Parsley Mediterranean Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Grand Rapids

This was very good. I was dining today with a native of Lebanon so my review includes his take on this experience, as well as my, less-discerning one. We ordered the falafel bowl and the chicken shawarma wrap. Both were good, we loved the authentic-style garlic sauce on the wrap. The chicken was a little on the dry side, the vegetables fresh. I learned the flavor of tomatoes over-power the shawarma, and wouldn't (shouldn't?) be included on such a wrap. But overall, this was good. The falafels were great, could have used a bit more salt, but authentically prepared and delicious. Personally, I could have eaten just falafels and tahini and walked away satisfied. The vegetables in the bowl were fresh, plentiful and delish - love the chopped pickles in the bowl. The spicy rice was ok. While both entrees were good, neither got us excited about getting over the finish line by eating every last bite on our plates (a yellow saffron rice would have changed that). We love that Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cuisine was represented and done well. A few minor improvements would make this a top-spot...

We were walking downtown Grand Rapids on a cold but sunny and beautiful Michigan morning. My pregnant girlfriend was craving soup so we were on the lookout for a place serving some. However she was thirsty now and The "Smoothies" sign lured us in. To my surprise she points out that they had soup here looking at the big nice menu on the wall as soon as you walk in... she got all excited when she saw the chicken lemon rice and so was I for the lentil soup. We approached the register and were greeted by a gentleman who was super cool, very nice and friendly. We ordered our soups and I picked a mango smoothie while my girlfriend chose a strawberry smoothie. The smoothies are delicious. The strawberry tastes like Starburst. The soups so unbelievably hearty and amazing, full of flavor and spices and each served with dippable pita bread. Also very very nice portions. And I cannot get over how a place can be this good and soooooo affordable. Under 20 dollars for the both of us and we were stuffed full when we left! Simply affordable, healthy and amazing! I can't wait to try out the rest...

You really, really would want to love this place. It has all the right perks: centrally located in downtown GR, on a popular corner, next to the arts museum, across the street from Mad Cap, best coffee in town. During the summer, they have tables outside and it is just the perfect spot to eat during lunch time. The gyro meat is flavorful but the pita bread is flat in all meanings of the word, m the flavors of the rice is also flat unless you ask for a special rice they make every so often. The beef and the chicken are dry and flavorless. It has become very expensive, as everything else, I used to not care much, I would use the lentil soup to add flavor to the dish, but now I can't justify paying that much. The food could use some help from Sheshco when it comes to flavors. Once you try Sheshco, this place feels like a wanna be mediterranean. To be fair, I am Latina, my food needs to have rich flavors. This is not the place for flavor but for convenience. The baklava is very...