The Best Middle Eastern Food in Phoenix
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The best Middle Eastern food in Phoenix, according to the experts: Phoenix New Times, AZ Central, and Eater have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Rayoog Cafe comes out on top, and the good stuff runs deepest in Tempe and Chandler.
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Supreme Shawarma and Haji-Baba hold the next two places. Phoenix New Times shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with AZ Central next.
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Rank 1. Rayoog Cafe
Middle Eastern
A Middle Eastern breakfast cafe in the Gilbert suburbs, Rayoog has other locations in Jordan and Iraq, which gives you a sense of what this place is actually for. The move is to come with people willing to share: platters arrive loaded with eggs, hummus, falafel, yogurt, fava beans, and baba ghanoush, and the signature trays stack two metal teapots on top of a ring of small sweet and savory dishes, which is a genuinely dramatic way to start a morning.
The awards
- Phoenix New Times Phoenix New Times: The 10 best breakfast spots in Phoenix
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Rank 2. Supreme Shawarma
Spit-roasted Middle Eastern
The awards
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Rank 3. Haji-Baba
Middle Eastern
The homemade pita, puffy and fresh, is the detail that keeps ASU students coming back across generations at this no-frills Tempe restaurant and grocery. Shawarma, falafel, kebabs, and baba ghanoush fill the menu at prices that don't require a financial aid disbursement. Baklava in pistachio and Arizona pecan closes things out. The strip-mall setting is deeply unromantic, which seems to be the point.
The awards
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Rank 4. Golden Restaurant & Bakery
Middle Eastern
The flatbread menu alone runs past thirty varieties, which tells you something about priorities at this Levantine restaurant and bakery in Tempe. Manakeesh, slow-cooked meats, hummus, and baba ganoush fill out a menu rooted in the kind of food that takes real patience to make. The kenafa, a cheesy semolina pastry dessert, is the thing people come back for. Casual, inexpensive, and easy to overorder.
The awards
- Phoenix New Times Phoenix New Times: 2024 · Best Middle Eastern Restaurant · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times Phoenix New Times: 2025 · Best Middle Eastern Restaurant · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Middle Eastern Restaurant · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Middle Eastern Restaurant · Best of Phoenix
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Rank 5. Casa de Falafel
Middle Eastern
The awards
- Phoenix Magazine Phoenix Magazine: Falafel · Top 100 Dishes of Arizona
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Rank 6. Alzohour Restaurant
Moroccan Middle Eastern
A Moroccan restaurant tucked inside a hybrid dining room, market, and clothing boutique, where the same woman cooks your tagine and then comes out front to seat you. Steaming lamb tagines and bastilla, the savory-sweet phyllo pie dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar, are the reasons to linger. Patience is part of the deal, but the food rewards it. Phoenix New Times named it the valley's best North African restaurant in 2024.
The awards