Taboon

Really great food. Taste is beautiful and flavorful. Extravagant and excellent service by Tonya! She is the best! And setting is quaint and just the right touch. My experience is from a Sunday brunch during super bowl Sunday so that’s probably the reason why we had a great experience. I would definitely come back.

Wow. The food here is not only amazing but beautiful. In our large party, everyone was satisfied with their meal during brunch. Hummus is flavorful with a kick, amazing focaccia bread, I had steak Benedict (see pic), and my guests had various shakshukas, and amazeballs challah French toast. Everything was delish!!! They serve you without rushing. It’s a light and airy corner restaurant which only adds to the appeal. Such a great spot in Hell’s Kitchen. Will keep on the list!

9 of us went here for the restaurant week dinner. They brought some breads and hummus which was really really good. The bread was very fresh. I ordered chicken shawarma appetizer and that tasted very nice and different. However wasn’t satisfied as much with the entrée. I had ordered the only chicken entrée from the menu. My vegetarian friends were much more displeased with the entrée than I was. For dessert I ordered silan, not so great for a 39 per person menu.

**Restaurant Week Winter 2016 Review**
Made a reservation for Taboon for a Sunday night and got there and still had to wait 10 minutes. I’d definitely suggest making a reservation ahead of time, especially during RW.
This seems to be a lovely place for a date — not too quiet, not too loud. The décor here is dim, but not too dim, and very romantic. However, we, mid to late 20 somethings, looked around and we were probably the youngest people there by at least 10 years. Not sure if it’s always like that, but it definitely was that night.
Service interesting… every time a dish came out it seemed like they just threw it on the table. My individual-​sized appetizer was put on top of the empty cheeseboard that the bread came on (instead of it being taken away)… and my entrée was borderline slammed in front of me. Maybe I’m just being picky, but I just found that interesting.
HUGE RW portions here.
Meze — delicious babaganoush and tzatziki. Didn’t care too much for the hummus, as it tasted pretty standard. The housemade focaccia was freaking amazing. SOOOO GOOD.
Appetizers:
— lamb shawarma — amazing seasoning and loved how the meat and the yogurt came together. HUGE portion.
— I also tried the calamari — grilled! Not breaded or fried. Came with another yogurt-​based sauce and fennel and artichokes. Delicious… and you get a lot of it, too.
I was almost full after eating just appetizers.
Entrée:
— got the lavraki (European seabass) — you get basically the fillets of an entire fish, pan seared to crispy perfection. The fish was not overcooked and was flaky — yum! The cooked fennel was good, but wasn’t a fan of the extremely pickled/​sour artichokes.
Dessert:
— Silan — vanilla ice cream topped with the most amazing curly halva and nuts and date honey. Extremely, extremely sweet, but oh-​so-​satisfying. Now I need to go find me some of that curly halva. I’ve only had the kind that breaks apart. A must try for RW or even on their daily menu.
— Rice pudding — reminds me of the coconut-​based vietnamese rice desserts. Very heavy, but tasty.
One of the better RW picks, for sure. Great portions and good taste overall.

Satisfying portions and tasty options. Well done.

Excellent meal, excellent service, all in a very charming restaurant. Loved the fresh, hot focaccia loaf with three dips, falafel appetizer was light and crunchy, and the cauliflower steak was quite creative with a very tasty sauce on top. For dessert, a lovely latte to accompany the creamy, pleasant white peach sorbet. A wonderful evening — I look forward to returning!

Very nice location! Just odd hours — they open at 5pm. No lunch I guess!
Coworker and I had octopus which was delicious and falafel which was good. We also had the soog (Israeli spicy relish — essentially green chili, garlic, olive oil, and salt). This was fantastic. For dessert had the puffed rice with vegan coconut milk and halwa. Amazing.
Just extremely pricey. Paid $ 100 for two. Should have been $ 45 maximum.

this place was great, the restaurant is pretty inside and very clean. The food and staff was great also. for dessert i got the lava cake, which was good but could have been more moist.
i enjoyed the food here and would come back again.

Food: appetizer was the trio sampler, all of which were delicious. however, the true star of the sampler was the focaccia that came on the side– crispy and well seasoned. also enjoyed the entrée which the green shakshooka which includes 2 eggs, artichoke, mozz, parm, and purée spinach. it looks small but is very filling.
Value: average NYC brunch price (entrée was $ 17, appetizer was $ 12)
Service: waitstaff was nice, but unfortunately got my order wrong (asked for Greek Shakshooka, got Green Shakshooka instead– still delicious tho)
Ambiance: white tables/​chairs giving it a clean appearance, classy
Location: 2 avenue blocks away from the 50^th St CE trains, very easy to find

Went here for dinner this past Saturday and everything was amazing!!! From food to ambience to décor, this place was top notch!
For starters, we shared the trio of cauliflower and the falafel. The cauliflower was slightly charred (yum!!) and served on labneh and it was out of this world, and the falafel was the best falafel I’ve ever had! It was served with tahini with a mango sauce on top – didn’t care much for the mango, but I would definitely get this again.
For my main, I ordered a special off the maze menu: crab and feta in puff pastry – simply delicious! My friend also ordered off the specials menu – it was a fried avocado served over black beans and hummus. Quite tasty.
One of the best things of the night was the Silan that I ordered for dessert. It was unlike anything I’ve ever had and it was the perfect size. The combo of the puffed rice, pistachios, halva & ice cream was sweet, crunchy, nutty & creamy. My friend ordered a trio of sorbets – the deep flavor of the lemon, passion fruit and mango very delicious.
I would highly recommend Taboon. I loved everything we ordered and the service was great. I can’t wait to go back!

A very cool space with very good food and service.
I loved this place. On the recommendation of a good friend and foodie, I took a business colleague here after a day full of meetings across Manhattan. Even though it’s located pretty far west, it’s worth the extra block or two.
First of all, I really liked the space. You walk in, overlooking fresh vegetables, fruits and other ingredients for the night’s cooking, and literally are looking into a clean and enticing kitchen. A few tables are situated, but the main dining room is through an open entryway into a nicely sized, intimately lit space that wasn’t too noisy despite the place being packed at 7pm.
The menu is creative and excellent. We started with the signature baked homemade focaccia bread with three different spreads. Of the three, the spicy feta cheese spread was to die for. So good that we ordered another round of bread to spread this delicious concoction over it.
For entrees, we had the branzino and the lamb kabobs. The fish was divine… fresh, very tender, nicely topped with a flavorful salsa and served with potatoes and swiss chard. The chard was exceptional, and the potatoes were tender and nicely glazed. My friend had the kabobs, and he raved about the taste of the lamb, the vegetables, and the broth inside this baked dish under a pita draped over the bowl.
We finished by sharing two desserts… the silan (which is out of this world) and the date sponge cake, which was nearly as spectacular. Both of these were at the recommendation of our delightful waitress, who was very attentive, as were the entire staff keeping our water glasses full and table promptly cleared.
We also had a delightful Spanish red wine, a Tampranilla Reserva which was medium bodied, with a great nose, and immediately ready for drinking and enjoying.
Go, and I might see you there because I will be back.

Great meal at the bar. Wonderful food and service. The house bread is absolutely killer. Chicken dish was totally delicious. Will definitely be back to dine at the bar. Way more fun than a table.

This was our second dinner at Taboon. The food is excellent, but we’ve decided not to return.
We couldn’t get a reservation for two any time between 6 and 8 (through OpenTable), so we arrived around 5:45 PM on Sunday evening. There was only one other occupied table in the restaurant. We started with a trio of hummus, baba ganoush, and olives that were all phenomenal, especially coupled with their famous bread… but they brought our entrees just minutes after the starter, when we hadn’t even finished a third of it. The restaurant was almost completely empty, mind you, and only one or two more parties arrived during our entire meal.
Meanwhile, our waiter was a bit snarky. He brought our drinks and took our order, checked in with us the second the entrees arrived, then disappeared for the remainder of the meal. We waited about twenty minutes after finishing before finally flagging down another waiter to help us get the check (because come on – the place was empty and we hadn’t seen him in over forty minutes?).
I had the ricotta gnocchi (very light with amazing truffle flavor – total umami) and my husband had the halibut; both were also phenomenal, but everything, we felt, was overpriced – especially considering the poor service. Even his martini cost more than it should have (and we get martinis all the time in NYC), given it’s not really a «special» or elegant atmosphere. For the same price you can get a good meal AND good service/​ambiance elsewhere. We just don’t feel it lives up to the hype.

Excellent food and service here. We had a restaurant week reservation and we’re pleasantly surprised. Their vegetarian and meat selections were yummy and filling. From appetizer to desert the kitchen and wait staff operated like clock work.
I’ll be going again!

I loooove me some Middle Eastern food. Taboon is pretty out of the way, but it’s definitely worth visiting if walking more than one avenue block per day doesn’t scare you (to clarify — doesn’t scare you *too* much — it is quite the terrifying thing).
Came here on a Tuesday night to try out their restaurant week menu. It’s a fairly intimate space given how spacious it is — dim lighting, candles, the works. At the same time, it’s incredibly lively. The kitchen is fairly visible from the smaller portion of the restaurant, so if you happen to be seated there you’ll get to experience the energy (and delicious aromas) emanating from the room where culinary magic is made.
Not much to say on the service front. Our waiter was pleasant and attentive. Pretty standard. A nice touch — and I don’t know if this is the case at other restaurants that participate in restaurant week — is that you can substitute other dishes that *aren’t* on the RW menu (for additional, charge of course). That goes for the specials too. We didn’t opt to do that, but having the option was nice.
What we ordered (and shared — you need do RW with someone who’s willing to share absolutely everything… any other strategy is madness):
–Trio of dips (hummus, tzaziki and baba ganoush) w/​homemade focaccia — COMPLIMENTARY and debatably the tastiest thing we had all night. It comes to you fresh out of the oven and the dips are all delicious.
Apps:
–Zucchini Cakes w/​feta, mint, fresh herbs, sumac yogurt sauce, lime (you only get two… at least in the RW portion — not enough in my opinion, I wanted five more)
–Calamari A La Plancha (sautéed calamari, green vegetable, bulgher wheat and pomegrante tabouli, greek yogurt). Also debatably the tastiest thing we had — wonderful blend of flavors — you know when you start spooning out all of the supporting characters of a dish that it tastes really really good)
Mains:
–Branzino (lemon soaked greek potatoes, swiss chard, caper salsa verde). This was the only dish I didn’t love — or like, really. Pretty bland. I can’t really cook and I could’ve probably made this myself. I promise you, that’s really saying something.
–Chicken Taboon (organic, french-​cut chicken breast, frikeeh risotto, duck confit roasted carrots, cipollini onion, turnips) Yummy, fresh and creative. I almost always opt for seafood over poultry but in this case the chicken preparation was a lot more flavorful/​interesting. Your typical organic chicken breast that you’ll see on a menu is often the most boring entrée option — not here!
Overall, had a delightful experience here. Tried a teeny bite of the rice pudding for dessert — nothing special. Tasted like the custard part of a fruit tart but slightly less sweet. This place is expensive but if you’re a fan of Mediterranean/​Middle Eastern food, it should definitely go on your list. They also have a variety of wines from an impressive number of regions (including Israel — hooray authenticity!), so you can go to town on that too.

I had an excellent experience here; from the food to the drinks to the attentive staff.
I went here on a Thursday with a friend and we were seated promptly according to our reservation. The friendly waiter explained to us the food specials and gave us interesting info on the cocktail list.
To start we ordered the schoog and the taboon trio (hummus, baba ghanoush, and tararmasalata). The shoog was a bit spicy for me but it was still delicious. The baba ganoush was probably the best I’ve ever had.
The hanger steak and branzino (whole fish) were ordered for main courses. The hanger steak was cooked perfectly. It was juicy and you could cut it with a butter knife. Whatever sauce it was served in was perfect too. It came with sides, one of which was a half onion stuffed with potato, some kind of meat (bacon?) and with a hot pepper and yogurt on top. It was awesome. The fish was fresh and cooked perfectly. It was moist and flakey just the way branzino should be.
Just to note; I saw some reviews saying that the staff was rude and rushed people out. This was not my experience. The waiter was very polite and although our food came out promptly, with perfect timing, at no point did we feel rushed. At one point we both left our table to say hi to friends who happened to be there. In our absence, the small remainder of our food was not touched, the waiter just folded our napkins for us.
Bottom line is I’d recommend this place to friends. It was amazing! Everything a wonderful dining experience should be.

1 star for rude service on the weekend
We booked for 6 people 1 week ahead and recalled to confirm. We show up today to be told that «someone» cancelled the reservation on our behalf.
After explaining that it must be an error, they reluctantly had us use the table yet they wanted us to rush and have our meal in one hour since our table was reserved.
The waiters were taking plates away from us while we were still eating. After we requested to discuss with the manager, it was obvious that they wanted to advance some other folks (who wanted to make a reservation at this time as ours) on our behalf and hence she created this whole issue of our reservation being cancelled.
Trying to reason with the manager, she played it down:“so the waiters took your bread away, will give you another bread”, a big «no no» in such business. Furthermore she was dismissive, had no manners and lacked credibility and professionalism.
We lived in the area for years and frequented the place often, we were never treated like this. We are three couples with averaged age of 40 with a 300 $ meal, not drunken college kids. It was embarrassing in front of our friends visiting from out of town to be treated like this.
Will never go back again.

So, let me preface this review by saying that part of it may be me – have a tree nut allergy and this place is just made of tree nuts it seems. But people shouldn’t have to guess whether baba ganoush is going to be garnished with pine nuts. Just tell people that on the menu.
Because this was otherwise, a very good meal. We had a guest in and the wait staff was very courteous in letting us have the table for nearly 3 hours. Good service and the food was delicious. The halibut was definitely worth getting with a rich flavorful tomato-​based sauce. And the breads! Yum.
Desserts (according to my dining companions) were just ok – so focus on the main dishes.
Prices are consistent with the area and its a little small on the inside. But this place is a good choice when you’re in the theater district. We enjoyed it overall.

So we just finished at the Art Miami NY show at pier 94 and searching for a place to eat bumped into a wine distributor for Southern Wines who highly recommended this Israeli Med eatery around the corner.
We made fast friends with him and discovered a first class med eatery.
What an awesome find. Best wines and liquors and grappas as well as a well stocked bar tender by an Israeli Irish maiden called Tanya.
But the food is the real reason you want to come here. Very med in style with innovative twists on favors and textures.
Hearty enough you will have room to share rich and unique desserts.
We will return.

I came here for brunch because a friend had suggested the place and I thought I was going to be disappointed, as most of the brunch spots in Hell’s Kitchen have. Boy was I wrong. The Taboon brunch was one of the best that I had. The place was pretty packed so we sat at the bar and the staff was super friendly and nice. We ordered the Steak and egg dish and the pizza, where you could customize it with different toppings, and both dishes were great. If I came back, I would order the custom pizza and add more toppings. Well priced, great service and awesome food are what’s going to bring me back to this place.
Sidenote: if you like your spice, they have their own «hot sauce» that is awesome!