6 to try: Beijing's best Middle Eastern restaurants

Get a taste of the Middle East in the Middle Kingdom

For a cuisine that can trace its origins back at least a couple of millennia, Middle Eastern food, for the most part, remains largely underappreciated in Beijing, but these restaurants are doing their bit. Rich, wholesome and never bland, it’s also exceptionally diverse – and so much more than just hummus.

Alameen

Set amidst Sanlitun's embassies, Alameen is one of the most reliable names in Beijing Middle Eastern dining, while its light and spacious room, built around a tree, also makes for the most pleasant environs. Start with a mixed dips platter (80RMB) and excellently fluffy flatbreads (3RMB each); after, a mixed grill (110RMB), the trinity of lamb, chicken and beef, will more than comfortably feed two. Rice dishes and personal grills (from 55RMB) are available. Shisha can be puffed at streetside tables.

2 Sanlitun Xi Wu Jie, Chaoyang district. Open 11.30am-10pm daily.

Al Safir

There's a rickety charm to this long-running Sanyuanqiao joint, and late nights perched among the crowd in its outdoor seating, shisha in hand, make for a legit experience. Al Safir is also one of the city's best-priced options, with plates of hummus, baba ganoush, falafel and salads all clocking a reasonable 25-30RMB; at 95RMB, its loaded mixed grill (pictured) is also a relative steal, while a range of potted, stewed mains (75RMB) also fare well. Points are lost for seemingly store-bought wraps (5RMB for two) for the dips but, bread qualms aside, Al Safir is a winner.

35 Xiaoyun Lu Courtyard, Chaoyang district. Open 10am-10pm daily.

A Thousand and One Nights

A clamorous night of live belly-dancing can be positive and negative, depending on how much shisha you've indulged in. A long-time Sanlitun favourite, this venerable joint also features a large patio for when indoors gets a bit too raucous. Favourites such as hummus, falafel, tabbouleh and kibbeh can all be found here, but a visit is not complete without also picking from its extensive grilled meat and seafood section.

1-4 Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang district. Open 11am-2am daily.

Desert Rose

One of the few, if only, Middle Eastern restaurants in Chaoyangmen, this Turkish hideaway makes for a welcome oasis in its otherwise spiceless surrounds. Reliable standbys such as dürüm (wraps) and tombik (sandwich) döner kebabs are a particular favourite with the lunchtime work crowd, while its fluffy round flat breads, pide ekmek, are also a standout. For the indecisive, the mixed appetiser platter – featuring hummus, baba ganoush and acili ezme – offers a tasty compilation of the Middle East’s greatest hits.

1-7, 39 Shenlu Jie, Chaoyang district. Open 9am-1am daily.

Döner Kebap

Hunks of döner spin in an open kitchen at this compact, resolutely Turkish kebab counter. It’s by no means Beijing’s prima döner, but a fair option when kebab lust does strike, with decent beef and chicken wraps, as well as meat plates served every which way – over rice, with yoghurt, fries or even spaghetti. There are also fancier options such as dolma, stuffed grape leaves, while the Turkish pide, pizza-esque topped breads, aren’t a bad choice to share.

116, Building 6, Sanlitun SOHO, Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang district. Open 10am-10pm daily.

Persepolis

Sandwiched between A Thousand and One Nights and another bastion, Turkish Mum, this Iranian eatery forms the steadfast backbone of what can only be described as Gongti's 'Middle Eastern Mile'. Named after the former ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis fittingly serves up comforting Persian classics – all of which are halal – such as fesenjan, an aromatic chicken stew with walnuts and pomegranate molasses, entire roasted legs of lamb, as well as a pleasing array of kebabs for under 100RMB. Wash it all down with an ice-cold pitcher of salty yoghurt drink doogh.

1-3 Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang district. Open 10am-2am daily.

You might have missed

More from Time Out Beijing