by Chad A.
In all fairness to the restaurant I would have rated this restaurant 4 stars if I were here for a dinner or a lunch. Strangely I decided to come in here for breakfast on my way to work, so that being said my psyche was craving the usual breakfast fair, which of course was not available at this particular middle eastern restaurant. Why didn't I go somewhere else then? Truthfully the only answer I could come up with is that it was on the way to work and I could not for the life of me figure out what else sounded good on my route.I started off with two spinach pastry puffs: http://www.yelp.com/bi... They were pretty tasty. The outside was not over baked and the inside was filled with nicely sauteed spinach and onions that seemed to be marinated in olive oil and lemon juice. For my entree I ordered a beef shawarma sandwich: http://www.yelp.com/bi... and it was very flavorful and robust with the sauce and the various vegetables. It was quite a bit of food for only $9. I am getting pretty good at getting filled up for less than $10 bucks!I am not disastisfied with the restaurant, but just my decision to come here for breakfast. The food is good and the gentleman working was nice, but I should have saved this trip for a lunch time!This place also serves hookah if you want to puff it up with some friends over good conversation! There is also plenty of parking in the back!
by Olivia T.
That other reviewer went on the wrong day. My friends and I went to Cedar this past Friday night when they had their buffet. We were the only Asian people there but the staff was really nice to us. They had so many different dishes and meats to try - SO DELICIOUS! They has this chicken with rice dish that was so deliciously spiced and yummy. They had all their meats outs and hummus and all sorts of goodness! And don't even get me started on their baklava... seriously, I never liked bakalava until I had Cedar's. Other baklava I've tried is always sickly sweet but Cedar's was oh so brown, crispy and nicely sweetened. Simply heavenly.This feast was only $14 and included a drink. What a deal! My friends and I are going back this Friday!NOTE (as of 1/19/08): I'm so sad because I think they've gone out of business. My friend lives near there and she hasn't seen the lights on for the last 2-3 weeks. I've never had better baklava or hummus and, apparently, never will again.
by Steven P.
My experience with middle eastern food is pedestrian at best, and what I know of lebanese street cuisine would not even qualify as tourist. That is why when I walked in boldly to the small shack on a busy street that was Cedar Restaurant, I felt a rush of anticipation and no small lack of foodie pride. I imagined myself akin to the first w'ite man who tried corn, or perhaps more accurately, the first yellow person to try corn on the cob smeared with mayo and chili powder on a dry summer fair's day.My first lunch visit I was the only one there. The burly young fellow running the place waited patiently as I eyed the rotating spit of chicken and beef behind him. I figured I'd go safe, and ordered the beef sharma plate. When I brought it back and chowed down in the break room, Gayle K. tried a bit, and was polite about it, until I told her myself had tried in vain to convince the meat was not brittle and poor. She agreed and said she did not want to tell me it sucked ass to save my feelings.Still, I hoped that it was just me who had sucked and not been able to appreciate something different. I went back again today, and ordered what seemed to be their specialty, various foods on marcooks - a thin bread baked on a domed dish over a fire. I ordered the chicken and cheese, and took it back again to try and be open minded again. The bread indeed was nicely crisped, but the chicken was as had been the beef. The cheese, well, the cheese felt like pizza cheese but stringier.What the hell, why has this review grown so long?! Nothing to say but the place sucked and I won't be going back for thirds. I haven't given up on the lebanese though, lucky for me there are lots of ethnic restaurants in west Anaheim that hail from that restless part of the world. And tomorrow always awaits.
