Arriving at Al Basha felt almost otherworldly. It's tucked into a part of Paterson I'd never…read moreexplored before, surrounded by a large Middle Eastern community, and it had been on my radar for a while. I'd been dying to finally try their renowned Palestinian food. I came on a Friday night, and the restaurant was packed with families and large parties. They even offer valet parking--which tells you something about how popular this place is. And forget paying extra for bread. They start you off with a whole basket of 4-5 pieces of soft, house-made pita, along with pickled vegetables. The menu has both small plates (hot and cold mezze) and entrees, but we really wanted to sample as much as possible, so we went with the small plates. We ordered the fried cauliflower, fried cheese, lamb and beef sausage, and falafel. Everything was truly incredible, and the portions were very generous. The cauliflower was a little oily, but that's to be expected with fried cauliflower. It still had an amazing crunch, and they brought us complimentary toum and hummus for dipping, which was such a nice touch. The fried cheese was incredibly fresh and crispy with a light saltiness that made it hard to stop eating. But the falafel was the star for me--and probably the best I've ever had. Falafel usually isn't something I order first; I'm pretty take-it-or-leave-it about it. But these completely changed my mind. They're longer and more oblong than the usual round falafel, and the texture and flavor were fantastic. The lamb sausage was also really good. The only item that felt just okay compared with everything else was the beef sausage. On the drinks front, they don't have fountain drinks--only Boylan sodas. Sadly, no Diet Coke, but that was a very minor point. The service was amazing all night, and between the generous portions and all the different plates, we had plenty of leftovers to take home. They also have a smaller takeout location very close by if you can't get a reservation at the main restaurant. Overall: Al Basha absolutely lived up to the hype. Incredible Palestinian food, generous portions, warm service, and some seriously memorable falafel. Definitely worth the trip to Paterson.

Took my brother and his girlfriend for lunch…read more The place was packed but we were seated right away The service was great and we. Hit the app mix which came with all the different spreads For our meal we got the mix grill for 2 and was more than enough for the 3 of us For dessert we got pistachio ice cream man was it good The ambiance is very nice

Abu Rass is one of the best places for authentic Middle Eastern food. The food was incredibly…read morefresh, flavorful, and served in generous portions. Everything we ordered was delicious, especially the grilled meats, which were tender and perfectly seasoned. The staff was friendly, welcoming, and provided excellent service throughout our visit. The restaurant was clean, and the atmosphere was warm and inviting. I highly recommend Abu Rass to anyone looking for delicious, authentic food. I'll definitely be coming back!

My friend and I ordered a light meal. It was delicious :) The ambiance and the decor was very nice…read more Ziad the manager was very nice, I highly recommend!

Friends wanted to try so we're in the neighborhood and we were so glad we tried. The pide was very…read moreflavorful and we ordered 4 of them for 8 of us. They are like long thin flatbreads with different fillings. We ordered a potato one, a mozzarella cheese one, a combo meat one and a sausage one. Everyone loved the cheese one! The others were ok but the potato one stood out! The restaurant did not have ice for their soda and drinks. No glasses were given - just bottles and cans. Server did not offer us any water despite us asking for some at the beginning of the meal. She was not very attentive - perhaps it was end of day and she was tired. The restaurant is very simple. There's an inside seating area and an outside area that's much larger.

I am not an expert of Turkish food, but I am very familiar with cheese pide (think Turkish pizza)…read more My family are allium-free vegetarians and the cheese pide fits the bill. We moved and it was finally time to try to find our new go-to place for our pide fix and out of the 10+ restaurants in the area that also serve pide... I chose this one. This place is conveniently located on a very central and busy street. It's mostly street parking (good luck) though they do have 2 dedicated spaces in front if you're lucky. It's a cozy place with maybe 4 tables when you walk in - all were full when we got there around 1 pm on a Monday that happened to be a federal holiday - and we were told that there were more seats around the corner. They built an addition - you will be briefly exposed to the outdoors for a few steps - and it's so much more roomier and brighter with more (and larger) tables. It's climate controlled as well. There was only one man manning the front and everyone else is in the kitchen so expect some wait if it's busy and especially if you're in the separate room, but it honestly wasn't that bad for us. We were all given menus (the two adults AND my two young kids) and given sufficient time to peruse. The menu is fairly simple: they specialize in pide and lahmacun. There's a small salad section and beverages but no dessert. Their pide is different from what I'm used to; they have a super long version that is at least 2 feet long (don't quote that; I didn't bring my tape measure) and a round one that is likely around 12 inches in diameter. I focused on the cheese pide section and the drinks and ordered: Kaşarli Pide (mozzarella pide) - this was for my daughter. It is LONG. I'd venture to say it could even be 2-1/2 feet long as the ends were longer than the board it was on. The dough for this is stretched thin so it comes out almost like boat shaped flatbread with an equally thin, but adequate layer of cheese. It's crisp with a chew and is positively delightful. It says mozzarella, but the cheese used in pide always seems to be more and wonderfully three dimensional. Yuvarlak Kaşarli Yumurtali Pide (2 egg and cheese round pide) - I actually wanted the cheese with tomato long pide but I was also intrigued by a circular one so he added in some sliced tomatoes in this as well! We weren't sure how to eat it as the eggs were still mostly raw but we ended up breaking it up and spreading it everywhere and just cutting it like a pizza. It was AMAZING. The dough on this is thicker than the long pide but not very thick either. Not as crispy but does have crispy edges. The combination I got from this was perfection. I can't pinpoint it but it's definitely juicier - whether that be grease, tomato juices, the egg, or all the above - and that made it nice. Very nice. Ayran - we always order ayran when we get pide. This place doesn't make their own, sadly, but it was nice. It's essentially a salty yogurt drink and still hit the spot. Şalgam (fermented turnip juice) - this is completely new to us. I got this because I noticed that almost every Turkish restaurant in the area also offered this as a beverage and adventurous me got curious. They don't make their own so it's bottled and they only have the spicy version (which is the default). This thing is STRONG. It's got an earthy taste to it like beets (but it's mostly made of purple carrots for color and turnips) but it packs a punch like pickle juice and V8. Salty, spicy, earthy, intense... deep flavors. And I LOVED it at first sip. I chugged the first third. It actually reset my stomach enough that I ate more pide, haha. BUT definitely an acquired taste. My husband thought it was okay and let me have most of it. This drink surprisingly contains wheat, so avoid if there's an allergy. Note: my youngest child has multiple food allergies including to wheat and eggs. They don't have a gluten free alternative, unfortunately. There's a sign saying no outside food allowed, but we brought him his pizza and he was perfectly content with that. We never managed to ask the man if it was okay since he was in and out fast, but he didn't question us when he caught a glimpse of the Pyrex. The pide both came with their own pizza cutter wheel for convenience. They also typically come with pickles on the side but we opted out because their pickles contain garlic. I'm supposed to be trying other pide places to give everyone a fair chance, but I've fallen in love with this place. Even my husband who mostly eats to survive... well, he said it was good (which is huge compared to his usual "it's okay"s). They have good service, the pides are stupendous, it's clean (antibacterial wet wipes at every table), single restroom is tidy, and they introduced me to şalgam. I'm thrilled Pide 28 was my first foray into Turkish food in NJ and am looking forward to trying all the cheese pides on their menu in due time.

Absolutelyyyyy AMAZINGGGG ! Definitely worth the drive !! Everything from the service to the food…read morepresentation was just top notch quality!

I can only speak to my Uber order and not the service or ambiance. I was craving Chicken Shawarma…read moreArabi and am on my hunt for a go to place in NYC but this was sadly a miss. The meat was so dry and barely had any flavor or sauce. You could tell parts of the roll were missing as well. The fries were okay but could be crispier and more seasoned. This won't be my go to spot but glad I tried it.

Great food ... place is small, good service Have Combo of…read moreLamb & Shish it was very good Meat was tender and vegetables grilled to perfection

I would give this place a zero if I could. Hostess literally said "your men are very cheap I'm just…read moresaying" bc we didn't tip after they tried to purposely charge us for 3 hummuses bc we sent back the lamb chops for being absolutely bland.

We went to Kanoon for my mom's birthday and we had a wonderful time. They did a little show in the…read morekitchen area which was really fun. The presentation of the food was excellent as well with a smoke show. The food was incredible too. I followed the reviews and got the smoked chicken which was a great choice. We also got the ribs and brisket. I definitely liked the brisket more than the ribs in case you are looking to make a choice. I got their special fries and I absolutely loved them. They were so lemony and garlicky. They have sauces that they serve with the food and some that are on the table as well. I think the sauces are definitely necessary. The meat is delicious but mildly seasoned. I live a bit far and I loved the food so much that I got brisket and smoked chicken to go as well. The brisket makes such an amazing sandwich with some sriracha aioli and cheese. The service was excellent throughout. We were seated immediately and everything was taken care of efficiently.

We have been dying to make it here and so glad we did finally! There is a small parking lot to the…read moreside of the restaurant otherwise it's street parking (all free parking). We arrived on a Saturday the place was absolutely packed but we were seated within about 5 minutes. We were seated right near the smokers and it was so cool to watch them prepare each dish. The presentation here is phenomenal as is the quality of all the meat here. A fresh salad with oil was brought complimentary to the table and it was delicious. We ordered the Buffalo smoked chicken wings and Baba-Ghanoj for appetizers. The chicken wings were so tender that as you picked them up the meat literally fell off the bone! The sauce was subtle but had a nice Buffalo kick at the end. The baba-ghanoj was served cold and was perfect with a little sprinkle of salt. The fresh pitas paired perfectly with it. I'm glad I did my research on this spot as everyone recommended the fresh mint lemonade. Wow amazing and refreshing I love that it came out as a slushy like consistency. I could easily drink them all day and they're probably amazing to eat outside in the warmer months and enjoy. We each ordered the meat platters in 1lb portions which are served with fresh smoked rice that is so good and filling. I wanted the beef shank but sadly they were out and ordered the smoked beef short rib. They served everything on a platter for us which the presentation I must say is outstanding . My boyfriend ordered the smoked brisket and it was so tender and flavorful he kept saying "it's terrible you won't like it because he didn't want to share it at all LOL". We had no room for dessert but I cannot wait to return for our next dinner date night! I would definitely give it 4/5 stars. Nothing was terrible the only complaints I had is once we were seated and our order was taken our server asked if we want appetizers first which we said yes and everything came out at once. Which is fine not terrible just our table was packed and hard to eat. Additionally once our food came out it was hard to get anyone's attention for more drinks but it was no too much of an issue that it ruined the night as they were definitely way too busy and seemed to be short staffed. I definitely want to return and check out the rest of their menu. I highly recommend making the trip to Kanoon!

I'm not in Paterson, NJ frequently but when I am there I'll always opt for Middle Eastern food…read more This place was great & gave more than enough condiments + a generous portion. If I happen to be in the area again I would definitely come back.

Best shawarma in the USA. Service is excellent. Speedy and neat. Recommend to eat the sandwich on…read morethe spot.

I placed an online order and it was ready in a timely manner. This was my first time and it was…read moreimmaculate. I got a burger, tender and a hotdog with fries. The seasoning kind of give old bay which I have no complaint about. Their special sauce is also tasty. I suggest grab a little more if you like sauce.

There's a lot of positive hype surrounding Slap Burger. So much so that I was concerned that it…read morecouldn't possibly live up to it. I am happy to say that it did in spades. The burgers are spectacular. Far and away the best "smash" type burgers I have ever had. High quality beef smashed to perfection with just the right amount of caramelization and char. Moist and incredibly flavorful. Served with meted American cheese pickles on a perfectly toasted bun. I chose to go with mac and cheese for my side and it was excellent. Tasted home made. I plan to try the fries next time as they look pretty good as well. The service was on point. I waited about 10 minutes for the prep and it was worth the small wait. The dining area appears to have been inspired by Five Guys. Red, white and black. Almost identical. The prices are very fair. I will definitely be adding Slap Burger into my regular rotation.

I had a great experience at Qahwah House. It is a nice place to gather with friends or family for a…read morecasual small treat and tea. They are open late which is great! I shared a tea with a friend- these are dark and rich so the honey helped to sweeten it up. I would recommend stopping by if you're looking for a cafe in the area!

This is a very cute coffee shop in Clifton, parking can be tough it's street parking only. Inside…read moreis pretty spacious with two seating rooms. They pride themselves here on the quality of their organic coffee beans, and it shows. Although I ordered a iced Americano with no milk or sugar I could tell by the aroma and flavor of the coffee that it was high quality. We also ordered an iced latte and no complaints here. There are tons of pastries both sweet and savory so next time I'll have to try one of those. The baristas new also friendly and eager to recommend coffee drinks that they believe you'll enjoy. Would come back for sure!

10/10 experience!! I ordered their biggest platter of chicken (50 pc) 2 days ahead and when the day…read morecame it was ready right on time and hot!!! They helped me load it into the car and left it slightly uncovered and it stayed crispy even after the 30 minute ride to my destination. The quality of the chicken is also top notch, none of those mutated pieces you find at fast food places and it actually tastes better anyways. I could actually taste the brine in the meat, so so sooooo good. The crowd loved it and I will definitely be back!

Very well seasoned chicken with a nice crunchy coating. Dont forget to get extra garlic sauce!…read moreReally love the honey biscuits as well!