Aladdin Restaurant

For my husband’s birthday this year as well as for my birthday today, we visited Aladdin with a group of friends. There are few better places to celebrate just about anything, or simply have a reasonably priced and delicious (and healthy) meal. We’ve always ordered the ‘deluxe dinner for two’—the most expensive thing on the menu, but for two people, a total bill of around $50 is reasonable in my world. Though for us, the fact that it is BYOB helps keep the cost down a lot, I must admit.

The atmosphere is great; from the outside the building looks scary at best, but inside it is bright and cozy and colorful—there are camels galore, but oddly not in an overdone way. And I’ll never complain about the seating—having a fantastic meal can be topped only by having that meal while seated on a comfy couch complete with pillows.

I’ve never tried anything here that I didn’t like, and I’ve tried some pretty obscure things, as the deluxe complete dinner is comprised of just about everything on the menu. It would take me pages to list all that is included and why it is good, however the fact that my husband absolutely hates both eggplant and cauliflower, yet eats the baba ganoush and the arnabeet (a fried cauliflower dish with a tahini sauce) speaks volumes for the quality of the food. And while most shish kabobs I’ve had have been dry and flavorless, everything on a skewer is perfectly done and well flavored—lamb, chicken, shrimp, scallops, and vegetables. And finally, while I’m not a huge dessert person, the house special backlavah is worth saving room for—covered in coconut and pistachios, this is a dessert not to be missed.

Good food. Something different for sure. The outside of the building looks like it used to be a bank or something-kind of strange for a middle eastern restaurant. The interior looks middle eastern for sure though. I think the highlight is the belly dancer. She comes to the tables and prompts diners to try it with her. I remember once I embarrassed the hell out of my son when I pointed to him when the belly dancer came around to our table! Fun place.