Ayat Astoria

Today was the second time I tried Ayat after my experience in the East Village location about two-three months ago. The host made his diligent efforts to ensure my family and I were seated in a timely manner as he was transparent it was a busy night. The waitress was amazing and I did appreciate her check ins and made sure everything was good. Overall, the food was lovely! I had a much better experience and I truly enjoyed the food. The atmosphere was great. Can’t wait to be come back!

Excellent food and great service. The flavors were rich and fresh, and the portion size was very generous. The place was clean and welcoming. Definitely coming back again! Thank you Daniela 🤍 such a nice girl 😘 very friendly and respectful .

Loved trying this new Palestinian restaurant! They only take walk ins right now so the wait was about 45 min to get seated but they were kinda bout it. Food was delicious and atmosphere is gorgeous

Delicious food, generous portions and very friendly staff. We got the fattat jaj (chicken) and the mansaf (lamb). A great new restaurant in the neighborhood.

Wowowow. Truly no complaints. What we ordered was packed with love and flavor. Our main entree was HUGE we shared it among THREE people. Great service and atmosphere as well. Can't wait to run back here and try more meals and maybe dessert next time around.

The waitress was awesome very attentive and recommended some foods that were so good. Love everything I tried even their soda! Yum

Excellent food and service! Things might be a little slow here, but you won’t mind. They have such amazing home-made pita while you wait. The food is unreal. Such an asset to the neighborhood. They are also BYOB, which is amazing.

10/10 highly recommend Ayat! Our server, Alan, was super friendly and accommodating and the food was incredible. Eating at Ayat felt like a community experience with great food and great vibes. Can’t wait to come back!

This place is so good, it makes me want to go back and re-rate previous 5-star restaurants as 4-stars because Yelp won't let me rate Ayat as 6. It is that good, friends. Everything--the food, the vibes, the service--is stellar. It is justifiably packed but please do yourself a favor, put your name down and wait it out. I promise it will be worth your while. The fresh pita goes crazy, imagine a piping hot, crispy carb balloon. When combined with the creamy rich baba ganoush or hummus, it is insane. The grilled selections are also fire. It's hard to pick a standout, but the chicken is especially tender and juicy and the kefta is an exceptionally seasoned explosion of flavor. Plus, it's gorgeous inside. I loved the olive tree at the center of the dining room (an Ayat trademark). And the servers, despite the insane number of diners and delivery guys flooding in and out, go above and beyond to be generous and helpful. Ayat is a gift to the neighborhood, and immediately earns a spot on the shortlist of favorite places to eat in Astoria.

Welcome to Astoria! So glad my friend & I got to stop by & try Ayat, we've been dying to go to the Brooklyn location for a while now so once they opened in our neighborhood, we knew we had to try them out. Service wise, they could use a little bit more work, I had to ask for my appetizer multiple times & by the time it came, I was done with my main course :( They did just open a couple of weeks ago though so I'm hoping that works out once they're settled in. The ambiance is so pretty, there's an aesthetic tree in the middle of the restaurant that many guests requested to sit by so I'm guessing this will become a popular photo op! Ok now on to what matters, THE FOOD! I ordered a spinach filled pie as an appetizer & the chicken kebab as my main course, my friend ordered lemon & garlic roasted chicken ouzi. It was fresh, great portion size but lacked some flavor? We had to order the knafeh for dessert ofc (which was part of the whole reason we came) - it was cheesy, crispy, fresh out of the oven but also did lack some flavor, like it needed syrup / attar? All in all, I was a little disappointed - I'd try to give this place another shot once they're settled in and hoping it was just an off day.

5/5 service - very accommodating & sweet 3/5 Laziza Apple- decent, def not for everyone 4/5 Laziza Peach- love anything peachy 5/5- really good, not too sour 5/5 Hibiscus Margarita- really good 4/5 "WARA DAWALI $14 Grape leaves stuffed with a blend of rice, parsley, tomatoes, onions, and an array of spices, gluten free, vegan" love the sourness 4/5 "KIBBEH 3 pieces $12- Finely ground bulghur and meat filled with ground beef, onion, and Mediterranean spices" 3/5 potato cigar rolls- crispy 3/5 "PIZZAWARMA $23.85 Pizza crust- beef shawarma with halloumi cheese, pickles, olives, pomegranate molasses, sumac onions, and tahini sauce" wish it had more cheese, the beef tastes like lamb since it's cooked with lamb fat but not everyone likes lamb. 3/5 "SPICY CHICKEN KEBAB- Tender chicken marinated in harissa and chili spices, grilled to perfection and served with a cooling garlic dip" "3/5 FATTAT JAJ $24: 6-layer dish of roasted chicken, rice, chickpeas, mint yogurt, crispy pita, garlic sauce and slivered almonds" the top layer had more flavor, wish the flavor was dispersed evenly 4/5 "FATTAT LAHMA $29: 6-layer dish of meat, rice, chickpeas, garlic tahini, crispy pita, slivered almonds, and mint" had more flavor than the chicken 5/5 rice pudding- prolly the best we've ever had, def 1 of the creamiest, perfection, we'd come back just for this 2/5 knafeh - didn't like the flavor

Such a treat to have this popular restaurant chain open up in Queens. I came during soft opening so I'm sure there's still a few kinks to work out. The decor is lovely, so open and warm, with tons of natural light. I do have to say I was wary to come in because there was only a faded logo painted outside so it didn't even look open to me upon first glance. My fiance and I ordered the kibbeh which was excellent. It was well seasoned and had a nice crunchy exterior. For our main course, we chose to get the beef kefta and fattat jaj. We were absolutely FLOORED by the portion of the fattat jaj. It was massive! Six layers of deliciousness. Every bite was so well balanced with textures and flavors. The kefta, however, disappointing. It was sadly very dry and tough. I do have to point out the exceptional service at the restaurant. Our waiter was so kind and attentive. He even offered to replace our sauces when they were running low. I had a great time here and was able to enjoy the meal for leftovers for a few days.

Disappointed in the service and food quality. You can tell that the staff wasn't working well together from the host to the waiter and manager. Food did lack flavor and seasoning. Waited about 30 minutes for the food to arrive and my fries were cold. The seats by the tree were very uncomfortable. Whoever designed the seating did not do a good job in measuring the seat to table ratio properly. Disappointed experience.

Visited last night with my daughter and mother, and we all left raving about our experience. Service was excellent. We ordered the Lamb Ouzi Royal, Baba Ghanoush, Pistachio Paradise, Limonana, Shay Ma Na' Na', and of course ended the night with a Knafeh. Everything was perfect! The food came out piping hot, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. Portions were generous, we even left with to-go plates. Everything had a comforting, homemade feel that made the meal even more enjoyable.

Great food, service, and people. We will definitely be back to try more on the menu. We got dip mezze platter and lamb kebab.