Alongside the beef shawarma, the standout is the kufta kebab. Here the blend of ground beef and lamb is shaped something like a small football. This yields a plumper kebab, with a fuller flavor, than the longer, flatter kufta kebab you find at many other restaurants. Shape aside, this kufta kebab also brilliantly marries the heft of beef with the sharper bite of lamb.
The shish taouk plate features chicken at Zaytoona Mediterranean Cuisine.
Liz Rymarev, Post-Dispatch
These kebabs come with your choice of fries, rice or an Arabic-style salad with a tahini dressing. The fries are very crisp and well-seasoned. If you order rice, though, the kitchen includes a little ramekin of cool, jammy, gently spiced tomatoes to mix into the dish — another of Zaytoona’s small, but vital touches.
Listed on the menu, but not always available, is manakeesh, a small flatbread topped with the spice blend za’atar, cheese or ground beef. Check the display counter in the smaller dining room to see if the kitchen has delivered a fresh batch. The manakeesh with fresh, briny and partially melted cheese makes for a lovely appetizer, almost a palate cleanser in its clean flavors.
Obviously, as much as I advocate for exploring the restaurants of the entire metro area, I don’t expect you to drive to Zaytoona expressly for this manakeesh. Here is one case where O’Fallon, Missouri, diners who can swing by the restaurant on a whim really do score a win.
Rating
Highly recommended: The Post-Dispatch evaluates restaurants on the following scale, lowest to highest: not recommended; recommended, but with reservations; recommended; highly recommended; essential. The rating reflects how the restaurant succeeds on its own terms — and how it meets a diner’s good-faith expectations of quality food and hospitality — regardless of cuisine, location or cost.
Dining and Cooking