Mombar — Restaurant in New York

This is absolutely one of the memorable, delicious, and unique restaurants in NYC. I've lived here for 10 years, and been to a lot of places. Places high, low, still here, and gone. There is nowhere quite like Mombar.

There is one employee who works there. The owner. He's also the chef and the head waiter. He greets you at the door, and invites you into his space that transports you to another world entirely. The restaurant is basically a living piece of art, with most of the tables, mosaics, sculptures, and accents designed and built by him. Horus and Osiris are watching over you. Even the facade of the restaurant is hand wrought.

When you sit down, there will probably be food sizzling in the kitchen that is ten feet away out in the open. You will smell colors and spices that feel both familiar and exotic. He'll come to the table, tell you what he has for the day, and let you ruminate on your appetizer and main entree. There are no menus, but he has something for everybody.

The food comes out gradually, and it dazzles. Lamb shanks, Branzini, Cous Cous with currants in the shape of pyramids, Foul, Hummous that ruins anything you've bought lately, Mint tea, pita bread, tagines. You eat, sitting on cushions separated by your compatriots by shawls and ornate drapes.

It doesn't get much better.

Side note: after the meal, be sure to ask him about the restaurant being featured in magazines and by TV personalities. His pride will...

My fiance and I went for a walk, not intending to get dinner, but when we passed this gorgeous little building on Steinway Street, we were immediately drawn to it. We peeked our heads in and saw a cozy, ecclectically designed restaurant that made us feel like we were no longer a handful of blocks from home, but traveling to a distant land where all the troubles of life no longer matter. It was a slow night for the restaurant, which made our visit that much more special. The owner was very friendly and welcoming and recommended the perfect dishes for us to try. My fiance got the lamb shank while I opted for the sea bass. Our meals were fantastic - perfect blends of spices, tender meats falling off the bones, variety of carefully seasoned vegetables served with heaps of rice and couscous. For two people who weren't even planning on getting dinner, we finished every last bite on our plates and then relaxed with a hot cup of mint tea while discussing everything from family lineage to the state of the world with our gracious host. This is not a typical NYC restaurant. It's warm and unpretentious, the owner welcomes you like family, and the food tastes like grandma has been up since daybreak preparing it. Unbeknownst to me, Mombar has been there for 18 years and I can't believe it was my first visit. It definitely...

We ate at Mombar! I’m so glad we went. I’d called and gave him a heads up abt 10 ppl the day before and then I called just 20 mins prior to give the owner and chef our order of appetizers and mains of a lamb dish + branzino. Enough for our group.

The appetizers came out timely and the mains abt an hour after we arrived. It was all the perfect amount and sooooo delicious, fresh and thoughtful. He served us the right amount for our table of 7 adults and 3 children. I ordered babaganoush and it was the best I’ve ever had, cauliflower and a liver dish. Even the liver appetizer was so good!

For us is was an experience.

Abt an hour after we arrived our mains of branzino and lamb shank came. Absolutely delicious and so fresh!

And you know what, I realize that it’s not so often that you get to have the actual chef and owner make the food. 10 out of 10 and the owner was really nice & showed us around about his artwork in the space etc.

I brought my own mocktails of Brooklyn Brewed Sorrel which paired perfectly with everything. It was absolutely delicious and a great experience.

I recommend that if you have a large group you order just a few dishes and have the chef make enough for everyone. Eat family style so your food can...