The 22 best Middle Eastern foods and restaurants in Somerville (2024)

Overall a great restaurant, but calling it the best in Boston is maybe a bit of a stretch (and to be honest reveals that the food scene in Boston is incredibly weak). Most of the dishes were just decent--often too heavy on the spices--and some were just bad. The calamari in particular was not very soft and the lettuce under it had far too much mayo.

This was certainly an experience to say the least. This place had high praise online and in person, it translates well. This place is popular, relatively large inside, with the awesome things you’d want in your mouth. Mostly one-way streets with hard enough parking so be prepared and patient especially during busy hours/ days. There was a wait but luckily being a party of one, I got through a little faster, but that place was packed. Fun atmosphere, fun décor, and energetic. I got to sit at the bar and was greeted almost immediately and was given a low down on how things work and was given recommendations. I grabbed a beer and several plates of things that sounded delicious, but of course I couldn’t order everything on the menu. Also, if you don’t know, the menu is always changing so there is always something new to try. I am not from the area so like anything else, if I love the place, I will always come back to it if able. Good beer, delicious food and an area placed before the bar with a chef where you can view the food being made at hand. It’s slightly pricey, but I believe is worth the cost.

I like this place. It has nice small portions of food. Everything looks cute. You have to make a reservation if you want to have a table otherwise, the only option will be to be seated at the bar. The place is small by itself too. My friend and I ordered several dishes to share and everything tasted great. My favorite was dessert. We ordered donuts and picked two toppings, OMG those donuts were delicious! I highly recommend this place, they serve food in a very beautiful way and their drinks look great. The only problem is parking. There is no parking. You need to drive around and search for a parking space, other than that everything is great!

This place was on my list for so long, happy I tried the food.The place itself is beautiful, open and it makes you feel part of the whole experience. I was there only for the food and walk out with my tongue feeling a million sensation, honestly I was upset I didn’t have room for more .Chefs need to go here, couples and anyone that want to try good food.The server was fantastic and she knows her craft very well , bravo. I admire her ink work as well, snake 🐍 on her left hand I think.I would easily recommend this place to anyone that want to eat, try and be open minded to the great combo of flavors.Hope to visit soon and try that Ribeye and another 15 things or so.Best luck to you , keep cooking, inspiring, and having fun with great food.

Flavour packed dishes that are unique and delicious. Drinks were very well made. The cauliflower fatteh was very good with the cilantro mint sauce. And also tried the feta cheese gnocchi which came with pistachio cilantro sauce. Good place to hang out with friends and share dishes in the small plate style service.

Excellent food across the board with caring service. Quite expensive but you do get the value from each penny. The Malawach and lamb Hummus were the top options by far. But everything overall was delicious.

The menu is extensive but delicious! Every dish we ordered was on point. Hot when it needed to be, cold when it needed to be and nothing in between. Flavors were defined and there was no lack of seasoning. co*cktails were good albeit pricey.Only negatives would be that no one explained the dishes when they delivered it, so we were left to question what everything was. And the noise level was quite high, had to yell across the table to one another.Overall absolutely delicious, and would come back again when in town. Bring your friends!

We came with high expectations because we loved every dish we ordered at their sister restaurant Oleana. However, we left disappointed.We ordered 6 dishes based on our waitress’ recommendations but we found half of those dishes so heavily spiced that it was challenging to taste the flavors of the food ingredients themselves.Besides the food, their service was excellent and the ambience was warm and relaxed.

Best Greek food my wife and I have tried in a while. It's served tapas style, which means small servings, so it can be a bit pricey, but the taste and presentation make up for it. I say get two and a half dishes per head. The staff members are knowledgeable about the menu. Let them know about your preferences and ask for recommendations!They also serve an off menu sesame fried chicken with remoulade sauce that's cooked to perfection. You will have to time your arrival fairly early to even get a shot at ordering this as it's served in limited quantities.The only thing was the food did take a little while to arrive - about a 30-minute wait for the last 2 dishes. Overall, it was a good experience and I can't wait to be back.

My bf and I were very excited to celebrate our anniversary dinner here since we’ve heard great things about Sarma, and our experience didn’t disappoint our expectations! First, Sarma sends a reminder via text a few hours and minutes before your reservation. They also recommend streets for parking, which we followed and didn’t have any issues finding a spot (~7 mins walk). We got seated right away for our reservation and our waiter was very kind and attentive. We got two rounds of drinks each, which were all very good - Different faces, different places was my favorite. Then we got the cornbread, special fried chicken, lamb sliders, & bbq duck. All were excellent! The cornbread had a nice spicy kick! Let me tell you that the duck was very tender and I love how there was little to no fat. We left the place very full and happy. Although it is timed dining (1 hr & 45 mins for 2 ppl), we didn’t feel rushed at all. Highly recommend dining here with a reservation or you can walk in for spots at the bar! Can’t wait to go back and try some of the desserts.

This is my second time at this restaurant. I had gone their 1.5 year back when they had their tasting menu and had loved it. We wanted to go back again but found out they don’t server tasting menus any longer. However lot of items seemed familiar and we went ahead. There’s nothing on the menu that I don’t like. Best restaurant so far in Massachusetts.Things to try:CornbreadBarbecue duckFrittersIn any case, try everything and you will like it all.

Delightful! We came here WITHOUT a reservation on a Sunday which I don’t recommend but it worked out for us (2 people). The cornbread was UNBELIEVABLE. Please order that. We also got the artichokes, avocado and eggplant tacos. All brilliant. I also had the beet co*cktail which was like a bright but tasty salad. 10/10 will be back

Delicious everything. Small plates and medium plates. Lots of tasty and unique offerings on menu as well as some off menu passed dishes. The fried chicken with tahini is light and crisp and full of flavour. co*cktails are excellent. You have to go regularly and often to try all the tasty things on the menu.

Possibly the best restaurant in all of Massachusetts! We are moving out of Boston and it was an easy choice to pick Sarma for our final outing. Each small plate is overloaded with flavors that will blow your mind. It's difficult to order even a mediocre dish at Sarma! Highly recommend! Book well in advance or arrive a bit before their dinner hours to grab a walk in spot!

My expectations were very high and while some of the dishes were delicious, they weren’t all a hit and overall the food was a little too salty for me. An extensive menu with lots to choose from - the highlight by far was the cornbread… so perfectly cheesy and gooey and both sweet and savory. Fried chicken was also delicious (not on menu but tell your server and they’ll make sure it gets to your table when it’s being walked around). Everything else was just ok - very strong flavors and spices to the point where it was sometimes overpowering. Note that hummus (SO salty) doesn’t come with any dipping vehicle so get the gyro bread! If I were to come again I’d want to be in a group of 4 so that we can try more dishes, but I will say it’s a bit pricy for what you get.

I just have to say, this place is outstanding. Staff is very kind and delighted, very smiling 😅. Food is very good, plates usually say on the menu small plates, but they are very generous. For a normal couple 3 plates maximum 4 is enough. Don’t go away without try the cornbread, and if you get lucky the chef’s fry Chicken special is unbelievable. Highly recommend this place.

Absolutely a restaurant worth trying and one of the more creative restaurants in Boston. I’m taking off one star because not every plate hit the mark, but the service and ambiance most certainly did!We started with the avocado muhammara and pita bread, which was definitely good but very rich with the addition of crispy pistachios in oil, onions, and burrata on top. The sweet potato ceviche was also an interesting take on a fish-less ceviche with bright notes of lime juice and spice. I didn’t think the fried sesame chicken “special” was worth the hype…just ok!While every dish was a flavor bomb, the dishes that really stood out were the sword fish with a base of corn polenta and other toppings, the tempura squid with a red mezze spread as a base, and the fennel salad with a base of marinated soft eggplant chunks.Overall, in addition to not all dishes hitting “excellent” status, I found that the meal sat somewhat heavy in the stomach due to liberal use of oil and deep frying, which could have been reduced a bit more for my taste. Dessert menu was also very heavy when I was craving something light and refreshing. Overall though, it’s worth a try and I would come back!

Every element seems perfected. The co*cktails, number of menu items, the insane amount of ingredients in every dish. This place gives your luxury at value. Don’t have any dish recommendations because everything is amazing. Dougie the bartender manages to churn out flawless co*cktails and still hold great conversation.

we went for the first time and had such an amazing time, the food was insanely good, the harissa duck and the Al pastor octopus are must gets, everything was so creative and executed well. Also the service staff was amazing!! We were seated near the wait stand and they must have heard me mention it was my birthday and they brought out desserts and a candle at the end of the meal, thank you for making it such a special evening !

We had a nice dinner here with my colleagues. We had a large party menu with ten different dishes plus dessert. The food was generally tasty, but it was too spicy for some people. I particularly enjoyed the barbecue duck, the roasted beets, the Brussels sprouts, and the pumpkin fritters. While the restaurant was quite crowded, the atmosphere was a lot of fun. However, the service was a bit slow, and the waiter forgot to bring my drink multiple times. I also thought they made us order too much food, which ended up being a bit too expensive.

So good. I don’t live here so have just gone twice, but both trips it was my favorite place I ate in the Boston area. The menu varies but highlights included: lamb crunch rolls with butternut squash, yams with chickpea chermoula, gyro bread with hummus, little dessert doughnuts with turmeric tea. But both times we ordered not knowing what to expect and had maybe 4/5 bangers and one dish that we liked OK so it’s hard to go wrong.

Flavorful, well-executed small plates. Menu has a lot of creativity, variety, and thought put into it.Shrimp Croquettes was the excellent standout dish, there was a sauce that tasted similar to Indian butter chicken and lemongrass flavor in the shrimp. Avocado Muhammara was just okay. The fennel anise salad is one of the most refreshing dishes I’ve ever tried.

Fantastic food, the venison wrapped dates and the cornbread were probably my favorites, even the beer had a nice unique twist. Seven layer hummus and crabcake melt were pretty decent too. And decently priced as well.

Sarma has been on the food bucket list for the past 4.5 years and we finally made it! We were lucky to nab a reservation for 5:45pm a month in advance (many calendar reminders later...). The restaurant started out with a lot of empty reserved tables (though the bar was full with walk-ins from the beginning) that quickly filled up as the evening progressed. The ambience is lovely, the menu is a delight (I really appreciate the glossary on the side), and the service was great.We were recommended to order around 5 dishes for 2 people, and ended up getting 7. While it was a lot of food and we had to pack up about 1 dish's worth of food to-go, I don't regret trying a lot of items! I'll summarize my top picks from what we tried.Delicious, would definitely get again- The beef carpaccio ($23) was a delight. There were crunchy deep fried noodles, delicious sauces, fresh salad mix, all on top of tender beef. And, unexpectedly, a perfectly soft boiled egg/deep fried egg. When I showed this dish to my Turkish friend, he said "Oh yes, these are Turkish breakfast items." What an inventive and delicious way to reimagine breakfast as a carpaccio!- The garlic shrimp lamejun ($22) was so delicious! I think there may have been some spiced shrimp paste as the "meat" layer on the flatbread in addition to the tender grilled shrimp on top, and both were delicious. I loved all of the sauces, vegetables, and flavors here. Would definitely get again!- The black sea cornbread ($17) came highly recommended by our waitress and friends and it didn't disappoint! It has an almost rice-cake like glutinous texture with the perfect combination of feta, honey, and buttery flavors. It smells like heaven and it tastes so good. I will be trying to recreate this at home.Good, may get again- The fried mussels ($17) were quite good. My favorite part was actually the papaya salad on the side -- it was deliciously flavored, crunchy, and fresh. The mussels were tender and juicy inside of the breading, and interspersed with deep fried vegetables. The green curry tarator sauce didn't really stand out, though.- The brussels sprout bravas ($14) with chorizo ($2) had a really nice smoky paprika flavor but the sprouts themselves were not that special/got drowned in the sauce. I would've preferred crispier sprouts.- The sesame fried chicken with tahini sauce ($15 for 4 pieces) that comes out every so often from the kitchen was good, but didn't have strong flavors. The chicken was boneless and very tender, and the breading was crispy though a bit greasy.Wouldn't get again- The cheese saganaki grits ($16) were very interesting. I saw "okra gumbo" in the description and couldn't pass it up, but the gumbo component was minimal and drowned out by the cheese. I did like the grits, but I think there was too much cheese relative to the more tasty parts of the dish (grits, okra gumbo), and there was also a lot of acidic flavor from the tomatoes.Our waitress also kindly brought us some orange creamsicle ice cream and a candle for our anniversary. The ice cream tastes just like an orange creamsicle. We were too stuffed to try any desserts, but maybe next time we will plan our meal out better!I'd definitely love to return to Sarma to try more of their foods. I really appreciated how a lot of the dishes balanced out any heaviness with fresh salads (which were perfectly seasoned in their own rights). I was worried about having ordered too many rich/creamy things, but I needn't have worried! Everything was delicious, fresh, and distinct. The food also came out really quickly, so finishing within the 1 hour and 45 minute time limit is totally doable. Our total came out to around $165 including tax and tip, which was much less than we were expecting to pay (to be fair, we didn't get drinks or dessert), and we ended up stuffed with leftovers. Looking forward to my next visit!

Plates are small but very rich and filling. The flavors are unique blend and definitely worth going to. It's a sister restaurant to oleana. All the dishes were amazing and would definitely visit again