Phoenix is an international metro area, thanks to the diverse population drawn to the desert for work, school and family. That, in turn, has made it a great city for sampling the cuisines of the world. We often think of exploring new foods for dinner, but breakfast might be the most intimate meal of the day, usually enjoyed at home. And several Middle Eastern restaurants around the Valley are offering unique tastes from the region with their morning offerings.
From Lebanese manouche breads to fancy Emirati coffees, these four restaurants offer some of the best Middle Eastern breakfasts in Arizona.
Ava Bakery
A typical Persian breakfast consists of bread with cheese and jam or cheese and honey, though on the weekends, things become more elaborate with the addition of fried eggs or an omelet cooked with tomatoes, haleem, a porridge made with wheat and beef topped with cinnamon and sesame seeds (those who prefer it sweet can add sugar or honey to it) or kalleh pache, a gamey breakfast stew.
You can find all of these specialties at Ava Bakery.
Along with sangak and barbari breads baked daily, Ava offers a variety of breakfast options including the Persian breakfast of bread, cheese, butter, jam and walnuts served in small bowls and presented artfully on a round tray. They also make a very good, traditional haleem, served with sugar on the side. And on the weekends, they offer the very polarizing kalleh pacheh. Not for the faint of heart, this rich lamb head and foot soup is a stout breakfast that people who grew up with it either love or hate.
Prices: $5.50-$6.50 for bread, $9.95-$11.95 for egg dishes, $13.95 for haleem, $49.95-$75.95 for kalleh pacheh.
Hours: 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday; 7 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday. Closed Monday.
Details: 814 E. Union Hills Drive, C-6, Phoenix. 480-906-9757, @ava.bakeryaz.
Cafe Rayoog
A great Turkish or Iraqi or generally Arabic breakfast spread includes all kinds of cheeses, dips like hummus and babaganoush, sometimes some fried sausage, a cheese-filled sambusak pastry or two, some zaatar sprinkled flatbread. The name of the game is variety.
And the aptly named Rayoog, which translates to breakfast, delivers with a menu of Iraqi and Turkish specialties like kahi and kemer, which are puff pastry squares served with clotted cream; egg dishes like shakshuka and eggs fried with tomatoes; kibbe and, kind of randomly, various toasts. All the bread is made daily in-house. There's Turkish coffee, Arabic tea and freshly squeezed orange juice to drink. But the real show-stoppers at this restaurant are the family meals, served the way you'd expect, as a spread of small dishes to share, Special Mam's is a sampler platter built around a copper kettle of hot water and tea.
Making these breakfast spectacles takes time, so don't come super hungry or in a rush. Meal service is slow during busy times, but the payoff is a large, lovely breakfast to linger over.
Prices: $9.99-$16.99 for starters, $14.99-$16.99 for egg dishes $34.99-$64.99 for group meals.
Hours: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. daily.
Details: 78 N. Cooper Road, #101, Gilbert. 480-664-2033, rayoogcafe.com.
Golden Restaurant and Bakery
This restaurant features a Lebanese menu of (late) breakfast, lunch and dinner options with lots of flatbread choices, both savory and sweet, like Nutella and cream cheese flatbread, zaatar and labne manakeesh, cheese and eggs on flatbread and cheese boats.
Prices: $3.99-$8.99 for flatbreads
Hours: 10 a.m.-8:45 p.m. Monday-Thursday, closed Friday, 10 a.m.-9:45 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-7:45 p.m. Sunday.
Details: 1849 N. Scottsdale Road, Tempe. 480-656-4405, goldenrestaurantbakery.com.
Bonus: Shaghf Cafe
Shaghf, which means passion in Arabic, is a coffee shop chain based in the United Arab Emirates. Located in Tempe, it's one of the few cafes that stays open until midnight. Coffee lovers have lots of options, hot, cold and specialty drinks, lattes in flavors like coconut, red velvet or dates and frappes like pistachio or mango. The shop also offers pastries and desserts all day.
While this may not be the most traditional of Middle Eastern options, it is a great example of what a fancy, contemporary morning coffee stop is like on the Arabian Peninsula.
Prices: $2.60-$10.39 for coffee drinks
Hours: 8 a.m.-midnight, Monday to Thursday; 8 a.m.-1 a.m., Friday and Saturday; 8 a.m.-midnight on Sunday.
Details: 1250 E. Apache Blvd., #116, Tempe. 480-590-4909, shaghfcafeaz.com.
What to order at Ava:Persian sandwiches have arrived in metro Phoenix
Reach the reporter atBAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr onX, formerly Twitter.
