Albert T.
Yelp
My first taste of Yemeni food was at this location of Sheeba Restaurant, coincidentally during Dearborn Restaurant Week 2022. The food made such a solid impression that since then, I have visited several other Yemeni restaurants and been to this and the East Dearborn Sheeba several times. During Dearborn Restaurant Week 2024, I decided to revisit Sheeba as my first stop of the week.
Surprisingly, the offerings remained exactly the same as in 2022. Somehow, Sheeba has managed to keep prices down through all the inflation in the previous years. We both got the $15 special, which comes with a drink, a choice of three appetizers - Falafel, Baba, or Hummus, and one of two mains - Half Chicken Haneeth or Fahsah.
Falafel - This is a mini order of 3 falafel on a bed of greens. The falafel aren't fried all that well; the exterior is mostly dry but barely crisp. The chickpeas are more coarsely ground, resulting in an interior that has a more crumbly (but moist) mouthfeel. They don't mix many herbs in the falafel, so it's missing some of the fresh notes that help balance out the salty/sesame/chickpea flavor. The falafel are supposed to come with tahini and tomato, but we didn't receive either. (3/5)
Baba Ghanouj - This is quite a chunky baba with larger pieces of tender eggplant mixed in with pureed chickpeas. They mill the eggplant quite well so there's barely any seeds mixed in. The eggplant has a slight hint of char, but not nearly as much as other places. (4/5)
Note: The appetizers come with one piece of rashush which they will charge you $1 extra for. This is not noted on the menu at all.
Chicken Haneeth, Half - The chicken is fall off the bone tender with a great char on the exterior and a somewhat smoky flavor. The interior meat is salty and tastes of fresh chicken. The texture is somewhat too tender and renders the chicken a bit sticky, like it kind of sticks to the teeth as you chew. The chicken comes on one side of a mound of yellow rice, which is fluffy and perfectly cooked and seasoned. On the other side rests a number of potatoes cooked in a savory tomato base The potatoes are quite dense but cooked until tender. A container of sahawiq is served on the side that adds a salsa-like bright herbal freshness and a bit of spiciness. (4/5)
Fahsah - This is probably my favorite dish at Sheeba - I've always ordered it through my multiple visits. The fahsah is made with shredded lamb mixed with mashed potato with the meat having only the barest hint of lamb gaminess (this location is quite consistent with the flavor, but the one in East Dearborn sometimes tastes very gamey). It's very tender and doesn't get caught in your teeth as you chew. The dish is served in a clay pot, still bubbling when it arrives at the table, and it continues to bubble for quite a while afterwards - I've never succeeded to not to burn my tongue due to impatience. The bubbling action creates a delicious crust along the bottom of the pot that requires a bit of work to scrape up with a spoon. There's a thick layer of oil on top that is red-orange from the spices, but surprisingly the dish doesn't taste that greasy. It's served with one piece of rashush that is fresh baked, with some charred bubbly crispy bits and some chewy bits. The bread is studded with nigella seeds, lending a pleasing earthiness. (5/5)
Overall I've found the main entrees to be delicious but the mezze to be only okay to good. Since eating at Sheeba the first time, we've expanded to eating at other traditional Yemeni places and I have to say that Sheeba is definitely a bit more Westernized than those places. Not saying that's bad - Sheeba is still a great stop in Dearborn if you're looking to try something a bit different from all the Lebanese places around.
Bathrooms - Men's room has two stalls and two urinals. Women's room has three stalls.
Overall rating of the food this visit: 4/5