Ann Arbor – Want to keep your diet on track, but eat a feast fit for a king? Well, you will feel like royalty when you head to Palm Palace. The owner, Ahmad Hodroj, came up with the idea for the restaurant when he visited Morocco.
“As I am driving by [the coast] I see this big structure with a lot of palm trees surrounding it… and I asked the driver, ‘I keep seeing these, what are they?’ He mentioned that these are the palaces for his majesty, the King of Morocco, and every day every palace throughout the whole country expects his arrival…and when he doesn’t show up after sundown they open the gates, invite the whole[sic] villagers and they feast together. Those palaces are called the Palm Palace,” explains Ahmad.
So he opened the Palm Palace in 2008 in Ann Arbor. The interior is designed in a Moroccan theme with much of the decor actually made in Morocco. Their food, however, is mostly Lebanese in style, serving items like shawarma, fried kibbe, and the chef’s specialty, lemon oregano shish tawook. Everything is made fresh and Executive Chef Jamil Eid makes sure all of the food is cooked to the same high quality.
“It takes time, the procedure of making it… and cooking, you have to get a good quality of food and a consistency of food,” says Jamil.
Currently, they are offering many meal deals including a whole deboned chicken that can feed a family of 4 for $14.99.
When COVID-19 hit, like many restaurants, Palm Palace re-structured things. All of their carryout containers are sealed to ensure safe health standards. They’ve also upgraded their a/c and air filtration system to purify the air and hired a special team member to oversee sanitizing and cleanliness. All of their employees and customers have to be temperature checked before entering the building. Right now, they are offering contact-free carry-out.
If you would like to try Palm Palace they are located at 2370 Carpenter Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48108.