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Category: Middle Eastern [Edit]
Neighborhood: Prospect Heights7th Ave (Q, B)
Grand Army Plaza (2, 3)
Clinton-Washington Aves (C)
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Simple, good, satisfying ...middle eastern food.
That's it. That's my review.
Okay here are the scenarios under which you will come here:
A: You are hungry for middle eastern food (pita this..lamb that..fattoosh in your moosh (moosh is your mouth fyi).
B: You're in the area, and you wanna put it on her-- you know who..HER, and you need some dim lights, and no one badgering you about more water or paying your bill.
C: It's cold out, and you want something affordable but nice in your belly, something you can tell your friends about when you get some. YOU WILL GET FRIENDS...don't you worry. Try this place-- because I told you to.
This update is strictly for the Mediterranean Burger!
Zaytoons makes a mean lamb & beef burger. As soon as the plate arrives at your table you're overwhelmed by the spices coming out, sumac and allspice, I believe. It's like being in the spice section of Sahadi's, which in turn is a bit deceptive because the spices don't overwhelm the meat at all. The beef and lamb blend has a nice meaty taste which is perfumed by the spice. It seems to be good quality meat, there were no rubbery or crunchy bits. Humus, garlic mayo and salty pickles all go well with the sandwich.
A side order of skin-on fries comes with it. They are also very good. A medium potato taste, not greasy and thick as your pinky. I would have given four stars if my burger came out well done as requested instead of medium rare. It still tasted great though.
It's an okay place. Not spectacular the way some folks make it out to be.
I ordered the lamb…
Read more »
I like to think that if we ordered something other than what we pretty much ALWAYS order, Zaytoons would still get it right. Looks like we'll never know because our regular orders kick just that much ass.
It's a nice enough place during the day, but when the sexy lights are on at night, it's extra special. I just happened to have my camera with me tonight so I'll put up a couple of photos. They will be the ones with the obnoxious writing on them.
First, the Zaytoons Combo Plate, which we mix and match with hummus, grape leaves, turkish salad, fatoosh salad and labneh. Of course we use the wheat bread to go with it because we don't deal in that bleached stuff thank you very much.
Coming up around the side is bleached stuff (ya got me) with mozz cheese on top, loaded with garlic and shrimp. It's not actually a pizza but it's pretty close. The thing to remember about this is that it is the most freakin' awesome thing you could ever eat at Zaytoons. Seriously.
During the day I usually like the Turkish coffee but regular tap water in our own flask always comes first. Lay off the mint iced tea. It's watery.
The bathroom is nice and the staff are pretty good guys. But there is one member of the wait staff - a black dude with a giant head of hair - who is amazing. When he is not there, you notice the difference in your service. Taking off a whole star for the days when he's not there. Ugh. The fact that the prices are unrealistically reasonable don't even make up for that sad piece of reality.
The garden seating out back is attractive but cumbersome because the chairs are uncomfortable, skidding against the ground and all. Also, I prefer the honey cake for dessert because that's what I call my girlfriend.
I've said too much...
Okay bye.
What they lack in ambiance, they more than make up for in the food quality. I cannot think of a better take out place.
Friends - let me get the food review part out, right quick.
Food: Lovely, basic lentil soup with a little chopped parsley garnish (I added squeeze of lemon); hot, lovely pita; harissa-type sauce to dip bread in. Iced water. More lemon wedges. Perfect.
Server: slightly pissy but whatever.
Decor: Um ... Zaytoons owners: did you know that it was so dark at my table that soup fell onto my lap more than once? I sorted this problem by placing my head directly above my bowl. That was fun.
What was also fun was the deep, relentless RED lighting, RED colored walls and multi-colored and RED lamps, hung here and there. Relaxing! And dark ... RED.
When I thanked my server for my meal I mentioned it was a bit dark. He replied that he knew, customers always complained, but that the owners like the ambiance. Eh?
Good for: daytime dining and the very mellow.
Bring a flashlight.
I wasn't expecting much when I took Ariel K. a friend and my father to Zaytoons last week, and I must say I was blown away.
The french fries were a delight, tasting like they were fried in pure, fresh olive oil as opposed to vegetable oil (is that possible?) and the chicken shawarma sandwich was flavorful, filling and cheap (5.50 for that size of a sando is great).
I also got to try a little of the babaghanouj, which was pretty good too.
I am definitely going to repeat this place.
Food so tasty it made me forget someone I care about a lot was leaving NY within the hour for far to long. Usually I would eat my sorrows in the form of anything peanut butter, but this middle eastern joint was more than satisfactory.
I ordered the babaghanouj which was a large plate of creamy hot hummus with eggplant and tahini. It was slightly sweet compared to the regular hummas I also sampled. Included with the hummus was the most amazing pita bread. It came out like it just had been made: a large ball of bread that was slowly collapsing into its disc form. So soft! So warm! I dare say it was the best pita bread I've had in the city.
The three gentlemen I was with (departing person I care a lot about included) indulged in the chicken shawarma. There was talk about saving a half of the sandwich for later, which was quickly disregarded due to how amazing the sandwich supposedly tasted.
I'm going to have to come back here.
This place is consistently delicious. The service is great and I love it long time...Try ordering vegetarian though because the meat is not always the best...
This place has great hummus, fatoush and falafel. It is very inexpensive and always fresh. I have… Read more »
I love this place. They know how to serve up some damn good falafel! The platter comes with your choice of baba ganoush or hummus (personally, I always go for the hummus), a fresh side salad that is neither puny or wilty, and perfectly crisp falafel. Order that with a side of pita bread, and you're set. Satisfies me every time.
Every time I've been here with my man friend, we sit out on the back patio, which has many little tables, some festive lights, and just enough quiet and greenery to make you forget you're in nyc for a while.
Oh my gosh that bread was amazing! (Looks like something between a naan and a pita). Light, fluffy, warm, scrumptious... wow!
The veggie soup was healthy tasting! My skin was smiling from happiness. I'm sure my taste buds enjoyed it as well.
The wrap was good, tried some of the hummus and babaghanoush which was cool, too.
The outdoor garden was delightful! Like a beer garden, but without the drunks! The ambiance outside was great though, and from what my friends tell me, the inside isn't shabby as well.
Wow, I might actually venture back to Brooklyn again!
Wow delicious!!
The food here was so much better than the Zaytoons on Smith Street, shocking.
The backyard is a great place if you like baby and puppy watching.
I had the lamb burger and the fries -- YUMMY! Garlic mayo was soooo good i finished it all (and I don't like or usually eat mayo).
I was hoping the burger would send me into labor as it was *almost* better than sex, but it didn't so sorry Zaytoon's, -1 star as I'm still a swollen bloated but sated mess...
This is definition of good Mediterranean food.
The best moujadarra I've ever had, the lentil soup is out of this world. The hummus is rich and creamy and the fresh pita is heavenly. The only downside is that Mamouns will no longer satisfy your cravings.
oh man oh man oh man
i've just gone to this place twice in one wknd.
the first time, i ODed and got a chicken pitza, grape leaves, babagounesh, tamarind drink, and pitas. I don't care how this is going to sound, but i've never seen so many grape leaves in an order or so large of a grape leaf roll. Nothing more amazing than good food and a better deal! Tasted yummy the next day too!
If i was a poet, I'd create odes for the chicken pitza. It was lemon marinated peppery goodness with scallions, onions, and peppers.
Chicken was so tender. The second night I came, I order this and refused to share.
The babagounesh was great too but paled in comparison to the pitza and the grape leaves.
My friend tried the falafel sandwich the next day and he was not that impressed as it wasn't as fresh as he liked. Meh. I like the pitzas.
The garden in the back is pretty sweet.
I am somewhat of a soup connoisseur and I can say that their vegetarian lentil soup was superb. SUPERB!
Also, their solid foods were delicious as well. I definitely recommend the baba ganoush and soup to start. The ingredients are fresh and the food is definitely made with care. The service was great they were attentive and quick to fix any problems/errors, and the food is well worth any wait.
Also, the turkish coffee will perk you up for days.
Delightful food, made like at home. We have order many times and have also visited the restaurant. The lentil soup is fantastic, its savory, creamy consistency blends the flavor of yellow lentils with a delicate mix of spices. The pitza, a vegetarian's dream.
I love the leg of lamb sandwich, always delicious, the meat marinated and juicy and the couscous perfectly done. The pita bread does not come out of some bag of premade, commercially available brand: It is made daily, from scratch. If you keep it in the fridge in a ziploc, can stay for two days, keeping all its flavor.
The people are nice, always ready to help. The prices are reasonable and you can be sure you are getting your money's worth. Highly recommended. Enjoy!
I've walked by Zaytoons a handful of times, but only recently tried it, and I was pleasantly surprised. They have a lovely backyard area, perfect for a warm spring night (before the bugs of summer invade!). 1 ordered a burger, 2 ordered chicken schwarma and I ordered the Zaytoons combo plate (5 meze of your choice) - I chose hummus, babaghanouj, foul (fava beans), grape leaves and Fatoosh salad. It came with hot fresh pita. Yum. Everything was yummy, and quite plentiful for the price, I couldn't even finish it. Definitely a nice choice for this neighborhood!
I've been to Zaytoons on Vanderbilt Ave over a dozen times and the food has always been great. It's affordable and really delicious. Service is a bit spotty depending on your server though. Cash only but there's a deli across the street with an ATM. They also have a small but good winelist. During the summer they have a lovely garden area with lights strewn around the tree branches. Just bring your mosquito repellent!!
They're open late but close when nobody is there so call ahead of time to make sure they're open when you go late at night. Even if you're the last table they will not rush you which is really nice. I've never been rushed when it's busy or even late at night.
I've had their falafel, stuffed grape leaves, hummus, babaganoush, lentil soup, leg of lamb so far. Their falafel & stuffed grape leaves are awesome. The hummus is a bit too pasty and heavy for me. The lentil soup is delicious but they should say, pureed lentil beans in chicken stock cuz you really taste the chicken more than the lentil beans. Their babaganoush is delicious but has dairy in it for all you lactose intolerant ppl and vegans.
I am in love with their leg of lamb. My staple entree at Zaytoons. I usually get the platter which means it comes with rice, side salad, choice of babaganoush or hummus, and unlimited fresh flatbread. Their portions are very generous and for $11 it's a steal. It usually comes with a yogurty side sauce but sometimes they forget. The lamb/rice and sauce match extremely well so make sure it's on there! :D
Good, solid, nearby, free delivery, cash only, middle-eastern food.
I really enjoy the Shawarma plates and sammys...
Hummus is quite good...Falafel is also tasty.
It's just good, and not terribly pricey.
And Maha's closed...so, it kinda wins by default...
This place is pretty cute- different than the decor and not as cushioned as the Myrtle location, but still quaint and cozy. They have a back garden but I haven't tried it out yet, as it was raining cats and pitas the day I came.
They have a great appetizer combination plate where you can choose five.... we had the babaganouj (yummy), cucumber yogurt salad (extra yummy!), fatoosh salad (fun to say), potato salad (mashed, not potluck-style), and the Turkish salad. A great way to get a sampling of Middle Eastern meza salads. Everything was yummy except the pita bread.... it was basically just a tortilla....the first basket was crispy like pita chips, the second was a bit rubbery like a tortilla out of the fridge. I haven't been to the Fort Greene location in a long while, but I don't remember the pitas being this weak. Other than that though, it was delish!!
Dropped here one afternoon for some lunch. Ordered some take out which consisted of the chicken kabob and the chicken shwarmas. Food was pretty quick to muster up. I think it took about only 10 minutes so it was enough time for me to go to the grocery store to pick up some things for the apartment.
The food is pretty tasty and the price is reasonable. $10 will get you full for sure, and the taste will leave you coming back for more. Entrees come with your main dish, salad, humus.
It's a cute place! I just moved to the neighborhood and was walking around and decided to eat here on looks alone. The staff was very friendly - smiled & made eye contact when we entered.
The food was awesome. I had a falaffel plate with cucumber salad and baba ganoush. The eggplant was smokey and citrusy. The falaffel was small, with good, firm texture and savory flavor. Light on the tahini. It was a really satisfying meal -- filling, but not too heavy. My dining partner had the kibbeh and said it was incredible. I didn't try it, but the presentation was beautiful. Great prices too! My meal was only $7. The kibbeh platter was $12.
I'm so glad to live nearby! I'll be back here frequently.
I've been to the Zaytoons on Myrtle, Smith and Vanderbilt. At every one of the locations I have experienced top notch service and stellar food. Plus, the delivery area for the Vanderbilt Location is so expansive, I love it!
Good food at decent prices. Falafels, Kabobs and Shwarmas have all been good. My only gripe is that they screw up our orders a lot. One night it took them over an hour to bring our food and half our party had to leave. I placed a to go order a couple days ago and they forgot a Shwarma. When I went back to tell them, they were very apologetic but I had to wait another 15 minutes for it. I'm sure in time they will get things right.
Even with these errors, I still come back cause it's very convenient for me.
Seriously? It's still cash only? LAME. Stop being so goddamn greedy Zaytoons and take some f'ing credit cards already.
I'd be really tempted to knock off a star had it not been for the awesome lentil soup and moujadarra I tried. Mixing the 2 is even more awesome, like a taste party in your mouth.
This location just opened up and makes it the third Zaytoons, all of which are in Brooklyn. It was… Read more »
I ordered the chicken shawarma pizza my first time there. I have a feeling that I got it right, and I almost always order it. It is slightly spicy, savory, and delicious. The spinach pie is kind-of a revelation compared to the normal reheated dealie at the Greek diners. I would give this place four stars in a heartbeat, except...
... cash only. There isn't an ATM within a quarter mile either. You CANNOT get four stars and be cash only. That's why I've only eaten there four times, even though it is literally on my corner. Sorry, not delivering and no reservation is mildly inconvenient. Requiring my going to the Micky D's on the corner of Atlantic Ave. and coming back to get a falafel? FORGET IT.
If you give five stars to a cash-only falafel and pizza joint, you should not be allowed to rate restaurants. I feel bad for your dates. I seriously think this is about as good as it gets, but five stars? No. Just no.
There is a line on the menu that reads "ask about our special tobacco." If you cited that as your reason for four stars, I'll make an exception.
My Boyfriend and I tried this place twice. The first time, our dinner took over an hour to reach the table and when we asked for another round of drinks, they never came. Even the table next to us had to wait 40 minutes for hummus... Finally when the food did come, they brought one of us the completely wrong order--instead of sending it back, we were too worried it would take another hour to get it right.
A couple months later, we decided to give it another try and had it delivered. After an hour of waiting, we called to try and get an update, especially since we live three blocks away. The guy that answered blamed it on the weather (even though that was no longer a factor) and said it would be right over. Another 20 minutes went by and still nothing so we called again. Twice, they didn't even answer the phone. When we tried from a different number, they immediately picked up--turns out they were avoiding our number!
Overall, the food might be OK, but the service is so horrible, that it's not even worth taking the chance.
This location will deliver all the way to middle/South Park Slope. SRSLY, people. This changes everything.
Perhaps the best falafel and hummus i have ever had and soo cheap!!! The food is always fantastic.
I cannot get over how delicious it is and for such a reasonable price!!
Intimate atmosphere and quick service.
okay, i was psyched to see this zaytoon's on vanderbilt because i used to go to the one on smith a bunch. only sucky thing is that they put peppers in my falafel sammie. whaaaaa the?
i'll make the extra trek to the one on smith.
This location is a good anchor for the area - nicely done middle eastern food. Like their falaffel, I do. Come back here I will.
I have been here twice and the food has been good both times. The service is very prompt and it's a nice cozy space. The first time I went I had some of a pitza and a variety of salads. The salads were great, the pitza was so so. On my second visit, I had the veggie kabob platter, which came with veggies, rice, salad, pita, and baba. The baba wasn't great, I liked the hummus that someone else got much better. However, the veggies were yummy and the salad was nice and fresh. Would go back or order for delivery.
My cousin and I shared the combo plate-we got 5 different dippy things with pitas for $8. By far the cucumber yogurt salad, basically tzatziki, was the best. We also split the chicken shawarma platter for $10. It was flavorful, but was served on top of rice, not in bread (just the sandwich is served in bread, so if you want that don't get the platter). We would have been full with just the combo platter. The pita bread was not pita bread but more like the flatbread you use with a shawarma. My cousin said they usually give you pita bread, so they must have been out. The stuff we got was not good, and would get crispy like a chip after about 5 minutes.
The downside of this place besides the pitas was the service. We were brought out our dishes separately to share, but were not given small plates to load our food onto, so we both had to pass a large expanse of table to make it to our mouths. We never really saw the waiter again, so we couldn't ask for them either. I do love that they give you a carafe of water (I drink a lot of water), but I had to ask to have it refilled. Also, it was a cold rainy day and twice the waiter propped open the front door. We got up to shut it one time and someone else got up to shut it another time. It would have been nice if he had asked if we were ok with it before doing it. The answer would have been no.
I am NOT a Middle Eastern food person but the bf is and this is one place we can agree on. The flatbread alone makes a great snack never mind the spinach pie, etc.
Just like another reviewer said, the babaganoush tasted extremely heavy. Also, nothing about the food was all that spectacular, though I did like how the falafel was neither too hard nor too pasty. Overall, though, it was a nice place to go. I really appreciated how kindly and responsive the service was, and I loved the dark woods and overall quietness of the place. And if you do visit, definitely check out the bathroom. (oooh, fancy)
Zaytoons has everything that i'm looking for in a restaurant. Authentic flavors, affordable prices, large portions (if you can finish a whole pitza...good for you) and a nice neighborhood vibe. The pitzas are very fresh and the hot, steaming pita is out of this world. I would love to give the Vanderbilt version 5 stars, but they don't quite seem to have their act together in terms of service and overall organization. I do know that this will be a regular take out spot for myself, though.
beautiful patio, good food at bad food prices.
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