The Egyptian taste — Restaurant in Maryville

If you are looking for an exotic refreshing change from subpar routine food venues, you must try: “The Egyptian Taste.” My wife and I discovered this place tucked away in Foothills Mall about a week ago after our weekly online search to find something different from the “same ol’ stuff.”

Here is the official transcript from our last weekly meal search conversation while waiting in the checkout line at BJ’s: Me: “Here?” Her: “No.” Me: “Here?” Her: “No.” Me: “Here?” Her: “Ewww. . .” Me: “Here?” Her: “No.” Me: “Here?” Her: “No.” Me: “Here?” Her: “No.” Me: “Here?” Her: “No.” Me: “The Taste of Egypt?” Her: “You made that up.” Me: “Just opened. . .different. . .we’re hungry . . .annnnnd they’re 500 feet to our left.” Her: “Done.”

From the moment we walked in, the aroma was incredible – a tantalizing blend of spices. The staff was friendly and efficient. We opted for their falafel sandwich. The falafel itself was perfectly crispy on the outside, fluffy and flavorful on the inside. The vegetables were very fresh, and the tahini sauce was delightful. In a word: delicious. The portions are generous; the prices are reasonable and in line with similar sized venues in the area. The food tastes incredibly authentic and is a welcome change from the mundane. It's not just a place to eat something; it's a culinary experience that brightens your day. Seriously. Skip the bag, box, and drive through, and give this place a try. You won't regret it – it's now on our VERY short list of...

The cashier was extremely nice. That was the only positive. The food was not good. TBH it was gross and I threw everything away everything except the rice. I got these “lamb” beef things. The man informed me it is 15% lamb, 85% beef. This just tasted like a hunk of unseasoned ground beef. It was a hamburger in hotdog form. Zero lamb flavor. Was not impressed. It was served with rice (which was the best part of the entire meal), this weird sauce (I think a sad attempt at hummus, it kinda looked and had the texture of a light grown paint, no flavor), and this sour tasting salad that was grilled. This place was, just not good. Goto Yassins. They are serving extremely similar things, except yassins is quality, flavorful, you can tell they take pride in their food, and the people working there are extremely nice to the people giving them their money. This place gives vibes that they think slapping Egyptian in the sign is enough to trick people into thinking this food is exotic and isn’t garbage. I was not impressed with the two men running the place. It’s obvious they don’t want to be there, and they don’t want to be serving the people of the area. Extremely standoffish, not engaging. You would think if you’re trying to get your restaurant to take off in a mall that is sadly dying you would atleast pretend to be grateful for the very few people eating there. The music is...

YUM!! I finally made it to the mall to try The Egyptian Taste restaurant. With so many choices, I opted for the Mixed Grill platter, which hosts one chicken kabob (with veggies), one lamb kabob and one Kofta (a seasoned cylindrical minced lamb and beef) atop a bed of yellow basmati rice. Along with this comes a side of soft, warm and delicious pita bread, a tzatziki-style sauce and a tahini sauce. I loved all three meats! The chicken had a lovely saffron coloring and was FANTASTIC, especially if you like red peppers and onions skewered within! The lamb was tender, medium done, with tasty seasoning. The kofta was my first time with this yummy meat and I really enjoyed it, as well. The rice was cooked and seasoned perfectly and I enjoyed both sauces, though the tzatziki is always my preferred. Tahini had a tasty roasted sesame-nut flavoring, albeit just a tad bitter. Lastly, I had the hibiscus tea, which was sweetened and delicious! Overall, I’m stoked to have this gem in Maryville and am looking forward to bringing my wife (who also loves Mediterranean-style and other foods). Downsides? Well, it’s in the mall, so the atmosphere isn’t really date-night flavor, but it’s clean and tastefully presented. The staff were super friendly. In the words of the immortal Terminator,...