Al Baraka Restaurant

🇵🇸 PALESTINE / The "blessing" that is Little Arabia's Al Baraka is like being invited into a private dinner party at the home of its owners.

🇵🇸 PALESTINE
📍 413 S. Brookhurst Street,
Anaheim, Orange County.
🅿️ Ample parking in plaza
🥤 No Alcohol
🌱 Vegetarian Friendly

While its humdrum boxy concrete facade might not be the type to pull in random passersby, those that do come into three year old Al Baraka are in for a treat. Named for the Arabic word for blessing, the cooking coming from the kitchen really lives up to its name, and the hospitality feels just like home.

At any random time you arrive, you might find owners Aref Shatarah and Magida Shatarah (who is also the chef) at a table eating their meal or talking with a community member that has come in to ask for a catering quote for their own event or celebration. Grab a seat on the entry side to be closer to them and their TV playing news in Arabic, or a booth on the other, quieter side and tuck into the menu.

Make sure to look over the daily specials list, which has seven very different vibrant options depending on the day you come in. Some of these you are likely not to recognize from other Levantine menus in Southern California, dishes that are usually cooked for special occasions in Palestine rather than found in restaurants. What a blessing!