Middle Eastern Restaurant Opens In Downtown Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A new Middle Eastern restaurant has opened its doors at 29 South Main Street (the former Stephanie's Restaurant and Bar) in Doylestown Borough.

Zad-Albasha Mediterranean Grill, located next to the GAP, is serving a Mediterranean-style menu with lunch and dinner favorites from throughout the Middle East, including Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

“If you heard about Mediterranean food, stop by and taste real Mediterranean food,” said Ahmed Shaat who owns the restaurant with his wife, Thoraya Tamary.

“With the grand opening menu we’re giving everyone a taste of what’s to come. And then at the end of March or the beginning of April we will roll out our full menu,” said Ahmed.

Some of its more popular menu items include its falafel, shawarma (lamb, beef or chicken), grilled shish taouk (skewered grilled cubes of chicken), baba-ganoush, dolma and muhammara (roasted peppers and walnuts with a pomegranate glaze).

(Submitted photo)

The menu also features hummus, beet salad, tabouleh, copponata, arancini, grilled kofka, hakhuska and grilled lamb chops.

And you don't want to miss their desserts - baklava and Kunafah - made fresh daily by Thoraya.

Kunafah is a spun pastry soaked in sweet, sugar-based syrup and layered with cheese, or with other ingredients including clotted cream, pistachio or nuts. Baklava is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry and filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.

"She does all the sweets," said Ahmed. "She's a genius when it comes to sweets."

The Buckingham Township couple has brought in four chefs - a chef from Tunisia, a chef from Iraq, a chef from Jordan and a chef from Palestine - to ensure quality and authenticity. "If it's done here, it's done by us," he said. "We make everything from scratch."

Before opening in Doylestown, Ahmed operated restaurants in Philadelphia, Hatboro and in New Hope. Locals might remember his LouLou Burger & Falafel restaurant located across the street from Havana. The pandemic, however, forced its early closure.

Photo by Jeff Werner

The couple said they are thrilled by the reception from local residents.

"People are very excited and everyone is leaving the restaurant happy," said Thoraya. "One customer wrote, 'Now I can travel overseas and through the Mediterranean countries with no passport."

Reservations are strongly encouraged. They can be made by calling 215-867-8899. Hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. For additional information, visit https://zadalbashamediterranea...