Sahara Restaurant
Sahara Restaurant, while not much to look at from the outside (or inside for that matter) turned out to be pretty good. I have to admit that had this been my “night to pick”, I’m pretty sure I would have turned tail and ran, but this is supposed to be, after all, an adventure. That being said, the sign on the door said “Sahara Lebanese Cuisine” but another sign said “Under New Ownership (or management, can’t remember), so we really weren’t sure what to expect.
Though some of the dishes are what I’d consider crossover dishes, I found most items on the menu to be either Lebanese or Indian. In any case, we did enjoy what we had. Mr. Z was trying to determine what was and was NOT too spicy and after quizzing the server (the only staff in the restaurant except the cook) finally decided on what was basically a chicken kebob served with white rice (which was actually white and yellow). We both figured that her idea of spicy and his were not quite the same since the chicken definitely had a “kick” to it. After the first few bites, he said it “grew on him” and he ended up finishing it (though he wished he had a glass of milk to go along with it).
I ordered the Onion Pakora as an appetizer, which was okay. Mr. Z took a couple of bites and decided it wasn’t for him. As an entrée, I chose the Chicken Korma Curry (pretty sure that’s what it was called). It was really good, and had just the right amount of ‘kick’. I had the choice of having it served with either rice or Naan and chose the Naan, which was a good choice.
I can neither say “you have to try this place”, nor can I recommend against it. It was good for what it was, but it’s doubtful that we’ll revisit. I’m pretty sure that if we ever want those same (or similar) dishes, there are probably better places to go.
Sahara Restaurant is located at:
12501 Lorain Ave.
Cleveland, OH
(216) 671-9300
http://saharacle.weebly.com/location.html
WORD OF WARNING – this is the only website I could find and it’s not very good. The menu shown is not an accurate depiction of the one we were given, so I’m guessing it’s old.