Cincinnati's Jerusalem Restaurant: Middle Eastern Food in the Middle of University Heights

Jerusalem Restaurant is located new the University of Cincinnati on the corner of West McMillan Street and Clifton Avenue. It offers a wide range of tasty Middle Easter cuisine for a reasonable price.

A couple years ago the Jerusalem Restaurant was known as the Mediterranean Restaurant. Back then it was an all day buffet featuring Gyros, Hummus, Tabbouleh and the most amazing Grape Leaves you could ever ask to taste. It was a cozy little restaurant with low lighting and very interesting decor. The walls were lined with pictures of the owner posing with various customers including Muhammad Ali. There was a large round table by the front window surrounded by silky decorative pillows. Exotic lamps hung from the ceiling and hookahs adorned any open shelf.

Today the Jerusalem Restaurant has taken on a whole new look. The restaurant was opened in October 2008 by the new owner Aiman Arabeiat. The decoration is clean and tasteful. The dim lights have been replaced by fresh, crisp lighting. The bathrooms also received a much needed renovation. Overall, the appearance of Jerusalem Restaurant is clean, fresh and new.

The delicious and filling, but heavy buffet is a thing of the past. Jerusalem Restaurant now offers a lighter but still filling menu featuring sandwiches and entrees. The falafel comes in a unique shape and is generously flavored. Ours came a little overdone, but a dunk in the hummus served for dipping was a quick remedy. The gyros still come with the classic melt-in-your-mouth texture that can only be achieved through freshly shaving. The biggest improvement to the menu comes with the shawarma. There is nothing quite like this marinated grilled meat and onion delight. Jerusalem Restaurant doesn't disappoint with this mouth watering dish served with a flavorful sauce in a pita. Although I was a little disappointed to see the buffet go, the portion size was adequate. The half sandwich is actually a whole pita bread cut in half.

Although the food is delicious, the service left something to be desired. I missed having the owner of Mediterranean Restaurant come out and greet us personally. Even though we ate in the restaurant our sandwiches were served wrapped in foil. Our waitress, who was very nice but a little pushy, brought out the food one person at a time. In fact, one of our sandwiches was served before the appetizer made it to the table. Although there were only two other tables being served we had a very hard time getting drink refills.

Mediterranean Restaurant left some big shoes to be filled. Jerusalem Restaurant is doing a great job filling those shoes while pointing the business in a whole new direction. While many will miss the uniqueness of the Mediterranean Restaurant, the appealing decor and delicious food are sure to bring many satisfied diners to the Jerusalem Restaurant.

Jerusalem Restaurant
235 W McMillan St
Cincinnati, OH 45219
(513) 784-0144

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