Mediterranean Grill — Restaurant in Happy Valley

This little restaurant deserves five stars for their personalized service, and food that seems to be primarily homemade. I’m not sure if it’s completely from scratch, but they do appear to put a lot of effort into keeping their customers satisfied.

A friend was visiting from Washington DC and she’s gluten-free, while I need to be MSG free and eat food mostly made from scratch. We settled on trying a new Mediterranean place that had 4.5 stars. We were given quite a large menu and ordered hummus and stuffed grape leaves for an appetizer. I found both to be delicious, and I am still craving their grape leaves. I live up in Vancouver, so I can’t pop over real easily, but every time I go by I might well get an order!

For my entrée I ordered the falafel sandwich and it was huge! There is no way I could eat it in one sitting. I would ask for more tahini next time, as I did find it rather dry. But the falafel were perfectly cooked. My friend ordered the lamb kebab plate, but ended up getting too full to eat the second kebab. She sent it home with me, and I have to admit it was not my favorite when I tried it the next day.

However, I loved the family service atmosphere, the care the family put into their food and making us happy. We had mentioned that my friend was visiting from Washington DC and the cook ended up coming out after our food was served. He wanted to know how his food compared to what she would get back east. We had a lively conversation, and he insisted that we try his homemade special pistachio ice cream.

We found the ice cream to be incredibly delicious, and it seem to me to be a vanilla base with fresh crushed pistachios. In the past I’ve tried other pistachio ice cream and have never been a fan. But I am a fan of his ice cream! We both loved it and told him so!

What a surprise to find that they also made donuts as it also looks like a donut store when you first walk in. I did order some donuts to take home as a surprise, but we found them to be made of a denser dough then we prefer, and the dough to frosting ratio wasn’t to our preference.

However, I’m sticking to my five stars as our food was quite tasty, and I never got hit with MSG. of course, I’m always careful with what I order, but I was pleased with my food. Most importantly my friend a greatly enjoyed her meal as well, and the leftovers were very tasty. I rate an extra star for any location that takes extra special care in the quality of ingredients in their food, as well as the attention to detail in careful preparation.

While this restaurant is quite tiny, only having seven or eight tables, and is primarily visited by those who have ordered to go or getting donuts, it was still comfortable to eat our meal in there. I’m not sure that I would visit when it’s very cold outside, because I can see any warm air leaving out the door whenever it is opened. Good thing I don’t mind ordering ahead to take...

When I 1st entered, I saw the donuts I thought I was at the wrong place. I ordered some Meza and Kunafa to go, it came to $33 before tip. An older lady took my order (maybe the owner’s wife) she was not rude as some reviewers suggested but she was dry and not friendly. No thank you or any friendly remarks. Maybe she had a long day, or maybe it’s Maybelline, who knows. It didn’t bother me I still left her 20% tip.. The price is a bit too much and the food is not worth the cost. Now the food: 1- The bread is not pita but looks like it was made in house which is good. 2- the Hummus is ok but too much Cumin. Not so Lebanese. 3- the Kubeh is also ok but bland, unadventurous and the crust is too thick. 2 pcs for $9 is too much. 4- the falafel is crispy but is not fresh and looks like they were made out of powder from a box like the one you buy from an Arabic market. 5- the Sambusek was made there but looks like was frozen and was microwaved to order. The edges were hard and dry and the bottom was soggy. The filling is the same as the Kubah, very bland and insipid. Not worth the $9 6- Now let’s talk about the Kunafa. I was so exited to have it till I ate it. It supposed to be a cheese one but can’t find the cheese. It’s made out of fake cream, which is lots of corn starch and powdered milk. The only good flavor in it is the pistachios that were made by God. I hope the meat dishes are better than the Meza but I’m sorry I will not return...

OMG, why wasn’t there a line out the door?! Between the four of us, we had many different items and we were all so happy and full! Food was delicious and plentiful. The spices in everything were simply perfection. The baba ganush (sp?) was one of my favorites. I had the shrimp kabobs (I am pescatarian, so I did t try any of the meats, but my family raved!) and they were delicious! The accompanying rice and salad could have been their own entree, so much good flavor! The homemade pistachio ice cream was deliciously unique and the Bach lava was light, flavorful and not too sweet. I should also mention that we were there on a Monday evening about 6:45. No one was there (mind blown) and Grandma (the chef’s nickname) told us all about the menu and had personality plus. We will definitely go back! Highly recommend...