Nabeel’s Cafe & Market

I love eating at Nabeel’s. I follow a no sugar, no grain diet and they are happy to oblige my complicated order requests. The mint tea is the best!

My husband and I love Nabeels when I have a craving for a gyro this is our go to place. I usually get the gyro salad or gyro plate with asparagus and he usually gets gyro plate with greek potatoes. Everything is swimming in olive oil in the most delicious way. The Tzatziki sauce is out of this world. It’s so creamy and so so fresh. It is one of the few things I break my no dairy rule for, so that should tell you just how much I love it. They also sell it in the market if you say want to eat it everyday without judgement.
Someday I will branch out and try some of their temping appetizers or other entrees, but its just so hard when I want to save room for all the Tzatziki sauce!

What happened to Nabeels???
Food was awful. The cooks were peering at my college age daughters.
They sent out burnt pototoes ??? Really ?
I think owners need to go back to hiring REAL Mediterranean prep cooks and chefs, enough of hiring the ghetto staff that we experienced,
Awful food, and lady behind the counter could care less about a dining experience, sad,

The lamb gyro and baklava are great. I haven’t tried much else because this is my go to.

Is there a different Nabeel’s than the one I went to tonight? What a HORRIBLE experience. I had previously been to Nabeel’s and found the food to be terrible then, but some friends wanted to go so, I thought I would give it another try. I decide on lasagne, which I thought would be a safe choice. Noodles, cheese, meat, tomato sauce — how hard could it be? Apparently for the kitchen at Nabeel’s it was too much to ask. Not only was it cold, but it the flavor was disgusting. My wife had the baked fish. Neither of us found the food palatable. One word describes the food at Nabeel’s best: BARF!
In addition to the food being gross, the service was terrible. Guess they decide they didn’t have to try any harder than the kitchen staff.
Save your time and money and go somewhere else.

Nabeel’s has been a favorite of mine for a number of years because of their selection of homemade, authentic Mediterranean foods. The building also houses their market, where you can find a lot of products that you won’t find elsewhere.
I have never had a bad dish here, and I have tried most everything on the menu. They are probably best known for their Moussaka… and it is amazing. I try not to order it every time, to try something new, but it is just that good. The dip platter is also outstanding as well, combining three of the most popular dips (Taramasalata which is AMAZING and definitely my favorite, hummus, and tzatziki.) The feta burger is another go-​to for me. We finally tried desserts here last time we went (usually way too full to) and they were delicious. The chocolate cannoli was a bit too sweet, but the tiramusu was incredible… one of the best that I have ever had. The service is always efficient and friendly every time that we have been here as well. I am hungry for some of the aforementioned foods now!

The lasagne here is simply the best I can remember eating in my life! Huge portion for one and a great consistency! The moussaka was also splendid as always!

I cannot believe the experience I had there today! We’d arrived right when Nabeel’s opened at 11am. We were the first one’s to be seated and the first order to go into the kitchen; each in our party of three had the Moussaka, as on the menu it was listed as one of the 100 culinary choices to try in Birmingham. It took a full 50 minutes for our entrees to reach our table, and each of our entrees were STONE COLD! We informed the waiter about it and he took two of our plates (the third person was so hungry he didn’t really care… but for $ 11.95 per entrée I was expecting more, in quality as well as size, which was the size of a large brownie!) and he returned ten minutes later… not five minutes but a full ten minutes… both plates were warm after being nuked in a microwave. Not what I was expecting as he should have returned to the table with fresh, well heated entrees; I know, I’m a chef with much restaurant cooking and management experience. Bread was supposed to also come with our meals but the waiter said that was the two narrow slices of pita bread that came with each of our salads. As a side we’d also ordered the Greek Fried Potatoes. As a chef who loves preparing a variety of ethnic foods, including my own Moussaka as well as Greek Fried Potatoes, what came to our table was a plate of french fries smothered in oregano and spices! Nabeel’s, I have no words to describe just how wrong that was! Finally, being somewhat disappointed and peeved, I’d reached out to the manager and she was kind enough to take the price of the Moussaka off each of our tickets and apologized very deeply, saying they were having trouble in the kitchen. No kidding! We won’t be going back.

I’ve been going to Nabeel’s for over 30 years now. I think I have had most everything on the menu. I have never been disapointed. Their Moussaka is clearly my favorite and since I am not living in Birmingham at this point it is now hard for me to get there often enough to order anything else.
Going to Nabeel’s is like coming home after a long trip. It’s comforting, classic, timeless and everything a neighborhood café and market should be.

After seeing lines at the restaurant many times we decided to try lunch. No crowds on a Saturday. We tried two of the Italian entrees, Eggplant Parmesan and Spaghetti and Meatballs. Both were very bland and pretty much tasteless. Greek food may be good but if you go I would avoid the Italian. Service was good.

Nabeel’s is a very unique market and restaurant. I have not really shopped at the market. But I have been to the restaurant numerous times. I have always had a great experience.
To start out with, I ALWAYS get the taramasalata dip. The description of it might not sound that good (it is fish eggs). But I promise you that the flavor is incredible. If I wrote a book of things to try in Birmingham, this would get a chapter to itself. As for the entrees, we have gotten some things that are incredible. And some things that were just ok. I can honestly say, I have never gotten the bifteki and regretted that decision. It is my standard go-​to if I know I want a great meal. And the Greek fries… oh my the Greek fries. If you have never had this full meal I just described. It better be in your plans for the next couple of days.
I have also had the Camel Rider. It is their «famous» sandwich you have to try. And it is really good too. If you are in the mood for a pita sandwich. They are just cold cuts. But they are primo meats in cheeses. And as mentioned in previous posts, the pita chips are some of the best I’ve eaten. One time we branched out and tried the Spanakopita. Honestly it was not that good. Maybe we hit on an off night. But we would be hard pressed to sub our go-to’s to try it a second time.
All in all, the atmosphere and food make Nabeel’s a great place to come on a weeknight, date night, or bring guests from out of town.

We come here often and it is our go-​to place.
Lots to choose from that can please any dietary needs.
The grilled tilapia on focaccia, is fabulous.
The lemon gelato is a must! –Delicious!
Nabeel’s is a laid back and causal, family owned restaurant. Do not expect fast food and do not come if you’re in a rush. Sit back, relax and enjoy.

Nabeel’s is my favorite neighborhood restaurant. The feta is always incredibly fresh and the dolmathes are wonderful. For dessert, make sure to try the tiramisu or the Greek yogurt with honey. So delicious.

Ordered take-​out at Nabeel’s as I was in the vicinity and really hungry — a chicken souvlaki wrap and a chicken feta wrap — pretty standard fare for a Greek place, hard to go wrong you would think.
By far this was the worst meal I have had in Birmingham; the wraps were cold, chicken was rock hard and flavorless, almost inedible. The souvlaki wrap was thrown away in entirety after one bite. The feta wrap was slathered in mayo and mustard — so much for Greek flavor!
I have no clue how this place has 3 and a half stars — will never set foot in this place and stick to tazikis and makarios for Mediterranean fare — this is an abomination of a restaurant — I wish I was dining in so I could show the food to the manager.

I’ve lived in Birmingham almost 2 years, and can’t believe I haven’t eaten Nabeel’s sooner! My meal, the friendly service, and the homey atmosphere were excellent.
I split the Feta Theologos (baked feta) with a friend as an app, but could have eaten the whole thing myself! Baked cheese, EVO, and spices — superb. For my main course, I had the chicken & veggie skewers. The skewers were cooked just right, however the side of potatoes was a bit undercooked. The housemade tiramisu for dessert was delicious, and well balanced.
The atmosphere is also homey, and the staff is welcoming and friendly. Overall, a great experience, and I’ll be back.

Came here for lunch with 2 coworkers. I ordered the Grilled Tilapia sandwich which was on the «Lent» menu so I’m not sure how often they have it.
The tilapia was atop focaccia bread with lettuce and onion and a mustard based sauce. Overall the sandwich was good but could’ve used something to give it a little more zip. Fish was good and flaky. Focaccia was a little too crumbly for this type of sandwich since the fish was also flaky.
Pita chips were DELICIOUS! You can buy a bag of these in the market. I was tempted to buy a bag but we were in a hurry.
I would definitely go back if it wasn’t during lunch rush. Parking was almost nonexistent.

I love independent restaurants. This is neighborhood treat not far off of I-​65 for people blazing north or south through Birmingham. I was there on Good Friday and enjoyed a special Lenten salmon. I learned from café owner John Krontiras that another salmon preparation is offered on other Fridays and Saturdays. Our waitress was a treat and was quick to help with a couple of special requests.

I have a long positive relationship with Nabeel’s. I think maybe only one time out of 5 – 10 have a had any sort of mishap with them. I love their quality Mediterranean food and market. They got lots of tasty dishes and desserts. All of the dining areas are interesting, including outside. Definitely give this place a shot for a mid-​level dining experience when you’re in the area. And the market is fun to explore while you wait for your table to open up.

Love Love this restaurant! It is a great place for lunch and dinner. Sometimes serving time may be a little slow but always worth it, so make sure you have time and you are not in a rush. Highly recommend the Nabeels Greek Salad with Chicken and Baked Kibbeh as lunch choices.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a restaurant attached to a grocery… but we really adored this place! It’s just charming beyond words. One of my favorite things was tucking up into a booth and seeing little gold plaques for the names of all their regular customers, and then looking up to see two old gentlemen who clearly come here all the time because the waitress knew their order down cold. It’s a sweet place, in a sweet neighborhood.
We shared tzatziki sauce and pita dippers as an appetizers, mint tea, a gyro, a falafelburger, and a Greek coffee. There were a coupe things that could have been a little better — fries were perfectly seasoned, but kinda floppy and not crisp; the pita dippers would have been perfection if served warm — but overall it was a fantastic meal. A perfect place for a date night if you are judicious about your raw onion consumption. :)
BTW, it’s worth stopping by the market on your way out — there’s lots of intriguing goodies to take home. We’re out-​of-​towners, but we couldn’t resist picking up Russian chocolates and tea to bring home.