Sahara Restaurant — Restaurant in Dearborn

Having eaten at many of the top Arab food restaurants in the area, I think I'm a bit spoiled. I just want to get that out of the way before I sound too critical, but I have to be honest. The food here is just ok, but the portions are mighty.

We got the Sahara Shish Kabob platter for two (the first one listed). The pitas were hot and fresh, but very, very floury. Otherwise, it was good. The toum (garlic sauce) was ok, but I'm betting they have some yogurt or labneh in there. I'm a fan of garlic sauce that is just garlic, oil, lemon, and maybe jalapeno. Anyway, it wasn't horrible. The salad was ok and there was plenty. The hummus was tasty, but not as smooth as other hummus I've had. That's fine. It wasn't gritty and the taste was on point. The platter itself was a mountain of meat. It was impressive. Now, here's were I get critical. I will be honest, I'm spoiled by Malek Al Kabob. That place has shish kabob mastered. It's fantastic. Anyway, this isn't about them. We got grilled veggies instead of rice and the only veggies were onion, peppers, a smattering of carrot slivers, and one tomato. Please, please, please offere grilled zucchini and squash along with the other veggies. It makes a huge difference and is so good. The veggies tasted good, though. The kafta was tasty and juicy. The meat shawarma was flavorful, but kind of on the dry and thin side. The chicken shawarma was well charred, but under seasoned and very dry. There was a real lack of dark meat in there, and that's not good. It wasn't horrible, but it was disappointing. The tawook was nice, juicy, and had a good flavor, but the shish kabob... really disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, but it was way overcooked, dry, and tough. It really bummed me out. All in all, the food would get a 3.5, but the service made a huge difference.

The servers were super nice, very attentive, and lift this review to a solid 4. I will probably continue to hit my favorite spot because I live downriver, but I wouldn't be angry...

Meals here are truly fit for a sultan! We met family here yesterday for dinner. We both drove 30 miles from different directions to have dinner here. The meals did not disappoint! Everything was made fresh that day and huge generously portioned. A great starter was the sampler including tabbouleh, hummus and baba ghanoush! It had a perfect smoky undertone from roasting the eggplants as that’s how it should taste! The hummus was like silk! I appreciate the fresh little warm pita breads accompanying the dips. They also gave us thum (garlic dip) which was very good on the meat! We tried everything; kabobs, shawrma, chicken, grape leaves and fried kibee. Everything was astounding! Well worth the drive from Ann Arbor for us and Clinton township for our relatives. Service was excellent too. Happy people wanting to be sure you are enjoying your meal. There was no pressure from them for us to rush through dinner either! We were there over 2 hours easily and we could have stayed 2 more with no issue! Sahara Restaurant is the perfect place for no fuss authentic Mediterranean portion plus dining! Perfect place for families, dates, business lunches. They said thank you several times for coming in and appreciated our business! Well worth the drive knowing you’re getting a delicious fantastic meal and super...

I don’t understand why people rave about this place. Is it because they give you overly huge portions? I don’t want that if the food is terrible and it was, possibly the worst restaurant food I’ve ever eaten. The chicken was so dry, cut in weird thin slices that looked and practically crunched like potato chips. The hummus had no flavor, like it was old and they added water to it to thin it out. The salad greens weren’t washed, tasted gritty. I spent a ton of money to have a nice mother’s days takeout dinner and we ended up dumping it and ordering elsewhere. I keep hearing how friendly the owner is. He was to me as well, while making me garbage food. It had to have been on purpose. No one in their right mind would serve the food I was given. I’ve eaten Middle Eastern food all over Dearborn. Some is outstandingly delicious while the others are good, but at least they were all edible. This was not. I don’t get how this guy remains in business and why people love the food. Maybe I reminded the owner of someone from his past that he hates, so he pulled old food out of the garbage to serve me. That’s the only thing that makes sense. Some people have said, “Give it another chance, maybe he was having an off day.” Um....no. This was not an off day, this was deliberate garbage. Don’t waste your money,...