First Oasis
“This is a family owned and operated business and they take great pride in delivering a fantastic dining experience.”
“We were a party of 4 and all shared 2 plates of the magic combination.”
“Not a huge fan of the stuffed grape leaves but that's just personal preference.”
First Oasis
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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My husband & I attended a friend's birthday dinner on a Friday night. The service and food was phenomenal! We order the Magic Combination (2 course meal) for 2. The appetizers were hummus, babaghanouj, falafel, stuffed grape leaves and salad. A basket of pita bread was served with the appetizers. This was already a meal in itself! Everything tasted fresh and delicious. The hummus and babaghanouj was perfect and creamy. I loved the salad as well. The main course included a choice of lamb or beef kebob, chicken and kufta kebob over rice and steamed fresh mixed vegetables. We had the lamb & chicken kebob and chicken kufta. This is clearly a platter for 2 unless you have an extremely hearty appetite. Overall, we had a great time. I can't praise the waiter enough who served our party that night. He was pretty much a one-man job- server, waiter, bar-tender, cashier, host….impeccable! Def come here for the best middle eastern food!
Super excellent food. Bursting with flavor, each dish was beautifully presented. My husband commented that even the salad which came on the side with the falafel platter was delicious. Usually you just get some shredded lettuce, but not here. We came in late (9:30) & the place was empty, so you KNOW everything had to be made FRESH. simply OUTSTANDING. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Stellar / top notch Middle Eastern cuisine. I believe the owner is Syrian because the flavorings and sauces have a Syrian spin to them.
The Magic Combination for one is a stupendous value. You'll be bursting at the seams for $17. Honestly, I don't know how a human being can consume all that food.
I saw people eating schwarma sandwiches which looked and smelled divine.
Highly recommended.
The owner's son is a very outgoing and upbeat young man. He saw my friend and I out front considering the menu, so he stepped outside and sold us on trying the place. He takes great pride in his dad Sayeed's expertise as a chef and in their family recipes. He explained that a lot of their vegetarian dishes can easily be made vegan without cheese or butter because it's all freshly made-to-order anyway. He told me about their long history as restaurant owners, and how they had a place for 30 years called Magic Carpet in the Village. The waiter is a very sweet and attentive gentleman who's been with them since those days.
In the past few weeks I've eaten there several times, and brought my family. The food is extremely fresh and unique-tasting. Being distinctive is hard among all the Middle Eastern restaurants around Brooklyn, but somehow First Oasis does it. One in my family always orders the burger, and he says even that is especially good.
Because it's all made fresh, the wait for food can be longer than expected, but I'm okay with that. I always get delicious lentil soup with a lemon wedge, and hot mint-cardamom house blend tea. I love the Vegetarian Combination: hummus, babaghanuj, falafel, stuffed grape leaves, and salad. I like the salad fine but I love the tabouli better so I get it substituted. It comes with tahini-yogurt sauce (I skip that), pickled turnips and black olives. Sayeed's falafel has a distinctive donut shape that ensures a fully-cooked and moist interior and a crispy and not overdone exterior. So flavorful! It's seriously the absolute best falafel I've ever had anywhere. I also love the Vegetable Ouzi: a wonderfully seasoned stuffing of chopped carrots, peas, celery, rice, chickpeas, raisins and nuts baked in puffy flaky phyllo, made vegan by using olive oil instead of butter. It comes with cucumber yogurt salad but I get house salad instead. This dish is generous and filling, so I share it or plan to take half home. Leftovers from First Oasis are ALWAYS eaten.
Miscellany: The TV plays soccer, college football, or lovely Arab music videos. There's outdoor seating in the back but I haven't eaten out there. The restrooms are always pristine and well-stocked. A discount on parking is available at the underground lot across the street next to Harbor Fitness.
Consistently well prepared food in large portions. I ordered the half chicken and falafel for dinner and ended up eating it for lunch the next day. The chicken was juicy, sweet, and tender. It had a kind of barbeque sauce flavor but with a middle eastern twist. I've also had the chicken sharawma DELISH. Falafel was crispy and came with a bed of salad.
I really love First Oasis' food! Everything tastes fresh, home cooked and delicious!
If you're in search of good Mediterranian food, try this place! The hummus and pita (they served both white and wheat) were perfect – creamy and delicious! I ordered the Fattoush Salad. Oh my goodness! I am still thinking about how amazing it was, and dreaming of the day I'll be back to have it again! It was only a little awkward inside, as we were the only table for the first half hour.
I don't like it when my plans get sidetracked.
I had a falafel lunch on my brain today, and couldn't quite make it into the city. Well it's nice to know that Bay Ridge has this option for really excellent Middle Eastern food.
Just a simple Falafel in a pita, but it was really very good, and filling and under $5 total.
The waiter/ bartender is a really nice guy, and very friendly. He told me his Dad who still runs this place used to have a location in the Village called the Red / Magic carpet, that was very popular. This place is quality, and reasonably priced with friendly service.
I am a fan of one dish and one dish only here. The kafta nayye. For all you people out there who think you are connoisseurs of Middle Eastern food and think it consists of hummus and kababs, you are sadly mistaken. Until you can eat raw ground lamb mixed with cumin, spices and raw burgul (cracked wheat), rolled with parsley, drizzled with olive oil, and served up, ur just amateurs. Nelly and I are big fans of this stuff, and usually eat it ONLY and exclusively at her mom's house in Beirut, as her mother gets the freshly butchered meat from that morning's kill, mixes the meat and fat herself, gets the right blend, and makes the best kibbe nayye you would ever have. It would probably have a very small market in the US if we tried to open a food truck but hey, it might work.
First oasis did an amazing job. The owners are Egyptian and Syrian, but they did a phenomenal job of making a kibbe nayye that mimicked those found in some of the best establishments in Beirut. (I've tried them all, just settled on eating only Nabilas). Mixed with some of their fattouch, which was only ok, I really was very satisfied with the resulting dinner.
The rest of the food, although alright was way too heavy for my taste, and leaned more towards Egyptian cuisine, which does not pander to me.
Nevertheless, I would definitely, if you are adventurous, as many of you claim to be, challenge your palates and eat raw lamb. Its by far the best.