The Best Mediterranean Restaurants in Vancouver

AL HADBAH DONAIR

The best kinds of meals offer a little bit of everything, and that’s the magic of AL HADBAH. Each plate comes with a protein (think chicken shawarma, falafel, beef kebab, or lamb souvlaki), a Greek salad, tzatziki, and not one but two glorious carbs (picking between potatoes and rice is one of life’s greatest struggles — at this spot you don’t have to).

Albasha Express Shawarma & Falafel

You won’t find a dry falafel at Albasha Express — each one of these cheeky chickpea balls is made and fried to order. Huge servings of hearty, well-spiced meats make this spot a definite hunger crusher, and a good place to order to the nearby beach and fuel your spikeball game. Just don’t get sand in your shawarma.

Aleph Eatery

Situated on the city’s edge, this vegetarian restaurant is a hidden gem. It’s one of the farthest restaurants I could order takeout from, but I still do it: That’s how good the aleppo tahini potatoes are. Common Mediterranean dishes feature prominently on this menu (shish kebab, shakshuka, shawarma) alongside some sweet wildcards. Pancakes with lemon cream and pistachios, tahini chocolate brownies, and olive oil cake all make for great desserts — or breakfast options, for that matter: I don’t make the rules! This is a Most Loved Restaurant on DoorDash, which means it is one of the top-rated and most reliable merchants on DoorDash.

Anatoli Souvlaki

The Greek by Anatoli has been on the scene and winning various awards for forty years (practically unheard of in this industry), and the North Vancouver outpost, Anatoli Souvlaki, is a favourite for folks on both sides of the bridge. The Greek salad is heavy on the feta (the best part, if you ask me), and the braised country lamb dinner is so comforting you’ll probably have to take a nap after eating it.

Denman Mediterranean Grill

What are you supposed to do when it’s 3:00 a.m., you’ve just returned home from a responsible night out that you’ll totally remember tomorrow, and you have a craving for kebab? Order from the Denman Mediterranean Grill for delivery near you, obviously. This neighbourhood favourite is beloved by Westenders and night owls across the city: A chicken shawarma plate with their signature dill rice hits hard after midnight.

The Golden Horn Turkish Bakery & Cafe

I hope you’ve saved room for dessert. The Golden Horn specialises in handmade, flaky, sweet-but-not-too-sweet Turkish pastries like baklava (each one has forty layers of dough, wowza) as well as savoury picks like chicken borek and beef pide. Be prepared to leave a little trail of delicate crumbs behind you as you walk through town.

The Greek By Anatoli

I already mentioned this restaurant’s North Van sister spot, but it’s time to recognize the OG (Original Greek). The Greek just celebrated its 40th birthday in 2024, a testament to Vancouverites' lasting love for lemon potatoes. The Yaletown institution has a refreshingly robust number of vegetarian and vegan options (crispy zucchini crisps, roasted cauliflower, vegan calamari made of oyster mushrooms) as well as the usual lineup of meaty mains. The country lamb platter stands out, probably because it’s braised for five hours.

Hydra Estiatorio

This downtown restaurant leans more upscale than most others on this list, so bookmark it for your next special occasion (a birthday, an anniversary, the day you finally reply to that email at the bottom of your inbox). Hydra has a seafood focus: Think grilled octopus with lemon and oregano, crab-stuffed lobster tail with saffron risotto, and a raw bar stocked with tuna tartare and a daily fresh catch crudo. This is a Most Loved Restaurant on DoorDash.

JamJar Canteen

I think my body was 80 percent JamJar shawarma as a university student, and unlike grapefruit cider or sharing a single bathroom with three other people, I haven’t grown out of the phase. The casual spot keeps it simple in terms of the menu for delivery near you: Choose from a wrap or bowl and chicken or mujadara (that’s a lentil and bean stew), and you’re all set. The flavours are bright and balanced and the prices are accessible. I wasn’t a maths major, but I know this equals excellence.

Kypriaki Mediterranean Grill

Kypraki strays away from the standard cuts of meat that are common in local Mediterranean spots. Here, you’ll find lamb sirloin souvlaki and beef tenderloin that’s cooked to your preference (medium rare or bust, I say). Comfort food reigns on this menu, from fried cheese (saganaki) to creamy pasta to chicken wings. Sidenote: one wing flavour is “Ultimate Insanity Hot.” You’ve been warned. (Or challenged?)

Manoush'eh Lebanese

Let’s switch things up a bit. Manoush’eh isn’t one of the more well-known Lebanese foods in the Lower Mainland, but this downtown spot is on a delicious mission to change that. The menu centers around flatbread pies (watch your back, pizza) that are crazy versatile — go traditional with the za'atar (that’s wild thyme, sumac, sesame seeds, and olive oil) or jebneh (cheese), or face the fusion with the joyfully unique “burger” (flatbread topped with ground beef, tomato, pickles, ketchup, and mustard). Oh, there’s one with Nutella, too.

Maria's Taverna

Another industry veteran (the restaurant first opened in 1987), Maria’s has been faithfully serving the community for about as long as the Expo line has. This is a great takeout date night spot thanks to the platters for two — the combination platter has beef souvlaki, moussaka, dolmathes, keftedes, and two lamb chops that you can absolutely try to share, Lady-and-the-Tramp style.

Mazahr

You can recognize falafels from south Granville’s Mazahr Lebanese Kitchen from their crunchy sesame seed coating; in a city full of falafel, these ones stand apart from the rest. Fans of this restaurant rave over the ultra-creamy hummus, the fried cauliflower in tahini, and the pomegranate and lemon dressing — and when the sides are this good, you know the main is something spectacular. You can’t go wrong with a platter: Beef kafta with a side of fried potatoes and baba ghannouj should do the trick. If you’ve been searching for some of the best Mediterranean food in Vancouver, you’ve found it. This is a Most Loved Restaurant on DoorDash.

Minerva's Pizza & Steak House

Just when you think you’ve solved the “What are we having for dinner tonight” conundrum, Minerva’s comes along to paralyse you with choice. It’s not this 50-year-old Kerrisdale restaurant’s fault that it offers a wide variety of awesome Mediterranean dishes — but how are we supposed to choose between souvlaki, pizza, barbecue ribs, lobster tails, moussaka, and baked lasagna? Better assemble a team of friends for maximum sampling. This is a Most Loved Restaurant on DoorDash.

Noor Donair

If you’ve mistaken the little shop on the corner of Broadway and Fraser for a simple convenience store, get your act together. This is the home of Noor Donair and of some of the most generous portions in town. The takeout-only restaurant (basically made for delivery near you!) offers chicken, beef, lamb, and falafel donair, as well as large platters, spinach pies, and tabouli salad. Don’t forget the French fries — make it a poutine if you’re feeling crazy.

Nuba

I think my family has had more birthday dinners at Nuba than at any other Vancouver restaurant. There’s something about the crispy cauliflower that softens the blow of having aged another year. My strategy is to order enough of the grilled mezze sampler (or the vegetarian version, for the plant-based people) to feed everyone, because you get it all: chicken shish tawook, tiger prawns, lamb kafta skewers, cauliflower, and batata harra potatoes. Oh, and add an order of the halloumi drizzled with pomegranate molasses, which my sister says she’ll share but never does. Ah, tradition.

Olympia Restaurant

This cheerful white-and-blue restaurant is serious when it comes to food (and branding — the owners fought and won a battle with the International Olympic Committee ahead of the 2010 Games in Vancouver, but that’s a story for another day). Hearty, thick pizzas, indulgent baked pasta, and perfectly spiced grilled meats are Olympia’s specialties. Past drama aside, it’s gold medal-worthy. This is a Most Loved Restaurant on DoorDash.

Stepho's Souvlaki Greek Taverna

Stepho’s has all the standard Greek menu items (souvlaki, spanakopita, roast lamb, homous) and also seems to be committed to serving cheese in as many ways as possible. You want cheese puffs? There’s tiropita. Cheese balls? Trioboukes. Fried cheese? Saganaki. It’s your personal dairy godmother.

Takis Taverna

Fried calamari is everywhere, but Takis offers squid that’s grilled, too, and locals go bonkers for it. The Davie village restaurant has been around for three decades, long enough to know that there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to hunger — so the chicken, beef, and lamb souvlakis come in two sizes, small and large.

Yasma

Last but definitely not least — in fact, Yasma is at the very top of my personal favourite Lebanese restaurants in the city, and has been ever since it first opened as a ghost kitchen  during the pandemic. Yasma now has a brick-and-mortar location in Coal Harbour, but it’s still a takeout pro: I love the tawouk burger (especially the garlic sauce) and the muhammara, which is refreshing, bold, and sweet. 

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