The restaurant, which opened in the heart of North Park several months ago, is the size of a dance hall. Numerous tables and super-comfy booths occupy a dining room accented in vivid, recessed lighting similar to that of a downtown nightclub.<\/p>\n Persian-style d\u00e9cor is scattered throughout, perhaps vestiges from the hookah lounge that previously resided here. With black acoustic ceiling tiles stretching across the room, it seems the further back you go, the darker it gets.<\/p>\n My companion shifted his interest from lunch to breakfast when were each handed two menus, one of them listing mostly American-style morning fare such as spinach omelets, eggs Benedict, and a pancake breakfast with eggs and bacon that he ended up ordering.<\/p>\n Yet on the same menu card were dishes that didn\u2019t fit into the puzzle: Swiss enchiladas, shepherd\u2019s pie, and something called \u201cbrioche bread on white chicken sauce.\u201d<\/p>\n When our young, handsome waiter with a Brazilian accent returned, I couldn\u2019t resist asking the nationality of the ownership, and what \u201cAl Reef\u201d means.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a guy from Iraq, and the restaurant is named after his hometown there,\u201d he tentatively replied.<\/p>\n Maybe so, but Al Reef only shows up on Google as a villa community in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n While perusing the lunch-dinner options listing many of my favorite Mediterranean items such as tabouli, baba ghanoush, chicken shawarma and grilled kabobs, I became further perplexed by the presence of beef and chicken tikka on the menu, which I\u2019ve always associated with Indian cuisine.<\/p>\n Though as I discovered when devouring the gorgeous \u201ccombo mix\u201d entr\u00e9e, the Persian version of tikka offers equally tender meats grilled to a charry finish, but minus the spicy yogurt marinade they usually receive throughout southern Asia.<\/p>\n The menu also features a \u201cchicken cream chop\u201d served plated or as a sandwich. It\u2019s a Lebanese dish with vague Hungarian roots that you don\u2019t see in many U.S. restaurants. The preparation basically involves dredging poultry filets in cream or yogurt, and then breading and frying them until golden.<\/p>\n Our waiter didn\u2019t know the exact details of how it\u2019s made here, except that panko crumbs are used for the breading. Needless to say, I\u2019m determined to try it on my next visit.<\/p>\n Despite the perplexities we encountered, our meals were admirably well-executed and generously portioned. My companion\u2019s breakfast platter came with several strips of bacon, plus perfectly cooked scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, and reasonably fluffy pancakes. The promise of herbed potatoes, however, didn\u2019t pan out. So we requested from our apologetic waiter an order of potato salad as a substitute.<\/p>\n The tender spuds were encircled with slices of crispy cucumbers, and dressed in olive oil, fresh parsley and green onions. Rarely do I encounter mayo-free potato salad that hits such a refreshing mark like this did.<\/p>\n A bowl of yellow lentil soup was also memorable, thin in consistency yet aromatic and comforting. I used a portion of it as gravy for the mound of saffron rice on my combo platter, which came with sizable chunks of tikka beef and chicken, both moderately juicy, plus a ground-beef kabob sporting the customary flavors of onion, black pepper and parsley found in Middle Eastern kofta.<\/p>\n![\"Combo](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Meat-platewebtop.jpg\")
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<\/a>Minty house-made tzatziki, along with grilled tomatoes and onions, and a lively Greek-style salad strewn with creamy feta cheese tied everything together in what constituted as a splendid feast priced fairly at $13.95.<\/p>\n