Sahara Restaurant
“For the main course, we had the ground meat pide and the mixed grill.”
“Our favorites are sac kavurma, Iskandar Kabob, Lahamajun, and of course their lentil soup.”
“I'd been craving a spinach pide and while this was shaped differently than ones I'd had elsewhere it was absolutely delicious.”
Sahara Restaurant
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
5 reviews
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SOLID Turkish food!
Service: A: they were very patient, fast and friendly!
Food: A-: While there bread was great, their entrees came with a piece of large doughy bread that did not taste much like anything, BUT it is very authentic to Turkish food which is why I kept the rating so high!
Their chicken was extremely juicy and well-seasoned, as was their lentil soup.
Babaganoush was mild and spicy salad (ezme) had a very nice smoky taste perfect to eat your meat with.
I also loved their gyro meat and mixed meat pide (which is like a calzone of stuffed bread with three different types of meat, some peppers and melted cheese). DELICIOUS!
Their moist Balkava and turkish tea was a great end.
Ambiance- B: it could have had a nicer feel to it but the wooden cabin-like paneling could easily be covered by pictures/tapestry/turkish rug or ornaments.
Price: we ordered two appetizers, two soups, large meat pide, lahmajun, two large salads, five drinks, four entrees, baklava and three teas and four 6 people the bill was only $100!
Conclusion: Stop by or take-out… they seemed to be heavily focused on take-out, although on Friday night 1/4 of the place was full. I would hope it would be more people for the quality of their food but hopefully it will be!
I came back to NJ to visit and came here for dinner! It was the best as last time. The only difference I tried this time was their lentil soup which was so flavorful and delicious that I am looking up a recipe right now to attempt to mimic it. Additionally I had the chicken kebabs which were MMM MMM good! It comes with a salad and rice. Not a big rice person but the rice was really good as well. So go here and get the lentil soup and the hummus with choke Schwarma (which is what I had both times I went). Can't go wrong!!
As other reviewers have stated, Sahara is located right next to a group of wholesale produce vendors in Paterson. Don't let the location turn you off; the waitstaff is attentive and courteous. Although the décor is unimpressive, the food is excellent, both in taste and in value. And if you don't feel like dining in, take-out is always a solid option.
The lahmajun is still an excellent deal at just $2.75. All the kebabs are juicy and flavorful with a nice char, and all the kebab in lavash sandwiches are extremely large for the price – $4 to $4.50. Babaganoush, hummus, and cigarette bourek have been consistently delicious every time. The Iggy "eggs, onions, and parsley" was very interesting, with a flavor I couldn't quite place. For grilled meats, you can't go wrong with the Beyti, Kofte, or Adana kebabs.
Baklava was tasty; Turkish coffee here was so-so. Highly recommended – nearly everything we've tried at Sahara packs a lot of bold flavors.
Excellent pricevalue, good food, lacking in charm.
I almost did not find this place; it is hidden behind scaffolding with a temporary banner, while work is being done on the building facade.
I stopped in for lunch on a Sunday during Ramadan, so the place was empty except for the staff and me. Tables are nice enough, blue and white tiles. Paper napkins. Walls are covered with rough sawn planks which is rather odd. Several inexpensive-looking tapestries hung on the walls. Air-conditioning was turned off on a warm afternoon. Nice background music; something Arabic. I was able to get wi-fi via xfinity.
I ordered the foul which I liked (only the second time I have had this dish so it is difficult to judge). For my entree I had the Adana Kebab which came with decent rice and a good side salad. The kebab was good and a generous portion but not special. Excellent bread. Turkish tea was blah, I have had much better. They charge for bottled water which is a minor issue. Service was just OK. Cheap enough at $18 before the tip; ordering from the dinner menu. Halal; no alcoholic beverages allowed on the premises.
I will try several other Syrian-Turkish restaurants in the neigborhood before giving this place a second chance.
At the suggestion of Yelpers I came here in the mid afternoon and asked for the early bird special, the waitress pointed toward the Sac Kavurma with lamb, peppers and onion and tomatoes with spices, it was offered with the lentil soup, which came with one kind of bread and the entree that came with another.
What a fantastic meal it was- from the soup which was velvety, rich and delicately spiced (detected mint in it), served with a fresh baked to order wafer thin pizza-like bread, to the Sac Kavurma with its savory peppers and tender lamb with onions and tomatoes with its softer, stretchy thin bread that you scooped up the dish with from a wide metal shallow bowl on a small pedestal.
I also tried this soda called Uludag- it was delicate, lightly sweet with a citrus and fruit flavor from a recipe created in the 1930's, I loved it. Finished up with a turkish coffee, too bad they were out of baklava…
Fantastic meal, I had been to many other Turkish restaurants over the years and this one really stands out as different than many of them- very diverse menu and authentic feel to the place, taste of the food, and the bread was definitely different than ANY Turkish bread I had ever been served, made fresh to order- and for those who read that it was "bland" perhaps the other reviewers were smokers, or had a cold? The bread is sublime.