Abu Nader Deli & Grocery

2095 Como Ave
St Paul, MN
651-647-5391

Category: Middle Eastern, Deli

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 6
Service: N/A (counter service)
Ambience: 5

Recommendation: Average. Located on a quite stretch of Como Avenue in St. Paul, Abu Nader is average at best. If you are looking for a cheap Middle Eastern meal in a casual setting, head to Holyland instead.

Abu Nader is a small family owned restaurant on Como Avenue in St. Paul, close to the St Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. The menu includes a handful of Middle Eastern items such as Pies, Falafel, Dips, and Sandwiches. There is a small grocery store but we visited mainly for the deli. The experience is pretty bare bones…plastic everything with a few tables scattered around but we didn’t mind because we’ve heard Andrew Zimmern talk about this place umpteen number of times so we were sure the food would make up for the lack of ambience. Unfortunately, we were not as wowed as Zimmern. We think Holyland’s food overall rates much better than Abu Nader.

The Pepper and Feta Pie ($2.69) consisted of a pastry shell filled with a mix of hot peppers and feta...a good dish that reminded us of Jalapeno Poppers. The Tabuleh ($3.99), which is cracked wheat mixed with parsley, mint, and tomatoes was a bit bland but tasted good when mixed with the other dips we got. The Falafel Plate ($7.99) came with four medium sized falafels that were good but not as good as Holyland’s. The hummus tasted a bit off..there was a starchy taste to it that reminded us of gram flour. We liked the pickled vegetables that came with the dish. The Middle Eastern Rice ($3.99) was a combination of seasoned rice and ground beef but was flavorless and lacked salt. For $1 more, you can add Chicken or Shawarma meat - a great deal. The Baba Ghanouge (Eggplant dip, $3.99 for ½ lb) had a nice smoky flavor and we ordered some Pita bread on the side with it. Our favorite dish, the only dish we would go back for was the Open Face Shawarma ($7.99). It included a combination of spiced beef and lamb, topped with warm feta cheese and vegetables and baked on flat bread. The warm feta really hit the spot and the meat was spiced well. The Abu Nader Special Sandwich ($6.99) was ok…ground beef mixed with onions and parsley and baked, served in a pita pocket. The dish had a spicy kick to it and came as a pleasant surprise against the others that were under seasoned. For dessert, the Baklava ($1.75) was delicious..it was dense and rich, one of the better ones we’ve had. The Kinafeh ($1.75), layers of puff pastry with ricotta cheese was less than stellar. For drinks, we grabbed a mango juice, which was excellent. They also have Guava juice.

$. All items are under $10. Hours are 11am-9pm Monday-Saturday.