Best Middle Eastern Restaurant?

[Borachio]

Need suggestions.
The only one I have been to is Pharoah's on 290 and I 35
I've heard that Ararat was very good but that they have gone down hill recenlty. Any help?

 

[THEU]

I have been to Ararat in the last couple of months and I thought it was very good. My wife is Lebanese and she enjoyed it quite a bit. It is not Lebanese food, and doesn't pretend to be either. It really is a hodge podge of Middle Eastern cuisines.

 

[Campus Loop(y)]

There is Alborz on Anderson going towards Mopac, just before you get to Mopac. It is on the right (north) side of the road and in a strip mall type thing but the Alborz sign is visible. They have Persian, or Iranian, food for the most part.

Then there is Pars Deli on Burnet just down the road from Benihana, in a strip mall. I think it is the one with Zen. They have good kabobs. They are also Persian. I love kabob.

 

[HornOnTheBayou]

There's Marakesh on Congress just south of the Capitol. The food is great, but the service is slow as sin.

 

[hornfan_82]

ive only been to marakesh and the service was great. its a good place to grab a bite to eat before heading over to 4th/6th.

 

[Punt on 1st Down]

I've lived about a block or so from Ararat for two years and have never been. I hear it's good.

I ate at Marakesh quite often when I worked at the capitol but the service is incredibly slow even though the people are nice and the food is good.

There's another place called Athenian Grill, IIRC, at about 7th and Colorado that's pretty good.

There was another place called ?Longhorn PoBoy? on ?Medical Arts? next to Kinkos over by the Law School that was pretty good. I know the Lebanese family that used to own it. I don't know anything about the quality of the food now.

I'm not saying that these are the best, just that I've eaten there and not been disappointed. Check'em out.

 

[WinStreak]

Ive been to every one of those listed above. While my favorite is Athenian Grill, thats greek food. For middle eastern, i would goto Ararats first, then Marakesh or Pharoah's. If you goto Ararats...at least when I used to go, its good to call and make a reservation. If it really has gone downhill...then you probably dont need to. For an appetizer, i used to get the "mast o musir"(sorry if i spelled that wrong, thats definitely how to say it at least). At Marakesh and Pharoahs i would ordered the kafta kabob plate and for an appetizer i would order Labneh (its kinda like yogurt and olive oil). If you do goto Athenian Grill, which is one of my favorite places to eat, i would just order the gyro plate. For dessert there, get both the baklava and kataifi..you wont be sorry. Parking is easiest at Pharoahs and Athenian Grill (athenian grill has their own parking now if you go down colorado and make the left on 7th and the the first left down an alley..its their parking lot at night).

 

[GakFoo]

athenian grill is awesome for greek, the combo plate is greatness, their gyro and greek salad is a great meal

marakesh is very very good, i am just so rarely downtown unless i am going to the courthouse, which is often but for some reason i never think about eating lunch while i am down there

ararat's has in fact gone downhill, i guess i can deal with waitresses with huge underarm muffs in tube tops, but when i saw a rat run across the dining room floor during my dinner, i gave up on it for good

alborz is close to my house and i have been meaning to get there for months

 

[Punt on 1st Down]

Fwiw, I've seen a rat crawling around on that buffalo head in Hut's Hamburgers while eating. The women were disgusted and wanted to leave. Us guys just traded seats with them since we already had our food. Of course, Hut's is next to a creek so it's not unusual for vermin to be about.

 

[numbereleven]

Alborz was great when I went, plus the bellydancing was an interesting addition. I've recommended it to several people.

 

[crayon1973]

Alborz is great, I go there at least once a week. Their lunch buffet is friggin amazing

 

[Borachio]

Update: Thanks to everyone that replied. I decided to try Ararat even though city search reviews for the past few months have dogged it. I must say I thought it was great. The food was excellent and the service was good. They were very busy (Friday) but we had reservations and they took care of us. Of course this was my first time to go there so it may have been better in the past but we all enjoyed it very much. They even had a belly dancer.

Would definitely go back.

Thanks again!

 

[WinStreak]

im just curious...what did the two of you order. i forgot to mention its byob. i think they have a small fee for it though. glad to hear you enjoyed!

 

[Borachio]

It was four of us that went. For appetizer, we got the combo plate from the vegetarian section of the menu. It had samples of dolmeh, couscous, tabouli, green salad, hummus, maust museer, baba ghanouj, and bulgar. The pita bread served with it was warm and fresh. For entrees I got the sizzling lamb, which was grilled lamb that was very tender served on a pita, with a somewhat spicy tomato sauce covered with maust museer sauce. It also include persian rice and bulgar. Very filling. The others got Lamb stew which was tomato based with grilled vegetables. They said it was very tasty.

Would definitely go back. But would also like to try Marakesh and Alborz as well sometime.

 

[rtchorn]

Alborz is good and met the approval of my Persian ex-girlfriend.