Mazah Mediterranean Eatery

If anything is obvious at Mazah, located at 1439 Grandview Avenue, it is the home-cooked, authentic feeling of the restaurant itself. It is owned, with pride, by Maggie Ailabouni and from her place behind the bar and in the kitchen she oversees the experience of each of her guests. I do not use the term 'guests' loosely- as Ms. Ailabouni and her staff treat each diner as if they were invited to a special dinner party; our particular waiter seemed so excited to bring us our food and beverages I thought his head might explode from the corners of his (absolutely genuine) smile. 

My friend and I ordered libations from the hand-written cocktail list. Martinis: double mango and double guava, respectively, and they were relatively stiff and laced with syrupy sweet nectar (After inquiring as to what, exactly, made the martinis "double" mango or guava and speculating with our server who clearly did not know, he returned to the table with our cocktails and, triumphantly, with an answer-- a double shot of vodka, obviously.)

We ordered the "couple's" combination-- which was a healthy portion of warm pita served with falafel, hummus, baba ghanoush, fava beans, three bean salad, cabbage salad, tzatziki, tabbouleh, mediterranean potato salad, rice, olives, and a choice of meat or veggie entree--we chose the meat filled dough pocket (Sfiha, or Sfeeha.) We also had our choice of soup or greek salad--so we chose one each of the salad and the lentil soup. The salad was your typical greek salad, with a good amount of feta, tasty olives and a light, bright vinaigrette. The lentil soup, highly recommended by the server, came with fried pita crisps but was otherwise your typical, diner-style lentil soup--not mind-blowing, but not bad. The combination plate proved to be more than enough food for two diners, the portion sizes at Mazah are quite generous. 

 Our dining companion ordered the Fattoush--a tomato, onion and cucumber salad, served with crumbled toasted pita, feta and olives and the Za'atar bread--flatbread spread with a minced herb and sesame seed mixture.
My impression of Mazah was favorable: the food ample and tasty, the atmosphere homey, and the service prompt and sincere. This is not your sleek hipster restaurant, decked out in dark wood and low lighting, and with a cocktail list as long as the menu. And this isn't fine dining--the food is piled high, without a hint of negative space on the plate. This is home-cooked-from-scratch, just like Grandma would have made if your Grandma was Isreali or Turkish or Greek or Lebanese.
I will definitely be choosing Mazah over it's nearly neighbor, the Grandview Heights franchise of Aladdin's Eatery Systems, Inc. (better known as simply, Aladdin's) the next time I get the craving for Mediterranean. My conscience can rest easy knowing that I am supporting a local, family-owned business, even if my main, selfish objective is to try one of the delicious looking sandwiches I missed last time.