Samad’s Gourmet

Best tabboule in the city! Hummus is great too – just wish they had lavash to accompany it. Great assortment of snacks and Mediterranean items. Good almonds, olive oil, zaatar, etc. They also have pork (a plus for me but not for everyone).

I used to stop here just for the Mediterranean food at the deli, which is always delicious, but only recently found out that they have the best-​tasting coffee in the area. Now I end up walking three blocks to Samad’s every time I want coffee because nothing else will do.

We’ve been going to Samad’s since our grown children were little. The coffee that you buy as beans and have ground to order is the best on the west side. Everyone loves the pastries and the hummus, too! I meet my neighbors at Samad;s all the time and we are smiling!

Sometimes I go one extra stop on my subway commute, usually to run errands and as a bonus to enjoy a morning stop here. Their coffee is a special roast and both aromatic and delicious. It is inexpensive. (I love the sign that says «our coffee is *not* flavored. .. because most people prefer tasteless coffee.) The muffins are superb. A great treat. They sell nice Middle Eastern specialties and it’s a good place to purchase olive oil, cous-​cous, canned fava beans. I’m so glad that they survived the fire in the building next door. Also, the friendly owners also operate «The Heights» upstairs, which got more fire damage and is still closed. It’s a dive, but one that the students love and the roof area is a nice option. Much more pleasant than sitting at some of the noisy and dirty sidewalk seating in the area. I hope they re-​open this summer.

delicious low-​fat lemon poppy seed muffin + low prices + super friendly staff = I’ll be back!

Samad’s is a great neighborhood deli and import store. I’ve only ever tried their breakfast sandwiches, muffins, and coffee, but all are very good. Their muffins are displayed in the front window, so my roommates and I would always refer to it as «the muffin place.»
The layout is a little counter-​intuitive — you order everything from the deli case in the back, except the muffins which are in the front. And if you want your sandwich on a bagel, you have to grab a bagel in the front and take it to the back. But service is fast, prices are cheap, and everyone is very friendly. I haven’t tried any of the Mediterranean fare from the deli, but I’m planning to!
Samad’s only missed the five-​star mark for lack of seating (one long bench outside.) Definitely a place where locals grab a snack with their kids or a coffee on their way to work.

I have been going to Samad’s for about 20 years. Their food is excellent, and all the fresh food is home made. No preservatives and junk here. You can often see them chopping up the parsley, grinding the garbanzo beans, etc. Food is a mixture of new American classics (chicken dill salad) and Lebanese/​Middle Eastern (amazing tabouli, baba ghanooj, hummus). Great muffins and scones (these they don’t bake, but fresh and no preservatives). The owners and staff are friendly and honest. They are a real neighborhood store.

Okay. Samads definitely gets two thumbs up for their great hummus and tabouli as well as their great selection of snacks, chips, and huge muffins. But they are WAY TOO EXPENSIVE! Our institution uses them for catering and they are sometimes able to give us decent discounts, but as a personal customer their prices suck! They advertise a breakfast: 1 egg and cheese for $ 2.25. I ordered this the other day and chose cheddar as the cheese I wanted. When they finished making my sandwich, the man marked it $ 2.75, after tax it came up to $ 3.10 or something like that. I refused to pay it and asked why they advertise the sandwich for $ 2.25 when it is really over $ 3.00. They told me since I asked for cheddar cheese it was extra. You mean to tell me ONE egg and ONE slice of cheddar cheese is really $ 3? Really? Thank God I live in the Bronx (the hood), you get 2 eggs, a substantial amount of cheese and turkey/​beef (I don’t eat pork) bacon for $ 2 or $ 2.50. NO TAX. Manhattan sux.
I should have learned my lesson but I went back today to have some of that delicious lemon curry chicken. I got my usual hummus and tabouleh, which came up to $ 3.63 for half a spoonfull of each. Then I asked for one piece of chicken which was so small it wasn’t even a quarter pound-​it was like half of a chicken breast, $ 2. Really? $ 2. I returned the chicken to the nice man (the one from Ecuador I think) and told him I could not in good conscience pay $ 2 for such a TINY amount of food. I will never get lunch or breakfast from their EVER again!

Great neighborhood place. Friendly people, fast reliable service. Always go there for the chicken soup when one of my kids is sick, and my wife is there every morning to get her coffee before the commute.
Recently, I ordered a raisin scone, which are great, and as he put it in the bag, the owner said, «you know your wife likes the cranberry.» It was for me, actually, but it was wonderful he was looking out for her, and for me!

Big fan of the Greek salad, the homemade babaganush, and the always friendly service.

Great coffee!
I recently started working in the area and picked up a morning routine for a cup of coffee with my coworker who’s been in the area for a very long time. This place has an amazingly simple yet good cup of coffee! All the staff are also very nice. I had some beef barley soup as well which is made on the premises. The guy asked me to tell him if i like it as he mede it himself — what a nice touch :) Oh yeah and the soup was good too! This is a hidden gem when it comes to coffee. Skip those lines as Starbucks and other joints.

I usually come here at least once every day that I’m in class, either to grab a bagel and coffee beforehand, a second (or third) coffee in the afternoon, or maybe a snack in the evening to tide me over between evening classes.
Their offerings aren’t as wide-​ranging as Westside’s, across the street, but they manage to fit all the essentials in, including some surprises, and everything they have is great. Try any one of the middle-​eastern dishes in the deli case (mm, lentils), or some incredibly sticky baklava from up front. They have all the cookies and dried fruit you could want. The mozzarella sandwiches are a perfect light meal: cheese, veggies, and a drizzling of oil and vinegar on crusty bread, for under $ 5.
Their coffee isn’t my favorite, and roughly two-​thirds of the time there’s a small child pitching a fit and blocking the door, but other than that this place is fantastic.

Everything at the deli counter is delicious, especially the hummus and tabouli. There are also lots of coffees, teas, pastries, and middle eastern packaged foods here.

I stop here a few times a week for coffee and a muffin $ 3.25 which is pretty cheap compared to other places, the counter service is quick, the owner is very nice and personable and there are a lot of regulars here.
They also carry and array of hot and cold dishes, sandwiches and greek delicacies.
The choices of baked good are huge, coffee beans and other mediterranean fare can be had here, from salads, cookies, pastries, and the like, try anyone of the muffins and I promise you will not be disappointed.

Nice little place right beneath The Heights (I’ve been there a thousand times and never realized what was right below haha). It’s sort of a deli/​grocery combo. crackers, dried fruits, cute snacks, and coffee beans galore.
I was a little afraid I was getting sick, so I decided to go there to grab some chicken noodle soup (their’s was labeled Chicken Vegetable, but same difference). A tad on the salty side, but soooo tasty regardless. The cashier/​servers are so warm and welcoming, as well. Definitely worth popping in to take a look! I hear their muffins are delicious, as well!

When I stepped into this place, I was hungry and just wanted to sit down to have a cup of hot soup in a cold night. However, I soon realized that there were no tables and seats in side and I wanted to leave. But a guy at this place told me there were tables and seats upstairs for me to sit down and I can take a separate stair from outside. Then I bought my soup and soon found out that what he mentioned was actually a different bar&restaurant… a liar!
So I had to sit on the bench outside of this place in a dark and cold night to finish my soup. It’s OK. But the soup was really hot and unfortunately I split a bit on my hands and pants. So I went in again to ask for some napkins. The guy offered me one piece… Well, that’s fine. Mama always told me to forgive unwise people, for example, those who don’t know the existence of Y.E.L.P.

Would it be more logical to buy ingredients en masse to make my own gazpacho or cucumber yogurt soup, or is it more logical to buy it from Samad’s?
Well, it’s more logical to buy the ingredients myself, of course! But since don’t feel like doing that, I’ll eat what Samad’s has to offer, because it’s SO delicious! (And…well, I’m lazy. That might go without saying, however…)
They have a nice little selection of soups, sandwiches, bagels, pastries, drinks, and a deli section. I have yet to try any pastries but I heard this store makes a mean muffin!
The service is also top notch. Even though I bring my soups home to eat the vast majority of the time, the cashier always gives me a plastic spoon and napkins without me having to ask him. Thumbs up!

Solid and reasonably-​priced sandwiches, wraps, breakfast sandwiches, soups, and coffee in the Columbia University neighborhood. None of these items are the neighborhood’s best, but Samad’s ambience makes up for this. Samad’s exudes a calmness lacking in other similar markets in the neighborhood.
This calmness is attributable to: (1) careful selection of inventory (its impressive selection of whole coffee beans, English and Turkish biscuits, dried fruit, tea, fresh pastries, and candy that does not overcrowd the store), (2) lack of long lines (unlike HamDel at lunch or dinner time, see
), and (3) friendly service (the guys at the deli and the owner always greet you with a smile and chat with the regulars).
A word about the coffee. It’s not bad, but Nussbaum & Wu’s is better (see
) and I don’t recommend getting the mocha unless you like coffee + Swiss Miss (not kidding). Still, for $ 2.75 you can get 20 oz. of refreshing iced coffee.

Didn’t sample any of the coffee or anything from the freshly made food area, but… The cashier was extremely nice, though I regret using my CC there, as it took some time and I was still skeptical whether the transaction went through (and if so, how many times). I found the oddly Americanized/​Processed Stuff amongst it all a bit odd, but understandable. As for what I purchased, the raspberry cheese muffin was made with real cheese, so you know it’s good. The coconut pineapple was made with real pieces of pineapple, so you know it’s good below the muffin top (TWHS). The hummus wrap, though made with white bread, was good the next day in the fridge.

Their baba ganoush, hummus, and tabouli are a winning trifecta.
They are very friendly, can some how make whatever you want and are quick.