My first question about Hadramout, a recently opened restaurant in Sylvania Township named for a region of the Arabian Peninsula, was what exactly does Yemeni cuisine entail? 

I have had “Middle Eastern” or “Mediterranean” food plenty of times but never Yemeni, so was there a noticeable difference?  

This question among others was quickly answered upon entering the establishment, which has previously seen life as TurkeyUp Toledo and Yala Kol Mediterranean Grill, on a recent Friday.  

Ordering was immediately of interest because my party of three decidedly hungry diners chose to look past the single meals and order from the “groups” section of the menu the Family Mixed Meat Special ($46) which is said to serve three. It turned out to be the right choice as it gave us a sampling of the Haneeth lamb and the Mandi chicken over a huge bed of rice that we served family style. 

The unanimous consensus was that the lamb was by far the highlight of the meal — delicious chunks of goodness that practically melted upon contact with the tongue. 

From first brush with the lamb, the particular spice blend native to Yemen that makes it stand out from the several, say, Lebanese eateries one can find in the area, started to make itself known to our palates. It is rich with garlic, and has a proclivity for the aromatic spices like cardamom, coriander, and cloves. 

In this way, it shares some things in common with its neighbor to the east — India. 

Whatever the case may be, those spices combined with the tender lamb was a flavor explosion. The chicken, served Mandi style, referring to the traditional manner in which it would be cooked in a pit in the ground, was a little less spectacular but still pretty tasty especially over the multicolored saffron flecked rice. 

The portions were also giant so we happily got to take some home. 

Less unique but still solid for a Middle Eastern restaurant were the various parts of the Mediterranean Plate ($10) we got as an appetizer. It featured a smattering of hummus and baba ghanoush (both nice and creamy) along with a side salad that served as starter to the meal quite nicely. 

Another interesting feature of the place was the attentive service, which included offering a number of things for us to try or sample. 

Right after placing our order, we received cups of lamb broth, with almost a salsa-like spicy tomato concoction to mix with it. It was significantly more full bodied than your average beef broth and the tomato mixture gave it an even fresher dimension. 

After the meal, we were also given a taste of the Yemeni Chai. This I would also recommend because of its continuance of the spices like cardamom and nutmeg from the main course that gave the undercarriage of what would ordinarily be a normal chai tea something new and different. 

We finally ended the meal with the masob ($11), which turned out to be a kind of banana pudding meets bread pudding with bananas, cream, and honey.  

Just in general, it was nice that we could easily share just about everything we ordered. 

Our second visit, a Thursday evening in which the place was much busier, was highlighted by the grilled Pompano fish ($19.99), a fish I never had before. It was served in the traditional style, nearly whole, butterflied with bones exposed and eyes and everything on the back — in a way that might turn off some less adventurous diners. It was served with a generous portion of the rice from last time and mixed with what was called an “adeni red sauce” that tasted like a tomato-infused version of what the lamb and chicken were served with, singing with notes of garlic and lemon. 

Overall this almost rose to the level of the lamb. 

Though it’s also a little offbeat for a Middle Eastern restaurant, Hadramout has a whole section of the menu devoted to stews so we also tried the chicken stew ($14.99). 

I was pleasantly surprised that the dish came boiling hot in a specially designed metal bowl, a much appreciated attentive touch. The dish itself had everything I wanted in a stew like chunks of potatoes and carrots and more than a few dashes of cumin. I would not call this the first thing I would order at this place but the amount of places one can get an out and out stew like this are relatively few and it was especially good when served over the aforementioned rice, which this time came with crispy onions sprinkled on top. 

Overall, Yemen has been in the news for more negative reasons lately but Hadramout is something to cheer about, filling a hole in the Toledo dining scene. 

First Published April 3, 2025, 12:30 p.m.