Lazeeza to Occupy Sin Sin Slot
You heard it here first: Lazeeza Mediterranean Grill, barely hanging on with everybody else in the moribund, basically empty shopping center across from New Hanover County Hospital, is apparently moving downtown to the corner of Princess and Front, where the bar Sin Sin is biding its time. The owners of Sin Sin, who also own the Cellar, Circa, and a raft of other businesses, are hanging that spot up after only a few months doing business as Yet Another Bar Downtown (YABD).
The shopping center where Lazeeza sits currently has been purchased by the hospital, sources say. This spot and the adjacent, tree-cleared area are to be a “Mayfair in Midtown” (’Cause we need another giant shopping center).
Lazeeza’s been good to us a couple of times—we used to get take-out falafels there and good salads for lunch. But the last time we went for dinner, the restaurant was experiencing one of its nadirs. The food was terrible, the place was empty, the faux-Turkish pillow seating was surreally bad, and our waiter—a talkative cousin or brother of the owners who said he helped them out when he wasn’t “holding the keys to a Scotchman in Ogden”—wouldn’t back away from our shabby little pavilion.
[where: 2224 S. 17th St., Wilmington, NC]
Lazeeza downtown makes more sense. I’ve eaten there a few times, cannot complain about the food, but the service was S-L-O-W — even with tables surrounded by diners disguised as empty seats. Mediterranean food encompasses a lot of styles, and Lazeeza more accurately leans to the south — Greek, Turkish and North African — although it also offers traditional American dishes like a BLT and Philly Cheese Steak, and some Italian and French. You can access the menu here: http://www.menupix.com/wilmington/restaurants.php?id=650042#
Too bad they veered into the ‘American Classics’ I was drooling over the Mediterranean selections on the menu–spanakopita, lamb shawarma, hummus, falafels–yum!
Editor’s note: A friend of the Grove Project who works at the Cellar, the bar downstairs at the corner of Princess and Front, reports that Lazeeza is already doing business in that site, has bought the whole installation of Sin Sin in the front, Divano’s (name?) upstairs, and the Cellar down below on Princess, and is in fact her employer. The bar food has improved considerably.
If there’s no more Mediterranean then there’s no point in my continuing to try to locate them (hence I found The Grove Project). Trying to find great lamb in Wilmington has been a challenge! Have they really gone American?
Hi Heidi,
Have you tried Laterna Mediterranean Grille and Tavern on South College Road? My husband and I are the owners. We have excellent lamb chops, gyros, and an occasional braised lamb shank. Hope you can pay us a visit.
Hi Antonia - Did you see this review of Laterna at Wilmington NC Restaurant Recs?:
http://wilmingtonrestrecs.blogspot.com/2008/07/laterna.html
Well-written local reviews of restaurants, including yours!
Been seeing a lot of good local blogging lately
Hi Ian - Yes I have seen it. Andie Reid is a nice lady, and she’s been in a few times. Through her blog I found this one, just two days ago.
http://www.wilmaville.com/?p=174
I was just looking at Wilmaville as well (and added it and a few other local blogs to our Grove Project Links page). Great stuff.
I am the executive chef for Mediterra, formerly Lazeeza. We do have a full Mediterranean menu, no American selections. You may view the menu online on the dine wilmington online website or very shortly on the Mediterra website.
The owners moved to downtown for the express purpose of trying to do a full on Mediterranean menu, where as the Lazeeza location required a menu heavy on the American lunch side. Downtown, they have more qualified people to staff the restaurant, thus having a very professional staff. At Lazeeza, the location was so bad they could never find really good employees. The downtown location is much busier so we are able to do fresh, local produce and seafood without danger of not selling it.
The Cellar has a different menu. It has a great pub style menu with excellent bar food. So if you are looking for really great Mediterranean in a really beautiful atmosphere, Mediterra is a great choice, if you are looking for a laid back evening and some great bar food, The Cellar is a great choice.
I went to Mediterra last week… and I must say it was pretty awful. The food was cold and my steak was undercooked and tasted like it had freezer burn. The service was slow and the waiters were rude. I had a waitress with a bad attitude and I could hear the waitstaff yelling behind the bar. I also heard that the buisness was poorly ran… and this visit proved just that.
My only experience at Lazeeza was less than memorable. Looking forward to Mediterra.
Wow Jeff, I am really sorry to hear that you had an unpleasant experience. I can say with certainty that the steak wasn’t freezer burned as we do not freeze any of our meat. But I am sorry for the food. As the chef I can clearly see that I must have had a really off night. I will call to the front of the house managers attention the problems you observed in the front. Very unusual, as unhappy customers have been very rare since we opened. We have had rave reviews from all the media and most of our customers are repeats. I am disappointed. You really should give it another shot, I have to believe that it was a very off night. The business is run very well, in fact, it is remarkable that 90 percent of the staff is the original staff hired, people are paid well and treated well and employees seem to want to stay. I am really sorry, but I encourage you to come back in. Or better yet, if you give me a call at the restaurant, I will be happy to reserve you a table and buy you dinner to make up for it.