Middle Eastern in Miami

Abbalé Telavivian Kitchen

2956 NE 199th St. Aventura/North Miami Beach

305-587-4242

Middle Eastern, Mediterranean

1 article

Almazar Greek and Middle Eastern Fine Foods

1665 SW 107th Ave. Central Dade

305-225-1127

Greek, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Best Of, Menu

It doesn't take much to enjoy the best baklava in town; all you need to do is put $3.50 in your pocket and drive to Westchester. Almazar Greek and Middle Eastern Fine Foods, across the street from FIU's University Park campus, offers two varieties: walnut and pistachio. Unlike many baklavas, these aren't too rich or too sweet. What is sweet: Try both for only $5. If you arrive with an appetite for the savory, order the lentil soup or homemade falafel. Choose from a variety of sandwiches made with baba ghannouj (eggplant), hummus, or shawarma. A refreshing yogurt salad with cucumbers, mint, and garlic is perfect for a light lunch. Almazar is also a bakery and delicatessen full of goodies such as fresh Middle Eastern cookies, ladyfingers, fresh feta cheese, and green olives. You'll run into many FIU students opting for Almazar over the campus cafeteria or fast-food joints. Or could it be the hookah pipes -- also for sale -- that draw them?

1 article

Amal

3480 Main Highway, Ste. 100 Coconut Grove

786-369-0846

Lebanese, Middle Eastern

2 articles

Barbar Grill

440 SW 8th St. Little Havana

305-854-6381

Lebanese, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Vegetarian, Best Of

Some of the best falafels in this city are to be found, oddly enough, in Little Havana. Barbar Grill, with a façade that evokes more corner store than dining establishment, serves up Lebanese fare behind a counter that overlooks a stockpile of hookah pipes, shisa tobacco, and packaged Middle Eastern condiments. Fresh falafels ($3.99) are assembled to order - doughy, flaky homemade pita is stuffed with creamy tahini, on-the-spot-fried chickpeas, fresh tomatoes and lettuce, thinly sliced pickled turnip, and a dousing of a special spicy house sauce. The family-owned market is also known for its shawarmas ($5.99) - hot, flaky pockets of lavash bread packed with juicy marinated shaved lamb, veggies, and tahini sauce. For vegetarians, the hummus ($6) offers heavy notes of lemon and paprika and is served with homemade pita. There's also a rotating assortment of desserts behind a glass display. If you decide to stop by, take note that there's a tiny parking lot in the back - you can't see it from the street, and unaware patrons have been observed paying for metered parking spots.

2 articles

Byblos

1545 Collins Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

786-864-2990

Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Recommended, Best Of, Slideshow, Readers' Choice, Essentials

Byblos, the Eastern Mediterranean restaurant at the Royal Palm South Beach, focuses on interpreting dishes from Levantine culture, found mostly in Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and parts of southern Turkey. The original Byblos is in Toronto, and as is often the case with Miami outposts, this one offers a more extensive seafood selection than its Canadian sibling. It's equipped with a wood-burning oven, used to bake pide (Turkish flatbread) and to finish off whole fish, lamb, and chicken dishes that are rustic yet refined.

31 articles

Cleo South Beach

1776 Collins Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

305-534-2536

Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Recommended, Best Of

You will quickly cozy up to Cleo, the Redbury Hotel's eatery. Stellar cocktails and mezzes certainly help, while the affordable menu and reasonably priced wine list are impressive for South Beach. Then there's the enticing room replete with photos of starlets portraying Cleopatra. Tables, meanwhile, are set with butcher-block paper, a colored pencil for doodling, and mismatched antique plates. Then there's the pace — very fast. If you've never experienced a meal with this kind of food, the goal is to fill the table. The signature dish is Brussels sprouts. The vegetables' leaves are removed, fried, and bathed in a vinaigrette of capers, anchovies, chili, parsley, almonds, and red wine vinegar. There's nothing cutting-edge here, but when it's so delicious, who cares? The same can be said about the falafel. Seven lightly fried spheres are paired with tahini and tabbouleh, a classic Middle Eastern bulgur salad. Well seasoned and crisp even the following day, the falafel seems like a steal.

23 articles

Daily Bread Pinecrest

12131 S. Dixie Highway East Kendall/Pinecrest

305-253-6115

Middle Eastern, Best Of, Menu

Since 1978, this market, bakery, and eatery has been the spot in P-Crest to buy a tub of tzatziki, fresh pita chips, a hookah, or any Middle Eastern fare. Among our favorites are the parsley-heavy tabbouleh, flavorful marinated chicken platters, excellent falafel, and gyro pita pockets dripping with tahini and salad garnishes. Also superb are the pastries, all very sweet and drenched with butter and honey. It's a lunch-counter-service kind of joint, but if you're not a fan of take-out, no worries: Daily Bread has a full-fledged dining room decked out in a colorful mural and large booths with tables that have plenty of room for a massive lamb kafta kebab platter.

5 articles

Hakan Turkish Grill

1040 Alton Rd., Miami Beach South Beach

305-534-9557

Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Recommended, Menu

Your best bet at Hakan Turkish Grill might be to order the mixed meze of conventional Turkish appetizers. Centering the plate is a zesty white bean salad flavored with olive oil, vinegar, and flecks of scallion, green pepper, black olive, and tomato. Other components such as charred eggplant dip, rice-stuffed grape leaves, and a red caviar-yogurt spread (tamara) are good too, and the fluffy homemade pita bread, warmed and smoked on the grill, is fantastic. You might want to try etli kuru fasulye, a lamb and white bean stew with soft, succulent cubes of muttonlike meat in a tomato-based broth - more soup than stew, but tasty nonetheless.

Jerusalem Market & Deli

16275 Biscayne Blvd., Sunny Isles Beach North Miami

305-948-9080

Middle Eastern, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Six tables with four seats around each form the "deli" part of Jerusalem, along with a counter behind which the Middle Eastern specialties get prepared. The décor is provided by the other sector of space, a market featuring shelves lined with all manner of groceries imported from the Middle East. Glass refrigerator doors along the back wall open to other fetching imports, like a wide array of cook-at-home bourekas (spinach, cheese, or meat-filled pockets of pastry). A microwave mars some of the reheated fried foods, like kibel and falafel, but other renditions of popular Mideast foods are superb, such as a velvety smooth hummus and a baba ghannouj imbued with subtle undertones of charred eggplant flavor. Best all-around bet might be the cold combo plate, with these salads as well as tabbouleh, pink pickled cabbage slaw, and pita bread. Grab some chocolate-coated halvah for dessert.

4 articles

Khoury's Mediterranean Restaurant

5887 SW 73rd St., South Miami Coral Gables/S. Miami

305-662-7707

Greek, Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Best Of, Menu

Khoury's is a quiet Lebanese restaurant with a wood paneled interior that, thanks to some unbefitting vinyl booths, looks like it may have been converted from a fast food joint. And despite shy servers, flavorless hummus ($4.50), and super-citrusy tabbouleh ($5.25), it's got a few things going for it. It's one of few restaurants in the Sunset Place area that has a parking lot and a nice, breezy patio. Another huge plus is very-sesame-seedy tahini sauce ($1.50 for a small serving) served on the side of crisp, neat little balls of falafel ($4.25) and mixed in heavily with baba ghannouj ($4.75). It's also served on many of its sandwiches such as a savory shawarma sandwich ($6.75) that does lamb proud. Speaking of tasty meat, a kaftah kebab (despite a side of hummus) is tender, smoky, and splendid, as is a fried kibeh ($4.25) filled with minced beef, onion, and pine nuts. For a light dessert, try mini roses (2 for $2.50), a smaller version of baklava (which is also available for $4.50) sans pistachios.

2 articles

Layali

11402 NW 41st St., #115 Doral

305-403-0188

Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Recommended

This Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant offers many familiar items (hummus, baba ghannouj, kebabs) but also more unusual, specifically Lebanese, specialties from the chef/owners' home country. Especially recommended are muhamarah (red pepper, walnut, chili, and olive oil dip), shanklish (fresh cheese balls with thyme), Al Rahib salad (a chunky smoked eggplant salad with garlic), and tasty pita wrap sandwiches stuffed with Lebanon's favorite sausages, mild but savory Makanik or hot Sujik.

1 article

Maoz Vegetarian

1657 Washington Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

305-534-6269

Middle Eastern, Vegetarian

This Lincoln Road adjacent falafel spot is part of a larger set -- a chain of international franchieses that specalize in vegetarian and vegan eats. At Maoz Vegetarian, you can score a falafel sandwich for a mere $5.95 or a salad for $7.95. Plus, they've got vegan soups, juices, and salad bar toppings for your sammy or salad free of charge, everything from sliced red cabbage and tabouli to roasted cauliflower and broccoli. It's cheap, it's healthy and it's about time it made its way to Miami Beach.

7 articles

Marhaba Mediterranean Cuisine

5861 Sunset Dr., South Miami Coral Gables/S. Miami

305-666-9600

Middle Eastern, Restaurants, Recommended, Menu

Marhaba is a calm, pleasant dining alternative to the larger, noisier franchised eateries of the Shops at Sunset Place. Begin with the fulsome fattoush salad: a plate of greens tossed with cucumbers, green peppers, radishes, scallions, tomatoes, and pita bread croutons, all splashed in sumac-spiked vinaigrette. Hummus, falafel, and baba ghanouj appetizers are the crowd-pleasing favorites here, but the more distinctive dishes are worth trying — especially makdoos, which are baby pickled eggplant filled with a savory relish of garlic and minced nuts. Most main courses are grilled kebabs of lamb, beef, chicken, or shrimp skewered with peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Best is a long, narrow kafta kebab of spiced, ground lamb. Only two desserts are offered: baklava and a diaphanous disc of milk pudding pooled in rose syrup and capped with pistachios. Read our full review.

1 article

Maroosh

223 Valencia Ave. Coral Gables/S. Miami

305-476-9800

Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Recommended, Best Of

Speaking about a restaurant in New York, the great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." He could have been talking about Maroosh, a first-rate Middle Eastern restaurant that draws regular crowds despite flying under the local foodie radar. Skip the vaguely Mediterranean dishes on the lengthy menu and stick with the Middle Eastern specialties: dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), foul medamas (fava bean puree with tomatoes), meaty little Lebanese sausages, and empanada-like pies with a lemony spinach filling. Garlicky lamb kebabs, both ground and in big chunks, are tender and juicy, as is lemon-marinated chicken breast. Finish with an elegant rendition of the classic baklava.

6 articles

Miami Squeeze

18315 W. Dixie Highway Aventura/North Miami Beach

305-935-9544

Middle Eastern, Health, Best Of

1 article

Michael's Cafe

9851 N. Kendall Dr., Palmetto Bay East Kendall/Pinecrest

786-497-0841

Greek, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Best Of

This Middle Eastern restaurant in Kendall is not a mirage. It was once a gas station next to the railroad tracks but has been transformed into an outdoor café that serves as an oasis for locals. There is live music almost every night and a vast assortment of ice-cold Middle Eastern beers. The large-screen TV sets are all tuned to Lebanese stations (in Arabic). You can get a hookah with flavored tobacco, and smoke while watching the live belly dancing Friday and Saturday nights. But best of all is the food, especially the kibbe, which costs $4.95 for two pieces. They make it fresh by combining crushed wheat with minced beef or lamb, sautéed onions, and pine nuts. The combination is then rolled into a ball and deep-fried, kind of like falafel. The kibbe platter comes with grape leaves, hummus, tabbouleh, lentil rice, and pita bread, and sells for $11.99. Wash it down with Michael's special Turkish coffee ($1.50), and forget about taking that trip to Israel.

2 articles

The Middle East Best Food

1715 Coral Way Coral Gables/S. Miami

305-856-5657

Market, Middle Eastern, Best Of

It's pretty bold to hang signs in your window and above your cash register claiming you serve the best pita in the nation. But owner Aziz Ali stands by his claim and refuses to tell anyone why this is so. "It just is," he says. "I don't want to give you my secret." Know what? He's right. The man makes arguably the finest pita bread. But it's not nearly as fine as his lamb shawarma ($7.95), a deliciously large concoction wrapped with mountain bread and loaded with savory accouterments. He also sells spinach, meat, and cheese pies for only $6 each, along with stuffed cabbage with rice and meat (eight pieces for $7.50) and just about every Middle Eastern-style pastry imaginable. There's no menu, only three tiny tables with two seats each, and zero ambiance, but Ali's charisma brightens up the little space. On your way out, pick up funky items such as pickled lemons, "special seeds," and nabulsi cheese ($8.95 for 20 ounces). And start political conversations with the locals milling about - the place will go from quiet to lively faster than you can slam a tub of his hummus.

4 articles

Oriental Bakery & Grocery

1760 SW Third Ave. Downtown/Overtown

305-854-0501

Bakery, Grocery, Market, Middle Eastern, Best Of

This family-run grocery/bakery is a Miami establishment that has been around since 1954. From the minute you walk in, you find aisles overflowing with Middle Eastern ingredients, supplies, and household items. Toward the back of the store is a cafeteria with a selection of hot items, platters, and side dishes made fresh daily by a family member. The seating area is small and in the middle of the store, but the friendly service makes up for the awkwardness. The freshly made hummus, lebna, and baba ghannouj are all served with thick pitas and sold individually ($3.99) or on a platter ($6.99). Traditional dishes such as shawarma ($5.99), shish kebab ($5.99), and rack of lamb ($9.99) are ample portions served with two sides and fresh pita. For a real treat, try the daily specials, which range from makloubah ($5.99) to lamb shanks ($6.99), depending on the day. Desserts are traditional pastries. Most customers grab some baklava or ma'amoul on the way out.

13 articles

The Original Daily Bread Marketplace

2400 SW 27th St. Coconut Grove

305-856-0363

Middle Eastern, Recommended, Best Of

Enter this spacious Middle Eastern market and you'll find everything from hookahs and CDs to cheese and olives by the pound. Part market, part restaurant, the Daily Bread is a good standby to pick up a casual bite or some Middle Eastern goods for your pantry. You'll find spices, cheeses, jams, candies, nuts, and bags of pita. Fill your basket and head to the counter for falafel, kibbeh, lamb kafta, or beef shawarma, served in a pita or on a platter. Try the falafel sandwich: Chickpea fritters come wrapped in a thin pita and topped with crunchy pickled cabbage, lettuce, and tomato. Order them with a side of hummus and enjoy in the cafeteria-style dining room or at home. For a sweet ending, try the baklava or a date mamoul, a sort of cookie filled with dates and nuts.

13 articles

Original Pita Hut

530 41st St., Miami Beach Mid/North Beach

305-531-6090

Kosher, Middle Eastern, Recommended

Most people order either the flawlessly seasoned falafels or the shawarma, real slices of lamb and turkey piled atop each other on a rotating spit. Whichever you choose, it's worth paying the extra dollar and substituting a larger, fluffier laffa bread for the pita — besides tasting better and holding more food, the laffa is far less likely to sprout a leak of tahini onto your favorite T-shirt. Top seeds among the numerous freshly prepared salads are a creamy and char-flavored baba ghannouj and a hummus whose consistency is neither too wet from excessive oil, nor dry and pasty like the commercial stuff. The Middle East combo includes both of these spreads along with tabbouleh, tahini, and a mildly spicy Turkish salad of diced tomato, onion, celery, peppers, and parsley.

3 articles

Pita Loca

601 Collins Ave., Miami Beach South Beach

305-673-3388

Middle Eastern, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Pita Loca in South Beach is an Israeli joint where the falafels are filled with warm spice and crunch, the hummus is peerlessly smooth, the shwarma features real roasted lamb, and the salad bar is a smorgasbord of eminently crammable comestibles. Pay the extra buck and get your sandwich on lafa bread, which is larger and fluffier than pita. After the requisite splash of nutty tahini sauce, point to the items in the salad bar you want stuffed into your sandwich and a nice man behind the counter will oblige: Pickles, coleslaw, tabouleh, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, hot peppers — keep pointing until the man starts looking a little less nice, which means you're pushing it. You won't find a much better sandwich in town.

7 articles

Pita Plus of Aventura

18833 Biscayne Blvd. Aventura/North Miami Beach

305-935-0761

Middle Eastern, Restaurants, Best Of

People swear by the lamb shwarma and chicken pita sandwiches at Pita Plus. The lamb is shaved off the spit before your eyes and added to your fresh warm pita (whole wheat pitas are also available), then topped with your choice of fresh vegetables, sauces and peppers to create a sandwich that's uniquely your own and totally delicious. Nothing much to look at (it's your typical lunch place), but fresh and healthy food served at a fraction of the price of a restaurant that has candles and music. Pita Plus is kosher, so don't get a hankering on a saturday -- they're closed. If you're Muslim, the food is Halal, so you can enjoy, too.

1 article

Rice House of Kabob

1450 NW 87th Ave. Doral

305-418-9464

Middle Eastern, Persian, Best Of, Menu

The sparse, modern, clean-lined décor; the giant menu posted on a lofty wall; the smiling faces behind a fast-food counter - all properly imply a predominantly take-out joint, but there are plenty of seats for those who wish to dine in the bright environment. Americanized items such as caesar and Greek salads, sautéed vegetables with alfalfa sprouts, and a veggie melt sandwich with Provolone and American cheeses, make their presence on the minimal menu. But rice and kebabs are the calling cards here and are immersed in Persian influences. Or at least immersed in sumac, which lent its sprightly astrigency to the three grilled meats featured in a Super Combo Kabob: moist cubes of chicken, juicy hunks of beef tenderloin, a long sausagelike strip of ground beef enhanced with spirited spicing and minced onions (kubideh), and two wedges of grilled, unseasoned tomato. Of course, these are also served individually, as is a well-marinated swordfish kebab. All come with choice of flatbread, salad, or rice, and prices range from $6 to $8 if paired with the bread, $7 to $9 if served with either of the last two options. The other specialty of the house is rice, which comes prepared three ways: zereshk, with cranberrylike barberries and saffron; baghali, with dill and baby lima beans; and adas, with lentils, saffron, and golden raisins. A main course portion goes for $4.99, and is, quite frankly, boring; better to try this as a side ($1.99).

1 article

Rice House of Kabob

1318 Alton Rd., Miami Beach South Beach

305-531-0332

Middle Eastern, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

The sparse, modern, clean-lined decor; the giant menu posted on a lofty wall; the smiling faces behind a fast-food counter — all properly imply a predominantly takeout joint, but there are plenty of seats for those who wish to dine in the bright environment. Rice and kebabs are the calling cards here and are immersed in Persian influences. Or at least immersed in sumac, which lent its sprightly astrigency to the three grilled meats featured in a Super Combo Kabob: moist cubes of chicken, juicy hunks of beef tenderloin, a long sausage-like strip of ground beef. Of course, these are also served individually, as is a well-marinated swordfish kebab.

1 article

Rice Mediterranean Kitchen

2500 Biscayne Blvd. Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

305-705-6090

Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Menu

Shaddai Fine Lebanese Cuisine

9519 S. Dixie Highway East Kendall/Pinecrest

786-401-7714

Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Menu, Essentials

Tucked away in the corner of a Pinecrest strip mall is the urban culinary oasis, Shaddai Fine Lebanese Cuisine. You'll find three floor lamps of varying heights and colors, three wooden camel statues, and a wall adorned with three swords. Nearby are three booths. Are these trios symbolic of the Holy Trinity? Perhaps. The Bethlehem-born owner, Anton Sammour, known as Chef Tony, has been cooking Lebanese food since he was 8 years old. His wife, Elizabeth, who works the front of the house, is from Guatemala. If you make it through the plethora of appetizers, you will be greeted by kebabs, lemon chicken, rack of lamb, and spicy fish. You might also be greeted by a server saying, "Con permiso," as she reaches to fill your water, reminding you that you're still in Miami and not at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East. Service may be slow, but for now, there's only one person in the kitchen, and he says, "I would rather have people wait a bit longer than have a bad meal."

3 articles

Shawarma Mediterranean Grill

11752 Kendall Dr. West Kendall

305-596-3121

Middle Eastern, Recommended

Shawarma is a popular street food in the Middle East, and like all popular street foods, it's pretty tasty. Though you're unlikely to find a guy carving meat off a stick at a stand here in Miami, you can try this kind of fare at Shawarma in Kendall. The meat shawarma is fragrantly spiced and served with lettuce, tomatoes, and tahini sauce. If you're not ready for the full herby flavor, try the chicken shawarma. You can get smooth hummus as an appetizer or a sandwich, as well as baba ghanouj. The kafta sandwich is like a hamburger, rolled long to fit across a pita and seasoned with onion and parsley, among other spices. For dessert try the baklava or sesame cookies known as barazik.

Subres Grill

2218 NE 123rd St., North Miami; North Miami

305-899-0095

Middle Eastern, Kosher, American, Menu

1 article

Sunrise Pita & Grill

2680 N. University Dr. Plantation/Sunrise/Tamarac

954-748-0090

Middle Eastern, Sandwiches, Kosher

1 article

Vix at Hotel Victor

1144 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach South Beach

305-779-8888

Asian, Contemporary, Indian, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Recommended

Chef James Wierzelewski has cooked in exotic locations for 20-some years, gathering gastronomic ideas from places the way tourists collect T-shirts. The menu at Vix, however, is no hodgepodge homage to his travels but rather a short, sensible compilation of mostly Mediterranean and Asian dishes, with a few tips of the toque toward Central and South America. The arrival of a basket brimming with fresh-from-the-tandoor-oven naan bread is the first sign Vix is paying attention to details. A ceviche of tequila-and-lime-soaked saltwater prawns exudes pristine quality, while grape-leaf-encased sausages of minced Moroccan-spiced Merguez lamb let you know this chef isn't afraid to heat things up. Full flavors and sharp contrasts are displayed in entrées such as Basque-style loup de mer, a firm-fleshed white fish fillet seared and dressed with chorizo-fortified tomato bouillon; fresh, meaty artichoke hearts; and a sweet red pimiento polenta. Risotto was also exemplary. No such luster brightened a dull "chow mein" of Hong Kong barbecued duck and lobster, but we didn't say Vix was perfect.

2 articles

Middle Eastern in Miami

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