Looking for Middle Eastern and North African food in Memphis? Here are 8 spots to try

Dima Amro, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·5 min read

From Moroccan tagine to Palestinian kunafa, the Memphis restaurant scene offers a variety of food from Middle Eastern and North African countries.

Arab and North African spices such as saffron, turmeric, and cardamom characterize dishes including shawarma, mushakal, and tagine. Memphians can travel to the city or a suburb and find dishes like falafel, baba ghanoush, and stuffed grape leaves.

Middle Eastern and North African eateries are a growing part of the culinary scene in the Memphis area, adding cultural dishes that cannot necessarily be found in ordinary American dining.

Here are some Middle Eastern and North African restaurants to try in the Memphis area.

Alrahmah Bakery and Meat Market

1070 Macon View Drive; (901) 417-6222

Hours: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. every day

Nestled behind a Burger King in Cordova, Alrahmah Bakery and Meat Market remains a hot spot for not only international grocery but also Moroccan and Egyptian cuisine cooked in house.

Naim Nazari passes meat to a customer at Alrahmah Mediterranean Grocery in Cordova on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. The Eldahan family has owned the business for 12 years and has served their community in Memphis despite the pandemic and have provided them with essential products.
Naim Nazari passes meat to a customer at Alrahmah Mediterranean Grocery in Cordova on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. The Eldahan family has owned the business for 12 years and has served their community in Memphis despite the pandemic and have provided them with essential products.

In a see-through food warmer next to the checkout counter, customers can pick from fresh meals daily to fill a to-go box. Patrons can pick from a number of dishes including saffron rice, stuffed grape leaves, okra in a tomato-lamb broth, assorted samosas and pastries filled with cheese, spinach, chicken or beef.

Each day brings a different meal to the warmer, and customers can either walk in or call ahead to see what the business cooked for the day.

Andalusia

5101 Sanderlin Ave., Suite 103; (901) 236-7784

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday

Andalusia, named after the community in Spain, serves authentic Moroccan food and drinks in its North African-decorated restaurant.

Andalusia restaurant at 5101 Sanderlin Ave.
Andalusia restaurant at 5101 Sanderlin Ave.

The restaurant serves staple Moroccan dishes spiced with cumin, coriander and cinnamon. Popular dishes include tagine (meat and vegetables cooked in traditional earthenware), couscous and hareerah (tomato-based soup with chickpeas, noodles and dates) to bring some North African spice to Memphis.

For after your meal, Andalusia offers homemade desserts including rghayef, a Moroccan-style fried flatbread covered in honey and butter. The business also serves traditional Moroccan tea flavored with mint and sugar.

Casablanca

5030 Poplar Ave. and 1707 Madison Ave.; (901) 725-8557

Check www.casablancamemphis.com for each location's hours.

Memphians looking for a fusion between Moroccan and Palestinian cuisine can stop by Casablanca for an array of North African and Middle Eastern dishes.

Falafel pita sandwich at Casablanca.
Falafel pita sandwich at Casablanca.

Falafel, hummus, shawarma and baba ghanoush are just some of the dishes Casablanca serves. Some dishes have hints of coriander and cumin while others are seasoned boldly with sumac and paprika.

To accompany your meal, the restaurant also serves a Mediterranean-style tea, hot or iced, spiced with ginger, sage, mint and honey.

Global Café

1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 157; (901) 512-6890

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; closed Sunday-Monday

Global Café serves international food from multiple regions of the world, including Sudan, from its spot inside Crosstown Concourse.

Global Cafe Sudanese chef Ibtisam Salih serves up a dish of Dama with Rous, beef over rice, in the 2,500-square-foot restaurant inside Crosstown Concourse. The cafe features dishes from Nepalese, Syrian and Sudanese immigrants or refugees.
Global Cafe Sudanese chef Ibtisam Salih serves up a dish of Dama with Rous, beef over rice, in the 2,500-square-foot restaurant inside Crosstown Concourse. The cafe features dishes from Nepalese, Syrian and Sudanese immigrants or refugees.

The Sudanese part of the café offers about a dozen different dishes including African peanut soup (a stew of peanuts, spinach, garlic, onions coriander and ginger), dama with rous (beef cooked in a tomato and jalapeno sauce served over rice) and sambusa (fried pastries stuffed with vegetables or ground beef accompanied by a spicy peanut sauce).

To complete the meal, the North African part of the restaurant also sells basbousa, a semolina cake soaked in honey and topped with coconut shavings.

Happy Greek Café

 547 S Highland St.; (901) 249-8325

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; closed Sunday

Located on the Highland Strip, Happy Greek Café serves not only Greek cuisines, but Palestinian ones too.

Similar to Chipotle, customers can walk into the restaurant and choose between a sandwich or bowl then pick out their toppings.

From gyro to shawarma, hummus to tzatziki, the restaurant plates up a variety of food for Memphians looking for a Mediterranean meal. Popular dishes at Happy Greek Café include the Greek gyro pita (grilled beef and lamb inside a pita, topped with tzatziki, tomatoes, lettuce and red onions) and the falafel rice bowl (falafels and your choice of vegetables and sauce atop basmati rice.)

Hi Kunafa

8176 Old Dexter Road, Suite 101; (901) 350-3296

Hours: 2-10 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; closed Monday

For a sweet Palestinian treat, Hi Kunafa serves kunafa cheese pulls weekly.

Kunafa is a Middle Eastern dessert made with semolina dough over cheese topped with simple syrup and pistachios. Hi Kunafa specializes in the cheese pies— and it's the only menu item the restaurant sells, aside from drinks.

To complement the sweet cheese pastry, a cup of the business's Turkish coffee balances the dish.

Sufi's Mediterranean Grill and Bar

7609 Poplar Pike Road; (901) 779-2200

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; closed Monday

What once was Casablanca in Germantown is now Sufi's Mediterranean Grill and Bar.

Sufi's retained some dishes from Casablanca including the falafel and hummus, but the owners added Persian food and booze to the menu for more options.

Sufi's Special Mix Grill at Sufi's Mediterranean Grill & Bar in Germantown, TN.
Sufi's Special Mix Grill at Sufi's Mediterranean Grill & Bar in Germantown, TN.

Customers looking for a savory, spiced meal can order from an array of meats and dips including Sufi's Persian dip (think baba ghanoush but with roasted tomatoes added), Sufi's koobideh (a choice of spiced beef or chicken cooked on skewers and served with saffron rice) and labneh (a yoghurt dip made in house served with pita).

To add more Persian flavor to dishes, Sufi's offers tableside sumac to sprinkle onto meals.

Queen of Sheba

250 N. Germantown Parkway, Suite 101, and 4792 Summer Ave.; (901) 454-3144

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday

Queen of Sheba cooks up staple Yemeni dishes at both restaurant locations where the smells of grilled meat, paprika, cardamom and cloves fill the air.

The restaurant serves hearty Yemeni meals including the lamb haneeth (slow roasted lamb seasoned with Yemeni spices atop saffron rice), lamb fahsah (seasoned lamb and potato stew served in a clay bowl) and sheba saltah (sautéed ground beef, tomatoes and potatoes in a clay bowl).

Queen of Sheba also prepares fresh juice daily, and a cup of fresh orange or pomegranate juice offers a sweet end to a spicy meal.

Dima Amro covers the suburbs for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at Dima.Amro@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @AmroDima.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Middle Eastern and North African food in Memphis: 8 restaurants to try