Does Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares take suggestions? If so, he should make a bee line for a certain Persian Restaurant in Sandy Springs. I’m not naming names, but this place is some of the worst food (it actually made some people in my group sick) I’ve had in a very long time. And the forgetful server and downright rude manager / owner didn’t help matters.

Let me start at the beginning. I noticed that in addition to belly dancing on weekends, this restaurant has Flamenco dancing once a month. So, I talk 7 friends into going along with me, cause I just knew it was going to be so fun.

We skipped appetizers and just ordered meals. Everyone got something different: lamb, chicken, fish, soup, etc, but everyone had the same complaint: the food was flavorless even to the point of being disgusting for some of the entrees. One of my friends had to wait an extra 20 minutes for her meal as “there was a mix up in the kitchen.” So we were all done by the time she got her food. Others complained of stomach pain after we got up, me included.

There were several other issues with the service and how we were treated by management, but I won’t go into all the details. Suffice it to say, I think their logic is “Better to screw over a new customer and drive them away than try and turn them into a repeat customer.”

What really saddens me about this is that Persian or Middle-Eastern cuisine isn’t a type of cuisine folks naturally gravitate toward. So, with this restaurant being featured on a local deal site, I’m sure some were trying this cuisine for the first time. If this was their first experience, they may have been really turned off. If this has happened to you, with Persian or another cuisine, do yourself a favor and give it try once again at a different spot. I used to love the now-closed Zaya (fantastic food AND service). Rumi’s Kitchen or Persepolis are also good options for Persian.

I first visited Sahara Mediterranean about a year ago. My short review of visit #1 to Sahara is below. Wow,what a difference one year can make. Turns out, prices have gone up, portions have gone down, and only regulars get stellar service.

Visit #2
Although Sahara is a small restaurant, they’ve done well with the space and you almost forget you are in a strip mall with a Dunkin Donuts next door. The three main seating areas are 1) the outdoor patio, 2) the main dining room and 3) the semi-private, beautifully decorated space with about 4 tables. We asked to be seated in the semi-private area but were told it was reserved. While I do believe it was reserved, we never actually saw all tables occupied. I think it was a case of a private party reserving more space than they needed.

If you are often torn with your decisions on adult beverages, don’t worry you won’t have that problem here. There are only 2 draft beers, and 4 by the bottle. And there are about 10 wines by the glass or bottle in all. My friend Kim wanted a glass of Shiraz but our server said they were out. She didn’t offer anything in exchange just said they were out of Shiraz. So, Kim opted for a beer instead.

Not being excited in the least by any of the wine choices, Glen and I ordered bottled beer (Stella and Sierra Nevada). Our beers were delivered rather warm and we weren’t even offered a glass, which I would have expected for $4.50 per beer. We finally did get a nice frosty mug, but only after asking for it.

Sahara Adult Beverages

Remembering that the best thing on the mezza (appetizer sampler) was the Arayess, pita stuffed with a mixture of ground lamb and beef, onions and spices we couldn’t skip that. Now the Arayess was spicy and flavorful, quite adequate for 3 to share as an appetizer. The taste was just as delicious as I remember it being, although I don’t think it cost $8 last year. Too bad it all went downhill from there.

Sahara Arayess

Instead of ordering the mezza (choice of 5 different appetizers) we chose to only order 1 app and 2 entrees and split between the 3 of us. On my first visit, we ordered the beef skillet which was a huge portion even for 2 people. So, we opted for this again and added the lamb skewer entree as well, believing this would be ample food for 3 people. But we were sorely mistaken.

Sahara Beef Skillet

Sahara Lamb Skewer

Shortly after we finished our appetizer, the entrees arrived. We had to ask for a third plate even though we told our server we would be sharing the 2 entrees. I would be surprised if there were even 3 oz of meat on either plate. Kim and I each shared 1 skewer or the lamb kabob and the rice. Glen gave me a taste of his beef as well. Don’t let the picture deceive you, the meal mostly consisted of onions and peppers with little beef, which is really hard to excuse when you are paying $17 per entree.

I was surprised that it wasn’t more crowded at 8 on a Saturday evening, but I overheard another server telling some other customers that late night is when Sahara really picks up, turning into more of a bar with live music and hookah smoking. He said the patio gets completely packed with well over 100 people lounging outside. So, perhaps it is a case of Sahara being more of a bar that happens to serve food rather than a restaurant that turns clubby at night.

The bill was right around $60 without tip. Absolutely NOT worth the cost of the meal. We left, feeling somewhat hungry and miffed at the subpar service. We had noticed the entire evening as regulars were greeted with hugs and much more attentive service than we got the entire evening. I get that they want to treat their regulars to superior service. I would too if I owned a restaurant. But how will they ever convert a one night stand into a relationship by offering zero value and inadequate service?

Visit #1
Baba Ghannouj, Hummus, Stuffed Grape Leaves…..
If all of the above start to make your mouth water, then Sahara Mediterranean Grill is worth a visit.
Attached to a Dunkin’ Donuts in a quiet unassuming strip mall, you wouldn’t think there is anything that special from the outside. But step inside, and you’ll feel you’ve been transported to an exotic locale in the Mediterranean. And the staff is super friendly and is good about making recommendations if you aren’t sure about what to order.

My suggestion? Start with the Mezza, a combination of any 5 appetizers for $20. Don’t miss out on the ARAYESS – Pita bread stuffed with a bee/lamb mixture and a blend of seasonings. If there are only 2 of you, this will be pretty filling, so just split an entree after that. We had the beef skillet which was very tasty, and left us completely stuffed.

550 W Crossville Rd, Suite 102
Roswell GA 30075
(770)594-8463
www.saharamediterraneangrill.com

Mediterranean Buffet and Hookah Lounge

Seems like everywhere you turn, these Hookah lounges are popping up. Even Acworth, GA now has its own Hookah bar which is part of the new Mediterranean Buffet Restaurant. Located on Bells Ferry Rd, just south of Highway 92, the Mediterranean Buffet is a huge space that offers a lot in terms of food as well as a separate area for Hookah smoking.

The Mediterranean Buffet is very new and just started advertising in the local coupon book that all us Kennesaw residents get delivered to our mailbox. My coworker, Brandon is a big fan of Mediterranean food, especially hummus. So, on a recent Monday we decided to venture over to the Mediterranean Buffet for lunch and take advantage of our coupon.

Upon entering we were immediately greeted by the hostess / waitress who invited us to sit anywhere we liked. After choosing a booth near the food, we hit the buffet. I never took time to find out if you can also order off the menu or if it strictly the buffet, but I have a feeling it is buffet only.

The layout is spread amoung 3 different carts, 2 of the smaller carts have the salad and what I would call the appetizers – pita bread for hummus and meat pies. The other main cart is longer and has the main courses. This cart had about 8 different offerings on it.

Appetizers - Meat Pie

So, we both started off with the hummus and meat pies. While I liked the hummus (Brandon gave it a thumbs up too) I didn’t care for the meat pie. It was ok, but seemed a little dried out and there were much better things to be had on the menu, so I didn’t have anymore of that as I wanted to save room for the other offererings.

Salad Bar with Hummus, Tabouleh, and Tahini

Next it was onto the salad bar. I tried the Tabouleh and Tahini and thought that they were pretty good. Tabouleh was a tad better in my book. About this time, our waitress came over and asked if we’d like some fresh Falafel. Apparently they don’t put it on the buffet as they think it won’t stay warm very long. We tried some, but it was pretty forgettable. I think the Falafel at Casablanca nearby is much better.

Falafel

Ok, so onto the main dishes. Like I said, there were about 8 different offerings, and I did try to get a taste of everything. I started with the squash stuffed with rice. Brandon loved it but I didn’t really like the rice stuffing. I wasn’t big on the tomatoes inside, they had about 2 other kinds of rice on the buffet and I was able to find one (I think it had carrots in it) with a really good flavor.

Squash, Dolmas, and Spaghetti

Cabbage Dolmas

As for the dolmas (stuffed cabbage or grape leaves) I definintely would say the cabbage ones were better. I think the grape leaves were vegetarian. Please confirm this before eating, as I am not completely sure. I did like the beef/spaghetti dish as it defnitely was not like traditional spaghetti, much more of a mediterranean flair to it.

Mediterranean Buffet Dessert

Of course, I couldn’t leave without trying dessert. I opted to skip the fruit although its nice to see that they offer it. And it is a pretty arrangement. Instead I had some sort of orange coconut square. Different but tasty. They also had some sort of cupcake looking dessert – but I skipped that too.

I know that’s a lot of information so let me sum it up. Must try: Hummus, Tabouleh, Spaghetti, Dolmas, and various rice offerings. They did have baked chicken (legs and thighs only) and green beans, but that was about the only traditional food they had on the menu, so don’t go with someone who just wants traditional American food, cause you won’t find it here.

Hookah Bar

We also took a peek at the Hookah bar. I asked how much it costs and I was told $10.99 per Hookah. I haven’t really priced them out so I guess that is reasonable. The buffet cost was $7.99 per person, but the staff told us they have a much wider selection including lamb on the weekends, so that is when you really want to visit. I’d still like to see some sort of build your own gyro area kinda like a build your own fajita area like you would see at a Mexican restaurant.

Staff was super friendly, definitely worth checking out if you live relatively close by.