Aya Mediterranean Cuisine — Restaurant in Melbourne

Aya Mediterranean Cuisine, 936 East New Haven Avenue, Melbourne, Florida 32901-

3-Stars

If Ziad and his daughters, Sara and Aya, look familiar it is because they have been in the restaurant industry for many years, bringing their vision and talents from Lebanon. I was raised on Arabic food and am very familiar with the cuisine. One of my father’s grandmothers was born in Beirut and the other was born in Damascus. Both were reportedly great cooks. In those days, Beirut and Damascus were cities in Greater Syria and Lebanon did not exist. France formed the State of Greater Lebanon as an ethnic enclave within Syria in 1920 and formed what is now called the Lebanese Republic in 1926. Although Lebanon adopted its constitution that year, it did not declare its independence from the French mandate until 1943.

Sara is the manager, although this restaurant in Historic Downtown Melbourne (located in the space that housed the Continental Flambé for over a dozen years) is named for her little sister. As Sara waits on me, she does not indicate any annoyance that Aya got the naming rights. The website says that the family specializes in authentic Lebanese and Moroccan delicacies. They also serve a few of what are considered Greek dishes. It might be anathematic for me to say, but the Greeks stole their recipes from the Arabs and—in my not so humble opinion—mucked them up.

First, I ordered Kibbe Nayeh, one of my favorite cold appetizers. My father used to make it for special occasions. For the uninitiated, this is raw ground steak mixed with cracked wheat, onion, basil, and seasoning, topped with mint, and drizzled with olive oil. I found it to be slightly above average due to the unique twist. If you are brave enough to try it, it’s a fun dish.

Next, I sampled the Lamb Moroccan Tagine, slowly cooked lamb in saffron, topped with prunes, almonds, and sesame seeds, with a side of rice. I normally love this entrée but this recipe, although flavorful, somehow missed the mark.

The Big Boy says, “If you can’t get to another Middle Eastern restaurant in the Melbourne area, Aya’s Mediterranean Cuisine is...

Walked was greeted kinda rudely by wait staff saying it would be 10 minutes to be seated, even though there was only 3 tables dining in the restaurant which all had what looked like their entrée in front of them. While standing next to the front door of the restaurant waiting for a table I a previous kitchen manager and chef, who has serve safe certificate. Was watching the chef cook, and noticed a build up of grease dripping down the kitchens hood, before being seated i also noticed a live roach on the floor near the high top tables by the door where we were standing. Once seated my wife and i both ordered one of the most expensive dishes on the menu the mixed grill plate. The food portions were very small for the price this restaurant was charging, they cut the kebabs in half. And the kebab they gave me as a "vegtable kebab" was beyond pathetic, consistenting of 1 mushy cherry tomato, 2 slivers of charred onion, and 1 charred zucchini piece, it looked more of a sad garnish than actual food. Rice was soft but clearly instant microwave rice(something you can get out if a uncle bens pouch). Kebabs had decent flavor but nothing you couldn't make at home easily. And the server forgot our bread, didn't come back to check on us till we were almost done dining, they were too busy chatting it up with another table in the dining room. They then brought the bread once asked... Definitely not worth the $80 we spent.... and will not be back... Also as an Arabic person themselves, it's not a good look when the server sits down and hobnobs with other Arabic customers in the restaurant while forgetting/ignoring other paying customers because they didn't speak/look Arabic enough to you...

What started out as a pleasant experience turned into something awkward and disappointing. This new place has a great atmosphere and modern look. The waitress was pleasant up until she messed up our order where she developed a bit of an attitude.

My father had told the oldest daughter he was having what his son (myself) was having. This was the Gyro Platter. After an unreasonable wait time (despite the place being less than 8 people full at the time), we were given our appetizers. The wait was nearly 20 minutes and the app was something that was to be prepared in an oven if done right. The app was lukewarm and obvious that it was NOT fresh baked. The extended wait time would've made sense for a baked item IF the item was hot. This leads me to believe it might have been reheated in the microwave from the night before or so. The beef inside the "Sofiha" appetizer was salty and generic. No authentic Middle Eastern flavor. Perhaps it was preordered from a store?

I asked for fried rice for my entree and was given fries. This leads me to believe our waitress (being the eldest daughter) did NOT memorize our order as she thought. This was why she mistook my father asking for A GYRO WRAP when in fact he requested the GYRO PLATTER as did I. Their response to the mistake was rude and accusing, and I noticed the owner/father take a stance with hands on his hips and stare our table down while we discussed the mistake with the waitress. VERY uncomfortable although the food was TERRIFIC. Customer service is fantastic up until THEY make a mistake. Then it is all aggression.

We will...