Basha 21

This place is amazing. Try their chicken shawarma and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

This is still the small and friendly shop that it was when it was named Taza before, serving a variety of delicious schwarma wraps. It is pretty low key with only one (maybe two) tables for eating in. All the prepared stuff at the counter is also ideal for taking out, along with anything that you order. The lamb schwarma was very tasty with a good variety of filling. The baklava was good too – sweet but not overly so, though I’ve had flakier and better texture before. The size of the wraps is on the small side, so that’s something to keep in mind.

This is just the renamed Taza 21; the food is still the same and is a nice place, more of a lunch spot or to take out because there’s not much seating. The draw is the wraps; I like the makloobi (lamb and eggplant), shawarma, and kafta b’tahini (beef and potato) the best. The price is immensely reasonable for a lunch.

First off, it’s wrong to have this classed as $$ – it’s a single $ place, no more expensive than a typical deli.
I don’t know a lot about middle eastern food, and it’s generally not my first choice – but my wife is all the time giving me a dumptruck load of grief over the fact that I like to go to the same places, and eat the same stuff, again and again. I get it – there is always this tug of war between wanting to eat something I love, and don’t regularly get, and something new that I may or may not love. If I try it, and it sucks, I’ll be pissed. We don’t eat out enough to minimize the risk involved.
I wanted a hoagie. A huge, baked hoagie from a certain famous pizza joint down the street, but i decided to blow Mrs. Junk’s mind instead, when I saw a sign on the street for whatever the heck the special of the day was at Basha 21. «Really?» She asked. «REALLY?!»
I thought I was doing her a favor, but I was wrong. I got the shawarma, she got the kibbeh, and we switched halfway through. It was fantastic. We also got some stuff grape leaves and another side, ostensibly to take home, but my 5’6, 127 pound wife devasted that stuff. It was like watching Katrina all over again – I kept waiting for FEMA to show up.
The atmosphere was great, too – there’s only seating for 16, just four tables, and the kitchen is open to the front, with a counter under which all sorts of take-​out items are in a refrigerated display. I imagine the take-​out business is significant, owing to the small capacity, but I was glad we chose to eat in
The owners are a really nice older Syrian couple who seemed truly pleased we liked the food and were super-​friendly. If I lived in Squirrel Hill I’d be eating this stuff twice a week. It’s worth mentioning, too, that my experience was not at all like the 2-​star review from February, though we were there are roughly the same time. I’ll be back as soon as i can get there.

Price is expensive for small odd shawarma. This place does not make sense. I think the owners are Lebanese but the shawarma is made with terrible bread that is not home made. They took some kind of thin pita bread that you would buy at any store and pressed it like a panini. It was small and not as flavorful as other places like Daphne Café over in Shadyside. For the price, this place is not worth it. It’s also not a nice sit-​down restaurant. You order and pick up your food – you can choose to eat at a table or leave. Nice people though!

This used to be Taza 21 before they changed their name. It’s one of the quickest places to go to pick up a Mediterranean wrap or a salad. I personally love the shawarma. I also like their makloobis and falafel. Their baklava and nammora is also quite delicious.

The falafel was excellent and the owner was very friendly. I didn’t try the shawarma but my friend’s plate also smelled delicious. It’s great to have two Middle Eastern restaurants to choose from in the same neighborhood. I would recommend Basha more for takeout, delivery, or lunch, and Aladdin’s more for a formal sit down dinner. You can’t go wrong either way though!