Sheshco Mediterranean Grill, 2121 Celebration Dr NE - 2/12/13

Conveniently located near Celebration Cinema North movie theater, we recently made our third visit before heading for the movie. This is a large restaurant divided into two rooms, both of which are heavily decorated with things that include a stuffed bird and framed daggers. Light fixtures are also diverse and somewhat interesting but it seems to be a bit much overall.

There’s a large counter that services take-out orders, and behind that is an open kitchen with a brick, gas-fired oven. Cool oven with flames visible but the counter gives the room a strange vibe, making it seem more like a counter-order restaurant.

Each visit found us seated in booths right next to other diners when plenty of other seating was available. We would have seated ourselves otherwise but the sign clearly asked us to wait to be seated (so we dealt with the loud-talkers oblivious of their surroundings).

We always experienced friendly and efficient service but the highlight of this restaurant will always be the puffy pita bread automatically brought out with a fantastic garlic spread (garlic, jalapenos, lemon juice, and olive oil). This alone warrants a visit.

Both the Falafel and Fried Kibbeh were slightly over fried but otherwise alright. The lamb vegetable soup was delicious, and the house salad was fresh with a nicely seasoned dressing.

Hommous topped with lamb is highly recommended but the Shawarma had a really heavy all-spice flavor that was too strong for us. The Beef Shish Kabob with the crisp vegetables was nicely spiced and spot-on.

Take-out seems to be a big part of their business as we watched many people walk in for their orders. The restaurant does not have a liquor license but instead offers raw and freshly squeezed juices. The owner also owns the two Le Kabob locations in Grand Rapids. Find them all on Facebook.

We later inquired about the origination of the name of the restaurant and heard back from the owners that it was derived from "Shish Lick or Shish Cabab" and "Co" from "A Cook."  Inventive enough.

This is a fine addition to Grand Rapids’ Middle Eastern restaurants and a nice alternative to Ming Ten for Celebration Cinema North attendees.

www.sheshcogrill.com