Dimassi's Mediterranean Restaurant — Restaurant in Fresno

My wife and I (And kids) are regulars at this establishment. We don't eat out as much but we are here at least once a month usually one weekday (Monday - Thursday) when the prices are more reasonable and the day has been busy where dont get time to cook. Kids love the grilled chicken with white rice and the fact that it's buffet allows us to try things a few times etc. Overall, we have a great experience here (Food is fresh and flavorful, staff is accomodating, and cleanliness is great.

Last night (3/17/25) - our experience was a litle different. First, we arrived around 8pm after my daughters swim class. The left side of the restaurant had all the tables with signs that were reserved. No problem - i just wished the girl at the front had told us that instead of us having to go and look at that entire section before realizing).

Secondly - i guess it was a ramadan celebration so menu was completely different and the prices were higher. There were no signs indicating the change anywhere or the celebration.

My kids did not eat anything (neither did we since we dont eat red meat). The rice we ate was part of the lamb dish (without the lamb).

By 8:20pm the place was packed to the point where we couldn't even go up for seconds becuase the line just kept growing with more and more people coming in.

All we had was 1 baked chicken (per adult) and 1 baked chicken (between two toddlers) + 1 pita bread and 3 cone ice creams. We paid 63.00??? I could have went to HEB for that meal if there was some sign or communication.

I mentioned this to the staff lady and she was extremely rude. She said "it's a celebration and the rest of the restaurant is open on this side, why should we close the restaurant".

I calmly said, first I didn't say we should close the restaurant, second, I respect the celebration as I have no issue with that at all. However, a sign informing non celebratory patrons to make an informed decision would have been beneficial. If we had known, we would have probably opted to come back another day when prices were more reasonable, the restaurant wasn't as crowded and/or the options for food were more in line with what we could eat. She said "when did you come in"? I said around "approx. 8:00pm". She said "oh" and then proceeded to charge me and asked if i wanted a receipt.

I will say that I have seen her at the register before so I assume she's new but i was so livid that we went home and fed our kids again. Very disappointing. As you can see in my rating, i still rate the food as a 5 and the atmosphere as 5. Yesterday's experience was very disappointing and we will have to reevaluate if we will come back here just based on...

This review is based on my first visit to the Pearland location. Although branded as a Mediterranean restaurant, I feel it's more inclined to Middle East cuisine. This is a new restaurant so everything is clean and the decor looks great. I came in on a Sunday evening (around 8 pm) and there just a few people. I thought it was because it was a Sunday and we were dining late. About 10 minutes later, a whole bunch of people came in and the place was packed!

Food is good. Overall, I enjoyed it. The Falafel in particular were good. I generally judge how good a Mediterranean restaurant is based on how they make their Falafels. Crisp on the outside and moist inside, and it was not oily. I felt that the meats could have some more flavor to it. It must be the Mediterranean cuisine, but I like good to have strong flavors. The salads were fresh and crisp. Meat cuts were good but I felt the Kebabs were dry.

They have a good selection of sweets to try out - standard Middle East/Mediterranean fare - Baklava, Basbousa, Kunafeh, Rice Pudding, and fruits.

I can't really comment much about the service since this is a buffet location and you really go get what you want. The busboy came once in a while to clear out used plates. There was a beefed-up dude walking around with an ice tea. Definitely an employee there since we was wearing a grey Dimassi's T-Shirt. He could be a manger. I felt he was very indifferent in his behavior. Saw him bump into a person carrying a plate and didn't even stop to apologize. Does not talk to guests, always serious. Loosen up dude. It doesn't hurt to smile at your customers...

I paid $14.99 for a buffet and here's my story. This place started out with five stars but got the following subtractions:

Minus 2 Stars: Hospitality: This is a buffet. Buffet means "all you can eat", right? Or am I missing the point of eating at a buffet? This is a buffet to some extent. They keep lamb shanks off the buffet and you must request a lamb shank from the cook/server behind the buffet line. I went to get a second lamb shank after I had eaten my first shank. The cook said everyone gets only one lamb shank but I'm going to give this second shank to you anyways. Meanwhile, some lady walked up to the cook and got two lamb shanks. Who does this to patrons? Who tries to limit the amount or type of food eaten by a PAYING customer? WHO DOES THAT? IT IS JUST PLAIN RUDE AND MISLEADING IF YOU CALL YOURSELF A BUFFET. POO-POO ON YOU UNKIND SIR!

Minus 1 Star: Signage: There is a sign that says they will charge you $6.99 per pound of wasted food. AGAIN, THIS IS A BUFFET. BY VIRTUE OF BEING A BUFFET PATRONS EAT WHAT THEY WANT AND HOWEVER MUCH OR AS LITTLE AS THEY WANT. DO NOT CALL YOURSELF A BUFFET IF YOU ARE NOT A BUFFET.

Minus 1 Star: Customer Service: NOBODY CAME TO BUS OUR TABLE OF USED PLATES, SO WE STACKED USED PLATES ON AN ADJACENT TABLE.

While the food is okay, (and I was eating with a Cordon Bleu-trained chef) the restaurant does not merit more than 1 star for the...