
Al Ameer
A James Beard Award-winning Lebanese institution known for its authentic flavors, generous portions, and warm hospitality since 1989.

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Al Ameer

Highlights
Must-see attractions
A James Beard Award-winning Lebanese institution known for its authentic flavors, generous portions, and warm hospitality since 1989.
"Experience the best Lebanese food outside of Lebanon, with dishes like shish kebab and handmade hummus."
Order a Platter
Try the family or combo platter for a variety of flavors and a great sharing experience.
Ask for Recommendations
Servers like Juju can offer great suggestions for must-try dishes.

Quick Facts
Cuisine
Lebanese
Price
Mid-range
Highlights
Discover the most iconic attractions and experiences

Authentic Lebanese Cuisine
Experience the best Lebanese food outside of Lebanon, with dishes like shish kebab, fattoush salad, and hummus.

Generous Family Platters
Enjoy ample portions perfect for sharing, making it ideal for family gatherings or meals with friends.

Award-Winning Hummus & Fresh Pita
Savor handmade hummus served with warm, freshly baked pita bread, a highlight for many diners.
Plans like a pro.
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Insider Tips
from TikTok, Instagram & Reddit
Order a Platter
Try the family or combo platter for a variety of flavors and a great sharing experience.
Ask for Recommendations
Servers like Juju can offer great suggestions for must-try dishes.
Visit During Off-Peak Hours
To avoid long wait times, consider visiting outside of peak dining hours.
Check Menu Pricing
Be aware of potential discrepancies in menu pricing to avoid unexpected charges.
Tips
from all over the internet
Order a Platter
Try the family or combo platter for a variety of flavors and a great sharing experience.
Ask for Recommendations
Servers like Juju can offer great suggestions for must-try dishes.
Visit During Off-Peak Hours
To avoid long wait times, consider visiting outside of peak dining hours.
Check Menu Pricing
Be aware of potential discrepancies in menu pricing to avoid unexpected charges.
What Travellers Say
Reviews Summary
Al Ameer is widely celebrated for its authentic Lebanese cuisine, with many diners praising the generous portions and the exceptional quality of dishes like hummus and falafel. The friendly service, particularly from staff like Mary and Juju, is a consistent highlight. However, some reviews mention that certain dishes might not meet expectations, and occasional issues with food freshness have been noted.
"One of my favorites in the area. Eating here always makes me feel like I am having a personal feast. Our waitress Mary, who warmly welcomed us at the door, always made sure we had warm bread and recommended excellent vegetarian options. The flavorful table olive oil and perfect fresh falafel were my favorite parts of the meal. I can’t wait to go back."
James Estrada
"The food was just okay, not really worth the hype. The stuffed grape leaves had way too much cumin, I couldn’t eat them. Hummus was pretty good, but the chicken liver platter was the best part."
Tarek Matar
"We recently visited Al Ameera restaurant in Dearborn, Michigan, with a large group, and the service and food were absolutely excellent! It was quite a diverse crowd, including vegetarians, meat-eaters, and several people with food allergies, yet everyone was perfectly accommodated.
The family platter was an all-time favorite, and the falafels were to die for. Having lived in the Middle East many years ago, I can confidently say this was the best Middle Eastern meal I've had since leaving the region in the early 90s. Our server, Mary, was exceptional and incredibly attentive. We highly recommend Al Ameera!"
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What People Like
What People Dislike
Frequently Asked Questions
Al Ameer is renowned for its authentic Lebanese cuisine, especially its handmade hummus, shish kebab, fattoush salad, and generous family platters. It's a James Beard Classics Award winner.
Yes, Al Ameer offers many vegetarian options, including falafel, hummus, tabbouleh, and fattoush salad, which are frequently praised by diners.
Absolutely! Staff members like Juju are known for being friendly and knowledgeable, and are happy to provide recommendations for must-try dishes.
While reservations aren't explicitly mentioned, visiting during off-peak hours is recommended to avoid long wait times, as the restaurant can get busy.
Diners often remark on the generous portions, making it ideal for sharing with family or friends, especially when ordering platters.
Yes, Al Ameer offers pick-up and delivery options through services like DoorDash and Uber Eats.
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Featured in these publications
Best Restaurants in Dearborn: Good Places to Eat and Drink Arab-American Cuisine
Warren AvenuePerhaps the most famous of Dearborn’s Middle Eastern restaurants, Al-Ameer won the James Beard Classics Award in 2016 for its authentic Lebanese fare. Partners Khalil Ammar and Zaki Hashem and their sons pride themselves on their farm fresh ingredients and authentic dishes like fattoush salad, tabbouli, shish kebab, and insanely good handmade hummus best eaten with the freshly baked pita. The restaurant has been around since 1989 and now has multiple locations.How to order: Available for pick-up and delivery via Doordash and Uber Eats.
The Best Halal Restaurants In And Around Detroit
A Detroit fixture of authentic Middle Eastern cuisine, Al-Ameer has been wowing diners since 1989. Last year, the restaurant became Michigan’s first to receive the highly prestigious James Beard American Classics Award, presented to locally owned businesses that have had their doors open for a decade or more. Friendly and family-run, Al-Ameer never fails to impress with its expansive menu, featuring highlights such as rich lamb with almonds, yogurt, and rice, and the paprika and cumin-infused sujuk sausage.
Why You Should Visit Dearborn on Your Next Trip to Detroit
This James Beard Award-winning, family-run Lebanese restaurant serves classic dishes, and it does them very well. An in-house butcher means the meat is always fresh, and you can watch bread (3,000-4,000 pitas per day!) come out of the large brick oven from your booth. It’s hard to choose favorites off the menu, but you can’t go wrong with the famous stuffed lamb, the fried kibbe, and the hummus.
Why People Travel Far and Wide for Shatila Bakery's Baklava
He did the work from the ground up that no one was doing,” says Hassan Hashem, one of the owners of Al Ameer, a Dearborn restaurant that opened in 1989 and last year was honored with a James Beard award. “For a while, Riad/Shatila was the only Middle Eastern business here,” Hashem remembers “He was the one creating jobs for a lot of families.” People still come up to members of the Shatila family at the store, telling them, “If it wasn’t for your dad, I wouldn’t have been able to put my kid in school, or buy a house,” Nada Shatila, one of Riad’s three daughters and a Shatila vice president, said.
Dearborn's Arab American markets offer a diverse taste of the Middle East
A mainstay of the city's culinary scene, Al Ameer has offered Lebanese food like shawarma, fattoush, hummus, tabouli, chicken kaftah, and shish kabobs—not to mention more traditional American fare like lamb chops and fried chicken—to hungry patrons for several decades now. Founded in 1989, Al Ameer is one of only a pair of Dearborn Middle Eastern restaurants to remain from a group of five that launched in the 1980s. Today it’s grown into a chain that includes locations in Canton and Dearborn Heights.
Where to Eat in Dearborn: Best Restaurants Locals Love
With over 25 years of culinary tradition and accolades including the prestigious James Beard America’s Classics Award, Al-Ameer is a cornerstone of Dearborn’s Lebanese dining scene. Known for its 100% halal menu and authentic Mediterranean offerings, this family-owned institution delivers standout dishes like kibbeh neyeh (a seasoned raw beef delicacy) and rich, slow-cooked stuffed lamb. Freshly baked pita and a juice bar with raw blends and smoothies elevate the experience even further.
Mediterranean Restaurants in Detroit Region
Enjoy a hearty Mediterranean meal from one of the original five Middle Eastern restaurants in Southeast Michigan. Also, the largest Mediterranean restaurant in Wayne County, Al-Ameer is known as the “go-to” Mediterranean restaurant and provides farm-to-table freshness and a genuine Mediterranean meal experience. Enjoy Al-Ameer at any time of the day, starting with breakfast early in the morning and ending in the evening with a Shawarma and Tabbouli Salad.
Revisiting Detroit's Iconic Restaurants
At first, it may appear that your basket of fresh-made pita is overstocked. Once the award-winning Lebanese food starts to arrive and you can’t stop dipping, sopping, scooping, and ultimately scraping your plates clean, you’ll see how the generous bread service made practical sense. And whether you’re walking in or waddling out, please do peruse the many distinguished awards mounted on the foyer walls of Al Ameer’s east Dearborn digs.
These Restaurants Serve Detroit’s Best Halal Food
With 30 years of experience, Al Ameer has firmly established itself as a choice destination for Halal food in Metro Detroit. It also values the importance of farm-fresh meal preparation, sourcing ingredients locally as much as possible. The menu is quite varied, but the shawarma (a classic) is difficult to pass up, as is the ghallaba, which takes sauteed chunks of Halal meat and simmers it in Al Ameer’s signature sauce.
Eat your way around Dearborn with popular blog’s guide
The blog’s first pick is Al-Ameer, two locations at 12710 West Warren Ave. in Dearborn and 27346 Ford Road in Dearborn Heights. It describes the Dearborn spot as a spacious, diner-like restaurant featuring “made-from-scratch” and inexpensive Lebanese food since 1989. The blog recommends the Al-Ameer platter, which includes grape leaves, fried kebbie, chicken and lamb shawarma, hummus, fatoush and more.
Prince's Lebanese bakery makes some of metro Detroit's best pizzas and pies
The proof is in the James Beard award-winning Al Ameer; the flavors of Aleppo, Syria at Al Chabab; the kebabs at the Dearborn Meat Market and other halal butchers; and in the dozens of restaurants trading in Lebanese, Iraqi, and other Middle Eastern nations’ cuisines. Indeed, there’s a case to be made that Warren Avenue has more menu depth than any one of downtown Detroit’s hip neighborhoods.
9 Best Family-Owned Restaurants In Detroit
Located in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, this fantastic spot serves up fresh and delicious Middle Eastern and Mediterranean fare that will have your mouth watering in no time. Owned and operated by family for nearly 30 years, Al Ameer is the place to be when your baba ghanoush and hummus cravings hit. With hearty servings and friendly service, there’s nothing not to love about this place.
The 10 Best Restaurants in Detroit, Michigan Right Now
Most of the top restaurants are located along Warren Avenue, including (and especially) Al Ameer, which gained national fame as the winner of a James Beard America’s Classics Award in 2016. Try the mujaddara (lentil and rice dish) as well as the shish tawook. Toum is a must on everything — the fluffy Lebanese garlic aioli is a Detroit specialty and makes everything insanely delicious.
20 of the Best Restaurants to Try in Dearborn and Detroit
If you’re searching for one of the best places to eat in Dearborn, search no more. Al Ameer Arabic is a 100% Halal certified, Lebanese restaurant that has been feeding locals and tourists alike since 1989. The restaurant received the James Beard 2016 America’s Classics Award, but they are proudest of their warm, family-friendly dining environment.
Dearborn ranked among best US suburbs for food lovers
Among Dearborn’s cache of Lebanese restaurants, this is the paragon. Kahlil Ammar and Zaki Hashem’s family business includes an in-house butcher facility, so the unrivaled stuffed lamb (and also lamb liver, a traditional breakfast dish) exhibits exceptional freshness," Eater wrote about Al Ameer.
Discover the Best Ethnic Restaurants in Michigan: A Culinary Tour of Top Eateries Serving Authentic Cuisine
Al-Ameer in Dearborn is a Lebanese restaurant that is known for its delicious Middle Eastern cuisine. The restaurant offers a variety of traditional Lebanese dishes, including shawarma, falafel, and tabbouleh. Al-Ameer also offers a variety of vegetarian and vegan options.
Here's a mammoth guide to international/ethnic restaurants in the Detroit area for you to check out! : Detroit
Al Ameer, Dearborn - This place was named one of the best restaurants in America by Eater last year, and it's really the king in a city full of 5-star Middle Eastern places. Favorite dish: sujuk - everything is amazing here, but this spicy sausage is perfection.
Detroit Food | 25 Top Foods in Detroit for 2024
You can't go wrong sampling the best Detroit food if you're dining on stuffed lamb made by Al-Ameer Restaurant. With a 100% Halal policy and catering and banquets available, you can supply your special events with a robust array of Middle Eastern specialties.
Highest-rated Middle Eastern Restaurants in Detroit, According to Tripadvisor
- Rating: 4.5 / 5 (429 reviews)- Detailed ratings: Food (4.5/5), Service (4.5/5), Value (4.5/5), Atmosphere (4.0/5)- Type of cuisine: Lebanese, Mediterranean- Price: $$ - $$$- Address: 12710 W Warren Ave, Dearborn, MI 48126-1531- Read more on Tripadvisor
Joe Foodie: 4 spots to eat amazing shawarma
Al-Ameer recently was recently named one of James Beard's American Classics. Only five restaurants were chosen nationwide, so this was an incredible honor. Over the years, Al-Ameer has grown both in physical size and notoriety.
Beaumont cites 13 Dearborn eateries for serving healthiest food
Bronze: A healthy restaurant must include at least 30 percent of menu items made from whole food ingredients, no preservatives, low-fat/low-sugar, rBGH-free milk and have at least one vegetarian option.
The 10 Best Family-Friendly Activities in Dearborn, Michigan
Wrap up your day of family fun by dining at Al Ameer Restaurant. This local restaurant offers a family-friendly atmosphere and serves delicious Middle Eastern cuisine that everyone can enjoy.
Food & Drink | Best Restaurants in Downtown Detroit
Al Ameer is a favorite in the area – you can basically eat their hummus with a spoon. If you’re in downtown Detroit, Bucharest serves the best shawarma in Detroit at three locations.
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Known for authentic Mediterranean cuisine, Al-Ameer features an extensive menu of favorites, including shawarma, grape leaves, fattoush, hummus and so much more
“Detroit: The Middle Eastern Capital of the US!”
His favorite places to visit in this area, places which I can also vouch for, are Khalaf Grill, Al-Ameer Restaurant, New Yasmeen Bakery, and Shatila Bakery.
Brome Modern Eatery in the Press
With favorites like Al Ameer, Ford's Garage, and Brome Modern Eatery and more, get ready to experience the best flavors around Dearborn.
Top 9 Gluten-Free Brunch Spots to Delight in Dearborn
We had a party of 12 and we ordered 2 of the giant family platters. Everyone ate their fill!. We had ample leftovers.
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