TAMR Mediterranean Grille — Restaurant in Stow

Unfortunately, my first visit left me with a very dissatisfied experience on many levels. I highlight them below: Buffet 1.) The normal Buffet price is 19.99 but the owners made a special price in the restaurant's opening week of 14.99 for all customers. The buffet items are very limited for the price of 14.99 let alone 19.99. The buffet consists of 5 main items (2 rice dishes, 2 meat and 1 chicken), 2 Soups and 3 appetizers (Humus, Yogurt Salad, Fatoush) and NO dessert. When comparing it to other restaurants that have a buffet/an all you can eat option in the Kent/Streetsboro/Stow/Cuyahoga Falls area (Fun Buffet, Saffron Patch, Toko Japanese Steakhouse), you will find that the restaurant with the smallest all you can eat option has at least 8 main items in addition to the appetizers and dessert and for a significantly cheaper price 12.99 average.

2.) The Buffet time is from 11-6 although I have heard they changed from 12-7. While I understand why they would have a Buffet for so long, but again with increased time the quality of the food decreases. During my first visit where my 2 friends and I spent an hour and 15 minutes in the restaurant I noticed that the buffet items were never inspected nor were they changed by the staff members (As is the common practice in restaurants with a buffet option). It looks like out of perceived efficiency, the chefs cook one big batch and leave it in the buffet trays from the start until the end. What this means is that if I visit the restaurant at 5 PM I would be eating food that has been cooked and not touched since 12 pm. Also, if the particular buffet item was finished (which is quite significant due to the low number of options), I would still be expected to pay full price. The standard practice in all buffet restaurants (at least the ones I've visited) is to continually restock buffet items from the start of the buffet until the end. The Menu 3.) The regular menu they currently employ is again over priced and unfortunately, having tried take out from this restaurant (3 Platters at 14.99 a plate), I can honestly say that their prices do not justify the product nor the portions they are offering. Currently, they charge 5.99 for a plate of 5 falafels and 6.99 for a mixed green salad. These prices are what I expect when entering an upscale restaurant in Hudson and not a family eatery in kent/Stow. Which brings me to my next point:

The Atmosphere/Staff 4.) The atmosphere of the restaurant is that of a cafeteria/eatery which is completely fair but as I stated earlier, their prices and the overall atmosphere of the restaurant are not in synch. When I first laid eyes on their menu, their prices reminded me of Laziza (an upscale Mediterranean restaurant in downtown Kent. The keyword here is “upscale”. While I am no fan of Laziza, when I first walked in to Laziza I was taken in by the decoration/atmosphere of the environment and I could tell it will be expensive. The staff members at Tamr are friendly, which is nothing special, since as restaurant patrons we all expect a restaurant’s staff members to be courteous and friendly, yet Tamr’s staff members lack proper training. Usually, the same waiter/waitress that takes your order is the same the hands you your bill. This wasn’t the case as my guests and I were waited on by 2 different waitresses which caused a delay when I asked for the bill. This lack of coordination among staff members caused issues especially as the time I was in the restaurant, the tables were only 30% full. Furthermore, it will exacerbate the problem when the restaurant is at full capacity. I must note that the owners started to implement a new buffet pricing scheme for college students (15.99) which is still significantly high. The food is good, but its taste does not justify the prices. Unfortunately, very few customers will tell you their honest opinion in person (unless if a serious issue occurred), they will avoid the awkwardness and simply...

This fast casual dining spot is great for a quick bite. The food is slightly pricey, but for today’s prices not unreasonable. The quantity of food makes up for the $15 plates. Each main course include either a soup or a salad. The salad is a lettuce base with cucumber and tomato salata that is very well dressed.They also provide pita, hummus, and garlic sauce upon arrival. I ordered the kabob sampler and my other got the garlic wings. The wings were literally perfect; crunchy, and dowsed in garlicky-butter sauce. The sampler included lamb, chicken, and steak. They asked for preference in temperature and I chose medium, as I wasn’t sure if the lamb and steak would be cooked the same way. They both came out lacking any pink. But, they were still tender and well seasoned. We took to go boxes and enjoyed the food again later that night. Overall, the food was seasoned very well, but the cook was slightly off on some of the items. The servers were very busy, but still gave attentive enough service to make you feel appreciated. We will definitely make it back around and...

We tried this restaurant out for the first time on Saturday night. It was Girl's Night Out and none of us had been there. WOW! Not only was the food amazing, but the staff was great! They are, understandably, short-staffed. (Much like everyone else in the world) They got extremely busy with pick up orders and were a little slow with service. We were not in a hurry, though, and did not have any issues. A sweet lady, I think it was the owner, came over more than once (when she got a chance) to apologize for the slowness. She even came over when we were leaving and said something again. Honestly, it was so not a big deal to us and the food was so good, that we will all be back at some point. Personally, I LOVE to see a small business thrive and if I have to wait a little bit, that's fine. As long as I'm not expected somewhere, I will never be irritated. They were really trying hard (for the amount of staff they had, it was not easy) and she was so sweet. Can't wait...