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    YS Mandi Restaurant

    4.4 (93 reviews)

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    YS MANDI RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Classy
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - YS Mandi Restaurant

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    Chicken Shawarma Dish, Tilapia Fillet Platter, and Falafel Salad
    Kat V.

    I had majboos chicken and Biryani chicken long time ago but I still remember a huge portion for spiced rice and juicy chicken. Delicious! Recently I got tilapia fish rice plate. The fish is perfectly seasoned and cooked. Rice is always tasty. I enjoy them with falafels and some chicken shawarma.

    Hummus
    Zakir S.

    easily one of my favorite spots in AZ, whenever we have family in town we make it a point to visit YS Mandi. the food is always sublime, I've never had Yemeni food before but i'm not convinced it's one of my favorite cuisines. the owners are incredibly gracious people-- if you are in/near Tempe, please support this incredible restaurant!!!

    Chicken Mandi
    Tushara S.

    One of the best mandi s I ever had. The food is delicious. I ordered a chicken mandi and a goat mandi, the meat just melted in my mouth. Everything is good about the food but the place is a little dirty. Kinda scared by the way it looked from outside and the interior is ok ok (Had to make a to go because of that). Can't forget how good the food was.

    Traditional dining available
    Terry W.

    For something different, try Yemeni food. That's what they have here. It's familiar if you've had other African and Mediterranean cuisines, but still is uniquely different. (Yes, I know Yemen is not on the Mediterranean, but they do have hummus and shwarma and falafel, and I think the spice palette is similar. The decor is non-existent. Nothing hanging on the walls. But they do have tables, and also an area that appears to be more traditional seating (remove your shoes, sit on the floor with pillows). We didn't see anyone using the traditional area, so we weren't brave enough to go there (and perhaps violate some custom or tradition). Maybe that area is for private parties?? Don't know. But it is there. As others have commented, traditional music streams out of the kitchen area. I didn't understand a word of it, but it does help create the atmosphere of an African or Middle Eastern cafe. I liked it for that reason. American top 40 would have clashed, as it always done when one is in an ethnic restaurant, in my opinion. Kudos to them for keeping it authentic. We ordered chicken mandi and chicken kabob. Both were very nice. Full flavor. Each was served with a seasoned rice. The flavors were very good. Familiar if you've had Middle Eastern cuisine before, yet distinctly different. The portion size was sufficient.

    Goat Meat Kabsah (goat)
    Talha M.

    Amazing!!!! Delicious food and huge portions. Prices are awesome too. Staff is very friendly.

    Mandi Lamb and boneless Chicken Mandi
    Ayesha S.

    I was not familiar with Yemini food and had never tried it before but after eating at YS Mandi, I am a fan! Family owned and serving very delicious dishes! They have tables and chairs in one area and a nice low seating area with cushions in another area. The food can be ordered individually or family style. We ordered Mandi lamb and boneless thigh chicken over rice and it was served family style in a large platter, with a side of yogurt and a side of chutney. The lamb was finger licking good as was the chicken!! Service was very good and the wait time after ordering was not that bad - under 20 min. Everyone in our party of 16 (kids and young adults and us adults) all enjoyed it! Definitely will be back again

    Picture of goat mandi and chicken biryani

    First, I have to mention that their food is delicious. I noticed in other reviews that people mentioned the food from this restaurant reminding them of a home-cooked meal, and I agree with this sentiment. The food was good, and while the service was not outstanding or terrible, it was decent. The ambiance is not very fancy. However, the food is worth the price, which is fair. I tried their chicken biryani and goat mandi; both of these items were very tasty.

    Middle Eastern beverages
    Karen W.

    Aww YS! I love how Tempe is growing to be a community of different backgrounds and cultures, and no greater manifestation of this can be shown by the food that is offered here. I had never had cuisine from Yemen before so I was excited to go on a food journey and try some dishes. The restaurant itself is very nondescript and the overhead signage simply says "Restaurant". The name of the restaurant is plastered on the front glass walls and on a sidewalk sign though. The interior is similarly nondescript, with tables and booths in the front although there does look to be a nice area in the back where people can sit on cushions and eat on a low table. The menu offers various Middle Eastern dishes you will find at other restaurants such as falafel and shawarma but also has a few unique offerings you won't find elsewhere in Tempe. After finding out that fahsa/salteh (Lamb stew) was the national dish of Yemen, I knew I needed to try it out! It arrived scorchingly​ hot, so I needed to wait a bit for it to cool down before trying any. I ended up trying a few bites of falafel, hummus and rice from my husband's plate while I waited. I found the to be hummus smooth and creamy, the falafel crisp on the outside with a good texture and flavor on the inside, and the rice to be soft and well seasoned. The stew was so good; I can see why it would be called the national dish! It was bold and spicy, yet had a comforting homey feel to it from the slow cooked, soft lamb to the thick rustic broth. It was served with some pieces of pita. Note that they don't seem to offer any glasses of water. All the water is by the bottle in 2 drink cases to each side of the counter. There is also a selection of American and Middle Eastern sodas to choose from. When I asked if they offered cups of water the cashier said they did but when the server dropped off our food and I asked for a cup of water he brought me a bottle of water. Our server also neglected to give us any silverware for our meal which I had to remind him to provide to us. Service in general was genial though and we were checked up on as needed. That lamb stew was so good I'd definitely be back to try more Yemen style cuisine. In my opinion, definitely say Yes to YS!

    Goat Mandi
    Abir L.

    A quick update after about 2 years of my first review. The smell of great food hits you as soon as you walk in. You can order at the cashier or at the table. The food came out super fresh and super delicious. Traditional music was playing the whole time which was cool. I love going to ME places especially Mandi restaurants; they remind me so much of Dubai! This was a great experience. I'm glad we came here for lunch today! So yummy! Isn't it great when you find food from Yemen all the way in the valley? I sure felt glad! Having lived in Dubai all my life, I grew up fond of this kind of food, Mandi, Mathbi, Madfoon, Bukhari, etc. Yemeni and Saudi food in Dubai was and still is very popular and is known for delicious taste, huge portions, and very reasonable (sometimes even cheap) prices. We were referred to this restaurant by a family member. Not sure how she found out about it bcz she never tried it so far but we, my husband and I, decided to give it a shot and head there. We arrived at around 12:45pm. We expected to find some people when we walked in but it was empty. Not a problem. The first thing that I would say is probably the only major negative in this place is the smell. My husband was about to take me some where else bcz I was getting uncomfortable. As you walk in, you are hit with a strong smell of cleaning chemicals that do not smell good at all. I am not sure what the reason is but I decided to just ignore the smell and order and go in as soon as possible bcz the smell was mostly only at the entrance. I ordered the goat mandi and my husband ordered the lamb with rice dish. We were asked to pick a seat either on the table or in the traditional Arabic section and they would bring out the food. We also were offered to get our drinks from the fridge. We decided to sit in the Arabic Jalsa area since there was no one there. The food came out in a reasonable time - about 10 min and it looked great. The meat was in the center of the dish with some browned onions on top, both dishes looked very inviting. The food was served with a lime wedge, some cucumber yogurt and a green chili sauce on the side. We dug in and the food was delicious! I was so glad at that point that my husband did not insist on making us leave and that I was able to survive the entrance and try this good food. The meat was delicious and very tender and the rice was cooked to perfection. Portion size as always in these restaurants was just right. Having not had breakfast, I finished my dish and of course my husband did too. After eating this great meal we left feeling drowsy lool, a typical feeling after you have such a good big rice meal We paid at the entrance just before we left and the price was $39 for 2 dishes and 2 drinks. Slightly on the expensive side but not too bad. I hope they will find a solution for the smell in this place because the food and the service are so good, it would be a shame if ppl decide not to come in because of that.

    Lamb Meat Mandi with salad instead of rice

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    9 years ago

    First time yesterday, loved chicken mandi and fahsa, they also offer a variety of Arabic beverages

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    10 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    10 years ago

    The meat here is the best in Tempe area. One of the places that serves the original Arabic food. Would recommend the lamb meat.

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    9 years ago

    It was delicious - super flavorful! I had the goat meat with rice and salad delivered to my office. Everyone was jealous!

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    8 years ago

    The best Restaurant I ever had, I suggest to try chicken kabsa and you will love it.

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    9 years ago

    My favorite Middle Eastern restaurant in Tempe with great customer service.

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Excellent service! Great food! Fun atmosphere! We will definitely be back! Try the gyros and the goat mandi! Absolutely delicious!

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    Page 3 of 3

    Ask the Community - YS Mandi Restaurant

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    Golden Restaurant & Bakery

    4.5
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    Either Yelp is messing with my mind, or somehow I have managed to never write a review for one of…read moremy favorite places to get takeout near me. I was fairly sure I had given this place 5 stars in the past, and posted photos. But alas, I don't see a review from me. So here it is... 5 stars! I'm sorry that I don't even have pictures, usually we just get the food To Go and bring it home, then get to eating. I love their hummus, it's so creamy and smooth! We generally order the combo plate with kabobs of grilled chicken pieces, ground chicken, and beef/lamb. This comes with delicious basmati rice, small salad, grilled onion & tomatoes, hummus, and a piece of pita bread. I also like to try a different item each time and I think the pecan baklava is awesome so I usually get that too. We've been coming here for years, I think we ate inside the restaurant just once or twice. It's clean and plenty of seating and the staff are friendly. Next time I'll take pictures and post them. I'll definitely be coming back.

    This place has so many options and everything I tried was really good! Serving authentic Arab food…read moreyou can get everything you've ever dreamed of here! From pizza to shawarmas to rice plates and more. Definitely a must check out spot for a more lowkey cozy feel with amazing taste! They also have a wide array of drink options in that fridge and make sure to check it out!! The cardamom karak chai in there was so good I dream about it. That and the labneh zaatar bread!

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    The Dhaba

    The Dhaba

    3.9
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    Normally I am skeptical of anything with 5 stars, but less so when they have over a thousand…read morereviews or so. The Dhaba does not disappoint either, and deserve every five star review they get. Mental note to self, go down a level in heat to a 2 when ordering because they do it spicy! Their garlic naan was awesome, and the Chicken Tikka Masala was wonderful. The portion size was just right. The true winner however was the Tandoori chicken. We did a half order of it, and decided next time we would do a full order and an order of the Butter chicken to split. The waiters and owners were very attentive, and it was a pleasant atmosphere on the inside. Parking is a bit tight out front but there is plenty of parking out back.

    I have given multiple 5 star reviews to the Dhaba, but our experience on Easter was not good. We…read morearrived at opening time and were seated immediately. We were the only ones there. Our server was probably one of the worst servers I have ever had. Zero personality and literally never said one word to us. Several to go orders and Uber Eats people came in and out while we waited about 10 minutes. We finally told the man at the front desk that we needed to order and get some drinks. Server came over with his notepad and looked at us to take orders, didn't say a word. When he brought the dishes, a few minutes later, he literally plopped all of them in one spot in the table without making any attempt to remember which dish went to which person. Very odd behavior The dishes on the menu are clearly marked vegetarian, vegan or contains meat. We had two dishes that were supposed to be vegan, one was a saag dish which they had placed butter over the top of. It looked delicious to everyone, but the vegans who could not eat it. When we pointed it out, they made no attempt to offer us another dish and just said oh yes, that's ghee (clarified butter) we said the menu indicated it was vegan, but again no response. The two vegans at our table just decided rather than argue, they will share the rice dish, which was also indicated as vegan. As they started to eat it, they realized there were several pieces of paneer in it. I really hope this was a one off because this was one of my favorite places to eat Indian food. Very very disappointing and no accommodation for the inedible dishes.

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    Pita Valley

    Pita Valley

    4.6
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    0.9 mi
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    How I've never been here is beyond me. I had a friend tell me recently they were going to Pita…read moreValley to try the Spicy grilled chicken shawarma wrap they saw on IG. So I looked up the restaurant and added it to my list. Luckily we were passing by on University recently and stopped in. So glad we did, it's delicious! We also tried that wrap featured on IG and I didn't like it as much as their traditional beef shawarma wrap. It has better flavor. I haven't had baba ghanoush in forever and this was yummy, the grilled eggplant flavor was great. It came with a pita bread, which are all made in house. This fast casual Lebanese/ Mediterranean restaurant is definitely a place I'll come back to try other items.

    I wanted to like this place so bad because I had heard such great things, but unfortunately my…read moreexperience just was not good. I had come here once before to get a chicken pita and it was decent, which is why I decided to bring my husband back with me the other day. Outside of the people who work here being very kind, I really do not have many positive things to say about our meal. We immediately had to get boxes to go, and the takeout picture shows exactly how the food was layered on the plate. I ordered the chicken shawarma with fries and was not expecting the chicken to be mixed directly in with everything else. Instead of separating the items out, the fries were plopped on top of the hummus with a huge dollop of garlic sauce. It reminded me of carne asada fries, but not in a good way. The chicken was very bland and dry, and the garlic sauce had no flavor at all and just made the fries soggy. I ended up not even eating dinner that night because nothing else was open by the time we left. My husband ordered the chicken kebab combination plate and did not have a better experience. His pita bread was dry and stale, the rice was clumping together with an odd flavor, and his chicken was completely overcooked. It is a bummer because the service is sweet, but the food fell totally flat for both of us.

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    Shish kabob over fatouch salad
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    Princess Pita Mediterranean Restaurant & Catering

    Princess Pita Mediterranean Restaurant & Catering

    4.5
    (884 reviews)
    2.3 mi
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    Vegetarian friendly
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    Amazing Mediterranean market. We came to eat indoors. They offer a small patio for dining…read more We ordered the Princess Combo that feeds 2-3 people and includes several kinds of meat, hummus, salad, rice and delicious pita bread. We also ordered dolmas and Dubai Drizzle Pistachio Baklava. Loved the entire experience and hope to visit again soon!

    I would have never found this place if it weren't for TikTok. I really liked how upon walking in…read morethere is nice Arabic music playing. It is a restaurant with a mini market which makes it feel so authentic. However, upon my first visit I didn't really look around the market but I did purchase a zero calorie Salaam cola which tasted exactly like Coca Cola. I ordered chicken shawarma plate and for appetizers I got the falafels. I started with the falafels and they were surprisingly not dry at all. I was not sure what kind of sauce it was served with but it paired well with it. The plate portion size is no joke...Everything on the plate had a huge portion size: the salad, hummus, rice, and meat...all of them...Every bite with the yogurt sauce was flavorful. And then I tried a bite with hummus, rice, chicken and the sauce...wombo combo flavors. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish all of it so I had to take a to go box home. On my next visit I ordered the beef shawarma plate and I was not disappointed at all. After finishing with an empty plate, I walked around the mini market. I noticed there was allot of Middle Eastern food, candies, and drinks. I really enjoyed my Salaam cola on my first visit but they did not have the zero calorie version in stock...I did research on the brand and I found that they created the cola to provide aid to countries like (free)Palestine and Yemen which I deeply support. Besides the food, I also saw keffiyehs on display which I liked as well. Overall, I rate this place a strong 10/10. I will come back to try other entrees and desserts like their baklava cheesecake. Adam Nguyen Copyright 2026 - All Rights Reserved.

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    Turkish coffee
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    Princess Pita Mediterranean Restaurant & Catering
    Princess Pita Mediterranean Restaurant & Catering

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    YS Mandi Restaurant - mideastern - Updated June 2026

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