The Garlic Sauce
That Started It All
At Phoenician Garden in Fresno, there is one ingredient that defines everything. It arrives at your table silently, unassuming in a small white container, but it transforms every plate it touches. It is toum, the legendary Lebanese garlic sauce that has become as essential to the restaurant's identity as the name on the door.
For nearly two decades, our founder Mo Hmaidan and now his son Tarek have been making toum the same way, every single day. Fresh garlic. Lemon juice. Pure olive oil. Salt. That's it. Four ingredients, yet somehow the most complex flavor on the menu. The key is not the components, but the respect with which they're combined: slow emulsification, precise technique, and an understanding of the delicate balance between pungency and creaminess that defines this legendary sauce.
This is the story of how a simple condiment became the reason people return again and again. This is toum.
What Is Toum?
Toum is a traditional Lebanese condiment, an emulsified sauce that's part mayonnaise, part garlic butter, entirely irresistible. Unlike other garlic sauces that are thin and pungent, toum achieves a thick, creamy consistency through a careful process of emulsification, where raw garlic, oil, and lemon juice are bound together into a silken suspension.
The sauce is typically made with four core ingredients: fresh garlic cloves (the primary flavor), cold-pressed olive oil (the vehicle for creaminess), fresh lemon juice (the brightness and acidity), and sea salt (the finisher). Some variations include a starch like potato or cornstarch to help stabilize the emulsion, but at Phoenician Garden, we rely on technique alone.
What makes toum distinctive is its balance. Unlike raw minced garlic, which can be sharp and uncomfortable, toum's emulsification mellows the garlic while preserving its complex, sweet undertones. The lemon juice prevents the sauce from becoming cloying. The result is a condiment that enhances rather than dominates, that makes you want another bite.
How It's Made
Fresh Garlic
Cloves are finely minced, releasing volatile oils and sugars that will anchor the flavor.
Slow Emulsion
Cold-pressed olive oil is added in steady streams while whipping, creating a thick, creamy base.
Lemon & Salt
Fresh lemon juice adds brightness and acidity; salt brings all flavors into perfect balance.
Whipped Until Fluffy
Final whipping aerates the sauce, achieving its signature silken, luxurious texture.
Dishes That Pair
Every dish at Phoenician Garden shines when topped with our signature sauce. These are the classics.
Shawarma Plate
Thin-sliced, perfectly spiced meat meets creamy toum. The classic pairing where this sauce was meant to shine.
Combo Kebobs
Charred meat and vegetables find their perfect complement in the silken richness of fresh toum.
Garlic Chicken Wrap
Hand-held and perfectly portable, this wrap demands toum for completeness.
Crispy Falafel
Golden and crunchy on the outside, creamy within. Toum amplifies every dimension.
Gyro Wrap
Traditional flavors of the Mediterranean are completed by toum's distinctive complexity.
"The toum is absolutely incredible. I've never had garlic sauce this creamy and flavorful. It completely changed how I experience their food."
SARAH M., GOOGLE REVIEW
Try It Yourself
Experience the legendary garlic sauce that has made Phoenician Garden a destination. Order now for pickup or delivery to First and Herndon.
Order Now$10 off orders $50+ with code FRESNOBEST10