Zaytoon Grill — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

Zaytoon Grill

Ok first of all, parking is nightmarish for this place. You would have much better luck parking on 1st Ave. S as there is free 2 hour parking and walk the half a block.

Whew. Had to get that off my chest. Now. On to the goodies...

The bathroom was really clean. Just throwing that out there. Ok. Refocusing..

I ended up ordering the chicken shawrma wrap which comes with fries. That’s a really staple dish for any Middle Eastern restaurant so if they can’t get that right, well good luck.

I started my meal with a fry. 🤨 disappointed. So then I made my way to the wrap. Well packed and made. First bite. Nom. Tasty. Lettuce, onions, tomatoes and pickles. All very fresh with a good crunch. Chicken is moist and pretty flavorful. I have two more fries. And I regret that. They’re soggy and took away from the joy of the wrap. I focused most of my meal on the wrap from then on. I tried to give the fries more chances. But yeah, no. They got better as they got colder because they were firmer and less soggy.

Overall I’d say my experience was a 3/5. Good wrap. Fries were not very good. Very nice staff and clean location. Parking can raise your...

2nd visit: 12/5/20 update: So I happened on this place last year and was blown away by the lamb kabobs. Living in Tampa I tried several highly rated places for the lamb looking for somewhere closer for good lamb kabobs. Nothing in Tampa even came close! I finally made it back here and once again the lamb is phenomenal. Good quality lamb, marinated with special spices, and charred over an open flame. Very tender. It comes with basmati rice and charred veggies...green pepper, tomato, and onion. Loved it again. And everyone there was so friendly and welcoming. Forget Tampa for lamb kabobs...I'm just going to have to come back here more often. Which is really odd considering we have such a large middle eastern population in Tampa.

First visit: 10/20/19 OMG this place is s soooo good! Lived up to the reviews. We both got the lamb skewers. Delicious, tender, char flavor. Mmm mmm mmm! And that homemade hot sauce? I'm not a huge hot sauce fan, but this stuff was excellent without being overpowering with heat. Service was fantastic and friendly! It's going to be hard to go anywhere else next time...

We stopped in for a quick bite on the way to visit friends and were super impressed with everything we tried. The tahini salad is light and perfect, with big chunks of tomato and cucumber. The tabouli is fresh and bright. The chicken kebabs were perfectly cooked and seasoned. But the stars of the meal were the chicken shawarma bowl and the kefta wrap with seasoned fries. The shawarma bowl was a huge portion, and included basmati rice, seasoned grilled chicken, tomatoes and a special garlic sauce. Sounds basic but was anything but! The kefta wrap was outstanding, made with freshly ground beef and parsley, served grilled on a pita with all the usual suspects (lettuce, tomato, onion and picked veggies), and came with sumac spiced fries. And don't even get me STARTED on the baklava. Amaaaaaaazing! The service was exemplary as well and the space is bright and clean. Wish they were closer to home but this place is definitely worth a drive...