Best Mediterranean Restaurants in Houston: Lebanese, Greek, Persian

Houston's Mediterranean food scene was built by families who started with bread. Two Lebanese brothers began baking pita in a warehouse in 1976. An Armenian-Lebanese couple opened a 2,500-square-foot deli on Westheimer in 1983 that grew into a 55,000-square-foot market. A Persian kabob house on Hillcroft has been grilling since 1986. Those places are still here, and the city's newer Israeli, Turkish and Lebanese kitchens are building on them.

This is the shortlist we'd hand a friend who asks where to eat mezze, kabobs, shawarma or a proper gyro in Houston. It runs from counter-service lunch spots to a white-tablecloth Persian dinner, and it's organized by what kind of meal you want.

The quick list

• For a gyro in Montrose: Niko Niko's.
• For a fast halal shawarma plate: Aladdin or Fadi's.
• For a Lebanese meal that tastes like someone's mother made it: Abdallah's.
• For Persian kabobs and stews: Darband Shishkabob or Garson, both on Hillcroft.
• For a date night of shared plates: Hamsa in Rice Village.
• For Turkish pide and kebabs: Pasha, near Rice University.
• For a cheap, great Galleria lunch: Zabak's.
• For a weekend Mediterranean brunch: Craft Pita.
• To shop for the pantry and eat while you're there: Phoenicia Specialty Foods.

How we chose

We picked restaurants that cook a specific tradition well (Lebanese, Greek, Persian, Turkish or Israeli), that have a reason to make the trip, and that a local would actually send you to. Every place on this list showed current hours or an active location on its own official website in October 2026. We left out spots we couldn't confirm on an official site, and one longtime Rice Village restaurant whose own site now announces that it is closing.

Hours change, so treat every schedule here as "typically" and check the restaurant's site before you go. Many of these kitchens are halal by their own description; we note it where the restaurant says so.

Lebanese and pan-Mediterranean

Abdallah's Lebanese Cafe

Katy Freeway inside the Loop, 2795 Katy Fwy · Lebanese cafe and bakery

Abdallah's is the family story at the heart of this list. According to the family, brothers Elias and George Abdallah started baking pita in 1976, moved to Hillcroft Avenue in 1990 and added a restaurant there, and stayed for 34 years before opening this new cafe on the Katy Freeway. The daily plat du jour changes with what's fresh, so ask what's cooking.

What to order: whatever the plat du jour is, plus the zaatar and cheese bread. Before you leave, check the freezer case: kibbeh, stuffed grape leaves and that zaatar bread are sold frozen to take home.

Best for: a homestyle Lebanese lunch and a freezer full of dinners.

Fadi's Mediterranean Grill

Galleria, Museum District, Memorial, West Houston, Sugar Land and Katy · Lebanese grill · open daily

Chef and founder Fadi Dimassi, who was raised in Saida, Lebanon, has been cooking in Houston since 1996, according to the restaurant. Fadi's says it serves 100% halal meat and makes everything in-house, and its six Houston-area locations make it the easiest Lebanese meal to find on almost any side of town. The Museum District location on Binz Street is handy before or after a museum day.

What to order: one of the combos for yourself, or a shareable family meal for the table.

Best for: feeding a group fast. Pair it with our Museum District restaurant guide if you want more options nearby.

Aladdin Mediterranean Cuisine

Montrose, 912 Westheimer Rd · fast-casual · open daily, plus Garden Oaks

Aladdin has served Lebanese- and Greek-inspired food on lower Westheimer since 2006, and it says it serves halal-certified meals. It's fast-casual, with dine-in or grab-and-go. There's a second location, Aladdin Mediterranean Grill, on West 34th Street in Garden Oaks.

What to order: the chicken shawarma plate with hummus, or build a vegetarian plate around the roasted cauliflower, tabbouleh and spicy hummus.

Best for: a cheap, filling Montrose lunch. Our Montrose restaurant guide has dinner ideas for later.

Craft Pita

Briargrove, 1920 Fountain View Dr, and West University, 5172 Buffalo Speedway · Lebanese · open daily

Founder Rafael Nasr grew up in Houston as a first-generation Lebanese American and spent childhood summers at his grandmother's olive grove in the mountains of Lebanon, according to the restaurant. Craft Pita's pitch is Lebanese food made from scratch with local ingredients, and it takes reservations, which is rare for a pita place.

Insider tip: both locations typically open at 9am on weekends for brunch, and there's a daily happy hour from 3pm to 6pm.

Best for: a weekend Mediterranean brunch.

Zabak's Mediterranean Cafe

Galleria area, 5901-G Westheimer Rd · counter service · closed Sundays

Siblings Peter, Sandra and Donald Zabak run this small cafe using the Palestinian family recipes their parents served for decades at the family's deli, Mama's Po-Boy, according to the restaurant. The falafel sandwich was a signature there, and it still is here.

What to order: the falafel sandwich, made with what Zabak's calls its secret green falafel recipe, or the beef tenderloin shish kabob plate.

Best for: a Galleria-area lunch that won't wreck your budget. See our Galleria/Uptown restaurant guide for more.

Greek

Niko Niko's

Montrose, 2520 Montrose Blvd · Greek cafe · open daily, plus Memorial/Spring Branch and The Woodlands

Niko Niko's says it has been a Houston institution since 1977, and the Montrose location is the classic stop. Here's a detail we love: every location's phone number ends in 4976, which spells GYRO on a keypad.

What to order: the gyro, a Greek salad, and a box of pastries for the road. If you can't make it in person, Niko Niko's ships nationwide through Goldbelly.

Best for: first-timers and anyone who wants a gyro that tastes like Houston.

Persian

Darband Shishkabob

Hillcroft, 5670 Hillcroft Ave · Persian kabob house

Darband calls itself the oldest Persian restaurant in Houston, serving since 1986. It's a no-fuss room built around kabobs, saffron rice and fresh-baked bread, at prices that suit a weeknight.

What to order: the koobideh (ground beef kabob) or the Soltani combination, and on a cold day, the dizi. It's a traditional Persian beef, chickpea and potato stew, and the menu itself says that if you've never had it, you should ask how to eat it properly. Do ask.

Best for: a cheap, generous Persian dinner and a dish you'll talk about later.

Garson

Hillcroft, 2926 Hillcroft Ave · Persian and Mediterranean · open daily

Garson has served Persian and Mediterranean food on Hillcroft since 1992, and it's the dressier of the two Persian picks: a full dining room, reservations by phone, catering and a long menu that includes seafood.

What to order: start with kashk o bademjan (a grilled-eggplant dip with walnuts and mint) and the tadig, crispy rice topped with stew. Then go for kabobs with zereshk polo, saffron rice with tart barberries.

Best for: a family celebration or a Persian dinner with your parents.

Turkish and Israeli

Pasha

Rice Village, 2325 University Blvd · Turkish · closed Mondays

A Turkish family has run Pasha since 2004, and the restaurant says its food is certified halal. It's a calm, sit-down room close to Rice University, with a private room for parties.

What to order: a Turkish pizza (pide) from its dedicated section of the menu, plus a kebab and something from the dessert list.

Best for: a relaxed dinner after a walk around Rice Village.

Hamsa

Rice Village, 5555 Morningside Dr · modern Israeli · closed Mondays

Hamsa, from the Houston group Sof Hospitality, is the closest thing on this list to fine dining. The format is shared plates: start with a spread of salatim (small salads), then order small plates for the table. The pita is baked to order and much of the cooking happens over charcoal, including in a charcoal-fired Spanish oven. The wine list leans toward the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and there's a selection of arak, the anise spirit.

Insider tip: Hamsa typically runs a weekday lunch prix fixe Tuesday to Friday and brunch on weekends until 2:30pm, which is the cheapest way in.

Best for: date night and special occasions.

The market

Phoenicia Specialty Foods

Downtown, 1001 Austin St, and West Houston, 12141 Westheimer Rd · international market

Phoenicia isn't a restaurant, but no Mediterranean guide to Houston is complete without it. Bob and Arpi Tcholakian, formerly of Lebanon and of Armenian descent, opened a 2,500-square-foot deli near Beltway 8 on Westheimer in 1983, according to the company. Today the West Houston market covers 55,000 square feet and stocks more than 10,000 products from more than 50 countries. The downtown market, on the ground floor of One Park Place, adds MKT BAR, a gastropub with weekend brunch.

Insider tip: downtown, Phoenicia says parking in the One Park Place garage is complimentary on a first-come, first-served basis. Enter on McKinney. It's a short walk to Discovery Green and the convention center.

Best for: stocking up on olives, spices, feta and fresh bread after lunch.

Save this: a Hillcroft-to-Westheimer Mediterranean crawl

Do this one on a weekend afternoon with an empty stomach and a cooler in the trunk.

1. Lunch at Darband Shishkabob on Hillcroft. Order the koobideh and ask about the dizi.
2. Head up Hillcroft to Garson for kashk o bademjan and tadig, or book it for dinner another night.
3. Drive to Zabak's on Westheimer for a falafel sandwich to go (remember it's closed Sundays).
4. Finish at Phoenicia on Westheimer in West Houston. Fill the cooler with feta, olives and bread.

If you're short on time, the downtown version is simpler: lunch at Phoenicia's downtown market, then walk to Discovery Green. Our downtown restaurant guide covers dinner.

Before you go: a quick checklist

• Check hours on the restaurant's own site the day you go. Pasha and Hamsa typically close Mondays, and Zabak's closes Sundays.
• Want halal? Aladdin, Fadi's and Pasha say so on their own sites. Ask at the others.
• Eating vegetarian? Most of these menus lean on mezze like hummus and tabbouleh, so you'll eat well. Our vegan restaurant guide has more.
• Reservations: Hamsa and Craft Pita take them online; Garson takes them by phone.
• Bring a cooler if you're stopping at Phoenicia or Abdallah's freezer case.

More eating around Houston

For more of the city's international food, start with our food crawler's guide to Houston's international districts and our editor's pick guide to the best restaurants in Houston. Planning a bakery stop for the pita and pastries? See our best bakeries in Houston.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the oldest Persian restaurant in Houston?

Darband Shishkabob on Hillcroft Avenue describes itself as the oldest Persian restaurant in Houston and says it has been serving since 1986.

Where can I find halal Mediterranean food in Houston?

Aladdin, Fadi's Mediterranean Grill and Pasha all say on their official websites that they serve halal meat. Other Lebanese and Persian restaurants may too, so ask when you order.

Where is the best Greek food in Houston?

Niko Niko's is Houston's best-known Greek cafe, with locations in Montrose, Memorial/Spring Branch and The Woodlands. It's known for gyros and also ships nationwide through Goldbelly.

Is there a Mediterranean grocery store in Houston?

Yes. Phoenicia Specialty Foods has a 55,000-square-foot market at 12141 Westheimer Rd in West Houston and a downtown market at 1001 Austin St, carrying imported foods from more than 50 countries.

Which Mediterranean restaurants in Houston are good for a date night?

Hamsa, a modern Israeli restaurant in Rice Village, is built around shared plates, charcoal cooking and a Middle Eastern wine list. Garson on Hillcroft is a dressier option for Persian food.

Where can I get Mediterranean brunch in Houston?

Craft Pita typically serves brunch at both locations from 9am on weekends, and Hamsa serves brunch on Saturdays and Sundays until 2:30pm. Check their sites for current hours.