Ammoora, Federal Hill’s luxe Levantine restaurant, has landed on The New York Times’ latest list of best restaurants in the country.

The fine dining spot from restaurateur Jay Salkini and chef Dima Al-Chaar was among the 50 restaurants included on The 2024 Restaurant List, a compendium of the Times food team’s “favorite places in America right now.”

“For anyone steeped in generic Middle Eastern takeout staples, Ammoora will be a revelation,” wine critic Eric Asimov wrote for the piece, praising dishes like muhammara — roasted peppers seasoned with chile and pomegranate molasses — and kebbet karaz, a minced lamb dish with cinnamon, pine nuts and cherry sauce, for their “thrilling balance of sweet and sour.”

“Even a familiar hummus or baklava can make you feel as if your eyes have been opened, revealing vivid new colors,” Asimov wrote.

Ammoora is the only Maryland restaurant to make the 2024 list. Last year, the Times highlighted Little Donna’s, an Upper Fells Point tavern with a Midwest-meets-Eastern Europe menu, spurring a flurry of reservations. The newspaper also included Little Donna’s on a recent list of best pizza places in the U.S.

Markie Britton, Ammoora’s co-founder, said Tuesday that the recognition came as a surprise. Praise for the restaurant seems to be spreading beyond Baltimore by word of mouth, she added: “It seems like our Syrian cuisine has really resonated with a lot of folks, and it’s humbling.”

The Federal Hill restaurant opened in the Ritz-Carlton Residences in January 2023. The menu spans the cuisine of the Levant, a historical geographic area that includes Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq.

In late 2023, four former employees sued Ammoora’s ownership and management, alleging they were not paid proper minimum and overtime wages and that they were not given their fair share of tips. The lawsuit, still active in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, also claims two workers were fired after bringing their concerns to management.

Britton declined to comment on the complaint. “We have a really great staff, and I think it speaks volumes that a majority of our staff has been there for nine-plus months,” she said.