Cedars Mediterranean Restaurant

by Jennifer K.

A wonderful find in a small Texas college town, I appreciate the fact that Cedars provides interesting food options in what seems to be a sea of college-style (pizza, burger) eateries.  They have decent baba ganouj, tabbuli, falafel, and pretty dang good hummus, although I've received undercooked falafel more often than not here (but I keep ordering it anyway).  Also offered are a variety of meat-based sandwiches, including chicken tikka kebab on pita, beef shish kebab (pita), beef and lamb gyro, the usual standbys of hamburgers and philly cheesesteaks, and entrees of chicken shawarma, chicken fried steak, and tilapia.  Big plus is that they serve breakfast all day:  French toast, bacon, migas, omelets, breakfast tacos, pancakes -- however, take note that they don't open until 10am.  Beverage selection is nicely diverse, with smoothies, energy drinks, Moroccan tea, Turkish coffee, and "Vimto Arabic Fruit Drink".Minus one star for being assaulted with a wave of disgusting stale hooka smoke upon entering the restaurant -- the hooka bar is on the left side of the establishment, with a hooka-smoking station positioned somewhat near the front door.  It's not the best Mediterranean food you'll find anywhere... but you know, it's all relative, and taking into account the fact that this is the only Mediterranean food you'll find in this town, it's pretty dang good for what it is.

by Mary T.

Sometimes I wish we could give reviews titles on Yelp. In the case of Cedar's, I would entitle this one "OMG, WTF Happened to Cedars, IDK". This place was never stellar, generally floating around a three-star rating with the occasional menu items with four-star aspirations and waitstaff with two-star shortcomings. We hadn't been in a while, so we went a few nights ago for dinner and it was like a Mediterranean slap to the face.We arrived to a typically barren dining area with most of the other patrons in the attached hookah lounge. We took our seats and ordered our food. We started off with a mezza plate, followed by lentil soup and an extra appetizer order of falafel. The service was typically sluggish, but our mezza plate came out after about fifteen minutes. The first thing I noticed was that the falafel has changed. It used to be round, savory, and delicious. Now their falafel is shaped like charcoal briquettes and tastes like a few seconds previous to being deep-fried it had been hanging out in a bag in the freezer. The second thing I noticed was that their kibbeh had almost zero meat in it. I cut it in half to split with the BF and a pitiful little dot of meat fell out of it, and there was none left inside the kibbeh. Thank God their baba ghanoush hadn't changed or I might have started crying. Their hummus has never been great and their pita has never been homemade, so those weren't real shockers, and tabouli is really hard to screw up, so at least those parts of the plate met our expectations.Our soup and the falafel order came out next. The soup was cold. The soup was mother f*cking cold. Like, congealing around the sides of the bowl because it was no longer warm. I love soup. Soup is pretty much one of my favorite menu items. I think I would prefer to have the "chef" walk out of the kitchen and punch me in the face with a cry of "No soup for you!" rather than have a bowl of cold soup put in front of me. I ate two bites, hoping to find a warm pocket, and then pushed the bowl away.Cold soup, unless the soup is supposed to be chilled, is an unforgivable culinary sin in my eyes. I gave Cedar's a two-star rating for nostalgia's sake because I'd had some pretty decent meals here before, but after our last experience this place is dead to me.

by DOUG P.

Used to have to travel to Houston for Mediterranean food this good, so am thrilled that this restaurant is here in San Marcos. Everything I have ever had here is so authentic that I feel I am back in the Middle East. The hummus is always perfect. They have a salad, fa tosh which is to die for! There plates are wonderful, the gyros and the chicken tikka kebab are so delicious, and you always get your monies worth. The service is great and all the servers are friendly and attentive. The owner even comes around most of the time and thanks you for coming. Their buffet at lunch is worth the price if your in the mood for all you can eat hummus, chicken, gyro meet etc. I believe they have WIFI so there are usually several people in clacking away. They even have a smoking section totally separate from the non-smoking which is wonderful for both parties! It is always a treat to go here and we take lots of people here cause it is so good!

by Brent R.

I've been going to this place since it was Kismet back in the day. In a town full of nothing but tex-mex and hamburgers, it's good to have places that serve something different. Every time i've been here, the service has been slow, no matter how busy it is. It's just something that one expects when you go here. I've come back time and again in spite of this, and other things (roaches running across the table, etc.). This last time, we met a friend who had never been here before to have some dinner. When we arrived, we were the only people in the restaurant. The waitress seemed really out of it (i.e. stoned) and forgot to bring even the waters and appetizers. After 45 minutes of waiting for our food (still the only people in the place)  and being ignored by the waitress, our friend began to voice out loud about the food, with the clear intention of getting the attention of the waitress. This did not work. Instead the waitress stormed back into the kitchen and we could hear a lot of screaming going on. As we got up to leave, the waitress came out to inform us that our food was coming out, so we stayed. After tossing our food on the table, she gave us some attitude of her own and she never returned to our table. We spoke to the "manager" about it, who could care less. The food was ok, but it was clear it had been ready for a while. I don't feel like I can ever go back here. What a shame.

by Cody H.

Oh yes I was pleased with this place. I first tried the Turkish coffee which was unique and tasty. I must say I have little experience with Mediterranean cuisine, but this place seemed authentic. Out first was the Grape Leaves, which were very flavorful. Next was the Chicken and Gyro plate which was piled high with chicken and gyro meat (ground beef and lamb), a nice side salad and decent serving of rice with warm pita bread. I substituted the taziki, for a side of hummus and was very happy. The hummus could have been the best I have tasted (considering store bought is my only comparison) Get a side a chili paste if you have an addiction like I do.Friendly service and extremely reasonable prices will have me back at this place in no time.Highly Recommended.

by Tina W.

Cedars is really awesome! I don't like the breakfast  (bacon is turkey bacon, and sausage are those little things you usually put in a mini crock pot and smother in barbecue sauce) but the entrees are good, and they did give me free refills on my very tasty hot chocolate in the morning which was a nice touch.I've had gyros and other platters which were all very good. The hummu tastes almost just like it did in India, but extra pitas are .75 which is pretty lame. All in all, I really love Cedars.

by Allison K.

Spanakopitas were great, other than that the food was ok. The service was super slow, and if you can get past the greasy unbathed waiters it's worth it.

by Rory E.

Real good hummus and great tabbouli.  The pitas do not come with tabbouli, but you can always sub it for the fries for just a bit extra.  My favorite is the chicken tikka kebab pita.  They have a nice buffet at lunchtime. If the owner is in, be sure to order the Turkish coffee.

by Sean M.

Cedars is an interesting mixed bag of a place. On the plus side, they have decent and reasonably priced Mediterranean food, including a lunch buffet with a decent selection that includes gyros, pita, hummus, and dolmas. The food's generally tasty and well-prepared. If I'm having a craving for Greek, this is the only place in town that will scratch that itch.On the other hand, the service there tends to be pretty inattentive. They seem chronically understaffed, and the waitstaff has a tendency to get distracted with friends or who-knows-what in the back room. While they're friendly and obviously not deliberately neglectful, they could stand to swing by the table about twice as often as they do. The attached hookah bar is an interesting touch as well.So all in all, a nice addition to the city's culinary palette, and worth a visit -- especially if you're not in any particular hurry.