Taj T.
Yelp
I was so thrilled to hear about Portland's first Saudi restaurant opening shop in the heart of the city, serving fresh halal food with plenty of pizzazz. After months of salivating over the Instagram Reels, I finally got to check out Queen Mama's Kitchen and let me tell you, it did not disappoint (Alhamdulillah)
First, let me start by saying how gorgeous the interior design is. The cheerful sky blue walls, gold accents, and ample lighting make you feel like you've stepped into an elegant but inviting space. This is you eating dinner at your classy aunt's house.
And yes, the food hits all the comforting notes of a home cooked meal. I love that the menu is very simple. There's nothing more frustrating to me than spending hours deliberating over what to get when everything looks great, but with Queen Mama's you don't have as many choices but what you're gonna get are the most essential, classic Arab dishes to try. They do balance this with some rotating specials throughout the week, so you'll never get bored I'm sure and are rewarded for repeat visits. Bring a bunch of people so you can enjoy everything on the menu family style.
Start off with the Mezze Sampler platter. Honestly, the best hummus, baba ganouch in the city. The ingredients and flavors are perfectly balanced and freshly sourced, you can tell right away. The pita is baked to a nice crisp. I loved this creamy eggplant combo on the side, with decadent meaty undertones.
The Lentil Soup is fantastic, definitely worth getting on the side especially on a cold day.
Lamb Shank was perhaps a bit overcooked in my opinion, should be more tender, and you have to douse it with the delicious tomato sauce on the side for the full experience. Same goes for the Roast Chicken.
Koshari is definitely worth ordering if you've never had it, but for me I'll stick to the lamb and roast chicken on repeat visits.
The side of rice that comes with the entrees? 100/100 points. I love the inclusion of pine nuts throughout.
Sadly didn't get a chance to dive into the desserts this time, but they look incredible. So many kinds of Saudi inspired cheesecake! Luckily, there's a cute cafe attached to the restaurant so if you want to stop by for just coffee and cake, it's very easy to do so without waiting for a sit down table.