Raik Mediterranean in Suwanee leans into the positive side of simplicity, and locals are lucky to have it.
Operated by chef Faik Usman, who formerly ran the fast-casual Cafe Raik for nearly 10 years in Duluth, Raik Mediterranean is a testament to how far a restaurant can go by nailing most of the fundamentals. It might not score many points for creativity, and the bar program (something that wasn’t offered at Cafe Raik) could use some work, but much of the familiar food is delicious and beautifully executed.
The restaurant makes a strong first impression. Blond wood throughout lends a bright, airy feel to the space, which features an open kitchen looking onto the bar. A tall screen separates the main dining area from the bar, so you don’t have to look at the TVs while you dine. The restaurant never was packed during my visits, but there were enough other diners and bar patrons that the place felt lively.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
The service was excellent, overall, even if some servers appeared to be a bit inexperienced. A passion fruit margarita, for example, was clearly different from one visit to the next. My guest asked about the lack of passion fruit flavor in her drink, but the young server insisted the drink was made correctly.
Most of the cocktails at Raik were simple in a negative sense — overly sweet and lacking complexity. The best was the five-spice Old-Fashioned, which was sweet but perfumed with warm, Middle Eastern spices.
The food, on the other hand, mostly was simple in the best way. Raik’s menu is an Americanized version of Mediterranean cuisine, with hummus, falafel, flatbreads and kabobs, but nearly every dish was executed wonderfully. Mezze spreads, including hummus, baba ghannouj and eggplant baladi, were served with lovely, fresh-baked pitas. On one visit, the pitas were served while still puffy from the oven, but even when they’d been allowed to go flat, they were warm and soft.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
The kitchen breathed new life into other items, including falafel and za’atar fries, both fresh from the fryer and redolent with green herbs. Raik also reminded me of how good fried calamari can be when it’s prepared well; the restaurant’s version was breaded lightly and glistened with hot oil, the sliced squid cooked perfectly tender.
Raik also is a haven for vegetarians, with a variety of plant-based mezze dishes and five salads that are distinctly different from one another. Several of the flatbreads are vegetarian, too, but they represented the one area of the menu where the kitchen seemed to struggle with execution. The dough on both flatbreads I tried was undercooked and overly pliant, though the flavors were strong, especially on the sumac-heavy Palestinian mhammar version.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
The main dishes mostly are kabobs; they were basic but grilled with care and precision. The chicken kabob was worth getting just for the toum — a thick, creamy condiment with an extremely strong garlic flavor. The lamb shank was braised to fork-tender and fell off the bone; it came with a savory sauce easily soaked up by basmati rice. Don’t miss the mujadara side dish, made with perfectly cooked lentils sweetened by caramelized onions.
Raik Mediterranean is a gem of a neighborhood restaurant, the type of place where it’s easy to imagine eating once a week or more. It might not rise to the level of destination-worthy Mediterranean restaurants, such as Zakia or Delbar, but the space is comfortable and attractive, and the food is nourishing and made expertly.
Situated within walking distance of Suwanee Town Center, which is a magnet for foot traffic, Raik easily should live on for another decade.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
RAIK MEDITERRANEAN
2 out of 4 stars (very good)
Food: Mediterranean
Service: very good, but a touch inexperienced
Noise level: low
Recommended dishes: hummus, baba ghannouj, eggplant baladi, falafel, fried calamari, fattoush salad, lahme beajeen flatbread, chicken kabob, lamb shank, falafel plate, mujadara, za’atar fries
Vegetarian dishes: hummus, baba ghannouj, eggplant baladi, za’atar labneh, falafel, fried cauliflower, cheese rolls, fattoush salad, Greek salad, tabouli salad, arugula salad, Raik salad, za’atar flatbread, cheese flatbread, za’atar and cheese mix flatbread, margarita flatbread, veggie kabob, falafel plate, basmati rice, mujadara, grilled veggies, za’atar fries
Alcohol: full bar
Price range: $50 or less per person, excluding drinks
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 12-8 p.m. Sundays
Accessibility: fully ADA-compliant and easily accessible on street level
Parking: free street and lot
Nearest MARTA station: none
Reservations: accepted but not necessary
Outdoor dining: street-side patio
Takeout: yes
Address, phone: 400 Buford Highway NE, Suwanee. 678-926-3917
Website: raikmediterranean.com
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining critics conduct reviews anonymously. Reservations are not made in their name, nor do they provide restaurants with advance notice about their visits. Our critics always make multiple visits, sample the full range of the menu and pay for all of their meals. AJC dining critics wait at least one month after a new restaurant has opened before visiting.
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