AMHERST — A new restaurant featuring traditional Lebanese cuisine, including beef and chicken shawarma sandwiches and fattoush and tabbouli salads, is open in downtown Amherst.
With college students returning to town Labor Day weekend, owner Eliana Dabbous said last Friday, Sept. 2, that she made sure to have Malek Shawarma Mediterranean Cafe ready for customers at 11 a.m.
“This is healthy, fresh food, made out of scratch,” said Dabbous, who also operates Eliana’s Barbershop from a different area of the Summerlin Building, 11 East Pleasant St.
Dabbous said she came up with the idea of running a cafe when she moved her barbershop, opened in 2011, from the neighboring Amherst Carriage Shops, and the nearby Loose Goose Cafe closed.
Her son, Ali Dayeh, will manage the restaurant and do much of the preparation in the kitchen, with all orders made in view of customers.
“The restaurant is about authentic Lebanese food,” Dayeh said.
In addition to the shawarmas, which are filled with shavings of meat and are similar to Greek gyros, the menu will also include salads, hummus, fries, and Arabic coffee and tea.
Platters will have larger portions, Dayeh said.
“The thing I like about the platter for two, the couples platter, is what we put in it will feed two people for two separate meals,” Dayeh said.
There is a small seating area with tables, chairs and couches, and take-out is also an option. The cafe will be open daily until 11:30 p.m., with hopes of being another option for college students heading to and returning from the bar crawl, Dabbous said.
Inside, the restaurant is decked out with a Mediterranean atmosphere.
That includes pictures and artifacts on the wall depicting Lebanese culture and a window display with the Lebanese flag, decorative candles and antique coffee pots and other dishware.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
