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I wanted this to be better than some of reviews posted on several sites and always try to give small local businesses a try. Just a few tables, very noisy, food took a long time, came out in to go containers, and the flavors were just okay. Ordered the roasted garlic and parmesan pasta. It was in great need of a touch of salt to brighten the flavors. My friend ordered the same item and hers came out 10 minutes before mine and had half the sauce of mine. We both added chicken and mine was very dry. I got a basic salad which was okay. We did not order off of the Mediterranean menu side but did see another table’s samosas and gyros which looked good. Maybe the pastas are not their strength. Sadly the food was just okay to poor and will not plan on returning unless I hear that they have gotten their restaurant and kitchen running better.

Sweet Tomatoes – Menu with Prices – 12601 SE 2nd Cir, Vancouver

jeez where to begin…. the salad bar was ok, the romaine looked old, and some ingredients looked pretty crusty, however there where no meat options to put on your salad whatsoever. when i got to the cashiers booth there where 3 girls standing there talking. one of the girls was servicing the other side of the booth. i had to stand there for about 5 mins, long after the lady had serviced the other people, with occasional glances from the other 2 before being rung up. my total came to $29 for 2 adult meals and 1 kids meal +a drink. i go over and put my things down before grabbing my tray again, and heading to the soups. they had a wide selection of soups however none of them looked very appetizing and if i’m being honest look like they came from a can. i settled for the big chunk chicken noodle soup. to put chicken in the title is an understatement, it was basically a bland chicken broth with noodles and get this oNe PiEcE oF cHicKeN iN tHe eNtiRe pOt. ONE. like how do you call something chicken noodle soup when you put ONE PIECE OF CHICKEN IN IT. anyhow, the next section over has some pizza and some bakery items… i see the pizza and grab some, later to find out that it tastes like cardboard with a sprinkle of cheese. even my kid didn’t want to eat it because honestly i wouldn’t even feed that pizza to my dog. next up on the disappointment express was the pastas, brace yourself for impact and get ready to eat kraft mac and cheese. yup you heard me right, i paid $12 to eat kraft mac and cheese. there where 2 other pastas next to the mac but both looked ready for the garbage, including a grey mushroom something or another, and some spaghetti and store bought tomato sauce, let’s just say i passed on those. i wasted my money on this place and would definitely not recommend. honestly i wish i just went to olive garden and gotten some soup and salad there. anyways beware of this place and save your money!!!

Agápi Pita Mediterranean Grill – Menu with Prices – 13802 N Scottsdale Rd #130, Scottsdale

Perhaps my group and I came on an off day, because my review contradicts what every other reviewer wrote. We ordered two gyros, a lentil soup, and dolmades to share. The soup had zero flavor, so we added tzatziki sauce to add some flavor. The dolmades were gross. There was a weird and unnecessary flavor to them, I’m not able to pin point what it was – maybe some tomato sauce? I was expecting them to have avgolemeno sauce on them and some lemon or dill, but they were unlike anything I had ever had, and not in a good way. The gyros were basic. It would have been nice to have the pita directly under the meat rather than on the side. If you’re looking for gooooood, authentic Greek food, go to Pangea dinosaur grill. That’s my go to and will always be. Sorry but the ‘love’ just wasn’t there.

Saffron Grill Menu with Prices 616 S Broadway, Baltimore

This place has been open a week when we visited the other day. Serving up a variety of American-Pakistani food. If you are not a fan of Lamb, gyros, kebabs, this may not be the place for you. Saffron was a very authentic feel and taste from its decor to its gyro platter. Specials: Saffron will be known for the kebabs, gyros and samosas. Very authentic with a lot of food for the price. Food: Arriving with six people for lunch we all had very different stuff from Gyro platters with lamb and one with chicken to lamb chops and more. All the food was good and I believe will get better as time goes on. Service: Fantastic!! Overall: I would give it a 4.5. This place has a lot of potential and the owner and staff were all very very pleasant. With it being new I think they have a great start and will take suggestions that will help them even more as time goes on.

Al Bacha Restaurant – Menu with Prices – 819 E Denny Way, Seattle

Really solid, affordable option for Mediterranean food on Capitol Hill. As an added bonus for night owls, they’re open until the wee hours of the morning, which feels downright criminal in Seattle (don’t get me wrong; I’m really glad rare places like this exist for when I’m hungry at 11 PM). This isn’t the fanciest restaurant on the block, so the decor and ambience are both pretty bare bones. The menu contains your standard Mediterranean staples, consisting mostly of variations of falafel and shawarma in wrap or plate form, as well as gyros. I usually order takeout via Grubhub since I live within spitting distance, and I’ve found it to be a very painless experience. The food is always warm and fresh when I get it, which is great. Portions are generous, with healthy amounts of protein and salad in them. I overall find the food here very satisfying and perfect for quick, well-priced, reasonably healthy, filling meals. It isn’t the best Mediterranean food in the city (go to Petra for that), but it’s A-OK for the niche it fills.

Al’s Gyros Chicago’s Finest – Menu with Prices – 5932 W Bell Rd, Glendale

I love this place. Really do. Had many dishes on their menu. I cant get enough of the Mediterranean salad with chicken. Its large and plentiful with chicken. So good. My problem is with pick up orders. When I get the salad, I ask for the Greek dressing to be on the side (so it doesnt saturate the lettuce if I were to keep for leftovers, which I do) I was told it always does. That order came with dressing on the side, so when I ordered again I didnt ask, bc… dressing always came on the side for to go orders.. that didn’t happen. I was very disappointed. But since this place is so good and despite me moving and it’s a ways further, I still come here! So I order again and specifically say please put the dressing on side. Ok no problem. I get to pay and notice I dont see the dressing. I’m given one and I go home. Start to eat and noticed the dressing is all on the bottom of the container. So sad! I wont stop coming here, but please stop it LOL! Get it together

Sami’s Gyros – Menu with Prices – 1158 W Washington St #106, Tempe

I came here with a friend at lunch to try the gyros. I ended up not even trying it. There was a long line so I began watching the cook out of boredom. He NEVER once went to the spit to slice off fresh gyros meat. There were two spits and one had nothing on it and the other had a very small amount of gyros meat on it. I decided to use the restroom and re-evaluate my options. When I came out of the restroom I glanced over the counter and saw the cook splashing a bit of water with a ladle on some gyros meet that was cooking on the grill. If it was fresh gyros it would have been hot from being on the spit. I grew up in Chicago and had good gyros from many restaurants and it was always sliced fresh off the spit and was piping hot. Sorry Sami’s, but you won’t be getting any of my business.

Pita Mediterranean Street Food Menu with Prices 5530 Windward Pkwy suite 101, Alpharetta

I first visited this location using a Local Flavor certificate on a weekend. It was a great value, and I’m willing to try new places at least once. We tried 4 different gyros for our family of 4. 2 of the gyros, we ordered fries. The other 2 gyros, we ordered grilled veggies. There were several people working there, and the nice manager introduced himself. He explained what most of what was on the menu, very helpful! The chicken, lamb and beef in the gyros were juicy, and seasoned well. The ingredients of the gyros were fresh. Everything was hot when the order was ready, but the carrot, sweet potato and zucchini medley was extremely undercooked making them very hard and tough to chew. Pretty much inedible. Since they were thickly-cut, they needed more cooking time. I feel that if he started to grill them before preparing the gyros, the veggies may be tender. Perhaps, the veggies need to be sliced down to 1/8′ instead of the 3/8′ that I think they were. We were on the way to go to the movie theater with tickets in hand, so I didn’t waste any time letting anyone at the counter know about the veggies. I went there 3 other times during the weekday by myself, and it was only the manager working there. It took 15 minutes for 1 gyro, and it didn’t include the checkout time. 3 strikes when you’re on a 1 hour lunch break. Next time, I’ll definitely order online, and have it ready when I get there. It’s worth coming back since the food was delicious. Oh, I almost forgot that I had the variety of phyllo dough sweets. They are all good!

Falafel Express – Menu with Prices – 320 E Bullard Ave, Fresno

Another great option to satisfy your crave for Mediterranean food. I came here on a whim and ordered a couple of chicken kebab plates to-go for the wife and I. Let me begin with the location: For first timers, getting is tricky because the restaurant is located on the only side street between Fresno Street and Freeway 41 in an area filled with medical offices. Great for the employees in the are but if you’re on a rush and miss the right hand turn, this is a section of Bullard avenue that isn’t so driver friendly so you might have to make two u-turns to try again. Stay in the right lane on Bullard and make the 1st right after Fresno! The restaurant looks like it’s run by family and is small. Nothing fancy by any means. The person who took my order looked like a teenager and I assumed he was probably the son of someone working in the back kitchen or office. He was more interested in the TV than taking my order and not very friendly. Not a big deal, I was kind of in a hurry and just wanted to get my food and run. The getting my food part took a lot longer than I expected. The wait felt like it was 20 plus minutes, I wasn’t watching the click and perception of time can get distorted when one is pressed for time and impatient. So to give them the benefit of the doubt, it might not have taken 20 minutes but it wasn’t fast by any reasonable estimation and I was the only customer for the duration of my wait. The food came well packed and cost 20 bucks for both plates which included pilaf, bread, and salad. The food: I thought the chicken was seasoned and cooked well. On top of that, it wasn’t overly dry as I’ve experienced a few times eating Mediterranean food. The garlic sauce was awesome! I absolutely love garlic sauce, but not all of it. Their garlic sauce was thick and bursting with a strong garlic flavor that I’ve come to live about this food. The rice pilaf was on point, cooked and seasoned just right. The salad was less than stellar mostly due to being a little dry and lacking the punch of Mediterranean flavors and consistency of salads served in restaurants just like this one. Not too big of a deal to me but my wife wouldn’t let me forget it for a day or two. Overall legit Mediterranean restaurant. Not perfect but still pretty damn good in my opinion and worth another visit should the craving overcome me again.

Main Street Deli – Menu with Prices – 520 Main St A, Garland

Let me start with the wonderful owners and how I ended up in this fine establishment, I was sitting out in the cold waiting for the parade to begin and I suddenly needed to use the restroom. Most places require you to buy something or they’ll say they don’t allow outsiders to use their restroom. I took a chance and walked inside. I was pleasantly greeted. I asked if I could use to Restroom and he said yes without hesitation (Side Note: the restroom and restaurant were very clean!). I was so appreciative and impressed that I told him I would come back with my mom after the parade to get a “sandwich”. I came back and looked at the menu and I saw “Greek Specialties”. Now I’m even more thrilled about finding this place. All I can say is Delicious!! Delicious! Delicious!! I ordered the Mediterranean platter. For ONLY 9.99 you get a mini GYRO pita, Falafel, Greek Salad with Hummus and Pita. The Falafel was extremely flavorful and the Hummus was out of this world. I would highly recommend this location. It’s the most authentic Mediterranean food I’ve had yet and I LOVE Mediterranean!! I will be back. They have a daily deal where you can get soup, salad a drink for only $6.49. If your looking for Home delicious tasty food stop by and let me know in the comments about your experience.

Maria?s Italian Kitchen – Menu with Prices – 1008 Montana Ave, Santa Monica

Formerly Louise’s Italian restaurant, a long time fixture on Montana Ave, this new outlet of Maria’s Kitchen is more of an alternate Louise’s than a completely different eatery. You see, the real life Maria was the real life Louise’s mom. Mom Maria opened her restaurant in 1975, and daughter Louise opened hers in 1978. No surprise, the restaurants have always had similar items using similar recipes. Madelyn, Maria’s other daughter, has been running Maria’s since mom’s passing, and now has pulled Louise’s back into the family. SO…there is a lot that hasn’t changed in the former Louise’s restaurant despite the new name and black-and-white striped awning. Which will be a relief to long-time fans of Louise’s. The interior is almost exactly the same as before–and why not as it was recently updated? There is new artwork on the walls–quaint old photos of Maria and her parents. As for food: they still have a lot of the same pastas, including my fave, fettuccine & chicken. That’s a big plus. Louise’s regulars will likely find most of their beloved dishes on Maria’s menu. But, yes, there are a few things gone/changed. Some salads have vanished, others (Maria’s) put in their place. One interesting change is you can’t get grilled salmon on a salad–only chicken or shrimp. But some additions are welcome like the Mediterranean salad and the caprese. Maria’s is also a much more “Family” place, meaning there are options to order up a dinner for four to go–lasagna, salad, dessert–rather than having to order four separate meals and salads. Also kids eat free on Wednesdays, and they sell bottles of Maria’s marinara sauce (they’re on every table) with a free bag of pasta. They also have, on the website at least, the option of getting a picnic lunch to go…but I’m not sure if that’s up and running yet. As of this review, delivery was not operational, either. On the positive, there were at least three managerial sorts overseeing everything. So they really want to make this work and you can get someone to listen to you if some Louise’s favorite is gone and you still want it. Getting to the food: so far, I’ve only ordered a sandwich and a salad. The salad was the Mediterranean–cucumbers, olive, feta cheese…I liked it but I really had to search for that feta cheese. To me, such a salad should be generous with feta, not sprinkle it on as an after thought. The sandwich was the club. The chicken was tender and well cooked, the bacon crispy, and I liked that there was avocado. BUT it lacked seasoning. It’s tricky with a sandwich like that. The bacon is salty, so adding salt might make it too salty…but the chicken was lacking salt, and I couldn’t taste the garlic aioli. Bread: Louise’s was well known and loved for its rosemary focaccia bread. Maria’s serves a similar (the same?) version in the bread basket and as the bread for some of the sandwiches…but it tastes under baked. There’s no crispiness to it, as good olive oil focaccia should have along the edges (Louise’s bread always seemed to have it). It added to the “under seasoned” taste of my club. They need to amp up that bread. Give it crispy edges, and really have the rosemary come through in the fluffy interior. Maria’s Kitchen on Montana is currently an odd duck. It’s part old Louise’s, part brand new restaurant, and part chain-restaurant. These three haven’t synthesized yet, but those in charge seem eager to make it work, so I’ll certainly be back to see how the transformation is coming along. At this point, I’d ask them to be more bold: amp up the flavor and texture of the bread, and don’t be timid when it comes to things like feta cheese in a salad or garlic aioli in a sandwich. Everything is pieced together right, it just needs a little extr

The Gyro Company – Menu with Prices – 7240 Gravois Ave, St. Louis

DELICIOUS! I will be back for more and anticipating that this 4 becomes a 5! I went there with some people from work and had the Classic Gyro. There was also some hummus and pita leftover from someone’s salad, which I gladly ate! The hummus was flavorful and had a great texture. Not too smooth or chunky. We had a big group, but the food came out fast, warm, and the gyros were fully stuffed with meat, lettuce, tomatoes and red onion. I was able to add sriracha for a kick! Overall a very enjoyable lunch. They also have the option to choose a chicken gyro, salads, or add feta and pepperoncini peppers to your gyro to make it a supreme! If gyros are not to your liking, they also have other options from subs to pizzas and a kids menu too. They also have a lot of different dessert choices for baklava lovers and even chocolate lovers. I will definitely be back to try more hummus and Falafel and gyros.

Chicken Chick – Menu with Prices – 16300 Crenshaw Blvd #101, Torrance

It’s a cute tiny restaurant, but definitely needs overall improvement. We usually drive by Chicken Chick to go to other restaurants nearby. Gardena is a town of hidden gems and we decided to try Chicken Chick since they have decent yelp reviews. It is been 3 weeks since I visited Chicken Chick, and if I can’t remember how delicious the food was, it was probably just okay. I am a huge fan of Mediterranean food and we probably have Mediterranean food once a week at least. I love the silky rich taste of hummus with pita bread and the tender meat with a bit of fiery charcoal burns. Food: all I could recall was Chicken Chick gave big portions of everything. We ordered extra side of hummus and it was literally a small plate of hummus. Ambiance: the restaurant is fairly small, with 2 long tables (probably can seat 6-8 people) and 4 square tables (at most 2 people). The restaurant is divided in the middle with a tiny walkway to the front counter. The counter was messy and looked unfinished. I assumed that the restaurant is still under construction since a construction crew member was telling the manager about the ceiling and walls. When we first arrived, the manager or owner greeted us, and let us sit wherever we wanted. Then he didn’t bother to give us the menu or anything and went back minding his own business with another older lady. Basically, we seat there and waited about 5 minutes until the only waitress showed up to give us the menu. The waitress looked overwhelmed serving one large party and 2 smaller parties. She was running around taking orders, delivering water and foods, and getting checks while the manager just stood there and watched. Also, we had to wave down a FLY constantly. The manager kept the restaurant door open and allowed flies to come in and out. I have never been to a restaurant (with walls) where flies would be constantly attacking you or your food. It almost made me felt like I was eating on the streets. The manager noticed us waving our hands around to make sure the fly didn’t land on our food, and he did not do anything, not even closing that door. So overall, the ambiance and customer service were SO BAD that I don’t think I would want to go back to eat at Chicken Chick again. The management needs to improve otherwise Chicken Chick is not going to be here long in this town full of yummy restaurants.