The homemade cooking at Simone’s Kitchen is rooted in Lebanese family tradition.

Bashir Chedrawee opened the downtown Schenectady restaurant with his mom, Simone, in 2022, serving up the Mediterranean style food he grew up eating.

“Everything we do here is really inspired by the food she used to cook for us. So there’s literally love built into this restaurant,” said Bashir.

Starting with Bashir’s favorite, baked wild caught pacific cod with herby tahini sauce served with Lebanese pita, Bashir says tahini is a staple in Mediterranean cooking.

“Tahini is crushed sesame seeds, similar flavor, similar nuttiness to peanut butter, but a lot sweeter taste,” he said.

Many of Simone’s dishes are vegan like their homemade hummus.

“Our hummus is made with Lebanese tahini, which is not roasted as much, so that it has a nice, sweet flavor,” said Bashir.

Their award-winning creamy tomato and sweet harissa soup is finished soup is served with cashew garlic aioli, basil olive oil, pomegranate molasses and micro-greens.

“It’s a North African Mediterranean take on classic tomato soup,” he said.

Bashir said Simone’s Kitchen is fast casual dining, serving fresh, simple food for an affordable price.

When you dine at Simone’s Kitchen, don’t forget to leave room for dessert like Simone’s Lebanese baklava. It’s layers of buttered phyllo dough with homemade hazelnut and chocolate spread, then drizzled with their infused rosewater infused syrup.

Bashir says he's honored that people love his mom’s food and that he can share their family’s traditions. And that’s what’s on the menu.