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    Sawa

    4.3 (55 reviews)
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    Updated 3 months ago

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    Recommended Reviews - Sawa

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    Mudardra
    Vishnu G.

    Great flavors, though the prices are quite high. The rakakat (halloumi rolls) were crispy and filled with a cheesy and herby filling. The mudardra was a new dish - stuffed and roasted cabbage on a skewer served over beluga lentils and rice. The rice was rich and hearty. The cabbage was nutty from the sliced almonds, and was covered in a barbecue-like sweet and spicy date sauce. I also had the tahini genie drink, which was sweet and had a velvety texture. The bill came to $88 with tax and tip, which is pretty steep. The quality is pretty good though, so it might be worth the occasional splurge.

    Dips
    Mel J.

    Sawa has two inside seating spaces but we sat outside in the garden on a large table. The ambiance was lovely on a summer evening - sitting under the string fairy lights as the sky darkened. The food was delicious. We devoured 3 of the dips between six of us (my favorite was the baba gannouj) which come with warm fresh pita. We ordered extra pita for one each but I don't think it was necessary as they are large. The tabouleh was nice and refreshing. The heirloom tomatoes were also tasty and served with a chili oil and garlic toum. We enjoyed a few lamb dishes and all the lamb is from Australia so it tastes nice and not gamey. Lamb ribs and skewers were very good. The whole fish was also super nice, no bones and well cooked. The osmaliyeh was my favorite dessert. Service was a bit slow and weirdly timed with some odd breaks between, but a little bit pricey.

    baba ghannouj and warm pita
    Nik H.

    I took my daughter to dinner here. She picked it. It was an excellent experience. The interior space is designed well and offers the customers a decent amount of space. The space could benefit from some sound deadening as it was a little loud, but in all fairness, it was a FULL house. Our server greeted us with a big smile, and he made some excellent suggestions with respect to food and drink. We had some great cocktails and approximately 2-3 dishes each. I love the tapas format as it allows us to share. We tried the baba ghannouj, tabbouleh, rakakat, freekeh, pita, and sambousek. EVERYTHING was excellent. The food was expertly prepared and presented. The value was quite good for the quality and portion size. I was very satisfied, and you will be too.

    Heirloom tomatoes
    Alexandra L.

    Came here for a dinner with some friends on a Sunday with a reservation. Their reservations get pretty filled up so definitely place one ahead of time! Our waitress was very informative and helpful and recommended some dishes. We got the hummus and labneh for dips with extra pita. Their apps rotate seasonally so what we got might not be available anymore, just to note. For apps, we got the heirloom tomatoes, fried potatoes, and lamb ribs. For entree, we got the fish in tomato stew and lamb kafta. The dips were great, definitely do not skip on these. You have to get at least 1-2 dips I'd say! The pita is soft and delicious and you can actually see the pita being made when you walk into the entrance. The heirloom tomatoes were delicious and it was the last day to get it as it's a seasonal summer dish. It was so fresh tasting and seasoned great, I loved it. The lamb ribs were very tender and fell off the bone. The potatoes disappointed me because they were fried so crispy that the inside was not fluffy and it took a bit of force to stick a fork through a piece. I like garlic but these were heavily seasoned with garlic and then served with garlic dip on the side, it was an overpowering overall. The entrees were good but honestly the apps and dips were the star of the dinner. For the price point, I expected the entrees to be bigger. Overall, I did feel full and satisfied by the end of dinner. Flavor was not lacking at all in any dish and as mentioned, the dips and apps were the stars so I'd recommend going and getting several of those and maybe skipping entrees and the potatoes unless you really enjoy a crispy potato and lots of garlic.

    Crispy potatoes with garlic sauce
    Marianne F.

    Delicious - my faves were the hummus with beef cheeks, the snap peas with labne, lamb pies, octopus, and the crispy potato. Gem salad was ok but not the star. Would love to try the other dips. Friendly service. Not crazily expensive.

    Chocolate tart
    Josh S.

    We sat in the outdoor courtyard on a lovely summer evening and enjoyed a long and relaxed meal. The ambiance was great! For food, we tried 3 dips, 5 mezzes and 4 entrees for a group of 5. Honestly we could have done with 2 less entrees or maybe 1 less entrees and 1 less Mezze - we were very full by the end. But we did squeeze in 2 desserts too. All the food was very solid. The lamb is from Australia and was great in the ribs, chops and sirloin formats. Service was very friendly, although the courses were pretty spaced out so it took a while. Overall the meal was very solid but the price felt a little bit high at the end so not the absolute best value.

    Brussels Sprouts
    Wenn S.

    Super attentive service Delicious bites of food Love the cozy home atmosphere A great date night out for sure If you are dining with a friend make sure you order 4-5 things to share

    This was their ice cream desert with Tree Sap syrup and Turkish cotton candy, pistachios, and flower petals. Insane
    Cassandra B.

    Where to even start! Top 5 dining experiences I've had in the world. Service and food. I basically ordered everything because I like trying a bunch dishes. I recommend yall try every single dish we got! Tabbouleh salad (a MUST), hummus, baba ghannouj, labneh, muhammara, Chicory Salad, Caraflex salad, Halloumi Cheese, The Batata hara crispy potato, lamb ribs, kafta, Shish Taouk, and always extra pita! It's made fresh in the front of the restaurant Also our friend ordered the Jezzine Dream cocktail and loved it.

    Tart beer! I liked this!
    Anitha K.

    Really cute spot near Park slope! Would come back for the Batata (super crispy flavorful potatoes with toum), octopus dish and the kafta kebabs!!! We also tried the halloumi sticks and the hummus topped with wagyu - also really good. The wagyu has a slight touch of sweetness. Their drinks are super interesting as well. I tried the Jeelab - super refreshing and sweet drink with rose water dates, pine nuts, raises and pomegranate! I've never had anything like that before. The beer is also nice and tart! The only thing I didn't care for was the dessert mainly due to the flavor profile (lots of options with semolina, orange blossom and pistachio but if you are a fan of that then get it!) Service was excellent! Everyone was super friendly

    Kim X.

    I was able to get a table for two the same week of the reservation. The restaurant was on the smaller side with a very tight entrance which made it hard for multiple parties waiting to be seated. We got the muhumarrah dip which came with one warm pita. We paid an extra 4 dollars for an additional pita. I didn't really think much about it, but other reviewers did mention how ridiculous it was that they would charge 4 dollars for an additional pita. I guess I never really appreciated that Al Badawai serves unlimited warm pita. We split the chicory salad, octopus and lamb chops. Everything was done very nicely and well seasoned. The octopus was on a bed of heavenly green acidic sauce with couscous. The lamb chops came in four medium rare pieces on a bed of seasoned and cooked green onions and a spicy yogurt sauce with a kick. I would come back again if the reservation isn't hard to come by.

    Samke nayeh (hamachi)
    Lily F.

    DELICIOUS spot for dinner! Try this spot if you enjoy Lebanese food :) We went as a group of four and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. We opted to split several dips and mezze and skip on the mains, and it was a perfect amount of food. One of the stand outs was the tomato dish with toum. So flavorful! The back patio is beautiful, and a great place to enjoy a meal if the weather is nice. The service was alright. We ended up getting a different dip than we ordered, but this was fine as they were all delicious! It was a busy night when we went. This did not at all detract from the meal and experience. Overall, absolutely recommend this restaurant!

    Gin martini
    Spencer S.

    This was probably a top 3 new restaurant for me in 2024. Worth the hype and fighting for the res. The restaurant wasn't trying to get out over their skis on creativity - they executed what they advertised very well. Have recommended to a number of people. FWIW - I am not a huge Mediterranean restaurant fanatic, but I loved this. Staff was very polite. Ambiance was great. Low yellow lighting. Great for a date spot. We came here with a small group and ordered the following: Hummus Baba ghannouj Labneh - insanely good Muhammara Tabbouleh - so much flavor. Must get Kibbeh- must get Batata hara Lamb shank - my favorite. So tender Beiruti samka harra - amazing sauce Kafta Kastaletta Would definitely come back here. Very pleased with it.

    Lamp chops and fish
    Julie C.

    make a reservation!!! you'll need it even on a weekday dinner. interior is super cute and i'd consider it fancy. service is attentive and overall vibe upscale. definitely pricey - dips are teeny and don't come with the pita ($6/each on the side). personally didn't find the taste worth these trade offs. the pita was good indeed and we could watch them make it fresh though. overall portion sizes were a bit dissatisfying and the taste wasn't interesting enough to make up for it.

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    3 months ago

    Outstanding food and service. One of the best meals I have had in Park slope. The backyard garden is beautiful.

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Sawa

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    Nabila’s - Side of potatoes and cucumber and tomato salad that came with the fish

    Nabila’s

    4.0(65 reviews)
    1.0 miCobble Hill

    Nabila's feels like a visit to your hip Lebanese aunt's kitchen in Brooklyn. The interior is bright…read moreand airy with tons of natural light and feels welcoming for a meal any time of the day. Nabila's does a great job at balancing upscale dining with casual grub, so overall a perfect spot when wanting to hit the town without a white table cloth. You can see most of the dishes on the menu in their Cruset-esque pots sitting at the front of the restaurant, which during my first visit felt more like a dig inn experience but I digress. There is waited table service so not actually an elevated middle eastern dig inn if you don't want it to be. The menu itself feels perfectly edited and purposeful where everything is meant to be shared. We started off with the mouhamara dip which was pleasantly chunky with the signature flavors of pine nuts, molasses, and honey permeating throughout. The pita was served steaming hot and was the perfect fluffy vehicle for our appetizing dip. Our zero proof drinks (sumac / zaatar lemonades) were absolutely delicious and refreshing. I'm inspired to make these at home. The fattoush salad was also delightfully pleasant with its vinegar dressing and fresh vegetables and crispy toasted pita chips tossed in. It quickly became a favorite and one of the larger dishes we ordered. The fatayer were surprisingly soft and delicate though SO delicious, I could've ordered another round for the table. The sheesh barak were definitely a table favorite as well. I was expecting slightly bigger dumplings, though they tasted incredible and the minty yogurt sauce was the perfect creamy dip to pair with pretty much everything we already had at the table (I combined it with the rice and YUM). I could see myself coming back here and trying more of the menu. We left perfectly full and not over stuffed, which maybe means we didn't order enough by Lebanese culture standards, so just a reason to return!

    Food here is excellent 10/10. Coming from a Lebanese background it's authentic and true to taste…read more It's rare to find a tasty kibbeh but Nabila's doesn't disappoint. The service was also great with really nice staff. It would be great if they put some more love into the decor and aesthetic. They also don't have a liquor license which seems be out of their control but hopefully they get one soon as proper cocktails would be a great complement to this delicious food.

    Photos
    Nabila’s
    Nabila’s - Batata Harra

    Batata Harra

    Nabila’s - Atayef Ashta ($4.50.) Excellent. Would recommend.

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    Atayef Ashta ($4.50.) Excellent. Would recommend.

    Huda - Green almonds

    Huda

    4.4(49 reviews)
    2.9 miWilliamsburg - North Side

    Came here for my sister's graduation dinner and it did not disappoint! Literally everything was…read moregreat. We ordered nearly the whole menu, including the desserts. I have a lot of Pros so i'm gonna start with really the only con. Con: it was pretty loud in the main room. Food: the Dorade and lamb meatballs were both awesome, the Chicken and Saffron butter was great as well. If youre gettting the pita and mezze, get more pita than you'd expect. It's some of the beg pita our family had ever had. The hummus was great but the babaganoush was killlerrrrr. My family had a field day on the syrian cheese and hot honey. I loved the grape leaves and charred eggplant. For dessert, ordered the tiramisu, date sticky pudding, and the rhubarb tart. The date sticky pudding was kind of like a date brownie and the toffee topping was insane. It was so rich and potent. tiramisu was good, but we could have done another Tart. It was so vibrant and refreshing, it was the first to go and if we wouldn't have already been stuffed, we would have ordered another. Service was great, and very accommodating. I can't have sesame seeds, and they took it off of everything we ordered, no mistakes there and much appreciated!

    The service at Huda was fantastic, and every dish had a really unique twist to it! The staff seemed…read morereally happy to help out whenever we needed something, and I would definitely come back and try some of these dishes again. I think the honey/cheese dish stood out the most. It was a little bit difficult to talk when we were seated in the back area because the acoustics there are not very conducive to conversation, especially when it's busy. There was a group of four girls next to us just catching up, and maybe a few other couples in the space, and it was still really hard to hear each other, enough that it honestly kind of gave me a headache to sit in the back! If you are going here for a date and you actually want to chat, I would recommend asking to be seated in the front so you can actually hear each other.

    Photos
    Huda
    Huda - Macarona bil toum

    Macarona bil toum

    Huda

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    Mesiba - Bread

    Mesiba

    4.3(122 reviews)
    2.3 miWilliamsburg - South Side

    Gorgeous restaurant, but unfortunately the food is just ok. There's a ton of Mediterranean…read morerestaurants in the area that I would rather go to. I feel like the prices here are too expensive to justify the quality. My favorite thing was the babaganoush. Also, the service is not great. It feels like the staff haven't been trained properly. There were times that our waitress seemed lost and didn't know what she was doing. We had to ask other wait staff questions to get proper answers. Also, don't advertise a special menu on Opentable and give people the option to reserve the menu when you aren't offering it. Came here for latkes and caviar for NYE since it said it was on the menu when I reserved on Opentable. Got there and was told they only served it during Hannuka Hanukkah. Checked their IG and they were still posting they were serving it. Total let down.

    I felt like everything here was very average. The schnitzel was good, not great. It was a little…read moredry. The table-side hummus was very standard hummus, and the table-side experience didn't add much. The baba ganoush was pretty good, however. I didn't love the pomegranate seeds, but they kind of just got in the way and made it harder to eat. The prawn risotto was decent, but again, nothing really blew me away. The service was great, and the ambiance inside was great as well, but due to the food just lacking much personality, I will not be returning.

    Photos
    Mesiba - Tableside hummus

    Tableside hummus

    Mesiba - Mesiba Ribeye

    Mesiba Ribeye

    Mesiba - Eli's Baba Ganoush 2.0

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    Eli's Baba Ganoush 2.0

    Boutros - Mission Fig toast

    Boutros

    4.4(275 reviews)
    1.1 miCobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights
    $$$

    I came here with a last minute reso I made earlier in the day and got the chef's table seating…read morewhich was really cool! I would absolutely come back to try the short rib hummus and falafel! Everything ordered was shared: Mushroom hummus (10/10) delicious Fattoush salad (9/10 really refreshing) Patata harra (9/10 great flavor but I thought they'd be crispier) Monkfish kebab (8/10 the monkfish melted in your mouth but a little spicier than expected) Knafeh dessert (9/10 I wish it was a little crispier but delish!) Orange blossom donuts (8/10 also really good but a little too sweet!)

    Food: The food is pretty good here. We walked in on a Saturday around noon without a reservation…read moreand were still able to get a table even though the place was packed. We tried the mushroom hummus, Zaa'tar fries, chicken shawarma sandwich, and Shakshouka. All of the food was delicious and well-made; I would recommend the mushroom hummus. The best part of the meal was the pita bread that comes with the hummus and also shakshouka. It was some of the best pita I've ever had; it had a nice chewy and soft texture. It came out warm and tasted so fresh. Service: Service was excellent. Staff were welcoming and friendly. They were attentive and constantly came around to fill our water. Ambiance: There is both indoor and outdoor seating. The restaurant is a good size with many tables to accommodate both large and small groups. Seating is comfortable, and the ambiance is nice. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant!

    Photos
    Boutros - Bar area

    Bar area

    Boutros - Short rib hummus

    Short rib hummus

    Boutros - Berry spritz drink

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    Berry spritz drink

    Miss Ada - Israeli Salad

    Miss Ada

    4.4(634 reviews)
    0.7 miFort Greene
    $$$

    Make your reservation - this place was busy even right at 5 pm on a Friday!…read moreMiss Ada is the perfect place to come with friends and order a bunch of things to share. I highly recommend getting an assortment of dips and small plates - 2-3 dishes per person was just right for us. I can't pick a favorite item of the evening: The Israeli Salad Hummus was some of the best/most flavorful hummus I've had, the Whipped Ricotta was perfect and so fluffy, and the Matbucha & Labne are also great additions to the table. They make a really good Falafel here, and the Crispy Cauliflower were perfectly crispy and well-sauced. The Chocolate Babka dessert is a great way to end your meal, and they do make a solid espresso martini for those wondering. The only thing I was not a fan of is their drink menu - all of the cocktails are spicy or smoky. Although you can sub out different alcohols, it would be nice to have a few other options.

    sweet potato hummus ($14) - saw a bunch of people recommend…read morethis but i personally didn't really see the hype - it was just sweet potato with a bit of spice mixed with other flavors that i wasnt really fond of - i realized i like my sweet potato just plain and charred instead of something too fancy - it's not bad but im not impressed whipped ricotta ($14) - this was very yummy! I thought it would be quite heavy but when paired with the pita bread it was just right - light and fluffy with a light drizzle of honey made it a great ricotta - however, ive had better ricotta before at theodora lamb shawarma ($20) - i wasn't expecting it to be a dip but it was delicate and delicious anyways - this is probably my fav dish out of all 3 - the dip was strong and smooth; tasted unique but not anything too impressive either - the lamb was super tender but it was quite strong; i dont think people would've been able to handle it if theyve never had lamb before rating: 4/5 - everything we ordered was good and the quality is definitely there so it's a solid 4 but nothing really stood out - ive had better and more innovative dips elsewhere - the vibe is cute though! It's a perfect brunch spot decorated with plants; feels like a cozy little tree house - quick service; nothing to note IG: @nom.noms.only

    Photos
    Miss Ada - Outdoor set up

    Outdoor set up

    Miss Ada - Whipped Ricotta and Babaghanoush

    Whipped Ricotta and Babaghanoush

    Miss Ada - Crispy Cauliflower

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    Crispy Cauliflower

    Sawa - lebanese - Updated July 2026

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