The best Middle Eastern restaurants in New York – The Full list
New York has one of the strongest Middle Eastern dining scenes in the United States, with restaurants and food carts covering Lebanese, Turkish, Israeli, Moroccan, North African, Persian-influenced, Levantine, Mediterranean, and halal street-food traditions. The best Middle Eastern restaurants in New York are not all formal dining rooms. Some are polished restaurants built for long meals, some are neighborhood favorites, some are lively group-dinner spots, and others are street-food icons where the line is part of the experience.
This guide brings together some of the best Middle Eastern restaurants in New York for different cravings and occasions. Some are best for mezze and grilled meats, some for shawarma and halal platters, some for brunch, some for modern Eastern Mediterranean cooking, and others for special-occasion dining with cocktails, seafood, or steak. Together, they show how wide and satisfying Middle Eastern food in New York can be.
ilili Restaurant NYC
ilili is one of New York’s most established Lebanese and Mediterranean restaurants. Located in NoMad, it brings a polished, modern approach to Lebanese dining, with a menu built around mezze, spreads, grilled meats, seafood, vegetables, warm bread, cocktails, wine, and shareable dishes. The restaurant has enough energy for a group dinner, but enough polish for dates, business meals, and celebrations.
This is a strong choice for diners who want Middle Eastern food in a full-service restaurant setting rather than a quick counter meal. ilili works especially well when the table wants to order widely: hummus, baba ghanoush, kibbeh, Brussels sprouts, lamb, chicken, seafood, salads, and sweets. Its strength is range, presentation, and the ability to turn Lebanese flavors into a proper New York night out.
Address: 236 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10001
Menu: View the ilili Restaurant NYC menu
Nusr-Et Steakhouse New York
Nusr-Et Steakhouse New York brings Turkish steakhouse theater to Midtown. It is not a traditional Middle Eastern restaurant in the mezze-and-flatbread sense, but it belongs in this broader guide because of its Turkish roots, halal-friendly appeal for many diners, grilled meat focus, and the larger-than-life identity built around chef and restaurateur Nusret Gökçe.
This is a strong choice for special occasions, steak-focused meals, visitors, groups, and diners who want the experience to feel dramatic. The appeal is built around premium cuts, tableside presentation, rich sides, burgers, seafood, desserts, and a polished Midtown dining room. Nusr-Et is best for diners who want Middle Eastern influence through a Turkish steakhouse lens rather than a casual falafel or shawarma meal.
Address: 60 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
Menu: View the Nusr-Et Steakhouse New York menu
Adel’s Famous Halal Food
Adel’s Famous Halal Food is one of Midtown’s best-known halal carts, famous for long lines, bold seasoning, rice platters, gyros, lamb, chicken, falafel, sauces, and late-night street-food energy. It represents a very different side of Middle Eastern dining in New York: fast, affordable, informal, and deeply tied to the city’s street-food culture.
This is a strong choice for chicken over rice, lamb over rice, combo platters, late-night food, quick lunches, and anyone who wants a classic New York halal cart experience. Adel’s is not a sit-down restaurant, but that is exactly why it matters. In New York, some of the city’s most important Middle Eastern and halal food is served from carts, with steam rising, sauces ready, and a line of people waiting on the sidewalk.
Address: Southwest corner of West 49th Street and 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10020
Menu: View the Adel’s Famous Halal Food menu
Zou Zou’s
Zou Zou’s is a modern Eastern Mediterranean restaurant at Manhattan West, with a lively dining room, polished service, cocktails, and a menu designed for sharing. The food draws from the wider Eastern Mediterranean, with breads, dips, vegetables, seafood, grilled meats, rice dishes, spices, herbs, and bright sauces shaping the experience.
This is a strong choice for group dinners, dates, business meals, cocktails, and meals around Hudson Yards or Penn Station. Zou Zou’s works because it feels stylish without losing the generosity of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dining. The best meals here are built around the table: spreads, starters, larger plates, sides, and enough variety for everyone to try something different.
Address: 385 9th Avenue, Suite 85, New York, NY 10001
Menu: View the Zou Zou’s menu
Dagon
Dagon is an Upper West Side restaurant inspired by the food of the Levant, North Africa, and the broader Mediterranean. It brings together Israeli, Tunisian, Moroccan, and Middle Eastern influences in a polished but welcoming neighborhood setting. The menu is built around shared plates, breads, dips, seafood, vegetables, roasted meats, spices, cocktails, and family-style dining.
This is a strong choice for brunch, group dinners, dates, and anyone who wants Middle Eastern food with a modern Upper West Side feel. Dagon works especially well when the table wants to share: whipped eggplant, flatbreads, fish, lamb, chicken, salads, and vegetable-driven dishes. It adds depth to this guide because it shows how Middle Eastern cooking can feel both comforting and contemporary.
Address: 2454 Broadway, New York, NY 10024
Menu: View the Dagon menu
Barbounia
Barbounia is a Flatiron restaurant with an Eastern Mediterranean focus, bringing together Greek, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean flavors in a large, energetic dining room. The menu leans into mezze, grilled seafood, vegetables, flatbreads, lamb, chicken, brunch, wine, cocktails, and dishes that work well for sharing across the table.
This is a strong choice for brunch, group dinners, after-work meals, dates, and diners who want Middle Eastern flavors in a lively restaurant rather than a small counter-service setting. Barbounia’s strength is its broad appeal: it can work for a quick lunch, a long dinner, a cocktail night, or a shared Mediterranean-style meal with plenty of variety.
Address: 250 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003
Menu: View the Barbounia menu
Royal Grill Halal Food
Royal Grill Halal Food is another Midtown halal favorite, known for rice platters, chicken, lamb, gyros, kebabs, shawarma-style flavors, falafel, sauces, and fast street-food service. Like Adel’s, it shows how important halal carts and quick-service stands are to New York’s Middle Eastern food culture.
This is a strong choice for quick lunches, late-night meals, office breaks, theater-area food, and anyone who wants a filling platter without a formal restaurant experience. Royal Grill’s appeal is direct: grilled meat, seasoned rice, sauce, salad, heat, and value. It belongs in this guide because Middle Eastern food in New York is not only about stylish dining rooms. It is also about carts and counters that feed the city every day.
Address: 1133 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10036
Menu: View the Royal Grill menu
Bustan NYC
Bustan NYC is an Upper West Side restaurant with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences, known for warm hospitality, grilled dishes, seafood, vegetables, breads, dips, cocktails, and a neighborhood dining-room feel. The restaurant fits the Upper West Side well because it is polished enough for a planned dinner but relaxed enough for regular local use.
This is a strong choice for date nights, family dinners, groups, brunch, and meals where the table wants Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors without going too formal. Bustan works well when diners want variety: spreads, fish, meat, vegetables, sides, wine, and dishes that can be shared across the table. It is one of the more useful neighborhood-style Middle Eastern options on the Upper West Side.
Address: 487 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10024
Menu: View the Bustan NYC menu
Shuka
Shuka is a SoHo restaurant with a warm, colorful take on Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. The menu draws from the region’s breads, dips, spices, vegetables, grilled meats, seafood, and shared-plate traditions, while the room gives the restaurant a bright downtown energy that works for brunch, lunch, dinner, cocktails, and group meals.
This is a strong choice for brunch, dates, casual group dinners, and downtown meals where the table wants plenty of flavor without the formality of a fine-dining restaurant. Shuka works because it feels inviting and flexible. You can build a meal from dips and salads, move into grilled dishes or seafood, add cocktails, and let the meal feel social rather than rigid.
Address: 38 MacDougal Street, New York, NY 10012
Menu: View the Shuka menu
Cafe Mogador
Cafe Mogador is one of New York’s most beloved Moroccan and Middle Eastern restaurants. The East Village location has been part of the city’s dining culture for decades, serving Moroccan tagines, couscous, eggs, salads, mezze, grilled dishes, mint tea, and brunch plates in a relaxed neighborhood setting. It is the kind of restaurant that feels useful at almost any time of day.
This is a strong choice for brunch, casual dinners, vegetarian-friendly meals, dates, family meals, and anyone who wants North African flavors in the East Village. Cafe Mogador works because it is comfortable, flavorful, and consistent. It gives the guide a Moroccan note, showing that Middle Eastern dining in New York includes not only Lebanese and Israeli cooking, but also the warm spices, stews, breads, and hospitality of North Africa.
Address: 101 Saint Marks Place, New York, NY 10009
Menu: View the Cafe Mogador menu
Final Thoughts
The best Middle Eastern restaurants in New York cover many different styles. ilili, Zou Zou’s, Dagon, Barbounia, Bustan NYC, and Shuka show the city’s strength in polished Lebanese, Levantine, Israeli, North African, and Eastern Mediterranean dining. Cafe Mogador adds a Moroccan and East Village classic, while Nusr-Et brings a Turkish steakhouse perspective to the category.
Adel’s Famous Halal Food and Royal Grill Halal Food show another essential side of New York’s Middle Eastern food scene: the halal carts and quick-service stands that feed office workers, tourists, theatergoers, late-night crowds, and locals every day. Together, these restaurants and carts show why Middle Eastern food works so well in New York: it can be polished, casual, spicy, smoky, vegetarian-friendly, meat-focused, street-level, celebratory, and built around the pleasure of sharing food.