Assal Market

Went in looking for mastic gum (natural digestive aid), found it for 10$, came out with complimentary nougat candy. Always wanted to try these and Turkish Delight. Everyone was helpful including the customers! Thank you, Assal market. Appreciate the hospitality.

The quality of the goat meat was very bad and looks like they sold the old meat to us. The butcher kept telling many lies like it was a fresh and baby goat meat, but it wasn't. It was from a matured (old) fatty goat and all the money that we spent (over $50) gone wasted. I will never go back here and will never recommend this store to anyone. There are lots of other Halal stores in the area who are selling real baby goat meats. Message to the owner & Butcher: Please learn to live honest life. The money that you earn by cheating others won't last long

Nothing special at all. Isles are very tight and some items in cans had expired. Watch your bill they do not always verify the accuracy of prices. It has gone downhill as well with fresh produce. There are far better Middle Eastern markets nearby

Good store as far as Iranian stuff are concerned, pretty much of everything you may need. Just make sure the owner ( M…. ) is not at the register !

I shopped here on and off over many years dropping by yesterday after a 2 year plus hiatus. I like the vibe of Assal. Notwithstanding the covid pandemic my habit has always been shopping during off peak business hours for everything, from Home Depot to CVS to grocery shopping in general. But even during off peak there seems to be steady traffic here. Slower traffic but steady. Appears to me the owner/management, employees and customers all interact with ease. Seems to me Assal’s customer base is made up of regulars from the large Persian diaspora in NOVA and talk with ease to each other, often in Farsi. There is a social component to shopping here. The store is small and seemed well organized yesterday compared to long ago, past shopping experiences. I like their bread selection and generally buy spices along with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern ingredients and products. I do not buy produce, meat and poultry here and I don’t even know if Assal has sea food. I buy produce at MOM’s Organic Market, poultry and sea food at Whole Foods, and on rare occasions, becoming almost non existent, meat at The Organic Butcher of McLean. I also went to Wooden Bakery and Yas Bakery yesterday and noted that only Assal Market had grape seed oil. At Assal I purchased grape seed oil, pita bread, halva and frozen falafel. The falafel was bland, not so good.