Mediterranea Cafe — Restaurant in New Haven

I saw they had pizza slice & thought oh I've never been here before wouldn't that be convenient downtown & dropped in with my daughter&baby son & I was greeted like an inconvenience in an empty diner. He didn't give me a receipt & I felt like they discriminated about the way I looked or something. The cost didn't seem unfair but just the way they spoke to me made me feel like they were trying to get away with doing something bad to me. The to-go packaging seemed extra & unnecessary as my pizzas slid & mushed up anyways. It wasn't fresh they did warm it in the oven I would've asked them not to do it I don't care about that. Seemed like they picked me the biggest slice but it also seemed like it was going stale&were about to toss it out anyways. Also could've been suggesting I was fat looking & needed the bigger piece in the middle instead of the next slice in rotation. It's hard to understand sometimes why people treat you weird but that's a red flag. The couches were lovely. I thought I might & reconsidered that I wasn't trying to get comfortable where I didn't feel welcome. I've never been to a hookah lounge before I was a little curious about how that works. I feel like in addition to a menu with prices in a convenient place that extras or special features should be displayed with information or a greeter to offer information to new or even unfamiliar regular guests or regulars that bring newbies you...

We arrived around 5pm on a Sunday afternoon and the place was completely dead. Not to be deterred, we grabbed a bottle of wine from the liquor store around the corner (the restaurant doesn't serve alcohol, but it is BYO) and headed inside.

Food (relatively extensive menu, both Mediterranean/Middle Eastern as well as Italian) is ordered at the main counter at the entrance, and then you have the choice of either sitting out the front, or in the back room ... a dark room full of mis-matched tables and chairs, a thousand dusty cushions, a TV playing old movies, foreign tunes, tinsel wrapped pipes, crooked paintings on the walls, and the stale smell of flavored hookah. Felt like I was back in the middle east... loved it!!!!

The food was served quickly -- large plates, super fresh, and the chicken shawarma had the most amazing spices! Fantastic prices too -- three of us ate comfortably for $40. The only real negative is that our table was never cleared whilst we were there, so we sat with dirty dishes on our table for a good hour or so.

The smell of hookah can be a little overwhelming (a few other people had joined us in the back room by the time we left, and all were smoking), and if you don't like tobacco with your food (apple or strawberry or otherwise), this might not be the place for you. But the food is super delicious, the service is friendly, and the atmosphere is...

First time going, had people tell me the place is usually dark and good music is playing. This time I went it was quiet and awkward all the lights were on and everyone was sitting in complete silence. There was about 6 people waiting with no hookahs for over 15 minutes who were there before us. They say they are BYOB and drinks. Well the manager tries to charge each person $3 for bringing your own drinks into his establishment. And this happens after you pay them up front sounds like a rip off to me. I paid $3 for all my drinks at the supermarket and he’s trying to charge people when I didn’t even bring alcohol and they tell you to bring your own stuff without telling you there’s a fee. Don’t think I’ll be returning...