UPDATED from 4 to 5 stars!! I got the shawarma plate with chicken and beef shawarma. It also came with a Greek salad and hummus. The hummus was incredible. Chicken shawarma was very moist, soft, flavorful, delicious. It had some sort of a white spicy - like horseradish - sauce on it, I'm not sure if I liked it. The steak shawarma reminded me of Chinese-type steak meat. Kinda tough, grainy, and not much flavor. It had a tahini sauce on it or something. Greek salad was good, standard. Dressing was great. The inside is really nice, I like how I can watch the shawarma being cooked and my meal being prepared. They provide super quick service. Very friendly, great service. I will definitely be back. I had to update my review from 4 stars to 5. Their food is just amazing. I hear their pitas are the best because they are fresh made in store (you can watch them cook from the front counter). The staff are amazing, too. read more

Best Mediterranean food in the city (that's a lot coming from a Sinbad lover) but Cedar takes it for me. Prices are great, pitas are huge, and food is tasty! Lentil,soup & Greek salad with gyro meat are my go-to's but everything I've had is delicious. read more

Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant - Greek salad w gyro meat... every. time. - Lebanese Near Me - Rochester, New York

I used to LOVE Cedars. I stopped in today for a gyro and it was AWFUL. It was drowned in a bad tasting tzatziki sauce, they must have changed the recipe. The baklava is dry and not sweet enough. A complete waste of 34 dollars, it went in the trash.... So dissatisfied and disappointed. Won't EVER be going here again unfortunately. read more

They have the best bread, too bad they don't sell it on its own. Service is always quick. Usually get one of the meals.

Sorry... the last few times have been ho-hum and this time my combo platter was lackluster and some of the meat was inedible and than my system said no... Usually this place is on it but not recently. read more

Good food, very filling... sadly i crave it when their closed. hahahaha! Best PITAs : ) read more

Every time I drive by the parking lot is almost always full. (Which is a great thing, because then ya know it's good) I love Mediterranean, and this place hits the spot. Delicious salads, wraps, vegetarian options, and huge portions. It's clean, and the staff is friendly! Usually not too bad of a wait, I called my order in and it took about 15 minutes. Prices are great as well. If you haven't been yet, and like Mediterranean definitely check this place out! I ordered the shawarma platter which seems to be one of the most popular menu items. I ordered the combo with beef and chicken. The beef was so good, but the chicken had way too much seasoning for my liking. The platter came with a huge portion of hummus, a delicious pita and a small Greek salad. Can't wait to try more items read more

Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant - Shawarma combo platter beef and chicken, hummus, pita, salad - Lebanese Near Me - Rochester, New York

I am absolutely in love with Cedar's baba ghanoush! It is the perfect balance of creamy and savoury and not at all bitter. Perfection with the fresh flat bread. They do vegetarian beautifully here. So much that their veggie rice is tasty enough that it can be enjoyed alone. Their pitas are very affordable and with generous fillings, though the chicken I had was on the dry side. In all honestly, the vegetarian plates and menu items is what shines for me. The manakeesh with eggs and lebanese sausage is tasty, but it lacks on the juicy side. This one was a bit dry for me and left me yearning for something else. Also, points deducted for the lack of packaging. Instead of a pizza take out bag or box, it was put on a picnic plate and placed in a plastic take out bag...uncovered and unwrapped. I will stick with what I like on my return visits :-) read more

Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant - Vegetarian plate; Falafel, Greek salad, baba ghanoush & hummus. Comes with fresh pita. - Lebanese Near Me - Rochester, New York

After too long an interval, we returned to Cedar today. Cedar's grandmother in the kitchen makes stuffed grape leaves as delicious as **MY** Lebanese grandmother (may she rest in peace) used to make. We had shish kebab, egg & sausage manakeesh and grape leaves (stuffed with MEAT and rice; the Greeks, copycats of Phoenician inventions, only stuff THEIR grape leaves with oily, gelatinous rice and too many spices; Cedar's is the real deal). Go there and get real middle eastern tastes, folks. The tabbouleh and hummus are great, too. read more

SO YUMMY! Best falafal I've ever had outside of Israel. They make everything right there. Even the pita are made right in the back! I love that they put pickles inside for a nice sweet crunch. Only complaint is that it took a while for my food to be ready, however IT WAS SO WORTH IT! Prices are super reasonable too! Also recommend getting the baklava! Very yummy. I'll definitely be back later this week for some more falafal! read more

So, Lee and I were staying with our friends in Rochester during our trip back downstate, and we decided to order some takeout to take home and enjoy. Our friends recommended this place, having heard some good things about it, and we decided to do takeout. This place is popular and pretty busy, but the guys working there are working HARD! They move so fast and put together stuff so quickly that their hands are almost a blur. They also have time to be warm and friendly. It's really awesome to watch them bake the pita on the special oven they have, a fun entertainment while you wait for your food. So we ordered a LOT of takeout: several shawarma plates, labneh, baba ganouj, and they ended up giving us an entire separate bag of just pita. We took it all back to the house and had an enormous feast. Everything was really incredibly yummy! All our shawarma plates were loaded with veggies, rice, hummus, meats, and all of it was fresh and flavorful. The prices are also hard to beat! And that pita. SO GOOD. I totally want to go back here next time I'm in Rochester. Y'all are lucky you have this place there, it is not to miss! read more

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Low key, really awesome food. Like legit. Really tucked away location, but if you find it, you won't regret it assuming you're a fan if this type of cuisine. Service could use work, but with food like that, who cares. ‍ read more

Excellent food at an excellent price. The Gyro and Taboule salad were amazing--the pita was incredible as well. read more

Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant - Gyro - Lebanese Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Cedar has the best tabbouli in town. Fresh, crisp, perfectly balanced herbs and vegetables. I could live on it with their puffy, perfect pita bread. read more

So excited to finally try this place! We went there on a whim on a Saturday night. We ordered the gyro pita pocket, beef shawarma pita pocket, and spinach and feta manakeesh. Both pita pockets were stuffed with delicious filling including lots of meat. We also devoured the manakeesh. Delicious, last minute dinner for a great price. Definitely recommend! read more

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Best chicken schwarma pita I've had in Roc and falafel to die for. The spinach and feta manakeesh also rocked my world.

Very large menu. Friendly staff. Usually very busy. Fast food tables, order at the counter. Food is authentic and tasty. Great value.

Truly one of the best in Roch. To have gotten so many good reviews in such a short period of time speaks to that as a fact. The pita is HOT PILLOWY PERFECTION. I loved everything I ordered where which included, the hummus and the falafal sandwich. The falafel were seasoned, crunchy, silky on the inside, and inside that pita, OMG I am not ashamed I ate that whole thing. The only thing I didn't care for was the spinach feta manakeesh. Had a bizarre pickled flavor to it, maybe crushed olives were in it? Not sure I just didn't like it. Also the menu written on the board doesnt have nearly as much stuff as is on the takeout menu. Dont understand that. Otherwise service was fast, easy to order, friendly girl at the counter. Couldn't ask for better read more

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Best pita in town. Okay let me be more informative. It is a small restaurant right before Monroe hits 490. Very nice for take-away although there's seating inside. Unlike the dry thin pita that is more common around here, their version is thicker and more moistured. Hot from the oven, the heat of the stuffing blows up the pita wrapping it, like a half moon or rising ballon. The meat is tender, mixed with sour, spicy sauce that dissolves the greasiness. I started eating before I got home and finished after two blocks. Will com back. read more

This was a neat little find on my recent visit to Rochester. First of all the place was slamming, definitely a good sign that it's a good place to go and the food inside smelled amazing. This is sort of a fast casual order, sit, and leave kind of place with eat in orders receiving their meals delivered by staff. I ordered the shawrma combo with chicken, steak, yellow rice, hummus and pita. I also tried one of their baklava desserts as well. The chicken was amazing very flavorful and tender and very tasty. The pita and hummus were great as well tons of flavor, soft fresh pita, and tangy homemade hummus. The yellow was was good but not great and the steak was disappointing bordering on poor. It was flavorless and dry and I wish I had ordered their falaffel or gyro meat instead. The dessert baklava was pretty good but again not amazing. Pricing wasn't too bad all of what I ordered came to around $17. One note I will add, the seating here is an absolute s**tshow and I was extremely frustrated during the experience. Yes they're a busy place, and yes they've got limited seating but something has to be done about the current set up. After we had ordered to be EAT IN customers, and were waiting for our food, multiple people walked in the door immediately and bee-lined to a table with half the family while sending one person up to order. This is not only rude, it's unfair. I waited almost fifteen minutes for food and had three tables swiped from me by people walking in the door. One woman actually physically pushed me out of the way for a table and said "sorry, this one is ours." I was so frustrated I took the food to go and ate at a local park. Not a good set up. If it weren't for the food being as good as it was I might consider rating this place lower because this really soured my overall experience at this place. read more

Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant - Shawarma combo - Lebanese Near Me - Rochester, New York

I love this restaurant which has the greatest menu of Lebanese food. I am addicted to Manakeesh which is like a a mini pizza on Lebanese bread. They have this cheese Manakeesh that has just the right mix of cheese and spices for only $5. They have a dolmade plate and a nice variety of salads. The food is very affordable. They have chicken, beef and other meals for those who enjoy a more substantial meal. My Manakeesh is enough for a nice meal with a side of dolmades. Has a nice size parking lot right in front of the building. read more

I was very excited when I heard about this place and the possibility of finally getting a great gyro in Rochester. I read all of the rave reviews and headed there for an early Saturday dinner... perhaps my expectations were too high. As many have stated the pitas here are the best I have ever had - a fluffy and puffy moist pita - excellent. Why do places like Aladdin's and Sinbad toast their pitas - to hide that they are dried out? Unfortunately it was wasted because the gyro meat (lamb/beef) had been pre-carved off the rotating spits and reheated which caused it to be very dry. Despite all of the creative gyro pita fillings (is that the difference from the Greek version?) and the fresh pita the gyro was dry. It was a good sign that this place actually has the meat on the spit unlike others that use the pre-made gyro meat but why shave it off ahead of time? Was it to prep for the Saturday evening rush? What a miss. At least their prices were very reasonable... I will give them another try but I will not even order if they don't shave the meat right at the time of ordering... the potential is there! Can you tell I am a gyro snob? read more

This place is a real gem. The pitas and other bread are cooked fresh to order, and everything is delicious. The prices are amazing considering the quality and effort that goes into this food. read more

Excellent Mediterranean food. I was reading reviews about this place and planed to visit it with my friend who I was visiting in the city. Friendly staff, family owned, reasonable prices, and oh my god - some of the freshest most delicious food you have ever eaten. What else I could ask for a nice experience. read more

Best Mediterranean style restaurant in the area. Prices are super reasonable. The meat is incredibly flavorful and the pita is worth waiting for because they are homemade fresh off the pita maker (whatever it's called) and the pita itself is worth the price of admission. I have always gotten the beef/lamb plate with hummus and Greek salad. The hummus is also a fantastic offering that you will end up dipping everything on your plate in it (including the Greek salad). I cannot recommend Cedar enough. The only downside is that the storefront can get a little crowded at dinner time, but it's easily the best in the area. read more

I've been here a few times and food is consistently delicious!! Everything is as authentic as you can get it the area...Just wish I lived closer read more

Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant - Delicious Gyro Pita!!! - Lebanese Near Me - Rochester, New York

This is my favorite mediterranean food in Rochester!! Great quality, good prices, and good customer service. My favorites are the chicken shawarma plate and pita, as well as the fatoush salad! I usually do take out once a week from here and completely worth it! read more

A lovely addition to this once worn down corner strip. At first look, I thought this would be more of a takeout place, but when I walked in the space was quite larger than I expected with several tables for eating in. I've had both the falafel pita and the gyro pita. First off, the PITA! Warm, light, fluffy, and made fresh - taking it to the next level. The portions are quite large too - I saved half of mine for later. The falafel on their own were just a smidge under-seasoned (a touch of salt if anything more), but when paired with the tzatziki, everything was amped up another level. Everything tasted quite good together and I like the addition of the pickled veggies in the pita. They gryo was also served warmed up and tender, with lots of great flavor along with the tzatziki and veggies in the pita. You order at the counter and the whole kitchen prep area is open. The food came out much faster than I expected so it's great for a quick takeout lunch option as I was having it. I look forward to dining in. The whole front part of the business is windows so it gets great light. read more

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The owner used to be at Sinbad's on mount hope Ave. Delicious salads and shawarma!!! Same good price and fresh ingredients! Go-to place for a quick bite! read more

Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant - Greek salad with add on chicken shawarma. - Lebanese Near Me - Rochester, New York

Updated review for dear Cedar Restaurant -- oh how I continue to love you, with your homemade soft, pillow-y pita breads. And your Lebanese menu choices, which distinguish you from many other Mediterranean restaurants in the area ... your mujadara is sooooooooooo tasty ands filling! This review is directed toward their take-away during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hubs and I decided to both get the falafel pita combo, which includes SUCH a tasty LARGE side salad and a fountain drink. Our order was accurate and ready exactly when they said it would be. The cashier staggered the number of customers who could come on and pay, in order to keep us all safely distanced. Lots of plexiglass partitions, to keep everyone safe. The entire staff were all gloved and masked. So I want to give them a shout-out for keeping the staff safe, and keeping us customers safe, too! Win-win-win-win-win. And this doesn't even begin to address how YUMMY everything was, too! Very glad have gotten Cedar into the rotation for takeout during the pandemic! read more

Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant - Falafel pita sandwich combo with LARGE tasty side salad and fountain drink - Lebanese Near Me - Rochester, New York

Chicken Shawarma tastes very good, so does the salad; People worked there are welcoming & It's def a good place for lunch.

I ended up trying Cedar's Mediterranean last weekend when Sea was pretty full. I was lucky because it was the perfect opportunity to taste some local Lebanese. I ordered the beef and chicken schwarma combo ($11). It came with both meats, a salad, hummus, and a warm, fluffy pita. First of all, the meat was so good. The combo is a great way to get both, but I'm the future I will definitely order the beef again because the flavor was awesome. The hummus and salad were so fresh, and the pita was one of the best I've had. It is nice to order a meal and have fresh sides that don't make you feel like garbage afterwards. The combo was well balanced, you get a ton of food for the price, and the employees were super friendly. The space is pretty big, and I like that you can see behind the counter how the food is freshly prepared. I will never go to Aladdin's or Sinbad's again after this place has opened. The prices and the food are way better. read more

Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant - Shawrma beef and chicken combo: comes with fresh hummus, salad, and a pita. $11, and wonderful. - Lebanese Near Me - Rochester, New York

Baba Ghanouj is the best in the area, fresh flavors, homemade pita a treat !Plates are a value and delicious !!

First time eating here and eating this type of food. I got the Lebanese rice,which had ground beef in it, and some kind of cheese bread that I can't remember how to spell. Both were great with flavor. My favorite was the rice with their garlic sauce mixed in. read more

Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant - Lebanese rice - Lebanese Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Great food at a great price. I love authentic food so if that's what your looking for definitely check them out. It's good for a casual lunch/dinner but seating is limited. Be prepared to have to possibly take out. Still worth it though. Gyro plate/pita, tabouli, za'atar manakeesh, shawarma & taboule are some of my favorites. The baklava is on the dry side but I'm not really there for dessert. read more

This is the real deal. Family owned and they run an efficient operation. - Portions are generous. - Prices is reasonable. - That hummus tho! - Pita bread is made in house. Always hot. Always fresh. Dip that with the hummus and try to control your moans. - Ample tables for dining in. - Customer service is what you expect for a fast paced family owned operation: they'll look you in the eye for three seconds and then keep it moving. Worth it tho! read more

So happy to have been introduced to this spot by a friend. Both experiences I've had here have been incredible. They have the best falafel I've ever had outside of Israel, hands down. I took my sister and grandmother (who is from Israel) here the other day for lunch. Order a few things to share: falafel appetizer, hummus, a spinach and feta manakeesh, and a za'atarr pita. Everything was amazing and so authentic. Additionally, the prices are so reasonable. (We got all items for $19) and the people there provide great service. We had such a great experience there together my grandma called two people during our meal just to tell them how amazing it was (and she's generally extremely picky and rarely eats out). We also bought a few plain pittas and a falafel pita to go on our way out. Can't wait to go back again. Thank you Cedar!! read more

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I really really like their breads. They have the best flatbreads I've had in Rochester. To be honest I have yet to find any of their meat offerings to be as good, they tend to be on the dry side. But their fresh and pickled vegetables make up for it. I am more than OK with eating vegetarian food. I highly recommend most of their dips, and the bread, of course, and one of their pita wraps (with veggies). It's plenty of delicious food! The service is pretty quick and friendly, so I visit them often when I am in a hurry and I want something healthy and delicious wrapped in some wonderful bread. Did I mention the bread? read more

I've been here twice since they opened. I am a super fan of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food, and especially Lebanese food after living for years in Sierra Leone in West Africa, where Lebanese people are the merchant class and own most of the restaurants. I am also a fan of their other restaurant over on Mt. Hope and was super psyched to see this location open within walking distance of my house! (Do you think I can use 'super' and 'fan' a few more times in this review?? Let's see....) On my first visit, I grabbed a falafel pita and a side of tabouli. The pita was enormous, especially for $5. It was full of pickled veggies (like the little dill shawarma pickles and picked cauliflower), plus had lettuce, tomato, multiple falafel balls, and a generous ladle of tahini sauce. Really really good. SUPER in fact! The tabouli was also delicious - lemony, fresh, tangy - perfectly matched my expectations. On the second visit I brought my husband, just back from 11 months overseas during which he did not have access to Middle-Eastern anything. We ordered the meat-heavy Mashawi plate, which had grilled chicken, grilled beef, and grilled minced kafta kebab meat, served with a side of hummus and a side salad, plus fresh bread from the oven. Everything was perfectly cooked and seasoned, and my hubs was in HEAVEN. Insta-fan. I ordered the vegetarian plate, which had hummus, baba, 2 large falafel balls and a side salad. I would have liked to see a couple dolma added on there, or a scoop of tabouli or some pickled veg in addition, but it was definitely yummy without those additions, and a huge portion of food. This place has a homey feel, and I love the pride and flourish that the owner and staff show in the food from their conversation while preparing the plates to the plates themselves. We are excited to make this place a regular weekly stop, and look forward to eating through the rest of the menu. Highly recommend and I don't think you can go wrong, no matter what you order. read more

This place is an excellent addition to the Monroe Ave strip. The only reason I'm docking a star is because the wait for our food was extremely long. About half an hour. The management was very apologetic but since the place is advertised as fast causal, we were not expecting to wait that long. The good: they make their pitas fresh. It's amazing. Seriously. The hummus was delicious, we got the gyro and chicken shawarma pita pockets and it was very filling (and very cheap). The baklava was heavenly. They're definitely doing something right. I'll be stopping in again soon and I'll update my review if the wait seems more like a one time thing than something regular. read more

Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant - Gyro pita pocket (with one bite removed, sorry, I was hungry!) - Lebanese Near Me - Rochester, New York