Photos by Stacie Joy
Ayat made its soft-opening debut on Oct. 13 on the NW corner of Avenue C and Seventh Street. (We had the scoop on this arrival back in April.)
The Palestinian bistro has several Brooklyn outposts, including the original in Bay Ridge, and one in Pennsylvania. This is their first restaurant in Manhattan.
Here's a look inside the space, the longtime home until February 2020 of Zum Schneider...
Hours right now: Daily from 10:30 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m., depending on the night.
Hateful remarks and negative reviews
Ayat has been in the national headlines since war broke out between Israel and Hamas.
Co-owner Abdul Eleanani was featured in an ABC News piece on the challenges facing Palestinian businesses in the U.S. and Canada.
Eleanani, who is of Egyptian descent, said that "the company has faced hateful remarks made to company staff face-to-face and over the phone, as well as an onslaught of negative Google reviews." Someone also reportedly walked into the East Village location and yelled, "'You guys are terrorists,' while adding an expletive."
Eleanani told the Associated Press that Ayat "was forced to disconnect its phone after receiving 'nonstop' threatening voicemails."
Still, the hostile reception was overshadowed by the support he has received from his neighbors, many of whom are Jewish and share his views about minimizing civilian deaths, he said."In New York, we all live together, we work together, we grow together," Elenani said. "And we all want this violence to stop."
As Eater reported, the negative response was due to, in part, "the restaurant's outspoken identity and its 'call to end apartheid'" on social media.
Eleanani and co-owner Ayat Masoud told Eater that "they do not support Hamas and simply want Palestinians to be treated fairly."
Sad how people assume everyone is associated with bad people/groups. Those harassing this restaurant are the real villains.
ReplyDeleteFunny how no one outlet is mentioning the political slogans on their take out bags. When you do something like that, regardless if their political option is justified or not, you're fair game for reactions.
DeleteGood point
DeleteI don’t understand why you’d even invite debate or possible bad feelings or worse by messaging like that. Good grief I can’t even have dinner without politics
Great looking menu and reasonably priced. Can't wait to give this place a try. The people bullying them need to chill the fuck out.
ReplyDeleteWelcome!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's so, so, so good! Try the bone in lamb - Mansaf.
ReplyDeletelooks delicious.
ReplyDeleteAwesome food in brooklyn so glad they're now local
ReplyDeleteomg that picture of fried cauliflower with tahini and pomegranate seeds is making my mouth water. welcome to the neighborhood!! i'm so sorry people are being dicks.
ReplyDeleteate there over the weekend. so good. I'll be back.
ReplyDeleteI also love the overt politics on their packaging.
I live across the street from Ayat. So happy that this spot has finally opened. Great menu and beautiful interior. It infuses more life into our hood. I am appalled cowardly people are harassing staff. Having to disconnect your phone is drastic, but obviously necessary in today's frenetic social climate. This is NYC where ALL people should be accepted regardless of who you are, who you love, how you identify, what you do or don't believe in, or your country of origin, where we can co-exist civilly with one another w/o escalating conflict or threats of violence. This type of behavior is dirty and unacceptable. I like to think of us as open minded neighbors who are embracing and respectful. The losers who are doing this are ignorant, hateful, and uneducated. Not cool.
ReplyDeleteThis is a welcome addition to our neighborhood!
ReplyDeleteReally great food and really great people. I'm so happy they're here, and feel terrible that people are saying that stuff to them. Glad to hear they're strong in the face of it.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a shame when people are victimized because of their ethnicity. We are all immigrants to this country, except American Indians. We must welcome everyone and open dialogue.
ReplyDelete37k innocent people killed in Gaza and 1.4k Israelis. This is not Palestinian or Israel. Muslim or Jewish, we are all American. Nobody wants to see anger spill onto our streets (or message boards). We must love and accept our neighbors or hate will eat us alive.
I think these guys send a positive message and encourage open discussion. Either way; the food is off the charts.