Zakee Mediterranean Street Food
1562 Akron Peninsula Road, Merriman Valley
234-208-9959
Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
www.zakeeoh.com
With cool white and navy blue walls and the sun shining through the front windows of Zakee Mediterranean Street Food in the Merriman Valley, it’s easy for guests to feel like they’re enjoying a good meal on an exotic vacation.
Khaled and Shadia Jaffal, the husband-wife team who are the manager and chef — respectively — of Zakee, opened the restaurant April 1, and it has been going strong ever since.
“If it stays like this, I’m a happy camper,” Khaled said.
An entrepreneur for the last 25 years, Khaled said after his family moved to the United States from Palestine, they ran restaurants in Florida and Georgia. Most recently, they owned a local hibachi restaurant and a mac-and-cheese shop, which they sold a year ago.
The Jaffals moved to Akron in 2017 when the oldest of their four children was accepted at the University of Akron. Their two middle children are also Akron grads, and their youngest is studying speech pathology there.
At Zakee — which Khaled said means “delicious” in Arabic — the menu features meat that is kosher/halal, and they only use extra-virgin olive oil or sunflower oil in their cooking. The restaurant specializes in fresh, healthy food made without artificial flavors, preservatives or additives.
“People are looking for healthy good food,” he said, adding that 70% of the produce he uses is locally sourced. “We inspect every tomato, every cucumber. We make sure that whatever goes out, it’s the best.”
What makes Zakee unusual is its “build-it-yourself” format and unapologetically hefty portions. For bowls and sandwiches, customers can choose from salads, grains, proteins, toppings, dips and sauces. This allows them to sample different ingredients and is helpful for those with special food requirements, like vegans, vegetarians or people with gluten allergies.
“Quality people are looking for quality food,” Khaled said. “They appreciate what we’re doing.”
Side dishes — falafel, grape leaves, kibbee, hummus and baba ganoush — are large enough to share, if you’re feeling generous, and the restaurant is introducing soups for fall and winter, including lentil and chicken-vegetable-rice.
Except for pita and wraps that are ordered from a Cleveland bakery and specialty items and spices that are imported, everything on Zakee’s menu is made in house. The chicken and beef are long marinated and slow cooked, and the roasted lamb gets its flavor from fresh-squeezed pomegranates.
For dessert, Zakee offers four kinds of baklava, harissa cake made with semolina flour and coconut and bright orange kenafeh — a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made of shredded phyllo dough layered with sweet, soft cheese and soaked in a sugary syrup.
Zakee has a few tables inside and some on the patio, and it offers carryout and delivery. Catering is also available with at least 48 hours’ notice.
2nd place:
Crust & Cocktails
1256 Weathervane Lane, Merriman Valley
Phone: 234-678-6978
Website: https://www.facebook.com/p/Crust-Cocktails-61574964077493/
3rd place:
Akron Southern Soul Shack
1094 Brown St., South Akron
Phone: 234-303-8211