Al Zaytouna Reviews

Found this quiet place on a Sunday eve in the Italian Market area in Philadelphia. Food came quickly and was fresh and delicious.

This is a special restaurant. The owner/chef is from Tunisia so his blends are fragrant and incredibly flavorful. Everything is terrific and I have eaten Middle Eastern Food all over the continent. This is undoubtedly the best I have had. The cous cous is delicate and tasteful. The salmon is light and moist. The Platters feature salad with real vegetables and the soup is a meal in itself. ( But don't stop there.) Mr. Al Zaytouna is interesting and welcoming to talk to. I always learn something new from him. Please don't leave Philadelphia without eating at this restaurant. It adds much needed international flavor and difference to Bella Vista.

The lamb kabob salad was excellent. Also enjoyed the starter dips and pita bread. Service was helpful not not rushed. Reasonable prices and BYO also a big plus. Will definitely return.

My vegan friend came to dinner - never having thought about vegan restaurants I was challenged to find one to accommodate everyone - then I thought middle-eastern; that should do it. It did. Everyone was happy. Al Zaytouna is a family type place with very little ambiance. What they lack in ambiance they make up for in food. Their hummus, baba ghannouj, and falafel are some of the best I have ever had; the grilled veggie Platter and the Shrimp Platter are filling and flavorful; the Chicken Shwarma Platter is great; and the Al Zaytouna Salad is enough for the next days lunch. The restaurant will accommodate custom making almost anything. Bring wine, sit back and nosh to your hearts content. Delicious.

As a vegetarian I didn't know where to eat. I came across this restaurant by accident. I ordered take away and it was freshly prepared. I ordered the falafel and the stuffed grape leave. It was all delicious. The bread that came with it was great and there was plenty to go around.

Great place for takeout - the restaurant is small and there is not much to the ambulance. Staff is helpful - salmon salad is unbelievable!!! Huge piece of fish and tasty. The platters are a great value. Good food and won't disappoint !

We have been there several times now, the service is good, the food is very good, we orders several items we had mixed grill, mixed grilled veggies, shawerma, appetizer sampler. And they were all very good. The best is shawerma, it is served with rice, hummus, and salad. The rice is and hummus are good, the salad is not exceptional. My husband had the mixed grill which is chicken kabab ( perfectly cooked and juicy), lamp kabab ( little bit undercooked in the centerbut still good) and the ground beef that my husband didn't really like because it had too much mint taste. He took different side : meshwiya salad which is grilled pepper and tomatoes ground and mixed together, and fava bean salad. It's overall a good place, kids friendly but no kids menu so we ordered a side chicken and French fries ($6.5 total) that my 2 kids can share. The portions are big so you don't need an appetizer with your order unless you are very very hungry. The bathroom is very clean and has a changing table. I recommend this place

Great service at Al Zaytouna. If you blink, you might miss this spot in the Italian Market. We wanted a place to grab a bite on our way home from airport and googled "South Philly Restaurants" and selected this one. Glad we did. We had the appetizer sampler and liked it so much we ordered more hommus and falafel. I also had the Zaytouna Salad which came dressed and was still light and enjoyable for a summer night. My husband had the large Greek salad which was LARGE. We left full! We sat outside, but the inside is spacious and bathroom is clean!

This was my first time having lunch at Al Zaytouna. We were visiting my daughter for Mother's Day and decided to have lunch. The chef was very friendly and greeted us when we came in and the waitress was very nice. We ordered fresh hummus (very delicious) as an appetizer. We also ordered lamb kabobs and falafels and shared them. Everything was very good and tasted fresh. The restaurant was full, but it did seem like a bit of a wait to get our meals. However, once they arrived they food was amazing! I will definitely stop here again.

I was a little apprehensive when I arrived, since I was the only diner, though there were lots of take-out bags waiting to go out. But the food was quite good--and I've had my share of Middle Eastern food thanks to a relative by marriage. Stuffed grape leaves were just a little soggier than I like, but still tasty. Mixed kabobs were yummy, but I was disappointed the restaurant had run out of couscous, which I'd been looking forward to. But the rice was very nice, too. Very nice hummus.

Not really noteworthy in a plus or minus direction. The mixed appetizer plate was plenty for 2 people at 11.95. The entree was good. The place is very casual.

An unappealing restaurant with less than mediocre food. The presentations are not good. The mezzas were just gobs of food. The main courses looked equally uninteresting. Not worth a second try, even though other reviews are positive.

Al Zattouna offers delicious traditional Tunisian and Middle Eastern fare cooked to order and served by friendly and knowledgeable staff, and all at very moderate prices. Located just west of Ninth Street, on Christian this new restaurant is in very good company. Al Zaytouna has Sabrina's on one side, Lorenzo's Pizza on the other, and Monsu located directly across the street. Al Zaytouna, in addition to offering Halal meats -- the standard of cleanliness and quality in North Africa and the Middle East -- is also, interestingly enough, a BYO! This means that although food is prepared in strict accordance with religious tradition, you may enjoy your wine or beer with your lamb chops, which -- comprising four thick and succulent chops served with houmus, pita and a refreshing, light salad for a mere $25, I would highly recommend! Falafel, gyros, kebobs, etc, round out the menu. Oh, and by the way...they deliver! Open for lunch and dinner. Check it out! This is an immaculately clean and wonderful addition to the Bella Vista dining scene. Five out of Five for Al Zaytouna

Finding a place for seven people on a Saturday night in Philly is no small feat, but Al Zaytouna had room for us and I’m glad they did. We started with appetizers and they were wonderful. Some of the best grape leaves I’ve had and their foul dip was excellent. It’s BYO so we brought good wine to have with dinner, the entrees were very nice, though ai like my chicken shawarma spicier. No problem— a dish of harissa appeared immediately. We finished with really good mint tea and enjoyed ourselves tremendously,

Very clean casual restaurant just around the corner from the Italian Market in South Philly. Good service and authentic Greek, Moroccan, and Tunisian cuisine. Save enough room for the Baklava, it is delicious.

The waitress was nice, but we waited for 30 minutes to get Mediterranean omelettes --- and we were the only two people in the restaurant. Music was loud and not middle eastern --- more like " Western elevator." The omelettes were marginal; I liked mine because of the nice quantity of black olives, but my wife did not eat all of hers --- something in it made her ears itch. We like Mediterranean and middle Eastern food, but we won't be back.

We came in here to escape the chaos of festival and this place was an oasis. The food was extremely delicious and very fresh. It was like being transported to a far away place. Would highly recommend!

You will not go wrong with a visit. Al Zaytouna is a BYOB Tunisian restaurant in the heart of the Italian Market in South Philly.