Gazala’s Mediterranean Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

I want to rate this higher, as they are a very small ethnic minority and I would love to boost their signal, but unfortunately, the whole experience was not good.

I was seated next to a hot pipe within arm-touching distance. There’s a rope around it to protect people, but only enough to cover the section of pipe easily reachable if you are sitting. If I was to stand I would absolutely have burned myself on that hot pipe. I asked to be moved and they accommodated. But I felt like I’d offended them by asking this very reasonable question.

My friend and I ordered. The food came and there was such a weird back and forth as to whether or not this was my friend’s dish. Mine came out 15 minutes later. Not a huge deal, but ok, things happen.

The food though — I ordered a real basic chicken Shawarma plate and I was STARVING. I had not eaten lunch that day. So even a piece of cardboard would have tasted amazing to me. Well, I was mistaken, because my shawarma was dry and flavorless. I added the cabbage to it, which didn’t work at all. I could have asked for more condiments but A. I was afraid they were going to be offended at any feedback. They seemed to take offense to even the smallest questions, and it was very off-putting. I provided no verbal feedback because of this and the fact that we had somewhere to be. B. I can get shawarma that is 10000000% better at literally any halal cart in the city, with or without condiments. Why should I ask for more flavor at this point? The chicken should be juicy and flavorful. Spices. Salt. Basic things.

The decor is nice and homey though, at least they have that going for them.

I’m so sorry but this was really not good and I won’t...

TLDR- place was ok, food tastes good for the most part but that specific day wasn’t a good day for this restaurant.

We got there on a very cold Saturday early dinner (5:30pm) in January. The place was empty (but they were busy doing deliveries from what I could tell), and it was very cold inside. I believe the heat wasn’t on because we sat in our table with our coats pretty much the entire time. The food was fine. We order the mezze platter and the cigars didn’t feel fresh like they were just fried (I know middle eastern cigars), they felt like they were just warmed it up for a little bit. The babaganush, falafel the rest were delicious and felt fresh. We also ordered the burekas with goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes- that was cold from the inside. I could tell that they just took it out of the freezer. For dessert we got the Knafe which was tasty but different style than I’m used to.

I came here after getting recommendations, and even though my experience wasn’t the best and also pricy, I left there unimpressed. However, I will still come back to give them another chance because the menu is intriguing and there were a few things I still want to try. I feel like they were understaffed or something and the food wasn’t that good that that specific day but on better days, it’ll be...

A good friend introduced me to gazalas in 2021 and I simply couldn’t believe I didn’t know about it! Absolutely love this place. It is so rare to find a spot that makes their own pita type bread (unique more flat, chewy, delicious) and here it’s a real star! The babaganoush is a real smoky standout, hummus perfectly creamy and fresh, well seasoned. The falafel are always hot and fresh. Tabouleh is perfect, classic, fresh parsley without excess wheat (bulgar or cous cous) and divinely lemony. I always get the little meat cigars as a treat. Lentil soup is a stand out- phenomenal, would buy it by the barrel if I could. Grape leaves are delicious. Yogurt (labane) authentic and perfect. If I’m buying for a few days I’ll get the fattoush (best eaten fresh) and some lamb kebabs. I get the chicken kebab for my husband. Various desserts made in house are divine. Kanafe is my weakness. It’s hard to save room for dessert so I just take it to go. A staple of high quality, healthy food. The best part is that my kitchen stays clean and I get to enjoy everything I love about...