by Connor Parks
I think it’s safe to say that Centre doesn’t quite remember Sabor Americana. I’m not sure why, since every picture I ever saw of their dishes online looked fantastic, but nobody ever really seemed to talk about it; even locals I’d mention it to. When I got wind that another new restaurant would be taking their place along Hustonville Road, then, I was thrilled to hear that Danville would be getting some more options, and even more thrilled when I learned it would be a full-menu Mediterranean place. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be a Parthenon enjoyer ‘til the day I die, but I’d been missing some good shawarma, kafta, and more that they don’t offer. For no discernible reason, Mediterranean food is a staple in my family, and I tend to look for a good place to get it wherever I go. Regardless, as soon as I started seeing dozens of raving reviews of Zaytoon pop up on Google, along with some photos which looked almost too good to be true, I knew I needed to stop by and see if what I ordered lived up to the hype. Spoiler alert: it did, and even exceeded even my high expectations.
Zaytoon is Danville’s latest Mediterranean restaurant, offering menu items such as kebabs, shawarma, kafta, dolma, lamb chops, salads, and many more at reasonable prices. I went with a friend on an early Sunday afternoon, when the post-church crowd made up a decent portion of those dining, yet from online reviews it seems they’re consistently fairly busy. Fortunately, this didn’t seem to affect our food’s prep time, as it was out within about 10 minutes of us ordering. Service is simple: just go up to the counter, flip through the menu (seen below!), order, and wait for them to bring it to the table. Being particularly hungry, I chose the Chicken Shawarma platter for $18.99, which seemed high before I realised just how much food it included. I gladly would’ve paid $25 for the portion size, which could’ve easily fed 2. My friend ordered the beef version of the same platter, and we split a $7 order of hummus as an appetizer. The environment is relaxed and comfortable, with music in Greek and Arabic playing over the speakers for an enjoyable vibe. Service is absolutely wonderful: despite the counter-order nature of the place, our order-taker came to check on us a while after we’d gotten our food even with a moderate amount of customers. 2 tall Döner rotisseries sat behind the order counter, with cooks slicing off chicken and beef for all sorts of menu items.
When the food came out, I immediately noticed that Zaytoon takes presentation very seriously. Platters are served on wooden plates, garnished with colourful (and tasty!) vegetables while the meat and cut-up wrap are precisely arranged. Both platters came with 5-6 crispy mini-wraps of the respective marinated meat, with more sliced meat stacked on fries in the middle. Also included was a delicious, whipped garlicky sauce which I dipped both meat and fries in. The hummus, meanwhile, was clearly meticulously prepared for presentation, with carefully arranged garnishes of paprika, basil, coriander, and olive oil atop the rich chickpea spread. After the hostess came and checked on us, she brought out some Ziploc bags of pita to eat with it, which worked equally as well as the fries. Everything, and I mean everything, tasted wonderful. The meat was very well seasoned and packed full of flavour, while the spreads were rich, creamy, and worked well with anything dipped in them. All in all, it was just about some of the best quantity and quality of food I’ve found for the price, especially around here.
Zaytoon gives me lots of hope in a special kind of way. I’ve only been here for 2 years, yet I haven’t seen a restaurant pop up to such massive initial success in such a brief period of time. And for good reason: from service, to quality, to presentation, to menu variety, they seemed to have mastered small local restauranting. I would go out of my way to come to Danville just for the chance to get lunch or dinner here, no question. My only concern at this point is that I haven’t heard Centre students talking enough about the place, which I hope changes soon. They’re absolutely worth your business, and there’s no way you won’t leave full. There’s more than a few great local places to eat around Danville if you know where to look, and Zaytoon has the potential to make a serious, long-lasting name for itself in the community as one of the very best of these. Stop by as soon as you can for a delicious lunch or dinner you won’t forget!
