Zait & Za'atar: Mediterranean Dhaba

We were looking for a quick bite and ended up here. Restaurant is owned by a Hyderabadi couple and their nephew works as the server/front desk. We ordered a cheese burger and a Mediterranean chicken sandwich. Burger didn't have much taste and pita on the chicken sandwich was not warm. Service was good. Prices are reasonable. Restaurant serves zabihah Halal. Confirmed by the server.

I ordered the chicken shawarma with yellow rice, and it was very disappointing. The chicken was cold and completely lacked flavor. Honestly, there was no taste at all. The portion of salad was almost nonexistent, and overall the plate felt poorly prepared. For the price, this was not worth it—Chipotle offers better quality and taste for less money, which says a lot. This was my first visit and will definitely be my last. I won’t be coming back.

I think the best part of this restaurant is the wifi is reliable. Server is nice but does not understand English well. Service time 20 min plus despite fe customers. Plastic utensils that server had to be reminded to give us. No water until 10 min later. Asked for hot water but given in plastic glass likely microwaved. Ordered shakshuka but lnot flavorful. Sauce is obvious canned by taste, not in caste iron pan, quantity skimpy, and dish is not simmered. Lack of usual herbs and spice. Toast is so etching one can buy off supermarket. Chicken 68 is just flat hot without any aromatics or any layer of flavor Over cooked chicken., hard to chew, like pieces of charred rubber. Very ☹️

We tried the paneer masala, falafel, tabouli and Samosa. I loved everything. I really enjoyed having the potato samosa with a side of tamarind sauce, this is not something that is offered at other restaurants. The falafel was nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the hummus was perfect. The paneer masala had an AMAZING FLAVOR. Definitely come here. Nice to see another middle eastern restaurant in St. Paul that also serves some favorites from South Asian cuisine. A little something for everyone.

Yum! I absolutely loved the Kushari and the Msakhan chicken sandwich and even the falafels. So good. The Tamarind lemonade is a must try. So fresh and tangy. I want to go back and try everything else they have on the menu. I would also like to thank our host for suggesting a dish that was less spicy for my friend with allergies.

Stumbled upon this restaurant while walking around. The server was so friendly and very attentive. The food is phenomenal and the value is great with generous portions.

If it was possible to give a restaurant ten stars, this restaurant would have them all. My boyfriend and I went to this restaurant because I was craving tabouli and this was the only place open on a Sunday night at 10:00. And thank goodness I listened to my craving because we now have our new favorite restaurant in the cities. We were greeted warmly by the restaurant owner, he helped us through the ordering process with recommendations and explanations of dishes, truly above and beyond. The restaurant itself was adorably decorated and we got our food super fast. And it was the best food either of us have had. Ever. No exaggeration. Will be dreaming of this food tonight and we’re planning our next trip to this amazing establishment already 🤍

This is my family's favorite restaurant in the neighborhood. Authentic flavors, friendly service. Great spot to hang out with a couple friends or family—they have puzzles out while you wait for your food and free books! Food is delicious and fairly priced for the portions.

I came here very unfamiliar with the cuisine (Middle Eastern). I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the food we ordered. The Samosa looks like a potato filled won ton. It's crispy on the outside with a slightly spiced center. The sauce that accompanies the dish is very spicy, which I loved. The Chicken Shawarma plate was very good. It's apparant that the chicken is of good quality. It's seared and seasoned perfectly. My kids liked the "green rice" that the chicken sits on top of. The best dish we ordered was the Butter Chicken & White Rice. WOW, this dish is delicious. It's packed with flavor and has a little heat. Staff was nice and helpful; we'll be back soon!

Stopped by here for lunch as I was running some errands in St. Paul. Cute little place in the corner of Selby and Fry in the Mac groveland area. Order at the counter and have a seat in the small establishment which is clean and simple. Blue moon mojito Tarty with a string mint flavor and aroma. Refreshing on a hot day. But 6.99 for a non alcoholic drink seemed a little high. Pani puri The pani puri was good. The puris were crispy, the filling was plenty and the pani (water) was flavorful. Although a little cumin heavy. Gyro burger The gyro burger was recommended by the lady on the counter as something unique and something they are known for. While the patty was cooked well and the veggies were fresh on it, the bun was a little soggy. And there was no unique flavor to the burger either. For $12.99 for the burger and no fries, I think you can get much better value elsewhere. Overall I was disappointed and might go back there for the pani puri and maybe some more traditional middle eastern fare to give them a shot.

Was excited to try Zait & Za'atar, but overall the experience was disappointing. Considering the number of great Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food restaurants in the Twin Cities that provide better value/experience and more delicious food, I don't think I'll be returning. I ordered a large baba ghanoush appetizer with pita and a samosa appetizer. The baba ghanoush was alright, I've had better and have had worse. The samosas were delicious. I found it interesting that the menu has a lot of Indian food items, must be why they call it a "Dhaba" (meaning roadside Indian restaurant). My boyfriend ordered a desi coffee and a "specialty" dish called lamb shami kebab with paratha. He liked the desi coffee but found several issues with the lamb paratha dish. It's a bit sad that it's on their menu as a "specialty" dish. First, it was very small (see picture) and only came with one paratha even though the menu stated it would come with 2 pieces. My boyfriend asked our server about this and she agreed to bring a second piece, but it shouldn't have been necessary to ask. My boyfriend said that the lamb was very bland and he had a hard time telling whether the kebab had any meat or if it was only chickpeas. Additionally, the dish was the most expensive thing we ordered at $16.49. All of these concerns were brought directly to our server and the cook. We were also the only people in the restaurant. We're the type of people who try to give restaurants polite and direct feedback if we receive a bad dish or something doesn't meet our expectations so that they have the opportunity to correct the problem. While they apologized for our experience, no effort was made to improve our experience by taking a couple dollars off the bill or providing something like a free drink or dessert as compensation. While this certainly wasn't our expectation, doing this would have made the experience feel better and may have encouraged us to return and spend more money there.

Zait & Za'atar became a favorite lunch spot for my husband & myself a couple of years ago; it's the perfect biking or walking distance from our house and the food is fresh & tasty. I will say, there was a period where the restaurant was temporarily closed & remodeled. Once it reopened, the quality and taste were nowhere near what they'd used to be. We gave them a few months hiatus and tried again--the quality and taste are back! I usually order a Falafel Plate (Turmeric rice topped with 5 falafels and tahini sauce served with house salad). The rice is perfectly cooked & seasoned, the falafel are crispy and fresh, & the salad adds a crunch and freshness to the plate that I love. I could eat their tahini on just about anything! In the summer, we've also tried their ice creams. The Rose Pistachio is perfectly balanced & not overly floral/perfumed, with lovely chunks of pistachio. I really want to try the other flavors, too!

Ordered food for pickup at Zait & Za'atar. Parking was really easy and the staff was super friendly. It also looks like they have a great dining room so next time I would like to dine in! We ordered: Chicken Shawarma Plate Baba Ganoush (Small) Msakhan Chicken Plate For two, this was the perfect amount! We had some leftovers. We took the food home and it was still enjoyable! Definitely a versatile spot that is great for takeout and is probably even better dine-in! I've never had Msakhan Chicken before but saw it was one of their more popular dishes on Yelp, I'm really glad yelp has this feature because it got me to try something new and it was great! Would love to try this dish at other restaurants too.

this place is a gem! the service was a 10/10. the welcoming atmosphere. the food was so good. our son ate his kids meal and then 1/2 of my moms falafel sandwich, we know to get him that next time we come! thank you for everything

We recently had dinner here during a visit to see our son who is at the U. We were all craving Middle Eastern, and this wonderful spot did not disappoint. We ordered taboullI, hummus, falafel sandwiches and the chicken donor plate and bakalava, and everything was amazing. I've grown up with good Middle Eastern food my entire life and this was some of the best. I am literally craving the falafel sandwich right now as it was probably the best I've ever had. It was fresh, perfectly fried and the grilled onions took it to a whole 'nuther level. And the staff were such sweet, lovely people. Wish they had a location in Milwaukee. If you are craving great ME food in the Twin Cities, run, don't walk to this lovely restaurant. Oh, I just want to add, when food is prepared with fresh ingredients and love, it transforms the dining experience, and Z&Z absolutely did that.

The msakhan chicken sandwich and shawarma fries were both delicious and very flavorful. The mango lassi was a great complement to the unique hot sauce on the side of the sandwich order. The woman working was nice and welcoming, and the dining area was quaint and comfortable. Can't wait to try their other stuff!

This place is a neighborhood gem! I've been in several times and the food is always great and the service prompt and very attentive. The ice cream offerings expand a little on what's expected from a place like this and none of the flavors disappoint. Often when I go in I'm one of the only patrons dining, so it can be a little quiet. But I think that's mostly because I usually end up coming at off hours, and honestly in an era where every other restaurant is ear-numbing and requires shouting to place your order, it's actually a very nice change of pace. Definitely worth checking out!!

After hearing and reading many good things about this place, finally got a chance to eat here. Was disappointed right off the bat to know that this place did not have any Turkish tea. If I had to describe this place in one word, that word would be 'mid'. Ordered the chicken platter and a side of Zait fries after inquiring from host that what is this place known for (she recommended the fries) and the fries were ok but the chicken platter was disappointing. Maybe I had too high of hopes for this place and built up the anticipation? The rice and chicken were not very flavorful/seasoned. And the salad was very heavy on the Romain lettuce. Adding a star as the serving size was very generous.

New ownership recently added some Indian offerings as well, which you won't find at a lot of other places in the Twin Cities. Pani puri and rasmalai to name a couple. Flavors are great, but I can't help but feel like I'm left wanting just a little bit more with the meals here. More side options and more sauces in particular. Add those into the mix, and this is 4.5 stars for me.

I couldn't recommend this local, family-owned business enough. Definitely hit them up if you want an intimate and welcoming dining experience. On a whim, my family and I wanted to eat some shawarmas. I recalled this restaurant from my college years and passed by to see it was still in existence and learned it also had new owners. The menu boasts a wide variety of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes such as falafel and beef and chicken shawarmas (we ordered both!) and new additions of Indian fare such as butter chicken. We ordered a side of tabouli, falafel, and then a Beef, Shawarma plate and a Chicken Shawarma plate. My youngest had chicken Shawarma plate as well, but the child size portion. It was clear everything was made fresh and carefully as it took a little time to bring it out, but not inordinately so. They gave us a complementary side of pita bread and fries for being out of fresh fruit. The tabouli was fresh with the perfect. amount of lemon, salt and olive oil added. The two shawarma plates were plentiful with steaming rice and well seasoned meat. A salad with a delicious light dressing, clearly freshly made, also accompanied the dishes. as I don't eat sugar, they kindly made me a lassi with buttermilk that was refreshing and cool. My daughter had the regular lassi and said it was delicious and refreshing. The restaurant was clean and well organized. I got to talk with one of the owners who brought my daughters ice cream on the house at the end of the experience. We found this small corner eatery to be a perfect afternoon spot for lunch.

I stopped here for lunch. Ordered a beer shawarma sandwich with fries to go. The fries were delicious and the sandwich was full of meat. Prices are reasonable. It did take awhile for my order. The space is nothing special but could benefit from music rather than the drone of the refrigerator cases. But the flower wall is cute. I'd take-out from here again.

Zait and Za'atar is my favorite place to grab shawarma in the Twin Cities. I have been a few times and tried a bunch of different shawarmas they offer and they're all delicious. They have a wide range of Palestinian food including not only the shawarma, but also some beautiful middle eastern appetizers and even a good display of ice cream. Their za'atar is incredible, very flavorful and vibrant. Much much better than the store bought stuff. They are also super kind, I came in with a very large party once and they were very accommodating. They let us push a bunch of tables together and even brought our food out fast!

I wanted tabuolleh salad badly, so I chose Zait's. I've never been here before. This is solely based on my takeout experience of this salad. The service was very kind. Such a nice team of people. Loved the aesthetics of the restaurant. They must make the salad fresh for each person, which is great but a little inefficient. Luckily, I didn't have shit going on, so waiting 25 minutes wasn't a big deal. The salsa tasted great, but it was the crunchiest taboulleh I've ever had. I don't THINK it's supposed to crunchy. But I'd give them another chance.

Such a bummer. This used to be my favorite spot but I'm not sure what happened. The babaganoush was so full of oil and tasted like nothing and my tabuleh was just salty parsley. It's extremely overpriced and bad food. My partner got a shawarma plate and the salad was old. We will not be back :/

Ordered Takeout through Door Dash. Now I recognize that I was paying a bit of a premium, but still, $2.50 for one bite of baklava? Am I crazy for how outrageous that feels? The guy was nice and seemed excited I was there, but not sure I'll return. I ordered the shawarma plate and the image did not match what I got. Plenty of rice but a pile of spiced ground beef instead of pieces of meat.

Food was amazing. Service was kind and caring. very clean restaurant in the inside, and the best mint lemonade I've had in a while. We got Chicken Shawarma wrap and butter chicken. Both so good and flavorful! The white sauce that comes with it is a MUST!!! Get extra of this if you can! Also fries didn't disappoint. We are coming back soon :)

Their falafel is seriously legit. The perfectly executed crispy outer layer met with a tender interior, divinely seasoned. I contemplated long and hard about ordering a second order of it. 10/10 Hummus and baba ganoush were both very good and creamy. I ordered a large of each, and even though I had a small amount of leftovers, the small order wouldn't have been enough. I'm weird and like to eat my falafel, hummus, and baba ganoush over rice instead of eating it with pita. Their rice is pretty bland by itself, but does the trick once topped with everything and drizzled with tahini and hot sauce. Their hot sauce is green, FYI. They don't have a vegan garlic sauce, which would really set things off. Service was awkward. It has more of a cafe than restaurant feel. You order at the front counter then find a seat. Someone brought out my food while I was washing my hands, meaning it was made super fast. The place was empty except for the 2 people who staggered in for their carryout orders. It took forever for me to get someone to give me to go boxes. All in all, I would return for falafel if I was in the area again.

We love a small business!! I was super fortunate to have come in on a day when the owner was there! She was the kindest most helpful and welcoming person! Offering me samples left and right, explaining everything on the menu, and engaging in lighthearted conversation! On top of that, one of the waitresses that helped me was super sweet too! Not only was the service great, but their food was AMAZING! So full of flavor. Any type of protein you want (Msakhan Chicken, Chicken Shawarma, Beef Shawarma, Falafel, Souq Veggie) you can either get as a sandwich, over fries, or a plate w/ sides. The seasonings they use are imported from Jordan!! I got the Msakhan Chicken Sandwich ($7.99) and dang was that thing delicious. It was flavored with olive oil and a lot of sumac, super tasty! I also got the Falafel ($3.99) & Hummus ($2.99) appetizers which were equally as good. You know a falafel is good when the inside is green! I didn't get any dessert, but they have a variety of ice creams if you do want it! They partner with another St. Paul small business and even made custom flavors with them! Pistachio rose, cardamom coffee, and Turkish trail mix. All in all, if you're looking for an affordable, flavorful taste of the Middle East/ Mediterranean, I definitely recommend this place!

Delicious food, lots of tasty NA drinks, and I definitely recommend trying one of their many unique Ice cream flavors.

Stopped in today for a nice Chicken Shwarma wrap sandwich. I made it a combo with fries and a soda. The food arrived hot and fresh. The wrap was tasty, generous and had the delicious mix of flavors and textures one would hope for. I enjoyed the sandwich and fries. It is definitely a place to visit and spread the word.

Zait and Zaatar is very good, one of the best places in the Twin Cities for Middle Eastern quick food. Falafels are delicious, with a crisp outside and tender inside, and they're made to order. Fries are not your typical oversalted soggy potato formations, but crisp potatoes seasoned to bring out the flavor. Even boring rice becomes a savory treat! Everything came within ten minutes of ordering it. (Oh no, a slightly ridiculous tangent: If you're dining in, the bathroom deserves a special and silly mention. It's done in a classic black and white tile style that matches the feel of the building. It would bump my rating up a star, but my rating was already at the max.) I enjoyed this restaurant and I recommend it!

Some of the worst pita I've ever had. Pretty sure it's store bought. Any mediterranean restaurant worth it's shawarma would serve fresh pita not this flat dry stuff. Chicken was mediocre and for $13 a shawarma plate should have twice as much chicken. Salad was pale and ice burg leaning romaine. $4.99 for a side of baba ganoush that was about half as much as I've had from likewise places . Flavors weren't bad but come on this is just not good. Msakhan chicken sammy was yummy but again, pita is substandard. Upgrade your portion, your pita, and your lettuce quality. Add some tomatoes/cucumbers/olives or really anything your salad. Just romaine isn't a salad it's lettuce with dressing.

Good spot for a quick and easy meal. Tried the shawarma sandwich and a msakhan chicken sandwich, combo with zaatar fries. The chicken shawarma sandwich comes with fries, garlic sauce and pickles in there. There is a little too much pita/too little chicken in the sandwich IMO, but taste wise it's good. The chicken is grilled and cut (so not typical shawarma style) but marinated well. The msakhan chicken is chicken marinated with sumac and olive oil, grilled and topped with sumac grilled onions. Unique flavor and pretty filling. Fries were crispy and topped with zaatar which hit the spot.

Open space with relaxing music, favorite meal was the Msakhan Chicken Plate--highly recommend!

Food awful. Bad service. Everyone gets their food at a different time. Waste of hard earned money!

Iv tried food at this location for about 12 solid years. Back when it was lulu's. When I first had Zait & Za'atar it was pretty good. Nothing to write home about or make a review. But recently I went there with my wife after work and we tried a few of the items on the menu. The food to keep it short is Awesome. Super friendly staff Which to me is on point. I was in the kitchen for 10 years. I can say with how hard it is to run a restaurant in general Having staff that cares and good food is something I'm proud to spend my hard earned money on. The guy behind the counter walked me through the revamped menu and even explained the differences between the chicken Shawarmas. One thing I will say. If your on the fence about trying it. Just do it. I feel that there's something on the menu for just about anyone. Oh and one last thing if you like spicy stuff get the green sauce... it's amazing! I love supporting local small businesses. As a small business ourselves we know how big company's can easily make you disappear in search results. So please if you're in the area give them a shot. Next thing you know you're willing to drive through rush hour traffic an hour round trip for it!

I ordered the platter and the chicken sandwich with sumac as well as Tabouleh salad (good tabouleh but not your home made taboukeh). Everything was good. Their falafel was really tasty but could have tasted better if it had a spicy (no hot) kick. But probably it's not loaded with garlic which is socially more acceptable and more environment friendly. Plenty of street parking. Close to Whole Foods and many other shops and a Dunkin' Donuts. Service was quick. You order and they will bring it to your table. I saw Many people doing pick up. Many people came after me, ate then left. I sat there for two hours from 1 PM to 3 PM with a friend. Nobody gave us any looks. The place was clean. I did not get a chance to visit the washrooms. The street is very busy and family and student friendly area. Nice decorative middle eastern touches.

Wanted to like, but nope... cold za'tar fries, Chicken Shawarma Sandwich, the pita was inedible... pan puri was good, but won't be returning.

In the age and area of fancy $1M build-outs and wanna-be fancy overpriced food that doesn't take much talent to cook, this little Palestinian cafe and deli is the antithesis of such excesses and a delight to find. It is throughly unpretentious, inviting, and brings you back to a simpler time when you just want to stop for a bite that feeds your body and soul, and will not break the bank. I have never been to Palestine, but this place makes me feel like I might be there: Palestinian pop music, ornate tiled wooden tables, Turkish delight on the rack, and the smell of falafel and shawarma in the air. I ordered the Beef Shawarma plate. It came with beef shawarma in cucumber sauce served over seasoned yellow rice and a side salad with cucumber, tomato, and romaine dressed in a simple vinaigrette. The beef was tender and well spiced, already chopped, drizzled with a homemade cucumber dressing. It was different than other shawarma I've had in town. The beef was heavy with clove, but I liked it. Some middle eastern places in town dial down the spices too much in order to placate the Minnesotan tongue, but the end result is a sad excuse for ethnic food imho. Zait does not do that. The food feels full of flavor and unashamed of its origin. The best part? My full plate was just $8.95. I believe I have found my go-to middle eastern spot in Mac-Groveland.

We came by here by chance, they greeted us very kindly and were very helpful when deciding what we wanted. We got the msakhan sandwich (more like a wrap) and the butter chicken platter. The sandwich had a Mayo like sauce and the chicken was season so well it added the most flavor. Along with the fries, it was a good and fulfilling meal. The butter chicken was more of a safe decision. Nonetheless, it was very yummy. It came with a salad and rice which added volume and flavor to the chicken. Would come again!

Ordered the Kushari Plate and was immensely happy. Literally the best I've had in a while. Mint Lemonade was also delicious. It's a nice casual restaurant with solid portions. I had some of friend's fries since she couldn't finish and they were decent too despite being cold (due to us being there talking for a long time no reflection on restaurant).

A solid hole in the wall type of place for your middle eastern needs. I highly recommend the shawarma fries, you can't go wrong with a combination of beef and chicken shawarma on top of fries. Their green hot sauce is an absolute must. Big herb flavors with a pleasant mild heat. Prices are super reasonable and the staff are really friendly.

Welcoming place with authentic, fresh falafel, dips, and bread. Parking was easy. The order came quickly.

Went for the Iftar buffet, and it didn't disappoint. Some of the best chaat I've had. Parking is a bit limited, but ambiance is family like, and the restaurant is clean. Staff are all very friendly. A great experience.

Fantastic Mediterranean food! This was my first time trying this place out and they were kind enough to explain the different menu items to me and what they would recommend. I got the chicken shawarma plate with the tahini sauce and it came with a side salad. I didn't have to wait very long at all for my to go order. The flavors were wonderful with the rice and chicken and salad. Definitely want to come back for the fries and garlic Mayo.

Request fresh food and taste so good! The service was good they have remodelled the restaurant, the menu has changed too, and the seating areas as well. I really liked it was so warm and homie environment.

THANK YOU ZAIT & ZA'ATAR for opening during this pandemic, we appreciate small businesses. I called ahead to place my order, and it took them ten minutes to prepare.I got chicken shawarma plate that came with rice and salad. I also got humus and baba ganoush. All the food here is delicious! The staff is wonderful, too!

My primary issue is that I didn't get what I ordered. I ordered mint lemonade and got cumin lemonade. I ordered chicken shawarma fries with no hot sauce and I got a runny hot sauce on top of the fries that made 75% of the meal inedible for me. Service wasn't very good and the restaurant was also dirty. I don't plan to go again.

The best chicken shawarma in the cities! You have to try it! Also, their lemonade is delicious!

This place has the best food, I love to get lunch here, msakhen chicken sandwich is so yummy and fresh.

Super nice people, great homemade food, and amazing ice cream flavors, including some vegan options.

Amazing! Very friendly service. Quick. Hummus was great. Za'atar fries were also great. Good place for lunch.

We love Zait & Za'atar, and not just because it's so conveniently close to our house. Everything on the menu, and by now I think we've tried almost every item, is good in relation to the price. What I mean by that is it may not be top tier mediterranean cuisine, but it's consistently better than I would expect for the price. And at this point in history, value means so much. My favorite is the falafel and I order it every time we get takeout. My go-to entree is the Msakhan chicken plate, which has so much flavor.

I wish you didn't use plastic ware. I only used the fork, but the knife and spoon that came in the packet got thrown out too. And desert came in a styrofoam bowl. None of which is Earth friendly.

Decent Mediterranean fast casual on this side of town. Try the hibiscus and other teas!

Great Food, Wonderful staff, great overall experience. Very authentic middle eastern food. I tried the Shawarma fries. Very tasty and very filling. Stop by and enjoy... highly recommended.

Overall: great value, very delicious food (the only reason I didn't give 5 stars is because I reserve 5 stars for places that I literally can't think of anything that could be improved), and very delicious drinks. I would definitely come back, repeatedly (if I lived in the area). The ambience was nice: casual but well decorated and comfortable, with plenty of available seating when we went for lunch on a Sunday. There is also a little lounge area with couches in a corner. The music was a little loud but was fun music that contributed to the ambience. We had hummus, the chicken shawarma plate, the souq veggie plate, the Za'atar fries, mint lemonade, and hibiscus tea. The hummus was good (not necessarily better than average as far as taste, but definitely solid and worth eating/buying) and served with a little olive oil drizzled on it, which was a nice touch. It was also visually very appealing, but we dug into it before taking a picture. The chicken shawarma was probably the best food item we ordered. The chicken was really tender, not dry at all, and very nicely seasoned. I am a person who hates chicken because it is almost always dry and largely tasteless when I order it at restaurants (Spouse always has to remind me "you don't like chicken" because for whatever reason I forget when it comes time to order food), but after trying this chicken, I would order it in the future despite any and all of Spouse's warnings about my normal dislike for chicken. It was *really* good. The vegetables in the souq veggie plate were very good. They're fried, and I was worried they would be oily or breaded or something, but they were also very good. Not oily (and not breaded even a little bit, hooray!). It's a good variety of vegetables too: zucchini, cauliflowers (probably my favorite thing in the dish), onions, red bell peppers (actually I really liked the onions and peppers too). The dish had the tiniest kick of spicy to it: enough that it adds interest to the dish but not enough that you have to increase your water intake to compensate (and definitely not enough to be overpowering). My only complaint was actually that it had too much of the sauce on top of it. I liked the sauce, but I had to scrape some of it off because I felt there was so much of it that it masked the really nice flavor of the vegetables. For both plates, the rice was perfect for the dishes: neither mushy nor dry; it had a nice flavor and wasn't overly salty, which I've noticed at some restaurants. The salad that came with the plates was also fresh and good. The Za'atar fries were really yummy: they were crisp but not hard, and the seasoning was really nice. They also weren't excessively salty, which can happen with fries. Also it's a generous helping: it's a basket of fries, not the amount you get in a little pocket of fries that you get at drive-through places. Speaking of the generous helping of fries, the overall amount of food was generous. We weren't able to finish all the food we ordered. I think we would have been quite satisfied if we'd just gotten the two plates, even though we both eat a lot of food at baseline (and I have been eating more than I normally do because I am 5 months pregnant). So the serving sizes were a definite plus for me. Lastly, the drinks: Spouse got the mint lemonade, which he really loved (he says it is "as every mint lemonade should be"). I got the hibiscus tea (it's chilled). I don't usually order drinks that aren't water when I go to restaurants because they're usually too sugary for me (soda is really not my thing any more because I am pretty much a 90-year-old living in a millennial's body). This tea was sooooo worth it. It was a little tart but not too much so, and not overly sweet. Lastly lastly, the servers were really friendly! This is definitely a place I could see myself coming to on a regular basis if I lived nearby!