Habibi Restaurant
{{Short description|Restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox restaurant
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| name = Habibi Restaurant
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| image = File:Portland, OR (Feb. 17, 2021) - 60.jpg
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| image_caption = The restaurant's front exterior in February 2021
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| current-owner = Mazen "Leo" Khoury
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| street-address = 1012 Southwest Morrison Street
| city = Portland
| county = Multnomah
| state = Oregon
| zip = 97205
| country = United States
| coordinates = {{Coord|45.5201|-122.6826|display=it}}
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| website = {{URL|habibirestaurantpdx.com}}
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Habibi Restaurant is a Lebanese, Middle Eastern, and Syrian restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
Description
Habibi Restaurant serves Lebanese, Middle Eastern, and Syrian cuisine including baba ghanoush, falafel, grape leaves stuffed with beef, hummus, meze, pita, shawarma, and tzatziki.{{cite journal |title=Habibi |journal=Portland Monthly |url=https://www.pdxmonthly.com/restaurants/habibi |access-date=April 15, 2021 |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420183957/https://www.pdxmonthly.com/restaurants/habibi |url-status=live }}{{cite book |title=Best Places: Portland |date=June 2010 |publisher=Sasquatch Books |page=147 |isbn=9781570616990 |edition=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ryVPBAAAQBAJ&dq=Habibi+portland&pg=PT147 |access-date=April 15, 2021 |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420183940/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Best_Places_Portland_8th_Edition/ryVPBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Habibi+portland&pg=PT147&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}
History
Habibi had two locations, as of 2011: 1012 Southwest Morrison Street and 221 Southwest Pine Street.{{cite news |last1=Russell |first1=Michael |title=Hideaways |work=The Oregonian |date=July 23, 2011}} The Pine Street restaurant changed ownership in 2014.{{cite news |title=Cheap Eats |work=The Oregonian |date=June 27, 2014 |page=08 |quote=The Southwest Pine Street location of Habibi, downtown's cosmopolitan Lebanese restaurant, changed hands this winter, though regulars could be forgiven for not having noticed. The cafe's Beirut nightclub atmosphere remains largely the same, as does the menu. But turn past the hummus, shawarma and baklava to the final page of Tangier's menu and you'll find a handful of excellent Moroccan dishes.}}
The restaurant enrolled in Prime Now in 2015.{{cite web |last1=Walsh |first1=Chad |title=Expect Amazon to Start Delivering a Lot of Your Food Very, Very Soon (Like Now) |url=https://pdx.eater.com/2015/10/20/9572199/expect-amazon-to-start-delivering-a-lot-of-your-food-very-very-soon |website=Eater Portland |publisher=Vox Media |access-date=April 15, 2021 |date=October 20, 2015 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417064803/https://pdx.eater.com/2015/10/20/9572199/expect-amazon-to-start-delivering-a-lot-of-your-food-very-very-soon |url-status=live }}
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Habibi operated takeout service and via food delivery apps, as of May 2020.{{cite web |last1=Jackson-Glidden |first1=Brooke |last2=Frane |first2=Alex |title=Where to Find Takeout and Delivery During Portland's COVID-19 Outbreak |url=https://pdx.eater.com/2020/3/16/21178939/portland-restaurants-takeout-delivery-coronavirus-dining-room-closures |website=Eater Portland |date=16 March 2020 |access-date=April 15, 2021 |archive-date=March 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326110703/https://pdx.eater.com/2020/3/16/21178939/portland-restaurants-takeout-delivery-coronavirus-dining-room-closures |url-status=live }}
In October 2020, owner Mazen "Leo"{{cite news |last1=Orti |first1=Camila |title=Portland restaurant owner survives customer stabbing attack |url=https://www.kptv.com/news/portland-restaurant-owner-survives-customer-stabbing-attack/article_93a7884e-0533-11eb-b958-8756c3affb12.html |access-date=April 15, 2021 |publisher=KPTV |date=October 2, 2020 |archive-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117031641/https://www.kptv.com/news/portland-restaurant-owner-survives-customer-stabbing-attack/article_93a7884e-0533-11eb-b958-8756c3affb12.html |url-status=live }} Khoury was stabbed by a customer who refused to pay.{{cite news |last1=Ryan |first1=Jim |title=Man arrested after refusing to pay for food at Portland restaurant, stabbing owner, records show |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/10/man-arrested-after-refusing-to-pay-for-food-at-portland-restaurant-stabbing-owner-records-show.html |access-date=April 15, 2021 |work=The Oregonian |date=October 6, 2020 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417064803/https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/10/man-arrested-after-refusing-to-pay-for-food-at-portland-restaurant-stabbing-owner-records-show.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Young |first1=Jenny |title=Angry customer accused of stabbing Portland restaurant owner |url=https://www.koin.com/news/crime/angry-customer-accused-of-stabbing-portland-restaurant-owner/ |access-date=April 15, 2021 |publisher=KOIN |date=October 1, 2020 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417064803/https://www.koin.com/news/crime/angry-customer-accused-of-stabbing-portland-restaurant-owner/ |url-status=live }}
Reception
In 2007, The Oregonian{{'s}} ethnic food guide said, "After one visit to this Lebanese diner, you're a friend; on the second, you're family. Straight-out-of-the-oven pita is perfect, the hummus contends for the city's best, and the Lebanese rice is amazing. Finish with a strong, tasty Turkish coffee or a rosewater juice."{{cite news |title=Your ethnic food guide |work=The Oregonian |first1=Grant |last1=Butler |first2=Michael C. |last2=Zusman |first3=David |last3=Sarasohn |first4=Shawn |last4=Levy |first5=Roger |last5=Porter |first6=James |last6=McQuillen |date=June 15, 2007 |pages=42–51}} DeAnn Welker wrote: {{Blockquote|It's easy for a restaurant to get lost on Southwest Morrison's restaurant row between 10th and 11th avenues, where Italian, Indian, Mexican and Mediterranean flavors cheerfully coexist. The real standout is Habibi, a Lebanese diner every bit as good as well-known eastside joint Nicholas, with a few touches --the fresh-from-the-oven pita paired with a contender for the city's best hummus among them --that go beyond, ensuring it lives up to its name ("habibi" means "beloved" in Lebanese). And it will be even more beloved when it commits to a full-time Lebanese focus and drops the holdover Italian dishes.{{cite news |last1=Welker |first1=DeAnn |title=cheap eats feeding frenzies with pocket change |work=The Oregonian |date=March 23, 2007 |page=23}}{{cite news |last1=Welker |first1=DeAnn |title=recently reviewed by The Oregonian's restaurant critics |work=The Oregonian |date=July 13, 2007 |page=22}}}}
In 2011, The Oregonian{{'s}} Michael Russell wrote, "This family-run restaurant features Syrian and Lebanese recipes that will make you forgive the nightclub lighting. Stop in for friendly service, tasty falafel and shawarma sandwiches, creamy hummus, and tender marinated kebabs served over flavorful rice." In her 2019 list of the city's ten best places to get hummus, Shannon Gormley of Willamette Week wrote, "If you like your hummus with a rougher texture that's still plenty creamy, Habibi is the place to go. The low-key glitzy Syrian Lebanese restaurant's blend is light and refreshing, the kind of dish that makes you feel healthier."{{cite news |last1=Gormley |first1=Shannon |title=These Are the 10 Best Places to Get Hummus in Portland |url=https://www.wweek.com/restaurants/2019/11/05/hummus/ |access-date=April 15, 2021 |work=Willamette Week |date=November 5, 2019 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417064803/https://www.wweek.com/restaurants/2019/11/05/hummus/ |url-status=live }}
See also
{{Portal|Food|Oregon}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Habibi (Portland, Oregon)}}
- {{Official website|http://habibirestaurantpdx.com}}
- {{TripAdvisor|1190734}}
{{Restaurants in Portland, Oregon}}
Category:Lebanese restaurants in Portland, Oregon
Category:Middle Eastern restaurants in the United States
Category:Middle Eastern-American culture in Portland, Oregon