Dine Mejana

Downtown restaurant offers
Mediterranean food with a view

JULIE FITZGERALD | CIN WEEKLY CONTRIBUTOR

Mejana owner Sami Awad smokes a traditional Middle Eastern pipe. Diners can smoke a variety of flavored tobaccos after their meals. (Photo by Leigh Patton/CiN Weekly)

JUST THE FACTS

WHAT: Mejana

WHEN: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: 25 W. Sixth St., Crowne Plaza Hotel, downtown

PARKING: One block from Mejana, AllRight Parking (corner of Race and Sixth) charges $3.75 for two hours. Another option is the valet service at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, $10 for two hours.

CONTACT: (513) 333-0660

MENU: Dine-in, carryout, catering and delivery

Offering Mediterranean fare and casual service, Mejana, a new culinary addition to downtown, takes you unexpectedly far from the streets of Cincinnati.

The menu presents a simple variety of foods from places that border the Mediterranean Sea, including Greece, Turkey and the Middle East. An exotic meal can include a little something from each region. Start with a Middle Eastern appetizer of hummus or falafel. Try a little Greek salad and an order of baklava. Complete a meal with a Turkish shish kebab and coffee (careful, it's strong!).

The exotic foods are accented by a clean, spacious dining room ornamented with Bedouin tent fabrics, Arabic hookah pipes and imported ceramic-tile floors. The décor is genuine, but beyond the Bedouin, you'll find a new culinary culture.

THE ATMOSPHERE

Mejana, by definition, is a type of regional Arabic-style music, used to express poems of love and joy.

Owners Sami Awad and wife Sohair lovingly embrace the slowed-down Mediterranean way of life, a standard part of their dining culture.

If you're short on time, takeout or delivery is the best option. Otherwise, linger for a leisurely meal and relax with a friend in the Mediterranean surroundings while taking in the streets of Cincinnati through the big picture window.

THE MENU

Do you have a hard time finding a place to go with your vegetarian spouse and your Atkins-dieting mother? Mejana has food to fit most every palate.

Classic shish kebabs ($16.95 large), three skewers of grilled marinated lamb pieces served with grilled tomato, onion and green pepper, could be a shared high-protein meal. Shish tawuk ($13.95 large, $8.25 small), three skewers of grilled chicken pieces, grilled onion and garlic sauce, is another tasty alternative. Shish kofta ($14.95 large, $7.95 small), skewers of grilled ground lamb and beef with parsley, is flavorful but a bit heavier.

Vegetarian selections include cooked musaka ($8.95), a fried eggplant seasoned with spices and cooked with onion, tomato and olive oil and served warm with rice. In addition, try yalanjie ($ 6.50 appetizer, $10.50 entrée), an exotic dish of grape leaves stuffed with rice, tomato, parsley, onion, lemon juice and olive oil with a side of yogurt sauce.

EXTRAS

Save room for sides such as the selection of juices, desserts and coffees. Mango juice ($2.25), baklava ($3.50) or a Turkish coffee ($2.50) are some of the choices.