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Category: Mediterranean
Neighborhoods: Theater District, Hell's Kitchen50th St-8th Ave (C, E)
50th St-Broadway (1)
49th St-7th Ave (N, R, W)
Mention Yelp and receive 10% OFF your bill. Exp 1/8/10
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Everything I had here was DELICIOUS! I shared the mezze appetizer plate, spinach and goat cheese pastry, and lamb hummus with roasted pine nuts. The lamb hummus entree is to die for. Every single dish tasted like it was made with love. Even better is their BYO policy.
However, the price is a little steep for my student budget ($25 for one meal) and the place is very small. We were a party of three, and my chair basically blocked the one and only pathway in the entire restaurant. But to compensate, the servers were extremely friendly and helpful. It's definitely easy to feel at home here.
I used to go here a lot when it opened and used to like it. Tasted like my grandmothers food. I ordered in a few months ago and was appalled by the quality of the food. Everything was super salty to the point of inedibility(is that a word?) and the lamb in my sandwich was so effing tough I struggled with it for a while and finally gave up. I'm not kidding it was impossible to bite in to.. Had to toss the entire thing in the garbage.
Incredibly dissapointing $25 dinner for one.
I thought I would give it another shot last month.. While the service was as nice and friendly as ever, the food sucked. I'm so done with that place.. Don't waste your money here go eat the street meat at 53rd and 6th or 45th and 6 th.
Though it's very, very small, Gazala Place is a fun place to go with a (tiny) group of friends. It has the added benefit of the potential of you looking really smart and worldly - "hey, wanna go out for some Druze food? You don't know what Druze is?! Geez, don't you EVER read the paper?"
The waitstaff is able to talk about the food as if they actually made it themselves which, well, they probably did. My group decided to go the mezze route and just order a bunch of appetizers and one entree to share. Loved the falafel and the cegar in particular, and the fresh bread of course. The dessert special of the day was this amazing cake soaked in milk and honey with a yogurt, blueberry, and pistachio topping which was a perfect balance to the semi-heavy dinner. BYOB, no corkage - is there a better phrase in the English language? Probably, but that one is up there. I'm a fan.
THIS IS THE WORST! restaurant I've ever been to after 15 years of dinning in metro NYC area.
FOOD : I ordered a salad to go that included olives....& found NO OLIVES when I opened it up at home. ONLY OLIVE STEMS!! & very small portion, SOGGY vegetables!!! It was so disgusting!
SERVICE : The waitress "Threw" my bill at me & forgot to give me a receipt ... Also, even after a very very long wait .. she didn't even bother to hand me the food that came out from the kitchen while ago! she was busy doing her own thing.
ICAN NOT believe that they think it's OK to be so RUDE & Uneducated....
NEVER GO HERE!!!
This place is great. Everything is homemade and you can really taste the FRESHNESS! My favorites are the bourekas.. flakey bead stuffed with goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes. The paper thin pita bread is also a new twist when dipping in the hommus... and as wrapping for the
chicken kebab sandwich, which is wonderful. The salads are fantastic along with the stuffed grape leaves.
4 stars for the lentil soup and house salad (if you're into vinegar), 3 stars for everything else. I've been to Gazala's twice, and both times got the Boureka. You fool me twice shame on you.....i won't allow myself a third mistake. The boureka is what they push here, it truly is unique, but incredibly rich and unfulfilling. I wish the goat cheese was more evenly distributed, and that there was less of it. It didn't blend well with the flaky crust, and the sun-dried tomatoes overpowered the dish in one variety, and the spinach was too muted in the other. On a late Friday night music was blasting........for such a small space they shouldn't fill it with such loud random music. It's cozy inside, exposed brick gets me everytime. I'll be back because the things they do well, they do really well.
From the second you walk into Gazala Place, its charm and authenticity takes hold of you. You'll spot the freshly baked Israeli breads and desserts laying out on the front counter and the clueless yet cheerful waitresses scurrying around the 20-seat restaurant. It's definitely a very particular type of restaurant, so you have to be in the mood for a cozy, laid back spot.
My friend and I, who hadn't caught up for over a year, split the hummus tahini and the fish special. The hummus was very smooth and creamy and had a bit of a peanuty taste to it. The pita that accompanied it was much thinner than regular pita, which was nice because we didn't fill up on it. The fish was served whole so we had to separate the meat from the bone ourselves, apparently a skill I am not so good at! Nonetheless, the fish was juicy, flavorful and had a deliciously flakey outer crust. I was a huge fan! The hummus and fish were a perfect amount of food to share without leaving overly stuffed. And the best part is that it is a BYO and cheap!!! All in all -- a perfect place to catch up with a friend.
Very friendly service and the food was amazing. Great place to drop in for a great coffee and a meze platter. The breads are baked fresh right there in the dining room and they are incredible.
I have been wanting to come here ever since i moved in next door almost 2 years ago. I am not quite sure what took me so long to get in here but i finally made it!
Came in very causally with a white hanes v neck and my running shorts. The staff is VERY friendly and helpful! Even the guy next to our table was more than willing to help us find the best dish. It was almost to the point where we thought he was the PR guy for the place.
I forget what we had but i really enjoyed it all except for the grape leaves; then again they're never to my liking so take it as is.
It's small and intimate and def. a great place for Mediterranean food and service.
Hit or miss is a perfect description for this place. It is Druze street food, which is a bit like Turkish, but mostly like Lebanese or Syrian mediterranean because of the excessive use of tahini.
Dont let all that ethnic exotic-ness fool you - the owner is horrible to her staff and customers. Service is very pushy, you'd think they work off commission. I happen to be privy to the sad reality that she only hires immigrants with no status so she doesnt have to pay them an hourly wage or her labor taxes, then overworks them. So if you have a problem with this, incorporate that into your decision to support her with your money.
Go for two noteworthy items:
1. the bourekas (borek in turkish, spanakopita in greek). To DIE for! I prefer the spinach over the sun-dried tomato. Cant lie, these are so fabulous, and even better late night in your apartment heated in the oven.
2. The dessert that starts with an "o" and is served in large and small sizes. To DIE for as well! MMM!
Chicken, beef balls, hummus, babaganoush, they were all just meh. Tabouli was great.
They have NO ALCOHOL, its BYO. And they wont seat you until all of your party is there.
What I like most about this place is the atmosphere -- I love the cushioned benches, the waitstaff are all extremely friendly and informative, the music is lively but not too loud, and the clientele are all there to enjoy losing themselves in authentic Turkish cuisine... Plus it's BYOB with no corkage fee!
Now for the food: I like it but I'd say it's just okay, it's decent, it's good, there's nothing at all wrong with it in any way, but there's also nothing spectacular about it... I've had all of the appetizers (tabouli, falafel, baba ganoush, houmus, turkish salad, labanee, vegetarian grape leafs, meat grape leaves, kibbe, tahini, vegetarian cegar, meat cegar, chak choka) and couple of the main dishes (foul moudammas, cucumber soup, spinach and cheese pie, lamb kebab) -- everything was pretty good, but I thought either the portions could be a little larger or the prices could be a little lower.
Desserts are delicious here, particularly their walnut baklavah which is the one thing on the menu I'd consider special. The pistachio is good but not unique. The date cakes are very good but rather small for the money.
I just had some very good food at this place. This was my second time having dinner at this place, and I am liking it more and more.
Our dinner started with a combination vegetarian appetizers. We chose 4 among their list. Our choice was Felafel which was very good. We also had kibbe, labanee and hummus. I forgot the name of the other one we chose.
For main entree, I ordered the special that night, which is Grilled Orata with lemon garlic juice. It was great. The fish was charred but not bitter. The meat was moist inside. My husband had a mixed grill of meats and that was cooked perfectly. Entrees were served with a side salad which was very good as well. Without dessert, our check came out to about $60 (without tip yet).
The place is very small. There is no space between our table and the next. But the food makes up for this.
The staff is warm and attentive.
Fresh falafels here are AMAZING! The tahini sauce that goes with the falafels is perfectly creamy and has the perfect taste. Other good things here include: hummus and spinach feta pastries.
Tired of mediocre Middle Eastern restaurants with hummus tasting like-store bought and pitas are from a bag? Welcome to the Gazala Place, an Israeli Druze restaurant.
It is a gourmet middle eastern restaurant, each dish made on premises with care. Babbaganush is to die for it has a nicely smoked flavor and all flavors are just perfectly balanced. The foul is fantastic, a rare feat, unless you go to Brooklyn's Yemeni area.
The cegara (or cigariyah) pita fingers stuffed with spiece potatoes.
The Turkish salad is not what you'd get in other places. It's harif--it's made of dried peppers and other things. Very very nice.
Their bourekes (filo pastries stuffed with goat cheese and spinach, or sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese) are amazing--pricey but well worth it.
It's a great place for vegetarians, though vegetarians will have to do with appetizer dishes.
But the thing to save space for is their signature desert: Osh al-saraia
It's not a cheap joint but you have to pay for food of amazing quality, prepared with care.
And don't expect your typical pitas!
My husband and I live around the neighborhood and this place is always packed! It's a small place that seats around 20 people.
We thought it was a pizza place, but I guess we should have read the menu first. To make this review short and straight to the point, the food and service was good, but it's not something we would go back to. There are so many places out in the city to try than to go back to this place.
I tried the doughnut shaped looking pastry with seasame seeds on top and goat cheese and sundried tomatoe inside as well as pistachio and walnut baklava (these two things are not on the menu & total cost is about $18...a bit pricey) However, I must say all of them are pretty damn good...but then maybe because I am a huge sucker for flaky pastries!! There was a lot of goat cheese....i don't even want to think about how much of it I devoured, probably should've gotten a spinach one for a healthier choice.....haha. The baklava was way too sweet for my taste (but still good), it'd be a perfect dessert if they went easy on the sweetness.
I would definitely go back and and try their food..and get more flaky pastry things! ^.^
I had some pretty high expectations going into the place. My girl had been there a few times before and said nothing but nice things about it, plus Zagat's lavished a 25 rating on it, so I was looking forward to some great Mideastern eats.
Unfortunately, I was about to be very disappointed.
We ordered a nice mix of apps, Hummus, Turkish Salad, a House Salad, and Kibbeh. I have to say, having lived in Israel for so long, I can truly tell the difference between good Israeli (or Mideastern) food and crap. This was crap. Very very mediocre, with very little in the way of redeeming qualities.
Hummus - The texture was great but the taste was very off. It reminded me of this cut rate brand they sold in the supermarket back in Tel Aviv, barely a hint of Tehina, and almost no flavor at all really. Also, the olive oil was poured on right in the center rather than drizzled over the entire plate. Small complaint, but it's not very authentic like that, and this place was all about being authentic. No pita either...we got flatbread. Authentic Druze? Having been in multiple Druze villages in Israel, methinks not.
Turkish Salad - The waitress pointed out a few times that it was "really" spicy. Only thing is Turkish salad is supposed to be sweet with a bit of bite, not overtly spicy. After eating a few spoonfuls I came to the conclusion that not only was it very bad, but the spicy aspect may have been added after the fact to cover up an old taste and inferior quality ingredients. All in all, it wasn't very good.
House Salad - Insulting. This was beyond sub-standard. I've made better, fresher salads in 2 minutes. Another instance of non-authentic food there. No real Israeli or Mideastern place would ever, ever, put lettuce in a house salad. Also, no cucumbers! Key omission. Finally, no parsley, no cilantro, nothing except a gross mix of water and olive oil which left everything soggy. Basically, I picked a few tomatoes out of it, and even those tasted old and mealy to me. Blech!
Kibbe - Had a great taste, and perfect shape. But it was very dry, and to my palate, very old. Also it was like $7 for 3 of them, a bit steep considering they were quite small.
Dessert - We had a house desert which was supposed to be warm and have honey, but what she got looked like a mushed up cake that was stepped on by all the cooks and the dishwasher too. I really wish I had take a pic, because it was so badly presented that I can hardly believe it. Imagine a Hostess cupcake where the frosting top is badly fractured and pulled off, then put back on again haphazardly in a way that smushes half the cake. Unforgivable.
Decor - Excellent if it was a 19th century Hungarian goulash house. Nothing Druze or Israeli about it, except the pillows on the seats maybe.
Service - Very basic, they actually argued with us about the cake when we asked if it was supposed to be all mashed up.
I also want to add, this place makes a big tadoo about being "authentic" Druze cuisine. It's really not. It's really a mish mosh of Israeli and Arabic food. It's not Druze. Also, the staff looked anything but Mideastern or Druze. The waitress told us she was Russian.
In summation, this was quite possibly the worst meal I've eaten in a sit down restaurant...ever. Not to say it was inedible, but it certainly wasn't a 25, or even a 15 really. About on par with a Mexican fast food place like Taco Bell which is really glorified street food in a corporate wrapper.
I'll probably never go back unless I'm starving and everything else within 50 miles is closed.
Tabouli, falafel and a very smoky hummus. That's what I was craving at lunch today.
Instead, I had the rest of the leftovers from Gazala place: Rice and artichoke stuffed with beef, along with a lemony lettuce-tomato salad. Not quite as good as the first three memorable dishes of last night's dinner but enough to leave you stuffed yet craving more.
It's funny that such a tiny place located in a random block at Hell's Kitchen holds such luscious delicacies. At first sight, it looks like a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with mediocre food. In fact, had it not been for my friend's wise suggestion, I probably never would have stepped in here. It's the narrow space and bleak-seeming surroundings that make the passer-by uncurious. But if you're lucky enough to step inside, then you'll discover the many wonders you can choose from. Let's take a look at a few that my friend and I tried last night:
APPETIZERS
1. Bureka stuffed with goat cheese and tomato: A pastry that's baked to excellence: Crispy phyllo breaks to reveal a warm, flavorful combination of cheese and tomato.
2. Labanee with olive oil: A bold goat cheese spread with just the right amount of salty and a touch of sweet at the finish.
3. Babaganush: This concoction of mashed eggplant with tahini sauce is so smoky that at the point of contact with your palate, you feel like you just munched on a piece of burning wood (minus the heat and hairy feeling on the tongue). A very good sensation, almost as if you imagined it.
4. Falafel: Fritters are always good, especially when they are warm and meaty like this one.
MAIN DISHES
5. Artichoke stuffed with beef, served with rice and salad: At first I grimaced at the thought of a beef-stuffed artichoke, but feeling perhaps more pressured than adventurous upon the owner's recommendation, I decided to go with it. Good decision: The mild flavor of the artichoke works well with the piquant taste of the beef, and the rice tastes so wheaty, it reminded me of the kind my mother used to make when I was little. An extra half-star for the nostalgic effect.
6. Kabab Halabi, served with salad: Chopped lamb and beef meat, cooked in a special homemade tomato sauce with spices, parsley, onions and pine nuts. My friend raved about it being cooked just right: well-done on the outside and juicy on the inside. I only had a bite of this delicious-looking dish, as I was too busy with the artichoke, but that bite won my approval.
DESSERTS
My memory fails here, and I cannot give you the exact names of what we had. But the one memorable sweet was the baklava (with another name), with pistachios and just the right amount of syrup and crispiness. And though I cannot even describe the rest, let me avouch for Gazala's desserts fairly: They are so sweet, crispy and well-made that topping the rest of your meal, they will lead you into a minor food coma. Walking back home afterward instead of cabbing it or taking the subway is HIGHLY recommended, no matter how bad the wind chill.
As for the owner, she is just as a sweet as her desserts. We had a conversation with her last night, during which she revealed that she cooks with consistency "according to her mood." Though my friend had noticed the difference each time, I cannot comment on consistency as last night was my first time there. But I can tell you this: It was a really good time, and I plan on coming back for more.
We were walking along ninth, and spotted this woman in the window rolling out and baking very thin bread on what looked like an upside down chinese wok. Also, a pile of small flaky pies in the window... Reading along the reviews in the window, this was druze style restaurant, so we went in. The bread was their pita, super thin, and of course, freshly served.
Very small place... maybe 8 tables. Fast service. We had a variety of appetizers, including a hummus with whole garbanzas, a couple of pies, and the barakas (not sure about the spelling) was the outstanding dish. We didn't stay long, so can't speak for the whole menu, but if we were in the neighborhood again, we would try a few more dishes.
Personally, my favorite restaurant in NY. Always bring my family down here when they visit. And it's cheap to.
Only bad thing is that tables are so close together in this small restaurant, I don't really mind though, because the food is phenomenal. Waitresses are SUPER friendly, ask them what to get, you'll be happy you did. Unbelievable!!!
This meal was fantastic! This was my second visit, the first was take-out and while very tasty, this dine-in experience was so much better. Every course was superb.
Appetizer: Homemade stuffed grape leaves (no meat). This was my first time having them homemade and let me tell you it makes a difference! The spices were just right.
Entree: I had the lamb hommus and my husband the lamb kebab. We were both extremely satisfied. My lamb was juicy, not fatty and very flavorful. The hommus was the right amount of creamy and a great pair-up with the lamb. My husband's lamb was perfectly grilled with spices and served with rice and salad. The pita is homemade and a thin, soft crepe-like masterpiece.
Dessert: The waitress (not Gazala herself this time) convinced us to try the osh al-saraia and we are thrilled that she did! It was a sponge cake soaked in honey on top of yogurt and sprinkled with chopped pistachios. Delicious! Our only complain was that we shared a small instead of a large!
This was a perfect meal! I could not wait to come home and write the review, and can't wait to return again. It was my 30th birthday today, and I had the best meal I've had in a long time.
Yummy baklava.
Came here last month hosting a event for Jeff C. meetup group. Its pretty close to my work place, which wasn't too bad, especially I remember I had to go back to work that day to finish up some stuff.
This place is rather small, It can fit about 20 ppl, tops. They have a dough making section/desserts section in the front. We sat near the front which wasn't too good because it was a bit chilly that day. I wouldn't quite chttp://www.yelp.com/wr... this a hole in the wall, but don't expect much in terms of decor.
I had the Lamb Kabab, probably sold by the words "tender chunks of lamb" on their menu. This is one of those times where I should have read more carefully, as they use "tender chunks" to describe a lot of their entrees. In reality, they were more like "chewy chunks" or "gnaw a few times chunks", not tender chunks. The flavor was still pretty good, but overall its on the disappointing side.
The saving grace is the baklava. So sweet and delicious. Damn, I should have just skip the entree and order 2 (maybe 3) of these. I should come back just for the baklava. They also gave us a complementary Osh Al-Saraia, because we were curious what it was. Its good, but I will stick with the baklava.
This review is only for the boureka (also known as boreks).
The gastronomically curious me couldn't resist trying this supposedly the country's only Druze restaurant upon reading the reviews posted on the window of this tiny Middle Eastern restaurant on 9th Ave. Through the glass window I saw a woman kneading the dough making some kind of a bread and on the counter there were many bagle-shaped flaky pies piled up. I didn't even know who Druze were until I read the review.I learned that the Druze are a religious community in Israel similar to Islam. Ok, that's something new, I've gotta try it!!! Without asking the price, I ordered this bagle-shaped flaky pie called boureka. To give you a more exact description, just imagine a croissant in the bagle shape with sesame seeds on top and filled with feta cheese, sun-dried tomato and spinach. That's how it looks like and how it tastes like. It was served warm so the cheese was melted and made it more appetizing, but guess how much this costs?? 8 bucks! I think it's overpriced for this type of food. Sure it was fresh and tasty, but I don't think it's that good. At least I can say I had eaten a Druze food! Boureka, checked!! Woohoo!!
For certain, a place that convinces someone like me, who knows nothing about Druse cuisine but likes to pretend on the spot one day that he does, that this is the genuine artifact.
Of course I'm pissing in the wind here. It's not like I have anything to hold this up against, but that's not the point. I was convinced that the dishes I loved here (and I did love the bureka and kenafi...we will be reunited) were delicious because they were perfect recreations of the thing. And the things I didn't really like (the salad...tasted too much of tomato and lemon; the mankosha...was burnt and too strongly aromatic; my friend's chicken was over-dry and not exceptional) went over poorly simply because they weren't right for my palate, not because Gazala Halabi, the impossibly friendly and inviting chef and owner, had made some misstep in preparing them.
I loved that the dessert (kenafi--at least, I think it was--shredded dough covering sweet goat cheese and soaked in warm, wonderful honey) took at least fifteen minutes to arrive because it was obviously made from scratch when I ordered it.
The bureka was almost too much delicious--even when shared with a friend, the cheesy, sundried tomato-ey, flaky, sesame-seeded behemoth of a fresh pastry got the better of me.
Now about the hummus. I'm not sure I've ever even had Israeli hummus, and certainly not Druse hummus, so really, I have no idea if this is on the money or not, but I'd assume it tasted as it should've. This being my assumption, I found it too parching and smoky--in the way a baba ghanouj is smoky. It was quite tasty, and I ate most of it, but only after I'd stopped thinking of it as hummus, and just let it be.
The pita. Magnificent. Crêpe-paper-thin, grainy, and made with cornmeal, it was a welcome oddity. Kind of the texture of a real-fruit fruit roll-up, if that makes sense to anyone else.
So, it should be obvious that though there are some dishes one should avoid, this little gorgeous is without a doubt worth a visit. Order a bunch of things with one or two other people, pick through them, find something that seduces you. But for serious, go at an off time, or else there'll be nowhere to sit, you'll complain, and Ms. Halabi will fret. I know this is Manhattan, but pretend for a second that the people who run these little establishments have souls.
I'll return, past the dinner-rush hour, simply for the dessert (I have to try this osh al-saraia business) and be more than content.
How can I not love Gazala Place? This tiny restaurant serves amazing hummus and a number of great apps, entrees (ideal for sitting down) and pita sandwiches (great to get for a takeout lunch) and for reasonable prices hardly seen in Manhattan.
I went for the first time when a friend said there was a "good Turkish place" nearby, "Middle Eastern... or something like that". Indeed, Gazala's cuisine is Middle Eastern, yet hard for most of us to fully recognize. I eventually learned (from the take-out menu) that it's Druze (alt. spelling "Druse") food, hailing from Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. I'm told it's the only resty to serve it in the city. I did notice that the seasoning of the meat on the "meat pie" (some menu items are anglicized, others not) seemed familiar yet was not what I'd come to expect from a standard issue Turkish or ME resty.
If you like these kinds of foods, you will enjoy Gazala Place and find its offering a refreshing iteration of ME cuisine.
I grew up in Israel eating this food very often.
Once every few weekends we would take a drive to one of Dreuz villages or small towns and have fresh Dreuz food similar to what Gazala serves. We would eat up dozens of small dishes, share them and then also take back with us fresh pita's, home made olive oils and pickled olives.
So by this point you are thinking, nice story but what does it have to do with this review?. Good question, here is the answer... What made those visits and meals in Dreuz villages so good was that the food was VERY FRESH and Gazala's Place is exactly that.
The pita, the kube, the stuffed grape leaves, they are all great dishes which taste much much better when they are fresh out of the oven. It is simply a world of difference.
Gazala makes the food fresh, very fresh and that is why i would give her five starts. BUT I gave only four because the couple of times there where some delays in service and the a couple of the dishes where not that fresh.
I hope it soon goes back to what it was, it is a nice place to bring back childhood memories :)
Desperate for shelter from the annoying rain, my friend and I sought refuge in this small but cozy cafe, only to be, on the whole, disappointed with our meal. We both wanted spinach pie, which at five dollars seemed pretty cheap. However, on discovering that each pie was the size of a tiny triangle, we passed.
Instead, we each went for a sundried tomato and cheese boureka (an off-the-menu item) that for $7.95 comes with their house salad.
The house salad comes in a tasty tahini dressing and is made with iceberg lettuce, the latter of which I could do without. The boureka too was not as awesome as I had hoped. Shaped like a bagel, it had a texture similar to an extremely (almost too much so) buttery croissant topped with sesame seeds; phyllo dough, which I had been used to, was nowhere to be found.
Don't get me wrong, the bourekas were messy and quite good, but I was put off by the excessively buttery taste of the crust. The waitress's irritating attitude and aloof nature were other aspects that brought down this restaurant's star rating.
I'd say, try it, for you might find things you like more than I did.
One of the very few authentic restaurants around. They had the most amazing home-cooked hummus. The pita is as original as it gets. It is a pity that the bread that you see everywhere else is a hard version of it. You get the option of chickpeas on the side and your choice of Tahini too. The food was amazingly good. I had the Lamb Kabab sandwich which was amazingly delicious wrapped in the pita. I had a serving of Tahini on it to make it more exciting. My Lebanese friend suggested me to do it as I was kinda new to it.
I had their dessert. Guys, you need to try this Osh Al-Saraia. It is the most amazing dessert I had in a long time. All together it rocks. Great food and I would go back again.
Sometimes getting a NY Times review is not all it's cracked up to be. My friend offered to take me out and my only guideline was that we go somewhere we hadn't been before. She suggested this place because she read a write up in the times. Well apparently the whole damn HK neighborhood had the same idea. We wait a little bit and are seated There was quite a pile up by the door-this place seats 18. Our waitress opens our BYOB wine and takes out order; we comment on the crowd and she says it has been nuts since the Times reviews. She stated that in Israel where she is from "somewhere could get a five star review and no one gives a crap." well not in NYC it is all about reviews.
SO a little while goes by the pile up at the door increases and I see the waitress going out the door-with her coat on and her backpack on-uh oh now we have a situation. The owner for whom the place is named says that she will need our help to get the dishes to the right people. People standing by the door do not seem to understand they may need to leave and go somewhere else.
The style of food of gazala is specific to the drugge region of Israel. Our food comes-we opted for a sample platter of appetizers, lentil soup and a spinach pie.
The food here is INCREDIBLE-some of the best middle eastern food I have ever had.
Gazala (owner) comes out to explain to some people waiting that they can't take any more people because there is no waitress and she starts to cry saying things have been insane since the Times review; she has put everything into this business including staying there at night and has not seen her kids. Literally everyone was getting up to hug her and tell her it was okay and that we would be back.
The falafel does not have fava beans it was light and crispy and moist. The hummus and babaganoush were out of this world-really makes you realize that sabra stuff from Key Food is no good.
Go here be nice to Gazala and be patient-the food is really, really good.
The whole experience was sort of an "only in NYC moment" but I genuinely was almost moves to tears seeing Gazala so distraught and realizing that while many of us on here dream of doing enough reviews to stay "LEET" -some people Like Gazala are dreaming of making a living. Keep it up gazala your food is amazing!!!!
also when someone gets a good times reviews wait like 3 weeks until the clusterfuck of food tourists subsides.
I spent my childhood years in a cosmopolitan city that I would not recognize today. It was fun to celebrate all the religious festivals, not just your own, with friends. I thus celebrated Eid, Christmas, Diwali, Nauroze, Chinese New Year, etc. with equal fervor. And, no, this is not merely a wishful memory or the product of a feel good Bollywood production - inter-faith celebrations were commonplace. One of my favorite festivals was the Shab-e-Barat, which the Muslims believe to be the night of forgiveness. I looked forward to the illumination of houses and streets with candles, and strands of electric bulbs, the (illicit) fireworks, and the sweets that we received from friends, relatives, and neighbors. Suji (Semolina) Halwa was the most common. Even as a kid, I marveled at the 15 different versions of Suji Halwa received in one night - despite having (almost) the same ingredients. My Mom would laugh at my surprise and patiently explain that the difference lay in the interpretation the cook gave to the same dish.
So, what does this have to do with Gazala Place? Everything! Leave your pre-conceived notions at the door, folks. And, allow yourselves to have a great time by enjoying the interpretation chef Gazala Halabi brings to a dish that you might have seen many times before. So what if the pita bread that you see is thinner than a handkerchief? It may remind you of the Ethiopian Injera or the Indian chapatti instead, though the cornmeal adds a different texture to the whole wheat bread. It is not meant as an end in itself, but as an accompaniment to enjoy the Hummus, Babaganush, and Labanee, etc. and so order a platter of appetizers for the table and get a taste of everything.
Yes, you will find that the mashed charcoal grilled eggplant of the Babaganush as re-assuringly smoky, but you will also discover that Tahini adds a new element of acidity to it. You might have an A-ha moment of recognition with the Cegar (meat or potato) that reminds you of the Indian Samosa or the Chinese Egg roll, or surprise at the lightness of the Falafel. Even the hand chopped grape leaves remind you of "home style" cooking.
The Bourekas are amongst my favorite items on the menu. While, their shape may remind you of bagels, and they maybe conceptually similar to knishes, these are fluffy and flaky savory pastries stuffed with homemade goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, and topped with black and white sesame seeds. It is difficult not to go gaga over the smooth and creamy goat cheese with specks of tomato mixed in once you've bitten into the flaky exterior.
Kabab Halabi (chopped lamb and beef, parsley, onions, pine nuts, and home made tomato sauce) and the Artichokes stuffed with beef are my favorite entrees, with the latter not on the menu. I do make it a point to ask chef Gazala for her recommendation (whenever she's around), for she has yet to disappoint me in terms of advice on specials.
What endears Gazala Place to my heart (other than the wallet friendliness) is that Chef Gazala's style of cooking is similar to how my Mom cooks. She may have a recipe in mind, but would NOT follow it to the letter and instead let her moods and whims dictate the changes she effects on the day. This is evident in spice variations, balance between ingredients, and different preparation styles - for the same dish! This may be vexing for someone who is used to the Western Style of cooking emphasizing standardization and consistency in preparation including uniformity of recipe and ingredients. But, it is the hallmark of experienced cooks in the East preparing meals based on "inspiration". Results obviously vary, which is accounted for in my rating, but on their day the creations border on the masterful. You should know most Eastern cooks laugh (or bristle) when someone asks them for their recipe. My Mom considers it as an affront!!
This also explains why not a single food critic in NYC has been able to figure out their signature dessert: Osh Al-Saria. There isn't even consensus on whether Gazala uses cream or sweetened cheese or yogurt! But the other elements include honey, orange blossom, and rose water and ground pistachios (for garnishing). The gelatinous mixture varies in taste almost every single time I've had it, but on 2 of the 7 occasions I've tried it, it reminded me of the "Shahi Tukre" my family trekked across the entire town for, when I was a kid. Heck, I kept going back to the same restaurant for 20+ years, till the day they pulled it down. That Gazala can recreate the same feelings of nostalgia is priceless to me! But, if you're not one for experimentation - stick with the Pistachio Baklava.
In our modern, virtually connected lives I may not be able to send a dessert over on a festive occasion, but I can at least yelp up one. Well, I guess I could send, theoretically - but, I am also lazy :) Happy Holidays, Friends!
EVERYthing we ate was great and we ate a lot, even for 2 people. We had some kind of bread thing, puff pastry stuffed with goat cheese and spinach...and I mean stuffed. The pastry was cute enough to be a hat and big enough too. We each were served some kind of house salad though we didn't order it; everyone seemed to have some. It was red cabbage and tomatoes; it glittered like a bowl of rubies and was deilcious. The pita is the homemade kind that is as thin as a dishcloth and almost the same color. We scooped up the babaghanoush with the bread. Nothing here tastes like the standard fare at a typical falafel joint. The freshness of the ingredients really stood out and there was something unique about the preparation, maybe the Druze influence. We also got the dalia salad wihc was lettuce, tomato, mint, garlic olive oil and walnuts. I could have done without the iceberg lettuce and without the raw walnuts (I think they would have been better toasted). We also shared a kabab halabi which is chopped lamb and beef in a tomato sauce. This was probably the least interesting part of the meal but still quite good. We had the Osh Al Saraia for dessert; I have no clue what it is only that it was some kind of incredible custard with pistachios and berries. You really can't go wrong with middle eastern desserts so order any of them and I'm sure you'll be happy.
There were a lot of other things on the menu that I wanted to try so I will go back there. Having lived in the Arab world I know that it's typical to have the TV on when guests come over, as background noise more than entertainment. Knowing that this is now part of Arab culture doesn't mean I have to like it. I really didn't enjoy listening to the evening news while eating, especially these days. The decor is kind of odd...a sort of old dude's steak house lite, but it really doesn't detract from the food so don't let that stop you from going.
Okay its cute, quaint, and feels authentic. Don't let accents fool you, ITS NOT that authentic. The lahmajun for example, a Levantine minced meat pie, is contrived and seems like they tried 'fusion' it up. The service is usually poor, and some of the food is surprisingly bland. I will say they do make a great Foul Moudammus. Affordable, worth a try if in the area, usually hit or miss.
FRESH and YUMMY!!!! It is casual and they are so nice here. The only issue is that it is a small space--- but so worth squeezing into. You will not be disappointed by the food at all!
I am surprised to read so many negative reviews. My husband and I were strolling for a place to eat and decided on Gazala - its menu had decent vegetarian options and a lot of variety. The waitress seated us and told us about the daily special. We had their special bread with cheese which was tasty and filling for two. We then had falafel, one of their breads, and chicken kebab. Everything was quite tasty with good portions. I will definitely go back. The waitress was very friendly and opinionated enough to suggest options and where to save money on portions. Overall a good experience and cozy ambience.
You can't go wrong with Gazala Place. This place has great food, a great owner, and friendly staff.
The only real problem is that this place is it's small as hell. Even when filled at max capacity, the number of people in the place is less than the typical attendance at a Kevin Federline concert. The first time I walked into the place, I wasn't sure if it was a restaurant or Gary Coleman's closet (which also serves excellent middle-eastern food BTW). The entrees are all solid, and the salads and various mashed-up vegetables/fruits (hummus, babaganush, etc) are great. The saag pitas are freshly prepared and will not disappoint. There were two real standouts though:
1) The falafel. Definitely a contender for best in NYC.
2) The "osh al-saraia." I don't know what this is - could be something like sweetened, congealed pig's bile for all I know - but it was probably the best unidentifiable gooey mess-blob I've ever tasted - and that's saying something.
The prices are also pretty reasonable. By reasonable, I mean they would not cause a non-New Yorker to feel brutally violated after paying them. (NOTE: British people don't count as "non-New Yorkers" in this case. If you're wondering whether you qualify as "British people," here is a foolproof test: if you would say the following in response to this review, then you're British: "Blimey! You must be off your trolley, you bloody wanker. Food in New York costs bugger all compared to London!" If you are not thinking this right now then you are definitely not a British person.) Anyway, at Gazala, entrees are $10-15 and a lot of the appetizers and sides are dirt cheap for what you get.
This place is not going to blow you away (I mean it's a restaurant, not a Category 5 hurricane), but it's no joke. You will be somewhere between overwhelmed and whelmed.
Be aware to those taking out or ordering in from this place. There was a mistake in my order two out of the three times I've tried this place. Most annoying was last night: phone was down which means the credit card machine is down. No big deal, except we couldn't call in or call back to complain that they forgot to include 1/3 of my order! Needless to say, I am not thrilled to have to leave my apartment in order to go back to Gazala and request to receive the food I'd already paid for. I realize this is a small joint and there was only one waitress working a number of tables, however I hope they button-up their service...
this is no ordinary middle eastern or falafel place. i have come to learn that it is distinctively Druze. (google it)
here they make their own paper thin "pitas" which are incredibly light. similar to a roti, but thinner and lighter.
falafel and tabouleh were great.
they also have something called a bureka which is not on the menu. it looks like a bagel or bialy but lighter and fluffier like a croissant and it is stuffed with spinach and goat cheese, or other delights. also handmade on the premises . ill be headed there tomorrow to sample one.
We stopped by here for a late lunch and was delightfully surprised. This a small and cute restaurant in the heart of hell's kitchen. Since we were the only diners (4PM on Sunday), the service was impeccable. This is my first dining experience with druse food. We ordered an special appetizer dish with several combinations of condiments that you spread over mohamar bread. It was very good. The mohamar bread is similar to the pate chaud shells, only a lot better. I tried the lamb kabab sandwich which is served similar to a burrito (with veggies, tomatoes, tahini). The lamb was a bit dry, but otherwise decent. The biggest surprise was the dessert - a special yogurt served with blackerries and some secret ingredient that they would not divulged. Let's just say I'd come back there just for the dessert alone. If you're in the mood for something different, reasonably priced, and friendly service, this is a perfect spot.
I mostly order take-out from here now because it is such a small place and they have gotten so popular from when they opened. But I personally think the best thing to get there are their Kabob sandwiches. Cheap and wrapped in their home made pita that is delicious. I LOVE the Chicken Kabob - only $4.50 and so good! You can't get the sandwiches when you dine-in for some reason. I think when they first opened you could but now you can't. They only offer them for take-out. Why I am not sure? But i also get a side dish of their home made hummus - also absolutely delicious. Definitely go there for the best kabob (and hummus) around.
The food here is really good, and it's BYOB which is always nice. It loses a star for being such a cramped space though. The tables are so close together that you're basically eating with your neighbors, and you have to squeeze through the tiny kitchen to get to the bathroom. The houmus is a little too olive oily for me, but the labanee (goat cheese spread) is outstanding. I've tried a couple of specials that were very good (meat-stuffed artichoke hearts? yes please!), but be warned they cost quite a bit more than the regular menu items. Overall it's really good, simple food and good service in a cute (albeit way too small) space.
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