Naba Brick Oven فلافل عراقية — Restaurant in Detroit

The best thing about this place is their amazing Iraqi bread, called samoon. They sell it 3 for $1 and its simply the lightest fluffiest diamond-shaped bread you could ask for. Sandwiches where you can add falafel, roast eggplant, and french fries are only $3 and plenty filling. Amba is the delicious spicy pickled mango sauce they put on top that I can't recommend enough. Staff here were nice and happy to explain what anything was to me.

Now onto the nuanced part of the review. There's only one small table and one small barstool seating area here, a total of 5 chairs int he entire place, so this is first and foremost just a to-go stop. Unfortunately the front end wasn't very clean and could have used a wipedown or two (the kitchen and serving area looked spotless though). Parking is also somewhat difficult. Only the street parking in front of the shop is available and unfortunately, it's surrounded by rubble buildings on both sides, with a very narrow dirt path in the back that I wouldn't recommend any non 4x4...

I am from Los Angeles and stumbled into a video about this place before my trip to Detroit last week (Sep 23 thru 27). Of course I had to check it out. It did not disappoint. That falafel sandwich was SO good! The falafel itself was soft and green on the inside, perfectly crunchy on the outside. (The cook was nice enough to give me a piece of falafel ahead of time to appreciate what I was getting myself into).The sandwich also had roasted eggplant which was perfectly done, lightly fried cauliflower, French fries, a simple cucumber tomato and lettuce topping with a splash of sauce that was bbq-like that added even more flavor. I’m ready to call it the best sandwich in the entire state of Michigan. We need something like this back in LA. It would be a hit. I highly recommend that sandwich. I also recommend you buy some bread on the way out.

Side note: cards are accepted here (including tap) but be mindful that you may not get a receipt (because...

Does not even deserve 1 star. Falafel is not Iraqi style by any means. The only thing Iraqi about it was the amba sauce which you can buy from anywhere. Iraqi falafel is usually bright yellow and green and as soft as a donut. The falafel was so dry and sad I wouldn’t even consider it Lebanese style. More baking soda than fresh ingredients. There was still at lot of white residue on the inside. They don’t even put any effort into the basic sides like the fries. More grease than potatoes. I’m surprised management would put so much effort into the building and not even the bare minimum on the their food quality and chefs. I’ll stick to making my falafel at home. Even their Iraqi breads are full of additives. Iraqi food is so simple, it’s hard to get it wrong. Would love to see this...