Nineveh Bakery — Restaurant in Virginia

WOW what a find!! I get so happy when I eat good quality flavorful food!! I had seen Nineveh a few times while on my pilgrimage through Goodwill before I finally took the plunge. I was intrigued especially since I had never eaten Iraqi food before. I sat in my car and googled the restaurant and different Iraqi foods, and my mouth began to water (always a good sign). I read about the different spice combinations and it was on and popping. I entered the establishment and was immediately greeted ( I'm going to assuming that was the owner), very welcoming. It's interesting because I felt a sense of peace as soon as I entered through the door. The place was small and clean, not much in the store but enough that I wanted to try a little bit of everything (don't judge me, I had shoppers hunger). In my opinion the shop didn't have anything really indicating Iraqi (not that I'm the expert) and unless I had looked it up I wouldn't have known. Although, when I Googled Iraqi food I found all these delectable dishes, the options at Nineveh didn't reflect that. I wanted to try anything ethnic and flavorful, so I asked for their most popular dish and they recommended the lamb and beef shawarma sandwich. I also asked about their dessert's (have to satisfy my sweet tooth), they had a custard (don't quite remember the name) and sesame cookies. I asked about everything. We had a little bit of a language barrier,(I thought I had to wait an hour for my food, instead he was telling me something else, lol) but we worked it out. I don't usually get sandwiches and asked if they had any rice. I always say that when I'm accommodated, you pretty much got me, lol (I'm so spoiled). Even though my meal didn't come with rice, and nowhere on the menu indicated they even offered rice, they got me some rice. The place is take out, so I had to wait until I got home to try my goodies (the fragrance made me speed home in anticipation). I shared my meal with the greedy blogging team @we_hungryaf and they loved it. The bread was still warm and the meat was so tender, fresh and packed a punch. The spice's were familiar but different. The desserts were sweet enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. If you are lactose intolerant, take some Beano or something before eating the pudding IJS. The pudding is delicious and rich, but not sweet. The cookies were reminiscent of vanilla cookies but with sesame seeds, but we liked them and will be back for more. After reading about some of their other dishes I really wanted to try Masgouf, Quzi, Tashreeb or Maqluba. I'm guessing the menu might not include their special dishes and you might have to call in advance to ask what else they have (I'm basing this theory off the photos posted with the reviews). Anywho, I definitely will be going back!! Don't take it from me, you...

A gem. 120+ 5-star reviews isn't a surprise. I went there for the first time after a recommendation and had the falafel sandwich. Best in this country. I'm Egyptian so I'm really not overstating it: for the longest time I've yearned for bean-based falafel (aka ta'meya) and this one fit the bill. So crisp, so fresh, so tasty. Well, everything is fresh in this sandwich, especially the bread, which is perfectly baked to that it's not too thick and not too thin. PERFECT proportions for everything else. Even the orange juice was nice! The guys working there were pretty nice too.

Despite this place being Iraqi, this was the closest to an authentically Egyptian culinary experience I've ever had in Virginia altogether. Missed it so much. I think I might go there every weekend just to get that falafel sandwich - although I'm absolutely sure everything else on the menu is as good.

Keep it rollin', Nineveh. Good on ya. Mashallah. Fabulous. Incredible. As Keith said......

Did a quick search for Iraqi food on my way to Williamsburg and got a hit on this bakery. My wife and I called them after reading the great reviews and decided to try the kebabs, samoon, the beef shawarma sandwich, the falafels and I highly recommend everything that they sell. Tomorrow we are heading back home after spending a week in Williamsburg and we are picking up a tray of mixed grill meats, falafels, samoon and shawarma. I have been to Baghdad twice before and their food is really authentic Iraqi food and I have tried a lot of Iraqi food places in NOVA but this place is without a doubt the best Iraqi food in Virginia and I wish I lived closer so I could order more frequently. Will post pictures tomorrow after I pick up my second food order...