mezeh — Restaurant in South Fayette Township

After trying this place a few times I noticed the staff has little to no professionalism, care, and are far from enthusiastic about their job. The food is good, when you can get it. I stood in line 3 times, each time waiting 30+ minutes. I talked to other people in line who said they consistently wait extended periods. My last and final visit I watched multiple people waiting for mobile orders waiting over 30 minutes...talked to a few of them and found out they placed orders 45 minutes before showing up. some less...some more, this last visit multiple left the line because they waited too long. There was ONE guy behind the counter, two people i assume cooking paying no attention to this guy struggling. They didn't care, in each visit I personally experienced and witnessed the unprofessional and poor treatment of customers, lack of care and knowledge. They dont seem to care that some people have diet restrictions, which is dangerous and just inconsiderate. For how long it took this place to open you would think the staff would be better trained, management would exist up front majority of the time instead of hiding, and they would actually have staff to do work. The wait isn't worth the food, this isn't some high end cuisine at a 5 star restaurant...its glorified fast food. Its chipotle basically...and chipotle at least gets you in and out quickly even when they have a line out the door. Id recommend to ANYONE who reads this...dont waste the time. To the company.... If you want to make it right by the people...because as a community, south fayette already knows you messed up with A LOT of us, publicly apologize, fix your managers, fix the staff, and get back to how it should be. Otherwise you won't last here.

P.S...most people don't write reviews because it's simply not worth the time, I only decided to write this due to seeing how others are...

We've watched this space for months, waiting for it to open as we love this style of food. Finally saw that it opened and came over on a weekday to grab a meal and see what they're all about.

It's a national chain that's applying the Chipotle formula to Mediterranean food. If you look at the picture I took of the interior you'll recognize the menu board and the long counter with the fixings behind it. Employees scurrying around behind the counter taking your order from station to station and then a pay station at the end.

They offer choices of pre-selected bowls and wraps but you can also make a completely customized meal from the various offerings they have. Being our first visit, we opted for their selection - but that was a mistake and next time we'll create our own.

The problem was that they seem to throw all kinds of goodies into their mixtures. Too much in fact so that the flavors conflict. There are just too many components and you really need to edit it down. Not that any one of items is bad - none of them are - it's just that there are too many and they do not make sense all together.

Some of the items are not quite up to par. The pickled turnips are limp and the spicy hummus had no spice whatsoever to it. Nonetheless, the amount of food you get for the price is immense. Everything appeared fresh and we saw them restocking the bins frequently so that was to the good. They seemed to be doing a good amount of business while we were there, even though most of it was takeout.

Overall, it was a fair experience, but I do not think that local chains like Aladdin's or the mom and pop shops around town will suffer from this addition.

P.S. - I received the AI-generated response that you see below. If someone from corporate really wants to hear more about my experiences, you are welcome...

Sibe the opening, I was going almost every other day to grab some food for my self and the kids until about 3-4 weeks ago. I usually get the create your own bowl. On my last visit, After I picked my proteins and started loading up my toppings the worker turned to another employee and said this is why we are restricting the toppings to 7 as the people in pittsburgh are taking advantage. We are losing money. He then turned to me and said we are changing the policy and will be limiting the toppings from tomorrow. This really made me feel bad as he tried to embarrass me. Subsequently my wife came out of the restroom and decided she wasn't hungry and would share with me, the same server them proceeded to back bite me further by telling the female coworker that you see they get one bowl and share it. I don't go to spend my hard earned money to be judged. The PR rep on opening day was bragging about the billions of combinations due to the variety of toppings, what she should have said is if you try to take more than 7 we will guilt you. I have stopped all of my friends and relatives from wasting their hard earned money at mezeh. It's a shame as I had introduced most of them to it. They all agreed that they world rather go to Chipotle , cava mezzeh down town or elsewhere. I can't imagine how much mezeh can loose per bowl but they can't make anything of people...