Tabooleh

This is a great Mediterranean restaurant & grocery combined! The service was quick & friendly. Food was great! We ordered the baba ganoush appetizer, falafel sandwich, and chicken tekka which can with salad & the lentil soup. All was delicious, portions were generous, and staff was attentive. They carry lots of cooking supplies & specialized ingredients in the grocery section as well. Would stop again!

Giving 5 stars because this food was incredible. We got the 5 meat combo so we could try everything, and WOW. Every. Single. Thing. Was. Delicious. This is the place you want legit authentic Mediterranean. The tea was the real deal—loose leaf with strainer and fresh mint, served in a small kettle at the table with lovely porcelain cup. Just double check when you order if you are getting the dish as an entree (with rice) or as a gyro/sandwich.

Their food is badly old and stale, I got the lamb shank and the meat was so dry and tasteless, no salt, no pepper, no juice, no meat falling off the bone, just one hard piece of old meat heated. The rice was the worst rice I have ever had. I am a good cook myself, so I can tell with utmost certainty that their rice was at least 3 days old, and most likely 4-5 days old out of freezer, the texture of that rice had turned to almost like plastic texture. I had stomach pain for the rest of the day from consuming such a low quality food. Even if kept in the fridge, cooked rice grows dangerous bacteria/mold after 24 hours, and shame on me because I knew that, but at the time because I was so hungry and because the owner appeared as a friendly guy I didn't want to refuse or criticize his food, so I did my best and ate like 60% of it. I also ordered their eggplant dish, to which I give 2 out of 5. At the end they kept asking me how was everything good, and at first I said nothing, but when they kept excessively asking that question by different people, (most likely to guilt trap you to leave a good tip), I overcame my unnecessary reservation and told him "well, your rice was not fresh". At that time the owner switched from acting overly friendly to a not very nice attitude and said something like this, " you should have said something earlier, not now, and it looks like you actually enjoyed your food because you ate it all", whereas the truth is despite being raised in a family that one should finish his food (which I often do), I had left half of my rice. At that point I felt like not only he is not capable of taking responsibility for bad food, but he is accusing me of lying, so I told him "are you sure, my plate must still be there, do you want to check it again to see I didn't finish it?" Bottom line, I think it was the fault of me and my nature to always be appreciative of any food that anyone put in front of me. I learned a valuable lesson that the next time anyone puts any horrible food like this in front of me, respect myself and just refuse it and leave the restaurant right away, because you can't trust them with anything else either. When I shared this experience with few locals, they all confirmed that this restaurant is well known/notorious for bad food. What a shame to have places like this, especially because I love middle eastern food. A bad middle eastern restaurant in a town is a barrier for entry for a good one, because a potential good restaurateur looks at the low demand of the bad one and mistakenly concludes that there is no demand for his entry, which makes existence of such places a "double shame"!

The food was above and beyond my expectations! The most authentic Mediterranean cuisine I have had in the United States! Highly recommend enjoying the hookah lounge to relax after your meal. The service and selection was also above par!

Visited this place on the second day of opening and the food was amazing. Loved the customer service and the vibe. The food has an authentic homemade test wish was perfect. If you like Mediterranean food this place is definitely the go to place in Iowa City if not the only place. They have a plenty of variety to choose from the salad, entree and dessert. One last don't forget to get have your tea !!!