Zaytun Mediterranean Grill

http://consuminglouisville.com/2009/03/where-to-eat-in-louisville-zaytun-mediterranean-grill.php

While trying Zaytun based on two friends recommendations, we found the restaurant empty on a Thursday night. The emptiness of the place had scared us away once before when we were walking by at the lunch hour, but saw no one inside. Not to compare the place to La Bamba on Bardstown Road, but we were wondering about the quality of the food if no one was around.

Before our food came a couple of Kroger shoppers came in and got to-go orders and two couples came in and sat down. Our food came out beyond quickly – our salad came immediately and our entrees followed soon after. I was impressed by the ambiance in the place: the color tones are chic and inviting, you get to look out large store-front windows onto Bardstown Road, you can kinda see back into the kitchen, they have televisions and pop music playing to delight your eyes and ears. The restaurant could use a tinge more warmth added to it, though. For instance the walls are a little shiny and abrasive. They could be warmed by some velvety furniture or more carpet coverings on the floor.

One part of the meal that was sub-par was our wait staff. They were attentive, but awkward as could be. My waitress spilled water all over my jeans and then wanted to blot it up with napkins. I kindly refused this weird offer and she disappeared and we found ourselves with a new waiter.



Inside of the Restaurant (from Aaron M.'s Yelp.com posting)














On to the important part: we ordered a hero gyro with standard toppings (tomatoes, onions, lettuce), a house salad, and a sampler plate of the vegetarian items (Egyptian-style hummus, baba ganoush, and falafel). The food was unique above all and very tasty. The bread and pita that came with the gyro and sampler plate was warm and sweet and one of the highlights of the meal. The meat was zesty and very flavorful and I would put it second to none; however, to me it tasted as if it was made good by the fattiness of the items (or rather adding butter or grease to them in key spots). The difference between this meal and a meal at Yafa’s, for example, is that Yafa’s never leaves a sour feeling in my stomach – Yafa’s can’t, it’s just fresh food always. Here I was glad and very surprised I didn’t burp my brains out when I went to the gym for my 8-miler afterwards.

Regarding our vegetarian sampler, nothing was lacking in terms of flavor or complexity. However, nothing was outstanding. The baba ganoush, which I had already had some of Yafa’s tops ganoush earlier in the day, was fresh but not quite as tasty. The Egyptian hummus I liked, but had that odd oxidized taste to it that kind of drives me bonkers (is it just a lot of lemon, or what?). The salad we had was phenomenal. It’s dressing was simply unbeatable – it was a simple salad, though, not too much outside standard Greek salad toppings.

There is a constant debate among middle-eastern and Mediterranean foodies about where to find the best falafel in town. My high school French teacher and agree that you can find them at Yafa’s at Theatre Square on Fourth Street; however, Zaytun did offer up some fresh and tasty falafel. I admit I am not partial to their style which tends to be more cooked than not, but their seasoning was scrumptious and their presentation amongst the other items on the plate was perfection! The appearance of the falafel itself is a little questionable: it looks more like a hushpuppy than anything... it’s like a big fried dough ball. But the innards are yummy and warm and the taste is there.