Mediterranean Brick Oven

Went there for lunch today. They are closed

The restaurant was pretty empty for a Saturday lunch rush time frame, and the service was just slow enough to be noticeable. I ordered the spaghetti with meat sauce with a side salad, which was an average portion (not too large not too small), but definitely forgettable.
The server’s response to my inquiry about ordering the kid’s portion of the spaghetti (as I was worried the regular portion would be too big) could’ve have used much more finesse and refinement.

My coworkers and I have been eating at the same few places for out Friday lunch that i wanted a change. After doing a bit if research I found this place and we decided to try it out.
I got the beef shawarma with a side of falafel. Both was so good and tasty. The pita that they serve everything on is fresh and delicious. I tried a bite of my co worker’s tabbouleh and it was amazing. All I know is that this place will be added to our lunch rotation and I can’t wait to go back and try the other dishes.

Yum! I grew up in a city with a ton of lebanese restaurants and had a major craving last Friday for some lebanese food. I learned of this place from Unilocal and got take out.
You know you’ve satisfied a major craving when you go to pick up your take out order and they have it packaged in a reused cardboard box! We ordered the veggie kabobs entrée with tabouleh, fahtoosh salad, and several appetizers: baba ganoush, grape leaves, falafel. It was all delicious and authentic (to my non-​lebanese palate).
The prices seemed very reasonable but once I unpackaged everything I realized that the appetizers were not that big. In the end I wondered if things were actually a little overpriced for the amount given? I guess I could’ve been just really hungry but I took a star off for the portion sizes.
Also, this is more of a take out spot. The sit down area would be like eating at pizza hut or something. It’s close enough that I we will do take out again.
There’s a market area that I didn’t check out on this visit.

I think the location of this restaurant hurts it. By the time you see it, there’s no way to get to it… if you even see it at all. Cute little restaurant. I enjoyed my gyro and the kebabs were good also.

After reading all the glowing reviews here of this place, I had to check the name at the top of the page to make sure it’s same place I ate at today. I then checked the dates of the reviews and was surprised many were written not too long ago.
Either my expectations of Greek food are on a different page than most reviewers here or … I just entered the Twilight Zone.
As many reviewers mentioned, this restaurant is hard to find. It’s buried in a conglomeration of fragmented strip shopping units & free-​standing stores. After you turn off Forest Hill Ave into the shopping gaggle, turn behind Burger King and continue straight until you see the sign «Brick Oven» (the word «Mediterranean» appears much smaller on a entirely separate sign).
I found out about the restaurant by doing a quick online search for local Greek food (my sister wanted a gyro). We arrived about 12:15 on a rainy Friday afternoon. I was surprised upon entering that there was only four other people eating in the restaurant. A bit odd during the prime lunch hour, particularly on a Friday!
The restaurant was a bit dark, particularly around the counter area where the two guys that work there, hang out. In fact, the dessert case has no light.
The restaurant has about six booths and about four tables. There is a partition separating one area of booths from the grocery (aka, market) side of the store. That (grocery) side is surprisingly also dark.
We sat in one of the booths that had the most light. After several minutes, the friendly cashier (owner?) came over and took our order, then brought us our drinks. The food arrived about 5 – 10 mins later, then we never saw the «waiter» again for over 30 mins.
Just so you get the full picture… the phone wasn’t ringing… there was not a line of customers (in fact, only a few customers came in during our entire 90 min meal visit) and we were virtually the only customers in the entire place.
My sister and I were both underwhelmed with the gyros ($ 4.50 each). The meat wasn’t exactly abundant, and the tzatziki sauce tasted like plain yogurt … surprisingly very little flavor. The best part of the meal was the tabbouleh (Arab salad) that I had ordered as small side dish.
As mentioned by other reviewers, the table service at this restaurant is almost non-​existent. My glass of ice tea was long empty when the «waiter» finally reappeared with our bill over 30 mins after bringing out our food. He didn’t offer us a drink refill or ask if we wanted anything else (i.e., dessert). So I told him I would like a drink refill and asked for dessert.
They only had two kinds of dessert — baklava and a small cream-​filled pastry. We ordered one of each and were disappointed to learn that neither was very fresh tasting, and both were bland/​forgettable.
Our bill came to $ 22 after tax, for the 2 gyros, 1 iced tea, 1 small side of tabbouleh, and 2 small desserts. Not too bad, but the poor table service coupled with the disappointing food, means we won’t be going back. There’s a much better little Greek restaurant down the road in Carytown, called Basilis.

I had a
gift certificate for this place, and a classmate of mine had recommended this place too, so I decided to check it out. I went for a late lunch (around 1:45PM), and it was empty when I got there. However, I was greeted by a friendly worker who proceeded to take my order.
Although the restaurant is actually very beautifully appointed, I believe the majority of patrons get take-​out, and my order was also made as a take-​out order, even though I didn’t explicitly say I was ordering take-​out (nor was I asked). The lighting is very warm and the decorations are inviting.
While I was waiting for my food, I popped on over to the the other side of the place to check out the market. The market was fairly small and did not have too many goods stocked, but it was fun looking at all of the items for sale (many of which I am not particularly familiar with).
I received my order and took it home to eat. I did take a bite of the freshly-​made pita while it was still hot though, and it was PHENOMENAL! I ordered beef kabob and baba ghanoush. To be honest, the portion size of the kabob plate was a bit on the smaller side, but the flavors were great and the food tasted good. The baba ghanoush was tasty as well.
Overall, I had a great experience, and the employee truly was above average in friendliness. In closing, I just want to echo that the restaurant can be a bit tricky to find; it is in the plaza on the Lowe’s side, in the strip with the Game Stop.

Wow — the food is amazing. I’ll get right to the point. You can’t go wrong with authentic Middle Eastern dishes here… Hummus, falafel, baba ghanoush, shwarma, gyros. you name it. It’s the real deal, and they make their own bread to order so it comes to your table fresh and hot.
Just had the best baba ghanoush here. One of my favorite dishes, so I’m pretty picky — and they turned it out perfectly. Start with that or hummus with the great bread as an appetizer, then get a sandwich or kabobs — you will NOT need any french fries as the meals are filling 9and the fries are not worth the calories).
Plus — everything is inexpensive. Our sandwiches were amazing and under $ 5! I’d give this place five stars, easily, if it weren’t for the atmosphere. It can be very quiet inside if there aren’t a lot of other diners. Some music would be a great way to make me forget about the awkward silence. Anyway — the food ROCKS, and would be a great option for take-​out if you are in the area. Heck, it’s even worth a drive from across town.

Outstanding as always, service is excellent and the food is good. I tried the grape leaves appetizer this time, you get an order of five for about 5 bucks. I ate two of them. Grape leaves are an acquired taste, the leaves are kinda tough. I had the chicken kabobs this time with rice, grilled egg plant, tomato and onion. I wish they would add more grilled vegetables to the orders. What and how do you use the bread with the kabobs. I was living in Bahrain for 3 years and I couldn’t figure it out then and I don’t know now. This place is a much go!

A wobbly three, I think. The air of the place is very laid back, in truth, not somewhere to go if you’re feeling rushed in the least. I’m not sure there were but two employees in the whole place so quick service is not on the list. The pizza I got had spices and cheese that were both pretty salty, though I personally believe the flavors worked quite well, and I really liked the crust. My meat pie, which I reheated later, was quite tasty… which would be good except I ordered a spinach pie. The dessert… I’m not even sure what to say. I made a gamble because I was curious and it’s… weird. I’ll update once I’ve been back and ordered baklava or kataifi instead.

I love this restaurant. The food is so well-​priced and it’s always very good. It’s not a typical eat-​in restaurant, but it does have seating available for those who are interested. Mostly, people get take-​out, but I don’t see anything wrong with that. The restaurant serves and caters to what brings in the most business.
Each time we’ve gone, the food is always very delicious and we get served right away. They make all of the flat-​bread and pitas fresh right there.
Their large brick oven truly makes the food a special experience. The baba ghanouj is rich and lush, with high quality olive oil. Their delicious pita bread is a great compliment.
Their dolmades (grape leaves) are also so intensely delicious. Served chilled, they just sing on your palatte. (I had never had chilled dolmades before, but they are so good this way!)
Their falafels are delicious and chicken shawarma is very flavorful!
I should also mention that loyal customers are treated very well! We’ve been given delicious free samples of new recipes, including a custard filled baklava. Oh goodness. So delicious!
We love going here!

Fresh, delicious Mediterranean food – great prices too. The owner was very friendly and welcoming. Recommended!

More of an eatery than restaurant. So I didn’t have bad service, more like absence of? The two guys working were very friendly actually but after getting my order and food they sort of disappeared. Granted I was probably their first customer of the day…
Regardless I would come back again for a quickish lunch. Super cheap and tasty beef gyro. The ingredients were simple but tasted so fresh and yum. The falafel I got on the side was also very good, they were little falafel balls.
Will be back to taste more food.
Also it was kind of hard to find in a little separate strip of shops on the side of Lowes in the Sheila Ln shopping center, next to the Gamestop.

I wish I could be more glowing in my review, but I was a little underwhelmed. I went there with a group of friends for lunch in large part because of the high ratings given by other reviews. The décor was pleasant enough, but at 12:30 on a Wednesday, it seemed a little odd to be the only ones in the restaurant. No one came out to seat us, so we found our own seats, and after a slight wait, a gentleman brought out menus.
I ordered a shawarma sandwich and some kibbeh. The kibbeh was actually quite good, but the shawarme was just OK — nothing spectacular. I didn’t hear any complaints, but nor did I hear any effusive compliments.
At the end, several people in the party wanted to order dessert and coffee. We waited an appropriate amount of time, but no sign that the waiter was planning to visit us anytime soon. One person voiced her desires at a better than audible volume, and again no reaction. She got up and wandered over to the counter to look at some of the desserts, and even this didn’t get the waiter’s attention. Finally, she flagged him down and asked for some baklava and a coffee. After serving her, she mentioned that several others were likewise interested. Unfortunately for them, someone else had come up to the counter and the waiter saw about taking their order first. Finally, he came over. Their menu features two desserts — baklava and cheesecake. But when one member of my party ordered cheesecake, we found out that today it was baklava only. When he brought out the dessert and coffee, one in the party asked for cream or milk for the coffee. Nope. None of that here.
I am an amazingly patient and forgiving person when it comes to waiters and waitresses, but this poor guy seemed fairly clueless when it came to taking care of his customers. As indicated, the food was OK, but by itself it wouldn’t be enough to make me go out of my way to come back to the place. Had the service had been better, however, I might have left feeling positive enough to mark it as a place worthy of future visits. Here, the weak link was the service.

Visit number two sealed the deal for me with Mediterranean Brick Oven. This place is the genuine article (as much as I know what that really is). My first visit, I had an amazing gyro and some baba ganoush. Today’s visit I had some chicken souvlaki, with a side of falafel and some hummus to go. For those who have never eaten freshly made pita, you must go here to try it. It’s amazing! The flavors of everything are so tasty.
I think I’ll try the pizza next time.

this place is great! great falafel, great gyros, EXCELLENT lamb kabobs! i had the shrawarma last week and it was excellent as well.
i stop in about once a week and so far i have not been disappointed. i also like their market that they have set up off to the side of the restaurant. you can get spices, falafel mix, tahini sauce… everything you need to make great food at home.

Really good Mediterranean food at ridiculously low prices. We had great falafel sandwiches for $ 4.50 each, and a kibbeh for about the same. There might be some sort of store behind a partition — I couldn’t tell.
I might give the place four stars if it was more expensive.

This place is delicious! My husband and I happened upon it out running errands in the area. We had lunch there the first day they opened — they didn’t even have menus yet. We almost left, but a couple at an entry table whispered that it was delcious. We were not disappointed and have been back a couple other times. The ambience isn’t anything to write home about, but if you’re looking for a casual lunch or dinner or have kids, the environment is great.
I haven’t had the pizza yet because I can’t seem to resist the delicious Mediterranean. That said, if it’s up to the same level of taste and quality, this place will do well! They also use a lot of fresh ingredients from their garden — always a plus in my book.

Very good Lebanese food. Fresh made bread sprinkled with zatar, perfectly tender marinated chicken, and generous hummus appetizer (about $ 3.50) were things my group liked. Atmosphere had some charm and is better than that of Sticks Resaturant across the river. The place is run by a Lebanese couple who know what they are doing.
I really think that the owners should make an expensive sit-​down restaurant rather than a casual eating place because they’d make a lot more money!
Prices are low and quality is high. Go for it!
There is also a small market area where you can buy mediterranean food in bulk if you wish.
As a side note, they kept the brick oven (and part of the menu) from when it was a pizza place, so you can still order pizza and subs.

How did we not know this place existed before?! Long a fan of falafel (since I had Iraqi’s who sold them to us on the streets of Baqubah for $ 1 each — still the best I’ve ever had), I heard about this place and we decided to give it a shot. It is part eatery, part mediterranean grocery and all delicious. The owners are Jordanian/​Lebanese and incredibly nice. We started with the Baba Ganoush — very smoky and garlicky, and the pita was delicately seasoned and quickly heated/​crisped in the brick oven before showing up at the table. For $ 3.95, its a steal and a hell of a good start to the rest of the meal.
I ordered the falafel and was pleasantly surprised. Definitely the best falafel I have had in Richmond (sorry, Jerusalem!). My only complaint is that there wasn’t enough falafel on the sandwich. Next time, I’ll order the side ($ 1.95) with my falafel sandwich ($ 4.50) and add it, or just ask for extra. There is almost no sauce on the sandwich, that’s how good the falafel is. It is pattied out and flat, like they do at Mamoun’s (if you’ve ever had too much to drink in NYC, you’ve probably had Mamoun’s and don’t even know it!).
My wife ordered the chicken shawarma sandwich ($ 4.50) and it was insanely good. LOTS of cardomom (we think) flavors in there, along with some all-​spice/​cinnamon/​nutmeg type of combo. As she said, it was one of the best she has had. No french fries in the sandwich like you get in Europe, but delicious.
Another great addition to the (all of a sudden) booming food choices south of the James. Not having to give the city of Richmond $ 0.35×2 for going across the river makes us happy. We’ll be back.