Rebecca C.

I am known for how much I rave about Frena's shakshuka, particularly their Merguez Shakshuka that comes with Moroccan spicy sausage. It is so so delicious! I've also tried their Turkish shakshuka with ground lamb, Swiss chard, and chickpeas which was good, but doesn't compare to Merguez. I've tried a bite of my friend's Green Shakshuka which came with shrimp and spinach and that was tasty too. You can not come here without trying their dips! I love their hummus, tzatziki, spicy feta, and baba ganoush. The bread it comes with might be my favorite thing on the menu. You'll probably need a second bread to pair with all the dips! I've only ever come here for brunch, but look forward to returning for dinner one day. It's very elegant and beautiful inside. You can see into their kitchen where they had a beautiful wood fire stove they're known for. Wonderful staff.

Alicia C.

This was a drive by dinner plan and so glad we found this. We were at a taping of the Daily Show and wanted to do dinner following and really didn't have much of game plan and it was PEAK dinner time. So we walked a bit and boom, Frena popped up and it was a welcomed find. The vibe is on point. Moody and a date-night energy. The food was also PHENOMENAL. The lamb tagine-like dish was IT! Booming flavor and the woodfired bread it was in seriously let me dip it in everything! Cocktails were well composed. Everything was a delightful given this was a total dinner roulette of an evening.

Ivy T.

Very beautiful interior. I came for dinner before a Broadway show and it was a nice spot for a casual but classy dinner. A bit expensive and not the best Mediterranean food I've had but still a solid option. Dip trio: 9/10 I got the labneh, tzatziki, and baba ganoush. Very fresh, and the complimentary bread that came with it was delicious Lamb Terracotta: 8/10: It took a while to come out which you should note if you're coming before a show. The lamb was tasty and the vegetables were super flavorful but I did get flavor fatigue.

Connie H.

When my friend recommended this place, I thought to myself "who is she??! who IS frena?!!" But y'all, she is the girl worthy of a good review. Loves: + Good brunch food. Our group had the dip trio ($26) Turkish shakshuka ($27), lahmajoun bread ($20) and grilled Spanish octopus ($34) and everything was good. + Good service and lovely staff + Can have dogs in the outside dining area + Restrooms are so nice. I mean like, "pretend I'm in the Mediterranean on vacation" nice. You know it's real if I put it in this review. Overall, I had an exquisite time dining here and would certainly come back. You are amazing, Frena!!! :)

Francie M.

An elevated twist on classic Mediterranean flavors. I ordered: - a cocktail whose name I forgot but it was gin based with notes of tomato and herbs? It was incredible. It was so smooth and subtle that I ended up chugging it and feeling the effects quite quickly as it was strong! - complimentary fresh table bread with salt and herbs. I had to be careful not to ruin my appetite with this! - halloumi with labneh and delicata squash: this was such a unique flavor pairing of the sweet and earthy squash, lightly tangy labneh, and rich cheese. It was slightly too much cheese for one person to finish though - best for splitting - scallops with herb sauce and mushrooms: no notes. Perfectly cooked scallops balanced by the herbaceous green sauce Logistics: - indoor seating only - limited street parking nearby

Shoshana R.

Frena is definitely a friend to me! I mean that literally... "Frena is a traditional Moroccan bread, baked in a local communal oven, on top of burning hot pebbles. This bread has a thin crust and a fluffy crumb, absolutely delicious!" "Yes carbs are the enemy but we are suppose to love thy neighbors and thy enemies and I love thine bread!" Like most of my city restaurant experiences, Frena was a random pick. On a Sunday in June, I happened to pull into a parking spot across from Frena and just like that, I decided to give them a try. Upon entry the decor is beautiful, perfect for a date or a group event. You feel like you are dining in a private garden with the cascading plants off of the ceiling around the bar. Instantly you want to sit and stay for a while. I started with a "Birds of a Feather" a signature cocktail made with Bourbon Rum. A perfect choice, it was well balanced and refreshing without being too sweet. In addition an order of Hummus w/ Frena bread and Duo of Falafel was placed. The Hummus was absolutely delish, you can eat it by the spoonful, but the Frena bread was simply amazing. Order extra you will need it and it will be worth both the extra carbs and the extra charge. The Falafels are green herb and sweet potato falafel with tahini and mango chutney. Both were good, but admittedly, I enjoyed the sweet potato falafel with the mango chutney more than the traditional. They had a subtle sweet taste with a nice unexpected departure from the earthy flavor of the green herbs. Of course the indulgence of the Hummus and Frena bread made it difficult to continue as capacity had been reached. However, an order of Schnitzel Shishi had arrived. Schnitzel Shishi a breaded crispy chicken flatbread with a shifka aioli and pickled red cabbage slaw. The schnitzel was both packed and traveled well. The server offered to pack the dish when it arrived noticing that we could not possibly consume another morsel. Service was attentive and swift with serval staff members tending to the table. Some members were a little more engaging than others but overall no complaints. Just A Note: - The Hummus and Frena bread is a MUST. Thank me later! - A Brunch Menu is available.

Jerry H.

This must be my favorite mediterranean spot in NYC hands-down. As locals to the neighborhood, we kept passing this spot - which appeared clean, modern, and only moderately busy at all times, until we finally decided to try it out for ourselves one time. I'm shocked this place isn't more busy. We were seated immediately upon checking into our reservation. We chose the dining area which feels spacious, modern (but not too modern), which great lighting, might I add. Service was excellent and very attentive throughout the entire meal. The menu is split up into Dips, dishes From the Market, dishes From the Sea, and dishes From the Land. I liked this categorization - it felt appropriate. We tried the Dip Trio - the hummus, labne, and the tomato sauce (can't remember the name off the top of my head. Of these, the hummus was the one that just felt good but not excellent (maybe just in comparison to other excellent hummus I've had?) - but the labne and tomato were amazing. The sauces come sitting in high quality olive oil which were enjoyed with our frena bread as well - which is hot, soft in the middle, and flavorful. A delicious start! Next, we had the oxtail tortellini - which read a bit more dumpling to me. It was very tasty, but compared to how everything else on the menu following this really blew me away, if I had to reorder, I would maybe try something else in place of this dish. Portion size for this dish is a little on the smaller side. We ordered the artichokes on a whim but these ended up being my favorite dish the entire meal surprisingly. Large, flavorful, crispy, soft/tender, juicy - there aren't enough adjectives to adequately describe this. I anticipate we will be back to Frena many times, but I think we will keep getting the artichokes every time lol. We ordered the lamb terra cotta which is the restaurant's special here, and for good reason. The ground lamb is perfectly cooked and full of spices that ooze out as you bite into it. The veggies it's cooked with are delicious as well. For dessert, we were between the knaffe and the halva silan sundae, but ended up going with the knaffe. It was amazing - especially in regards to the cheese. Overall, this is a nice restaurant, so the prices are certainly not low, but given the quality of food, I felt like they were appropriate. I think we may have found our favorite neighborhood spot. We absolutely plan to return.

Glenn C.

Recommendations- beef cheek tagine, egg burek, Frena bread, halva silan sundae. Someone else liked the whole branzino a lot. I was at this popular Mediterranean; or rather specifically Levant; restaurant a while back with a group where we mostly got our own dishes but we shared some of the appetizers and gave samples of some of our main dishes. The spot is from the same chef as the old Taboon though the signature dish is the same as at one of my less preferred spots, Barbounia, and they have a dessert like at Dagon. It was a little bit loud but not too much so and thankfully not nearly as much as Barbounia and the staff were friendly. Due to the price point as I was planning on ordering an appetizer, main, and dessert, I didn't bother with a drink though they had an interesting looking cocktail menu as well as a good wine selection. My appetizer, from the hot mezze selection, was the Egg Burek for $19 with feuille de brick, happy egg, smoked tuna bresaola, Jerusalem artichoke. Said feuille de brick refers simply to the filo dough which was nice and crispy with the inside being soft from the egg and artichoke and the slightly herby sauce paired nicely. The most unique part of the dish and what I found to be most delicious was the smoked tuna which added a bit of extra needed saltiness and some light fishiness and a bit of smoke. It was overall a very tasty appetizer though I don't see it on the menu currently. I also sampled the Frena Bread which is $9 listed as the signature Frena bread brushed with olive oil, Maldon salt, rosemary & sage. Said bread is Moroccan in origin and it's kind of like a thicker slightly more spiced pita and it was very tasty. The bread also came out piping hot and it was good to dip in the various sauces and I would recommend ordering one which the waiter had recommended as well. The only other thing I sampled was a tiny bit of the Moroccan Cigars for $22 with wagyu, ras-el-hanout, and tahini which was just okay. There's no real point in using wagyu unless you just want to bump up the price compared to the usual sigara böreği though I liked that it was a bit more spicy compared to the usual. This was alright. My main was the Wagyu Beef Cheek Tagine for $48 with roasted cauliflower and caramelized onions, confit Jerusalem artichokes, and charred Savoy cabbage which was pricey but honestly worth it. The beef in this case was extremely tender with a good mix of spices including cumin and many other warming spices as well as a bit of heat. The vegetables were also cooked down wonderfully with a bit of crunch from some of them as well as some softness while the onions added a bit of sweetness. This was excellent and I would recommend it heavily. I tried the Lamb Terra Cotta for $48 with Colorado lamb & Australian wagyu kebabs in clay pot with a flatbread top. Compared to the Barbounia one which is I think a little bit less expensive, the meat in here was better though there was perhaps a bit too much tahini or whatever that rich sauce was inside with the latter spot adding some tomato sauce which helped with the richness. It was okay in short. Another person had a whole branzino for $52 consisting of said Mediterranean branzino, sage chimichurri, broccolini, fingerling potatoes, and cherry tomatoes which they liked but I didn't try. For dessert, I went with the Halva Silan Sundae for $17 with vanilla ice cream, caramelized rice crispies & almonds, halva, and date syrup (said silan) as I partially wanted to compare it to Dagon. By comparison, the date syrup flavor is a bit less strong and they use potentially even more of the floss halva and I preferred the texture from the latter spot which added more crunch and other flavors. It was pretty tasty but I preferred the Dagon one pretty heavily but I would still recommend it. The price point are a tad high (especially for the mains) but they overall were pretty tasty. If you don't mind a splurge, the food quality is high compared to most of the Levant spots with the only really comparable one being Dagon which is a good amount better. 4.3.

June S.

We went to Frena for a Tasting Collective event, so we got to taste 5-course dinner especially curated for us. The interior was quite modern, with lots of greens everywhere, making the space looks like an oasis in the middle of concrete jungle. Cozy and welcoming. We decided to get a cocktail to start off. We chose Levant Dew which is actually "boozelss" option, but you can spike it with Vodka or Gin for additional $$. It had a nice sweetness from the honeydew, with the refreshing flavor of mint and yuzu. I really enjoyed this! The first course was Falafel Duo, which had two round falafel balls. They were so tasty! Crunchy exterior and nicely moist inside, packed with flavor. Fluffy and bouncy. The second course was Roasted Baby Gem Caesar Salad. It was very fresh, with a nice crisp crunch to it. The dressing had a little kick to it, and loved the charred, smoky flavor. Dressing was amazing, really enjoyed that. The third course was Wild Striped Bass "Tunschi" in souk-spiced tomato ragout, green garbanzo, preserved lemon. Fish was perfectly flaky and moist, tomato ragout was earthy and robust, comforting and had a great seasoning. Tasty! The fourth course was their Signature Lamb Terra Cotta. The staffs cut up the top immediately after serving at the table. It had lamb sausages inside, along with tomatoes and onions. The bread was amazing. The lamb was out of this world good! We scooped up the sauce with pieces of the flatbread, every bite was delightful from the beginning to the end. Last but not least, dessert! We got Tres Leches Olive Oil Cake with cardamom Chantilly. The cake was very moist, yet somehow didn't feel dense but nice and airy. What a great ending to this wonderful dinner. We had an amazing dinner here. The staffs were very friendly and efficient. The food and drinks were absolutely wonderful. We enjoyed everything! The owner was great too, approachable, relatable, and passionate about the restaurant and food. We will definitely go back for more of their amazing drinks and food!

Giselle P.

Great food, service, and ambiance. Excellent place for date night or dinner with friends.

Sayeeda A.

The restaurant is cozy and beautiful! The interiors have a very Mediterranean vibe. The servers are very attentive and come check in every few. The Echo cocktail was delicious. We had the trip dip with choice of three: babaganoush, cauliflower hummus (delicious) and a tomato garlic oil. It did not come with any bread, but the first frena bread was on the house. For entree we went for the oxtail tortelini which was served on top of rich butter and olive tapanade. The tortelini itself was good, but the bed of olive concoction was too salty, and for the steep prices, portion was small. We also ordered the popular lamb terracota, which is good for two, and the knafe for dessert. The lamb was tender and delicious.

Adam M.

When I lived in NY decades ago, Taboon was one of my absolute favorite restaurants. Frena's food is as good as I remember taboon being, and its interior more upscale than I remembered Taboon being also. - gnocchi - ordered these without truffle for our kids and they devoured. Some of the best gniocchi I have ever had, they nailed the texture with a slight crispness on the exterior and gooey interior. -bread (complimentary), excellent with a hint of rosemary - octopus: a little too much char but I still enjoyed it. If you enjoyed its predecessor you'll surely enjoy Frena.

Audrey B.

We didn't have a reservation because we live so close - got there at 5:30 and it was packed! We were so glad to get seating at the bar. The drinks were amazing - I got the Frenas Way. And then my partner and I shared the Frena bread and the drip trio which was delicious. Then we shared a salad and the oxtail dumplings. Will definitely be going back.