Every year, CityBeat publishes the Best Of Cincinnati®, wherein readers and staffers alike decide which bars are the booziest, which people are the coolest and which shops are your best bet for dropping a pretty penny. When you’re craving flavors from the Mediterranean, Greater Cincinnati offers a lot of delicious options, from Greek and Turkish to Kurdish cuisine. Whether you want falafel, kebabs, gyros or just a mouthwatering slice of baklava, these restaurants Mediterranean restaurants come highly recommended by CityBeat‘s readers.

Keep scrolling to see which ones you should add to your must-try list.

Best No. 10 Mediterranean Restaurant: The Big Greek Cafe 1150 Harrison Ave., Harrison Must-Try Dish: Mousakas — a layered dish featuring fried potatoes, fried eggplant and ground beef, topped with a bechamel sauce and four cheeses. For dessert, try the baklava. Photo: Google.com/Big Greek Cafe – Harrison, Ohio
Best No. 9 Mediterranean Restaurant: Chicago Gyros & Dogs 201 W. McMillan St., CUF Must-Try Dish: The Falafel Pita is made with lettuce, tomato, onion and cucumber and served with Chicago Gyros & Dog’s Taz sauce (tzatziki). Photo: facebook.com/ChicagoGyrosandDogsCincinnati
Best No. 8 Mediterranean Restaurant: Cafe Mediterranean 3520 Erie Ave., Hyde Park Must-Try Dish: Get one of the kebabs; there are five kinds: the chicken, beef tenderloin and lamb kebabs, plus the Doner Gyros kebab (marinated shaved lamb served with a Turkish yogurt and cucumber mix called cacik) and the Iskender kebab, which is made with the doner gyro meat and served with pita, yogurt and fresh tomato sauce. Photo: facebook.com/Cafe Mediterranean
Best No. 7 Mediterranean Restaurant: LEYLA Mediterranean 7418 Beechmont Ave., Anderson Township Must-Try Dish: For yourself, get the Mix Grill for one. It comes with a chicken Adana kebab (which is seasoned with crushed red peppers), a marinated chicken kebab and a gyro kebab. It also comes with a salad and rice. There are also Mix Grill plates for groups ranging from two to five people to share. Photo: facebook.com/LEYLA Mediterranean
Best No. 6 Mediterranean Restaurant: Greek to Me 3415 Dixie Highway, Erlanger Must-Try Dish: Get the spanakopita (spinach- and feta cheese-filled savory pastry made with filo dough) for an appetizer, followed by the Uncle Jesse (named after TV’s favorite Greek uncle from Full House), which gyro made with sausage, onion, tomato, ketchup, mustard, tzatziki, fries and served in a pita. Have mercy on our cholesterol. Photo: facebook.com/greek2me
Best No. 5 Mediterranean Restaurant: Andy’s Mediterranean Grille 906 Nassau St., Walnut Hills Must-Try Dish: The Chicken Hajjar: Boneless chicken thighs that have been marinated with Andy’s special sauce. It also comes with hummus and a salad. Photo: facebook.com/andysmediterraneangrille
7. Abigail Street 1214 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine “This is my new favorite restaurant in cincinnati! I can’t wait to return. The service, food and wine are the best in town. The ambiance is the best vibe and very chill but a great date night. Let’s just talk about the food, it is melt in your mouth delicious and has something for everyone. My favorite was the black garlic shrimp, lamb spaghetti and ricotta cheese! Don’t miss this.” -Kelli R. Photo: Matthew Allen
Phoenician Taverna 7944 Mason Montgomery Road, Mason Phoenician Taverna serves up superb, authentic Lebanese food in a Mason strip mall. While the menu’s main dishes are primarily meat-based, there’s no lack of options for vegetarians, who can make a meal out of mezza here. Appetizers are listed in three sections: cold mezza vegetarian, hot mezza vegetarian and not vegetarian. The hot mezza vegetarian list offers mouth-watering items such as a a spinach pie (fatayer b’sbanigh in Lebanese), described as homemade dough filled with spinach, pine nuts and sumac onions in lemon and extra virgin olive oil, or the cheese pie (fatayer b’jibne) filled with feta. There’s also cauliflower with tahini, spicy hot potatoes, beet dip, spiced aged feta and pumpkin kibbeh on the unique list of hot and cold dishes. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Sebastian’s 5209 Glenway Ave., Cheviot The longtime West Side joint is just as delicious as you remember it. A meat-lover’s heaven, the menu offers numerous Greek items and what many consider to be the best gyro in Cincinnati. Photo: facebook.com/sebastiansgyros
Best No. 1 Mediterranean Restaurant: Aladdin’s Eatery 1203 Main St., Over-the-Rhine; 3664 Edwards Rd., Hyde Park; 9344 Union Centre Blvd., West Chester Must-Try Dish: Aladdin’s Favorite combo — It features beef kafta, shish kabob and shish tawook on a bed of rice with vermicelli. It’s also served with greens, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and your choice of dressing. Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Katherine Barrier is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s journalism program and has nearly 10 years of experience reporting local and national news as a digital journalist. At CityBeat, she...