli Kabab. Since our order was to go, every box or dish was really a surprise, as we had no expectations. The Chapli Kabab turned out to be two grilled patties that were spicy, tender and so very good. They came with a small mound of very tasty fries, the same, but limper, uninspiring salad and two sauces - a thin spicy vinegary sauce that we didn't care for and a bland cilantro sauce. The Chapli Kabab also came with what I think was Afghan Naan. Actually, I Googled everything we ordered, and more from the Ariana menu, after we got home to see what we were eating for sure. The Naan was not like Indian Naan. This was BREAD. It had thick edges like a pizza, and was chewy and dense. I read about what you are supposed to do with it to eat it and it's purpose is very similar to Indian naan, so my husband tried some with his curry. Very. Chewy.The end result was that we liked all the flavors and the moderate prices. The food was generally well prepared and it traveled well. The online menu certainly has piqued our interest and we'll definitely be back."

Arash Persian Grill

★★★★★ 4.9 (7)

"As a Houston native living in the DFW area, one of the few restaurants we always try to hit up when we go to Houston is Avesta. There are certain circumstances that make me hold this restaurant in high regard, but one thing that stands out the most is the outstanding food.I was absolutely shocked when I heard that they were more or less opening up a satellite location. I believe it is Avesta's owner's brother who is responsible for bringing Arash to our area.So my family bee-lined to Arash, and sure enough, the menus were quite similar. But, i'll just cut to the chase:Hummus - The best hummus i've ever had was at Avesta, and it looks like they brought the recipe with them. This is superb.Toum - Also delicious. Perfect pairing to... just about anything.Chicken Sultani - The chicken chenjeh is the star here. The first time I had it in Houston, I could not understand how the chicken came out so tender and juicy. The koobideh that came with it was also perfect. The proteins came out piping hot on a huge bed of rice. This was more than enough for me to share with my daughter, and to have leftovers.Impossible Koobideh - My wife was pleasantly surprised to see a vegetarian version of the kebab, and it was delicious. This also was served on a massive bed of rice, and came with a side of grilled veggies.Now, here is the only bad part of the meal, and I thought very long and hard to determine whether or not this was enough to deduct a full star, and ultimately decided it wasn't, despite how flabbergasted I was when the server dropped off this dish:The Fried Cauliflower - Oh, man, what a small and pitiful appetizer. Every other restaurant i've ever had this, the plate came out piled high with freshly fried and perfectly seasoned cauliflower. The plate we were presented with had a scant 6 pieces of room temperature limp cauliflower that was not even seasoned. The picture on the website shows a plate full, with some garnishes of onion, and some type of dipping sauce. None of those held true. In hindsight, I should have sent this back. All in all, Arash is ABSOLUTELY worth the visit. Just avoid ordering the cauliflower. It's $9 for a plate of disappointment."

Fadi's Mediterranean Grill

★★★★☆ 3.9 (628) • $$

"Imagine your favorite cafeteria line, only Mediterranean and it's meat and three, and that's my best description of Fadi's. Located in a busy newish plaza, I was totally unprepared for the wonders inside. I chose baba ganoush, Greek salad, and root vegetables paired with a sauced chicken and the whole thing was amazing. I realized too late I probably should have chose falafel because that's something I don't get at home; or just all veggie sides because they were so amazing. I also failed to add a dessert to take home, but now I have a plan for the next time I am in Dallas, right?I consider this a must-visit."

Kasra Persian Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.7 (232) • $$

"I can't believe I forgot to post this review.I visited this restaurant about 2 - 2 1/2 weeks ago. The staff were very nice. I was greeted by a young lady upon entering & gentleman helped me after receiving my to go order. Made sure I had cutlery & was just pleasant overall. The restaurant itself is beautiful!AS FOR THE MEAL - I believe I ordered the Tender Beef Kabob. I can taste it right now. The kabob, bismati saffron rice , the flame grilled tomato, the mint...So fresh, the seasoning, the temperature... it just oozed flavor and is a very good size portion. I can't wait to come back & bring my cousin so we can dine in. I highly recommend."

Halal Cuts

★★★★★ 4.5 (40)

"Honestly, I thought this was just a butcher shop with Halal cuts when I was passing by. However, they actually have a lil restaurant inside too. Not gonna lie - they serve really good Halal Mexican food. My husband & I ordered birria tacos & a smoked jerk chicken taco bowl, & they didn't disappoint! The food was made fresh to order, & the spices were just right - hot, yet full of flavor. Staff were also nice too. Will definitely order from here again."

BBQ Guys Plano

★★★★☆ 3.5 (23)

"Note: the very first time we ordered delivery and it was not nearly as good. We have eaten there a lot since then, so I am going to write it off as a fluke due the delivery service.We've had a lot of grilled food and eaten a fair amount of food from the region. This was delicious. If you don't see it on the menu, feel free to ask.Their roasted/grilled chicken is delicious. On a good day it is some of the best chicken I have ever had.Our current favorite combination (we eat at the restaurant):- Lentil soup for both of us- Share a whole roasted/grilled chicken- Fatoosh salad on the side (they might have a different name for it, that's the name I know :-) )- Sometimes we get Baba Ghanoush, but that's always too much food- Mint teaThe staff are warm and gracious people."

Albaghdady Bakery

★★★★☆ 3.7 (15)

"Food: 5 out 5 - Lady finger is a must.Everything we ordered were delicious.Service: Very helpful and nice.It's a small store for Togo."

Albaghdady

★★★★☆ 4.1 (107) • $$

"It was OK. We saw an art in Dallas Magazine. Iraqi burger was the featured item. It is what I ordered and it was good. Not OMG good but okThe place is very clean and interesting. The service was a bit slow"

Naf Naf Grill - McKinney

★★★★☆ 4.2 (67) • $$

"We went for the first time this week and were pleasantly surprised. Food was great! We'll be back."

Fadi's Mediterranean Grill

★★★★☆ 4 (656) • $$

"Wonderful kebabs. Wish there was table service. Frankly a more enjoyable experience than one of their high-end competitors nearby in The Star."

Madina Market

★★★★☆ 4.3 (20)

"They have a restaurant in the back that serves shawarma and other Middle Eastern food. The portions are huge for what you pay for. They have beef and chicken spinning on a spit in the back. We got the beef shawarma and the lamb mandi. Both were seasoned pretty well with lots of rice and a side salad. The beef was a little dry and could've been crispier but still pretty good. You could easily split one meal between two people or save it for later.There's a couple tables to eat at but pretty limited. Service is friendly."

Samad Cafe

★★★★★ 4.6 (77) • $

"This rap is Ew.Let me tell you of the best Persian I've HADHipsters haven't found it, or it would be a FADOther place cost a lot, some are really BADI'd rather go to England and eat with my Persian DADI like to go on facebook and random ADDGirls from BAGHDAD and RIYADHMafia wives and the gf of a TRIADYour sister, mother, and your GRANDDADRecently I added this UNDERGRADDoing a semester in LENINGRADShe was trying to post a Backpage ADBut her listing came up as CHADI told her to stop being so SADCause Backpage Chad would be her LAUNCH PADBut before she left for Africa, I made her GLADBy taking her out for Persian at SAMADAngelina once got food here for BRADNickelback came here and it really pleased CHADWatch out cuz the red stews stain like MADWill leave your shirt and napkins looking like a used PADSee? Ew.Get it? Pad. See? Ew.What to get: Whatever the daily special isWhat not to get: Whatever the daily special isn'tThat seems simple enough: So do youI said to my Dallas gf: So are you living in a new place now, or are you at the Samad-dress? I only ask because if you like, I'll pick you up and take you to the cutest little homemade Persian food place (that's Iran to all of you terrorist haters) (I'm Iranian so I'm allowed to say that) (we're not actually terrorists at all) (it's a lie to justify the invasion and pillaging and demonizing of an entire region) (so I'm really just making fun of you) (but anyway on with the review).Samad. Interesting. Friendly AF. Cheap like your ma was last night on the corner. Barbie says it's a weird little place with interesting decor, but the food is perfect. I really liked it too.I love Persian food and it's so nice to find a place that isn't pretentious and expensive serving home-cooked Persian food. It's sort of like Darband (Houston) in the sense of authenticity and dirt cheap prices, but totally different in terms of decor and size and popularity and products and service. Nevertheless, these 2 cheap Persian places in Texas are the best 2 Persian meals I've had in the state, and 2 of the very best in North America.Samad is a blast from the past. The Persian past, if you like. They only have one dish per day and it's always very good. Sort of like a soul food cafe where they make one thing a day and everyone orders it. Except it's Persian.The guy here is ridiculously friendly, and his products are really well-priced. It was only $9 each for dishes that filled both of us up. He brought us water in the middle of it and didn't want to take my tip that I gave him. He did the Persian "taruf" thing but was really nice about it. He wouldn't even let me force it on him. So I left it on the table so that he couldn't possibly protest, because we'd be gone by the time he found it.He brought me extra plates so we could share without me even asking him to. We didn't even ask for water and he brought that as well.I hear that Japanese people love this place too. Some of them so much, they'd die for a meal here. A death of their choice, which would probably be death by Samad-rai Sword.It's really weird ri to find this place, looking like a run-down residence, next to a train track and hidden away in the lot of an auto sales business. You will be confused about where to park, but you could always park yourself in my bedroom.And if you ever do that, here's Samad-vice. When it feels like you're about to pee, just go with it. It's not pee. It's something different entirely. You're welcome."

Hadramout restaurant

★★★★★ 4.7 (40)

"This is by far the best restaurant in DFW. If I could give them more than 5 stars I would. The mandi chicken will fall off the bone even if you just wiggle the plate. The fish is amazingly flavored and also is easy to remove from the bone. The dessert isn't too sweet but is by far some of the best dessert I've ever had. The service has always been amazing and the staff has always been so kind and friendly. I have been here about a handful of times and the restaurant continues to blow my mind and remain consistently amazing. I literally dream about this restaurant. There is not a better restaurant in DFW, and it is one of the only Yemeni restaurants around. I had never had Yemeni food prior to trying this restaurant, and what a great representation of it, it is. I recommend that EVERYONE tries this restaurant."

Chopped Halal Grill

★★★★☆ 4.3 (148) • $$

"I ordered online because I was in the mood for gyro and rice. The portions are very generous, and they don't skimp out on the meet. I like my food spicy, so I will have to get more of the red sauce next time. Everything tasted fresh."

Old Damascus

★★★★☆ 4.2 (25)

"I ordered online through their website for takeout and it worked really well, my food was ready when I arrived at the restaurant and the order was accurate. The interior decor is really nice with lots of seating and a warm earthy tone. The Shawarma wraps were really good, I liked that they used a unique type of thin pita bread for the wrap, instead of thick fluffy pita or tortillas that I've seen at most Dallas Middle Eastern restaurants. The Tabouleh was really good and so was the Kibbeh. The mint yogurt dip was a little soupy, but I'll give it another try in the future in case I got an off batch."

Blue Olive Grill

★★★★☆ 4 (226) • $

"It does not get any better than this ! !Admittedly there are some items on the menu that I don't care for- but this is attributed to personal choice. All of their signature dishes are simply a KNOCKOUT ! !"

Bigdash Ice Cream & Pastries

★★★★★ 4.7 (649) • $

"Although I really enjoyed the strawberries, for $16 I think it's hard to justify getting it more than once. There's plenty of seating inside and little to no wait. I appreciated the quick service, however there was some confusion regarding availability of this product. Originally, I was informed it was not available due to a lack of strawberries on hand. After an hour, I saw other customers with this so I got back in line and reordered even after being told by another worker that there wouldn't be enough left for me (only 3 cups worth). There was more than enough left though because I saw many customers after me getting the same item. Super confused why this happened!"

Cafe Izmir

★★★★☆ 4.4 (798) • $$

"Easy walk from daughter #2's apartment. Busy spot on a Saturday night. Snagged a high top at the bar. Cozy. Attentive, friendly staff. Ordered a bottle of wine and some tapas. Shared the saffron chicken kebab - epic. Everything is fresh and made to order. Any restaurant that has made it 30 years is a go to. We shall return."

zDAR Market

★★★★☆ 3.8 (72) • $

"Hidden gem alert!!!! We always stop by when we're grocery shopping in the area. The Zaa'tar pie and Turkish Pizza are SO GOOD!!! Highly recommend those as our favorite from here. We've also had the Lahmajeen and Chicken Tawook. They have good soda options - grape and strawberry crush! We always get those lol"

Big Guy's Chicken & Rice

★★★★☆ 4.1 (436) • $$

"Solid spot for late night food, although it can definitely get hectic especially on the weekends! Went with the Big Guys Mixed bowl, and after a night a drinking, hits the spot. Large portions, lots of protein. Solid gyro and the marinated was good although some pieces are a bit dry. The sauces are great, but if you are expecting the crazy level of spiciness from the red sauce like in NY, gonna be disappointed. Much more mild here and creamier, which works really well with the seasoned rice. Had a bite of my friend's Aloo, which is this fried seasoned mashed potato and wow it is good. In fact I liked it so much, I went back and got my own. I didn't finish the original bowl but that aloo was worth it.Not a large space inside for dining in, which makes sense since most had their order as take-out!"

Bigdash

★★★★☆ 4.2 (46)

"I went for the Viral Dubai Chocolate Covered Strawberries but the pastries were so beautifully made, that I decided to try a few. The service was good and cashier very helpful with explaining what the pastries were. It was very clean and bright inside. The strawberries were so good, I can't wait to go back!"