Cedar & Olive Mediterranean Grill opens: Go behind the scenes
Serving authentic Lebanese cuisine, Cedar & Olive Mediterranean Grill is now open in Jacksonville Beach.
Cedar & Olive Mediterranean Grill, a new Lebanese restaurant, opened in Jacksonville Beach at the former Lone Wolf Co. location.The menu features traditional Lebanese dishes like kabobs, grilled fish, and falafel, along with unique Mediterranean smoothies.The restaurant aims to provide a casual dining experience centered around community and shared meals.
JACKSONVILLE BEACH | Authentic Lebanese homestyle cooking takes center stage at a new Mediterranean restaurant from a husband and wife who say “every bite tells a story” of family, friends, and community.
Cedar & Olive Mediterranean Grill, offering the “rich flavors and warm hospitality of the Middle East,” recently opened at 1500 Beach Blvd., No. 115, in The Gates of Beach Boulevard shopping center.
The mom-and-pop-style restaurant takes over the spot previously occupied by funky Lone Wolf Co., a punk rock-themed sandwich shop that closed March 27, two years after debuting its artisan fare. Cedar & Olive joins established restaurants including Abstrakt Filipino Essence, Engine 15 Brewing & Kitchen, 1928 Cuban Bistro, Mojo Kitchen BBQ Pit & Blues Bar, Donatos Pizza and Jeremiah’s Italian Ice in the shopping center.
The restaurant offers a taste of home — kabobs, grilled fish, tabouli, hummus and other classic Mediterranean and Lebanese fare — that were mainstays on the family table of owners Najwa Saad and her husband, Elie Saad.
“It’s an authentic Mediterranean grill. We are Lebanese, so everything is a traditional Lebanese grill,” Najwa Saad told the Times-Union.
The couple grew up and fell in love in Roumieh, Lebanon — a small mountain village northeast of Beirut — before marrying and settling in Los Angeles, where they had a successful catering business serving the motion picture industry for 10 years before relocating to the Jacksonville area.
“We love great food and great company. After many, many years of sharing our family recipes in our home kitchen and for catering, we really wanted to bring some of those flavors and the warmth to Jacksonville Beach,” Najwa Saad said of their inspiration to open Cedar & Olive.
Cedar & Olive is believed to be the first Mediterranean grill at the Beaches, although there are a few in Jacksonville. They saw a need for their concept there.
“We’re excited to be at the Beaches and have felt a lot of love from the community and neighboring businesses,” said Najwa Saad, noting they are a casual dining option. Guests order at the front counter and when the food is ready, it’s brought out to their table, she said.
Although Lebanese and Mediterranean food share similarities in ingredients and cooking techniques, they are distinct cuisines.
Cedar & Olive offers traditional as well as homestyle Lebanese and Mediterranean entrees, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, and desserts — all made fresh from scratch daily.
“Food is one of our love languages … You break bread together and that is what builds memories,” she said. “The concept is about more than eating a meal. It’s about making memories together.”
On the menu at Cedar & Olive
The restaurant’s kabobs and other dishes reflect the food typically served in Lebanese homes and cafes, but not as common in Northeast Florida.
“We do a chicken breast kabob, which we call tawook. That’s what we traditionally call it back home,” she said, noting they also feature two different beef options.
“One is shish kabob, which we use really nice tenderloin … and then we have Kafta Kabob, which is ground meat marinated and grilled on skewers. We offer grilled fish, and then we also do fresh falafel,” she said.
On the menu:
Kafta Kabob Platter ($15.99): Kafta kabob (Lebanese beef meatball) on a bed of rice with biwaz, hummus, pickles, choice of salad or French friesTawook Platter ($16.99): Grilled chicken breast on a bed of rice with garlic spread, pickles, choice of salad or French friesShish Kabob Platter ($17.99): Beef kabob on a bed of rice with hummus, grilled onion, grilled peppers, biwaz, choice of salad or French friesGrilled Fish Platter ($13.99): Grilled cod filet on a bed of rice sprinkled with white pepper and lemon, with tartar sauce, choice of salad or French friesFattoush Salad ($9.49): Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, mint, radish, scallions, bell pepper, Sumac, lemon-olive oil dressing with pomegranate and molassesTabouli Salad ($8.99): Parsley, mint, onion, tomato, Sumac, lemon-olive oil dressingKibbi Balls ($7.99): Falafel Sandwich ($9.99): Falafel, pickled turnips, Tahini sauce, lettuce and tomato with a side of French fries
Appetizers range from hummus and Labneh ( each $5.99) to Baba Ghanouj ($7.99), vegetarian Grape leaves ($6.99), and Kibbi Balls ($7.99), according to the menu.
Mediterranean smoothies a unique treat
In what also might be a first in Northeast Florida, the restaurant offers Mediterranean smoothies. A “unique twist on a typical smoothie,” it is a refreshing and popular treat back home, she said.
“There is no ice. They are 100% fruit as well as dairy. What we do is blend fresh fruit, and we layer it so it is smoothie, a layer of fresh fruit and more smoothie, then we top it off with crushed pistachios and honey. It’s almost like you are having a fruit cup with a smoothie in it,” she said.
Cedar & Olive signature Mediterranean smoothies:
Avocado Queen ($10.99): Avocado cream, sliced bananas, strawberry and kiwi topped with crushed pistachios and honeyRed Love ($8.99): Blended strawberry, sliced kiwi, bananas and fresh strawberries topped with crushed pistachios and honeyBusy Bee ($9.49): Avocado cream and blended strawberry layered with sliced kiwi, bananas and fresh strawberries topped with crushed pistachios
The restaurant’s sweet treats offered include a daily Mideast dessert ( $5.99) as well as a Nutella Chocolate Crepe ($6.99) with bananas and optional crushed hazelnuts.
Another customer favorite is Shaabiyat, a traditional Lebanese dessert similar to baklava.
In addition, sharing platters featuring a variety of menu specialties are The Cedar Table ($59.99) for four people and The Feast of Eight ($119.99) for eight people.
‘Peace, friendship and gathering around the table’
Cedar & Olive, she said, is ” a concept near and dear to our hearts.” It represents the couple’s heritage as well as reflects Lebanon’s culture of warmth and hospitality, she said.
“All this, stands for is peace, friendship and really the joy of gathering around the table,” Najwa Saad said. “All the dishes we’ve included on our menu are dishes that we grew up loving. … Each one we really make with love. We want to serve our guests the way we serve our family.”
Cedar & Olive, with 32 seats, is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@jacksonville.com.
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