Sumela: Turkish and Mediterranean Restaurant — Restaurant in High Point

This was our second time eating here. The food has been excellent both times. The lamb kabobs were cooked to perfection and the sides were very good! Extremely poor service is the only reason for 3 stars for this visit. In fact, we have never had such poor service in any restaurant. When we arrived around 12:30 pm there were people at 4 tables. The man behind the counter told us to choose a table. He followed with menus. He said he was tired because it had been a rough week. He did return to take our order. Another person brought our food. After that, not one server ever came by to check on us. There appeared to be 3 servers at that time. More customers arrived. None of them were checked on after their food was brought to the table. When we needed tea refills, my husband went to the counter. A waitress told him she would bring tea to our table. She brought a glass of ice and a glass of tea which she used to fill our glasses. We had asked for sweet tea but it was unsweet. As she brought food to a nearby table, my husband called her over to tell her we asked for sweet tea. She left to get sweet tea only to return to inform us they were out. She said it would take 20 minutes to make sweet tea. We settled for unsweet and Splenda. After that, no server approached our table to offer to go boxes or to bring a check. We waited for both. When we saw this wasn’t going to happen, my husband went to the counter and asked for to go boxes. It didn’t look like they were short staffed for the amount of customers. I was sitting where I could see the front counter. I observed two servers standing around talking as well as servers and staff going in and out of what I suppose is the kitchen. One female server went outside for a smoke break. Around 1:30 another female server that had brought our food got into her car and drove away. When we paid there were no apologies for the poor service or for not having sweet tea. The servers seemed very disorganized today. I highly recommend this restaurant for the excellent food. Just be aware that the service may not...

(3.5 stars)

There’s more than meets the eye at this long-running Mediterranean restaurant. Housed in a nondescript strip mall across from the library, it is easy to overlook and not particularly inviting from the outside. The inside, on the other hand, is clean and cozy if a bit small.

So too goes the menu. At first glance, there appears to be little that separates Sumela from a half dozen other Mediterranean eateries. You can find the expected kebabs, gyros, salads, and apps (hummus, falafel, etc.), but you won’t find manti (mini-dumplings) or mucver (zucchini fritters). Look past that disappointment, however, and there is a fair bit of flex. You can go heavy or light, meat or vegetarian, and several sampler options exist for those who want a little bit of everything.

My wife and I fall into that last category, so we opted to split a mixed appetizer (hummus, baba ghanoush, piyaz, and stuffed grape leaves), an order of spanakopita, and a sultan platter (lamb kebab, Adana kebab, gyro meat, piyaz, rice, vegetables, and pita). The food arrived quickly, and though the dishes were familiar, the preparations were unique. The spanakopita came in one large square covered with sesame (?) seeds and served with a yogurt sauce. It wasn’t Greek, but it was great. Kudos also go to the kebabs and especially the gyro meat, which was among the more flavorful and tender that I’ve ever had. The baba ghanoush had a welcome smokiness to it and was the highlight of the app sampler though there were no weak links in the bunch.

Service proved attentive, and pricing was moderate (kebab samplers in the mid-teens). Living right near Nazareth Bread for several years threw our perceptions of value (very affordable) and portion sizing (plentiful) out of whack, and Sumela represents a return to earth in comparison. Nothing here is unreasonably expensive though.

All told, Sumela may lack the menu appeal of an Odeh’s or the refinement of a Chef Samir, but it offers a very solid representation of Mediterranean food, and it should not...

Hands down, best place in High Point. I go there often for many reasons.

The food is awesome. There is a lot of care going into recipes, authenticity, and prep. It's fresh and always delicious. I honestly would eat here every day of my life if I could. It's clean. I trust the food there. I think more care goes into this aspect than other places. I am very picky about cleanliness. I love the wait staff. Good people. (I miss Jason, though. He was awesome.) But there are always well-trained, polite people working, no matter who is on shift. I love the owner. He is friendly, and he is really passionate about making this business work (very detailed). He is almost always there. I feel like he puts his all into making this the best business ever. I love small business owners. He always talks to us when we come in. You just can't beat that personal touch. The atmosphere is great. I love that there isn't overly loud music. It's calm. I love the fact that it feels like just a neighborhood relaxed place. It's a family place. I like that. The price. I think it's very reasonable. I am always full when I leave, and most times, I have something to take home. The Baklava. It's hands down the best I have ever had. And I consider myself a baklava connoisseur. It's my favorite dessert ever. I have tried many, many things on the menu, and I have never been disappointed. I have my favorites, though. The red lintel soup is divine. I have tried to duplicate it at home to no avail. Massive failures. The grape leaves, awesome. The baba ganoush, just fantastic. The Greek salad is great. I love the veggie delight. Lamb anything is great. My brother gets the regular gyro. He loves it. I have gotten it before. Awesome. My husband get the Med wrap. He never tries anything new, because he loves that wrap so much. My mom gets their pasta. She loves it. You just can't go wrong with...