• 17Jun

    The Sahara Grille

    Food – 4
    Decor – 3
    Service – 5
    Cost – 4
    Overall – 4

    So, I’m a little late. On the plus side, I had an opportunity on my birthday to go back a second time with Mel. The first time around:

    The atmosphere is wonderful. The decor is ethnic without being distracting and this includes the music. It’s there to enjoy but not so loud that you can’t hold a conversation. Our waitress, Rosie, was stellar. She was prompt and polite and took our (oft times) rowdy, obnoxious group in stride. It was a great change compared to our first review place. The food – amazing. It had all the top notch selections and then some that the Desert Inn has, at a fraction of the price for most things. Ralph and I shared a Sahara Appetizer Combo – we chose spanitopita (a feta and spinach filled filo dough), cheese pies, stuffed grape leaves (meat and spices). I can’t say I enjoyed the grape leaves but according to Bob, it was very authentic tasting. I had the Tour of the Sahara with Beef (read: high quality filet) Shish Kabobs. It came with a mountain of seasoned rice, potato wedges and a grecian salad. I am not overly fond of salad to begin with but I did try it. I still am not overly fond of salad. Dessert was a REALLY good, REALLY big slice of key lime cheesecake. We were a little concerned at first about the lack of patrons present, but between the food and the service that was chalked up to a fluke. Our waitress also commented that it was an abnormally slow night. The price for things was, in my opinion, very fair for the quantity and quality of food you get. Between Ralph and I we spent less than $50. Would I go back? Well now that’s a silly question.

    Round Two.

    Mel and I went out here for my birthday and while it wasn’t a full house, it was certainly steady. The music wasn’t obtrusive at all, same as the first time and again, the service was exceptional. Our waiter Daniel kept the drinks full and was really interesting and pleasant to talk to. I’m a nerd – I had the Tour again, same as the last time although this time I had extra rice instead of salad. Dessert was the Chocolate Bomb. For ten minutes while it was devoured, I was in chocolate heaven. Better than birthday cake! I am taking a liking to humus. This place is definitely approaching the top of my list and I will likely return here many times in the future.

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  • 10Jun

    Food – 4, The food was good and different that what you get at most places.
    Decor – 4, The decor was very good, clean, but with a Mediterranean flavor.
    Service – 5, Our waitress was great, prompt and attentive, it doesn’t get any better.
    Cost – 3, Bleh. They charged for sides of things like sour cream… come on, pathetic.
    Overall – 4, I liked it and would recommend it in the future.

    There aren’t a tremendous number of ethnic restaurants around this part of Ohio so I’m always thrilled to see a new one in business. The decor was lighter and more open than most of the other Mediterranean restaurants I’ve been in which tend towards a darker, more cave like feel. The food was well spiced and with a good flavor, the lamb and beef kabobs were easily on par with what I’ve gotten in other authentic Mediterranean restaurants and the presentation was good. The rice and salad were also very good although I personally prefer the Desert Inn’s salad dressing. The service was absolutely stellar– I’ve rarely had better service anywhere… the waitress was attentive but not intrusive, she kept our drinks full and made sure we had whatever we needed to make our meal just “that much better.” We’re a rowdy bunch of folks, at times we’re a bit loud even when no one has been drinking in the least, we tend to make a lot of off color jokes and in general just have a good time… as a group we’re likely to drive waitstaff mad… but she took us in stride and didn’t miss a beat. The only thing that bothered me was when I was looking over the bills and saw that they had been charging for a few of the things we asked for such as mayo and other condiments. If this was a Mom’n'Pops Diner leaving you a $7 bill… I wouldn’t have had a problem with that. This is a average priced restaurant in Belden Village however, and I don’t recall the last time I was charged for any condiment at any decent restaurant in Belden Village… hell, Bennigan’s didn’t even charge me when I didn’t like the sweet sauce that came with my Monte Cristo and asked for au-jus instead. When you’re getting more than $20 per person average, it’s pretty silly to charge for things like that. That being said, my overall rating would be excellent and I would recommend them the next time you’re heading out and want something a bit out of the ordinary.

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