Mediterranean Palace Grill Cafe

by Julie P.

I was pleasantly surprised by this place, being a rabid Zankou Chicken fan.  The chicken schwarma sandwich is pretty good; I liked how they integrated the garlic throughout the wrap.  They also give out a lot of coupons and even honor expired coupons (well, one time at least).  Could be improved by giving out bigger portions of the garlic paste.  Went here with big groups two days in a row and everyone was happy.  (There's a lot of seating--another plus)  Lots of people go there for hookah at night.

by I I.

Used to go here alot for their half chicken special and the food is flavorful, but it can take awhile for the food to come out, which can be a huge turn off.  It was also, probably the first hooka bar in the area.

by Rev. Dr. Christopher J. G.

This plce is really solid. I was in Riverside for a Conference and we went over for some kabab. The place is one of those where you order and pay first, then they deliver, which is great for groups, and the food was tasty. They give you a big ol' Greek Salad, and then pita and then the kabab was delicious. I had the lamb, adana and beef kabab and they were all cooked perfectly. Linda had an Iskander-type chicken dish which was great.The service was nice too, as the server was really funny and came by three times to check on us and it didn't feel like he was hovering, which happens at a lot of places these days it seems. The best part? The wonderful baklava. We got a tray to go!

by Danael A.

Basmati rice drenched in olive oil.   Thin slices of shawarma in  yogurt sauce.  Fresh hummus with a center of olive oil. Salad....This is the taste of Lebanon.  The food is good, and simple, but tastes like home cooking.  I'm addicted to olive oil, so I frequented this place often.  Nice combinations, try them all!The only thing is that I would have to adjust their price for food, it is too high.  On a student budget you cant eat here every day, but once in a while to splurge, ok no problem.

by Paul W.

The Mediterranean Palace Grill and HOOKAH Club....Yes, HOOKAH Club.On our way to Palm Springs for the weekend, my sweetie and were kind of hungry around 8PM, and thought around Univ of Calif Riverside should be some places to get a bite to eat. On University Drive is Denny's, Fatburger, a couple others, but we thought a Mediterranean salad may hit the spot.We came in, order at back area, and we got our Mediterranean Greek salad and some kabob, (lamb, beef, chicken) rice, pita, humus, the whole 9 yards. It was a big dinner that we split up between us. Good food.There were a lot of middle eastern students around, as well as the guys running the place. What caught our eye was a bunch of flavors for the "M P Hookah". We were asking each other what that deal is. The waiter were carrying hookahs to the back room.Around 9, lots of hookah's, music going, a big line forming in the front of the restaurant, security guards, and pitchers of beer going to the back room. Looked like it was party time.We asked as we were leaving, what the deal is. The manager said to go in the back room, nodded to security to let us in, and off we go to the back room. Well, lots of flavor smell hookahs going, lot's drinks, big music, and a large dance floor. The manager invited us to come again for he said, "This place is going to be packed later. It's Friday Night!"We will have to come back to the Hookah Club another evening.

by Heather R.

I love the food. The falafels are very good, as is the hummus. Portions are large and price is reasonable. They have a hooka lounge in back and serve a variety of mixed drinks (not quite a full bar though). The people who work there are very nice. It's a great place to go with friends.

by Jason C.

The food is pretty good. The people who work there are really nice. Not big fan of greek food, but this place changed my mind. Better than all of the food on campus. ROFL

by Priss X.

The chicken and lamb kababs are delicious.  The rice and salad... terrible... completely drenched in a mix of what seemed like olive oil, butter, and sugar combined... I couldn't even taste the salad or the rice... just the strange mix of fattiness.  The humus was dull and too oily.  The meat, on the other hand, was delicious.  Other problems: the young, white male worker was uncomfortably rude to the Latino worker mopping the floors... really offensive, demeaning behavior towards this older gentleman.  He was also rude to me when I asked about a garnish product for which I could not recall the name... he was hesitant to give me the side and stated that it was REALLY expensive and hard to come by, even though, in my experience, every other Med. Restaurant provides the product without even asking.  To add to my annoyance, there was a "wrestling match" on the two flat screen TVs that was blasting at a disturbing volume... I was the only one in the restaurant besides the workers; they didn't seem to be watching the TV...?  I recommend going somewhere else if you can... if you must go here, just get the kababs and go somewhere else for salad, humus, and rice.

by El G.

We went here for dinner, and didn't expect a lot since it's in the UV, but we were pleasantly surprised.  The server was especially helpful and friendly.  After finding out we'd never been there before, he went over the menu and gave suggestions on what we might like based on what we had said.  Service was reasonably quick, and the food portions were very ample.  We really enjoyed the taste and quality of the food.We didn't do the hooka thing, but could smell it from our booth.  Since it's not our scene, the smell of it was kind of annoying, but tolerable for the environment.  The interior decoration lacked a certain charm, and our table was cigarette burned, but clean.  It's a place you would go to for the food, not the environment (unless hooka bars are your thing, perhaps).

by R D.

I love Greek food. Being a lazy bum in the kitchen making a full course meal thats healthy and filling is a huge challenge. Greek food covers that in a small styrofoam take out box. Ya got your veggies, proteins, and rice for the Asian in me... Its perfect.But no matter which Greek food stand I go to the price always ranges the same - between 5 to 11 bucks a head. The food? A little different here and there.Now, this place was A-Ok. Hmm, thats even what I said in my star rating (lolz). I took the boyfriend for a quickie meal and ended up waiting a good 15 - 20 minutes for our food. I guess they had to run down to the nearest Smart and Final for some styro-containers... But the wait was a bit long for a plate of beef and chicken shawarma  (which was a little more charred than one would consider edible and the beef was so tough) and a falafal sandwich.Now, don't me wrong, I don't know my Greek food any better than the next plain Jane but I don't think it was really worth the wait.But the serving guy was good (if not slow - a running theme here?) and polite. I also had one of the cakes in their dessert show(case). It was a tiramisu and it was really good.If I come back here it'll be to try the kabob, but to stay away from the salad (like a previous poster wrote: lotsa oil), and to try another one of those cakes. Its a steep price at 3.50 a slice but when the sweet tooth commands - I obeyeth.