Caravan Uyghur Cuisine

"For hand-pulled noodles along with dishes like cucumber salads, pickled cabbage, and a lamb soup known as “special braised lamb,” this is the place. It’s the relocation for Abdul Ahad Ababakri original spot and one of the few Uyghur restaurants in Manhattan." - Eater Staff

"Go to this Uyghur restaurant on Beaver St. for all things lamb. It's all over the menu, in noodles, soups, naans, and kebabs. Get some chewy lamb noodles for lunch, or try the chüchüre’s clear, herbaceous broth loaded with dill and lamb dumplings. The quiet, split-level restaurant is a great place to hide out for a solo lunch, but they have some big plates if you come for dinner with a group. That’s the time to try something other than lamb. The “Big Plate of Chicken” gets its mojo from a generous pour of cumin, and you can order it in three different sizes. " - kenny yang, neha talreja, hannah albertine

"One of NYC’s few Uyghur restaurants can be found tucked between office buildings along Pearl Street, even though the address lists Water Street as the exact location. The menu here is full of carb-centric dishes, including stir-fried noodles — that look like dan dan noodles that have been tossed in a wok — and diced-fried noodles dotted with dime-sized morsels of lamb. The menu also lists a number of kebabs, mostly featuring various cuts of lamb, perfect for pairing with a naan-like bread. A pro tip: Budget 20 or 30 minutes to pick up food here, whether taking out or dining in." - Eater Staff

"You don’t have to eat any lamb at Caravan. You really should though. As a staple of Uyghur cuisine, it’s all over the menu, in noodles, dumplings, and kebabs. So is cumin, and sometimes dill. But even with such a lamb-centric selection, Caravan still turns out the widest variety of flavors you’ll find in one building in FiDi. This isn’t the first iteration of the restaurant (it opened in 2020, then closed briefly in 2022), but its current spot on Beaver Street has double the tables. On weeknights, the split-level, family-run restaurant is quiet, with just a few people sitting under the colorful tapestries. Most people take their food to go—after adding an order of baklava or honey cake from the pastry counter by the door. It fills up a bit more on weekends; you might even encounter the rare party that pre-ordered a whole fire-roasted lamb for $800. Food Rundown photo credit: Neha Talreja Chüchüre Our favorite dish here is this soup with lamb dumplings. Though the broth is clear, it’s well-spiced with cumin and dill, bringing out the flavor of the meat dumplings. photo credit: Neha Talreja Samsa Like we said, it’s all about the lamb. In this case, it’s ground lamb and a ton of sauteed onions in a doughy pocket. We get an order every single time we’re here. The beef is also very good, if you must mix it up. photo credit: Neha Talreja Goyru Laghman The chewy texture of these thick handmade noodles is extremely satisfying. They could use a bit more chili oil and cumin, but it’s still a great plate of noodles. You can get them with lamb or chicken, but we recommend—you guessed it—the lamb. photo credit: Neha Talreja Lamb Rib Kebab The regular lamb kebabs are perfectly wonderful, but why get those when you could get these even fattier, smokier pieces of lamb with crispy edges?" - Neha Talreja

"Caravan Uyghur Cuisine, known for its hand-pulled noodles, opened on Water Street in 2020. The restaurant had fans in the area, including Eater’s critic. Then, after two years, it closed overnight: Bakri, who does not speak English, was evicted by his landlord, allegedly over a series of miscommunications. He started a petition to save the restaurant, but it never materialized. Miraculously, Caravan Uyghur Cuisine has reopened. The restaurant returned earlier this month at 60 Beaver Street, near William Street, not far from the original location. It’s celebrating the reopening with a party on Saturday, February 24. Different from the last location, the new restaurant has gas — essential for stir-frying noodles over high heat — and a 50-seat dining room that’s about twice as large as before. There’s a new tandoor oven in the kitchen, for making naan, and because I’m sure at least one person will ask: Yes, you can still order a whole grilled lamb for $600. The restaurant makes the noodles by hand, then cuts them into different shapes. There are stir-fried noodles, as wide as worms, and thinner lagman noodles, cooked separately from their sauce. The diced-fried noodles are shaped like small corn kernels, and the wide ones in the “big tray chicken” are as flat as ribbons. The noodles have to be hand-pulled each morning. Beyond the noodles, there are cucumber salads and big plates of pickled cabbage. There is also naan, but it’s different than in South Asia. Uyghur naan designed to soak up soups and sauces, and in several recipes, it’s served right in the broth. It’s sour and malty, like a good pretzel, but also dense and porous, like a sponge. If you’re lucky, the restaurant will be making its lamb soup when you visit. The dish, known as “special braised lamb,” is a family recipe. Chunks of slow-simmered lamb float around with bones and fat in the broth. In the family, the hot soup is rumored to have healing powers: “It fixed my mom’s back,” says Ahmed Bakri, the son of the owners. The younger Bakri is one of several family members who work at the restaurant. And depending on when you visit, you’ll find a different combination of them behind the counter, or finishing their homework at a table in the back. Originally, the Bakris opened in the Financial District because the children attended school nearby. After they were evicted, the family looked for another space in the area. Oliver Crane, a founder of the non-profit Uyghur NextGen, helped the family find the new location. After the original Caravan closed, Crane and the local group Welcome to Chinatown raised several thousand dollars for the restaurant through a series of food pop-ups and donations." - Luke Fortney