Nazareth Restaurant and Deli is Columbus, Ohio's Choice for Middle-Eastern Cuisine

Nazareth Restaurant and Deli is the choice when looking for Middle-Eastern cuisine in the Columbus, Ohio area. Owned by the garrulous Hany Baransi, whose baseball bat is handy should any customer get out of line, Nazareth remains a Columbus highlight after twenty-odd years.

Excellent Hoummus and House Dressing Highlight Nazareth

A quality batch of hoummus is a great way to separate the best Middle-Eastern restaurants from the also-rans. Nazareth's hoummus is top-rank, with the excellent flavor of ground chick peas and garlic.

A full range of gyros and shawarmas highlight the sandwich menu, each featuring the excellent house dressing which exceeds the quality of any Columbus-area Greek restaurant.

Nazareth's fresh cut french fries rank are arguably the best in Columbus, even exceeding the fries from Amherst Ohio's Hot Dog Heaven.

Nazareth Features a Robust Dinner Menu

Nazareth's robust dinner menu features hoummus and baba ghannoug, as well as a vegetarian combo dinner that combines the previous two specialties with falafel and tabbouli salad. All are served with warm pita bread.

The lentils and rice is a spicy delight; it's another perfect entree suitable for vegetarian diners, or it's available with chicken as well. The famous house dressing is served on the side.

Along with an excellent chicken and rice, the rest of Nazareth's menu includes a variety of kabobs and stuffed grape leaves.

Nazareth recently moved into a new location which used to be a Chili's Restaurant. The added space allows for live music and the special Arabian Nights which happen once about a month. There's no doubt the quality of the food increased exponentially compared to the former chain restaurant tenant.

Hany Baransi is a legendary Columbus restaurant owner, always ready with a hearty "I Love You Man!," or a friendly swipe of his baseball bat. The last time this reporter visited Nazareth, the owners of the excellent Route 62 BBQ stopped by for lunch. It's a trip any fan of Middle-Eastern cuisine needs to make when visiting Columbus.