Making My Way Downtown (to Zooba)

Zooba is a fast-casual restaurant focusing on Egyptian street food located in the Nolita area. They’ve been open for some time but now they are fully halal.

Spicy Hawawshi

Zooba
100 Kenmare St
New York, NY 10012

Food: 8/10
We got the Spicy Hawawshi, Cheese Hawawshi, Koshari, Dukka Fries, Mint Limeade and Hibiscus Limeade. The Hawawshi’s were are pita bread stuffed with meat and other items. The spicy one had fruits in it, which I think was a tangerine and that really took the taste to another level. It was genius we’d say. We’re actually craving it as we’re writing this. The Cheese Hawawshi (also with a beef patty) was a little too salty but still decent. This is the first time we’ve tried koshari and it was also decent, but didn’t necessarily wow us. It comes with fried onions and tomato soup. I will say the fried onions were a great addition and gave it a great crunch and flavor factor. The ducca fries are thick-cut and were nice and crispy. Get it with their beetroot tahini sauce!! Their limeades were also great - very refreshing and tart.

Price: 7/10
Probably due to the area, but in our opinion, a lot of people can see this as “pricey”. Hawawshi’s (given the portion size) go for about $9-$10. Koshari was $12.

Atmosphere: 10/10
The atmosphere is amazing! They have neon lights adorning the ceilings in ode to Egyptian design. It’s also pretty huge and they have plenty of seating.

Service: 10/10
You order up front and they call you by your name on the ticket. Food is prepared pretty fast and the staff is nice!

Cheese Hawawshi

Koshari