Mombar

This is the spot! If you have the chance, go with chef’s choice. He talked with us beforehand to see what types of foods interested us and the brought us a selection of dishes, each better than the first. Just make sure you have cash with you, this place does not take cards. We also had his fresh mango juice, which was heavenly.
Fresh bread, fresh hummus, fresh fresh fresh… that’s the taste. Good, wholesome, deliciousness.
The décor is excellent, Egyptian and festive. A welcoming, intimate, atmosphere for a date or to share good food with friends.

Mombar is a fabulous place that makes me proud to be a native New Yorker! I was initially skeptical and almost didn’t make the trip out to eat here because of the mixed reviews — people seem to have very strong feelings and there seems to be a lot of really negative reviews here. Happy to report that I definitely do not agree with their assessments — perhaps they hit the hookah bars in the area a little too hard?
(Or maybe they should be hitting the hookah bars sometime for a chill — crazy Unilocalers be accusing the owner of racism because he didn’t spice the food enough… ummmm…OKAY.)
This place is definitely different — it feels like you’re eating at an eccentric artistic uncle’s home/​art studio — who also happens to be an extremely talented chef. And I don’t mean artist like, Manhattan artist with an antiseptic white cube gallery — this place is filled to the brim with the owner’s paintings and tchokes, half of which are covered in a healthy layer of dust and precariously hung up all across the walls. Here is a man of many interests and talents!
But oh, the food! I worked in corporate at a luxury hospitality conglomerate this summer and got to taste the best Michelin-​starred food every day, and I would prefer food like this over what I had any day. Food with heritage and love and cooked with great care. Many cultures have heightened emphasis on hospitality, and it shows in the food and the grace with which they present it. The owner was sweet, caring, and treated us like family — telling us about his spices, his art work, the specials. When we asked about dessert he promised to «surprise» us — and he made us a beautifully abstract spread of konafa (crunchy pastry bits that you can find in Turkish, Greek, Lebanese desserts as well), pomegranate, cinnamon, bananas, and honey. The truth is, even if we knew what we ordered — everything about the restaurant was a «surprise» in the way this dessert was — made with love, with a slightly unexpected twist, and intimately presented.
Final thoughts to address the non-​cracked out criticism: The food is home-​cooked, which does mean that it can vary in taste, especially in these types of cuisines where each stew, like curries, can vary according to seasonal ingredients and the quality of the spice batch you cook with. I have a feeling he’s just buying bulk from the Middle Eastern grocery stores and not dealing with fancy suppliers that guarantee quantity. Because tangines are by nature very heavily spiced, you tend not to add any salt until the end to taste — and perhaps for some of the review complaints here he just happened to neglect that portion. Also, I did notice that he used a microwave in his kitchen at some point — but again, having cooked tangines myself, I know that these items are made in huge batches and stored and reheated the next day for consumption — and oftentimes, they’re even better the next day because the flavors are more steeped. I can’t blame him for prepping ahead of time when it literally IS JUST HIM at the restaurant.
So, go! Enjoy the delicious stews and amazing flavors of this perfectly eclectic restaurant. Rejoice in the owner’s art and the fact that places like this is what drive people to move to New York, even if developers seem to think what everyone wants is a bank and Duane Reade on their block. Support your taste buds and small businesses and the American dream!

I have a feeling that it is better to visit this place on a quiet night. We went on a Tuesday night and we got amazing attention in terms of both food and service. The hummus (try the fava beans hummus) and tea were fresh, while the recommended entrée — salmon tasted like they had made it to order and was delicious. Last but not the least, ask for the house hot sauce, you won’t regret it!

This place should have been good, but I would not recommend eating here. I was swayed to eat at Mombar by the overall positive rating for this place, but don’t be swayed by this red herring.
Why? The food and service/​speed were super below par.
The food was overcooked (lamb tangine, duck, quail), unsalted, unspiced, and clearly frozen before prep. If you want flavorless food, jump aboard. Salt– who likes that? Want something that won’t burn your mouth because your previously frozen meat/​vegetables were heated above edible temperature in a microwave?- they have that, too. Also, expect to get food that doesn’t even seem to resemble what is described on the menu (I am pretty sure that my «molasses duck» was chicken and can’t even properly identify one of my apps).
The owner was very nice and clearly this is a family run establishment, but the son/​server couldn’t manage to do anything other than forget to bring hot sauce, utensils, etc. Despite us trying to get over the fact that they were microwaving everything and the food from the refrigerator tasted previously frozen, we tried to make the best of this meal that took over 2 hours.
I wouldn’t normally rate a place so poorly, but I am so incredibly disappointed in this experience. If you are like me and spend lots of time looking into great places to eat, this is not one of those places. Despite my limited experience with Egyptian food, I kindly suggest you avoid Mombar and eat anywhere else on Steinway.

I was up in New York recently, and this restaurant was recommended to me among others. I wanted at first to order the dish for which this restaurant is named, described as a sausage with lamb, rice, and other ingredients. The chef dissuaded me, saying (in effect, though these were not his words) that most Americans don’t like the fact that the rice-​to-​meat ratio is rather high. So instead I ordered a lamb tajine with couscous. It tasted quite good; whether I would have found my original order to be too limited in meat I’ll never know, though.
Service is very slow, because everything is cooked from scratch. This should be taken into account; you should be prepared to wait a long time for your food.
However, I can’t deny that I enjoyed what I had, so the restaurant deserves a high rating. I do not get up to NYC very often, so I do need to rate restaurants in that city on the basis of a single visit there even though I prefer not to do so, but it seems like a toss-​up on whether I give this place 4 or 5 stars.

Egyptian food is very hard to prefect as it requires lots of preparation. I go out a lot and I love the cooking passion that you can’t miss walking inside Mombar and talking to the chef. If you want to try something new and amazing (country style) you found the place. Mombar makes you feel like you are eating at downtown Cairo, in a private home by a private chef or family cooking. Because the wide range of daily specials and the fresh cooking allow extra time to enjoy your BYOB. Amazing I will keep going back to Mombar for sure.
take cash with you as it is cash only place.

Pros: The restaurant itself is nice looking, it is cozy, the kitchen area is right in the main room, and the vestibule is a bit cramped because the refrigerator where all the food and drink and meat are kept right up there but I didn’t mind.
Cons:
FOOD: Nice menu unfortunately the food was just aromatic and fragrant but NO flavor! I actually like the slow pace, it is like being at someone’s home. It is BYOB and I noticed the one other table had been there for a while, they where laughing talking etc
SERVICE: The woman at the front was friendly and responsive, the man who waited our table was rude, unpleasant, cold and barely made eye contact. At first, we thought this was just his way, however when a party of 3 entered as we were paying our bill we noticed a completely different level of friendliness and interaction. It was like a different person. I’m unsure if he was rude to us b/​c our party was Jewish and Black. Mind you, the table of 3 had never been there before (I overheard them saying this was their first time).
PRICE: If the food had been good I wouldn’t have minded. But bad food is never worth it, add the rude service and I will never go back here again or recommend it.

The owner is a very amicable host who cooks amazingly good home food.
While everything we tried was very delicious, Lamb Tajeen Over Couscous left me speechless – I couldn’t believe anything might taste that good! It was definitely worth the long ride I took to get there from Brooklyn.

Delicious. Cute, quirky casual décor. Slow but decent service, the chef comes out to meet you and his kid sits in the back doing his homework. The rabbit was delicious and the lamb shank was so tender it fell right off the bone. The chef’s salad was very unusual and delicious– a regular green salad with tomatoes, but apples and a very interesting spice that gave the entire salad a totally unique flavor. The one weird thing was that they don’t serve tap water, only bottles. (?) But other than that, I’d definitely come here again. BYOB.

What a great find! My boyfriend and I Were looking for a nice place to grab a bite after a long work week and he stumbled across this place in a NY Mag review of places to try in Queens.
It was such a treat! We brought a fun bottle of South African wine and we’re ready to roll. Right off the bat, we were offered the organ plate and even though I was ready to go for it, my boyfriend decided to wait until next time which was fine, I guess.
Instead we ordered the sausage and mussels as appetizers which were delicious! The mussels are HUGE! Meaty and served in a sweet and spicy tomato sauce. The sausage was also very tasty but not something I would order again, especially since all of their appetizers sounded delicious!
For our entrees, I ordered the lamb tagine with cous cous and my boyfriend ordered the lamb shank. It was at this point that the chef came out, shook our hands and asked us how we liked everything which was awesome. The meat was so tender, it truly did melt in my mouth. The veggies in my tagine had such rich flavor, and they were enhanced by their homemade hot sauce.
We also ordered the «surprise» dessert which was incredibly tasty, especially since we’re not usually dessert people. This place is awesome! I actually just finished the last of my tagine this morning and it even tastes great by the light of the fridge. Next time we come here I think we’ll try the organ plate, which I might need to work up some courage for, but I do know I will be eating here again.

5 stars for food and the experience. Felt like our own personal chef was cooking for us while we waited comfortably in his dining room. A chef who also came to our table and explained the menu to us as soon as we arrived, customizing the specials in accordance with our mostly vegetarian preferences. The atmosphere definitely transports you to a foreign land, and the food was delicious from the complementary «Egyptian farmer’s bread» and olive oil to the couscous and vegetables tagine. These guys have been around for 15 years for a reason.
The only thing that took a star away was a wait for the main course that was just long enough to make us realize we were already feeling full and sleepy from our appetizers. In the end it was worth it.
As for the prices, we paid pretty much what we pay anytime we go out to eat in Astoria, and much less than what we would ever pay in Manhattan. And for the truly homemade quality, you’ll get no complaints here.

I have visited Mombar about 5 times. Every experience is a delight. The food is delicious and completely authentic, the atmosphere is cozy and fun (the art is all done by the chef) and the staff are helpful and knowledgeable.
Every time the chef has come to the table and spoken to us. So warm and friendly. He is really from Egypt. Anthony Bourdain has visited and is friends with the chef.
True this restaurant is a walk from the subway (10−15mins) but totally worth it.
So so so good.

One thing I really loved about this place was the art work all around! It was so beautiful. The owner was very sweet and was kind enough to tell me about his work and what each of his pieces meant.
Oh and the food was great. I had the shrimp alexandria, it was the right size and very tasty.
Another great thing about this place is that it is byob!!!

I visited Mombar with a friend after reminiscing about good middle-​eastern/​Moroccan food. Mombar is actually Egyptian, but to my surprise has earned a new place on my taste palette.
The place on the outside looks like a entrance to a rounchy old bar, and on the inside it turns into sort of an ethnic dining room. Nice décor, unique furniture, variously sized tables and another one filled with business supplies (not for dining — business office?)
The waiter was super-​nice and very inforamative about the cuisine, and the menu specials, which we turned into getting. Rabbit with white rice, Lamb Testicles… everything was delicious.
Although small, the place slowly started filling up with diners but the waiter (owner?) did not show a sign of anticipation and we were left to leisure as long as we pleased.
I highly recommend Mombar to anyone local wanting a taste of an exotic far-​far land… or anyone visiting to add more spice to their travel. BYOWine.

We came here on a double date last night and it was totally great! As the other reviews would lead you to believe the food here is made to order. So be prepared to wait, and lounge… :) In other words, come with people that you enjoy spending time with! We ordered the fool, baba ganoush, and humus sampler to share. I would highly recommend this! Even my bf, who doesn’t like these more «bean-​y» appetizers loved this. They are a bit spicy, and not afraid of using garlic! Buyer beware ;) For dinner we ordered the fish off the menu, the Alexandria shrimp, the duck with molasses glaze, and the rabbit tagine. Everything was great! Furthermore, they all had prices on the menu, and the bill was the sum of these prices (plus some tax). Other diners seem to indicate that this was not the case. Granted we didn’t order any specials, so I don’t know what that would’ve been like.
PS If you have your heart set on the lamb brains, do note that they do not have this on the menu every night (unfortunately).

A friend’s GF asked for recommendations for a birthday dinner that was a bit off the beaten path. I thought of Mombar after remembering it from an old episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain and have always wanted to come check it out. I’ve never been dissapointed with any of the places that have been featured on his show.
We made reservations for 7pm on a weekday night, but they weren’t very busy. Still, Moustafa, the owner and chef could not have been friendlier or more accomodating. The experience feels like being invited into someone’s home and having a dinner party in their living room as opposed to a traditional restaurant dining experience.
The pricing is a little ambiguous as others have mentioned but we just said F it and ordered a bunch to share:
Beet salad
Artichoke Salad
Mombar (sausage)
Lamb Brains
Lamb Sweetbreads
Bone Marrow
Lamb Chop
Lamb Shank
Glazed Duck
Kataifa (dessert)
There were only five of us and this was a ton of food. Everything was great. My favorites were the lamb sweetbreads, the lamb shank and the duck. The brains were interesting but hit or miss with our table. Even though they were good, I’d skip the bone marrow if I went again since you can find that at a lot of other restaurants in NYC.
All in all an interesting experience and highly recommended.
Also, Mombar is BYOB which is always nice.

AMAZING!!!
This place has great food!
Yummy Egyptian food!
The food is delicious and the service is great, I’ve been here twice now & both times the food and service has exceed my expectations.
The food here brings every other similar joint to shame, food is amazing!
I could feel the welcoming environment of this place and got a little taste of their food, and one could say ever experienced a little of their culture too, after tasting some amazing Egyptian food.
We tried several dishes and everything was well prepared.
My favorite is the Rabbit Tagine and lamb cheeks yummy!
Best Egyptian food I have ever had, tastes fresh and homemade, soooooo goood!!!
Unique flavor combinations, the food is incredible, no doubt.
The customer service at Mombar is great, they make you feel like family.
They’re very friendly and helpful, I felt very much at home & very welcome.
Overall: Amazing food, great service, and extremely friendly staff!
I found Mombar through Unilocal and hope that my 5 star review will encourage others to try.
Thank you guys, and keep up the good work!

Mombar is not the same as it used to be, and I’m not sure if it’s because the chef is going senile or if he’s skimping on spices and salt or just being racist toward us Asians by making the food more bland (which is kind of silly, but I’m trying to think of reasons for why the quality has declined). I used to trek here from Columbia University with my then-​boyfriend between 2008 – 2010 all the time– for holidays, for special occasions, for birthdays, everything. I took my NYC dental school friends here on a Friday night (5÷16÷2014) in the pouring rain and tried to rehash those bygone days of made-​to-​order Egyptian gastronomic grandeur, but it fell wayyy way short of my (and their) expectations. I felt so bad talking Mombar up to my friends and then having us trek out from NYC and even New Jersey just to be completely, utterly disappointed. I’m not complaining that the food took hours to come out– if the food had been as good as it used to be, that’s forgiveable since I am patient and will wait for great food. I don’t think the issue is that there were too many diners, either, as the tables were barely filled when our party of four arrived and ordered. No, the issue at the core is the huge decline in quality.
Let’s start with the complimentary za’atar and phyllo. Comparing it to 4 years ago, the za’atar was missing something. Salt? Umami? Magical egyptian herb? I don’t know, but it didn’t wow me like it used to. First warning sign.
Next, we ordered 2 appetizers for the table– grilled red and golden beets, and the quail with quail eggs. The grilled beets were just OK, but the quail was not flavorful (again, missing salt?!) and worst of all, it was really dry. This was not how the quail used to be cooked.
For our entrees, I spoke lovingly to my friends about how the glazed molasses duck was DA BOMB from my memories years ago. It used to be so good and flavorful, with amazing crispy skin, tender meat, and just enough fatty bits to please this Asian foodie used to fattier cuts of pork and whatnot. It also used to be bursting with so much flavor that my dinner companion and I used to eat it for my meal, then order another one for take-​out to enjoy it for lunch the next day at home. This was probably the most upsetting part. On my recommendation 2 of my friends ordered the same entrée– but I, knowing that I used to substitute the spinach that normally accompanies this entrée for these amazing roasted mixed vegetables with the most fantastic blend of spices and sumac– decided to again substitute the spinach for these «mixed vegetables» in the same manner as I used to request 4 years ago. And what I got in return was simply unacceptable. The 3 duck entrees that were served were dry, tasteless (again, why no salt? Why no spices? I come to this establishment to experience the fantastic flavors that Egyptian and middle eastern cuisine is famous for!), and even the duck did not seem to be of the same quality as in the past. I have no doubt that the duck was still glazed in molasses, but it did not have the proper blend of salty, sweet, and umami that the chef used to master. I’m sorry to say, but, I could have ordered better roasted duck at a Chinese supermarket for $ 5 and I paid $ 19 for this entrée. I barely finished half my entrée because it was simply inedibly dry and flavorless. The biggest shock, however, came in the form of the «mixed vegetables» that I substituted for the spinach. These mixed vegetables literally came out in a watery, flavorless mess that consisted of frozen carrots, corn, and peas. What?!? To add insult to injury, when the chef came out from behind his kitchen to ask us how the food was (just as he used to) I had to tell him the truth by telling him that the food is not as good as I remember and inquired why the mixed vegetables in particular were reheated frozen vegetables and not the wonderful grilled veggies with sumac that he used to do (Please see my photo of the lamb chops under «Tian H» from 2009 to see a pic of these grilled veggies to get a better idea of what they used to be like), and he gave me the lame answer of: «Oh, the sumac roasted vegetables? I cannot serve those vegetables with that dish, it is not appropriate.» Oh, is that right? I guess it was appropriate 4 years ago, but not anymore? Well, maybe the chef or the waiter should have said so when I asked them to please substitute the spinach side for the mixed vegetable side that I specifically said was what I used to request in years past. What?
In closing, before I get too upset or bitter about this complete and utter letdown on 5÷16÷14, I cannot recommend Mombar to any person who might be thinking of revisiting this establishment because they have had great memories from years ago. Even if you are thinking of trying this establishment for the first time, there are so many other great Egyptian and Middle Eastern restaurants in Astoria that there is no reason to waste your time.

As an Egyption raised and born, After i moved here for almost a year searching for Egyptian/​middle eastern cuisine I found Mombar. Very friendly owner and staff, Very comfortable atmosphere and the most important best Egyptian dishes cooked by Egyptians. You get what you paid for. Must have the hummus/​baba ghanoush/​beans salad as a starter and you got to love the lamb shank. If really want to get deep with the Egyptian taste try the tasting menu where you get to taste different dishes.
To complete the Experience of being in an Egyptian cuisine the play some great oriental music. For drinks the hibiscus tea is awesome.

We stumbled upon Mombar after having a conversation with my friends on, «what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever eaten?»
However, our visit ended up so much more than that. Sure we ended up eating lamb testicles and brains, but the experience was far more unexpected.
We walked into what looked like an antique store. The kitchen was right in front of us, and we were immediately greeted by the hostess/​waitress AND the chef. It felt like I’m being welcomed to someone’s home. So many smiling faces. It was great!
My brother and I ordered the tasting menu which cost about $ 40 per person. It started with Lamb Cheek; delicious and tender meat mixed with herbs and tomato, and finished with an egg mixed with it. Second course was the bone marrow; fatty, nutty, and it melted in my mouth easily. It was topped with herbs, spices, and a little touch of olive oil.
And then the balls came out!!! The testicles were outta the ‘casing’, sauteed until the moister and blood was out. And at the end olives, herbs and spices were added. What did I think of them? I liked them, but didn’t love them. Certainly something I’ve always wanted to try, but it’s definitely not something I would go out of my way to order. However, the chef had prepared them deliciously, and I would eat them again.
The last two courses were the brain and liver. I liked the brain because it was coated with flour and pan fried. I’m used to only soft texture on brain, but the slight crunchy fried texture really added a nice balance. The liver was definitely the most familiar dish to me of all the stuff we got.
Overall, I really really loved this place. It’s just one of those spots that you instantly feel like you’re in for a treat. Having lived in the Middle East for most of my life, going to Mombar felt more like going to a relatives house than a restaurant. The chef would come and ask us about the dishes. Undoubtedly one of the most comforting experiences I’ve had at a restaurant.