Middle Eastern Restaurant Near Me in Prospect Heights: Zaytoons' Garden Pitzas

Zaytoons opens at 11:30am every day at 594 Vanderbilt Avenue, between Bergen Street and St. Marks Avenue in Prospect Heights, and the reason to come here rather than order in is the garden out back. A small hummus is $10, a ten-inch lahambajin pitza of ground lamb and beef is $17, and Almaza beer is on the list. For anyone searching middle eastern restaurant near me between Grand Army Plaza and Atlantic Avenue, this is the neighbourhood's long-running meza house.

Zaytoons was founded in 1998 by two cousins, Ahmad and Faried, according to the restaurant's site. The Village Voice reported in August 2007 that a third branch would open on Vanderbilt Avenue that summer with a spacious garden in back. In November 2018 the original Smith Street restaurant in Carroll Gardens closed after 20 years, and owner Faried Assad told the Brooklyn Paper he wanted to simplify his life.

Assad kept Vanderbilt, which he described as larger and more profitable thanks to its garden. The Fort Greene branch on Myrtle Avenue has also closed, so this is now the only Zaytoons. That makes the Vanderbilt dining room, open since the summer of 2007, the last place to eat the cousins' cooking, nearly three decades after they started on Smith Street. The storefront is easy to spot: raised ZAYTOONS letters on a black fascia over a red-brick building, and a black awning printed with Arabic script, a white olive branch and the words fine Middle Eastern cuisine and pitza.

Zaytoons calls its flatbreads pitzas, and they are the dish that sets it apart from other meza restaurants. The lahambajin, $17 for ten inches, is spread with spiced ground lamb and beef. A Tasting Table description quoted on Wanderlog says the dough is cooked so thin it is almost crunchy, like a cracker. Pair it with the za'atar bread at $7.50, topped with the thyme, sumac and sesame blend.

The meza list is long and cheap. Hummus and babaghanouj cost $10 small or $12 large, and the combo plate lets you pick any five meza for $15, which is the best value on the menu for a vegetarian table. When Time Out reviewed the restaurant it called it excellent, distinctive, slightly offbeat and stunningly affordable, and singled out the nutty hummus, the ful and the thin pita.

For something heartier, the malphouf, Syrian stuffed cabbage rolls, costs $18, and the Lebanese-style kibbeh comes with tabbouleh for $20. The leg of lamb platter is also $20 and the chicken shawarma platter $17. The Jerusalem Wrap, $8, rolls Jordanian za'atar, boiled eggs and olive oil into a pita and makes a good cheap lunch.

For a table of four, a balanced order is the $15 five-meza combo, one $17 lahambajin pitza, the $18 malphouf and a $20 leg of lamb platter, which comes to $70 before drinks, tax and tip. That covers dips, bread, a vegetable dish, something baked and something grilled, and it leaves enough room to order a second pitza if the first one disappears quickly. The falafel sandwich at $9 is the cheapest filling item for anyone eating on their own.

Skip dessert or keep it small. The baklava costs $3.75, and Time Out's one complaint was that it came swimming in sugar syrup. Spend the money on a bottle of wine from the $36 list or an $11 Almaza, the Lebanese lager, and drink it in the garden instead.

Expect a casual system. Google reviewers mention QR-code ordering at the table, and Wanderlog describes it as more of a self-service set-up with food runners bringing the plates. Several third-party guides describe dine-in as cash only, so bring cash for the table even though the online ordering site takes cards. Nobody lists a reservation system, so plan to walk in.

The garden is the prime seating. Google reviewers mention it more than any other feature, and Park Slope Parents describes a covered backyard area. A July 2026 photo shows a sandwich board on the sidewalk announcing that outdoor seating is open. Indoors is plainer, with black-framed windows facing the avenue and an A grade card from the city health department in the window, and Wanderlog warns it can be chilly inside, so on a cold October night bring a layer whichever table you get.

Prospect Heights families are the core crowd. Park Slope Parents lists Zaytoons as a meetup and baby-shower spot, and a 2022 reviewer called it a casual date spot with good Middle Eastern food that is not fancy. Review summaries say it gets crowded at peak hours and service slows down when it does, so a weekday lunch or an early dinner is the easier visit.

Zaytoons sits a short walk from two subway lines. The 7th Avenue station on the B and Q is about a quarter of a mile away, Grand Army Plaza on the 2 and 3 is just beyond, and Clinton–Washington Avenues on the C is about a third of a mile north.

On a Saturday, start at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket, which sets up from 8am at the northwest entrance of Prospect Park, then walk down Eastern Parkway to the Brooklyn Museum at 200 Eastern Parkway. Loop back up Vanderbilt for a late lunch in the garden. If Zaytoons is full, Bedouin Tent at 405 Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill, about a mile and a half away, is the closest similar menu, known for its clay-oven pitas.

Zaytoons, 594 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238, between Bergen Street and St. Marks Avenue. Open Monday to Friday 11:30am to 10pm, Saturday 11:30am to 10:30pm and Sunday 11:30am to 9:30pm. Walk-in only, back garden seating, beer and wine served. Bring cash for dine-in. Hummus $10, lahambajin pitza $17, five-meza combo $15. Nearest subway: 7 Av (B, Q) and Grand Army Plaza (2, 3).