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Amani's Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Middle Eastern Middle Eastern [Edit]
13823 Michigan AveDearborn, MI 48126
(313) 584-1890
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 10 am - 10:30 pm
Sat-Sun 10 am - 12 am
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
28 reviews for Amani's Restaurant
Review Highlights
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"Probably some of the best hummus I've ever had." In 12 reviews -
"The veggie platter has grape leaves, baba humouss and..." In 4 reviews -
"Dearborn has the best Arabic food." In 4 reviews
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28 reviews in English
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Review from Robby S.
Los Angeles, CA
5/8/2012
Staying in the Southfield area, I actually drove around looking for a restaurant, and kept driving until I reached the Dearborn area! I drove by Amani's and thought, "Hmmm, looks like a decent place". Not finding anything else around there, I drove back and grabbed a table.
I ordered the Shish Mix Platter, which is 3 skewers of Shish Kabob, Shish Tawook (chicken), and Shish Kafta (ground beef). All were excellent! I had the hummus instead of the rice it was delicious! Unfortunately, they don't serve any beer or wine, which is a drag, because I would've loved a nice Lebanese beer to go along with the meal! Oh well... Food and service were great! -
Review from Janis C.
10/23/2011 2 photos
I ordered the appetizer of hommos and chicken shawarma.
(Note: The spelling is from the menu.)
This turned out to be enough for three meals.
Seriously! It was huge.
Served up with pickled turnips and a superb pita flatbread. Both were tasty and very flavourful.
Let me not forget about the fresh squeezed carrot juice. And this is an item that can make or break a place for me. Amani's passed with flying colors.
The restaurant itself was bright, cheery and sparkling clean. Even the restroom.
Waitstaff was very friendly and accomodating.
Plentiful parking with easy in and out ability.
No disappointments here.Listed in: Dearborn Anyone?, The trail leads to the D
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Review from Kate R.
I happened into Amani because I needed to run an errand in Dearborn and found it based on my Yelp Blackberry app. The reviews were all I needed so we stopped.
Clue #1 it was going to be stellar: the menu is in Arabic and English.
We chose the platter for 2 and tried to order some falafel as it wasn't listed in the platter description. Thankfully, our waitress (who was awesome) advised that we not order extra food. Apparently the platter includes falafel, but it's only listed on the Arabic side of the menu.
We received our fatoush - very good - and our giant plate of hummus, also amazing. Probably some of the best hummus I've ever had. All we kept seeing were the GIANT plates of food coming out of the kitchen...
...and then it arrived. HUGE plate of food including two chicken breasts, beef kabob, chicken kabob, two lamb kabobs, beef shwarma, and a heaping pile of amazing rice. Oh...and the 8 falafel that arrived on a separate plate. All of it was delicious! AND we had more than enough to take home for lunch!
Definitely will be back again. -
Review from Amy W.
Ypsilanti, MI
9/18/2011
I went on a Saturday night around 6:30 pm before a show at the Majestic. There were two large parties with numerous unruly children who spent the meal crawling on the floor and throwing tantrums. This was obviously out of the restaurant's control, but it definitely did not make for an appealing dinner setting.
The service was pretty atrocious. I kept trying to get someone to take our order and got the same response three times, " No one's helped you?" Followed by an eye roll. The food did come out fairly quickly, but it came haphazardly so that I had my whole meal long before my friend had any of hers.
My friend loved the chicken thing she got but my veggie combo was underwhelming at best. Falafel was dry and bland (how this was managed with such a thick coating of "fried" is a mystery)... basically everything was bland. The pita was the store-bought kind, cut up and put into baggies (I will full on swoon over the fresh-made pita available elsewhere!).
The cleanliness of the place was not the best. Hot sauce bottle on the table was gloppy and gross. Tables and floors sticky and food-covered. The fact that kids at the next table were rolling around on this floor *and putting things from it in their mouths* totally turned my stomach.
Veggie friendly: Yes, the standards, hummus, falafel, etc. I didn't receive any surprise dairy on my meal, so that's a plus.
With so many similar restaurants in the area, I wouldn't go back. -
Review from Annette J.
Dearborn Heights, MI
4/12/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Amazing lunch bargain!
Huge salad + chicken schwarma + a side of hummus and a diet coke for less than 10 bucks. Hot damn!
And the food is quite good. The salad was very fresh, tossed with an olive oil and lemon juice dressing and spices and chock full of cucumber, lettuce, tomato--basically fattoush without the pita chips. It was such a huge serving that I couldn't even finish the whole thing since I wanted to scarf down my schwarma and hummus as well. The hummus was smooth and covered with a ton of flavorful paprika. This may be my favorite hummus in all of Dearborn. Just sayin'. The schwarma was fab, the chicken was nice and juicy, not too greasy but just enough to get a little bit of that dripping into the paper wrapping. The garlic sauce could have been a little more intense but those of you who have read my reviews before know that it takes A LOT of garlic for me to be truly satisfied.
My waiter was so very friendly and sweet. He just had a lovely warmth about him that really helped since the day outside was cold and rainy. Really perked me up! Also? The restaurant falls into the free wifi zone in Dearborn so I was able to get a little bit of work done as I ate which was really nice. The space is roomy and clean, lovely Middle Eastern decor and filled with a lot of families with happy kids munching on french fries and pita. I just felt GOOD in here. Looking forward to my next visit already!Listed in: Best of Dearborn and Da…, Lunch Bunch, Cheap Eats!, Garlic is Grand!, Snappy Salads
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Review from Nadia A.
Sterling Heights, MI
1/10/2012
So my husband had to go to Dearborn for work and said he'd bring dinner home with him. Of course I get all excited bc I'm frkn HUNGRY!!! So he gets home and brings a small bag. I'm thinking ok maybe they package everything individually... He ordered a mixed Shawarma tray and 2 orders of chicken strips w/ff for the kids. I open everything up to set the table and I'm like wtf!!! The salad is covered 2/3rds in water, the chicken strips were still RAW, and the mixed Shawarma plate was barely enough to feed one person! All of the food went straight to the trash! We ended up having to order pizza instead! I would've taken the food back but we live about an hour away! Such a disappointment!
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Review from Krystal R.
Detroit, MI
10/10/2011
Good food and you get a lot for your money. Not the best ambiance, but if you want to take a big group of people and not spend a lot of money this is a great option.
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Review from Joe T.
6/8/2010
This is an Arabic/Mid-East restaurant that really knows what it's doing. First of all, being centrally located in Dearborn aka "Lil' Arabia," the standards are already set high since Arabic restaurants damn near outnumber gas stations in Dearborn! That being said, I must say that I throughly enjoyed my experience here. This place serves casual lunch-style Arabic food (I went around 1pm during lunch hour) with the same finesse that La Marsa of Troy serves dinner, in a slightly more casual environment. Interestingly, they stay open all day on weekdays, but only from 10am to noon on weekends, as per their website. I'm not going to hold those limited business hours against them since it is probably a matter of the time patterns of customers they get.
The wait staff was very kind and friendly. She was prompt in taking our orders, making suggestions, and even having our bills split up front. The presentation of the food was excellent attention to detail. Pickled radishes, onions, lemons, herb leaves that complemented the meal, almond slices, etc - all check, check, check, check and check! I got a chicken and hummus dish that started me off with aromatic and hearty lentil soup with lemon. The soup came out first and well before the meal, which is a mannerism I have grown to appreciate. When my meal came out, I saw a pool of creamy, fresh hummus - with some oil on it and a generous amount of marinated chicken chunks over it. I was trying to go a little lower on carbs - so the hummus with chicken chunks meal and lentil soup starter was perfect. (I had the choice of salad or soup as well).
The chicken was juicy, tender, spiced and tasty. The hummus was fresh and generous in quantity as Detroit-area hummus typically is. The amount of oil hanging out in between the hummus and chicken was enough for it to not feel 3rd wheel, and not so much to make feel like an internal Mid-East oil spill! Great, hearty, fresh and healthy meal that left me with a wide-open ear-to-ear grin afterwards! Best thing of all, this lunch ran me around $9! Fair price for a meal with great taste & presentation in a cozy, casual restaurant in a prime area of Dearborn.
I highly recommend this place for some casual Mid-East dining in the Arabic capital of North America - Dearborn! -
Review from Jessica S.
Detroit, MI
7/19/2010
I've always considered Amani's rather "so-so" as far as Middle-Eastern places go. The food has always been sort of middle of the road, not really great, but not really terrible. It's never my first choice, but not the last either... until last nights dining experience, anyway....
After seeing a movie with some friends visiting from out of town, they asked us to recommend somewhere interesting to go an eat dinner. Eventually, it was narrowed down to Amani's, as Middle-Eastern food was what everyone agreed on. I suggested Cedarland, but my boyfriend said 'No, Amani's is way better' as he always does when faced with the decision between the two. I wasn't thrilled, but I went along with it.
When we arrived, we were seated immediately- but given only a pitcher of ice water (no glasses!) and the menus were kind of tossed on the table at us without any real greeting from our waitress. We actually had to wait quite a while for her to come back so we could flag her down and ask for drinking glasses. The restaurant was pretty empty, maybe 3 other tables were filled in the place.
We decided to start with an order of hummus for everyone to share. This was actually the high point of the meal as the hummus had the perfect flavor and texture, and the pita was fresh and soft. After reminding our waitress twice about the cup of coffee she had forgotten for one member of our party, it finally arrived. This seemed to be a trend that continued throughout the meal. Very forgetful, or she just wasn't listening. We weren't sure which.
As far as our dinners went, 2 out of 5 of us were happy. The shrimp kabob dinner was very disappointing. The rice was bright yellow, and without a shred of flavor. It was also served at what felt like room temperature. The vegetables were literally the Green Giant frozen Mixed Vegetables, (green beans, cubed carrots, corn and peas) and were overdone, mushy and devoid of any flavor, adding insult to injury. The shrimp kabobs were dry, overcooked and nearly impossible to get off of the skewers as a result. All in all, a very unsatisfying meal.
Another member of our party ordered the chicken shawarma dinner, which I thought you could never go wrong with. I was sadly mistaken. The chicken he was served was really, REALLY dry and virtually flavorless. I felt horrible while he sat there just moving food around on his plate, clearly unhappy with his meal. My boyfriend ordered the lamb chops (I say Eew! He says Yum!) which he even admitted after we had left were bland, and that the meat seemed to be of pretty poor quality. He also seconded my opinion on the rice and vegetables.
The other two members of our party ordered the Shish Tawook at my recommendation which, thank goodness, they actually liked. To be honest, their plates were the most appetizing-looking on the table. They actually ended up sharing part of their meals with our disappointed friend who ordered the shawarma.
When the check arrived, everything was on one bill (despite having asked twice while placing the order for one member of the group to be on a seperate check.) furthering the poor service aspect. After we left, I felt horrible. You never want to take friends from out of town to something that they will not enjoy. They were pretty understanding as they obviously knew it wasn't our fault, but it still feels pretty bad to have helped select a place that left a lot to be desired when everyone is really, really hungry, you know?
As we drove home, I remarked to my boyfriend, 'We should have gone to Cedarland." For once, he did not argue. He instead lamented that Amani's used to be his favorite Middle-Eastern place, hands down. How he used to go there at least twice a week. How he and anyone he had taken there had literally never had a bad meal or experience there but, how he was now left wondering when the quality had gone so far down hill.
Final summation: -2 stars for extremely disappointing food, -1 star for not-so-great service. -
Review from Steve C.
San Francisco, CA
6/9/2009
I was visiting relatives in Dearborn and looked to have a good middle eastern meal while in town. Well, we certainly found a great place. We had a lunch combo for two and everything was amazing. The salad had just the right amount of dressing and the bread and hummus was wonderful. The combo platter then came out and it was very impressive. It came with a kabob, meat and chicken shwarma, kafta, tawook and rice. Everything was fantastic. We both had fresh squeezed orange juice that was very sweet. Lastly we had rice pudding that too was incredible.
Al Amin had great service and wonderful food. I would recommend it highly and will be back the next time I am in town. -
Review from Iffat B.
10/10/2009
I went here thinking it would be amazing since it was so highly rated on here.
It wasn't. No where close to amazing. In fact, I was disappointed.
The first thing that really made me dislike this restaurant was the fact that they didn't serve the good warm bread with the sesame seeds on it. Instead, they had the hard, cold bread that tastes like cardboard. The second thing is the decor inside. I felt like I was in a sleazy, unclean, diner.
The hummus was not flavorful and the rice that came with the shish mix plate was cold and dry.
The kababs were good, but nothing you can't get elsewhere.
The only thing that was good was the falafel.
Seriously people, save your money and go elsewhere. There are so many better Lebanese restaurants in Dearborn with a better ambiance, better service, and most importantly, better food! -
Review from Chris C.
Chicago, IL
4/16/2009
My favorite Lebanese restaurant in all of Dearborn. Nice portions & great quality food, plus a friendly wait stuff. Concur with the holes in the booth seats, etc.... it could be a bit nicer inside, but heh, it's all about the food in Dearborn.
Nothing in Chicago comes anywhere close to this place. -
Review from Dea A.
2/1/2008
The hummus and the babaganoush are the exact same recipe as La Shish. We ordered the huge jumbo platter that says it serves three, but really it could serve 4 and 2 children. The fatoush and tabuleh were great, nice fresh ingredients. The meat selection was awesome and not over cooked. The falafels were an in house recipe and delicious. Oh yeah, all that delicious food was for $35. The service was prompt, the food was hot and fresh. What more to ask for? Oh yeah...
- 1 star for having sponge bob on the TV at an annoyingly high volumeListed in: Dearest Dearborn
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Review from Jonny P.
12/6/2010 3 Check-ins Here
Ok... Here's the secret but please don't tell the owners of Hamido or Al Ameer (I frequent both a lot) but Amani's is my favourite Lebanese Restaurant in Dearborn. I ate here @ the end of summer/beginning of fall and it's just simply the best. The dishes are a lot more complex than the 'chicken swarma/shish tawook' fare. My buddies describe a it as 'food your momma would make @ home.' The daily specials are always on point but the portions are HUGE. This is a family style restaurant so it's best to come with at least 4 people who are hungry. I've played cards with the owners so I might be a bit biased. However if someone was to come from out of town to do the whole Dearborn thing I would definitely take them here 1st...
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Review from A.J. S.
3/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
Among people who actually live in Dearborn the restaurant that people actually suggest is Amanis. So, I had to check out the place. I really like middle eastern food, the service was pretty decent here. The food was good, I really like it. The falafel tasted fresh, the hummus was good, everything we had was pretty good. It's kind of a toss up between this place an al-ameer, I think this place was a little bit cheaper. Definitely very good middle eastern though
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Review from Kristin L.
Dearborn, MI
5/16/2010
Amani's is the only Mid-Eastern restaurant I go to, period. Where I work, I often get sent home with plates of hummus, shawarma and baklava but I STILL will pay for the stuff at Amani's. For one, their hummus is consistently delicious. So garlicy and smooth! Some places have that nasty, grainy hummus but Amani's is always great, with some parsley and chick-peas sprinkled over it! I also buy their shawarma sandwiches, particularly the chicken. I like my shawarma simple; some grilled chicken chopped up, with garlic sauce and pickles (extra for me!). That's it! No lettuce, no tomato, no strange mustard sauces, just simple and REALLY good. The fried kibbeh is also awesome, with some tahini sauce to dip.
I often get asked about good places to eat in Dearborn and I always point over to Amani's. Lots of people like al-Ameer (I think mostly because of Anthony Bourdain) but I don't think it is all that.
Amanis does sit-down or you can call in a carryout order. They also have a little deli case in the front if you like rice pudding, parfaits or whatever they decide to put out there that day. They also do smoothies but I've never had them, so I can't vouch for their quality. Amani's is also open pretty late (10:30 PM) and even later during Ramadan, though it is pretty packed during this time so you may have to wait. -
Review from Jennie C.
5/2/2011
My go to place for a great cheap Lebanese food. The food sometimes it's hit or miss, such as too much salt in the rice, too much oil or lemon in the salad, the chicken is too dry, etc... You do get a great meal more often than not. If feel like sharing a meal, try the lunch ( I think they also have a dinner) for 2, it's my favorite!
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Review from Toro E.
San Francisco, CA
2/13/2006
Our favorite restaurant for Middle Eastern food. The best part if the value. Amani's gives to so much food at a very low price I used to go there every week. San Francisco offers so many more superior restaurants compared to Michigan, but Amani is one place we've missed. Next trip to D-town will definitely involve a dinner at Amani's. Note: No table cloth service here. Be prepared to sit on chairs with holes.
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Review from buckminster f.
Somerville, MA
7/25/2011
After having a pretty much perfect meal at Hamido the previous day, we went to Amani's expecting at best a close second. What we got was even better. As a caveat, we are not Middle Eastern but are relatively familiar with the cuisine, each having eaten various versions of it about three to four dozen times. We weren't very hungry, so we ordered the vegetarian special ($12) and a chicken kebab sandwich ($3.75). Both were simply perfect. The veggie special came with tabouli, hummus, baba ganoush, falafel, and grape leaves. The portions were about 50% larger than Hamido's, even though the price differed only by $1. The chicken sandwich was also spectacular, which was surprising, because neither of us prefer chicken, especially breast meat, which we usually find to be flavorless and dry. In this cae, the chicken was moist, flavor-packed, and tender. The complimentary bread and pickles were also nice, although the bread wasn't as good as we had at Hamido, as it was kind of dry. For all this and two soft drinks, we paid less than $20. What's more, we had the leftovers for breakfast and still managed to leave some for yet another meal for one! I just can't believe this place!!
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Review from Onur U.
9/30/2009
Amani's has been a family favorite for years. I decided to order something I hadn't had before and went with the Kibbeh Nayyeh which is spiced raw ground lamb mixed with cracked wheat and served with raw cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes. It was exquisite. The spices were assertive and the cracked wheat added excellent texture to the dish. Also we ordered the typical veggie platter which included baba ghannoug, hoummos, stuffed grape leaves, falafel, and fattoush (which we substituted for the tabbouleh). The baba is perfectly smokey, the hoummos served much creamier than usual but wonderful, the falafel fluffy and spicy, and the fattoush is my favorite of anywhere in Dearborn. You can't believe how much food you can get for under $20 at Amani's. I can't recommend it highly enough.
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Review from Jay P.
Chandler, AZ
12/20/2010
When we walked into the restaurant and found the place packed with people of Middle eastern origin, I took it as a hopeful sign of authenticity and quality. Well, I was wrong. The food was so-so and the service, while the waiters were pleasant enough, left much to be desired. All in all it was a very disappointing evening.
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Review from Jeff S.
10/14/2009
Great flavorful food and huge portions too! The shwarma in particular was fantastic here. There was actually so much food that we took away the equivalent to 2 more meals. The staff was very competent and friendly. Dearborn has the best Arabic food. Hope to go back one day when I'm in town again.
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Review from Tamara F.
Detroit, MI
1/31/2009
My current favorite Arabic restaurant. The marinated grilled chicken is so tasty and succulent, nothing compares. My favorite salad is Tabbouli and they do it excellent. The veggie platter has grape leaves, baba humouss and pretty good falafil, which is not easy to perfect. So reasonably priced, authentic food, wonderful wait staff never let my water get low- they also left a pitcher. Olive oil is on the table. Fantastic lentil soup. This food is authentic, the customers are mostly from the middle east and they are awesome to everyone who comes. You take home food for a week for around $30 for 2 people. Nothing compares.
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Review from mike c.
Dearborn Heights, MI
6/27/2011
I've tried this amani's and the one on warren and I'm sure they have nothing to do with each other I love this one great food I usually just order to go though but I ordered from the amani's on warren once and they're food was terrible
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Review from John H.
Warren, MI
4/23/2010 1 photo
Great Lebanese food was recommended by my Lebanese co-worker, very good food, good portions, great lunch combos and excellent waitstaff...I visit once or twice a week!
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Review from David W.
Rochester, MN
7/2/2010
This place is much more modern on the inside than the outside would let you believe. I came around 2 pm, and I guess I just missed their lunch hours--I got the dinner menu. As a consequence, the portions were larger and the prices were higher. Oh well, at least I came hungry.
They start you off with water, pita bread and pickled turnips. I thought the turnips were just a less-sweet type of gari (think sushi ginger) but my guest promptly proved me wrong when he asked our waitress. This was my first time ever having turnips, and I wasn't a fan. Wrapping them in pita bread (is this what you are supposed to do?) helped make them a bit more palatable, but I ended up giving up on them after having a few.
After the starter bread, I got the lentil soup. Squeeze a little lemon juice in there and you've got some scrumptious soup. My entree was chicken shawarma, and it came out from the kitchen very fast. I had gotten my shawarma on twice before--one time I had it out at a restaurant and another time I attempted to make it. Every time I had chicken shawarma, it was completely different. The first place served it shredded in some yummy juice. This wasn't anything like that. Here it was broiled and seasoned chicken that was sliced (I guess it was *technically* shredded, but not very finely). I got it with a side of rice. The great part about this meal is that I felt pretty sinless afterward--everything was very healthy. And it was good-tasting. It didn't completely blow me away, but it was a perfectly-good meal. I thought this quality meal was a little over-priced ($14) but the price doesn't deter me from coming back again--I'll just have to be sure I get there in time to order off the lunch menu.
On my way out, I eyed up the fish someone else had ordered--I think it was the orange ruffy. Smelled and looked delicious! I guess I know what I'll be ordering next time!
The service here was great, and the place is nice inside. Stop by if you're in the area and give it a shot. I'm definitely interested in exploring the menu a bit more. -
Review from NAEL K.
San Francisco, CA
4/10/2010
good falafel . good quality meat for the lamb shawerma , tabouleh little dry , and hummus and grape leaves were kind of okay for a middle eastern place . an enjoyable meal after all
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Review from susan M.
Warren, MI
6/18/2010
Best place ever! I have never gotten any thing bad from here and the service is top notch. If you are in the area make sure to stop here. So worth it!!!!
