Chad P.

This was the second time I have been here and again they hit it out of the ballpark! Food was so delicious and so well presented! We had the appetizer sampler platter, the chicken soup, and husband had the iskander kabob. All thoroughly amazing! The food here is just so well done. Ambiance is very clean and nice. Service was amazing! I will assume he was the owner maybe but he definitely wanted to make sure we were taken care of. Definitely going to come back! My mother-in-law loved it as well.

Khiang S.

If you are looking for a nice quiet place to have to dinner on Erie, come to Cafe Mediterranean. Our first time here and will definitely return for a future meal. It was a cold day and there was no crowd when we arrived so service was quick. Staff and owner were very friendly. We ordered a lot of starters. Hummus, grape leaves, octopus and fried calamari. I usually gauge a Mediterranean restaurant based on grape leaves, hummus and falafel. Technically this is a Turkish restaurant. The grape leaves were enough to tell me it was going to be a great dinner. Owner asked if we would like to try their hot tea for the cold day and of course we took him up on the offer. It was so satisfying and warming. The grilled octopus appetizer wasn't what I expected. I thought I will be getting the usual grilled whole octopus head but it is more like a salad with some octopus tentacles cut up. The octopus was tender and flavorful though. So maybe I was hoping to eat more octopus than salad. The fried calamari was nicely done. I always like lightly battered calamari instead of those thickly doughy calamari. This dish was good. Hummus was good and went very well with the special puffy bread they served. The bread was puffed up like a ball and the owner gave us instructions on how to eat it. I won't spoil your experience by saying how. Special for the day was the grilled branzino fish. It smelled so good. The fish was fresh and tasty. If they have that again, that will be my preferred dish. The beef tenderloin kabab was very good. Tender and grilled to our liking. I prefer to let the photos do the talking so enjoy a great meal at Cafe Mediterranean the next time you are in Cincinnati.

Amy B.

Wow. This restaurant is a hidden gem in Cincinnati. How have I not heard about this restaurant or been here before today?! My husband and I decided at the last minute that we were craving Mediterranean food and wanted to try somewhere new because we still hadn't found a favorite spot in the city. Well, we found it today. The service was wonderful. We came at a slow time in the day, around 3:00 and we're the only customers when we got there, which was perfect for our first visit because we were able to get extra time to learn about the menu and recommended dishes. Everything we ordered was flavorful and prepared perfectly. Obviously what I'm about to say is comparing different cuisines, but the flavors of these dishes were at the level of meals we've had in France, or restaurants of celebrity chefs like Tom Colicchio's CraftSteak in Vegas or Gordon Ramsay's flagship restaurant in London. We started with the Cold Appetizer Sampler (we both wanted to order a second one it was so good), Spinach Pide (cheesy doughy goodness), Doner Gyros Kebab (wow, even the carrots were delicious--I've never said that a carrot is delicious!), Swordfish Kebab (my husband got this one and loved it), and just when I thought it couldn't get better and I was too full to enjoy more food we decided to get the Pistachio Baklava. I don't have any superlatives left without repeating what I said about the rest of the meal, but it was amazing and delicious, definitely the best baklava I've had in my life and one of the best desserts of all. We will be back soon!

Apurba B.

Excellent flavors, very nice ambience and good service. I loved the baba ganoush and the crispy feta rolls. The dipping sauce was amazing and the warm bread just melted in our mouths. The juicy chicken Shish Kebab was the right amount of charring- tough on the outside, bouncy, juicy on the inside. The shrimp sautee really surprised us, adding the rice really made the saucy dish almost like a gumbo which we loved. 10/10 for the Turkish coffee and baklava, can't wait to try the rest of the menu .

Christine Y.

Wow! I was surprised by the very pleasant ambiance and delicious Mediterranean food. We thoroughly enjoyed the sampler platter of appetizers with wonderful sesame bread. The special with grilled sea bass was fresh and delicious and our friends enjoyed the lamb, the salmon and grilled vegetables. They complimented us with a tea and baklava at the end of dinner which was a pleasant and delicious surprise. We also enjoyed the halva, flan, and rice pudding. The service was excellent. The proprietor was delightful and attentive. If you enjoy Mediterranean food, give this wonderful place a try!

Janice P.

Was in town for a conference and Mentioned to a local my niece was headed down for a really good dinner. She wanted something with unique flavors since she lives in a small town without many options. We were blown away with the food! The appetizer was big and so we over ordered... ended up taking a lot home which will make her lunch and dinner! The staff was great too! Friendly and helpful. (Found this place thanks to Jon at TQL who gushed about how great it was, he was right!)

Craig H.

As good as Mediterranean food gets! the service is so nice and authentic. The decor is cute and has outdoor options.

The food was terrific and the service was excellent! Our server was extremely friendly and helpful with our selections. I highly recommend the food and will be back to sample other dishes.

Katarina S.

Excellent food, quick service, and lovely staff! I came during lunch on a Saturday and got a cocktail, tabouli, and a lamb doner kebab. The cocktail was an absolute surprise since it had yogurt! It was a gintini with gin, yogurt, mint, and cucumber and it reminded me of a mojito. Tabouli and the entree were delicious, including the lamb and the rice. The entree also came with grilled veggies with a perfect crunch (green beans, peppers, and a tomato) and a yogurt-based sauce. The staff was very welcoming and we chatted about our Croatian and Turkish heritage. I will definitely be back!

Jay N.

Cafe Mediterranean quickly became one of my favorite restaurants when moving to Cincinnati. I cannot emphasize the excellence this restaurant achieves and really writing a five star review for this restaurant is effortless. The restaurant is in Hyde Park near Ault Park. A part of the strip mall set in a neighborhood setting, it is perfectly set for a leisurely walk if you live nearby. While there is parking, there are a number of competing restaurants and bars that have patrons as well, leading scant availability at times. One can be seated outdoors where a number of patio tables can sit two to four people. Indoor seating is available and plentiful also. The atmosphere is elevated with soft classical guitar music in the background. The food is, you guessed it, mediterranean and Turkish in offerings. It offers a generous variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. I'd emphasize that there is also a fair number of seafood options as well. I've dined in on several occasions but usually order take out. Dining in comes with complimentary bread and a small dish of hummus for dipping whereas takeout only comes with bread. If the food can be prepared to order, it will be. I have have had the hummus, falafel, Greek salad, beef tenderloin kebab, lamb Sautee, and chicken kebabs. The meats are cooked perfectly, tender, and prepared to appropriate temperature per customer's request. Flavors are wonderfully balanced. Portions are generous. Really it is rare for me to be disappointed by the food here. The staff are incredibly welcoming and accommodating. They know the menu and can make well informed recommendations based on customer wishes. The owner works regularly and shows regular appreciation to his patrons and staff. Really a great restaurant in a great location with great staff and food. I rarely give out five star ratings and these guys are deserving. I highly recommend!

Morgan M.

Had the best date night at Café Mediterranean! We made a reservation on Open Table for Friday night at 7 PM, although I do not think one was necessary as the space was always busy but never every table full. When we arrived we explained we had never been in before and received many great recommendations from our waitress. We both started with drinks - I had the Cosmo and my partner an IPA. The drinks came out fast which was great. Later in our meal I ordered a glass of their Lebanese red wine (they were out of Turkish wine) which I was a little nervous for as I had never had Lebanese wine but this was a great little surprise and was full of flavor that evolved as you drank it. For food we started with the Cold Sampler Platter which had Hummus, Eggplant Marinara, Babaganoush, Tabouli, Labne and Stuffed Grape Leaves (the first 6 items on the Small Plates part of the menu). The Eggplant Marinara, Hummus and Tabouli were our favorite - they were bursting with flavor and we could not get enough! This came with some house-made bread which was also tasty. For our main courses we had the Chicken Shish Kebab and the Moussaka - and WOW both were so good! The chicken was SO flavorful and perfectly juicy and you could really taste all the different flavors in the Moussaka. Each entrée came with roasted vegetables (zucchini/carrots and tomato/bell pepper) and a side of rice. The rice deserves it own call out as it was perfectly cooked and also FULL of flavor! We were very pleasantly surprised by the rice and appreciated it had its own rightful spot on the plate and was not just a space filler. Overall the portions were HUGE and we did not finish either meal and took leftovers home. We ordered the pistachio baklava for dessert which came with vanilla ice cream and strawberries on the side. The piece was also surprisingly HUGE and cut like a pie slice. It was bursting with pistachios and perfectly flaky on top. The ice cream was also so tasty with a ton of vanilla flavor - it was so good we questioned if it was also house made?? With dessert we also received little glasses of tea - a cute little surprise and perfect ending to the meal! We will DEFINITELY be back here for more!!

Matthew G.

The food and service were both excellent!! Started with the Cold Appetizer Sampler and every item on the plate was absolutely delicious. I had the Doner Gyros Kebab and the meat was full of flavor and very tender. My wife had the Stuffed Cabbage Roll with the perfect amount of lamb & beef inside. The restaurant was nicely decorated with a modern vibe but with traditional Turkish decor. Highly recommend!!

Tchoultarska M.

Everting is very delicious I highly recommend this establishment to all people who love fast food, the service is very kind and courteous, we will come again many times!