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Home > Restaurants > Alibaba

Alibaba

515 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10024
nr. 85th St.  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-787-6008 Send to Phone

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  • Reader Rating:

    5.0 out of 10

      |  

    2 Reviews | Write a Review

  • Cuisine: Kosher, Middle Eastern
Photo by Robert K. Chin

Hours

Sun-Wed, 11am-midnight; Thu, 11am-3am; Sat, 7pm-5am; Fri, closed;

Nearby Subway Stops

1 at 86th St.

Prices

$5.95-$22.95

Payment Methods

Cash Only

Special Features

  • Delivery
  • Take-Out
  • Family Style

Alcohol

  • No Alcohol

Reservations

Not Accepted

Delivery Area

70th St. to 102nd St., Central Park West to Riverside Dr.

Profile

"I was living here for eighteen years, waiting for someone to open a place like this," says Moshe Harizy, a fifth-generation Yemenite Israeli and Upper West Sider. Evidently sick of waiting, he converted his stationery store into Alibaba, a eight-seat glatt kosher restaurant and takeout shop specializing in Yemenite-Israeli cuisine—with a macrobiotic twist. "Six years ago, my father was ill," says Harizy, who helped conquer his dad's heart problem by amending his diet and along the way changed his own. That accounts for the presence of brown rice and black beans on Alibaba's menu, a compendium of Middle Eastern fare like koufta kebabs, baba ghanoush, bourekas, and melawah (lightly fried dough with crushed tomatoes and a hard-boiled egg). He imports spices, fava beans, and fruit nectars from Israel and bakes his own lafah.

5.0 "Mixed Reviews"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10
Write Your Own Review
50% Would you go back?
0% Would you take a date?
0% Would you take kids?
0% Would you go on business?
0% Would you go on a special occasion?
Food: 5.5
Service: 4.5
Décor: 2.5
Value: 3.5

Yuck

Zacsa from 33162 | Posted on 11/14/08

Overall Rating: 1 (Not Recommended)
Food: 1
Service: 1
Décor: 1
Value: 1

The portions were tiny and the employees were really rude. The food was expensive and not worth the wait. Wouldn't go back even if the food was for free.

Excellent Food ... To Go

colpo from | Posted on 4/14/03

Overall Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)
Food: 10
Service: 8
Décor: 4
Value: 6

This is a tight, little place that serves a largely Jewish/Israeli clientele. I'm not Jewish or Israeli - I go for the food. My favorite is their flagship: the shawarma made with turkey meat sliced off a vertical spit, gyro-style. Go for the homemade bread (laffa?) option, over plain and little pita. It's one of the best sandwiches in the City. I also like their falafel. Pea soup is delicious. I would try anything here, frankly. Their salad bar is free with some dishes. They give you a little container to use if you are 'to go', which I recommend b/c the place is tiny. You'll wait for your food and the place can get busy, but that first bite makes it worth it.

Read All 2 Reviews >>

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