Aleppo Sweets — Restaurant in Providence

This review is based on our experience in January 2020 and we never went there again. At the time, the pandemic was just beginning in the world and there was enough prejudice against ethnic businesses, but now that they have survived and thrived, I don't need to feel bad about posting this review. So... in our first time going there, the restaurant was full. There was a line at order/cashier. We waited in the line and ordered, and given a number for our order. We asked to be seated and they told us to just try to catch an empty table when people are leaving, and there is no priority for anyone and they don't do anything about seating. People who ordered before us were finding tables because we were not as agile as then being pregnant. After waiting a few minutes, seeing my wife's state, some good people let us know that they were leaving and gave their table to us (thank you if you ever read this 🙏). A few days later, my wife was craving baklava, and we stopped by again. Again, the business was crawling with people. We started waiting in the line and just before I ordered, my wife saw people leaving, and went to sit at that table. Then while I was ordering, suddenly, I realize they were telling my wife to leave the table because people ordered before us couldn't get a table. Wow. Just wow. It had only been one week, if that. Even of the policy changed, you don't get to unseat a pregnant woman, and there are more polite ways to say that. Sigh. Anyway. Their food was delicious, maybe still is, I don't know. But never went there again, and not...

Really cozy spot with a nice vibe, loved the atmosphere and the decor. The staff was super welcoming and helpful, which we appreciated. The bathroom was very clean and smelled good. We tried the cheese fatayar, chicken shawarma, chicken kabab, Hummus, chocolate baklava, kunafa, and Arabic coffee.

The cheese fatayar was a standout, seriously tasted like something straight from the Middle East! Reminded me of home! Hummus and bread were good portion! The chocolate baklava and kunafa were also delicious and hit the spot.

The chicken shawarma had good flavor but was a bit too drenched in sauce, so the texture of the chicken kind of disappeared. The chicken kabab was decent, but for $15, the portion felt pretty small, plus no rice included, and some veggies

The Arabic coffee was alright. It was a bit too dark and didn’t have the flavor we were hoping for.

One thing that threw us off was the self-service setup. We were confused about how to order, where to get silverware, napkins, water, etc., and ended up having to get up several times during the meal. There’s a small cart by the kitchen door where you return dirty dishes, get water, and so on, but it’s tucked into a tight corner and wasn’t explained up front.

That said, we still really liked a lot about this place and plan to come back to try more of the menu now that we understand how things operate. Maybe we’ll come at a less busy...

This place has been near the top of my long list of places to try out in PVD and it did not disapppoint. I came here tonight to catch up with a friend over warm tea and baklava and it did not disappoint. We shared a small pot of ginger chai honey tea and it was delicious with the perfect amount of spice and gingery kick and great for an unusually cold night following a week of warmer days. (Spring please come back!) We also each got the classic, pistachio, and chocolate baklava for ourselves and we have NO regrets. :) . My personal favorites were the chocolate and classic. The classic melts in your mouth with the perfect amount of crispy goodness. The chocolate was also very well done and suprisingly not too sweet despite baklava being very sweet at baseline. We also got a baba ganoush to share which was a creamier version of the baba ganoush that I've had with a nice smokey understone and sweet paprila finish! They also gave generous portions of the syrian bread!

5/5 would come again to try the rest of the menu

Pro-tip - the sweets come in a very nice box and would make an awesome housewarming gift.

P.S. this place is also very instagrammable complete with middle eastern lamps and...