Zatar

Food was very good but service was slow. We weren’t even sure the restaurant was open, but sign said open and woman (cook? Owner?) told us to come in. Posted hours said it had been open an hour when we arrived, but not all the lights were on and no one else was eating.
We had the chicken and lamb lunch plates which came with hummus, rice, yogurt and salad. The physical plates were large, but the food on them was mostly rice. Three small pieces of meat on top of rice, with hummus/​yogurt/​salad on the side and one piece of flatbread. Zatar’s charges extra for another piece of flatbread, which is the size of a small corn tortilla. I don’t object to the portions for lunch, but the cost was on the high side $ 14.50/$ 15.50 and I assume that’s why the nearby restaurants were packed while this one wasn’t.
Non-​alcoholic beverages were $ 5 each, so for two people lunch was $ 50 with tip. Too much by half for the amount of food, the slow service and the odd atmosphere.

We split wine, the mezza sampler and butter lettuce salad. Everything was superb. I’ve had a lot of Mediterranean food and the flavors here were very well done. We asked for humus on the side because my fiancé is allergic and the server recognized the chef’s error right away and was quick to bring us a fresh platter of food.

Not sure why this place doesn’t have higher reviews, went here with a girlfriend the other day, and everything was made fresh! The food was cooked to perfection. The fish was the best fish I have ever had in my entire life!!! The owner is so nice. I love restaurants that cook there food fresh and on the spot. I will be back!

Such a delight! The food was so fresh and delicious. The arugula salad and lentil soup were superb. Even better is all organic and locally sourced produce. I’m from out of town, but I’ll be back! The ambience is great, too. Church benches and beautiful tile tables with Al frescos of Greece.

The best Mediterranean food event. Fantastic cook and human being. Highly recommended!

Nice place in terms of ambiance and decent service.
However tiny portions (they are stingy even for the pita bread) and very high prices. We ordered the fish tagine and the small portion of fish was accompanied by about five small pieces of different vegetables — no sauce, no rice… the other dishes are just average and pricey.
Not recommended.

We had our 16 year wedding anniversary dinner here. We started with the mezza platter. It was delicious. We then had an arugula salad which came with a few side sauces. By itself it seemed a bit salty, but with the side sauces it was really tasty. We then had the feast for two (can’t remember the whole name). The meats were very juicy. We finished with an apricot dessert which had a combination of flavors that I had never had before. Also tasty! I made reservations for 6pm, though the person at the other end was trying to get me to come at 5:30. Not sure why bc when we came in, the place was empty. It filled up soon after. The service was nice, though slow. If in a hurry, this is not the place to go. Also, the ice cream came with forks, so we could not pick up the delirious melted ice cream. So, we’re giving it 4 stars as some of these things could be improved. The place is cozy, so get here early to get a table.

This place is AMAZING. Some of the best food I’ve had in my life AND it’s healthy and non fattening. I loooooooove this place. The owner seems like a really nice family man and the service was great. I ordered the fish and the arugula salad, both blew my freaking socks off. I can honestly say that there are no negatives to this place. As far as the price, I feel you get what you pay for and the food is also incredibly unique. You can’t expect them to sell that quality of food at take out prices, it is just not fair to expect that. But the interior was beautiful and classy. I can’t wait to go back!!! Would eat there every day if I could!!! 1,000 stars to this place!!! I am definitely planning to be one of their new regulars.

My wife and I just finished lunch here, and I would say that it was my most disappointing restaurant experience in 5 years in the Bay Area. We were celebrating being together for 11 years and the end of my wife’s maternity leave; so we were looking for a nice experience.
The atmosphere was so unlively and dour that we felt weird the entire time.
Inattentive service provided in a distant and unfriendly manner.
We both drank the tamarind rose water beverage, which was the only good thing we were served. It was superb.
Warm olive appetizer, olives not warm and 2x the acceptable amount of salt.
After a long wait, our food came, felafel sandwich and chicken kebab sandwich. Soggy felafel, the whole sandwich was basically undifferentiated mush. I’ve made better felafel from a powdered mix, baked in my oven. The chicken was no better. Just very poor food for a $ 9-​$ 12 sandwich.
We left looking longingly at the take-​out doner kebab place across the street, which serves an excellent lunch at half the cost.
You could randomly select almost any restaurant in a 2 – 3 mile radius and have a better experience than we had today.
Oh well…

Our party of four had a delightful experience at Zatar’s. The owner was gracious and engaging, making great recommendations for matching wine to their menu. The chef understands how to blend middle eastern spices to create aromatic dishes. Our vegan guest was in heaven. The carnivores loved the lamb and chicken dishes. The restaurant was quiet enough that we could hear each other and enjoyed a long conversation. We’ll be back. A great place for pre Berkeley Rep dinner!

I’m updating to 5 stars. The SO took me here for my birthday last year. We hadn’t been in several years and apparently we had both forgotten how much we love Zatar. It is still one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area. Everything was delicious. I had a dessert with grilled apricots and ice cream (vanilla?) which was to die for. It is expensive, but so worth it for a special occasion.

Great middle eastern menu
Voted best in Bay Area for Mediterranean food
Fantastic
See check please KQED review a little old but still accurate although a little understated

This is probably my favorite restaurant in the Bay Area. It is tiny and intimate and the food is made with the utmost attention to detail. The stuffed grape leaves are the best. We go here every year for our anniversary.

The food was good and tasty. The portions were for normal size people. It is a very small place, tastefully decorated. The kitchen is tiny with only two preparing food and two people serving food. It took a long, long time for our order to be brought to the table. Be prepared to wait. Without a tip or alcohol and sharing a large appetizer and one fish entre the bill was $ 48.00.

I had to coerce my wife to eat Mediterranean food today for lunch since unlike me she hates most of the time. However I convinced her to try the green falafel in lavash and I got the leg of lamb. The food was fantastic! The lamb was perfectly cooked and marinated in some tasty spices and the falafel was incredible! My not into Mediterranean food wife would hardly let me try a bite of her food. We also got a Turkish coffee. It was strong thick and spicy! I loved it but it’s NOT your typical coffee so don’t think that’s what you are getting.
The place is smaller and has a home cooked meal feel to it. It appeared to be a husband and wife team who took care of everything from seating us at a table to cooking the food. I recommend checking it out!

Delicious. Hummus tasted truly fresh with soaked and peeled chickpeas mild and flavor really nice. Dolmas could’ve had a bit more rice a bit more lamb but nice warm gently spiced, and fresh. Butterfish tagine was really lovely I simply wanted more. Next time I will order the cardamom rice to go with it. Cardamom ice cream was outstanding –I love cardamom, as it was homemade the texture was very creamy. Even the drinks were lovely — I do not drink alcohol but very much enjoyed the tamarind Rose spritzer.
Atmosphere was lovely, nice calm restaurant, good service. I’ll be back.

The kefta wrap is a little pricy for lunch, but it does take fresh and is clearly made to order. The sauces have a good mix of savory, hot and citrus. I’d check this place out for dinner.

This place is such a find for us! My partner and I came here for dinner tonight and had a most enjoyable meal. We ordered the following: Mezza sampler, grilled calamari, chicken kebab & pistachio baklava. My favorite dish is the chicken kebab. The meat is just super tender and aromatic, the vegetables that is included in the dish (cauliflower, brussel sprouts and green beans) and the rice all have their own distinctive flavors and each are cooked to stand on their own. There are also 2 dollops each of 2 different sauces that complemented the dish. The 2^nd dish that I’ll be dreaming of us is the calamari, where even the arugula, which I normally barely tolerate, was inhaled greedily. (But at $ 13.50, can’t they just use 4 baby calamari for 2 people sharing instead of 3?) The sampler platter dip made with summer squash was my favorite. But the others have their own merits too. I am not a big baklava fan but my partner, who still enjoyed their version, would have preferred the pistachio to be served finely chopped (the more traditional version) rather than whole (Zatar’s version).
But having had such wonderful dishes in a warm, intimate setting, we look forward to our next foray here.

Great Flavor to all the dishes and everything tasted incredibly fresh. We had the grilled calamari appetizer and hummus with flat bread. The mains were: kefta kabob, vegetable tagine and for desert we had the pistachio baklava, Turkish coffee.
Here were the negatives: The grilled calamari while fresh was cold. It was more of a salad dish but the menu made no mention of it being cold nor a salad so it was just a little odd to be expecting one thing then it be another. I love baklava and while the taste was great, the size of the nuts were so large it was difficult to eat. I have always had them when the nuts were ground or at least chopped so it would have some structural integrity. The last thing was the service was great except when I tried to keep my silverware for the next course, the waitress asked if I would like a fresh set, I agreed and gave her my silverware. They never replaced them and I had to try hard to get our server’s attention. Our food was there getting cold so we ate with the large serving spoons instead. They didn’t replace them in the end. I wish I had just kept my silverware.
Here are the positives: The place is cute and cozy. The main dishes were excellent with great flavor so the freshness of the ingredients came through without the spices overpowering them which is so easy to do with cuisines with potent spices.
I think this place would easily be a 4 star place if the aforementioned snafus can be corrected, and I think they can be. I would go back again to try other dishes as well.

I was there with a big group of 12 people and they were really nice to let us make reservations (given that the place is so small) and even checked back with me the day before to make sure we are still coming.
The atmosphere of this place is definitely something else and the wait staff is very friendly and accommodating.
The food was good, but not excellent, the highlights were the appetizers, very interesting and well seasoned — though the lamb fritters were a bit bland. I thought the portions of the main dishes were too small for the prices. When you put «leg of lamb» on the menu, you cannot just serve your customer a tiny itsy bitsy piece of meat and then charge $ 24. Not in a place where you have to go through (and wait in) the super small and busy kitchen to get to the restroom.
The fish tagine was very good as well, the butterfish super tender and perfectly cooked. But again… $ 24 for a very small portion. Without having had an appetizer before, we would have left hungry
BTW: they accept credit cards now, though the «cash only» sign is still in the menus.