This review comes from someone who lived in the neighborhood for a few years, so take it with that…read morecontext. Gypsy Grill was my go-to for a quick, satisfying meal without having to think too much - consistently great over the years and a source of comfort and flavor for me and many others. My go-to order was the chicken shawafel sandwich. They offer three spice levels and the garlic sauce is amazing. I've had shawarma sandwiches at many places across the country and this one is among my top favorites. Their kofta sandwich was great too, the gypsy fries are well seasoned and crispy, and their baklava is delicious. Good value overall. The restaurant is family run and the people are incredibly kind and courteous - a couple of times they got my order slightly wrong and went out of their way to make it right. A true neighborhood gem and I hope it's still thriving.

Stopped by Gypsy Grill in the walking area of Jersey City and was pleasantly surprised. It's a…read moresmall spot with lots of Middle Eastern options. I ordered the beef and lamb shawarma for a quick bite, and it did not disappoint. Packed with flavorful sauces, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles, every bite was delicious. The guy taking my order was also super friendly and helpful, which made the experience even better. It's a super casual place with no bells and whistles. But great food! Definitely coming back!

Uncle Momo is a super cute restaurant. We were seated immediately and I asked the server for…read morerecommendations. She did not disappoint! I had the chicken tajine it was delicious. I highly recommend this place for a quick and comforting meal. Their baklava latte was so good, and on the sweeter side. Overall, amazing experience and will return if I'm ever in NJ again

Food - good but portions on the small side given the price. My friend and I ordered the tunisian…read moreeggs, which comes with a small side salad and 5 (or less, like my friend's) pieces of potato. Service - low-touch but I wouldn't say it was bad or too slow Ambiance - cute neighborhood spot. Please bring cash to avoid the cc fee. There was also an automatic 20% tip for parties 4+ to be aware of

Move over, Astoria--this unremarkable street block offers enough casual Arabic seafood spots to…read moremake any Queens resident take notice. And as a bonus, it has not yet been "discovered" by the Yelp Elite / food influencer crowd (besides yours truly). The Alexandrian Style Shrimp was huge and delicious, but the Grilled Branzino (and really, any whole grilled fish) is the big, belting diva of the menu and one you should not miss. Whole, ground spices are packed into every bite care of lovely marinade, and your teeth will rejoice at how tender the meat is. Entrees all come with generous, complimentary portions of salad, tahini and pita, as well as lots of fluffy rice, so you can't walk away hungry. The prices are on the higher side, sadly--it seems nowhere is immune to inflation these days--but at least you'll get a ton of bang for your buck.

A Little Unassuming Gem for Alexandrian Food in JC…read more I found this place on a Eater Jersey City list and wasn't expecting much but the food was surprisingly delicious. The space is small, about 8 tables, with dated, seventies decor, complete with plastic on the tables. Only one woman in the kitchen. We had the grilled Orata, which came with rice, salad, babaganoush and tahini sauce, side of eggplants with peppers in tomato sauce and the Alexandria style shrimp. Everything was fresh, the fish grilled to perfection and the shrimp well-seasoned. There is also a sandwich menu, but it was not available that day. This place as all of the elements I love in small businesses; no pretention, no gimmicks and no "fusion"...just authentic, simple, home made food, from kitchen straight to my stomach with no orchestra and fireworks. My only gripe is that the prices are high but given that food costs have risen so quickly in the last few years, I completely understand.

Came here for a quite early dinner as we were walking around Hoboken. This was a a rare Middle…read moreEastern restaurant open as it was the end of Ramadan when we visited. In fact, we were the only people inside until another couple nicely showed up as we were on our way out. Hoboken's changed a lot during the years and decades. However, it's quite evident why Ali Baba's hung around for more than 40 years. It's all about the consistency. We ordered the Spinach Pie and Fried Halloumi Cheese as starters. Both tasted very well. I just added a pinch of the hot sauce to both and it added a perfect bounce to it. I stuck with the falafel sandwich for dinner so my fiancée could eat a chicken sandwich. It was a generous portion. So much so that the sandwich itself pretty much came apart so I had to eat it with a fork and knife. That's okay for me. I also added a little hot sauce to this for extra flavor, but the fixings are pretty standard. Anyhow, we got our satisfaction for Mediterranean food in the area. Can't ask for more.

The food was top notch, loved the falafel and mint lemonade specially. Amazing quantity for the…read moreprice! The service was super quick too. The ambiance was alright as well, calm and composed set up.

Was seated and served very quickly. They have lunch specials which come with an appetizer a main…read moredish and a beverage for less than $20 which is a fairly good deal. I went with eggplant salad and lamb adana. The bread they put on the table was fresh, warm, crisp on outside and soft and chewy on the inside and was a great accompaniment to the eggplant. I could have used a little more seasoning but it was fine. The lamb adana was very good, but I was disappointed with the tomato and pepper that came on the side.

Lunch specials seem less frequent these days. Maybe I'm biased as I'm not a lunch type (though I…read morecertainly compensate at dinner). Rumi offers an impressive combo. I enjoyed the lamb gyro. There are far more beverage and appetizer options than the industry standard. The excellent spicy vegetable spread is one of those. At many places you'd be paying $8 extra for that. Entree portions are smaller in the lunch special but the whole order was quite hefty. Delivery was super-quick.

Came here for a quick bite and I was craving Greek food. I was surprised by the portion size! They…read moredefinitely don't want you to leave hungry! The trio of dips was great, and I can see myself ordering this repeatedly for girl dinner. The zucchini chips with feta were also fantastic. Not pictured because we ate it too fast was the spanakopita; excellent spinach pie. The service was fast, the staff was so pleasant. The seating area was generous, and nicely decorated. Will be coming back for more!

Why, yes, I did get the vegan gyro platter just so I could have a new thing to review and take a…read morepicture of. It was better than it needed to be, but even with the more obvious appeal of beef-lamb gyros, the platters here are kind of a group effort. The JC/Hoboken region has an array of new Greek spots. At the risk of making enemies I'm going to comparatively mention the key players. The pork gyro over at Tros in Hoboken is my favorite specific meat and Efi's Gyro in JC is probably my sauce favorite. I'd give the platter edge to Ela Greek Kitchen for the excellent salad; they include a lettuce-less horiatiki here. And the fries are top-notch too. I liked the playlist also: Wheatus, Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance.

Naya at Exchange Place is my go-to lunch spot whenever I'm in that office…read more The food is fantastic, with a decent quantity of great veg options. My usual order is the falafel bowl with quinoa base and it's always perfectly warm. My only concerns are the sticky floors and how sometimes the staff uses the same tongs for both the meat and veggie stuff, which is a bummer. Having said that, the food is good enough that I keep going back (and remind the serving staff to use different tongs).

Great new establishment in the area of Exchange place...super clean..fresh Mediterranean…read morefood..can't wait to try more dishes!

Cute, quick service spot. Me and my partner were starving before heading to the city and stopped…read morehere real quick for a bite. Everything tasted fresh and delicious. Absolutely loved that greek cheese & the chicken flavor was amazing. Good portion size for the price I'd say. Workers were kind & good service. It was such a cute spot, I'll be back!

I got food once from Plaka Souvlaki a couple years ago, so when I was in the mood to order Greek…read morefood last week, I was surprised that the name changed - I thought for a second the shop closed down completely. I'm glad it didn't though. I did the build your own bowl and it was a ton of food. Great value. I got two chicken skewers, with lemon fries and the Mediterranean garbanzo salad. For my spreads, I got hummus and paid extra another side of spicy feta. Everything was tasty. I wish I had also gotten some tzatziki on the side since the chicken was dry otherwise. I mostly dipped the chicken in the hummus and used the spicy feta for my pita. The fries got a little soggy the way they were packaged, but they reheated nicely in the air fryer. It was so much food, I had leftovers for lunch the next day. I am a fan!