Arabesque Flavors of the Middle East — Restaurant in Florida

Arabesque Flavors of the Middle East 7640 N. Wockham Rd., Melbourne, FL 32940

4 Stars

Does having Arab blood coursing through my veins like a sirocco whipping through the Sahara make me an expert on Middle Eastern food? Not necessarily. What does are my over 600 restaurant reviews and, of course, eating this type of food for the entirety of my years. Arabesque Flavors of the Middle East of Melbourne is one of many joints offering this type of fare. As previously mentioned, Middle Eastern eats are popping up all over the place these days.

Emma was my server for the meal and once again, I was attended to by an outstanding wait staff. This is nine in a row (but who's counting?). All praise The Streak! I asked Exemplary Emma for an order of Labenah, a regular mixed Kabob and some Lamb Tagine. The place was sparsely populated at this time of day and as such, Exceptional Emma soon brought forth my afternoon repast.

As I allowed the complex flavors of the Labenah (Strained Yogurt) to wash over my palate, I had to admit I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered it with a pre-determined notion that it would be pre-made. This was house-made, which is NOT easy to do. The process is not overly complicated, but it is excessively time-consuming and there is a knack to preserving the distinctive sour taste of yogurt while removing most of the whey. This was an unforeseen walk-off home run and a great way to start my meal.

Reluctantly placing my remaining Labenah to the side, I proceeded with the mixed Kabob. The meat was bursting with the flavors of the Middle East and exploding across my taste buds like a sandstorm in the Syrian desert. The sad part was that it was over-cooked and as dry as a sand viper's tongue. The tahini and hummus were above average and I would hazard a guess that they were as freshly made as the Labenah. The flavors were truly laudable. This came with a side salad I found to be average and Greek? Strangely enough, this place is almost 100% Arabic in its menu offerings and it serves a Greek salad. I surmise their thinking was along the lines of Why reinvent the wheel?

This brings me to the final item up for review on this visit, the Lamb Tagine. Tagine is a Maghreb dish originating from the Northwestern part of the African Continent. Tagine refers to the dish as well as the earthenware pot in which it is cooked (similar to the Indian Tandoori dishes). Arabesque Flavors of the Middle East has some fine chefs in the back, as this Tagine was loaded with flavor and the lamb was superb. Both sides of rice were also tasty and cooked to perfection.

The Big Boy says, "The salad and overcooked meat knock it down to a 4-star review. With such stiff competition, unless they pick it up, they won't be for long in this rapidly growing...

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Arabesque is a true gem! From the moment you step inside, the serene and upscale atmosphere sets the stage for a perfect romantic evening. The booths are comfortable and stylish, making it an ideal spot for a special night out.

Chef Sammi's emphasis on fresh, healthy ingredients truly shines in every dish. While the meals are a bit pricy, they are well worth it—each dish easily feeds two people. The Egyptian rice, reminiscent of pilaf but elevated with high-quality basmati rice, vermicelli, golden raisins, and almonds, is a standout.

We savored the Ground Beef Moussaka Tagine and the Mulukhiyah with Chicken Tagine. Both were delicious, though the chicken did have a few small bones that were a bit awkward to navigate in the deep soup. Our attentive server, Diego, mentioned that the chef would try to be more careful, and Chef Sammi himself came over to apologize. He explained that the chicken is marinated whole and cooked until it falls off the bones. Mulkhiyah is a traditional Egyptian dish he remembers fondly from his childhood.

The pita bread was the best I've ever tasted—light and fluffy, straight out of the oven. It is a night-and-day difference from what grocery stores sell. The cardamom tea with fresh mint leaves paired beautifully with both dinner and dessert.

We finished our meal with Basbousa, even though we were already quite full. Trying new things is always a delight, and this dessert did not disappoint. It's like a dense cornbread drizzled with honey and ground pistachios, reminiscent of my grandmother's Scottish shortbread.

We will definitely be back when we feel like a special romantic night out. Arabesque has captured our hearts and...

Here is an honest review of this new restaurant in Suntree. Positive: the atmosphere is good. The decor is beautiful and the ambiance very pleasant. the restaurant and bathrooms are very clean. certain dishes like the lamb chops and the kabobs were good. The Labneh with fresh pitas were probably the best thing we had. the wait staff was very attentive and friendly.

Negatives; the hummus was lacking flavor. It was missing the usual spices like garlic, salt, and lemon juice and tahini. Seemed like chic peas just blended with olive oil and nothing else. the fresh lemonade was very bitter. They took the mint and made it into a paste and mixed it in. It would have been better to leave it whole or tear it into the lemonade. It also needed to be sweetened. anything that was drizzled with olive oil was very bitter. For example, the salad was inedible. The olive oil tastes strong and bitter like if it was stale. our food was brought out cold for the whole table and had to be redone. When it was brought out it was good with good flavor. the desserts were were lack luster. The Fanafe was overcooked making the cheese hard and rubbery. The rice pudding was more like sweet rice and milk puree with bits of whole rice within it and the baklava was heated so much before serving that it tasted burned and it blistered the roof of my mouth.

I hope this review helps the restaurant owners to improve on these opportunities as I would like to see...