Beit Rima is a cozy Castro gem that serves irresistible Arabic comfort food like savory mezze, sizzling kebabs, and crispy whole fried branzino perfect for sharing.
"Eat at this Palestinian and Jordanian spot in Duboce Triangle five times in one week and you'll still want to come back for more. The casual restaurant serves shareable comfort dishes like a gorgeous mezze platter that could walk a red carpet, thanks to pudgy scoops of lebna and muhammara we always clean completely off the plate. There's also whole-fried branzino brightened up with onions and mint, and garlicky chicken shish tawook that's the edible equivalent of putting on a massive scarf and sinking into a hot tub. Make it your mission to eat your way through the entire menu—and get to Beit Rima for weeknight group dinners, birthdays, date nights, last meals in the city, and everything in between." - julia chen 1, lani conway, ricky rodriguez, patrick wong
"Beit Rima has seen the collective population of San Francisco through birthdays, first dates, and post-breakup comedowns that involve wailing into a bowl of ful. The Duboce Triangle spot is the rare SF restaurant to return to any time of year, for any reason imaginable—including fake ones we invent to get a muhammara fix on a random Tuesday night. The generously portioned Arabic comfort food deserves its cult following, which is stronger than the passion for all of the city’s pilates instructors combined. We particularly love the mezze sampler, which is a head-turner and could be a meal in itself. As for the rest of the menu, mounds of lebna are finished with a heavy glug of olive oil, chicken skewers get paired with fluffy rice and sumac-dusted hummus, and the whole-fried branzino is brightened up with a fistful of fresh herbs and red onion. You’ll need something to sop up every last bit that your fork can’t reach, so order the hand-kneaded bread, which is puffed up like an inflatable couch and covered in za'atar. photo credit: Susie Lacocque Mobs of people invade this otherwise quiet block to order everything above. So the odds of you bumping into someone you know are high. In the event you spot your run club president across the room, just pull up a chair and go halfsies on a bottle of Palestinian syrah while you discuss chafe prevention tactics. All that drinking and talking keeps the place pretty loud, but matching the decibel level of friends debriefing their days and the staff grilling in the open kitchen is all part of the fun. Don’t be surprised when you find yourself drawn back here in a couple of weeks, yapping along with everyone else. We’ll see you there. Food Rundown photo credit: Susie Lacocque Mezze Sampler The pudgy scoops of muhamarra, hummus, lebna, and baba ganoush are thick enough to insulate a room. Pita arrives warm and squishy. And the falafel (two per plate) are satisfyingly dense without feeling like you’ve swallowed a paper weight. We’ve spent a cumulative three hours of our lives talking about this platter in the past year alone, and don’t plan on stopping. Delicata Squash A cream bomb on a plate. The ratio of brown butter lebna to the pile of crispy slices of squash is about three to one—and you’ll clear it all in one pass around the table. Chicken Shish Tawook Plate Don’t get us wrong, the chicken skewers are a delight, but the real MVP of this dish is the side of “mom’s rice,” an extra savory long-grain base that makes all other versions of rice seem about as exciting as powdered oatmeal. photo credit: Susie Lacocque Samir’s Hand-Kneaded Bread This puffy, hollow bread the size (and shape) of two footballs lets out a hot sigh of steam when you tear in. It’s the ideal vehicle for the dregs of the mezze sampler (which you ordered, right?). Get at least two for the table. photo credit: Susie Lacocque Gazan Braised Lamb Shank This massive hunk of lamb, which pulls off the bone with as much effort as it takes to blink, arrives swimming in a hot tub of tomato-y broth and is big enough to share with two or three people. There’s also maftool hiding in there, and we only wish there was more of it." - Julia Chen
"Beit Rima is a restaurant that applies to any situation. Birthday dinner with friends? Check. Date night on a random Wednesday? Yup. Need a place to take someone who’s visiting the city for the first time and insists on making every meal count? Beit Rima fits the bill. And lucky for the people of San Francisco, there are two locations of the Palestinian and Jordanian restaurant: the original in Duboce Triangle, and a second outpost in Cole Valley. The Cole Valley location has an identical menu to the original spot, and a similar ambiance with a homey feel, checkered tables, and a fez hanging on the wall. It’s also smaller, and a lot less loud—a plus if you actually want to hear what your dinner mate is saying. Fill up your table with more plates than can fit, including a massive mezze spread, a whole-fried branzino with perfectly-crispy skin, or the zingy baked halloumi that arrives sizzling in a hot skillet. There are a couple of inconsistencies compared to the original spot: the hand-kneaded bread is smaller and there are less herbs and onion salad on top of the fish. But it doesn’t really bother us, because the food here is still phenomenal. And if you don’t end up ordering everything you want in one visit, don’t worry. You now have a very good reason to come back. Food Rundown Mezze Sampler Beit Rima and this gorgeous mezze sampler are practically synonymous. And we never leave here without ordering it. It comes with lebna, baba ganoush, hummus, and the best muhammara in the city. You also get two crispy falafel that are excellent vehicles for all of the dips. Baked Halloumi Thick pieces of halloumi are baked alongside jalapeño, garlic, and pretty much an entire lemon squeezed on top. It’s refreshing, bright, and absolutely delicious. Chicken Shish Tawook Plate Tender chicken kabobs, hummus, and rice so comforting it tastes like it was made by someone’s mom (fittingly, it's called "mom's rice" on the menu). This is the most comforting dish on the menu, and one we always come back to. Grilled Hanger Steak The grilled steak rests on smoked freekeh and a swath of green zhug, and is a great option for all the red meat lovers out there. There are more exciting things on the menu, though. Samir’s Hand-Kneaded Bread Puffy and dusted with za’atar, this hand-kneaded bread steals the show at every meal we’ve had here. They’re smaller than the ones at the Duboce location, but fantastic nonetheless. Use this to sop up every last bit of sauce from your plates. Whole Fried Branzino After a long week, sometimes the only thing we want to do is dig into this crispy-skinned, whole-fried fish. It’s always cooked perfectly and comes topped with a pile of herbs and onion, plus lemons to brighten it all up." - Julia Chen
"At Beit Rima, young chef Samir Mogannam is serving a mix of heartfelt Jordanian and Palestinian dishes like fattoush, chicken shish tawook platters, and bowls of hummus ma’ Lehma (warm hummus topped with spiced beef). Named for his mother, the restaurant was formerly his father’s, a location of the small chain Burgermeister. With Beit Rima, Mogannam sought to return to his family’s culinary roots. Don’t miss his crispy falafel, puffy homemade bread, or light, floral muhalabia milk pudding for dessert." - Dianne de Guzman, Eater Staff
"Samir Mogannam took over Burgermeister from his father in 2019, and flipped it into Beit Rima, finally serving his family’s own Arabic comfort food. It was an instant hit, offering fresh and affordable grilled skewers, perfectly dolloped dips, pillowy spiced flatbreads, and herb-laced salads." - Becky Duffett
