Lama Mediterranean Cuisine, previously known as Lama Mediterranean Cafe, opened the doors to its new location in February and has brought both old customer favorites and new creations to its menu.
Manager Mo Othman said the family-run restaurant has always seen success since opening five years ago at 1500 Research Forest Drive in The Woodlands. It is continuing to see that same success, if not more, at the new location on 1644 Research Forest Drive, he said.
“So far it’s been good, we can’t complain,” Othman said. “I opened the first smaller restaurant just for fun at first, but then we got good feedback and it got busier and busier every day. So it gave us an opportunity to expand.”
Othman said the good feedback the restaurant received was a result of the unique fresh food on the menu as well as the atmosphere of the eatery.
He said all the menu items at the restaurant are made fresh daily and come with a unique taste that customers love. Greek specialties on the menu include the gyros platter and gyros sandwich, along with pastitsio—baked layers of Greek pasta—and papoutsakia, an eggplant with stuffed beef and vegetables.
“Everything is made to order—we have freshly made sauces, salads and 99 percent of our menu is housemade,” Othman said. “You can’t find things like this anywhere else. To satisfy the customer, the secret is in fresh food.”
He said the restaurant’s most popular dishes among customers include the Lama lamb chops, which is a house special, and the rotisserie chicken plate, a new menu item that debuted with the opening of the new location.
Hookah is also offered at the restaurant and comes in five different flavors for customers to smoke seated outside at tables in front of the restaurant. Also, if customers prefer take-out, they can call ahead and place an order to pick up food at the restaurant.
“Our kitchen and space are bigger here and there are new menu items now, but our menu is still simple,” Othman said. “I like to take it slow.”
With the new space also comes an extra room in the restaurant for private parties and events. Othman said catering for big events is also an option, with large-scale catering already being requested in advance for the restaurant.
As far as expanding Lama Mediterranean Cuisine in the future, Othman said it is possible, but right now the family is focusing on the new location it just opened.
“You never know, we could open more locations,” Othman said. “We’ve seen quite a lot of numbers here; it is always busy.”
Traditional Greek menu items:
- Gyros sandwich: Tender juicy slices of gyro meat are served on hot bread, smothered with onion, wedges of fresh tomatoes and topped with a specialty cucumber yogurt sauce. The sandwich comes with a side of french fries ($8.49).
- Gyros platter: Tender juicy slices of gyro meat are served with white rice, onions, tomatoes and a house cucumber yogurt salad along with gyros bread ($11.99).
- Pastitsio: Baked layers of Greek pasta, Parmesan cheese and ground meats are cooked with tomato sauce and spices and topped with bechamel sauce ($10.99).
- Papoutsakia: An eggplant is stuffed with ground beef and tomato sauce and topped with a cheesy bechamel and served with Greek salad. ($10.99)
Customer favorites:
- Lama lamb chops: Four pieces of lamp chops are grilled and marinated in special spices and served with white rice, salad and pita bread ($16.99).
- Rotisserie Chicken: All-natural rotisserie chicken is rubbed with special seasoning and served with French scalloped potatoes, tahini salad, garlic sauce and pita bread. (whole: $18.99, half: $13.99)
