Loading ...Ayat Restaurant: Where the East Village Meets Palestine
By: Katie Beason / Arab America Contributing Writer
Palestinian food has become an integral part of the New York City culinary scene, a reflection of the city’s deep diversity and immigrant history. The history of Palestinian cuisine in NYC, particularly in Brooklyn, dates back to the mid-1900s when Palestinian immigrants arrived in the US following the 1948 Nakba and the Six-Day War in 1967. Palestinian groceries and delis began cropping up in Bay Ridge and Brooklyn, introducing New York to ingredients such as za’atar and labneh, which now populate the shelves of many high-end groceries and health food stores.
Tanoreen is one of the oldest Palestinian restaurants in NYC, having opened its doors in 1998. Since then, several restaurants have opened to high acclaim, several of which appear in the Michelin Guide. In recent years, growing interest in Arab and Palestinian food has diversified the culinary scene, with restaurants, pop-ups, and food trucks opening across all the New York boroughs. Against the current political backdrop surrounding Palestinian identity, food remains a powerful tool for community and resistance for this immigrant community.
One such restaurant is Ayat, a Palestinian restaurant with multiple locations across the boroughs and in Princeton, NJ. On the busy streets of the East Village and Brooklyn, it’s difficult for restaurants to stand out. But having opened their first location only a few years ago, Ayat boasts a line out the door for a table on most evenings.
Even on a Monday afternoon, the East Village location of Ayat is nearly packed, indoors and out. The restaurant is filled with an energized ambiance, as lively music twangs in the background. The ceiling is blanketed in greenery, and every wall is covered in murals, including a particularly moving map of Palestine in the pattern of a keffiyeh. Behind the bar, two chefs work quickly, cranking out laffa bread and falafels in front of a glowing woodfire stove. The menu is filled with Palestinian classics, as well as other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes, with a long list of spreads like hummus and baba ghanoush, next to maklouba, fatteh, and wood-fired pizza.
We decided to start with the mint tea to match the chillier evening and a platter of hummus, baba ganoush, muhammarah, tabbouleh, and labneh. I’m a vegetarian, so I opted for the vegan platter, which includes the classic vegetarian option of falafel, but the real star of the dish was the cauliflower, completely saturated in a bright and rich marinade. The lentil soup, a longtime favorite dish of mine, did not disappoint, both hearty and light.
You simply cannot leave without trying the kunafa, however. I am something of a kunafa snob, and restaurant kunafa rarely exceeds my expectations. The kunafa is stunning, with a brilliant saffron yellow color, a sweet cheese filling, and a not-too-sweet exterior. I would make the journey to the East Village again just for the kunafa.
It should be added that not everyone has been a fan of Ayat since it opened. The Palestinian identity has become deeply politicized since the beginning of the most recent conflict, as has Palestinian food. Different Ayat locations, for example, received 1-star reviews within days of opening by reviewers who didn’t support the restaurant’s pro-Palestine imagery and calls for peace in Gaza. However, this negativity has spurred support from Palestinians, Arabs, and many other New Yorkers who flock to the restaurant’s locations to support the business.
Broadly, New York City has continued to seek Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors and foods from across the Middle East and North Africa. Hummus and pita are now available at most bars, falafel is a staple vegetarian food, and halal food trucks line the streets around universities, a favorite stop for NYC college students. These shifts in New York’s culinary spaces serve to bridge the gaps between the many Arab communities in NY and their neighbors through the medium of something we all love: Arab cuisine.
Palestinian restaurants invite curiosity and conversation across cultural divides, which, in anonymous cities like New York, can feel unscalable. Restaurants like Ayat serve as spaces for cultural appreciation and representation and support Palestinian New Yorkers in their drive to assert their history, their culture, and their hopes for a future grounded in dignity and peace.
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