Olive Tree by Chef Yousef — Restaurant in Temple Terrace

Excellent food and service the servers were so kind the one was new I didn't catch her name but the chef will be able to know what she treated us so nice so was learning a lot. Our server Robyn was extremely attentive. Followed instructions perfectly.

The Food we ordered was Shashoka, Fattoush Salad, Jawafa/Guava Juice and Falafel Plate I was so happy to see they included their signature Pita bread slices with Za'atar plate olive oil fresh green olives and Shatta hot sauce. When the Za'atar combines with the Shatta it gets wet and gets an interesting texture and flavor profile it becomes oily and rich in flavor an explosion on your taste buds.

The Fattoush was well executed with pomegranate present throughout the dish and traces of the sumac and the lemon juice as it should be along with the delicious fried pita. While the falafel was fried to perfection perfect temperature and not too soft to where it falls apart and not too rigid to where it hurts to eat it and is insanely crunchy the texture was 100% balanced. The tahina sauce was wonderful texture as well creamy and not loose but not overly thick just perfect as it should be.

Shashoka was so tender and and soft I tasted the peppers in every bite it was incorporated so beautifully and harmoniously. Keeping in mind I'm not even a fan of eggs Shashoka is really the only egg style I usually will eat and even then I'm so picky of the texture but this was so delectable. I must recommend to all vegetarians even though I'm just plant based and eat some meats there are plenty of veggie and some vegan options too.

I will update my review accordingly once I am able to try some of the lunch/dinner offerings this is the only restaurant in Temple Terrace that currently is offering the Mansaf. This is the National Dish of Jordan and is not easy to find and expensive to make due to having to obtain Jameed. Chef Yousef's work is incredible. I hope this restaurant stays around for a long while and nothing but success SubhanAllah. 🤲🏼

*Please support Arab ran businesses spread support and awareness 🇵🇸

Update: had gotten mansaf later that day for lunch takeaway my aunt was unfortately ill in the hospital and requested something to be more cheerful so I surprised her with some mansaf. The mansaf was cooked to perfection, had slivered almonds saffron basmati rice saj bread and the jameed was very flavorful...

Chef Yosef has this busy little gem shining. On this day, he was helping the wife serve as the help were late for work. I spotted this place on google maps while looking up Bekdash, the menu was wife friendly so she and I came for lunch.

I knew what we wanted before we arrived so ordering was easy. There is an extensive menu of Middle Eastern fare to choose from. We got the Hummus, which was superb, smooth and delicious with the soft warm pita bread. In the middle floated chick peas in a pool of enticing olive oil. Next we had the Fried Kebbeh, made with ground bulgar and stuffed with beef, pine nuts and herbs, a favorite for me. An interesting addition was the Fried Halloumi Cheese. I expected it to be a hot dish but it was room temp, by design I assume. The cheese from Cyprus was firm and briny. We took most of it home. The last dish and a new favorite of mine was a chef special Mandi Chicken w/ Mandi Rice. I especially enjoyed the smoky rice with hot sauce and salad on top. The salad was similar to Pico de Gallo but instead of cilantro it had diced cucumber and parsley. There was a half chicken on top of the rice that was moist and flavorful. A great dish, also available in lamb.

The Olive Tree is just south of E. Fowler on N. 56th St.. It's in a small strip mall with parking out front. It's a small space with a busy take-out business and an assortment of booths and tables. It was full of natural light, buzzing with conversation and a large family group. Several families with kids. They open early, 10am and close at 10pm. Seating is all indoor and the food is halal. We loved it. Come...

Wow! With so many Palestinian and Middle Eastern restaurants in the area, it's hard to stand out.. Chef Youssef found a way to definitely stand out. The interior is nice and quaint, the service is excellent and the chef is very friendly, welcoming but mostly importantly talented when it comes to fine cuisine!

We were initially served bread with Zaatar, olives and fresh hot sauce. Very nice hot and soft bread to get the appetite going.

We ordered the mix grill with mendi rice as well as the famous Mansaf. The Mandi rice was smoked with the grilled meats and tasted and smelled amazing! The meats were all tender and cooked really well! Chicken breast was juicy and well seasoned! The Mansaf for me is the show stopper. I never had Mansaf till I moved to Florida and it's become a top 5 dish for me. Chef Youssef makes the best Mansaf and the best Jameed (yogurt sauce to go on top of meat and rice) I've ever tasted! The meat was falling apart perfect and the rice was perfectly cooked. Plenty of nuts and plenty of Jameed. I could eat this dish everyday and not have a worry about getting bored. If this is your first time trying it, give it a bit to work on you. It might put you off the first bite or two, then your tastebuds will wake up and crave it! Haha ask me how I know!

Like I mentioned the chef was super nice, and came out to check on us multiple times and even offered us free desserts! Fresh made warbaat (pastry with cream) was very good.

The server was great, she was checking on us constantly and was very good at keeping things refilled.

Already looking forward to my...