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GuideUpdated July 14, 2026

4 Best Middle Eastern Restaurants in New York

The 4 best middle eastern restaurants in New York, sorted by rating and curated by TastyPals editors.

The best middle eastern restaurants in New York are ilili NoMad, Au Za'atar - Midtown East, Ayat Bushwick, and more. Start with ilili NoMad if you want the strongest overall first pick.

By Nadia Aoun•4 ranked picks•Published July 14, 2026•Updated July 14, 2026
Methodology•Editorial team
ilili NoMadAu Za'atar - Midtown EastAyat Bushwick
4 Best Middle Eastern Restaurants in New York
Google

Top picks at a glance

#1ilili NoMadMiddle Eastern • Park Slope • moderate#2Au Za'atar - Midtown EastMiddle Eastern • New York • moderate#3Ayat BushwickMiddle Eastern • Bushwick • value

Who this guide is for

This guide covers the highest-rated middle eastern restaurants in New York. The picks are sorted by Google rating and review volume to give you a reliable shortlist. Picks span Park Slope, New York and Bushwick.

Quick picks

ilili NoMad
Middle Eastern • Park Slope
ilili NoMad is the kind of middle eastern room in Park Slope you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.
Au Za'atar - Midtown East
Middle Eastern • New York
Au Za'atar in Midtown East is doing something quietly radical for the neighborhood: it's positioning Lebanese breakfast and brunch as a destination in their own right, not a secondary offering bolt…
Ayat Bushwick
Middle Eastern • Bushwick
Ayat in Bushwick is running a genuinely unusual play for the neighborhood: Palestinian home cooking at a price point that sits at the very bottom of our scale, no asterisks attached.
Browse all New York restaurantsBack to New York hub
Editorial details
Author: Nadia Aoun
Published: July 14, 2026
Last updated: July 14, 2026

On this page

  1. 1. ilili NoMadView →
  2. 2. Au Za'atar - Midtown EastView →
  3. 3. Ayat BushwickView →
  4. 4. Zou Zou’sView →

How the restaurants compare

Editorial restaurant image stand-in for ilili NoMad
Google
ilili NoMad
Park Slope • Middle Eastern
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
Shared plates
Mood
Park Slope
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Au Za'atar - Midtown East
Google
Au Za'atar - Midtown East
New York • Middle Eastern
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
Shared plates
Mood
Casual
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Ayat Bushwick
Google
Ayat Bushwick
Bushwick • Middle Eastern
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
Bushwick dinner
Mood
Bushwick
Zou Zou’s
New York • Middle Eastern
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
Shared plates
Mood
Casual

How we chose

We looked for restaurants that feel like a strong fit for the guide topic, not just the most obvious names in the city. The shortlist favors rooms with clear mood, dependable pacing, and enough distinction to help someone decide faster. Read our full methodology →

Room tone

Lighting, pace, and general energy all need to support the reason someone clicked this guide.

Food fit

We favored restaurants that feel best suited for the moment, not just restaurants with broad reputation.

Useful range

The final list tries to give readers enough variation in neighborhood, price, and style to compare real options.

4 ranked picks

Au Za'atar - Midtown East — Au Za'atar in Midtown East is doing something quietly radical for the neighborhood: it's positioning Lebanese breakfast and brunch as a destination in their own right, not a secondary offering bolted onto a dinner menu. In a stretch of Manhattan dominated by deli counters and power-lunch steakhouses, the kitchen commits to a level of regional specificity that most Middle Eastern restaurants in New York trade away in favor of a flattened, pan-Arab crowd-pleaser. The menu is built around Lebanese morning and midday traditions, and the distinction, by all accounts, is legible in every dish. The Vegetarian Falafel Benedict is the signature draw — a dish that reportedly takes the structural logic of a classic eggs Benedict and rebuilds it through Levantine technique, with crisp falafel standing in where an English muffin would. Diners consistently point to it as the order that makes the concept click. The Fattet Hummus is what regulars recommend for first-timers: a layered construction of toasted bread, hummus, and yogurt that the menu positions as both textured and cohesive, rich without tipping into heaviness. Lahmeh W Beid — spiced ground meat with eggs — is known for hitting a savory, aromatic register that reads as deeply satisfying brunch food, while Kafta W Jebne Bi Ajin, a flatbread with minced meat and cheese, is the table-share dish the menu seems designed around. Al-'Ayn rounds out the picture as an approachable entry point for anyone newer to Lebanese morning cooking. The restaurant is best suited to a group of three or more; the menu is structured for sharing, and the price point for Midtown makes that equation genuinely favorable. Weekend brunch is the window to target. Start with the Fattet Hummus, and let the less-familiar dishes lead from there. View restaurant →
Ayat Bushwick — Ayat in Bushwick is running a genuinely unusual play for the neighborhood: Palestinian home cooking at a price point that sits at the very bottom of our scale, no asterisks attached. This isn't a concept restaurant or a chef-driven reinvention of anything — by all accounts, the menu centers on the kind of food that takes patience and doesn't try to explain itself to you. In a stretch of Brooklyn that runs on pizza slices and convenience, that's a quiet philosophical statement. The accessibility feels intentional, like the kitchen believes this food belongs to a crowd rather than a reservation list. The dishes Ayat is known for reward some attention before you order. The baba ghanoush has a reputation for carrying real smoke — not the pale, over-lemoned approximation that shows up on every Mediterranean-adjacent menu in the borough, but something with char that reportedly reads in the finish. Kibbeh, always the honest test of a kitchen doing this style of cooking, is consistently praised for its spiced lamb filling and well-executed shell. Wara dawali — stuffed grape leaves — are described by regular diners as tight-wound and bright with lemon, the rice inside cooked with care. The chicken shawarma, listed Araby style, is understood to be about the rotisserie process behind it rather than any shortcut. And lahma bi ajeen, a flatbread topped with spiced minced meat, is the thing people apparently reach for first, before the table has even organized itself. The practical move here is a group of four or more, ordering across the whole menu and letting it become a spread rather than a structured meal. Weeknights are the call — the room reportedly has more space to breathe when Bushwick hasn't fully come alive yet. Start with the lahma bi ajeen while everything else is still on its way. View restaurant →

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Zou Zou’s — Zou Zou's is making a specific argument about what Middle Eastern cooking can be in New York, and it's an argument worth tracking down. This is not the falafel-and-hummus shorthand that stands in for the cuisine at half the spots in the city. The kitchen's reputation centers on fire and char as primary languages — a room built around dramatic, large-format cooking that diners consistently describe as transformation rather than mere preparation. It draws the table that wants spectacle alongside substance: a group celebrating something real, a couple who actually talks about what they're eating, anyone ready to commit to the full arc of a meal. The menu is structured to build. The Lamb Tartare is known for a brightness that reportedly cuts against expectations for raw lamb, with a spice calibration that guests tend to keep talking about. The Hot Kasseri Cheese arrives bubbling and is consistently cited for that satisfying pull and stretch that slows a table down in the best way. From there, Zou Zou's real convictions come through in the large-format proteins: the Fire-Roasted Leg of Lamb is the menu's anchor, known for deep smokiness and a crust that diners describe as shattering at the edge. The Tomahawk Ribsteak is reportedly every bit the showstopper it looks like — char and heavily marbled interior doing the work in equal measure. The Whole Lobster Kebab is the flex order: dramatic, priced for a special occasion, and widely regarded as the table centerpiece worth planning around. The strategic move here, based on how regulars approach the menu, is to anchor your order around one large-format protein and build backward rather than grazing piecemeal. Book for groups of six or more on weekdays, when the kitchen can give the big plates the attention they demand — and request a table with sightlines to the open fire. View restaurant →

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Park SlopeBushwickMiddle EasternDate NightGroup Dinnerhidden gem

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