NYCReview
photo credit: David A Lee
Yemen Cafe
Included In
Yemen Cafe has supplied Cobble Hill (and Bay Ridge, where they have another location) with excellent, slow-cooked lamb haneeth since the mid-'80s. It’s roasted for roughly five hours until the meat peels clean off the shank. Between the warming spices, the tiniest hint of rose, and meat so tender a fork easily cuts through, this halal lamb dish should be incorporated into city-wide HR benefit packages.
Before the lamb arrives, though, a meal at Yemen Cafe always starts the same way: complimentary whole wheat flatbread, a crunchy iceberg-and-herb salad, and a steaming hot bowl of marag, whose lamb broth smell wafts throughout the entire restaurant. If you work in the area, know that Yemen Cafe offers a bunch of discounted entrees during lunch, like $15.95 lamb chops for example, since the portions are slightly smaller.
photo credit: David Lee
Part of Yemen Cafe’s charm is that it feels a bit like an old-school diner. It’s unlikely you’ll ever see the dining room empty, since it partially acts as a community center or secondary dining room for people who live in the area. Expect fluorescent lighting, a big fish tank against the wall, scenic landscape paintings framed next to every table, diner plates, plenty of people drinking tea in small paper cups (they don’t serve alcohol), lemon wedges on every table, and kids dangling their feet from wooden chairs. The space feels like it hasn’t changed since 1986, and that’s a big part of the reason we love coming here.
Bring your family or a friend who perpetually craves roasted lamb, and have a quintessential NYC meat experience.
photo credit: David Lee
Food Rundown
Marag
photo credit: David Lee
Foul
photo credit: David Lee
Fatah With Honey
photo credit: David Lee
Lamb Haneeth
photo credit: David Lee