Zaytoons
“Overall – cheap, good food, byob, and a really pretty atmosphere makes for an awesome date night spot!”
“The pitza's are great, lahambajin is probably my favorite, but they're all solid choices.”
“This is definitely one of the better restaurants in that whole Myrtle Ave (Murder Ave) corridor north of Pratt.”
Zaytoons
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Apparently I am crazy with the 4 stars today, but honestly I had a great time at this Zaytoons in Clinton Hill which is why I bother to write it up. The roast chicken plate was delicious as was the combo platter. The staff were super friendly and low key, the decor was pretty, and I do love me a BYOB.
Living in Queens and close to Steinway, I may be spoiled in the fact that I have amazing Greek and middle Eastern cuisine steps away from my apartment. I ordered from zaytoons for lunch at work one day and while the portions were large, the shawarma platter I ordered was a serious let down. The shawarma was incredibly dry and lacked any semblance of flavor. Because I had ordered so early in the day, I could almost swear that it was the previous night's shawarma, yes it was that bad. In addition to my meal I ordered falafel as an appetizer and was similarly disappointed. I understand it's delivery so they definitely were not crispy/crunchy when I received them but once again lacked the flavor of spices that I was hoping to be hit by. Although the portions were generous, I would not order from here again just due to the lack of flavor and incredibly dry shawarma that I had.
I admit, I hadn't visited Zaytoons because Black Iris is my go-to neighborhood Mediterranean spot. After a month of mixed veggie plates at Black Iris, I finally decided to try something new and check out Zaytoons.
What I discovered was a mixed bag.
First, the space is really odd- there's a tiny seating section in the front which is nice because you can watch the endless flow of people down Myrtle Avenue. But that space is small enough that once people are smoking hookah, the smell can get a little nauseating.
When we arrived, the front was full and the host escorted us into the 'hookah lounge,' essentially a party room at the back of the restaurant. At first, I was reluctant to sit in a dark back room far from everyone else, but I thought it might be a nice reprieve from the smoke. For the rest of the night, we were the only people in the so-called lounge, and we were seated at a table that could have comfortably seated nine or ten. I enjoyed the privacy but it was also sort of odd to find ourselves in a dark, cavernous room alone. The other minus- the music is very loud in the back room- when we asked the host if it was possible to turn it down, he told us that he couldn't because then it would be too quiet in the front.
The other odd thing about the back room is that we really felt neglected (the waiter joked "I've been ignoring you all night!" awkward!) – we would have to literally come out of the hookah 'lounge' with empty water glasses to ask for refills.
Most of what we sampled was tasty- and as others have noted, the portions are huge and the prices are very reasonable. Of the veggie dishes: the moujadarra was particularly good that night- filled with lots and lots of beautiful fried onions- although the temperature is a little odd (it was very cold!), and the baba ghanoush and hummus were both tasty, as were the falafels. I'd skip the fatoush (it's very flat tasting, even the crunchy pita in the fatoush doesn't give it enough of a kick), and the grape leaves (served at a bone-chillingly cold temperature).
I think Black Iris is still a tiny bit better, even though it's a pain that they are cash only. But it's nice to have Zaytoons as an option, especially for take out.
Zaytoons can be really touch and go. This past summer I had two good encounters there, both with parties of 6 or more. The food is always good, that's never the problem. The problem can be the wait-staff. I don't think any restaurant is as sloooow as Zaytoons. So. Slow. I know I've waited up to half an hour for my food. But when it finally comes, it's amazing. I'm a big fan of the falafel platter and the sandwich. It's a great place to go with groups, not too sure if you want to bring a date there, if so sit in the front. It's BYOB, so your table neighbors will mostly be some drunk Pratt students eating falafel and talking too loud (hey, I'm a Pratt student too, but I know how to behave when I eat out). There's a liquor store down the block with a nice wine selection. I had problems in the past with reservations; twice (once for my own birthday and the again for a friends) we arrived on time with our entire party to find we'd have to wait for our tables to be free. If you have a party of 10 coming at 8pm, there should be tables ready at 8pm, not 8:45. For that, I have to give Zaytoons only 3 out of 5 stars. The food itself gets 4, but the service is killing ya!
The decor is really nice and much more upscale that the casual middle eastern places I usually frequent. The service is really friendly and I love that they have so many choices on their menu from typical foods-zaatar, falafel, kebabs to burgers and a leg of lamb. Also, kids would love their piztas-basically middle eastern pizzas. They even have lamachuen which I know as Turkish pizza with lots of seasoned lamb.
Their falafel is really really excellent. Their entrees? For about $10, you get a HGUE plate of rice with whatever meat, salad and either hummus or babaganoush . I ordered the shawarma and my bf ordered the kofta kebabs. Unfortunately, the meats on both dishes were extremely dry. The meat on the shawarma was also a very tough portion of meat even when it was shredded and tossed with their white sauce and rice. As sad as I really wanted to like my dish, I would of preferred some street lamb and rice over this meat. However, their saving grace was their babaganoush. It is extremely creamy and tastes fantastic with their sizzling hot pita.
The rice pudding dessert with a hint of orange zest was really nice. They also have an assortment of drinks and be warned if you can't take strong caffeine because the arabic coffee with cardamon is not for you.
Dinner here. Great food and big portions. Reminded me of being there.
This place is pretty cool for quick food. I was amazed at how quickly the food was prepared. It was also pretty tasty, provided a nice size serving and was a very reasonable price. This is also a hookah bar, so if you are into hookahs this place is definitely for you. My one complaint is that the waitress wasn't great at following up with requests or basic things like ensuring that we had water. This place doesn't have a liquor license, but they allow you to bring your own bottle (BYOB), which is even better. There is a liquor store just a few blocks over, so it's simple enough to quickly get a bottle. When I went we stayed until closing and they never hesitated in stacking chairs up around us, turning the bright lights on and mopping as well…all before giving a warning that they were closing soon. What can I say, our bottle of wine was already open and it just didn't make sense to leave until we finished it. I'll definitely go back at some point, just before 10 next time.
Oh Zaytoons, I loves you. I've been coming here since 2003 and have almost always gotten the same thing – the spinach pie. Get it with mozerella. It's like $7 and is good enough for two meals. Just drizzle it with olive oil and you're good to go. The size has gotten smaller since 2003 but it's still tasty.
Never had a service problem here, everyone has been nothing but nice!