Bethlehem Restaurant & Grocery — Restaurant in Roanoke

The food here was excellent, but a little pricy for lunch if ordering a full entree with sides. The portions were very large, allowing us to take lots home for dinner. I'm not well versed in Middle Eastern cuisine, but the yellow long grain rice (Saffron?) was exceptional in flavor, as well as the tazaki sauce. The salad was chopped fine with a vinegar type dressing, the chicken kabobs were tasty and not dry, and the thin bread was also excellent. This spot only has four tables and we arrived at noon, and it was not busy. One orders at the counter from a printed menu, with large photos of the dishes in the wall. You get your own drink from the refrigerator and pick up food when called, so it's self service. You go to the counter to pay at meals end, as there is no table service. You are surrounded by a grocery containing middle eastern food and treats, as well as cultural photos and knick knacks. It's a very interesting place to dine, and was not busy. The restaurant was clean, and staff were very cordial and friendly, but couldn't answer some questions I had about the spices, due to the language barrier. The windows were covered with opaque signs, so no one could see in or out, but lighting was not a problem. Overall, Bethlehem is a very different and interesting place to dine. I recommend at least one visit to try it out, for a tasty and unique dining pleasure.

Updating from another visit on 3/18/22: I love this little place do much! The food today was absolutely delicious and the 2 guys at the counter were so friendly and open to answering dumb questions from stupid Americans about the food preparation and spices. The store was very busy today, with diners and store shoppers going in and out. Workers were busy putting up some new shelves, and it was very noisy at times. Staff apologized on several occasions, but told of their plans to move things around for more space and updates. It is still very interesting to browse the store while waiting, as you're sure to discover an unfamiliar treat. Will...

This review is for the Restaurant portion only, I have not been on-site to check out the Grocery so I have nothing to say about it.

My wife and I ordered from Bethlehem for dinner as we love Mediterranean. Wanting a variety, we ordered a Falafel Sandwich, a Kofta Kabab Sandwich, Samosas, and Hummus. Unfortunately, everything was wrong.

My guess is that the score for this food is a result of "small town syndrome" but this is not good or even acceptable Mediterranean food. Starting with Hummus, a very simple dish, it tasted ONLY of Tahini. No sharpness from citrus, no seasoning, just bland paste. There was seasoning sprinkled on top, but none of that comes across. Unfortunately it's the worst Hummus I've had to date, and I've had a lot.

The Samosas.....aren't Samosas. We got the Vegetarian variety, knowing what to expect, but the inside was pure mush and resembled nothing of the seasoned vegetable mix one would expect. The shell was soft like a dumpling, no crisp or real color, and was still greasy to the touch. Again, sadly, worst Samosas we've had.

Ending with the Sandwiches, things slightly improved. The Falafel was a fair bit dry but that happens, and at least it was seasoned. The Beef/Lamb was the best of the lot, decently seasoned but nothing note worthy. Both had a nice wrapping but too much onion, and too thick cut for almost all the veggies.

Slight note on the Fries (which we got with the Sandwiches) but they taste straight out of the freezer and without seasoning of any kind. I don't expect good Fries from Mediterranean food so I'm not going to say that's a sin, but I would have liked SOMETHING tasty.

It's possible we got a bad batch, or the cook had an off day, or something, but we won't be back. The level of flavor, seasoning, and basic understanding of the cooking style is missing...

We went here earlier this year for dinner as a date on a Friday night and the food was so delicious and the flavors so unique I almost cried with happiness! 😅 We more recently took family from out of town who love sampling different cuisine and it was a complete hit. Every last dish out of 6 dishes was excellent, some of the best food any of us had had in a long time. The bone-in lamb shank served over rice, raisins and carrots (Qabulo Palaw) is particularly amazing, as well as the afghani dumplings with a unique tangy lentil sauce drizzled over (Mantu Entree). Mixed shawarma platter was also crispy and delicious, the hummus smooth and mild. The vegetarian sides were also awesome - creamy fava beans simmered with spices and olive oil (Foul medamas) and Cucumber/tomato/mint salad (Salata). The booths only fit 4 so that is worth taking into account if you have a larger group but the owner happily brought us 2 chairs so we could all sit together, and we also realized we could have sat outside where there is space to accommodate larger groups. Overall a great experience and I feel lucky to have a place with such an elaborate menu, we can keep coming back and trying new flavors! The prices were very affordable. Also I didn't even mention the grocery which is stocked with an amazing selection of specialty afghani foods- ingredients if you are cooking as well as packaged items. Thank you Bethlehem...