Unearth The Voyage
Most visitors come to Traverse City expecting standard tourist fare. This spot just off Munson Avenue offers something entirely different, drawing in diners from across the region for a menu you won’t find anywhere nearby.
The range is what stands out. Lamb gyros, chicken shawarma platters, butter chicken curry, falafel, and even camel and kangaroo burgers all share the same menu.
It’s an unusual mix, but it works, and it keeps people coming back to try something new.
The owner is part of the experience, often stepping out of the kitchen to talk through dishes or offer samples. That hands-on approach, combined with a loyal following that includes visitors from cities like Dearborn, explains why this place continues to stand out.
Where to Find This Northern Michigan Surprise
Not every remarkable restaurant announces itself with a grand facade. Habibi Middle Eastern Coney and Curry sits at 720 Munson Avenue, Suite A, in Traverse City, Michigan 49686, tucked inside a strip mall that you might drive past without a second glance.
The restaurant is easy to miss from the street, but once you find the Yonkers sign nearby, you have got your landmark. Ample parking makes the arrival stress-free, which is a genuine luxury in a busy tourist town during peak summer months.
Traverse City sits in the heart of Northern Michigan, a region better known for its cherries and lakeside resorts than for Middle Eastern cuisine. That contrast is exactly what makes finding this place feel like a small personal victory.
You can reach the restaurant by phone at 231-421-3835, and their website at habibimideastconey.com has updated hours and menu details worth checking before you go.
The Story Behind the Kitchen
Behind every great independent restaurant is a person who decided to do something bold, and at Habibi, that person is Brent. The owner and head chef has built a reputation not just for his cooking but for the warmth he brings to every interaction inside that dining room.
Brent regularly steps out from the kitchen to greet guests, explain the origins of a dish, or offer a quick sample to someone who cannot decide between the lamb curry and the butter chicken. That personal touch is rare in any restaurant, let alone one operating in a tourist-heavy market where turnover tends to matter more than connection.
Reviewers who visited from Dearborn, a city with a deeply rooted Middle Eastern food culture, left genuinely impressed. When someone from that community calls your shawarma the best they have had in Michigan, that is a credential no marketing budget can buy.
Brent’s story is still being written, one plate at a time.
A Menu That Refuses to Play It Safe
The menu at Habibi reads like a culinary passport stamped across three continents. Middle Eastern staples share space with South Asian curries and American coney-style items, creating a lineup that genuinely has no direct competitor in the region.
Chicken shawarma, lamb gyros, falafel wraps, butter chicken, daal, and saffron rice are all on offer. The Arabic salad brings a fresh brightness to the table, and the hummus comes out smooth and well-seasoned, best enjoyed with the warm, soft pita that arrives alongside it.
Then there is the section of the menu that stops first-timers mid-scroll: camel burgers and kangaroo meat. These are not gimmicks.
The kangaroo has a gamey, beefy quality that is genuinely interesting, and the camel burger holds its own as a conversation starter and a satisfying meal. For anyone who has grown bored of predictable tourist-town menus, this one is a proper reset.
The next section reveals why the portions alone are worth the trip.
Portions That Actually Earn the Price
One of the most consistent things people mention after eating at Habibi is the sheer volume of food that arrives at the table. The portions here are not just generous; they are the kind that make you reconsider ordering a second dish because you are still working through the first.
The meat platter comes loaded, the curry bowls are deep and fragrant, and even the side items like grape leaves and tabbouleh feel like full accompaniments rather than afterthoughts. Prices sit at a moderate range, marked as double dollar sign territory, meaning you are getting real value without the fine-dining markup.
One practical tip worth noting: if you are ordering for a work lunch with a tight window, call ahead. Brent makes everything fresh to order, which means timing matters.
The food is worth waiting for, but a quick call fifteen minutes before you arrive means your meal is ready the moment you walk through the door. Fresh food, fair prices, generous plates.
The Atmosphere That Wraps Around You
The inside of Habibi has a personality that a lot of bigger restaurants spend serious money trying to manufacture. Colorful Middle Eastern decor covers the walls, the music shifts between modern and traditional tracks, and the overall vibe lands somewhere between casual neighborhood spot and cultural experience.
The dining area was thoughtfully arranged to handle the late-afternoon and evening crowds that tend to build up, especially during the summer tourist season. It is not a large space, but it never feels cramped in a way that ruins the mood.
The calm music and warm tones make it easy to settle in and actually enjoy the meal rather than rush through it.
First-time visitors often comment on how quickly the place makes them feel comfortable, almost like being welcomed into someone’s home rather than a commercial dining room. That feeling is not accidental.
It comes from intentional hospitality, and it makes the food taste even better than it already does. The baklava waiting at the end of the meal only adds to that sense of reward.
Shawarma That Silenced the Skeptics
Chicken shawarma is one of those dishes that reveals exactly how much care went into the cooking. At Habibi, the shawarma arrives well-spiced, properly layered, and consistent in a way that suggests Brent takes the recipe seriously rather than treating it as a quick crowd-pleaser.
Visitors who grew up eating Middle Eastern food, or who traveled abroad and developed a specific benchmark for what good shawarma tastes like, have been notably vocal about how this version holds up. One person described it as the closest thing to what they had overseas, and credited it with curing both homesickness and a mild cold, which is a bold claim for any meal to live up to.
The chicken shawarma platter pairs naturally with the Arabic salad, whose bright acidity cuts through the richness of the meat beautifully. Add a scoop of hummus on the side and a piece of warm pita, and you have a plate that tells you everything you need to know about why this restaurant has a 4.5-star rating across nearly 470 reviews.
Butter Chicken That Belongs in a Different Conversation
Most people do not walk into a Middle Eastern restaurant expecting the butter chicken to steal the show, but at Habibi, it absolutely does. The curry is rich, deeply spiced, and made in fresh batches, which means the wait can occasionally stretch longer than expected.
Brent once came out to let a table know their curry would take a little longer because he had started a new batch and wanted it properly developed. That level of transparency and commitment to quality is genuinely rare.
The result is a curry that tastes like it had time to breathe, with layers that build slowly rather than hitting all at once.
The daal served alongside it is equally impressive, soft and well-seasoned with a depth that surprises people who expected something simple. Paired with saffron rice, the South Asian side of this menu holds its own completely.
For a restaurant in a Northern Michigan tourist town, that is a culinary achievement worth pausing over. The exotic menu items covered next take things even further.
Camel, Kangaroo, and the Art of the Unexpected
There are not many places in Michigan where you can order a camel burger on a Tuesday afternoon, and that fact alone makes Habibi worth a visit for the adventurous eater. The kangaroo meat has a gamey, beefy quality that is genuinely interesting, and the camel burger delivers a flavor profile that is hard to compare to anything in the standard American lineup.
These items are not just novelties placed on the menu for shock value. They are prepared with the same care that goes into every other dish, which means the exotic proteins are actually good rather than just unusual.
Tourists in particular have responded enthusiastically, with several noting they tried the kangaroo or camel burger on a whim and left pleasantly surprised.
For families traveling through Traverse City with kids who love the idea of trying something wild, this is a natural conversation starter that doubles as a genuinely satisfying meal. Not every tourist memory involves a landmark.
Some of the best ones involve a burger you never expected to enjoy this much.
The Desserts That Deserve Their Own Mention
Baklava is one of those desserts that varies wildly depending on who made it, and the version at Habibi lands in the category of ones you think about after the meal is long over. It is sweet but not aggressively so, with layers that hold their texture and a honey-nut balance that feels calibrated rather than accidental.
The labneh dessert in a sweet sauce with pistachio is another item worth ordering if it appears on the menu that day. It is the kind of dish that does not announce itself loudly but lingers in the memory, creamy and subtly sweet with the pistachio adding a pleasant crunch at the end of each bite.
Finishing a meal at Habibi with something sweet feels like the natural conclusion to a dining experience that was never in a hurry to rush you out. The desserts are a small but meaningful signal that the kitchen cares about the full arc of your visit, not just the main event.
Save room.
Practical Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Visit
A few small pieces of knowledge go a long way when visiting Habibi. The restaurant gets noticeably busy during late afternoons and evenings, particularly in summer when Traverse City swells with tourists.
Arriving earlier in the day or calling ahead for a pickup order are both smart moves if your schedule is tight.
Everything is made fresh to order, which means patience is part of the deal. Brent and the team do not rush the food, and the quality reflects that.
If you are on a strict thirty-minute lunch break, a call ahead fifteen minutes before you arrive means the meal is ready when you get there.
The restaurant is clean, the staff is consistently described as warm and accommodating, and the space handles both solo diners and small groups comfortably. Gluten-free guests have been well taken care of, with staff going out of their way to offer suitable options.
For a first visit, ordering a platter gives you the widest possible introduction to what this kitchen can do.
