Zaytoons

I have been ordering from Zaytoons for 2.5 years and up until recently have been more than satisfied. What leads me to write the review is the most recent inconsistency in their food. I usually order the shwarma platter or wrap and the banaganoush varies from order to order, the salad size and ingredients vary and overall there is a lack of consistency that ensure a good meal. Im certainly disappointed but I can point you in the direction of

Zaytoons was my introduction to delicious Middle-​Eastern food, many years ago. I was well-​versed in Mediterranean food, so the jump was easy due to the similarities between the two cuisines. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the aroma of the food: olfactory heaven.
The pitas and hummus are ridiculously delicious, and a good place to start. If you’re somewhat reserved about trying new food, trying the pitzas is a sound option: they are the «original pizza» and extremely easy on the palate. My favorite selection here is the Shwarma: whether it be lamb or chicken, it is incredibly pleasurable to use as stomach-​stuffing tool, as the flavors are mouth-​wateringly seductive. I’ve tried most of the food here and liked everything I tried.
The flavor of their food is so good that you will be at home later savoring your burps (Lol).
If you find yourself on Smith st. in downtown Brooklyn, and you want to get really full and happy, I suggest a stop in to sample their offerings.

Best Pita bread and hummus ever. The Pita bread is fresh out of the oven and is served warm. The hummus is freshly made as well and has a really good flavor to it.
We ordered an appetizer platter, you can choose five different appetizers. We got hummus, babaganoush, grape leave, fatoush salad and something with yogurt, all of which was delicious. It was the best grape leaves I have ever had. For entrée, I ordered the lamb and beef platter. Please be aware the portion size is huge but nothing is wrong with that because it is delicious. The platter comes with a small salad, hummus and lamb/​beef gyro meat on a bed of rice. The meat is slow cooked and is one of best gyro meat I have ever had.
Definitely recommend this place.

I eat at a lot of the Middle Eastern places in the neighborhood, but have only been here twice – once 15 year ago and then just recently. And I won’t be back – especially given the choices we have in the neighborhood. We went because I really wanted falafel and because they have couscous which not every place has. The cous cous was ok – a little dry and a little salty – we had hoped for a meat one but they only had veg that day.
The falafel was problematic. Really dark, dark brown and hard to penetrate with the fork and then undercooked and gummy on the inside. Typical of what happens when you fry in oil that is too hot. When I talked to the server about it, she said, «That’s how falafel is cooked here.» Really? Sure, she might have thought I don’t eat falafel or that i’m clueless about food, but even if I was wrong (nope) she should have at least tried to ‘fix it.’ In the end, my husband did eat them (he liked the flavor if not the texture) and had digestive problems hours later. Zaytoons, you should not be ok with serving improperly cooked food and saying «that’s how it’s done here»

Yum! It’s a small restaurant with outside seating during the summer, and a tiny inside with an open kitchen — nothing fancy, but the food is great, and the prices are affordable. I tried the chicken with pine nuts, and a yogurt salad, with some homemade bread and it was delicious! My friend had the stuffed cabbage dish which she loved as well. I will be back to sample more goodies. Also if you love lamb– there’s plenty of dishes to choose from. The service was ok… I was there during a byob special. 5 dollar corkage fee, and a wine shop with great wine is across the street!

This is a neighborhood gem. Amazing pita bread — rolled and bake while you wait; delicious lentil soup (order it with the spinach pie), flavorful turkish salad and of course all the great kebab sandwiches. This is slow food — made while you wait — so if you are in a rush it’s not the place. But if you have time to hang out and relax, it is the place for you.

The servers were very friendly and my food was delicious. I tried the goat cheese pizza and the rose water lemonade. It was the perfect summer dinner for a hot day.

My all time favorite middle eastern cuisine in brooklyn and I have family from Israel. They say they are Palestinian, which is probably why I love the food, since it is comparable to the food in the homeland.
Their bread is cooked fresh daily and is addicting.
I always order the appetizer plate with the fatoush salad, hummus, babaganoush, grape leaves and turkish salad.
The chicken shwarma sandwich is my favorite thing to order.

Want cheap, good Mediterranean food? Go for Zaytoons.
$ 8 gets you a platter large enough to satisfy two, and everything I’ve had so far is good to great tasting. It’s all fresh, the staff are enthusiastic and hard-​working, and it really is one of the best values around.
Pick-​up orders are a breeze and are made quickly, and they offer an alternative brunch experience to most places around their Smith Street location.

Pros: The portions here are huge. You’ll get a lot of rice, meat, salad and baba ganoush or hummus with pita for $ 13
Cons: I asked the waitress what was good and she recommended the leg of lamb platter. The lamb was mediocre because of the gamey flavor.
Overall: Nice neighborhood joint but not the best Mediterranean restaurant I’ve ever been to.

Expensive and you even have to pay for your pita bread! The foutoush salad was ok but they serving size (sm. $ 5) was so small. The lentil soup tasted like Moumous lentil but for $ 5 and be ready you will have to pay a $ 1 for pita bread. I will stick to my yemen places in bayridge. You get more for your money and the food is flavorful and delicious, unlike this place. But if you are stuck for a place to go and you are a vegetarian this place will do. But be ready to leave hungry and feeling ripped off. The waiters r nice, and it is why I feel so guilty even writing this. The people here r nice. Please serve your pita bread w your salads, and serve more for your $ 5 salads.

Five of us sat outside with my friend’s dog. So they get 1 extra point for being so dog friendly! I loved my shrimp kabobs (big portion), the pizza (freaking delicious), and the fried (well, how can I not). The only downside is: slow service, we had wait for a long while for food, water refill, and check. Our waitress was very nice so I had to ask for speediness in a very nice voice as well (when I was actually screaming in my head).

I live around the block and the staff basically saw me grow up. We don’t know each others names but the head chef always waves and sends kisses when I pass by the window and we make eye contact. Super sweet.
My fam usually orders sandwiches, falafel, lamb, whatnot. I splurge and order platters and pizzas because they’re SO GOOOD. When I’m the one to pick up the food, the chef always sneaks in an extra pita bread. When I dine in with friends, we get falafels on the house. Loyalty pays off. :)
If you didn’t get it already, I love the customer service here. The more you come, the more perks you have. Tipping nicely speeds up that process, haha
Food here is always fresh and oomph (that means good, but said with my mouth full of food). The tabouli is a family fave, and the falafels here have that pinch of spice of not enough to muddle your taste buds. So if you don’t know what to get, start with those!

I wanted to like you Zaytoons but was really let down by the overall experience.
While the food wasn’t bad, the service was. On top of being one of only 3 other tables, it was as if we didn’t exist. Maybe it was a bad day, maybe off hours, but in the end it just was unbearably slow.
When we finally got our food, it had started to rain outside and we ended up scarfing it down as quickly as possible to escape the rain and go home.

Zaytoons is amazing. Every time I come, it’s consistently delicious and affordable. Whether on a date or with friends, it’s always a great experience with the best service. The salads are fresh and excellent, the pitzas are perfectly cooked, and the entrees or Laham platter are great for sharing! Always end up tipping more than 20% because it is all worth it. Plus, you can bring your own wine :)

It’s Friday
I get a menu and order brunch
Waitress says:“only Sat and Sunday“
Hummmmmm, but the menu clearly states Thrusday-​Sun
«Oh no, menu is wrong»
Let’s look at the other menus then. Hummmmm all the other menus say the same thing.
Keep your food, I went to a much better place on Atlantic avenue.
Find another sucker!!!

If I were to write this review 6 months ago, I would have given Zaytoons 5 stars.
Why the one star? They recently changed their weekend menu for lunch to be a completely different brunch menu. Now I dont mind brunch but I’ve come here for years for excellent Moroccan/​Middle Eastern food.
The waitress, who must be new, handed the menus about 5 minutes after we were seated, which is an eternity in the restaurant world. I was flabbergasted as I was given a new menu instead of the regular menu. I inquired if I could order off the regular lunch/​dinner menu and was shut down. My mother asked if she could just have lentil soup, which isn’t on the brunch menu, and the waitress reluctantly allowed it.
Most of the items on the new brunch menu seemed forced to be a brunch menu by just adding Moroccan spices. It was upsetting because nothing sounded appealing and I ordered out of distress. Honestly I just wanted a kebab platter and was again, shut out.
When the food came out (I ordered an eggs Benedict with lamb and potatoes) and it was really disappointing. It was 90% potatoes. Taste was good but seemed forced to be a brunch item.
When the waitress was cleaning the plates, my mother complemented the soup and the waitress said, «next time you have to order from the brunch menu,» which was borderline rude and unnecessary.
I am only able to come to Zaytoons on the weekend and have loved it for years. This new brunch menu is clearly In some beta testing (and doesn’t work). I might have to find a new Middle Eastern/​Moroccan place soon unless they allow both menus (or just get rid of the brunch menu). Honestly, I don’t think of Moroccan food for brunch.

Decent middle eastern fare. Highlights: offer a nice variety of middle eastern choices from Turkish salad to Lebanese kibbeh, extremely affordable for the area and the food comes out super quick. Vast selection of cold mezzes.
Unfortunately the food was not executed as well as other M.E. places. Notably the meat lacked seasoning and didn’t have that rustic charr I’m used to. The service is also kind of dodgy and unaccustomed, mainly because they have one server covering all ~8 tables.

Authentic, cozy and delicious middle eastern food eatery truly transports to the Far East with its attention to detail in its décor; from the lamps to Arabic writing on the walls. The platter appetizer of a choice of hummus, babagahoush, Turkish salad, grape leaves and falafel was fresh, good serving portion to share and the bread is hand made and prepared daily.
Highly recommend the lamb shish kebab. And the brewed black tea with mint sets the mood to the transcending and enjoyable experience.

Consistently great food. Everything seems to be made to order, so it’s not the fastest place in the world, but I think it’s absolutely worth it. Have been 10+ times without a disappointing visit yet.
My faves: falafel, shish kebeb, and chicken.