Taboon
“I don't even really like hummus and I have to rave about the hummus and bread.”
“As an appetizer we had a trio of dips consisting of a red pepper spread, tzatziki, and a jalapeno spread…”
“Tucked away in a hidden part of 10th Avenue, so there's not as much noisy traffic and 'scenes' as there on 9th Avenue.”
Taboon
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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So we only came for drinks and appetizers and I wish we had actually stayed for dinner! We were due to meet friends elsewhere but huz and I were starving so we stopped here beforehand. Great idea on our end. We got two beers (beer, always wonderful, can't go wrong) and then the most amazing appetizer of all time. Fried avocado with hummus, black bean dip and fresh tomatoes and onions! The hummus was rich and creamy and the fried avocado was shockingly cold inside yet warm and crunch on the outside. It was so hard not to cancel on friends and stay here for dinner. I will def be back because if the appetizer was that good I can only imagine what the entrees are like.
Taboon has a romantic atmosphere and serves absolutely delicious food. You need to come here for their variety of small plates to share and entrees. But maaaaa'n that bread though… it's really good and serves as a perfect canvas for the thick/smooth house made hummus. The first bread board is complimentary but you're going to want to get more than one ($5, bit pricy). The grilled calamari (tender, smokey), mergues – beans and sausage (distinct lamb gamy flavor, quite intense), and hanger steak (deep rich demiglaze, tender slices) were all scrumptious. Each plate was full of flavor and the portions were nice too!
Middle Eastern Chic
Outdoor Seating // Summertime
LOVE love love the new spring menu here. Delicious bread with hummus. The special ceviche with pomegranate was bursting with flavor and our drinks were well balanced, and refreshing.
Thankfully the bartender has been working here for years and had great suggestions. I wish I was more hungry it was a tough decision what to choose everything looked great.
Comfortable tables not too close together, great place for a group. Seating at the bar is limited, and strangely enough you can reserve a seat at the bar.
The Scene: Casual, Modern, Middle Eastern
Destination Rating: 6
Date Rating: 8
Hob Nob Potential: 2
Note: Seasonal menu, and specials change regularly.
While Taboon is a bit out of the way I enjoyed my first visit here post-theatre. It was loud even though we were one of the only tables occupying the place. I enjoyed the baba ganouch dip tremendously. They smoke their own eggplant we were informed. The feta was way too salty for me but if you like feta then you'll likely enjoy it. The octopus was good, not great, and a generous portion. The shishito peppers are a large portion. The lamb kebabs came out under a pita some and were quite good. I would have liked a few more kebabs under there though. We ended with some sorbets. The peach was nice
I came here for restaurant week but ended up just ordering from the regular menu.
The ambience:
A+
I came in so excited to see food being cooked in the brick oven.
The service:
We waited 30 minutes to be seated despite a reservation.
We waited an hour for our food.
If they're going to price food at that price, the service should be better.
The food:
The focaccia bread looked and smelled better than it tasted. It was a bit dry but had good spices.
I ordered the egg appetizer wrapped in a dough. The sauce that came with it was too flat and didn't mix well with the dish that was all very flat. Combined, the sauce didn't add much.
The red wine, granted was the cheapest bottle, but not very good. It wasn't smooth, so you could taste the alcohol in it.
The best dish was the lamb shepherd pie. The dough covering the dish was large and doughy, very unique. The tartness of the sauce in the pie balanced the mildness of the doughy overlaying. It is visually appealing and quite grand. No wonder it's the most expensive dish! It's worth it.
This dish and the ambience is probably the redeeming factors of this place.
I feel totally conflicted writing this review. Half of me says solid 4 stars and the other half? Solid two. So I guess three is where I land. We were joining our friends and a couple of their friends for dinner and had no idea where we were going to eat. My friend said I know a great place so Taboon we entered. The place was packed and dimly lit. As other reviewers stated, it started out great and just got worse
Ordered:
Appetizers:
2x Spanish Octopus
Taboon trip with tzaziki, spicy feta and a hummus
2x ceaser salads
Sagonaki (Greek Cheese Fondue)
Entrees:
Ricotta Gnocchi
Tunisian Short Ribs
2x Hanger Steak
All of the appetizers were honestly amazing. I was ready to say this one one of the best restaurants I had dined at in years. Fresh, different, delicious. My boyfriend could have ate the spicy feta in spoonfuls. The octopus? tender, fresh and juicy. The Sagonaki? this great burst of flavors that I cant even really explain. The mixture of squash and cheese had me curious but WOW. The entrees? Bad. Not "Eh" not "boring" BAD. I cant speak on the short ribs, I did not taste them. The gnocchi? I have never met a gnocchi I didn't like….until Taboon. I had two/three forks of it and pushed it aside. The spinach I thought would be a nice addition but just had this tang to it that tarnished the entire dish. The hanger steak was bland, and my boyfriend dumped the spicy feta on top to give it some flavor. Portion size was small for the price. To top our night off, we received the check- a little under $600.00 for a group of six where two people didn't have any alcoholic beverages and shared one entree with their spouse. We finished our drinks and were one of two parties left in the place, when the waiter comes over and tells us they wanted to close the restaurant so we had to go. Excuse me? Unacceptable, especially after dropping 6 Bills.
I cant say I wont come back for the spicy feta, octopus and sagonaki – but we will never order any entrees here again.
A hidden gem in Hell's Kitchen!
THAT BREAD DOE. So friggen good. My only quam was that after seeing all of the bread and dip pictures on Yelp, I assumed that the bread came with the dips. And the menu does note that each table gets a complimentary bread. So when I found out that the dips are a separate purchase and do not come with the bread, I was disappointed. I wanted two breads!! And the dips themselves were quite expensive. But whatever, the taste made up for it.
During the week I went it turned out it was hummus fest. We ordered the shortrib hummus which was delicious! The short rib was savory and had no fat on it. It paired surprisingly well with the hummus. However, I did think that 22 for hummus was a little over priced.
The entrees and drinks were good as well, but no stand outs. We got the chicken which was cooked well but nothing to write home about. To be honest the bread and hummus were the stars of the show. Overall the service was good and the meal was tasty, but expect to spend quite a bit.
We have walked by here repeatedly and rarely have seen an open table, so we finally decided to try taboon for date night before a show last weekend! Reservations definitely recommended as it fills up, even with the extra tables outside with the nicer weather.
We started with their complimentary house focaccia and chose two options from the taboon trio – the baba ghanoush and the spicy feta spread, as well as an order of the falafel. The spicy feta spread on the focaccia was definitely the star of the show as far as our apps went, and we went as far as to wipe the little bowls clean with our extra entree bread! The falafel was only so so, maybe it was the curry dip I didn't love or maybe because the their spreads we ordered we so delish, but I'd try something else next time. Our cocktails were STRONG, in a good way but my second was almost too strong to drink, so beware.
We also shared the burrata with crispy brussel sprouts – the burrata was flavorful but certainly more mozzarella than that creamy center I'm used to (I saw almost none of that) . The brussels were some of the best I've ever had, but were quite sweet so I could only have a few.
For our dinner we shared the Terra Cotta Lamb Kebabs, which were UNbelievable! It came deconstructed and baked in a bowl with a tomato-based sauce and focaccia dough top sort of like a chicken pot pie. So filling, so delicious, and somehow we had room for dessert. We shared the Silan – their twist on an ice cream sundae almost and it was perfect to share for 2-3.
I would love to try some other dishes here, I really didn't know what anything was during this entire experience but wasn't disappointed and you won't be either – definitely give this spot a try! And just trust that whatever you order is going to be delicious.