Zara's Mediterranean Kitchen On Louetta Rd — Restaurant in Tomball

We finally tried this place, and I hate to report that it was not worth the money or time. We ordered to-go, so I won't attest to the atmosphere or service, this review is solely based on the food. First, we were missing part of the order (no receipt provided so the person picking it up couldn't check to see if everything was there). Oh well, I'll just get refunded that through the site, but a bummer from the start but no big deal. For the food we did receive: Hummus trio: the hummus was the best part of the meal. All three were good, red pepper probably being the best one. They weren't anything to rave about but pretty darn good. The problem is, is that we got 3 very small cups for the trio- they maybe hold 3 tablespoons a piece. They are the size of cup you expect for a side of dipping sauce. Comparing pictures online to how much you actually get (at least to-go)... I can't help but feel ripped off. It seemed like a joke if I'm being honest. For the price they charge, it was NOT worth it. (And this is coming from someone who doesn't believe every take out meal has to be american-sized if you catch my drift).

Pita: they serve a thick, soft pita. It is good, comparable to any thick store-bought pita.

Baba ganoush: it was underwhelming at best. It lacked any depth or smokiness that you'd expect from a good baba ganoush. It was very, very basic.

Lentil soup: you're better off just grabbing any can of lentil soup from the grocery store. No depth, no real flavor other than a bit of salt and the taste of lentils.

Sambosas: these were alright, nothing to write home about but not disappointing.

Overall I would recommend many other mediterranean restaurants over this one (of which would have comparable if not better prices for some things). The food was generally just "ok." The type of "ok" you can get from grabbing a can of soup, red pepper hummus, and white pita bread from the grocery store - so if that's the flavor profile you are after, I suggest just doing that and...

I'm surprised I haven't already reviewed this place, considering how many times I've come here.

I'm going to go with a 4 star review, because sometimes they are a 5 star experience, and sometimes they are a 3 star experience. So this falls somewhere in the middle. It also shows you how inconsistent they are. I do you have to say that their service is almost always great! I appreciate the good service more than anything else, because a lot of times these type of restaurants (Arab, desi, etc) have good food and good ambiance, but don't have good service, so good service and professionalism is always welcomed.

Their kids meals are great and my kids enjoy the chicken nuggets and fries. They also seem to really love the milkshakes, but that's a given. For the adult meals, they're charging higher than I think any of us in our group last visit were used to, because pretty much everyone commented on how high their prices are. The amount of food you get is also not reflective on the price. Because if the price is high and if we get a good amount of food, it would be understandable but the quantity is just okay.

I also think that the fun type of drinks like the little mocktails are also highly priced because the main charge in cocktails is for the alcohol, and since we don't have that in the mocktails, the price should not be as high.

I think it's a good place to come as a group because they have ample seating and are able to take a lot of orders at one time.

I like the ambiance a lot and the atmosphere is festive. When there are other people in the restaurant, and they seem to be on top of the orders, with hot and fresh food, I think it's a great place to visit right...

My first time eating here was actually a pickup order. The food was actually above average in taste and average in quantity. The second time we decided to eat in at the restaurant. they got our order wrong multiple times, there were flies that were constantly hovering on and around the table and food. the wait staff saw us fighting off the flies and did nothing to remedy the situation except to tell us they were there "because the door opens up a lot". I gave the waiter (who seemed relatively young) some helpful tips on how to better serve customers and guests and what else he could have done to make our experience even remotely better. Today we tried to go back and decided that it was our last time visiting this establishment. We walked in and there was no A/C. It was appx 103 degrees at the time we visited, and they had 2 little fans on stands trying to cool the entire restaurant. i want to note that the fans were so old that they were being held together by blue tape and the fan blades were constantly hitting the fan casing which was making a very obnoxious noise the entire time. My wife ordered Shish Kabob and specifically asked for medium well. the food that came out was cooked through and through and burnt to a crisp. the meat brought to the entire table was all cooked the same and all of it was overdone and very tough. The last 2 times we visited, were very very disappointing and as mentioned, pushed us away from wanting to go back. I advise the owners to consider training their wait staff much better (I was a waiter myself for 2 years) and to focus on the overall experience...