Cafe Mediterranee

LOVE this place for it’s chicken and lamb offerings, as well as the lemonade. I don’t know that there’s anything fancy about the lemonade, just that it goes perfect with whatever I order.

I always see this small restaurant when I pass through Downtown Davis, but I had never really thought about going since I usually just go to Sam’s. I finally decided to try it out a few days ago for dinner and it was delicious!
It does cost more than Sam’s, but the food is definitely a step up. The chicken shawarma that I ordered was well-​cooked, and the rice was so warm and buttery. I ordered it with the yogurt & cucumber dip and potato salad which went well with my dish (although the potato salad was a little on the salty side).
The only downside is that because I ordered take-​out the meal seemed to have smaller portions compared to the restaurant photos I’ve seen on Unilocal.So maybe next time I’ll eat in? But overall, I think this is a great spot for mediterranean food!

Ordered the beef schwarma, which was decent. The BF ordered the chicken schwarma and said the chicken was overcooked and didn’t have enough sauce, so we got some more to add. We also got the baklava — also decent. We say Sam’s is the better and cheaper alternative to Café Mediterranee food-​wise.
The service was fine and the ambiance outside is pretty. Cute and reasonably-​priced date spot in Davis, especially on a warm summer night because you can sit on the outside patio near the trellises — romantic!

I think that café mediterranee, is exactly what you expect from a place like this.
They serves the best middle-​eastern/​Mediterranean rice ever! (so I always get my kabob with rice, side of taboule, and another side of rice!)
These are (in my opinion) their best items:
their rice,
taboule (super fresh, with the right amount of acidity)
lamb kabob
and the ground beef kabob
the rest of the items are good too, just not great.

Café Mediterranee is you’re usual Mediterranean place with shwarma sandwiches, plates, and salads. The food tastes fresh & healthy, & doesn’t leave you with a greasy, full stomach feeling afterward the way that Sam’s does to me.
I ordered a chicken shwarma salad & was surprised how much meat there was! They did charge me extra for having the shwarma vs grilled chicken, I think like $ 3 more. Sadly, I was disappointed in the chicken, it was overcooked I think because it was dry & lacked flavor. I even asked for tahini sauce on the side, but that didn’t help because the sauce was bland too. It was runny & tasted nothing like tahini :(The BF got a beef shwarma sandwich & he said it was just ok as well.
Overall, it’s an A-​OK place, but I wouldn’t be writing home to my friends about it.

This is a small, cozy restaurant hidden on D street. I went here for a get together for my lab. My harsh judgement is biased by the fact that it was rather hot and humid inside. It got better because they probably realized that it was 102 outside and 140 inside.
It is a rather small restaurant, it can seat a party of 8, but if there are 10 other people, it would make it tough.
I ordered the chicken shawarma. It also comes with two side dishes. These vary from hummus to salad to pasta. The way it’s presented is chicken over rise with a whole pita bread on top. The chicken was good, I did not taste any spices or any flavoring that indicated anything was done to the chicken besides being cooked (which may be good for some people). To me the rice was rather bland, I ordered a hummus side and a pasta salad side. The hummus is your average hummus. It is was plain hummus, which I love, but tasted, again rather bland. The pasta salad was some mix, the pasta tasted a few days old and/​or that it had been undercooked.
I was disappointed by their sauces. I tried a hot sauce that seemed like it was homemade… again it was rather bland for a hot sauce.
My disclaimer is that I like foods that are rich in flavor. I heard someone say this is a good place for those who sensitive to spices or flavorings (if so, you’d probably love this place).

I ordered the baby spinach salad and it was yummy! I asked for the dressing on the side because I was afraid I wouldn’t like it, but indeed, I did! I wish I knew that ahead of time so I could’ve asked them to mix it in for me! I added the grilled chicken to the salad and it worked out great! I was so surprised that I actually ended up finish almost my entire plate! It was that great! And even better, I was dipping my grilled chicken in the hummus the boy had with his entrée and that made it delicious too! All for a great price! Thanks!
Though I have to admit the fountain lemonade wasn’t that great — maybe I’ll just stick to water!

Easily the best palce to eat lunch in Davis. Its small, secluded and has really pretty décor. The food comes out quickly. There are tons of options but everything is fairly priced. A 2 person meal will come out to less than 20 dollars, including a side and an appetizer. I’d say it is a really great place for a date too :)
Oh! And its DELICIOUS!

Their portions are big, the meat is nice and tender, their prices aren’t much higher than Ali Baba or Sams, and the place is pretty nice looking. Went here with my girlfriend last week and I’m sure we will be back. It’s definitely a place you can take a date, although be prepared to come away with a full belly.
I had the beef shawarma while she had the chicken shawarma. They have a pretty nice selection of food, including a good set of appetizers.
I’m a huge fan of Middle Eastern food, and this place did not disappoint. Check it out, especially with your significant other. Sit on the front porch — its on a downtown street that doesn’t get a lot of traffic, so its nice and calm.

This spot is easy to pass by when driving down D street, but if you’re in the Davis area, a very nice place to check out. The inside of the restaurant was nice and they had a variety of seating arrangements to choose from.
What I liked:
They have rotisserie chicken cooking non-​stop so if you’re meal includes chicken — YUM! Hot and juicy off the rack. I ordered the Spinach salad and added chicken and it was darn sure tasty!
What I didn’t like:
My friends and I had never been there before. When we entered we didn’t know if we had to be seated or if we should seat ourselves. After a few minutes a girl came to the register and told us we could seat ourselves and that we would need to order with her and then go have a seat. She wasn’t the most welcoming person and almost made us feel unwelcome. If I had been there by myself I would have left.
Why did I give it 3 stars?
Well, the food was 4 stars, but I like to feel welcome at a restaurant and that feeling was not passed on when I entered. I was more confused and baffled by the lady’s (cashier? hostess?) indifference to us.

I’m on a quest to try every restaurant in Davis! I’ve heard about this place before but I lot of my friends are to afraid to venture out of their comfort zones. I went here with a friend for Lunch on a Sunday. When I walked in, I was surprised how crowded it was in the restaurant, The inside is quite small but it looked really clean and homey. To order, you grab a paper menu and order from the counter. Since it was my first time here, I asked the girl taking orders for suggestions. She didn’t really seem that educated on their menus choices but recommended me the lamb since she just had it for lunch recently. Since I’m not really a lamb person, I just ordered the Beef Sharwma.
–Beef shawarma ($ 6.95) — It came neatly wrapped with lettuce, onions, tomatoes and Tahini Sauce and a side of rice. If you know me, I LOVE Sam’s Shawarma. The Shawarma here was lacking flavor and even the hot sauce they have couldn’t save it. It was very bland and the Tahini sauce was way to tasteless.
–Beef lule kebab (ground beef) $ 10.95 side of babaganush and potatoe salad ($ 2.95 each) — My friend ordered this and it was a pretty decent portion. She gave me some of her meat and it was tasty but kind of dry.
The service was good. The person taking our order came out and asked if everything was okay. We sat outside and it was really relaxing.
Overall, I probably won’t be coming back to this restaurant when Sam’s is just around the corner.

Easily the best half roasted chicken for 10 $ in Davis. You HAVE to get the chicken. Crisp lemony skin, moist tender meat, and yummy delectable sides. Cabbage Salad, Hummus, Beans, Cucumber salad? You choose, and won’t be disappointed.

Really wanted to love this place, but having tried a few dishes today (the falafel, the chicken shawarma, and the chicken kebab along with the hummus, muhumara, and tzatziki), I’d have to say that the food is just ok. The falafel had a texture that I wasn’t quite expecting. There was some crunchiness amid the usual softness that I’m used to that reminded me of biting into sand sometimes when you eat clams. The chicken shawarma at Sam’s Restaurant is definitely tastier.
Finally a tip about seating. The outdoor seating area appears very inviting, however do not sit there when there is a flock of birds overhead in the trees above (as happens in the late evening close to sunset) unless you want a treat from above landing in your food or on yourself. The umbrellas need to be moved to provide cover more totally for outdoor diners.

Love to eat, so my coworkers and I wanted to try a new place.
The restaurant is very warm, a little due to the warm weather and maybe from the kitchen. It’s a great place for lunch though, you order at the counter when you enter the restaurant. So separate checks, don’t have to worry about splitting the money up. And the server will bring your food to you.
I got the rotisserie chicken and side salad. The food was delicious, the chicken was tender and wasn’t dry at all. My coworker got a steak pita sandwich, and had a taste of the steak. It was flavorful with the perfect seasoning and sauce. Of course someone at the table had to get dessert, I forgot what it was but YUM!!! I will definitely come back and Have to save some room for my own slice.

Very tasty food. Odd that there is no table service, it’s priced like table service but what the heck.

I came back here with friends despite not really liking Mediterranean food, and it’s definitely still not my thing. I got the rotisserie chicken this time, a much safer bet than lamb, and it was definitely better than the lamb kebabs I had before. Their rice was still delicious, and the chicken was good and moist but not something I’d ever crave.
Their dolmas were a big disappointment. I’m not a dolma expert but the ones I’ve tried at other places were just so much better! The grape leaf wrap was extremely thick, stringy, and hard to cut through. Definitely not fun to eat. The rice inside was hard and tasted undercooked as well. It was simply cold and plain, which made it quite embarrassing for me because I was just telling my friend how much I loved dolmas! :(

Atmosphere was nicer than I expected, though the chairs were kinda wobbly. But I got over it. The food came out, and it was one of the few times I’ve had Mediterranean food, but it was worth it. The meat was soft and tender, and pita bread went well with the side sauce, which was bright red? I don’t quite recall what it was called. Fries were nice and crispy on the outside and full of potatoes in the inside. I couldn’t finish my portion, but brought it home and it was still just as good as left overs!

Despite being extremely terrified by the wild turkey that was walking around right in front of Café Med, dinner was great. (what the heck is a turkey doing around downtown Davis by itself and why they’re such jerks… I’m not sure)
It was my first time eating here but my bf has mentioned before that their food is good, and he was absolutely right! My grilled vegetables were grilled to perfection and not greasy at all. The lentil soup was very hot and hearty, and the consistency was just right– not too thick or thin, and the lentils weren’t too hard or mushy.
My bf had the lamb rack special ($ 16) which included 3 pieces of lamb rack, rice/​bulgar, 2 sides and pita. The bulgar pilaf with finely chopped red bell peppers and little vermicelli pieces was really well seasoned and was definitely one of the best pilaf I have ever had. You can substitute the bulgar pilaf for the basmati rice at an additional charge! You can also substitute any 2 sides that come with an entrée for the grilled vegetables that I got for free. Yay for not riping people off another like extra 5 bucks for little substitution on your order!
One thing my bf mentioned though was that they take kinda long making the food. which was unfortunately also true. There were no one ahead of us when we ordered and they still took a good 20 minutes at least to make two entrees. So if you’re in a hurry I really would not recommend coming here. But if time isn’t an issue and you want to eat somewhere clean, comfortable, and yummy, Café Med is the place to be!

Wow, I was really impressed by this place. The inside was so cute and neat, however what shocked me was that it was a true café-​style restaurant. You order & pay first and they bring the food to you. there’s no waiters or anything so it’s a lot more casual than you would think
I had the lamb kabob dish and it was delicious: o) Priced at $ 11 I thought it was a fair deal considering I was completely full and it also comes with two little dishes, bread, & rice.
Overall a nice place for lunch or dinner, with good ambiance and good food. I would definitely return!

I finally went to this place considering I’ve been in Davis since Fall of 2004.
It was good. Definitely more of a restaurant feeling than any other Mediterranean spot in Davis. I would, however, say that the dishes are a little pricey. My eating partner and I ordered a plate each which cost us about $ 21 total.
Aside from the price, the food was good. I can’t remember which side dishes we got that came with the plates, but they were good. Ask the cashier for their suggestion on what tastes good with what main dish you order.
You cannot go wrong with a Chicken Shawarma or Beef/​Chicken Shish Kebob. To be extra safe, get it in Pita form. I sort of wish I did that instead of the plate form. The plate was still good though. Get the Pita form especially if you’re new to Mediterranean food.
The workers were very nice and welcoming. The setting is peaceful. Because of the price, I give this place 4 stars and would rather go to Alibaba’s or Sam’s down the way.