We don't order Mediterranean food enough, especially considering how many places we have available…read moreto us in Syracuse. This place was close by and relatively new, so we gave it a go. We've been jonesing for a good shawarma for ages, so we went with beef shawarma over rice, and lamb chops over rice. We threw in some beef sambusas and eggplant salad. The only complaint we had was the wait time. We showed up when they told us to, but ended up waiting about 25 minutes in store for the food. The staff were really friendly, and had we not ordered to go, it would have been a comfortable place to dine in. The lamb meat was tender and delicious. Not a ton of seasoning, but probably because it didn't need it. I'm seeing more and more places doing red and white sauce like the Halal Guys in NYC, and I'm all about it. The red sauce is bold and spicy, the white sauce is cool and refreshing, like Greek yogurt. They go amazing together, and I'd eat them on anything. It included two heavily seasoned pieces of pita. I'm guessing they were seasoned specifically for this meal, because the fresh mint garnish added a huge layer to the lamb meat. If you order this, I recommend asking for a ton of extra pitas seasoned just like that, even if you have to pay more. The shawarma is one of our favorites. They're not stingy with the sauce, and there's a good mix of veggies and lettuce. Extra credit for Lebanese pickles, they went a long way. The beef was a little chewy, but packed a punch. It's coated in a thick brown sauce that tastes similar to A1, but the meat itself is packed with different tastes - most notably nutmeg. I'm guessing they season it with garam masala. We definitely would have ordered some pitas if we knew it didn't include them. The sambusas were packed full of ground beef. The texture was pretty tough, but once you get past the corners they're so packed it doesn't matter. It seemed to be mostly just ground beef with little or no seasoning, but it came with a pretty flavorful dip. Not sure if it has a name, but it's Greek yogurt whipped into a frothy mixture and mixed with mint. It had a super light and airy texture that didn't match our expectations for a yogurt based dip. If you leave it for too long, it'll fall back down into an unpleasantly thin liquid like whipped cream. Texture aside though, the taste is immaculate and turned a bland sambusa into a full spectrum of flavor. Finally, we have the eggplant salad. This was our first time trying it, so I have nothing to compare it with. We tried to Google it to get a feel for what we were ordering, and the images were all over the map. I'm not sure if there's a standard or if it's a free for all. What we got was a very creamy mix of eggplant, roasted red peppers and onions. I'm guessing a lot of the creaminess is tahini, which gives it a toasted/smokey taste. It was unlike anything we've ever had before, and we're absolutely hooked. I'll definitely make sure I have pitas for it next time, it's pretty intense eating something this creamy by itself. This has been one of our favorite take out meals in a while. I hope these guys are here to stay.

I visited this new restaurant today for lunch. I have never had middle eastern food, and I had NO…read moreidea what I was missing. my husband and I chose two very different things to try... both delicious. we live right nearby and will definitely be visiting again. the prices were reasonable, the decor was lovely and most importantly it was delicious. this is my first review I've ever left on Yelp... it was that good.

I was excited to stop here after seeing all of the reviews, however after visiting realized most of…read morethose reviews are really old. This place seems to be only a grocery store, there was no restaurant or kitchen to order inside like other reviews state. Inside the floors were very sticky and my shoes were sticking to the floor, the inside was really dirty and it smelled bad. Food was hit or miss on expiration dates. There was a lot of variety. I did pick up a bag of bananako since its hard to find in the area but that was plenty and all I needed before being ready to leave. Prices were on the higher end compared to other import markets in the area. If you go I'd recommend packaged items.

Ever since I had some mouthwatering cevapi at a now-closed Bosnian restaurant in Buffalo, I've been…read moreon the lookout for Balkan cuisine. When I found out Syracuse has a place serving cevapi, I was ecstatic. Obviously, the first time I went, I had to try the cevapi, which did not surpass the lofty bar set by my first experience but was a good dish overall. The portion size provides excellent value and while the service is nothing to write home about, it was by no means negligent. Next time I went, I decided to experiment a bit and tried the pljeskavica. I was blown away by this dish and think I now have a new favorite. The meat was high quality, tender, and scrumptious. And once again, the portion size provided excellent value. The dining area is also linked to a grocery store serving a variety of eclectic European, Turkish, and Middle Eastern products. As someone who only eats halal meat, it was nice to find a place that had halal products in Syracuse like sucuk (sausage).

We absolutely love dining at Lavish! We go about once a week, and it has truly become our go-to…read morespot for Mediterranean food. The chicken skewers are always perfectly cooked, the aromatic rice is full of flavor, and the fresh bread is absolutely delicious. Everything tastes fresh and made with care and the prices are reasonable too. We're so grateful to have such a consistently wonderful restaurant right here in Syracuse!

RUNNN!! Highly…read moredisappointed with the service and the food. The lamb chops were skimp and the rice portion was too much, for the second dish they tried to hide the lamb size underneath the rice, I wanted mango juice which they didn't have so they gave me some DISGUSTING orange juice. I should have stayed home and made a sandwich.

Excellent food that fed a bunch of jacked up pro wrestlers performing in town over 3 days…read more Amazing taste. Supreme service. Authentically delicious. -I|I

The food was very good and the woman at the counter was very friendly. Everything was very fresh…read moreand tasty..the chicken shawarma was shaved right off the vertical broiler and seasoned nicely. It came with a choice of barley or rice, which was nice and a small portion of either hummus or baba ganoush. It was very busy at the Market for Friday lunch. The outdoor seating is wonderful and I'll miss that when it gets too cold to sit outside.

Wanted to try to do something out & about which led to us walking around the mall. We debated about…read morehaving dinner there but Joey mentioned/reminded me of a restaurant a friend had recommended. We made our way to Kabul Restaurant & I'm so glad we did. The staff were so welcoming & friendly. Very important note here- they are located upstairs in the building they are in. You'll see an entrance on the street but you have to go upstairs to get to the restaurant. Very beautiful view from the windows. We got two meals that we shared & an absolutely spectacular starter. My biggest appreciation was the fantastic flavors. Every bite I took (even of the rice) was seasoned & popped with flavor. The plates came with fresh lemon that was the perfect addition to squeeze over our meals. We had fresh herby sauces that also came with the meals that I couldn't get enough of. Fantastic meal & we will be going back. I'll also make sure to actually write down what we ordered!

From the Syracuse University I walked, saw the sign of Kabul! Never had an Afghanistan food in my…read morelife, so I walked in. Walked the stairs to top meaning 3 story. Nice and clean place. Sat by the window looking down the street, studied the menu. It was a bit confusing, I asked the most popular food, stc. He picked a dish of braised lamb chop with raisin rice. Ok. Was very tasty! Surprisingly good. Lamb was hiding inside of the mountain of rice. The owner lady told me, Afghanistan food is similar to Indian food. The difference is the ginger part. indian uses ginger, the other don't. Indian food is spicy, the other is not. Friendly service.

Very quick friendly service, apple desert very tasty simple crisp puff pastry with warm Apple…read morefilling a bit of whipped cream dusted with cinnamon and lovely treat!

I was on a short road trip to Syracuse New York, and thought I'd try out a few places recommended…read morefrom Guy Fieri's DDD series, and was really looking forward to it, given the yelp reviews. The place was pretty small and unassuming from the outward appearance. Upon coming in, there are limited seats, but everything was neat and clean. I could smell some enticing aromas from the kitchen. Not sure if they are short staffed, but it took a while for someone to come to the counter to take our order. I really was looking forward to having the lamb gyro, so that was what I ordered, as well as ordering a baklava for dessert. The food took a while to come out, but I'm fine waiting for something great to eat. They did have a number of takeout orders that were served while we waited, maybe 3 of them. Once the food came out, the lamb was pretty nice, and there was a reasonable portion of meat in the gyro, as well as some tomato, lettuce, and onion on a nice pita bread. But the tzatziki was very disappointing, it was very thin, and didn't have much flavor. That sort of killed the whole gyro. The baklava was very tasty, and had nice pistachio crumbles on it, but the honey was a bit too much, giving it a very soggy bottom. Flavor was good though, and I don't mind a little messy dessert. All in all, I was a little disappointed with the meal. I tend to be a little generous in my reviews, so I gave it three stars, as I felt I couldn't rate it as a 2, but I couldn't quite give a four star rating. I'd give it another try, but maybe not go for a gyro.

I think these guys have the flash in the kitchen. Within 10 minutes of ordering the beautiful…read morepictures below were brought to us. My chicken gyro bowl was packed with flavor and well arranged so I could eat different things on the plate as I wanted. This included the chicken, rice, a salad, toasted pita bread, pickled onions, and a zesty cheese dipping sauce I couldn't quite place but I lived. Had to take the rest to go. My gf got the hummus dinner with veggies and pita and some falafel. I tried some just so flavorful. Dinner, tax, tip, $32 seems good in this economy.

Had some great Mediterranean dishes! Large gyros sandwiches were delicious as was the grape leave…read moredish. Used takeout but the place looks nice and the staff was great.

I usually get the gyro salad which is a good value and is tasty. The pita is better if you dine in…read more Also love their falafel. Very friendly staff.

We're frequent customers but as of late we've noticed that the portion ratios are lacking. In…read moreordering the Gyro Pitza, it was it was pretty much all cheese....basically pita bread with cheese. My chicken gyro bowl consisted mainly of rice. The ratio of chicken to rice was inadequate. Very disappointing

So flavorful! First…read morevisit last week and we will be back! Our group started with puff puffs, delicious fried dough balls similar to doughnuts but not as sweet, and fried plantains, which were cooked perfectly (not overdone and hard) and served with an incredibly spicy red sauce. Trust me: dip carefully at first and work your way up to it. For the main meal I ordered Egusi (chicken stew with a spinach, chile, and onion sauce), fufu (made of yams), and collard greens, and my boyfriend had Mbuzi (goat curry with a red Congolese sauce), rice, and red beans. I'd never had fufu and I didn't expect it to be solid and gelatinous; definitely an interesting thing to try, but it went better with the liquid red sauce of the Mbuzi than with my dish. The chicken stew was very tasty, with a bit of spiciness. Be aware that the bones are hacked up so that you can chew on them to get at the marrow, but this means you need to be careful to eat around the sharp bits. I loved the seasoning of the goat and its curry sauce, although of course there was fat and gristle because it's goat. The collard greens were good, not stingy with the onions and peppers. Surprisingly, my favorite of all the dishes was the kidney beans, which were remarkably flavorful and among the best beans I've ever had (and I love beans). We will have to go back to try the oxtail stew, which is only served on weekends. I wasn't crazy about the plastic silverware or plastic bottles of water (as someone trying to reduce plastics) but that's true of a lot of casual places. I wish they'd had prices written on the menu instead of us having to ask for them. But I liked the generous servings and the chance to try interesting foods. The owner/chef came out to talk to our group and he was very friendly and welcoming, and answered all our questions. Recommended!

My husband is West African and was born and raised in NYC, where he had more access to his cultural…read morefoods. Once he moved to Syracuse, he desperately craved the delicious foods that he grew up on. Unfortunately, African cuisine is not as accessible as it once was for him. Luckily, we have Yelp, and we're able to simply type in African cuisine and The Taste of Africa was listed as an option. We decided to stop in and check them out. I can tell instantly upon arriving that the aroma alone teleported my husband back to his NYC days. His excitement on its own was enough for me to leave a rave review! The ambiance of the restaurant is very clean cozy and comfortable. You can either dine in or opt for takeout. Once we decided that we would dine in, We were greeted kindly and told we could sit where we liked. Upon sitting, we were immediately given our menus. The selections here all sound amazing, which made it difficult for me who's never had African cuisine to choose. Ultimately, I decided to order their stewed beef with rice. My husband ordered the red snapper with cassava leaf. We also ordered plantain for our starter. Each dish was so full of flavor! As a first-timer, I was very pleased. My husband was very impressed with his meal as well. We were checked on quite often by our waitress, and she was extremely kind. Towards the end of our meal, the owner came over to our table, and he was also very personable and kind. Overall, this is a wonderful family owned restaurant. We had a wonderful first experience dining with The Taste of Africa and will definitely return again. I encourage anyone who's interested in trying African cuisine to give them a try. Owners are very kind and extremely helpful when it comes to explaining what each dish is. Update: These photos are from our 2cd visit to this restaurant (take out).