[MY RATING: 87%]
Excellent Mediterranean food, and the best in the area that I've had for a while (cf. my review on the closed Brothers Kouzina). I'm an old-timer, having gone to the old Skewers location in Tewksbury many years ago as well. Their food and service (Logan!) are both still top-notch.
Atmosphere (NA): Not much to say because they only do catering and take-out. The "restaurant" is just a vestibule entrance up a flight of (wheelchair-accessible) stairs that leads into a cramped square room that looks and feels like a dentist's office lobby. Don't be put off, though, because they're constantly adding new furnishings: standalone menu items to their small refrigerated grocery stand, a wall menu, and decor. There's a noticeable hustle and bustle feel to the interior since it's a tight space and people are constantly coming in and out to pick up rapid-fire orders, but the addition of chairs and end tables (aforementioned dentist vibe notwithstanding) offers a more comfortable waiting area. Contactless payment is processed by one of the two guys behind the ticket-booth style plexiglass barrier, and you'll probably be out within 5 minutes.
Food (8.5/10): I don't think any of the food I've tried here is incredible, but it's really good all-around in terms of the variety of textures and fresh ingredients. Also, portion sizes are solid. However, I do have several noteworthy criticisms: the food is paradoxically often both underseasoned and yet surprisingly salty. Even though the meat in particular usually seems to lack a good sprinkling of salt, something (maybe the visibly salt-encrusted baked pita chips?) almost always makes me uncomfortably parched after a meal here. Additionally, the meat and more so the peppers, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms that come with the skewers are often charred--it's not beyond rescue nor universal, but it's definitely annoying. If you ask for rarer meat, you also need to be aware that occasionally a few chunks can be so sinewy as to be inedible. Lastly, they really pile on the feta in their salads, so you may want to scoop some of it out before eating. One big favor I always appreciate from them, though, is that they're great about customizing orders over the phone--if you just ask them about swapping items in and out of group/family orders, you can end up enjoying a more well-rounded meal. For example, you sub Greek fries or spinach rice for either half or all of the rice pilaf that usually comes from a skewers platter order. You might also want to sub their fried pita chips for half-and-half fried and unfried/grilled.
Hygiene (Outstanding): I can't speak to the bathrooms because there are none there for customers to use as far as I know, but the food has always been cleanly packaged into plastic containers inside a white bag (if it's a larger order). I can't recall having any problems with undercooked food or anything of that sort. Salad greens also all seem to be quite fresh, which is nice! Tomatoes were the only thing that sometimes had some sus blemishes that I would've personally discarded.
Price (8/10): The prices here are quite fair--they had to increase their prices on most meat items recently just because the market costs increased, but it would be unfair to put that policy change on them. Even so, the prices for all items are not bad given the quality of what they prepare!
Location (4/10): It's quite hard to find the restaurant as it's squished into an industrial park. There's a banner outside (at least last time I was there), so you'll hopefully see it once you pull into the plaza. The lot is shared among a bunch of buildings and there isn't much space because it's quite narrow, but I've never had problems with parking because people only come and go for quickly serviced pickup orders.
Service (Exceptional): The staff who I've met so far have all been very nice and accommodating. They've been willing to go the extra mile to put together customized orders and clearly care about providing good customer service. When I called them up about a missing salad once, they were deeply apologetic and made sure to add it on as a complimentary item in our next visit.
Overall: Some of the best Mediterranean food on the North Shore outside of the city.
Recommended dishes:
- Falafel
- Skewers platter (lamb, pork, and/or beef)
- Spinach rice (a little watery, but it's spinach after all)
- Ekmek Kataifi (cold, fluffy, light, and refreshing--if just a bit too sweet--dessert)
- Creamy house vinaigrette dressing (I believe they give you ranch if you don't specify. I will also note that the two look and smell very similar, so don't be too sure you got the wrong one until you taste it.)
Dishes to avoid:
- Chicken skewers (noticeably drier compared to the other meat options just because it's white meat chicken, but it is now the slightly cheaper protein option)
- Rice pilaf (doesn't really taste like much but does come with thin lemon slices, if that's your thing) read more