Ugarit Mediterranean Meals Portland

This place is the real deal! My husband and I used gift cards to dine on a Wednesday. We had not been to downtown Portland because the homeless/drug environment is not pleasant. We were able to park in front of this beautiful building that used to be the Bishops house. Atmosphere was really “old town”. I have been lukewarm in the past about Middle East fare so Al Amir was an unexpected surprise. First off, the red wine was as good as I have had in any restaurant. The combo appetizer had the BEST hummus with plentiful pita bread. I ordered the chicken kabobs and the spice they used left me wanting to come back right away. My husband ordered lamb and it was a very generous portion. The service was very warm and attentive. We came back several days later and was greeted by Mo who made us feel so appreciated. He remembered our wine selection and told us to order anything off the menu and they would make it work. This time I ordered the shrimp kabobs and thought I died and went to heaven… I gave my husband one and he felt the same. One of the owners, Lydia, spoke to us and we told her how impressed we were and we were their new best customer. They have been in business for 33 years and have had to adapt to the Portland issues. Used to be vibrant /open lunch and dinner and now are only open limited hours. Lydia has been very involved giving back to the community (in one case Transitional Youth) also meeting with city leaders to help Portland come back to its old self. She wore a shirt with “faith” on it. She was so determined that things would get better. Please go to this restaurant, it deserves all the support they can get. PS: they sell their wonderful hummus at FM, Safeway and other. Try their hummus and it will definitely lead you to try the restaurant!