Dimassi’s Mediterranean Buffet

The warm baklava (baklawa) is AMAZING! The rest of the buffet is good — very tasty hummus, fresh bread out of the oven (yum!) The other dishes are good tho’ the eggplant could be more flavorful and the baked fish was swimming in a very watery soup that was unattractive but — Who Cares?!? Head for the warm baklava — eat dessert first, life is short.

Stuffed myself on some of the best hummus in the city, plus baba ghanouj, fried eggplant and cauliflower. Very good fragrant rice dishes, and decent kebob as well. Desserts were fragrant and refreshing. The buffet comes with your choice of either fried fish or lamb shank to order, but we were satisfied with the regular offerings. Will have to try those out next time. Noticed on the way out that they also do take-​out for $ 6.something per pound, which makes it very convenient for those in a rush for lunch (which I may have to try next week).

Clean environment, helpful waitstaff, descent Mediterranean food for the price. Bonus is on request after 4pm, you can get lamb shank to order. Will definitely visit again.

Freshest buffet Ive ever experienced. The food is outstanding!!! Baklava is by far the best Ive ever had. Very clean, superb staff. One of our favorite restaurants. Very highly recommend!

Lunch is very reasonable. Food had flavor. Great change from the fast food place’s out there. Great for groups. Good selection. Hot food was hot, cold food was cold. Must try.

I thought the selections were pretty good. I just heard of it from a family member that works nearby and I would stop by and eat here again the next time I am in town.

I love Mediterranean cuisine and to check this restaurant I came all they way from corpus christi as I love to eat and travel and heard alot about this place :/
But unfortunately the food was bland I had a buffet it had kabobs but they were extremely dry, chicken fajita, extremely dry, humus was flavor less .
Baba gunush was okay. Flafel was good, fried chicken was flavor full, fish was seasoned and lentil soup was really appetizing, bread was fresh and soft ‚
Dessert needs more sugar
Other then that floors were sticky counters were really clean tables were nice and tidy :) great family environment but if they improve the taste would give 4.5 stars I paid $ 14 that is cheap but if food would be better I don’t mind paying $ 18 for it :) hope they improve so I can give another shot and re write my review :) cheers to busser and kitchen staf for cleanliness

Everything has a great flavor! It’s like home made food, there’s a travel in every bite,

I was pleasantly surprised. The food was very tasty although not as bold as I might have expected from Mediterranean food it was mild in flavor but never the less very good.

Let me say that I really did want to love this buffet but alas it was not meant to be.
I went with my family and the general consensus was that it wasn’t awful but nothing was very good either. The range was bland to mediocre. The quality of the meat was subpar and the fried chicken tasted microwaved. The falafel was disturbingly lukewarm and oddly flavored. The baba ganoosh looked like tuna salad and the pasta salad was tangy in a sour way.
Environmentally the restaurant was open and easy to move about. The staff was friendly in a reserved way.

The ambience could be better, but hey — it’s a buffet. The lamb shanks are fantastic, and almost worth the price of admission by themselves.
They could use a little more variety, but otherwise it’s a solid pick.

First time there. Sunday, around 6 PM. Full price — no Groupon deal.
Not everything was good, but what was good — it was delicious!
The good:
Hummus — superb taste, I couldn’t stop eating!
Grilled chicken strips — great smoky taste, delicate and juicy.
Baked chicken — good seasoning, tender and juicy.
Brown rice with roasted onions — loved it!
Baked eggplant, cabbage salad — really good.
Rice pudding, kullaj — fresh, delicious, still warm when I got it.
The … not so good:
Pita bread — cold (I expected warm flat bread made to order)
Cold tomato or cucumber based salads — just chopped veggies, no seasoning
Fried cauliflower — old and cold
Shredded beef — tough, lacking seasoning
Spinach with cheese — boring
Tabouli — missing wheat?
Baba Ghanouge — boring
Cubed chicken breast in sauce (name?) — chicken was very dry
I didn’t try the lamb shank, because I didn’t know they had any, and it was not offered.
Obviously some food items were hit, some miss, but I will be back to try them all.
The ambiance:
huge dining room, plain and simple, plenty of parking. Street sign is facing Graham Station, not the road (needs to be turned for better visibility)
The buffet station was kept clean. Dishes were fresh and warm, not hot, though.
All self serve (no attendance at all), including soda/​tea/​coffee. Would love some hot tea with mint, but no one offered me any…
The silverware had ugly white stains — from hard water, or detergent residue. The salt/​pepper/​napkin containers were really dirty. The restrooms needed some basic cleaning too.

I love Mediterranean food. LOVE. But I will not be going back to Dimassi’s to get my Mediterranean fix.
The outside of the restaurant is unappealing, but many holes-​in-​the-​walls are the same way with delicious food waiting inside. This was not the case with Dimassi’s. The inside of the restaurant was just as dismal and sad. There was a pretty good crowd for a super early dinner time on a Friday evening, but that included a few unsupervised kiddos running amok and taking/​touching all of the desserts.
The service was friendly enough, even with the presentation of our groupon. You pay for the buffet before you eat, and it includes a soda or tea. That was nice, at least. Once you pay, you’re pretty much on your own. No table service unless you want lamb shank, which they only offer at dinner. We didn’t opt in for that.
All of these things combined would not make me resort to a one star rating, but the food did nothing to sway my opinion of this place. They offer plenty of salads, including a cucumber and tomato salad (okay), tabbouleh (reaaalllllyyy heavy on the mint and parsley), and baba ganoush. They also had other typical offerings: rice, falafel, hummus, roasted vegetables, and various meat options. I didn’t try any of the meat, but the large roasted potato had a pretty good flavoring on the outside but wasn’t cooked through on the inside. The first time through the buffet, they only had crispy pita, but they came out with «fresh» soft pita after awhile. I went back to get some and was pretty excited for some warm pita bread, but it was weirdly cold with little flavor. It did have a nice consistency.
Desserts were also offered, such as rice pudding, baklava, some sort of fruit cake, and a sweet corn cake. The sweet corn cake was the only thing that was semi-​good.
The falafel and baba ganoush were the only items that were any good, and I will say that the falafel had lots of delicious seasoning and was perfectly cooked. The baba ganoush had lots of good flavor as well. Had the pita bread been warm, I would’ve been happy with these three items alone.
I won’t be coming back, although I’m glad we had the groupon to offset the cost of the buffet. I’d suggest trying Moshe’s Golden Falafel or Garbanzo for a delicious taste of Mediterranean food for much, much cheaper, and at least you’ll leave happy.

I’m a big fan of India food, however, I certainly love great Mediterranean food. Like most people, I’m often suspect of buffet’s and the quality of the food. This restaurant has excellent food from start to finish. The colors of the food are mesmerizing, bright reds, yellows, greens, you can visualize how healthy a meal your going to eat.
I tried about 75% of the food on the buffet line, didn’t find one item I didn’t love, fantastic looking and tasting. You can order a lamb shank, it’s not on the buffet, again, fantastic flavor and quite a large portion. You can tell the owners understand food at this restaurant, they keep every pan full to the brim, which although visually pleasing can impact the food temperature. Everything is fresh and food is being constantly rotated.
Rice pudding was fantastic, along with the three pastries they offered. The pastries were moist and very tasteful, I find it difficult to find decent pastries in Texas, again, I’m used to eating French or Hungarian pastries, they’re hard to beat.
The cost of a buffet for two was $ 25. The staff behind the buffet counter were very friendly and helpful.
What I didn’t like, small points department, cutlery wasn’t large or firm enough given the type of food that was being consumed and the napkins on the table were very thin, the food can be a bit messy, nothing worse than using dozens of napkins when one or two will suffice.
Overall, I’ll be going back to this restaurant, bumped into a customer who had been eating their for over 30 years.

We went here with a Groupon and it will for sure be the last!
All the buffet food was cold and tasted horrible! I love Mediterranean food and this was a huge disappointment.
The host in the front was rude from the second we walked in and he found out we had a Groupon to use.
All I can say is this is by far one of the worst places I’ve ever eaten in my entire life.

Went here because of a groupon. I would not recommend coming here, even with a groupon.
The one staff member that I saw was friendly and he happened to be smoking a cigarette outside when we first walked in. I wasn’t aware he worked there. We walk to the front area to be greeted by the man smoking outside.
The first thing I noticed was the size of the restaurant. It’s very large and has a the seating somewhat arranged around the buffet.
Many of the tables were dirty and so were the chairs. Upon walking up to the buffet I noticed a large selection, but nothing that was really appetizing. I tried a few different things, all of which were not quite warm enough. That really bothered me, and I see others have mentioned the food temperatures in their reviews.
Overall, I was very disappointed and would not return.

Shalom ,
I’d like to amend my previous review. There was another groupon available and I succumbed to it, again.
I don’t know if it was the freezing cold weather, but I was indulging in the food this time. In my head, I was giving the food compliments. I do enjoy some of the sides like before. Some of the sides could use more work — they’re well made but under seasoned or undercooked (cauliflower needs to skinny dip in the fryer longer). Eggplant is a favorite of mine, but I did have to use the salt shaker, which I don’t mind.
The kababs which I shamefully bashed in my last review, deserve an apology. Now they’re not appealing if they’ve been sitting there for a while, but ask for them fresh and they’re pretty damn tasty. They’re very well seasoned and have a good shake of salt on them.
With a groupon, I would definitely give it a shot. You pay 14 $ for 2 + tax at the register with drinks and «dessert» — there was a rice pudding that tasted like a bouquet of flowers… No Bueno.
Salut

We were welcomed immediately into the restaurant and informed that drinks are included into the cost and it is open seating. I really enjoyed the lack of personal attention, because it was nice to just enjoy a buffet and get your own food and drinks without being disturbed. They offer a variety of drinks including soda and tea.
The buffet line included fresh salads, vegetables, rice, meats, and dessert. Everything tasted good, but the spices and flavoring was not as intense here as other Mediterranean restaurants. Perhaps it was a different region of food. There are three to four varieties of rice that was really tasty. Since we came for lunch, there were no lamb shanks. All the food is labeled for easy decision making. I enjoyed the rice and veggies, but didn’t really think the meat was that great. Most of it was a bit dry although it looked freshly made. There was a selection of beef, fish, and chicken. Again, the veggies were wonderful! I liked the cauliflower, okra, and eggplant the most.
Also, the desserts available were two items — a berry crumble and a warbat (flaky pasty with something like ricotta cheese). I would go back, but at $ 11 it seemed a bit pricey compared to other types of buffets with seafood around town.

Pros: Great choice for both vegetarians and non-​vegetarians.
Cons: Cleanliness, consistency in food taste.
I will start by saying that if Dimassi’s corrects a few minor things, they can compete with Pasha, the king of Mediterranean food in San Antonio. The food selection is incredible, the taste is authentic and good, the service is typically friendly, and coffee/​tea/​dessert is included in the cost of the buffet. Do not listen to other reviews here that proclaim the food and food selection to be sub-​par. It is simple not. Dimassi’s has quite a wide selection of food, one that kind of sort of reminds me of the legendary Fadi’s in Houston.
Dimassi’s offers their take on old traditional Middle Eastern favorites like fattoush, tabbouleh, hummus, baba ganoush, kabobs, and falafel. My favorites on the menu include the fattoush, tabbouleh, falafel, fried cauliflower, zucchini salad, seasoned baked potato wedges, okra in tomato sauce with beef, their specialty eggplant in pomegranate molasses sauce, kafta and chicken kabob, and the two types of pastry they have for dessert. I have consistently heard that the baked fish and rack of lamb are also very good, but I have yet to try them.
So, make no mistake, the food is good. However… and this is where I launch into my criticism… the food quality and food temperature needs to be more consistent. I have been here three times and sometimes the food is excellent, flavorful, hot and fresh, and memorable. At other times, it can be much better. I believe that a staple, such as hummus, should be consistently good all the time and that a kafta kabob should be served hot.
The second knock that I have against Dimassi’s is cleanliness. The staff must do a better job of clearing and cleaning tables. Dimassi’s manager must be more vigilant in this regard, particularly because this restaurant is buffet style. When customers handle food themselves, a mess is typically what ensues.
Much more importantly, the staff needs to maintain cleanliness in the bathrooms. The last time I was visiting, I went to the restroom and found nearly filthy conditions. In retrospect, I should have mentioned this to the manager, but I was in a hurry to leave and failed to do so.
If Dimassi’s can maintain food consistency and temperature while ensuring quick, thorough table bussing with hourly bathroom checks, they will be a great restaurant. I will continue to return and hope that they can implement these changes.

You can simply ignore all the negative comments. They are obviously either people who don’t know the first thing about good food or competitors who can see their businesses slipping away before their eyes as the unstoppable DiMassi’s has finally made it to San Antonio and opened their 10^th location. There are no flies, the food is hot and fresh, and hearing Arabic spoken shouldn’t scare you unless you are a simple racist.
The food is amazing and there are so many choices. This can easily serve as a great base for both meat eaters and vegetarians/​vegans. At the ridiculously inexpensive $ 10.99 for the most amazing lunch buffet this city has to offer, how can there be any question about where to go for lunch?