Sarah's Mediterranean Grill Market

by Sarah M.

Well, this place gets an automatic star for having a cool name like Sarah. Add to that their freshly made pita wraps and hummus/rice/salad plates and you've got yourself a four-star Mediterranean eatery.Sarah's opened in the Fall of 2006 and has yet to make a strong impact on the North Austin neighborhood. Not to worry. The part-grocery, part-restaurant is small, but mighty. Tons of Mediterranean-inspired and imported foods for purchase at reasonable prices. Canned goods, pasta, hummus, pita bread (frozen fresh), falafel, rice, beef chicken shawerma, grape leaves and of course, baklava.In the little cafe, they grill why you wait. I was very happy with my Chicken Shawerma pita wrap ($4.75). The cucumbers were crisp and the sauce was tangy and fresh. The one thing that caught my eye while visiting Sarah's was the expired Diet Coke I bought. I didn't mind, and it tasted fine, but I'd encourage everyone to check this place out. It's so sad to see a good business forced to choose between wasting stock and keeping expired food on the shelves. For a mini-grocery trip or a filling lunch, Sarah's the one. *FYI...the hours listed above are market hours. The grill is open from 11:30am-8pm M-Sat; 11am-5pm on Sun.*Scrumptious.

by Kristina K.

I'm on a forever search for the "best falafel in town". Since I no longer live down south and can't easily go to Lux cafe anymore (see previous review), I've found that Sarah's in a close running for first place right now. Not only is it a Mediterranean grill (offering a variety of Mediterranean deliciousness), it's also a Mediterranean market as well. Selling everything from pita's, to curry, to tea, to pastry's - I come here atleast once a week stalking up on all the various ethnic goodness they offer. Try the Jordan almonds. Seriously. My mouth died and went to heaven.The staff is incredibly friendly and although the aisles are narrow, the customers are just as nice, respecting others and moving out of the way to let me pass when needed. The only negative I have to mention, is service of the food can be quite slow on occasion, especially if there are a lot of other customer's dining already. But, you can always call ahead for to-go orders, or grab a chronicle for some News of the Weird and Shots in the Dark while you wait. Can't go wrong!

by Eileen L.

I had the beef gyro plate and my husband had the lamb kebab.   The accompanying rice and tzatziki and hummus respectively, were delicious.  It was relatively cheap and the place is clean.  If their food inspires, you can buy everything you need from their market to cook at home.    It's a casual place with service with a smile and friendly regulars.The falafel wrap is supposed to be pretty good.  I'll definitely be back soon to give it a try.

by Kerry G.

Sarah's is like walking into someone's home...someone who happens to have grocery shelves in their living room. The staff and owners are so welcoming and friendly. And they have fun at their jobs! Not to mention, the falafel ROCKS!

by Randy B.Kelly S.Catrina H.Stephanie T.Jim T.

this place is awesome.  went here with CHRISTINA N. and my parents!  we tried every single kebab they have, and they gave us a sweet deal on them.  we also got a whole rotisserie chicken.  flavor was amazing. i think they're under new management now.  the owners are amazing and so friendly.  my girlfriend and i were their 100th customer of the day, and they gave us free dessert.  haha.  if you the chance to go, go!  you won't regret it.  the grocery store has a plethora of asian ingredients.  they have tons of self-ground spices.Only went there to pick up hummus and left with pitas, a spinach pie, some tahini and I had to stop there because i wanted to buy everything. Hummus = AMAZING. Stop in to this place and just try to resist. Everything looked amazing -- great market and FAST food. Plus their pitas lasted forever unlike HEBs. I can't wait to go back and put some of that schwarma in my face.This is one of my favorite places to eat in Austin.  Everything about this place is fantastic!The service is top notch.  The owners are SO polite and kind.  Their children (who are there helping out quite often) will grow up to be great people one day; they are so sweet.  You don't see a lot of kids with good manners these days!  Seeing this family always puts a smile on my face.  :)The food is incredible.  Their beef shawerma is the best I have ever had, hands down.  Their rice is unbelievable!!  It is SO good!  Their humus is delicious, I crave it sometimes and I am not generally a fan of humus at all!  I have tried just about everything on the menu and I love it all.  I love love love this place.  The prices are also great!My husband was watching a tv show where they were eating Lebanese food and of course it got him craving for some. So I went on here to look for Lebanese food close by and found high reviews for Sarah's Mediterranean Grill Market. We decided to give it a try and all I can say is it was DELICIOUS!!! We were HAPPILY greeted by this little woman, who I assume is the owner. She was very welcoming and quickly offered us Baklava as a treat. She proceeded by recommending her favorite dishes. My husband ordered the Special Kabob while I had the Chicken Shawerma. Both plates were plentiful and full of flavor! And the hummus was amazing!!! My husband has never been a fan of hummus, but he ate all of his and then some of mine! It definitely hit the spot and we will be back! Good eats for cheap! Friendly service! What's not to love? Oh, and it's a market as well so you'll be able to find a mix of mediterranean foods!Though it is a bit out of the way for me,  I always try to stop by when I'm in the area.The lamb shank is awesome, every time.  Friendly service,  very affordable,  and very consistent.They have a lot of prepared items like kabobs, marinated meats, feta rolls and more... that come in handy to take home to make an easy meal.Also a full Arabic grocery with spices, ingredients, olives, breads, teas, candy, chocolate... Great place to grab lunch.

by n n.

this place makes one of the best falafel wraps ever! yum! the guy at the counter was nice and the wrap was ready pretty quickly.i also got some whole wheat flatbread and my favorite kind of tahini from their small grocery section.i didn't notice a ton of vegetarian options but there are two vegetarian plates and the wrap (which is what i will get next time anyways) good prices too!

by Katie A.

I really think that if the rice at Sarah's were a man, I'd totally marry it. Seriously, I'm in love with the rice at this place...and I think it may love me back.But the other dishes are wonderful too. I've been a couple times and haven't been disappointed. So far, I've been most pleased beef gyro plate. It comes with salad and pickled turnips, the gyro meat, pita bread and tzatziki. Dolmas and tabouli are great too. I agree with Nicole L., the falafal wasn't as good as Tino's, but still tasty. When you're finished eating, be sure to check out the market. They have some cool stuff in there.

by Lily L.

Holy Cats, I love the falafel here! All greenish and fluffy inside and brown and crispy on the outside.I ordered the Vegetarian plate (with falafel) and two dolma on the side.The dolma was less tart-ish than I like, and the taboleh was less tomatoe-y, but it was very light on the bulgur, which is so nice. Salad came with this too. It was so much food for less than 6 bux.I did not eat the pita, I only do if I'm really hungry, but omg the hummus. And it is only 4.95 to take a *pound* of it home! I have to be careful! I had a hummus bliss out.My lunchmate had a 1/2 rotisserie chicken and the same sides I had but with a heaping serving of beautiful rice with almonds. He asked me what the rice tasted of..cardomon? It was fragrant and just..ooh. good. I think his plate cost 6.75, but I know for sure that a whole chicken with no sides is 5.75 to take out. I called to ask my parents if they wanted me to bring them over one of these juicy looking things for them after work, but they had already blown their load  on Golden Corral or some such. But I'm definitely going to hook them up.I took back two pieces of Baklava for a work friend (.92 cents each) and she said it was awesome. I really was so intent on my food that I was blind to atmosphere and service, but I know that it was clean and bright, and I know that the counter man was sweet and we got our food in a timely fashion.I could eat this stuff DAILY.

by David D.

They make a nice tzatziki.  It's all wonderfully inexpensive and moderately good.  The humus is especially tasty and the puffy rice with almonds is yummy.  The pita was tough, which could easily be remedied by warming it on the grilll, covered with a few drops of water.  I got a shawarma plate.  The seasoning was good and the halal beef was of good quality, though it was a tad overcooked, but what do you expect for six bucks?  I enjoyed poking around the little grocery, which also had low prices.  All told, the food is pretty satisfying and it's a great deal.

by Randy B.

this place is awesome.  went here with CHRISTINA N. and my parents!  we tried every single kebab they have, and they gave us a sweet deal on them.  we also got a whole rotisserie chicken.  flavor was amazing. i think they're under new management now.  the owners are amazing and so friendly.  my girlfriend and i were their 100th customer of the day, and they gave us free dessert.  haha.  if you the chance to go, go!  you won't regret it.  the grocery store has a plethora of asian ingredients.  they have tons of self-ground spices.