Moustache

Mmm mmm mmm yas… homemade hot out of the oven pita! In fact too hot to handle! Ouch! The hummos (flavorful and fresh, smooth creamy texture) is one of the best I’ve had in the city and the true standout is the spinach chickpea salad (yummy zing of lemon and tomato) can’t get enough of it soo good! The babaganoush is top notch. The zaatar bread is wonderful (complex deep spices), it goes good with the salads ;-). I’ve been eating at Moustache (this one and the one in the west village) for many years. Not crazy about the pitzas but other dishes are great. I always look forward to enjoying the fantastic fresh pita and salads. They also make a really good falafel (I prefer the platter). Tasty chicken kabob and lamb (kabob and sandwich). Kickass homemade hot sauce, don’t forget to ask for it ;-). I like to go with a few people order a bunch of things and just share. it’s the perfect kind of menu to do just that. The staff has always been pleasant (can be slow, not the best but not the worst either). It’s a very relaxed casual environment and they do not rush you.

5 goes out to the place that had great service, an amazing ambiance, and delicious food. I had the lamb kebab, which was fantastic– the merguez was great, and the garden salad was abundant with delicious veggies. The lahma ajeen was OK– wouldn’t recommend it. Chicken kebab also great. Will definitely come back for more!

Great middle eastern food place in the village. Comfortable seating. Had Baba Ghanoush for the first time here and I think I was lucky because other Unilocalers are saying it’s the best in the city. I would say so is the pita, which comes hot out of the oven huge, puffed and golden. I tore off pieces of it, scooping up the Ghanoush and black olives with it and stuffing it into my mouth. So, so good!
My boyfriend had the Merguez sausage, which is his all time favorite and he comes here a lot. I wanted something lighter so I tried their seafood pizza. It was really great. Thin and crispy crust, perfectly cooked tender shrimp and just the right amount of sauce and Mozzarella on it. Putting cheese on shrimp might sound strange, and they give you the option when you order whether or not you want it on there, but I thought it really worked!
Wish they had a bigger beer and wine selection, but otherwise this is a great find!

The merguez here is to die for. I’d never had it before, but it’s a spicy lamb sausage with tahiniti, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. I will definitely order it again. I also has 961 beer, which was a Lebanese pale ale and it complimented the food perfectly. A very flavorful beer. I also had ouzo, which was great, but I’m glad it was shared because it was pretty big. Lastly, the baklava was topped with some type of pistachio topping and was so good. Moustache is such a hidden gem and I will definitely be back/​recommend it to anyone!

I came with my date after first hearing about this thing called an OUZI and dreaming about trying it. I mean who wouldn’t want to try and who wouldn’t love what is described as a biriyani and chicken pot pie lovechild! (I love biriyani!!! and everyone loves chicken pot pie).
Plus, Unilocalers seem to give it an affordable rating. But at mid 20 something dollars for 1 OUZI I don’t see how it’s considered affordable.
Nonetheless, it is pretty tasty. Not to die for or anything I would crave or necessarily have to eat again. It was kind of dry and actually kind of cold when served, which isn’t usual at all for biriyani, but I guess re-​cooking the biriyani in the oven to cook the philo dough would cause it to dry out.
The place was empty on a Saturday night at 7pm. I mean no one else was in there, zero people, which was kind of odd. The restaurant is really bare bones in décor and sadly, the entire experience to sum up was underwhelming. Fortunately, my date and I went to get a million layer cake at ChikaLicious afterwards to save the night. Oh god I love a good million layer cake.
Still it might be worth a try. Or maybe get something else on the menu.

Great place with a family run feel. Best Baba Ghanoush that i know of in the city. Everything fresh, fresh, fresh. Great outdoor seating in back.

I came in on a non-​lunch or dinner time, so this place was pretty empty. The people here are pretty chill. There was a Moustache near my old place, so to find this one near my new place made me happy. I ordered the ouzi, which is one of my favorites from the last Moustache. It takes a little bit more time to make, but it is definitely worth the wait. This one did not disappoint. The spices and raisins and almonds in rice with chicken wrapped in filo was perfect for a cold day.
I would defiantly recommend this place as a great option for something different and relatively inexpensive for the east village

For the price the food is not bad. The ouzi was as most reviews good and a cross between a chicken pot pie and Indian biriyani. The lamb reminds me of the South Park character presentation wise an was on the dry side. They did though have a complimentary glass of wine !!

Good crispy pitza and nice tahini, kebab was ok and service took a little long. Nice experience. Nice décor. Beautiful out of nowhere location

Really great place for excellent food with a nice atmosphere in the back, and not pricey at all compared to other New York Restaurants. The service was phenomenal, we ordered the lamb pitza for appetizer, it was good but nothing special. For our entrée we ordered the chicken kabob plate with the lentil purée and the baby lamb chops. Both dishes were superb, I really liked the purée that comes with the chicken kabob plate. Would definitely recommend to others and go back again.

Loved the place and can’t get enough of their food. We over ordered but did a pretty good job of finishing most of our food. Ask for the spicy sauce which is a homemade spicy dip that compliments the food. Looking forward to going back here.

Cool place! Great food. Nice ambience in the back room. Came here for a friends bday. We had a large table and were able to sample many items. All if which were really good and reasonably priced. The hummus hands down was some of the best in the city. Will be back. Loved this place!

four stars for the food — one star for the service — one/​half star for the reaction of: WE WERE THE ONLY COUPLE IN THE PLACE (albeit was world cup weekend) and were seated in their lovely outdoor area, placed our order (did not have our first wine choice) and were left for FORTY FIVE minutes. finally a NEW waiter arrived and asked for our order. The remainder of the evening was a disaster (bill was incorrect …). final – WE WILL NOT RETURN (too bad – the food was delicious).one last thing – as we were leaving – NO ONE SAID ANYTHING (everyone was preoccupied with the world cup).

Came here a few weeks ago. A friend brought us here.
We had the Lamb sandwich and another lamb entrée. Both were not very good. The meat did not seem fresh and was very chewy. We did not enjoy it. We would not go back here. :(

Have been going here since 2001… it’s almost always on the agenda when visiting NY. Cute outdoor courtyard that they enclose and heat during the winter. Service is slow (probably should be a 4.5 for this reason).
Great pita– always served pipping hot. Hummus and taboull are stellar but the real star of the mezze is the spinach and chickpeas. I make it at home but it always pails in comparison.
I always order the chicken ouzi as well. It’s rice, almonds, raisins and chicken baked with spices in phyllo dough and served with a yogurt sauce. OUTSTANDING!
I always leaved uncomfortably stuffed b/​c it’s all just too good not to gorge on.

Get the pita! Warm and toasty and puffed like a bread balloon.
The other dishes were alright. The lamb pitza I got could’ve used more ingredients and I wish I got one with cheese instead. The lamb falafel plate was nice and simple, like meatballs in tomato sauce but instead of pasta, rice.

The hummus and babaganoush are great. The ‘pizza’s are mediocre and nothing special. And at $ 12 they’re quite pricey for such a place. So eat hummus here. Their hot pitas are amazing. But avoid the ‘pizza’.
BTW — I was at the Greenwich Village branch which was much more atmospheric. This one is just a corridor, not really a restaurant.

Moustache has been in my rotation of solid dining places, especially with a group who doesn’t want to wait an hour on a Friday or Saturday night. It’s important to note they used to be cash-​only but now accept credit cards.
Unfortunately after my recent visit I will no longer give this place business.
I was there with my parents and some friends for a late dinner. Given the time I called ahead to make sure the kitchen was still open, and they said no problem.
So far so good…
At the end of the meal our waiter informed us they closed out the credit card machine 10 minutes prior so we would have to pay with cash. This was a meal for seven including wine so this was unexpected inconvenience.
We explained nicely that they should have alerted us before closing the machine as we would have gladly settled up earlier. At this point the server got very rude with us and was completely unprofessional.
I am fine with cash-​only places, but you can’t bait and switch people during a meal, and then not even pretend you’re sorry about the issue.
We walked to an ATM, and we still left the mandatory 20% gratuity (due to the size of our party), but as stated, this will be my last meal here (insert dramatic period here).

AVOID EAST VILLAGE BRANCH! I would like to say that Moustache’s food is always DELICIOUS, and I have nothing against the owners. This review is just to warn other diners about the staff at the East Village location. I would highly suggest that people visit one of the other branches, like the West Village location where everyone has always been friendly.
THE FOOD–
I have been a fan of the mini-​chain of restaurants for years. The hummus is the best in NYC and the pitas are amazing. All of the pitza varieties are delicious, but I’d specifically recommend the lamb, the moustache, and the seafood ones.
THE SERVICE–
At a celebration dinner, I was redeeming a certificate I purchased online, and ended up in a 30 minute humiliating and nonsensical argument with 2 servers there who would not honor it. I was polite, ended up practically begging. In the end, they ignored me until i paid cash and left. After years of patronage I was really disappointed in how badly the situation was handled, and can’t return to this branch ever again. I’ve had great memories bringing old friends and having birthdays and celebrations there, so it’s too bad. AVOID THIS BRANCH, visit uptown or west side only!

I really want to hate the food here and give it zero stars because the service is sooooo bad, but I have to give credit, the food is good (4stars). I’ve been here 3 times and ordered delivery once in the last couple months. The food is great, let that be known (it’s the only reason for their 3 stars).
But with that out if the way, I have to note that delivery took over an hour and I’m only 4 blocks away. Whatever, maybe the guy got a flat tire. What’s really appalling was the service, we received in the restaurant. Maybe it’s a cultural thing I’m not aware of, but seating people and then leaving them for 20 minutes without even giving them menus until they call you twice is absurd. This happened the first two times we dinned in. Then the first time, the place only had a few tables but the «waiters» didn’t pay any attention to the customers. They were talking to each other and laughing for 10 minutes at a time without even looking around the room. I had to get up and go up to them to get a menu, when we wanted to order, and a refill on water!
The most recent time I was here, again we had to ask for menus after being seated for 10 minutes without. Then, the waiter outright told us he was not going to take our order for 5 minutes (after we had to ask for menus of course) because a big party had just left and nothing in the kitchen was ready… That made no sense to me at all, but I don’t run a restaurant so again I gave this place the benefit of the doubt. But when I asked if we could at least place the order so the my gf and I could at least get on with our conversation, the waiter actually refused and gave me attitude like I was an idiot for not understanding that the kitchen for some reason didn’t have anything ready on a Sunday night at 8pm!!! Are you effing kidding me!!! Not even a drink order; we left. Fool me once same on you; fool me thrice, no chance.
I don’t believe in only giving one star based on a bad/​awful experience bc of bad service (even if it’s consistently the worst I’ve experienced on a few visits), but I will let it knock down the review 1 star bc it does tie into the whole experience.