I don’t think i’ve purposely ever eaten Greek or Mediterranean food until I recently went on the Blogger familiarization tour of Fayetteville. I don’t really know why other than I never ate it growing up. My husband has never asked for it either. I like to try new foods so I was excited to try it and I am so glad that I did! Discovering where I lived so I could bloom whereally pays off as I was finding some real gems.
Sherefé is a Mediterranean grill located in downtown historic Fayetteville. If you are into historic buildings that alone will make you want to check them out!
The building itself is amazing! It has it’s original brick walls, that I loved.
After we ate we were given a tour of the building and upstairs has a room that can be used for large parties that is simply gorgeous.
You have the original brick walls and wood floors and it is decorated with upcyled mirrors that were found in the building when it was purchased.
The restaurant is simply beautiful.
Enough about what it looked like let me tell you about the food! That is why we were at Sherefé after all, for lunch. We were brought out their beautiful Mediterranean Delight, a sample of their many appetizer offerings. There wasn’t a single thing on the plate that I tried that I did not like! The hummus was addictive and perfectly garlicky, falafel that was gluten free with an amazing tzatziki, the quinoa tabouili and the dolma (stuffed grape leaves) were all great. Why hadn’t I tried greek food sooner?
As we were snacking on our appetizers the restaurants owner Mustafa Somar came into the room and at first wondered why we were not eating exclaiming “This is like grandma’s house, no one goes hungry”. We just had so much food in front of us much like grandma’s and were saving room for our lunches. Mustafa was a delight to talk to and especially listen to. He has strong beliefs about our food and where our food comes from. He only uses quality ingredients like antibiotic free, corn fed chicken. My you are so amazing moment came while he was talking about gluten. I am gluten free not because I think it is cool or a way to lose weight but because my body gets sick with the tiniest amount of gluten. When gluten makes you sick it is hard to find restaurants that cater to you and truly understand the importance of being gluten free. Mustafa and Sherefé understand. The care in this is shown not only on their menu but to the care they put in what they make. Simple small things like using rice flour or quinoa instead of bulgar to make a dish gluten free. To not having deep fryers and instead pan frying dishes. Sherefé is a gluten free person’s dream! I was in love!
Not only was I in love with their care for those that are gluten free but they also are very accommodating for special diets in general and that care extends to their menu where everything is clearly labeled.
Sherefé also offers several vegetarian and vegan dishes and can adjust dishes for your dietary needs.
For lunch I chose Chicken under a Brick, a rosemary, garlic, all natural chicken, chimichurri along with Roasted Vegetables with Ginger & Quinoa. It was so delicious and perfectly cooked! Those around me with me had various other items off the menu from Doner Kabob, Norwegian Salmon and Sherefé’s Small Plate Taste and everyone enjoyed their dishes. Tiffany from Mrs Tee raved about their Lemon Chicken soup which is gluten free and one of the restaurants popular choices selling out whenever they make it. I can’t wait to go back and try more of their menu offerings especially their Greek Yogurt Cheesecake that is gluten free. I just need to remember to leave room for it!
Sherefé has daily specials which can be viewed on their Facebook or emailed directly to your inbox. They also offer many of their house made soups for sale frozen, which make for a great quick lunch! Interested in learning to cook? Sherefé can help you there also! Mustafa is not only an culinary arts teacher at FTCC but he offers classes at his restaurant. Upstairs in a room next to the room they use for large parties they have a kitchen they use for cooking classes.
Sherefé is located at 114 Gillepsie St and is open Monday – Thursday: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm and Friday – Saturday: 11:00 am – 10:00 pm. They are closed on Sundays. They offer both walk in and reservations.
Check them out for yourself and see how delicious it is!