Pasha Mediterranean Cafe in Hillcrest, San Diego, California

The folks from the Mediterranean coast sure know how to cook... or at least how to get maximum taste out of minimum ingredients. Pasha Mediterranean Cuisine in the south side of Hillcrest (on 5th Avenue between Brookes & Pennsylvania) maybe a bit out of the way from the heavy foot-traffic of chic Hillcrest just north of downtown San Diego, but the cooking and the services are dead on bull's eye!

The homely and clean restaurant specializes in Lebanese and Turkish food along with typical Mediterranean dishes (gyros, falafels, shawarmas, dolmas, variety of salad, kebabs, etc). The lunch sandwich for $6 deals are to die for! Or if you feel like living longer to eat more food, you can pay a couple more bucks and go for their $8 chicken or fish salad that would keep both your cardiologist and the local vegetable farmers happy (literally... the ingredients here are so fresh they have got to come from local produce!).

The main entrée items are more expensive, but you get good portion and great taste for it. I like the McDonald's McBiscuit, so I ordered Pasha's Mediterranean omelet sandwich out of curiosity. There is something about the combination of a good omelet bathed in garlic sauce, parsley, and tomato rolled in the chewy and warm pita that really jazzes up the morning for you. The beef gyro sandwich in Cacik instead of Tzaziki sauce almost makes me want to move to Turkey... And I have no qualm about paying $3 for the exotically aromatic Turkish coffee there, either.

Service here is very pleasant and attentive, though can be a bit slow (sometimes I wonder they have to cross 7 time zones to get the ingredients for the dish every time an order come in)... but the food and the laid back ambient there make it worth the wait. You can expect to pay $15 for lunch and $20 for dinner there (maybe less if you go for the daily specials). The facility is good for a mid-large party, too. There is plenty of room and the restrooms are clean. You can call ahead and get good deals like a 35 piece baklava party tray for $35 to jump start your bachelorette party with!

Pasha Mediterranean Café:5th Avenue, San Diego, CA 9210 Tel (619) .294-4444 Email: Mediterranean cuisine@yahoo.com
Hours: Mon-Sat: 11:30AM-10PM, Sun: 5-10PM. Major credit cards accepted.
Website: http://mediterraneancuisine.homestead.com/