Dining at shababi was an absolute delight. I came to celebrate after I finished taking my board exams and I couldn’t have chosen a better place. To start they brought some hummus topped with shredded beef and beat spread, which the former was my favorite. They later brought the roasted chicken which had been marinated for 48 hours plus. Every bite was so flavorful. As this is a pop up I recommend you go soon and get a feel for Palestinian food
A Parker
Had Shababi in 2021 and it was one of best dinners I had all year. So many good flavors, chicken was perfect, loved the sides, and I had leftover sauces that I loved using on other food.
Yousi F.
Why write a review after a place that is already closed? i guess because I hope if it comes back this can help make it better. i was beyond excited to try this Palestinian chicken pop up, if only just to support Palestinian food (basically its like msakan spices on a rotisserie chicken). having lived in Gaza and the West Bank, Palestine has a very special place in my heart so I was very excited to try this place. So for the good: French onion Labneh: wow, this is amazing, so garlicky and delicous shatta sauce: spicy, yummy toum: who doesnt love a good garlic dip? zaatar fries: i mean french fries with zaatar generously sprinkled over it? whats not to love? the not so good: the hummus was so bland i just didnt even know where to fix it at home. I added lemon, i added more garlic, i added olive oil, i added cumin, i added salt, i was just on a quest for flavor. when i brought out the cucumbers, my sis was like "i dont get it, is this place korean or palestinian?" so if you like the cucumbers that come with kimchi, then you will enjoy these oily and spicy cucumbers. taboon bread: i was SO excited to see this on a menu in the US, lets just say, there is room for improvement. mazarea: a middle eastern place with a bad and surprisingly bland green sauce, like how can something made with fresh herbs just taste like mayo? and the chicken, i mean wasn't this the whole point? how can something coated in so much all spice and sumac and other spices be so ok, it wasn't great, it wasn't terrible, i love msakan and i cant understand why this doesnt bat it out of the park-- like they valued look over flavor? i dont know. Anyway, conceptually i was all about this place but i felt like the execution left a lot to be desired.
Leo Braudy
Some of best chicken I've ever had. Not only was it spiced and cooked perfectly (genuinely tender non-fried chicken is so rare imo), it is clear after one bite they must use a really high quality bird. It just tastes "organic" idk how else to describe it. Will be going back.
arsh chauhan
Great food. Well worth the drive from Reston. We're looking forward to what they do next.
Danny Thomas
I'm very picky about my food, but this chicken is the best I've ever had.
Katie Partlow
This is the best chicken dinner in the DMV! This is our third time having the chicken dinner, and it never disappoints. This time we also tried the m’halabia dessert — a delicious cardamom custard with blueberry compote. ?? So yummy! We love you, Shababi!
Rebecca B.
I just ordered from here last night and it was so outrageously good that I'm already planning my next meal. Every single thing we ate was craveably delicious and very different from other food available in the area. The sauces, the chicken, the fries, the dessert, all were outstanding. Our order was also ready right on time, overall an A+ experience. Can't wait to order again and I hope this place expands!
Ann S.
I got the 1/2 chicken meal and it was enough to feed 3 people (though I probably could have eaten it myself). Delicious juicy chicken, sides and accoutrements. Everything was an explosion of flavor and complemented each other. Middle Eastern food is so comforting and my sister and I were so happy after enjoying this amazing meal. Thank you for a great experience!
Yeah, the hype and 5 star reviews are actually true. Everything we had was so much different (in a good way) from all the other chicken joints in the DMV (which is essentially LFC, Popeyes and Peruvian pollo a la brasa). You can tell the chef really cares about his products and each we had were unique and an explosion of flavors. Find them on Facebook and they usually have drop sites other than their main site in Alexandria. And then run, do not walk to Shabibi's...
Jena Haji
Marvelous meal. Chicken is a knockout but those sides wow. The crisp on the Aleppo cukes needs to be packaged and sold.
Layla Shaheed
Great food! The chicken was awesome and super juicy even after we reheated it at home. I hope they stay in Alexandria!
Lulu Nazra
This was such a special meal, an absolute treat. The chicken was seasoned perfectly, fantastical juicy, and the best chicken we’ve ever had from a restaurant. We live about 30 minutes from the location and conveniently the meal came with reheating instructions. To my surprise, the chicken reheated very well, the smells of the seasoning absolutely intoxicating as they heated. I wish them all the success. Such a fun interesting ordering model that a lot of places can learn from. You can really tell this was done with a lot of love and consideration.
Katelyn Partlow
This is the best chicken dinner in the DMV! This is our third time having the chicken dinner, and it never disappoints. This time we also tried the m’halabia dessert — a delicious cardamom custard with blueberry compote. ?? So yummy! We love you, Shababi!
Perfect!
Dining at shababi was an absolute delight. I came to celebrate after I finished taking my board exams and I couldn’t have chosen a better place. To start they brought some hummus topped with shredded beef and beat spread, which the former was my favorite. They later brought the roasted chicken which had been marinated for 48 hours plus. Every bite was so flavorful. As this is a pop up I recommend you go soon and get a feel for Palestinian food
Had Shababi in 2021 and it was one of best dinners I had all year. So many good flavors, chicken was perfect, loved the sides, and I had leftover sauces that I loved using on other food.
Why write a review after a place that is already closed? i guess because I hope if it comes back this can help make it better. i was beyond excited to try this Palestinian chicken pop up, if only just to support Palestinian food (basically its like msakan spices on a rotisserie chicken). having lived in Gaza and the West Bank, Palestine has a very special place in my heart so I was very excited to try this place. So for the good: French onion Labneh: wow, this is amazing, so garlicky and delicous shatta sauce: spicy, yummy toum: who doesnt love a good garlic dip? zaatar fries: i mean french fries with zaatar generously sprinkled over it? whats not to love? the not so good: the hummus was so bland i just didnt even know where to fix it at home. I added lemon, i added more garlic, i added olive oil, i added cumin, i added salt, i was just on a quest for flavor. when i brought out the cucumbers, my sis was like "i dont get it, is this place korean or palestinian?" so if you like the cucumbers that come with kimchi, then you will enjoy these oily and spicy cucumbers. taboon bread: i was SO excited to see this on a menu in the US, lets just say, there is room for improvement. mazarea: a middle eastern place with a bad and surprisingly bland green sauce, like how can something made with fresh herbs just taste like mayo? and the chicken, i mean wasn't this the whole point? how can something coated in so much all spice and sumac and other spices be so ok, it wasn't great, it wasn't terrible, i love msakan and i cant understand why this doesnt bat it out of the park-- like they valued look over flavor? i dont know. Anyway, conceptually i was all about this place but i felt like the execution left a lot to be desired.
Some of best chicken I've ever had. Not only was it spiced and cooked perfectly (genuinely tender non-fried chicken is so rare imo), it is clear after one bite they must use a really high quality bird. It just tastes "organic" idk how else to describe it. Will be going back.
Great food. Well worth the drive from Reston. We're looking forward to what they do next.
I'm very picky about my food, but this chicken is the best I've ever had.
This is the best chicken dinner in the DMV! This is our third time having the chicken dinner, and it never disappoints. This time we also tried the m’halabia dessert — a delicious cardamom custard with blueberry compote. ?? So yummy! We love you, Shababi!
I just ordered from here last night and it was so outrageously good that I'm already planning my next meal. Every single thing we ate was craveably delicious and very different from other food available in the area. The sauces, the chicken, the fries, the dessert, all were outstanding. Our order was also ready right on time, overall an A+ experience. Can't wait to order again and I hope this place expands!
I got the 1/2 chicken meal and it was enough to feed 3 people (though I probably could have eaten it myself). Delicious juicy chicken, sides and accoutrements. Everything was an explosion of flavor and complemented each other. Middle Eastern food is so comforting and my sister and I were so happy after enjoying this amazing meal. Thank you for a great experience!
Restaurantji Recommends
Yeah, the hype and 5 star reviews are actually true. Everything we had was so much different (in a good way) from all the other chicken joints in the DMV (which is essentially LFC, Popeyes and Peruvian pollo a la brasa). You can tell the chef really cares about his products and each we had were unique and an explosion of flavors. Find them on Facebook and they usually have drop sites other than their main site in Alexandria. And then run, do not walk to Shabibi's...
Marvelous meal. Chicken is a knockout but those sides wow. The crisp on the Aleppo cukes needs to be packaged and sold.
Great food! The chicken was awesome and super juicy even after we reheated it at home. I hope they stay in Alexandria!
This was such a special meal, an absolute treat. The chicken was seasoned perfectly, fantastical juicy, and the best chicken we’ve ever had from a restaurant. We live about 30 minutes from the location and conveniently the meal came with reheating instructions. To my surprise, the chicken reheated very well, the smells of the seasoning absolutely intoxicating as they heated. I wish them all the success. Such a fun interesting ordering model that a lot of places can learn from. You can really tell this was done with a lot of love and consideration.
This is the best chicken dinner in the DMV! This is our third time having the chicken dinner, and it never disappoints. This time we also tried the m’halabia dessert — a delicious cardamom custard with blueberry compote. ?? So yummy! We love you, Shababi!