MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANTS FULL

1528 Frankford Avenue.įor more than four decades, this place has been slinging schwarma and falafel for its neighbors in South Philly.

MEDITERRANEAN RESTAURANTS FULL

From the simplest things (baba ghanoush and fresh, warm pita) to whole grilled chicken marinated in sumac to lamb sausages rich with coriander, cinnamon and clove to a full cocktail list and a beautiful dining room full of warmth and people, this place gives new meaning to Middle Eastern in Philly. This enormous Lebanese market, bakery, cafe and restaurant opened in stages but didn’t show its true power to reshape Philly’s dining scene until it launched a dinner service full of some of the best Levantine eats you’ll find anywhere. This institution just off South Street has been open since 1982, and they’re still one of the best spots in the city for classics like falafel, chicken schwarma, or their own burger - served in pita, of course. 120 Coulter Avenue, at the Ardmore Farmers Market. Tucked away in the corner of the Ardmore Farmers Market, Tabouli does lunch bowls and pitas, hummus, quick prepared foods, and, for dinner, schwarma and salads, spinach and feta pie, manakeesh flatbreads and special whole dinners, like stuffed peppers or Moroccan chicken with rice, noodles and a salad. The menu is short but perfect, offering small plates of pastries, hummus, dolmeh, wrap sandwiches and dips to go along with the pots of tea steeping on every table. Inspired by the teahouse culture of Iran, Safa is a bright, welcoming spot for friends and neighbors to gather for siphon-brewed tea (more than two dozen varieties), specialty drinks like saffron milkshakes and cherry sharbat, and Persian snacks made by owner Amin Shirazi’s mom. Loose-leaf teas at Safa Persian Teahouse. It’s Michael Solomonov’s signature restaurant, bringing mezze like fried cauliflower with mint and lemon and raw lamb kibbeh to the forefront and making pomegranate lamb shanks and chicken kebabs with persimmon and mango preserves into our special-occasion foods. Zahav is the restaurant that defines Israeli cooking for this city - that does it for the entire country, really, which makes Philly a kind of ground zero for modern Israeli cuisine.

Really, just don’t miss anything here - a French-Lebanese café that does almost everything remarkable well.

Don’t miss the bakery cases, filled with shamiyyat date cookies, amazing baklava, walnut semolina cookies dusted with powdered sugar and shortbread stuffed with jam. Don’t miss the namesake manakeesh (flatbreads topped with everything from mozzarella and red sauce to za’atar labneh or hot cheese and roasted red peppers). A post shared by “La lumiere est dans le livre” West Phillyĭon’t miss out on the Lebanese specialties - the balilah, or the fatteh with hot chickpeas and nuts, sour yogurt and fried pita.

Mediterranean restaurants