We hosted a 20-person outdoor wedding reception at our home, and Mezza Thyme catered the event. The food was outstanding. Throughout the meal, I kept hearing the same comment from different tables: "This is really, really good food." And it was. The Mediterranean dishes were vibrant and fresh -- not generic or middle-of-the-road, but thoughtfully prepared with balanced flavors and ultra-fresh ingredients. Even our most restrained eaters went back for seconds. Delivery was on time as scheduled. The general manager personally supervised the transfer of the food from transport containers into our serving dishes and offered helpful suggestions on serving layout to improve flow. Presentation and execution were handled professionally, which matters when hosting an event at home. Prior to placing the final order, I studied the menu and placed a preliminary order online to establish a starting point. I reviewed it with my daughter and wife and received their approvals before finalizing. I did have a few questions about overlap among side dishes, spoke with the general manager about it, and finalized the order 30 days before the event with no subsequent changes. That clarity made the rest of the planning straightforward. Their menu reflects flavors and traditions rooted in the Levant region. Mediterranean cuisine lends itself well to buffet service within a defined service window. We would be happy to use Mezza Thyme again for any larger-scale gathering -- or for a great meal at home or in their restaurant on Cota Street downtown. I highly recommend them. read more

The food is delicious! I came on Friday for lunch and immediately changed my Saturday plans so I could return. 10/10 all around. The beef samosas or sambusa were perfectly seasoned, crispy, and flakey. read more

The staff was extremely nice and professional. The ambiance was top tier! From the lighting to the bar to the cozy booths! I did not dine in however I did order for takeout on a Saturday night (surprisingly) it was not super busy when I went in. The food is incredible, flavorful, and the meat is super tender! I will 1000% be coming back any chance I get! Mezza Thyme is really really good! WOW! read more

Mezza Thyme - The entrance - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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This place is one of my favorite lunch spots. You can just order at the kiosk in their little window and have your food prepared fresh and right to you. I used to be bummed that Zaytoon was only open for dinner because I'll be craving that beef sambosik sometimes. Mezza Thyme is such a great substitute for that since it's open for lunch! Their chicken shawarma always hits the spot. The two people who prep and cook there, Pedro and Dahlia, are some of the best and nicest people in town. Stop by and say hi at the window and try it out. read more

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It was great. The bartender-host who took our order was friendly and helpful. Great to catch up and the food was really good.

Everything was excellent...from the comfortable vibe, to the top notch, caring servers, to the out of this world delicious food, grilled chicken, fried eggplant and falafel and baklava for dessert. What a great find! Loved this place! read more

Mezza Thyme - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Food is really amazing! I got the eggplant falafel plate and my boyfriend had the mixed shawarma plate. We shared baba ghanoush and it was all great. Only thing is that the service was slow and not super attentive. The restaurant wasn't super busy that night so we thought it was strange. We wanted to order more bread for the dip, we had a lot left, but never saw the server until we were basically finished with our plates so it was too late at that point. But would recommend! Food is great and environment is casual and comfortable. read more

First time eating here for dinner. Service was great! Staff greeted us right away and offered if we would like to sit upstairs where they had a fireplace. I would give the staff 5-stars. They always checked in on us if we needed anything. Food was okay. I would rate it 3stars. We had the combo plate which came with meat, hummus, tahini, fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro and mint. It had plenty of meat (beef and lamb combo) but it wasn't served hot as I expected it to be. Meat was also tough/dry and could have more flavor. I was expecting freshly sliced meat that would still be juicy. It looked like it had been sliced earlier and has been sitting ready for a while. The hummus was okay. We also ordered pita with it which was very good! Warm, toasty on outside but fluffy soft inside. Restaurant was clean and cozy. read more

Mezza Thyme - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

The little sibling of zaytoon, mezzanine thyme offers cocktails and bites similar to that of the sibling. The inside is cozy and the service is spectacular. Random but must try the pita bread, warm, soft and delicious. The mixed shawarma sandwich is meat wrapped in the soft pita with onions and other veggies. Only downside is to have more sauce, but overall filling. The baklava comes four pieces with an order-made with walnuts. read more

Mezza Thyme - Mixed Shawarma Sandwich - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Above and beyond services! Eric - restaurant manager/bartender and everything else, he was amazing! He recommended us some great dishes (that turned out to be delicious), he was kind and very friendly. We are definitely coming back for him and Eric when we're back in town. The Batata fries, falafel plate, chicken shawarma plate, Pita breads and hummus were so good! Highly recommend this place in SB. read more

Mezza Thyme - Eggplant Falafel Plate - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Best gyro in SB. Big portions and Homemade bread. Dine in hours are a bit peculiar but tues-sat they have the blue door for take out and a cute set of blue tables and chairs in a little alleyway. read more

Fantastic! Visiting my daughter for the weekend and thought we made reservations at Zaytoon in Santa Barbara but found out our reservations were actually at Zaytoon in Albany, CA. The hostess was very nice and let us know about this place, which is their sister restaurant (about a 10 minute walk, so it was fine). We came in for dinner and ended up getting the Mezza platter (more than enough for a mother/daughter dinner) and drinks - everything was fantastic! Each of the items in the platter were perfect - the tahini with dates was unusual and really delicious. Service was friendly and super prompt. I'm sure we'll go here again next time we visit - thank you! read more

From the same people that operate Zaytoon. Excellent food and ambience and really good food. Much like Zaytoon, the food is a little on the salty side. Drinks are good and upstairs booths are really cute. read more

Fried Eggplant spiced with some nice heat and a moist texture. Hummus has a nice tang to it, pita breads are nice and thick. Service was friendly. Bar had a good selection, though I didn't have any drinks. read more

Came on a stormy weeknight, so it wasn't crowded. We were seated quickly. Service was direct and simple -- never overbearing. Thank goodness. The chicken shawarma plate was highly recommended and it was 10/10 -- mostly because the garlic sauce was the best I've ever had. The eggplant falafel plate was also delicious, though I prefer the chicken shawarma. I like that the falafel are a smaller size -- tastes better this way for some reason. We added a side of pickled radish and the pita bread and glad to have those added to the meals. It costs extra, but the meals felt incomplete without them. This is a nice informal date spot or a nice place for a family dinner. We will return! read more

Mezza Thyme - Eggplant Falafel Plate 9/10 - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Had a really good dinner at Mezza Thyme on a recent road trip. I have dined at Zaytoon a long while back and I remembered it being great. And Zaytoon's casual sister restaurant Mezza Thyme didn't disappoint. What we had : - Baba Ghannouj - Tzatziki - Falafel - Batata Hara - The best thing we ordered. Think of it as well seasoned and flavorful French Fries :) - Pita bread Everything was delicious and devoured before I could take a picture. The place is very cozy with booths and bar seating. It would be perfect for dates and small groups. They do have limited opening hours for dine in, only on Friday and Saturday. Definitely an A+ in my book! read more

I don't know what all the raving reviews are about. Somethings to be aware of: * Yes, there are screens on every table. Yes, they are annoying. Yes, you can flip them around. No, they don't MAKE you order off them. Though there was only two servers on a busy Saturday night, they will provide full table service. * Started with the Cheese Sambosik. We ordered the beef Sabosik, but they were out. This was probably the best dish of the night. Flavorful cheese, perfectly fried crispy pastery shell. Really scrumptious and great. * Food was good, but not 5 stars. The mixed Shwarma plate was flavorful (as long as you LOVE cumin). Comes with a whole lot of hummus but no pita. Have to order that extra. It was a good amount of hearty food for the price, but we couldn't shake the fact that it tasted like a less good Zankou Chicken (IYKYK). Zankou is MUCH better for less. If that's your standard, avoid this place - you'll be disappointed. * The lemon chicken is advertised as free range chicken. This is usually a welcome sign of a juicy, flavorful piece of chicken. The lemon chicken was hard as a rock. I showed the waiter and he agreed. The cream on it has amazing flavor and the rice was perfectly cooked honestly, but the rubber chicken was hard to get past. Don't order. * Due to the chicken being terrible, they comped the chicken (I only had a couple bites) and they gave us baklava on the house. Baklava was super rich and really well made. Super nutty, not overly sweet. Really good. Overall, I see what they are trying to do, but we wouldn't go back. Staff es super friendly even when being understaffed! Really appreciated them trying to make my experience right. I hope their sister restaurant Zaytoon is better, but if its anything like this, I would skip it all and go to Zankou if your driving up from OC or LA. read more

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Very good food, highly recommended. The service is quick and they have a lot of variety of items that are vegetarian friendly.

The food is delicious. The service is excellent and they are very attentive. I ordered the pita bread with lemon chicken with pilaf rice. It was very good, definitely one of my top picks for dinning in Santa Barbara. My husband ordered the chicken shawarma and it was very fresh. read more

Great service. Delicious food. Had the chicken shwarma, which came with hummus and tamato, onion, etc. very tasty. The pita bread is the best pita I've ever had, the baba ganoush is phenomenal, and my stepdad had the lemon chicken and he loved it. It's also affordable for the portions. One of the few places you can actually take your family to eat and not break the bank. But the service really is top notch. Stop by and keep this little hidden spot going. read more

Food is fantastic tasting, good quality & overall balanced in terms of a quintessential healthy meal. I haven't been downtown for quite some time to enjoy the ambiance however I have ordered through delivery service several times this year. Go to order is chicken shawarma, cucumbers, salad with grilled chicken, tzatziki and toum or garlic sauce. read more

We had a wonderful time here! Everyone is very attentive and polite. The space is clean and vibes are good :)

Amazing experience. We had such good service and the food was amazing! We got a shared hummus and dip plate and it was delicious. The bread was so fresh too. We will be back there or to Zaytoon for a special occasion. read more

Definitely check it out! 0 wait on Friday/Saturday night, prime location. Wonderful service and even better food. read more

Mezza Thyme - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I'm assuming this restaurant is for pickup or delivery only, as of this review, July 2022. The main door was locked. You are directed by an arrow to walk down an alley and pickup through a half opened blue door. Let's get into the good part, the FOOD. We ordered the chicken shawarma, family style dinner. It serves 4, but the portions are very substantial. Everything was so fresh and tasty. The meal was served in a big aluminum tin, so it was easy (but super hot) to handle. I dislike Mediterranean places that's too oily, greasy, or salty. Mezza Thyme had a balance - not too much salt, little grease, and no icky oil. My only regret: not ordering more garlic sauce, which has the consistency of hummus, and not trying this place earlier. Maybe order more bread too, if you are feeding 4 or more, since the meal only came with 4 pieces. I think I've found my new favorite Mediterranean restaurant in town. Solid food at solid, reasonable prices. read more

Mezza Thyme - Big family platter for 4 - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Unbelievably awesome!!! Easy to order and pay online...then walk up to the cool easy access window and grab your order. The food was absolutely delish. We grabbed a chicken schwarma sandwich and a falafel sandwich...the home made pita was to die for, and the ingredients of both sandwiches were fresh, perfectly balanced and delish. We'll be back FOR SURE. read more

Food is amazing! I crave this spot every time I drive by. I recommend the hummus or Baba Ghannouj with their fresh pita, or cheese Sambousek for apps, and their Lemon chicken or the chicken shawarma. Also, service has been great every time. read more

Mezza Thyme - Pita bread, hummus, Cheese Sambosik - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Food is AMAZING! I wish I found this place earlier!!! The bread is baked fresh into a puffy pita bread that reminds me of living in Dubai. I loved the shawarma sandwiches and even the chicken shwarma plate. Definitely try this place out. The bread and baba ghanoush are must try appetizers. I would even go back just to eat those. Honestly, get two baskets of bread. So good!!!! The service was also great and the staff were kind and quick to help. The interior was a bit odd. It looked like a dark, high end bar mixed with a country setting. You can either order with the waiter or through the iPad which was cool. All the food came out quickly. Although it is located on state street, it wasn't the easiest to find so I hope people fine this restaurant through Yelp and other sources as it is, in my opinion, one of the best restaurants in SB. read more

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food is fire and the staff is super friendly. came on vacation and wish i was a local as it blows all las vegas mediterranean spots out of the water lol. recommend dining in as it's super nice and spacious with two floors, honestly surprising that they don't do dine in everyday. read more

Adorable Mediterranean restaurant in the heart of Santa Barbara. Fun, dimly, lit interior reminds you of an old school family-run European joint. Their falafels were perfectly moist, and the garlic sauce was to die for! read more

Surprised at how good the food was here. Had the salad with falafel and apple slaw. So good. Shared the mezze plater with friends. Place is more of a bar/hookah lounge that has surprisingly good food. read more

Mixed shawarma sandwich 9.58/10- mix of lamb and tri tip! This was incredibly delicious, the meat had so much flavor and was perfectly complemented by the sauce and onions. The bread was also really fresh and they made it on the spot!! I docked a little on my rating due to not enjoying the eggplant dip given with the sandwich. In addition, I received my order after 35 minutes and i was in a time crunch. However, everything they make is fresh I just simply did not expect that.. this place was recommended to me and I truly am happy it was because I very much enjoyed the food! Similar to zeytoon but like casual and not as pricey read more

This place is beautiful, in a fun area, the food & service is amazing.! We parked 1 block away in public parking for a reasonable rate.... Eric is awesome! I will definitely be coming back! read more

WOW! I don't write yelp reviews but I will for Mezza Thyme I am a mediterranean food connoisseur and this was the best chicken shawarma I've ever had. I drowned myself in the garlic sauce and hummus. The cheese shambokib was a glorified mozzarella stick that I didn't know I needed in my life. The waiter recommended amazing dishes and the service was stellar! This is such a cute, tucked away restaurant. We arrived around 7:15pm on a Saturday night and there was plenty of space at the bar, and the tables were self seating. I wouldn't describe it as family friendly necessarily but maybe if you go earlier in the night. Seems like more of a date night spot. This is a sister restaurant of Zaytoon in SB (which is also a great restaurant btw) and the food is simply fire. I don't have the words to describe how worth it the experience is. A must try!!!!!!!!!! read more

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The food was Amazing. The service was both personal and professional. Loved the decor!

This is the hidden gem of Santa Barbara! The food is phenomenal, Skyler our server was absolutely wonderful. The best chicken Shawarma and homemade pita bread ever! Everything is delicious - Taziki, baba ghanoush, garlic spread! Great atmosphere. Love this spot read more

This is an "anti-restaurant". The food is good but it is not a restaurant in that there is no staff, no waiters. They expect you to interact with a screen. I thought the food was good, but I was at Taco Bell. Please rethink advertising as a fast food place. I gave a generous tip because I felt sorry for the one guy there trying to run it. If you are the owner, please rethink this. read more

such yummy food and amazing servers!! the vibe inside was very chill as well. the grilled chicken shawarma was very yummy read more

Mezza Thyme - grilled chicken shawarma - Mediterranean Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

So very welcoming and the food is spectacular. Hidden gem. Don't tell. !!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Food is fresh, authentic Lebanese food- we enjoyed the Baba Ghanoush, Fattoush Salad with chicken shawarma & homemade Pita bread Our waiter, Ricardo was phenomenal read more