WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA – Lots of new Mediterranean restaurants have opened recently in the 925, but many of them are quite fancy and expensive.
If you don’t feel like paying $40 for an entrée, but you still want high-quality food, one new restaurant in Walnut Creek bucks the trend.
Sala Mediterranean Grill recently opened across from Original Joe’s (1348 Broadway Plaza.)
It serves excellent, entirely customizable Mediterranean food in a casual, counter-service setting.
I stopped by to try it out.
The Basics
Sala Mediterranean Grill is often compared to Chipotle for Mediterranean food.
On my visit, I did find that to be an apt comparison, at least in terms of how you order and get your food.
You step up to a counter and are given the option of a bowl, pita, or several other formats.
You can then choose a base of rice or various greens, and then add sides like hummus, baba ghanoush, tzatziki, and more.
Walking down the line, you pick out a protein from options like falafel, lamb, beef, chicken, and more, and then add sauces and dressings.
At the end, you end up with a big pita or bowl filled with all kinds of delicious Mediterranean ingredients.
Again, the Chipotle ordering process feels familiar here. But the best analogous places I can think of locally are more like Urban Plates or Marugame Udon. It’s a similar fast ordering style, but the quality of the food is higher and more thoughtfully executed, and that’s the case at Sala Mediterranean Grill as well.
The Food
My wife and I visited and tried several items.
I got a Mediterranean bowl with lamb, tabbouleh, saffron rice, and about a million other little sides and sauces.
The quality of the lamb was excellent, and the portion was very generous for the sub-$20 price tag.
I appreciated that I could add exactly the Mediterranean toppings that I like, like feta cheese and tzatziki, and skip the olives or other items that I didn’t want on my bowl.
My wife got a very similar item with hummus and accoutrements, but served in a pita pocket.
We were very impressed with the quality of the food. It feels like the same quality you get at a fancy sit-down restaurant, but served in a much faster, less expensive, and delightfully casual-for-Walnut-Creek setting.
There are a few downsides to be aware of, as it has just opened.
The restaurant does not yet have a liquor license, so you can’t accompany your meal with beer or wine. They do have house-made lemonades, but it feels like they’ll need to have a liquor license for this to be a full sit-down spot.
Parking can also be challenging in their corner location in Walnut Creek. You can either park at the smaller lot behind Cooperage, the Broadway Plaza lot, or one of the larger lots across the street.
There will also eventually be soft-serve ice cream here, but the machine isn’t set up yet either. For the time being, you can finish your meal with some Turkish delight or baklava.
The Verdict
Walnut Creek is filling up with fancy, high-concept places where meals cost a small fortune and you probably only go on a special occasion.
Sala Mediterranean Grill still brings excellent Mediterranean food—one of the Bay Area’s favorite cuisines at the moment—but in a setting that’s much easier to just drop into casually. It’s a refreshing new addition.
When we visited on Friday night, there was already a line extending to the door. Be aware that this is already a popular spot—you might have to wait a few minutes for a table once you get your bowl.
The customizable bowls and the large range of ingredients made this a great spot to stop. Again, the quality of the food is the most important thing in this kind of setting, and it was excellent.
I will definitely be back to Sala Mediterranean Grill, and I suggest you check it out too!
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