Alonso Pradenas Leiva

I tried many different plates, all good sizes and flavors. Prices are very good, we couldn’t finish all plates, recommend to share. My favorite is the pizzawarma

Melike Guzel

we drove from states away to enjoy this particular place, and loved everything we ordered…the mezze tasting dish was incredible (the muhammara being my favorite)…the lamb with seasoned rice and slivered almonds, the kibbeh, and the pomegranate-walnut salad were all delicious as well! staff was very sweet and attentive, they even surprised us with a complimentary baklava ice cream dessert! highly recommend here to everyone, definitely worth the drive and will come again!

Nora Thajudeen

We came here and loved it! The service was incredible, Roy was a fantastic host and server! The olive oil we got complimentary with the bread was INSANE (yes, I did purchase a giant bottle of it immediately - yes, they do sell it)! We got the Sahlab (orchid milk) and I’ve never had anything like it. We also got a lamb dish and a flatbread with some extremely well seasoned ground beef! Everything was so so so good! And if you have Roy at your table, make sure you tip him good!!

+1

Naomi Poh

I’ve had Middle Eastern food ALL over the world but none quite slaps like this place 😱 The cooking is absolutely top quality. The Makloubeh dish was the highlight for me - stewy spiced rice, perfectly charred cauliflower, caramelised carrots, eggplant and some of the best tender, juicy chicken I’ve ever had. We were too busy digging in to take a proper pre-meal photo which tells you how good it was. Another great recommendation, the Ouzi Lamb - meat was falling off the bone and melting in my mouth. Lastly for dessert - Baklava with Tahini ice cream, delectable sinful and go-in-for-another-bite worthy. We were so happy to make the trip here and would definitely visit again. I will be dreaming about this lovely hearty meal when I’m back home. Thank you for this wonderful experience of Palestinian food and hospitality ❤️

Ray Low

Loved finding this little gem near my apartment. The space is beautiful and cozy, and the service was great. I would recommend sharing plates, as it would otherwise fall a bit too expensive. That being said, there’s unlimited bread and you can enjoy it with a variety of dips. The meat was seasoned and cooked very well. Definitely would be interested to try catering from here too!

Nyna Beana

Omg... SSSOOOOOOOO good. The food, the service, the atmosphere. Everything is amazing!! Some of the best food I've had in a long time! Gose was an amazing server! He was nice, attentive, but not overwhelming.

Lupe Rodarte

I truly loved the meal here. The food hit all the right notes! Flavorful and tasty, a variety of textures (softness, crunch, caramelization), warm full belly feel. Truly satisfying. The service was perfectly nice. I thought the lighting was kinda harsh (bright, white) tho hence only the 3 stars there. But I already went back after the first meal and I know I’ll be back, so overall 5 for the strength of the food alone. Great job all around!!!

+1

Melissa

One of the best meals I've ever had. The staff was friendly and attentive. The decor was Beautiful, with a mural on the wall and everything. The food is some of the best I've ever tasted. I can't wait to return and visit the other locations as well

Oof that was good. Let me start by saying that the service is impeccable - quick, and very friendly. The food is great. We had baba ganoush which was incredible - the smokiness of the eggplant omg!!! Maklouba was alright - I was a little underwhelmed as the chicken was a tiny bit dry for my taste but the cucumber yogurt sauce was incredible. Beef kebab was good. Overal, I’m happy I’ve finally visited this place. Will be back to try more.

Came here after an Airbnb experience. Good: - I really liked the pita bread and it was free! - Super nice staff, they are like a family run business - Lots of seating inside - I liked the hallumi cheese and salad - the cheese was so savory and better than any one I've had before Bad: - The service took forever, though they gave us a baklava in exchange for waiting over 30-45 min for our food - The price is a bit high for the food Overall, this was a nice place to go on a rainy day!

Glenn C

Short notes: General NYC location review now that I've been to all of them- Al Badawi (Brooklyn Heights,) Ayat (original/Bay Ridge,) Ayat (here,) Al Badawi (Upper East Side,) Ayat (Industry City.) Recommendations in general- Mezze fillistini, zahir, maklouba, ouzi, mansaf, musakhan, mix shawarma sandwich. I went to the East Village location of this miniature Palestinian chain a couple of months ago with one of my groups. They used to be quite different than their sister spot Al Badawi, focusing more on the mezze, which is my preference, but now the menus are pretty similar. The temperature inside was a tad warm, with there being a lack of good air conditioning, and the service was fine. It did seem like the portion sizes were, though, a bit bigger here (at least in terms of mezze) compared to the UES Al Badawi location. As per the other location, they give you some tasty pita along with olive oil (with some olives,) and za'atar. The bread goes well with the spice mix, but I would recommend saving it for the mezzes. The Mezze Filistini for $32.75, consisting of a mix platter of hummus, baba ghanoush, muhammarah, tabbouleh, salata tahina, and labneh, was my favorite thing here by a mile as per always. The best things were their excellent muhammarah, which is a delightful mixture of red pepper and walnuts, which was delightfully earthy with some nuttiness, as well as the labneh, which was thick and slightly sour but not too much so. The hummus was above average with an excellent texture, while the baba/eggplant was nice and smoky. The salata tahina was refreshing with some light nuttiness also, while the tabbouleh was my least favorite, though that is more because I'm never been a fan of that salad. The Zahir for $13, consisting of fried cauliflower served on a tahini bed topped with olive oil and drizzled with pomegranate molasses, was also tasty. I would complain about the fact that they changed the presentation, with the cauliflower also not being as roasted as before, but it was still tasty, with the cauliflower having a good texture, the dish having some good sourness/sweetness, and the nuttiness from the tahini helped mix all the flavors. A newer option here was the pretty good Hot Appetizer Mix for $38.62 with falafel, wara dawali, malfouf, cheese rolls, kibbeh, fried halloumi cheese, and kousa mahshi. The wara, or warak dawali, was my preference, with nice warm and flavorful grape leaves with a nice texture, along with a good kibbeh which had a good texture and was nicely meaty. The malfouf was similar to the wara, though made with cabbage leaves, and is a bit more sour, with another pretty sour dish being the kousa mahshi. The fried halloumi was also nice, along with the other cheese. The falafel was just alright, being less flavorful than a handful of spots even in the area, which comes back to the fact that the majority of the sandwiches and mashawy are my least favorite dishes here. The dish overall was good, but I definitely preferred the cold appetizer mix heavily as I liked the textures more, and I found the flavors less similar. Our host (regrettably) ordered one of my least favorite dishes here, which is the Fattat Lahma for $29, which consisted of a 6-layer dish of meat, rice, chickpeas, garlic tahini, crispy pita, slivered almonds, and mint. The fattat (or fattet) is on the drier end, and she eventually asked for some extra tahini due to this, which helped, but it wasn't a good sign that this was needed. The meat inside was fine, and the dish had good texture, but as always, I just wasn't a big fan of it. Outside of the fattat, I had a good time here. The cold mezze are still the star here, and it's hard for me not to write this place highly just because of that one dish. I prefer a few other locations as said, but I'd still go back here.

+9

Erik Weber

I don't think I've ever been somewhere as mercurial as Ayat. I have been 4 times, twice it's been delicious and twice it's been awful, with mediocre food and incredibly slow service. Last time I had a delicious, juicy Pizzawarma, that I had to stop myself from eating. This last time my Pizzawarma meat was dry as cardboard and I could barely stomach a quarter of the thing. My knafeh was bright yellow and tasted like it had been doused in turmeric water before someone realized the mistake and dumped a little extra syrup and rose water on at the end. Sadly no more Ayat for me, too hit or miss.

sarah

I had been looking forward to dining at Ayat for a long time, but my experience today was unfortunately very disappointing. I arrived with a friend at 5:15pm and was told there were no indoor seats available for two people, only outdoor seating—even though the temperature was around 40–45 degrees. We were also informed that a party was expected and that indoor seating wouldn’t be available until after 6:30pm. While we were still standing inside trying to find another place to eat, the same waiter suddenly told us a table for two had become available in the back. We were seated and placed our drink and appetizer order at 5:20pm. Complimentary pita bread with olives and seasonings was brought out, which we appreciated. However, our drinks and appetizers didn’t arrive until 6:07pm—only after I asked about the delay. Our waitress explained that the party was being prioritized. This was frustrating because when we arrived, the full party hadn’t even shown up yet. We ordered falafel, hummus, and cheese cigars. The appetizers tasted good but were lukewarm, which made them less enjoyable. Just five minutes after that, our main dish arrived, and it felt like the waitress was rushing us to leave since people were waiting outside. We were seated right by the door, and the staff repeatedly left it wide open. Another customer and I kept having to get up and close it. If I wanted to sit in the cold, I would have stayed outside. Then, at around 6:33pm, an unknown man walked into the glass door, causing it to shatter. Glass flew everywhere—inside, outside, on people’s clothes, belongings, food, and drinks. The staff showed very little empathy. Our waitress didn’t ask if we were okay; she only told us our food would be remade. After waiting about 15 minutes, she returned to say the kitchen hadn’t started remaking it and asked if we were willing to wait longer. She also offered our drinks to go. At that point, we declined because the entire experience had been disappointing from the beginning. We were genuinely excited to try Ayat, but the service and handling of the situation were far below expectations. If the restaurant planned to host a party, they should have prepared better—whether through appropriate staffing or temporarily closing the restaurant from 5:00–6:30pm. In addition, a female staff member wearing a pink hoodie—who I assume works in social media for the restaurant—was laughing after the incident occurred. Given the situation and how shaken many customers seemed, this felt extremely unprofessional and dismissive. We were genuinely excited to try Ayat, and the food itself had potential, but the service and handling of the situation were far below expectations. I truly hope the restaurant improves its customer service and preparedness. I’d like to believe we could have a better experience next time.

Isamari Burgos

Decided to try this place out with one of my friends since we wanted to try Palestinian food but I can confidently say, the food had little to no flavor to it. I didn’t really like it all too much, but I still ate it all because I paid for it. My friends plate had way more flavor and was actually better than my plate, though it looks the other way around. The service took forever and the server took long to take our orders, I’d say we were waiting for 40 minutes before someone came to take our orders. The place looks aesthetic and nice inside but that’s all it is. I would love to try Palestinian food again from an actual creditable source & place that actually knows how to season. That being said I don’t think I’d recommend anyone this place.

+20

Victor Chau

Overpriced. Terrible service. Mediocre food. We spent nearly two hours here on a Friday night waiting for our food to come out. Once it came out it was terribly disappointing, underseasoned, and bland. While the lamb shank was tender, there wasn’t much else going for it. The other lamb dishes were bone dry, down to the rice it sat upon. The branzino was not bad but tasted very unfresh. The best thing I had was probably the slices of fried potato it came with. Needless to say I will not be coming back and cannot recommend anyone try this place at all.

+2