Casa Árabe — Restaurant in Sinaloa

Had an amazing experience at Casa Arabe. This place is run by a husband and wife team... the husband is from Jordan and wife is Mexican. My wife and I dined in and though we were the only ones in the restaurant at the time, we felt very welcomed and comfortable.

To drink, we both had mint lemonade, and we were kindly asked how sweet we wanted it, which was a really nice touch. We had the plato de brocheta mixta and the vegetarian plate. Of the meats, we enjoyed the chicken and kebab the most. The rice was aromatic and flavorful and the tabbouleh was so fresh and vibrant. We couldn't get enough of the falafel and it was hard to decide which of the three dips (hummus, jocoque, or mutabal) we liked best. They were all outstanding. Along with fresh pita bread, it really was a perfect dinner.

We decided to go to Casa Arabe because we were celebrating the end of Ramadan. The chef was also observing Eid and sent us out some delicious baklawa on the house as a special treat. We sat for a while chatting with the couple, who were lovely. We will definitely be back! It would be a nice place to go with a bigger group so you could try lots of items and share.

Just FYI -- they keep the front gate locked, so it may look closed, but they will come and let you into...

We like Middle East food. I was very surprised to find such a restaurant near my house in Centro. The meats were tender, moist, and flavorful. The rice was spectacular. The Jordanian flavors are more subtle than Greek, or north African. We ordered the Brochette Mix for 2. And tried the Sharma as well. The owners were friendly and spoke English. The menus were bilingual. The door was lit up with an open sign but was locked. But they were open, they just lock the front door to keep bano invaders at bay and you walk through a small front room to get to the cozy little restaurant. We will be back and try some more options and probably order some larger take home orders with 24...

Bland food. Small portions. Unfriendly service.

We love this kind of cuisine, so our hopes were high. We had the vegetarian sampler and the lamb brochette, so we got to taste a wide variety of their offerings. The only item that rose above average was the rice, which indicates just how tasteless everything else was.

The owner was gruff and inattentive. He tried that usual waiters' trick of suddenly becming "friendly" by aski where we were from just before we left the tip. It didn't work. Maybe we just caught them on a bad day, but we certainly won't...