I had a great experience at Yemen Café & Restaurant. The food is authentic and full of rich flavors, especially the lamb dishes and fresh bread. The atmosphere is simple but welcoming, and the service is friendly. A perfect spot if you want to try real Yemeni cuisine.
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Nadeem Nasim
Apr 7, 2026
Great place to have Yemeni cuisine specially Kabsa and Faseh. A bit overcrowded and overpriced. Costs per person could easily go up to $50. Overall above average experience
EM
Ebrahim Mohamed
Mar 30, 2026
I used to make it a priority to stop here every time I visited New York, but unfortunately this place has really gone downhill. My most recent visit was extremely disappointing. The food quality was nowhere near what it used to be. The meat tasted old, almost like leftovers, and the fahsah — the dish they are known for — was honestly the worst I’ve ever had from them. This used to be their signature dish and the main reason I would come here, but this time it was a huge letdown.
Everything here is expensive, so when I spent $127 for two people, I expected fresh food, good portions, and the same quality they used to be known for, especially with the lamb haneeth. The portion sizes were noticeably smaller than before, and the food just didn’t taste fresh at all.
What makes it more disappointing is that I came around 2 PM, which is actually one of the best times to go for Yemeni food, since dishes like fahsah and lamb haneeth take hours to cook and are usually freshest around midday. If this happened close to closing time, it might be more understandable, but at 2 PM there really shouldn’t be any excuse for the food tasting old or low quality.
When I spoke to a staff member about the issue, I was told the decline was because of the war going on. I don’t understand what that has to do with serving fresh lamb or maintaining consistent food quality. The overall energy from the staff also felt very unwelcoming, like they didn’t really want us there. The interaction just felt uncomfortable and dismissive.
This used to be one of my favorite spots whenever I visited family in New York, but after this experience, I won’t be returning. There are many other Yemeni restaurants in New York worth trying that provide better quality and better service.
Very disappointing experience.
My experience at Yemen Café was extremely disappointing. This place has clearly gone downhill.
I drove three hours specifically to dine here and even mentioned that to the staff, hoping for at least a decent level of service and food quality. Unfortunately, it didn’t make a difference at all.
The customer service was terrible—staff were dismissive, inattentive, and showed no concern for the experience they were providing. The food was even worse. The meat tasted like it had been cooked days ago—dry, stale, and completely lacking freshness or flavor. It was honestly unacceptable.
On top of that, I left feeling uncomfortable and unwelcome, which made the whole situation even worse.
It’s frustrating to see a place that once had a strong reputation fall off this badly. At this point, it feels completely overrated and not worth the time, money, or effort. I would not recommend it.
Honestly, if I could give 0 stars, I would. The meat wasn’t cooked properly, the rice tasted bad, and it’s way too expensive for such terrible food. The meat tasted nasty and overall, this was a huge disappointment.