Cuisine:

• East and West
• Middle Eastern
• African
• Coffee Houses
• Others

Baraka Cafe Description:
Stashed away on a Central Square side street, Baraka Café is one of those word-of-mouth winners you're lucky to learn of and luckier to find. The tiny dining room has a found-object-filled folksiness and emits a life-loving vibe that the crowd, a blend of academic types and scenesters, soak up contentedly. Still, it is the surprisingly sophisticated kitchen that earns Baraka diamond-in-the-rough status. Owners-chefs Alia Rejeb and Karim Dahim take the Tunisian palate and re-imagine it with a studied exuberance. Flavorings like cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, cloves, honey, mint and garlic provide remarkable depths of flavor. Among our firm favorites: karentika, a light-textured yet heady-flavored, harissa-laced chickpea custard; merguez, a grilled, gently spicy lamb-and-beef sausage; and above all the beautifully subtle b'stilla (which requires a 36-hour advance order). You'll also find what may be the city's best chocolate finale: a seven-spice torte of real complexity. There's no alcohol to wash it down, but Baraka's famous cherbat---rose petal-laced lemonade---more than fills the void.


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