mezeh — Restaurant in Blacksburg

Staff was not nice. I totally understand that there is a pandemic going on right now and that when I went for lunch the restaurant was a little busy. The staff was trying to get ahead of the orders and asked us what we wanted before we could even see the food down the line. They were asking what toppings we wanted and there was no way we could see or read the signs for what toppings there were and the menus provided were so small and spaced out that we could barely read that as well. We were also still at the beginning of the line when they asked what protein we wanted. My sister had never been here before and thought that going in to the restaurant would make it easier to order to physically see the food instead of ordering online. Since we couldn’t see the food or a description, my sister said she wanted the chicken kebab. After the kebab was in her bowl she saw that there were green peppers. My sister is allergic to green peppers and she really did not know that they were in the kebab (which did not have a description that said it had green peppers on that tiny menu that’s given in the restaurant) and she instead wanted the chicken shawarma. The staff looked confused like they were going to try to make us still pay for the “wrong” bowl and then they started picking the green peppers off and putting the peppers back into the food station with the chicken kebabs. They wanted to know who was at fault: they asked me what my sister ordered and they asked me if the employee did what she was asked. I said yes the employee did what my sister asked but my sister made a mistake and that employee walked away and begrudgingly came back with a new order and at that point the line had moved and my sister felt like she couldn’t even pick out toppings since we were being rushed. So my sister ended up with only rice and the chicken shawarma. Additionally, the employees kept the original bowl on the line which we heard them say that they planned to serve to a different customer when someone else ordered the chicken kebab. Another disappointing part of the experience was that they were out of pita bread. Again, I understand this is a difficult time (we tipped well) but this was an unpleasant and disappointing experience. The food was great but the...

I've been to Mezeh 4 times, so this rating is more of an average of my visits, because some have been very good, and others problematic. So for the good, the food and options here are fantastic. If you like Mediterranean flavors, you're sure to find a combination that works for you. The set up is basically a Mediterranean Chipotle, you select a format (bowl, wrap, etc), a protein, and then tons of toppings. The chicken kabob and falafel are a couple of my favorites, with roasted veggies, eggplants, and a tasty selection of sauces. The flavor keeps me coming back for sure. So for the negative, I think management is probably at the core of the problems. Today I went in around 6pm, and was in line for literally 30 minutes. The staff was friendly and doing their best, but they were desperately understaffed. One person on grill, one on prep, and 2 up front, and it wasn't enough to accommodate the format and demand. Management has to know on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year that they wouldn't need to stop the place appropriately. I felt bad for the kids working because there were tons of angry faces and hungry patrons, and it wasn't their fault. By the time I got through the line, paid, and left to eat my food, the chicken was cold because it sit in the bowl for 15 minutes as i stood in line. Another management issue, the fountain drink machine has been broken for my past couple visits, I'd say 2 weeks. In summary, the taste will keep me coming back, but hopefully management...

Very rude workers. Me and my boyfriend work for Doordash and tend to stop here to use the restroom since our house is an hour away (we done this for months before it became a issue.) A girl who was working stopped us as we were leaving and yelled at us that we couldn't use the bathroom there anymore unless we purchased something (there was no signs stating that we couldn't) my boyfriend just told her "okay", then she proceeded to tell us that we "freak her out" and "she doesn't know what we are taking in there" ( I suppose she was implying that we were taking drugs) we just told her "okay" because we didn't want to make a scene.. She knew we did Doordash because we would come in to pick up food some days. It felt like it was because I had colored hair and we both have piercings. This was extremely embarrassing considering there was a lot of people in the restaurant and she was talking very loudly. I also have very bad anxiety so this situation put me into a panic attack..Some of the other workers would give me dirty looks when I would come in too.. Is difficult trying to find a place to use the bathroom since a lot of places are still locked...