Wow wow wow. We ordered five plates for two people. Fennel salad, so earthy. Octopus for my friend who is not vegetarian, where as I am. Artichokes, with a nice tahini and citrus flavor. Mushrooms with nice lentils underneath. All great! 100% recommend.

Absolutely delicious Mediterranean food! Based on my experience, the vegetarian dishes are the forte here. We ordered: 1. Fennel Salad - crisp and refreshing, and the fennel gives that different anise-flavor. I also enjoyed the oranges and candied almonds for extra flavor and texture. 2. Roasted Eggplant Dip - if you're a babaganoush fan, this is for you! 3. Fasolakia Hummus - this is a *MUST*. Even the pickiest eater in our party wanted to lick the plate clean! 4. Spiced Maitake Mushrooms - another *MUST ORDER*! The mushrooms were prepared perfectly with a slight crispy char and the black garlic sauce was out of this world!! I wish I could have bought a jar of it! 5. Grilled Octopus - this was good, but I expected more from the dish than just two pieces of octopus, one of which was a bit overcooked and rubbery. 6. Adana Lamb Kebab - Pretty good and definitely not game-y I also enjoyed the Arak and a Hard Place cocktail and the Turkish coffee for dessert was very authentic and delicious. The rhubarb dessert we ordered was good too! Sit outside on a warm evening and enjoy!

This is the best Mediterranean food I ever had. Everything is so delicious and flavorful. Lamb chop is the best I ever tasted. These comments are coming from a well traveled person who loves lamb. I hope I get the message across. Service is nice and the ambiance is great too. I would visit again next time I am in Portland.

"Exploring" is going somewhere unfamiliar. It doesn't usually include the urge to lick the plates, but maybe it should, especially if you are going to eat here. The flavors were a surprisingly rich combination of the unexpected, but in a delightful way. They had a lot of vegetarian options , and we decided to nibble our way across the menu, family style. My suggestions? Try the salt roasted beets -perfectly roasted and lounging on a pool of tahina with herbs, Fennel salad- with a slightly citrusy vinagarette and sweet almonds for crunch, Labneh -topped with crispy artichokes and a sauce that perfectly balanced spicy with flavorful fruit over the base of tangy yogurt. Other top picks: spiced mushrooms on garlic spiced lentils, or the spinach & cheese Boureka. Any negatives?: our whole meal came with one single small piece of pita bread for three people to share, and a single small extra piece of bread is $3 each. For our $150 bucks, they could have provided extra bread. Would I go back? Oh yes!

I was not expecting the food to be this good - this place nails Mediterranean nibbles! Service was warm, friendly, knowledgeable and attentive. Interior and exterior are clean and modern. But it's all about the food. We kept ordering because it was so good... Drinks - my Turkish delight was terrific. But the white Negroni? Perfect for a hot summery day. Food - you wouldn't think olives would be much to write about. But these were so plump and juicy, well marinated, and since the were warm, so flavorful. The hummus was creamy with just the right amount of tahini and crispy lamb bits. The pita was warm and pillowy (we ordered another one to sop up all of the sauces). The falafel was crisp with a tender crumb, not dry like so many are. And the zhug was full of bright flavor. We had to order another one. Octopus was perfectly cooked and the oil needed to be stopped up with pita; it would have been a shame to waste it. The chicken meatballs were also crisp with a tender interior. The eggplant relish with slivered almonds was served cold/room temp, but did not deteriorate from the meatballs whatsoever. . I'll be back... you should go too!

Based off of a recommendation from a coworker, we visited the Mediterranean Exploration Company after our flight into Portland. We sat on the patio, which was much quieter than inside. The menu was split into five different sections; we chose items from three. Labneh with Fried Artichokes and Pita: the pita was fresh and soft while the labneh was creamy and acidic - both pairing nicely with the hearty flavor of the artichokes Grilled Octopus: tender and well seasoned Blistered Shishito Peppers: such a unique combination with the char from the peppers, the nuttiness with the pistachios, the spice from the chili crisp, and the acidity from the feta puree We washed it down with locally made beverages and left satisfied.

The lamb chops were fantastic. We ordered another servicing it was soo good. The restaurant is busy and it is tapas style. The service is okay - not amazing but not bad either. The shrimp was perfectly cooked. We went at night so it was dark inside the restaurant. Seems like it would be a good date place. I would go back for the lamb chops.

Came here with a reservation and it was pretty packed! We sat at the bar and if we wanted a table, it would've been another hour-ish wait, so make reservations if you plan on going! We loved the other restaurants of Sesame Collective, so decided to try this place out as well! As the style of this place is similar to others, it's recommended to order a bunch of different dishes and share! We started with the roasted eggplant dip and the hamachi Crudo. The dip was decent, but left a lot to be desired. It was refreshing, but I wish there was more of a taste to it. The pita was cooked well and was very airy and had a good crisp to the outside. The hamachi crudo was by far my favorite dish of the meal, light, fresh, and packed with tons of flavor. We genuinely debated ordering this dish again at the end of the meal because it was that good. The spice maitake mushrooms came out next and it had good texture and the paste was a good contrast to the lightly sweet mushrooms. Finally the beef and lamb kebab came out and it was as expected. A very good dish that had a good balance of the meaty taste but topped with nuts and a creamy paste underneath, it didn't disappoint but didn't knock me out of my seat. Overall, I would come back as the ambiance had a nice playful nature to it and wasn't too upscale but was elegant. Looked like a cool place for drinks and some food after a long day.

This family-style restaurant was a true gem! With a party of four, we ordered eight dishes and couldn't pick a favorite - everything was incredible. We each chose two dishes, and to our surprise, the hummus became a highlight. While I usually wouldn't order hummus at a restaurant with such an adventurous menu, this one turned out to be a delightful surprise! It featured a base of traditional hummus alongside whole chickpeas and something else that I couldn't pin point out but whatever it was it was all delicious. Our table consieted of mostly pescatraians., so that is what we focused on the vegetarian and seafood options, and everything I tasted was bursting with flavor. In fact, all four of us - including two fellow pescatarians - sampled most of the vegetarian and pescatarian dishes on the menu, and there wasn't a single miss. We arrived at 6:15 pm on a Monday, and the place was already buzzing. Within 45 minutes, the entire restaurant was packed! Reservations are highly recommended, no matter the day or time. This place is clearly popular for good reasons.

One of my absolute favorite dinners on this trip! Skipped the drinks and just opted for water. For food we shared the following items: Beef-Bacon Wrapped Date: This was the most underwhelming item of the night, the combination of flavors and textures were too one-dimensional. I think an added element would have really elevated this dish but somethings is missing... Crispy Lamb Hummus: WOW this was so good, the flavors, the textures, wow I just wish they gave two pitas or some cucumbers with this cause one pita is not enough. Fried Brussel Sprouts: So addicting to eat, the spices and sauce used paired so well together Moroccan Brick Chicken: Moist flavorful chicken with a delicious arugula salad, so simple but so necessary for the table Grilled Octopus: Cooked to perfection and seasoned nicely, if I see octopus on the menu I order it Warm Pistachio Cake: a simple cake but could do with less white chocolate Service was okay, we barely saw our server after we ordered but other staff was friendly. We sat at the counter so we could see them preparing the food which was a cool experience. The ambiance is dark and cozy, would be great for a date night.