Yemenat

“Located at 7721 5th Ave in Brooklyn NY the restaurant Yemenat brings you authentic Yemeni cuisine that you will remember! The parking in Bayridge is a little tricky but I can tell you the hassle is worth it! The exterior is clean and inviting, the interior is very clean and inviting with around 30-40 seats. They are open everyday from 1:00pm to 11:00pm, I did a late lunch/early dinner around 2:30pm and was able to get a seat without a reservation. The servers were friendly and informative and helped me with my choices. I started with a house salad and a refreshing drink with limeade, mint and milk called Aseer Leem. The salad was crisp with fresh tomatoes, onions and a variety of leafy greens with a delightful vinaigrette. The Aseer Leem hit the spot on a summer day, the full flavor will definitely quench your thirst. My main dish was Lamb Haneeth, braised and marinated Lamb that was the most tender and succulent lamb I have ever eaten over delicious Hadami rice and sahawq(a Yemeni salsa). When combined with the warm and fresh Rashoosh (Yemeni bread) rice, and salsa it transcends your tastebuds to a different stratosphere. I will stand by what I said earlier…”Best Lamb I have ever had”…sorry mom! Highly recommend you try this restaurant! It definitely earned its place on the Michelin guide and NY times top 100 restaurants!”

“My cousin and my niece flew all the way from Canada, and I came to New York for the weekend, and we both had one mission: to eat at Yemenat! We didn’t dine anywhere else during our trip because we wanted to experience authentic Yemeni food, and Yemenat exceeded every expectation. From the first bite to the last, everything was absolutely delicious. The flavors were rich, authentic, and reminded us of the warmth and generosity of Yemeni culture. The food was so good that it became one of the highlights of our entire trip. The atmosphere was welcoming, the service was wonderful, and every dish was prepared with care and love. Traveling to New York and making Yemenat our only dine-in restaurant says everything about how special this place is. If you’re looking for authentic Yemeni food, this is a must-visit spot. We will definitely be back on our next trip! Thank you, Yemenat, for giving us such a memorable experience and a beautiful taste of home. ❤️🇾🇪”

“Best dishes/recommendations- Lamb in general. Fahsa, haneeth, kebdah, and muhalabia for dessert. I have been to this outstanding Yemeni spot twice, once several months ago and once a couple of weeks ago. Even after their more recent recommendation by the New York Times, there was not much change between visits, and I am happy about that. The service was friendly and helpful both times. Like most Yemeni places, there is free hot black tea, which was stronger and only mildly sweet compared to the nearby Yemen Cafe. They also offer Adani Chai, a more spiced tea, available hot or cold, plus a few other unique drinks, including a mix of limeade and milk called Aseer Leem and Zabeeb (or Naqe'e Al Zabib,) made from raisins. Both times we started with the Shafoot for $12. This was the only dish that showed a notable difference in presentation, as the more recent visit included some tomatoes and lettuce on top. The best comparison I can make for this dish would be injera, as there was a mild fermented flavor along with the buttermilk sauce, which added some freshness. It was unique and pretty tasty both times, though not our favorites. My favorite appetizer was the Kebdah. It's either $18 without hummus or $23 with, and I would recommend the latter. They might not offer hummus as one of their appetizers, but it is excellent, being thick with a good amount of tahini flavor. Otherwise, the liver is cut up finely and cooked perfectly with a very mild iron flavor. There was otherwise a mix of spices and veggies. If you don't want the taste of offal, there is also the similar Lahm Sugar at the same price point, made with the same flavors and veggies, but full of tender and tasty lamb cubes. The best main dish here is the $28 Beef Fahsa, or braised short ribs in a spiced broth. I love similar dishes at other Yemeni spots, and this one is just better with plenty of tender beef inside. The Rashoosh, a flat bread with a crackly outside from the fire, is a perfect vessel to sop up the wonderful broth and meat, and if I were here solo, I would just order this and have an excellent meal. The other best dish is their take on Lamb Haneeth for $32. The lamb is fall-off-the-bone tender, though I would say that the second time, there was a piece or two of fat that wasn't fully rendered. Outside of this, the lamb was perfectly cooked and went nicely with the rice. Also tasty for the same price is their Muva Fish. The sahawek, also available as a side dish, refers to smashed tomatoes and feta seasoned with garlic and chili, and adds a unique sour and slightly fermented flavor to the fish. Otherwise, the fish is cooked beautifully, but you will have to look out for bones. This was also tasty. Simplest is the $20 Chicken Aqda. In terms of veggies, there was a good amount of tomatoes, and the chicken had a slight and pleasant char to it. This was also good. Outside of the aforementioned rice and sahawek, there have been a few other side dishes given to us. We've gotten a tasty little salad with a bright dressing each time, which is certainly better than the off-green lettuce and tomatoes at the other spots. They also gave us some type of tomato-based hot sauce one time, which had a mild kick and helped reduce the richness of the lamb. For dessert, I have tried two. The best of them by a lot was their excellent take on Muhalabia for $15. It can be best described as an Arabic panna cotta with a floral flavor, and this was particularly nice with a lot of pistachios on top of the smooth and silky custard. I would recommend this heavily. One of the only things I wouldn't recommend would be the Areeka for the same price. Usually, the portion of this dish is quite large, but this was a bit smaller with a very modern presentation. Outside of the size, the rashoosh was a lot drier than in other versions I have had. The topping is delicious, but I wouldn't recommend it much. This is easily the best of all the Yemeni spots I've been to and they deserve all their accolades.”

“The entire experience at Yemenat was absolutely incredible! The food was beyond delicious, the beef Fahsa was incredibly tender and so flavorful a total heritage dish! Their Hummus it’s the best I’ve ever tasted so silky and punchy! Bread… well I have no words. To round the experience, their hospitality is absolutely spotless. Thank you for the wonderful experience! Ohhhh the cardamom ice cream, my my my!”

“I would give them a review higher than 5 stars if I could. We got several appetizers and a main dish. Everything we got was an explosion of flavor. The shafoot appetizer was very fresh and minty. The bread was so light with the perfect layers of soft and crispy. Use that to dip in the spiced feta and it tastes heavenly. The rice was delicious, it could be a meal on its own. The lamb was perfectly seasoned and falling off the bone. The staff was extremely friendly and polite. The raisin drink was such a treat. There are gluten free options.”