New York: Yemen Cafe (Bay Ridge)

This is the other location of Yemen Cafe that is located in Bay Ridge. This location was much nicer, probably because it's not in a completely gentrified area. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was very cosy. It was crowded and full with families.

We tried the usual favorites: maraq soup, salad, chicken ogda, and lamb haneeth.  All was good and I like this location much better than on Atlantic Avenue.

Yemen Cafe

7130 5th Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11209

b/t 72nd St & Ovington Ave in Bay Ridge

(718) 745-3000

yemencafe.com

New York: Saba Restaurant & Grill

Saba Restaurant and Grill is not really a Yemeni restaurant. The staff are from Northern Africa, such as Tunisia and Algeria. They serve some Yemeni dishes but they were just adequate. The tea was fine but nothing special. The maraq soup could have been better. The salad was adequate. The fresh bread was decent. We tried the chicken ogda and it was just okay. The lamb kabsah (zerbian) was decent but the rice could have been better. We tried to order dessert but they did not have sabayah that day. The kind Algerian guy did make us some fatta dessert on the house which was quite delicious but I'm hesitant to recommend this place as this should be on the menu or always available and not just a one off.  $37 for two people. The price is too high for 2 main dishes for lunch that were just adequate.

Saba Restaurant and Grill

25-75 Steinway St

Long Island City, NY 11103

Neighborhood: Astoria

(718) 777-5656

New York: Famous Yemen Sweets

Famous Yemen Sweets is a new addition to the Bay Ridge area and just opened last week! We were having lunch at Yemen Restaurant and learned that this dessert shop next door just opened! They are very kind here and let us try all the different sweets and even gave us some coffee. They feature the traditional Yemeni harissa dessert, a chocolate peanut flour mush that is very yummy! They also have halwa and some other candy-like items that I can only describe as something between Turkish delight and gummy candies.

The kind Yemeni man working there when we visited said they also plan to have fresh juice in the future. I really hope it happens soon! In the mean time, they serve some very light Arabic coffee. This is definitely a spot to go to if you want to try something really new and also very authentic. There is seating inside the bakery where you can sit and enjoy the coffee and sweets. The sweets are $5.99 per pound.

Famous Yemen Sweets

6708 5th Ave

New York, NY 11220

b/t Senator St & 67th St in Bay Ridge

(347) 517-4106

New York: Queen Sheeba

I've been to Queen Sheeba in Harlem twice now, once for breakfast and once for dinner.  It's the only Yemeni restaurant in Harlem and pretty decent.  However, they do not make fresh bread here and you have to come around 6pm or call ahead to make sure there will be lamb dishes available.  We went around 8pm on a Friday and all the lamb was finished.  We tried lamb sughar, which are lamb chunks, and it wasn't bad.  We also got salta and it was good here.  The sahawiq is particularly spicy.

When I came for breakfast last year, it was good with fasolia, eggs, and meat.  No fresh bread but it hit the spot.

Queen Sheeba

317 W 141st St

(between Edgecombe Ave & 8th Ave)

New York, NY 10030

Neighborhood: Harlem

+1 (212) 862-6149

New York: Aden Restaurant

Aden Restaurant is one of two Yemeni restaurants in Astoria on Steinway, which is an area with a lot of Middle Eastern restaurants, shops, and food carts.

We got the usual maraq soup to start out and some salad and tea.  For the main dishes, we had chicken ogda and lamb zerbian.  Both were good but the ogda was a potato version without tomatoes.  The bread was freshly made and good.  They do not serve Yemeni dessert here.

Overall it was a good meal but not as good as other Yemeni restaurants in New York City.

 

Aden Restaurant

24-42 Steinway St

Astoria, NY 11103

(718) 777-3131

New York: Yemen Cuisine (Matam Al-Wahda)

Yemen Cuisine (Matam Al-Wahda مطعم الوحدة) really looks like a hole-in-the-wall more than the other Yemeni restaurants in New York.  I had to convince my not-so-adventurous friends to enter.  The restaurant was pretty empty when we entered but by the end of our meal it was lively and full of people.

We got maraq soup and salad at the beginning as usual.  The maraq soup was the usual.  The salad had a new dressing I haven't seen before and it was light and good.

For the main dishes, we got chicken ogda and lamb zerbian (called lamb kebsa here).  The chicken ogda was quite different from every other ogda I've ever had.  It wasn't shavings of chicken meat, instead it was more like cubes of chicken.  The sauce was thick with some spices I couldn't recognize and not so tomato based.  It was good but different.  The lamb kebsa came with a lot of meat and not so much rice!  It was good but the rice wasn't as fluffy as I like it.

The fresh bread was great and soft as I like it.  The sahawiq was particularly spicy here.

At the end we had some tea which was the same as all the other New York restaurants.  They do not make any Yemeni dessert here.  The staff were kind but a bit indifferent.  $36 for 3 people.

After sampling all the Yemeni restaurants in the Atlantic Avenue area of Brooklyn, I like Hadramout Restaurant the best in the Atlantic Avenue area.

Yemen Cuisine

145 Court St

(between Atlantic Ave & Pacific St)

Brooklyn, NY 11201

Neighborhood: Cobble Hill

+1 (718) 624-9325