{"id":27279,"date":"2026-09-04T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=27279"},"modified":"2026-08-13T09:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T13:53:10","slug":"vegan-options-at-naf-naf-middle-eastern-grill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2026\/09\/04\/vegan-options-at-naf-naf-middle-eastern-grill\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Options at Naf Naf Middle Eastern Grill"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Naf-Naf-Grill.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27280\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Naf-Naf-Grill.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"258\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>By Jeanne Yacoubous, MS<\/p>\n<p>Currently at over 35 locations mostly in the Midwest but quickly spreading nationwide, late founder Sahar Sander opened the first <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nafnafgrill.com\/\">Naf Naf Middle Eastern Grill<\/a> restaurant in Naperville, IL, in 2009. According to the company website, the name <em>Naf Naf<\/em> (\u201cFan the Flame\u201d) serves as a heartfelt invitation to gather around the table to s<strong>hare a meal<\/strong>. Featuring \u201cauthentic handmade recipes\u201d true to Sander\u2019s Middle Eastern upbringing, Naf Naf is still serving those dishes today.<\/p>\n<p>The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) asked the Local Store Marketing and Catering Specialist at Naf Naf, about its vegan menu items. We were intrigued because, in their initial email, they had written that \u201cour menu is 90% vegan- and vegetarian-friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Upon closer inspection of the Naf Naf menu, however, we found a few traditional Middle Eastern meat staples such as chicken shawarma and steak. Naf Naf also serves chicken tenders.<\/p>\n<p>Other menu items that are <strong>not<\/strong> vegan at Naf Naf:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Garlic sauce (made with mayonnaise)<\/li>\n<li>Nafziki (containing labneh, a Middle Eastern Cheese, made with microbial rennet)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They pointed out in a June 2026 email that:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur fries are fried in the same fryer as the chicken tenders but our falafel has its own fryer to avoid cross contamination. We are hopefully coming up with new innovative options with vegans in mind&#8230;, so I will let you know when there are new vegan options available. All our salads and sauces are made in house with fresh ingredients and no animal by-products.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For more information about the vegan status of all the menu items at Naf Naf, readers may consult the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nafnafgrill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Allergy-And-Nutrition-Guide_20251125.pdf\">Allergy Guide<\/a> on the website. This helpful document contains a vegan icon next to the vegan items at Naf Naf. One vegan item on that list is lentil soup.<\/p>\n<p>When we asked specifically about the falafel, they informed us that it is free of all animal- and dairy-derived ingredients.<\/p>\n<p>The pre-made pita bread dough arrives at restaurants and is cooked in-house. We were informed that L-cysteine is not on the label. The VRG asked for confirmation that any \u201cdough conditioner\u201d listed \u2013 which could be how L-cysteine is present \u2013 does not contain L-cysteine, but the dough company has not responded to Naf Naf\u2019s multiple inquiries.<\/p>\n<p>Naf Naf offers basmati rice and couscous. We were told that both grains are prepared in \u201c&#8230;soybean oil and spices; nothing animal-based&#8230;the pots that we use for our rice and couscous are only used for vegan dishes. We have separate cutting boards and knives for vegetables\/meats as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The hummus, spicy hummus, and baba ghanoush at Naf Naf are 100% plant-based. They, like all foods at Naf Naf, are prepared in \u201c&#8230;soybean and olive oil&#8230;there\u2019s no butter or tallow onsite.\u201d These dishes are also prepared away from meat and dairy products.<\/p>\n<p>The vegan sauces at Naf Naf are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lemon vinaigrette<\/li>\n<li>Tahini<\/li>\n<li>S&#8217;khug<\/li>\n<li>Harissa<\/li>\n<li>Pomegranate vinaigrette<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Naf Naf is currently offering, for a limited time only, a protein wrap made with a wheat flour tortilla&#8230;, hummus, pickles, and either chicken or falafel&#8230;and grilled until crispy. There is no L-cysteine in the tortilla; its dough conditioner is labeled as: \u201cfumaric acid, xanthan gum, mono- and diglycerides, sodium metabisulphite.\u201d There is no set end date for the wrap. If it&#8217;s popular, it could become a permanent menu item.<\/p>\n<p>All Naf Nac franchises use the same ingredients in all menu items. \u201cThey are required to utilize the same products through the same vendors as corporate locations.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cFranchises, [like corporate-owned restaurants], prepare their dishes onsite except for the [non-vegan] baklava which arrives pre-cooked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All Naf Naf locations follow the same standard operating procedures to avoid commingling between vegan and non-vegan items. \u201cThey are also subjected to surprise inspections three times a year to ensure they are following all company standards.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.<\/p>\n<p>For more on where to eat vegetarian in restaurants, see:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/restaurant\/index.php\">https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/restaurant\/index.php<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/fastfoodinfo.php\">https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/fastfoodinfo.php<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For more vegan information, subscribe to Vegan Journal: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/member\/cabdacae.php\">https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/member\/cabdacae.php<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jeanne Yacoubous, MS Currently at over 35 locations mostly in the Midwest but quickly spreading nationwide, late founder Sahar Sander opened the first Naf Naf Middle Eastern Grill restaurant in Naperville, IL, in 2009. According to the company website, the name Naf Naf (\u201cFan the Flame\u201d) serves as a heartfelt invitation to gather around [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27279"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27281,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27279\/revisions\/27281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}