"After years spent running a roaming Mediterranean bakery that popped up at farmers’ markets in the area, owner Ayham Haddad settled down with a permanent space in Cambridge’s Porter Square in 2024. Mahalab is the place to go for savory Levantine pastries like fatayer, a triangular pastry stuffed with spinach and feta, or a rich three-cheese filling, and sfiha, a soft, round pastry topped with ajvar (a roasted red bell pepper, roasted eggplant, and roasted fresno pepper spread) or seasonal fillings like acorn squash, ricotta, and sage. Haddad was recently swayed to start adding (a few) sweet pastries to the mix, and the thick slices of sour cherry and pistachio cake are not to be missed." - Nathan Tavares