Al Badawi - Palestinian Cuisine in Brooklyn Heights
Al Badawi is the sister restaurant to Ayat, down in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. They have an expansive menu of Palestinian cuisine, ranging from flatbreads to maklouba.
Our experience at al Badawi was unfortunately not that great, despite raving reviews and media publications about this halal, Palestinian restaurant. That’s NOT to say we don’t want you to dine there. Maybe it was just that particular evening for us but the food was definitely not hittin’. We plan on going again to give them another try.
Mansaf
Food: 4/10
For starters, we ordered hummus and kibbeh. Both were unfortunately almost mind-blowingly bland. One of the mains we tried was the Chicken Shawarma and Zata’ar flatbread, which was also a painful let down. This flatbread had zero flavor, despite the zata’ar. Okay, let’s try the other mains. Mansaf. The stew was great on its own. So was the rice! But the lamb was quite smelly. It had that raw lamb smell that was a huge turn off for the dish. But we loved the stew and rice with nuts. The Muskhan was pretty dry and also flavorless. The caramelized onions were helping the dish, but not by much. We sincerely hope that they can rectify these flavor-misses.
Price: 7/10
Most appetizers run from $6-$8. Flatbreads $15-$18. Sandwiches and platters $13-$16. Traditional Mains (for sharing) $30-$40.
Atmosphere: 9/10
Despite dining outside because the inside was completely booked, the inside is beautiful. There’s plenty of seating and lots of decoration and art. The outdoor dining situation also has good quality heaters, just wish there was more light.
Service: 6/10
Service can be kind of slow. We went on a Wednesday night and it was busy like it was a Friday night. Can imagine it would be better if it’s less busy.
In the end, we hope al Badawi can up their spice game and not sacrifice flavor. We don’t know what it could be but the food has so much potential. 🙏🏽
Al Badawi
151 Atlantic Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Kibbeh
Hummus
Chicken and Zaatar Flatbread
Muskhan