Sahara

Exceptional décor for a halal restaurant, you truly feel like you are in an upscale eatery. Ambiance is really nice ... brick classy facades, lovely paintings and wooden fixtures ... especially the outdoor terrace. The location is a bit out of the ordinary and it gets really noisy inside so don\'t expect an intimate setting - a lot of hustle and bustle depending on which day you go. The food is pretty good, excellent variety, ok portions and tasty - but it is definitely overpriced. The server tried to upsell their all you can eat type menu which was about $20 something per person. We tried the all you can eat but the dessert left much to be desired ( they gave us one baklava in 4 pieces as well as another piece of pastry in 4 pieces ). Service was swift but slightly sloppy - at one point it felt like the server was tossing food onto the table with no regard for etiquette ( one of the drinks fell on the table as a result ). However, the place was packed to the max with a long wait so servers were a bit rushed -- would recommend to go during a weekday for a relaxed setting. Overall it was worth your while to check it out, great setting good food variety.

I am surprised by all the great reviews. The food was extremely bland, I mean flavorless. We went with a large group and not one person thought that they had flavor. Their food seems to be geared more towards the crowds who don't expect more then salt and pepper. We specifically asked them to make everything spicy and they said that they did. All they did was add pepper flakes on top. The portions they served was decent and the fresh bread was a nice touch. Service was good.

We went to this restaurant after seeing good reviews on Zabihah. I was concerned about finding parking since this place is close to Rutgers main campus. To my surprise the restaurant has a parking lot. The decor, food and service was excellent. We had hummus, chicken fingers, chicken combination platter and pyramid chicken. They also fresh bread. The place was packed given we went there on Tuesday night.

To be honest I love going to this restaurant I go there once every week but I've notices that one week the food will be amazing and juicy and fresh, but then the other week the food looks dead the owner is a very nice man who works very hard I just wish he can keep his food quality and quantity stable I still am going there every week this is a highly recommended restaurant trust me.

Did not like fact that they were serving alcoholic beverages to their customers Appetizers were excellent Main entree just ok Ambience. Very good

Love the Adana kabob, but I wish they give you 3 skewers instead of 2 small skewers of kabob. It would be better with more rice and none of the paprika. We also like the Feta chicken

I just love going there. Everything is just perfect food, people , etc.

Went their yesterday and just loved it. Decor, ambience, food and service. We were seated right away and everyone was attentive. we ordered the the combo platter that serves 4 and was $46. Quantity was enough for five people. Will be taking fam there for a nice sit down meal.

The food is definitely halal here! My husband spoke with the owner personally, who assured us that it is halal. Much of the wait staff isn't Muslim, so they go check with him if the meat is halal, and it is -no worries! We love going to Sahara because the restaurant is beautiful, the service is just right, and the appetizers and desserts are amazing! Try the Hummus with Spiced Ezme - sooo delicious! I'm a big hummus fan, and I usually don't mix it with anything but the shepherd salad, but the spiced Ezme was beyond yum! They have this great appetizer sampler where you can pick up to 5 (I think) different appetizers, and the portions are more than enough for 4 people to share. The portions are great - they give a lot of meat. The only thing that I wished they did was extra rice. But, the portions are definitely nothing to complain about! For dessert, get the keskul (its like a vanilla firni without the rice), and the brown top pudding! top it off with a cappucino and I'm a very happy customer! bring the family!

Very pretty place, different from typical restaurants. The appetizers are great..the hummus, lentil soup keep me happy enough. One thing though, the bread is plain pita bread, packaged from what it seems. Some turkish bread with this food would have been amazing. I went during lunch and had a chicken shawarma sandwich, it was tasty but not mindblowing. I would probably still order again. The desserts are super good so save room. Good prices for the food, pretty dining room and you've got me as a customer!

this place is decorated beautifully and the appetizers and desserts are awesome! I love the hummus, falafel and the fried calamari. My favorite main dish would have to be the sliced chicken, but honestly, none of the kabobs really had anything special about them, I think they lacked a bit of marinated. The good thing is the appetizers, salads, soups and the desserts are so good that if you wanted, you wouldn't even need to order kabobs or anything else. I have gone back several times and I will continue to visit Sahara. Very nice wait staff and pretty dining room!

Food is ok, nothing to rave about decor is really nice, perfect spot for an expensive date.

We came here several times, its really nice place. Last time we invited our friends who were comming from another state and we choosed to sit outside, they were really impressed with the place and the food quality. everything was really great: soups, salads and off course the main dish. I orderd Iskander kabab and it was really good.

I have come here numerous times and for a Halal restaurant, this place is tops in ambiance. Overall I really enjoy the food here, namely their lamb saute, Kofta Kebabs, and their Adana Sandwich. Also try the Yogurt dishes are also very good.

Very nice place but below average food quality that caters for University students. nothing to right home about and quite expensive.

The place is a lot nicer than others near it, I got a Gyro and it was more expensive and less juicy than it could have / should have been.

Very Good Place. The food and service are very Good. The Staff is very helpful.

This is one of the most romantic places i've been too by far. Food no comparison,dinning no compatability to oak tree road...Everything was more than excellent. I've been to this place almost 7times already and i havn't had enough ....Sahara rules....the show

I just held my Mothers surprise birthday party at Sahara it was perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything more! I am so pleased that I chose this restaurant. I love coming there for dinner, so I already knew the quality of the food. Plus I know my Mom loves the Chicken Chops. I was so happy that Mom and our family and friends had a great time, everyone loved the restaurant and the food was absolutely delicious. I am so glad I decided to do it family style the portions were huge! The upstairs room is not only beautiful but it gave us the privacy to enjoy our time together. Mario and Vanessa did a wonderful job; they were very attentive and professional, and handled every detail beautifully. If I am having another party I know I would not hesitate to come back to Sahara! It was a wonderful time!

This place used to be decent and affordable, I used to go there at least once a month because not only the food was good but also the pricing was average, but now for some reasons they jacked up the prices at least $5 a dish and the quality changed and not that tasty anymore. I don't think I will be going in there any time soon

I go atleast every other month with my family,nice place,painted well on the inside. Their appetizers are great, but their kabobs really didnt have flavor as other turkish restaurants have. A bit pricey,their lambchops though you can tell are form a company or packaged due to the size and taste. Awesome desserts though,the waiter was very attentive to us,probably because we come with groups of 8.

We called before going to ask if a "party of 6" would need to make reservations and the first time we got hung up on. The second time we called they said we didn't need to make reservations. HOWEVER, once we got there we were told to wait even though the restaurant had tables available. Once seated our waitress took a while to attend to our table. After ordering, the salad came out soon, but we had to wait a really long time for the food and basically filled ourselves up with the salads. The food itself was bland and lacked flavor. Also, we ordered CHICKEN adana but they ended up bringing us "mystery meat" which didn't taste like chicken, but similar to lamb. The portions tended to be on the smaller side especially the rice. We were mostly disappointed to see that several other customers had alcohol at their tables even though it is considered to be alcohol free! Overall, I would deeply reconsider going there again.

One of the few places where the ambience and service is good enough to take a business client out for lunch or dinner. Food is defintely above average. Conveniently located but parking could be a challenge at times.

the decoration is so nice the waiters are kind also but the food is good but ....not that much

i know for a fact this place is halal, the owner is muslim. The foods are very good and the price is decent.

Good food and good service

I went with a group of 12 people. I regret that I recommended the place. Most of the items were bad specially the shwerma. It smelled so bad. Both lamb and chicken. I went myself 2 times before. THe chicken was good, appetizers were good too. My suggestion is don't go with too high of an expectation.

The decor may be appealing but the place is not halal. Staff has no idea what "halal" is.

I felt the food was average; Portions are large and waitstaff was courteous. Cuisine is primarily Turkish.

My experience about Sahara was above average - food quality was good, decor was excellent, waiter response and behavior was good - overall the restaurant is rated as "above average". I was a little concern if the meat is Zabihah or not - someone from Management confirmed that they buy "Zabihah" meat from Patterson. Allah knows the best. If their meat is pure Zabihah then I recommend my muslim brother and sisters to visit Sahara.

Place and decor was nice. Service was prompt and good. Starters were good but the main course was average. Shwarma was disgusting (lots of fat and went cold very quickly as if it was heated up in a microwave)

We came by this restaurant on the very warm January Saturday last week. It was late afternoon and a little cooler but we decided to eat outside on their sidewalk tables underneath the colorful umbrellas. We had the chicken kebab and the Shawarma. Both meals were great. The waitress was friendly and funny. I went to look inside and was impressed by the decor. More people were inside (as it was getting cooler), but even so, the place was spacious and not confining. The prices were great and the food was well prepared. Most impressive. I'm taking friends this weekend.

We were very pleasantly surprised when we visited Sahara restaurant last week. It has a very nice decor and service was good. The food was excellent. We tried their chicken combo and liked all the different chicken kebabs. Hummus and the lentil soup was also very good. The place seems to be geared towards general public and we saw many Americans as well as muslim families. We will be going there again many times InshaAllah.