Sumac Mediterranean Grill

I went there with a friend for lunch, and we had a very pleasant experience: easy access, we parked in front, the staff were very helpful and friendly, the interior is nice, and, most importantly, the food was good!

Their lamb, chicken and beef kabobs are delicious same goes for their tabooleh, hummus and pita bread… Love this restaurant!!! A little costly, but so worth it and their wine selection is great to.

I really enjoyed this restaurant. It was such a pleasant surprise! Fresh food, reasonable prices, and the services was fast and courteous. I would say the only disappointment is they did not have coffee to go with the baklava! But I am definitely looking forward to my next visit. I highly recommend this restaurant.
(Update) just want again this week and I ordered the tilapia and my mom the moussaka and it was all delicious! I can’t wait to go back and try even more of their dishes.

This new remodeled place is much nicer that the previous owners’. And the quality of the food has stayed just as good. My favorite is probably the Lamb and Beef Shawarma wrap. And the babaganoush is very respectable.

What great food and what wonderful staff, stopped in for lunch last week and will be back soon. The staff are knowledgeable about the food and the portions are very generous. I had chicken kebab, kalai chicken, rice, salad, with hummus all fantastic.
Can’t wait to try all the other things on the menu!

We really enjoyed this restaurant! The service was friendly and efficient. The food was spectacular. We had the sampler appetizer dish, all so fresh and tasty. The ambiance is casual. We sat outside because there was a fairly noisy large group of women. The patio was quite comfortable even though the weather was a little chilly. Five stars for food, 4 stars only because the ambiance indoors was a bit austere. We will definitely return!

Food came out quick, servers were personable and fast to attention, and the fare was fresh. Really big portions, which for someone like me with the appetite of a 49er offensive lineman, goes a long way.

I am so glad this family Mediterranean restaurant opened up, it’s my favorite in the Belmont/​San Carlos area.
I’ve had gyros, moussaka, kebab, falafel, fattoush, labneh, lentil soup, the burger– I’m working my way through the whole menu. I’ve yet to have a dish I would not gladly eat again.
Only thing is the burger was not great for take out, got a bit soggy because I didn’t eat it right away. I think it’s more of an eat-​in dish.
They also have been super considerate since we had our baby, whether it’s popping outside with my takeout when I’ve got the baby in the car, or making space for the stroller when we eat there.

A refreshing place, in a nice location with good aesthetics, and great food.
Met my friend here on a whim. Location is nice, cuz it’s not in the part of town that has cluster-​fuck traffic, and is clearly visible and easy to get to on the corner of El Camino and Harbor.
I parked on the street, and there is also a parking lot, so all these points collectively make this place really accessible.
Aesthetics are modern/​rustic with wood, brick, and meal accents. The space is airy, cuz the large windows are street facing, which makes it great to people-​watch. There are perhaps not more than a dozen tables and a few bar stools at the counter. Note that it doesn’t seem like they’ll seat you at a table of 4 (which they’ve marked «reserved») if you are a party of ‘2’.
If you’ve gone to a mediterranean restaurante before, entrees listed on the menu seem fairly standard (i.e. chicken, felafel, kofta /​giros, shwarma, kebab, etc.).
Note that I ordered the kofta plate at $ 14.95 — menu says, «ground beef, flavored with our special spices, parsley and onions.» There are two ginormous servings of kofta atop a bed of rice, then, a handful of veggies (you can request salad instead), and perhaps three quarters of a whole piece of flatbread.
Food was awesome, and kofta was freshly-​made, and MOIST.
BTW, I tried my companion’s falafel, and that was also freshly-​made and super moist!
Quite frankly, there was a lot of food, and understandably, because of this, the price point was higher than I would’ve expected to pay for lunch (though something I might expect to pay for dinner).
Other than gyro/​shawarma, there wasn’t any obvious option to break down the platter to a more manageable size for lunch (i.e. it would’ve been nice to just to get the meat/​rice/​salad).
For this reason, coupled with the price point, I bumped them down a notch to 4-​stars from what otherwise woulda been a 5-​star rating.

Great food (mezze sampler, falafel plate, chicken kebab, kalai chicken, rice, salad) and service (Felix)! And a unique selection of beer and wine.
I like what they did with the space — nice design. A welcome addition to the restaurant scene here in Belmont.

Decided to try this place after coming here during a Unilocal Elite event. I have to say I was not disappointed! Ordered my favorite Kofta Kebab and boy was it yummy! I thought I would have leftovers, but it tasted so good I ended up eating it all! Everything was so fresh! We also ordered the Shish Kebab and enjoyed the tasty flavor of the lamb, which was also very tender. I’m definitely a fan of this place. The owner/​chef is so nice and humble and very passionate about his food. This will be my go to restaurant whenever I’m in the mood for Mediterranean.

Highlights: Inside is modern and sleek with an open feel to the space. Order at the counter and wait staff delivers your food. Their hummus is VERY GOOD! Order the Sumac Shwarma Mix, I think this is best dish! Moussaka is good, if you like that kind of stuff. The dessert is by far one of the better desserts around — seriously! All the other items are good and fresh, though could use a bit more flavoring, for my tastes. PARKING: in the back of the restaurant or street parking in front. This place would be a cool after work drinks hangout, if they had a (hint) full bar! Love the horizontal wood and the bathroom is clean, as it should be. Will return again to give this place the full review that it deserves.
Lowlights: We were a table of hour, they didn’t get our order deliver together and the restaurant wasn’t busy. They made a mistake on our order, which was rather easy — but they did compensate with a free dessert.

Parking — very easy, they do have parking lot behind the building.
Service — very good, always willing to help
Food — I had gyro wrap and my wife chicken kebab; both dishes were delicious. Dessert — get Sumac special and you will not be disappointed.

Did someone order baseball sized Falafel?!
It isn’t an everyday thing that I tend to stop by Belmont, mostly because it gets overlooked by San Mateo and the other popular cities. IF there is anything that I have learned ever since eating here at Sumac is that I should never overlook a simple city ever again when I head up to San Francisco. Sumac Mediterranean Grill is a MUST-​STOP restaurant that everyone should try whenever they have the chance.
Some word of advice for those that do end up going here because of the reviews then please keep in mind that this is not a fast food place, instead it is a slow food place. The manner in which you dine here is based on the fresh quality of food that they serve. I noticed that they only cook to order, which is usually done with tons of love and experience. So, if you’re expecting something fast and yummy then please advert your eyes and tastebuds for another time when you do have time.
The best part about this place isn’t just the food but the wine and beer selection that they have. It makes the worth just that more great!
The kebabs that they be dishing up are to DIE FOR!!!
Overall, I really recommend this place for those that have time on their hands as well as a hungry appetite for baseball sized Falafel!

Quite delighted with this find! I don’t normally have gyros but this was DELICIOUS. Very importantly, the meat had a nicely crispy edge to it — I’m not sure if this was just because we stopped by for a late lunch during the week, but I hope the devote the time to it all the time. The yogurt sauce it came with was excellent. We liked the falafels a lot, although they were just slightly overdone to me. I came made for the chicken shwarma and I’ll admit that it wasn’t my absolute favorite — I am most familiar with what I’m guessing is a Lebanese style in Montréal — but still the seasoning was really tasty. I feel lucky that this is close by! Bonus that the beer on tap is a pretty decent selection (although they could use some different glasses, but that’s getting pretty picky).
ONE THING I would love to see changed: the music! It seems pretty hokey and is too loud. We considered asking for it to be turned down or off since we were the only ones there for most of the time.
And fluffier pita options would be great. I’m not a pita expert but these struck me as more lavash-​like.

Belmont isn’t known for being a culinary hotspot… or hotspot of any sort really (unless you’re counting number of nursing homes) but Sumac Mediterranean Grill is one stop that’s absolutely worth the time of day.
It’s not exactly what you’d expect, which is easiest for me to lightly outline below.
** It’s NOT the greasy diner you’d expect it to be from the outside.
–Inside is actually pretty modern and the design elements of repurposed materials really drive that home.
** It’s NOT fast food. REPEAT: NOT FAST FOOD
— I remember the first time I went to Europe and saw all these little casual restaurants with signs out front that read, ‘Slow Food’, and thinking it was a hilarious. Flash forward 10 years later and to Belmont, Ca and here we are. Slow food at it’s finest. Fresh, real ingredients. Cooked up from scratch on the spot. They don’t cut corners with their quality and that’s where the extra time you’ll spend waiting for your order goes. Well worth it. Though, you can call in an order or order in advance online.
** While you’re waiting, order a beer or wine!
— Love that this little spot has some boozy options. Totally unexpected but perfect for a super casual date night or just chilling while waiting for your order to come up. The space is clean and comfortable so I don’t mind coming here on my own with a book (though I’m more likely to just scroll through my phone for 20 minutes), and waiting with a glass of whatever is good on tap.
In addition to the space to order, wait, sit inside, they also have a cute little back patio and small parking area in back to make things easy… though the Caltrain lot is right next door, also.
My favorite menu item so far is probably the tilapia plate, which is filling and robust. Wonderful flavor. I do wish they had more vegetarian entrée options beyond falafel. The falafel is great, but it’s not always what I’m in the mood for and the options beyond that sans meat are all appetizers/​sides/​salads.
But speaking of sides, they’re fantastic. I’m addicted to dolmas so getting a few orders of those always hit the spot. I like the lentil soup because you can taste all the ingredients that go into it but I do like to spice it up with pepper and some salt to my taste. And because I can’t resist fries, I always get an order of those.
On one occasion I placed an order for two pans of baklava, dripping with honey and layers of phyllo goodness. Everyone loved the treat but my favorite treat when dining in is their rice pudding. It’s freaking outstanding, just as all my experiences at Sumac have been.

Came here with high hopes from all the great Unilocal reviews, but our experience fell short of expectations.
High points were the ambience, service, and nice Greek music.
Dishes were all somewhat disappointing.
Chicken shawarma plate and chicken kabob were over cooked and dry. Side Greek salad was over salty.
Mezze combo platter had a nice assortment of spreads and stuffed grape leaves, but the falafel were rock hard.
Special dessert came with overly sweetened ice cream and soft crumbly baklava. We would have preferred less over the top sweetness and more crunchy baklava for contrast.
I think the menu looks great, but the dishes need more TLC.

Came by for dinner the other day and was thoroughly impressed! Upon arrival, it appears that Sumac took over and remodeled the old Belmont Gyro House. There was plenty of street parking available along with a private parking lot in the back. The interior is modern, spacious, and clean.
Started off with the hummus and moved on to the falafel balls which were both fresh and delicious! Had the moussaka as the main entrée and it was also wonderful. The rice was nice and fluffy! Ended the meal with Sumac’s special dessert which was a huge scoop of very fresh ice cream with broken up baklava around it.
Service was excellent throughout the meal! :)

Solid Mediterranean food, including all the things you would expect: hummus, baba ghanoush, lavash wraps, falafel, gyros, etc. The décor inside is cute, kind of industrial-​ish. Nice lighting. The interior is somewhat small, but feels intimate and cozy.
My husband had the gyros and pronounced them THE BEST HE HAS EVER HAD, which is huge, considering the amount of gyros this man has consumed in his lifetime.
I had the sampler of appetizers as my main (I love the variety), and while nothing was «bad» per se, nothing really popped out as truly memorable. The portions were also extremely small, with each item being served in dishes typically used for condiments, not appetizers. For the same price, I could have gotten more memorable food, and more of it, at Hummus Mediterranean Kitchen downtown.
Sumac, however, is still very solid, and I look forward to eating there again.

This place has gotten over the kinks and is definitely my kind of place now!
Ordered the gyro wrap along with their famous fries (looks super funny but tastes fresh and almost healthy!) and the portion was out of this world– like it could’ve easily been heavier than most babies. Thing was a beast of deliciousness where they did not skimp on the meat at all! Super surprising since most places put more fillers than there is meat or the «oomph» of the gyro inside.
Great quick service as well through Unilocal’s Eat24. All in all, this has become my new lunch spot and I’ve brought so many of my coworkers and colleagues here already who are all pleasantly surprised by this little place by the CalTrain.
As a tip, they get hit by the lunch rush. Go during off hours or call in your order to save the headache of waiting, etc.
Highly recommended! Glad they fixed the kinks. And welcome to the area, Sumac!