This might be one of the most authentic Mediterranean spots around. Great spot in Tehachapi's walkable downtown area.

You know it's a success when you come across a restaurant in the middle of nowhere that's neither a chain nor a fast-food joint. But it's an even greater accomplishment if the place actually offers a tasty dining experience! For me and my girlfriend, that's exactly what we experienced when coming home from our quick trip to Las Vegas. On the way to the Interstate-5, we decided to fill up gas and find food. Our search brought us to Petra Mediterranean, one of many delicious-sounding restaurants in the city Tehachapi. I'd never even heard of this town before, but apparently it was fairly close to Bakersfield. Petra was located about a street away from the Heritage Museum and wedged between two antique-looking theaters. We came around 1pm, so street parking was fairly empty and seating was plentiful. Beyond just Mediterranean food, Petra served a wide range of tasty dishes including pasta, pizza, sandwiches, and even wings. It was like a "do-it-all" kind of place. But since we came here for the Mediterranean, we had our eyes set on the wraps, shawarma, kebabs, and falafels. In terms of cost, everything here was reasonable. I'd expect to pay around $15 at most for the food. My girlfriend and I split a Beef Shawarma and a 6-piece order of their Dolma. Here's what we thought! -- REALLY DECENT FOOD, NOTHING FANCY -- Overall, both dishes we ordered turned out good! It wasn't anything spectacular, but we definitely preferred it to In-N-Out - especially since portion sizes were large! + Beef Shawarma (7/10): First off, I have to say that one order of the Shawarma was definitely enough for us. Large helping of savory beef, lots of salad, plenty of pita bread, and a gigantic mash of hummus. For the taste, we really enjoyed the freshness of all the ingredients, although I wished that the beef wasn't so heavily seasoned. Way too much cumin for my liking. + Dolma (7/10): Not bad! This was VERY juicy and filling. I'm not the biggest fan of dolmas as they tend to get really sour, but we did enjoy our order. Could've gone slightly less on the lemon but no big deal. -- CHILL SERVICE -- Food took a bit long to come out, but the staff members were very approachable and friendly. Had no issues whatsoever! -- FAMILIAL ENVIRONMENT -- Going off of the service, one of my favorite parts about the restaurant was the welcoming vibe. It seemed like everyone knew everyone here, and the whole place just felt so comfortable. And although the place itself was a tad small, there was also lots of seating outside too! Glad that on our long road trips, we can indulge in the new and unknown. The last thing I'd want is for my girlfriend and I to end up eating at some chain we can find anywhere (though I'm sure she'd be okay with that). So blessed that we came across Petra Mediterranean. I give this place a "Nice-su, you can take your parents here and they'll be happy" rating. Eat well and prosper, read more

While on a business trip we stumbled on this place..We ordered truffle fries..Lamb Shank that came with rice..salad and hummus..Also a small chicken caesar salad and a small greek salad with chicken..Also with a coke and bottle of water..The total was 68.00 bucks!! The food was decent..Not really authentic Mediterranean food in my opinion but the food wasnt bad..If in the area again i would try this place again. read more

Really a big surprise for a small mountain town. We ordered the lunch special with chicken w cranberries, Garlic fries were on point! Followed with tea. The servings were enough for the two of us, to share and be satisfied. Fast stellar customer service. Small location but adorable! We shall return and yes we are fans. Highly recommend! Really refreshing flavors! Easy parking read more

We dined on the patio during a recent visit. Loved the mint tea, and the baklava and spanikopita were simply amazing. The Philly cheese steak and chicken skewers were both decent. read more

Unexpected find here in Tehachapi was a deli with a great pastrami sandwich. But wait- there's more! I love my fries with the skin on, and that's what they serve here. My fry basket runneth over with skin on fries. The mint iced tea was perfect for this warm Summer evening. I'll have to come back and try the eggplant parmigiana or a pita, whichever comes first. Just look for the guy really enjoying his fries with ranch dressing. Yummmmm. read more

Petra Mediterranean Restaurant - Gimme dat sammie! - Mediterranean Near Me - Tehachapi, California

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love their salads. the man is the owner and he is always so nice when I come in. thank you guys . I will be coming back

I have been here just once i was driving it from Las Vegas back to San Francisco. I have met the owner Abraham. He is really nice guy. Food was really great and we enjoyed the chat with him as well. Very good vibe the place very clean area laid-back. He served us baklava on the house after we finish their amazing food highly recommended read more

This small restaurant is always good never lacking big portions flavorful and always delicious when I came I've ordered the Greek salad with chicken. Appetizers the kebabs it's all good!! I keep coming back. So thankful we have a great restaurant like this right here in town of Tehachapi read more

Was craving Greek food and had heard such great reviews about this place. So today, got to stop in and try it. So glad we did! The owners were there and were so friendly, nice, and helpful. I ordered the lamb gyro special with 1/2 sandwich on lavash bread and a Greek salad. BF ordered the Shish Kabob Combo with lamb and chicken. Both were fantastically prepared and the flavors just burst in your mouth. The combination of flavors took you to Greece and back. They also have an eclectic variety of beers and we had a black beer from Brazil that was smooth and easy drinking. Also had a toasted porter from Iceland that had flavors of toffee, coffee and a hint of chocolate. Both went great with the food. To finish off the meal we shared baklava. It was the best baklava I have had in years. Perfectly layered with phyllo dough, honey, cinnamon, pistachio and walnuts, baked to a sticky perfection. It was pure heaven. This is a must stop! You will not be disappointed! It is now on our lists to stop when we pass through. read more

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this place is so amazing!!! Such nice people who work there and went there for dinner once and they gave my dad a free dessert and told him to just come back next time!! Absolutely amazing food came out quickly and was hot and delicious! I definitely recommend this place if you're looking for a place to eat not that expensive amazing owners and delicious food!! read more

DELICIOUS! A few friends and myself came to Petra after a long day of hiking. Needless to say we were starving and Petra did not disappoint!! Vegan/vegetarian friendly, large portions, fair prices, freshly prepared and awesome service! Only downfall is the restaurant is an hour away from my house lol We ordered: 1. Garlic fries (amazing, not oily at all) 2. Lamb-beef shawarma gyro wrap (too good for words and the small size is super filling) 3. Falafel wrap (delicious and vegan friendly) 4. Hummus (yum) 5. Philly cheesecake (super cheesy) 6. Chicken pesto sandwich (yum) 7. Tzatziki (yum) 8. Mint iced tea (made in house, refreshing, and you get a free refill) We will definitely be back for future hiking trips and recommend to anyone passing through Tehachapi as it is only 4 minutes off the highway!! read more

Petra Mediterranean Restaurant - Stack full of empty plates! We would have taken a pic beforehand, but we were clearly too busy devouring our food lol - Mediterranean Near Me - Tehachapi, California

Great food and it's not Tehachapi good, it would be good in San Francisco, San Diego or any large city. They make their food fresh daily and the baklava is heavenly! The hummus is great! Prices are reasonable. read more

If you are craving for some real food, then Petra would certainly satisfy. As a creature of habit, I always go for either the lamb kabob or their grill shrimp kabob combo as you also get a serving of their fresh cucumber and tomato salad, hummus, pita and sizable bed of rice. The owners are friendly. My dining experience there is always pleasant. read more

This restaurant is one of Tehachapi's gems. Nestled in the heart of downtown, walking distance from the art gallery and antique shops, it's where The locals come for flavorful, fresh, and delicious food. You order at the counter and the owners bring it right to your table. The portion sizes are substantial and will leave you fully satisfied, but make sure you leave room for dessert. Try the Honey Baklava! I daydream of it on a daily basis ever since I had it. In fact, I go there on a regular basis just for the baklava when I want to be reminded that life is good. read more

One word: baklava. The biggest and the bestest I've ever had. Of course the pilaf, chicken kebab, all that stuff was wonderful too. But... baklava. Came through Tehachapi on our way home from Colorado and was craving Mediterranean food and this little hole in the wall fed us well. Only thing missing was atmosphere--of course, this in the middle of a pandemic so I guess I should have been glad to eat out at all. Actually, we DID eat out--outside. read more

Great family owned and ran business. I am so happy they are apart of this small town. This place is located in the center of downtown. I love to come here to people watch during the festivals. Grab a beer and a gyro! You won't be disappointed. Yum Yum! read more

So stopped into this place with a group. Had a late lunch so I just had the garlic fries. I know. You can tell at me for picking something so authentic but they were good. Got two sides of sauce and went to town. Curved what they needed to. Place is small. Appears to be family ran. All the food looked amazing. If you are in the area, stop and check it out. No AC in the place so be ready. read more

All I have to say is authentic and delicious. Great customer service, and great food!

Fresh, flavorful, and fast; all the things we were hoping for. I had a Mediterranean salad with grilled chicken - the chicken was cooked perfectly and the salad was crisp and delicious. We'll definitely return. read more

What a hole-in-the-wall gem! It looks a bit like a dump from the outside, and the inside isn't impressive, either, but the food is terrific! Service was limited because nobody wants to work a minimum-wage job these days. It was just the owner and his wife working hard and trying to keep things going. So we ordered at the counter, found our own table, and the food was brought to us. Wow. I had the lamb kebobs and my wife had an antipasto salad. Everything was excellent. Fresh, home-made tasting. Nothing bought at Costco and repackaged! I live near D.C., and have eaten at some of the best Mediterranean restaurants in that area. They may have better ambiance, but they do NOT have better food. read more

One of the best places to eat in Tehachapi, the food is amazing and the service is outstanding

Delicious, fresh and prompt ! Friendly service! Large portions ! My daughter and I enjoyed it !!!! Everything smells really fresh and you can tell everything is home cooked ! Love it ! Will order again !!! read more

Something was different about this place- everything looked and tasted different than the last time I was there. It was sub-par, enough to prompt me to make Mediterranean myself at home next time. Overall, It is a decent establishment in town and the baklava is pretty tasty. read more

I have eaten here a couple of times since I moved to this town, and I have been disappointed both times. The first time we thought that maybe it was a fluke, but when our second experience matched the first we concluded this is just how they make their food. On both occasions we ordered falafel and spinakopita. The spinakopita was refrigerator cold both times. Every Mediterranean restaurant I have eaten at serves it hot, but not this place and I have to say it was not tasty at all. My wife had their falafel and it was dry and bland. The meat in my pita tasted like it had been re-heated and not freshly cooked. Their side dishes were okay, but by in large this place was disappointing. read more

Terrific service and incredibly delicious food! We had the garlic fries (Excellent) I loved my Falafel Plate and my Husband throughly enjoyed his Beef Kebab plate. The food is fresh, perfectly prepared and delicious! Before we left, we ordered Baklava to go. I must confess that it was truly the best we've ever had! There is plenty of indoor seating and a small patio right outside. If you're even close to this delightful mediterranean food paradise, make certain to give it a try! We are so that glad we did! read more

Petra Mediterranean Restaurant - Menu - Mediterranean Near Me - Tehachapi, California

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Truly authentic. You can see everything being made from behind the front counter as soon as you walk in. The restaurant is small but comfortable, we took our food 2go. Ordered; Chicken Gyro, Greek Salad w/Chicken, Italian Salami Sandwich, and Garlic Fries. Greek Salad: Delicious, good amount of chicken, cheese, & olives. Lettuce was fresh and crisp and the dressing on the side brought everything together. Definitely recommend Chicken Gyro: Good but fell a little short. Chicken and pita bread had excellent flavor. The sauce was good but maybe this was where some of the flavor was lacking, I'd like some tomatoes or cucumber just to give it a little more texture. Still, it was tasty and recommend. Italian Salami Sandwich: Tomato, onion, lettuce, pickle, and Mayonesa on a French roll. My son enjoyed it, I took a bite...it was yummy Garlic Fries: Really good and fresh! They cook them as you order and boy do they pack on the garlic. My wife and I really enjoyed these Little tip; be patient waiting for your food, everything is cooked to order and lunch hour can get a bit busy. read more

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While the ancient city of Petra is a world heritage site in Jordan, Petra Mediterranean Restaurant serves wonderful Mediterranean food from their location in the beautiful mountain community of Tehachapi. Staff is polite and respectful, while the restaurant is clean and conservatively decorated. We ordered the lamb and beef shawarma, extra humus, and chicken shawarma plate. We ate at home because of COVID. The food was hot and delicious. We will be back read more

You have to try the garlic fries with a baklava. Great food staff is very friendly. lol read more

The gyro was good, the cheesecake was frozen still. Fries were good but my husband bit into this metal thing in the fries we got, and there was foil in them too. Not sure if the pizza was worth 7 dollars too. read more

Petra Mediterranean Restaurant - Almost ate this metal thing. - Mediterranean Near Me - Tehachapi, California

Fantastic food! Don't miss it. Love the chicken kabob wrap and falafel appetizer is to die for!

Great spot ! We swung by this place for lunch on our way to AZ. Our family got shawarma plates and they were delicious.

Best place in town. Been going here for 15 years. Great family. Great food. Highly recommend, always. -Dom read more

The food is always delicious and the staff is great. The owner is one of my most favorite people and a story of human love and success. She is successful, strong and the compassion and warmness that she puts into all of her businesses makes me happy that I chose to move to Tehachapi! In the name of Yeshua, I bless her in the city and in the field because she is a Proverbs 31 woman! read more

In the mood for refreshing healthy food?? You should try this place. It's a great ma/pa owned restaurant and you can tell the food is authentic. I opted for the chicken shawerma plate (which is big enough for 2 people). It was pretty good. I love the cucumber salad that comes with it. Super refreshing! Especially when you are in the middle of a long car ride! My dates chose the chicken kebob plate and the chicken fatoush salad. They both enjoyed their dishes. It is quite charming inside. You walk in and you can order right away. Behind the cash register is the kitchen so you can smell the yummy goodness right away. There are multiple dining areas including a cute patio outside. If I'm ever in the area again, I'll come back. read more

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This is a casual spot good for a quick lunch or snack. It was one of the better meals we had in Tehachapi... which isn't saying a LOT but still worth checking out if you're walking around the quaint but very tiny "downtown" area. You walk in and order at a counter, which I hate. There aren't any menu boards posted so you just have to find a menu and make some quick decisions. I'm sure most people have been here many times and know what they want. I didn't. But I settled on a small order of mozzarella sticks and a small order of hummus and pita. Both were OK. I suspected neither was homemade but they weren't bad. Girlfriend had a 1/2 veggie sandwich and salad. Both were deemed "good - not great". After you place your order, your food is brought to your table but you still need to get your own napkins, utensils, etc... I felt like I was up and down most of the meal. But it's a casual place. Very fair prices and portions are good sized (I took most of my two side dishes to go). Again, not a bad stop and unlike most restaurants in town, this one DOES have a website so you can actually plan ahead what you'd like to order - I recommend doing that to avoid counter anxiety. Or is it just me that gets that? read more

The food looked good, but the owner and staff were not wearing masks even though there was a sign asking people to wear masks during this period of COVID. So since there was risky practices at the restaurant we went to Red House where everyone on staff were courteous, helpful, and had great food read more

Absolutely wonderful. I see why it has near perfect star rating. I tried the chicken shawarma wrap with garlic fries. Chicken was seasoned just right, with a well balanced hummus taste. Fries were fresh cut, real garlic, yes I said it, REAL GARLIC! Also, well seasoned; however, if you're not a big fan of garlic, be careful it contains a lot. This is a locally owned restaurant with owners working here, which to me, it makes it much more special and intimate. This establishment has been receiving awards since 2010. The max occupancy is 46 ppl...but...THERE'S SEATING OUTSIDE! read more

Petra Mediterranean Restaurant - Shawarma wrap with chicken and garlic fries! - Mediterranean Near Me - Tehachapi, California

Dropped in here for lunch recently while passing thru and had the chicken shawarma on lavosh. Huge and really good. I also had some baklava and it was excellent...best I've had in several years and multiple states! read more

Not the worst I've had, not the best. We visited Petra for lunch yesterday after driving by it several times over the last year and meaning to try it. We ordered the hummus to start, a meatball sandwich - with fries, and the beef/lamb shawerma. The hummus came first and it was okay. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great. To be honest, I actually enjoy the hummus that I buy prepackaged at the grocery store, or my homemade hummus, much more. The texture was grainy and the hummus was garlicky but other than that, not much flavor. The pita slices that came with were super thin and just average. They were a little hot - had to wait for them to cool down - but were like any prepackaged pita that I've had but thinner - there was no pocket. The meatball sandwich was my boyfriend's choice and he took about three bites and said he was done. Again, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't good. The meatballs looked like and tasted like processed meatballs, same with the sauce - like something from a jar. The bread was nice and toasty but, didn't overcome the overall sandwich. The fries, however, were good. Crispy but not greasy - they were the best thing we had. I ordered the lamb/beef shawerma on pita with the tzatziki sauce and . . . took two bites and was done. There was an odd flavor that I couldn't identify or get past. I tried the components separately (the sauces and the meat) to try to identify where the odd flavor was coming from (thinking maybe I could eat around it) and wasn't able to. The pita was the same thin pita but it was toasted and, again, just okay. So, I ate a few more fries and we both decided we were done. $25.00 and we threw away about 85% of the food we received. I love Mediterranean food and have had such good food from other places. Sorry, I don't mean to be harsh but, this is how it was. Maybe other things on the menu are better but these two items, no bueno. read more