I love Mediterranean food. I could eat it every day of the week. My favorite Mediterranean restaurant in Charleston (and probably all of South Carolina) is Ali Baba Mediterranean restaurant in Mount Pleasant. It’s awesome, and really reasonably priced. I thought I really liked Pomegranate in Greenville, but Pomegranate can’t even hold a candle to Ali Baba (and Taziki’s shouldn’t even be considered “Mediterranean food.”)
That’s like calling Taco Bell “authentic mexican cuisine.” The only difference being that Taco Bell is delicious, and Taziki’s is not.
We always order the Ali Baba dinner for two, which is an appetizer sampler platter, a meat sampler tray, tons of rice, unlimited delicious pita bread, and a dessert sampler for $39.99. Really there’s enough food for 3/4 people, because we always have enough leftover for dinner the next night. Which is really good, because I’m super lazy and it’s gosh darn delicious.
I am the person equivalent of a cat.
The interior of the restaurant is nothing fancy. White walls, some mediterranean-inspired artwork hanging, hookas lining the bar area (I’m assuming you can smoke hookah there, but I’ve never done it), some clutter around the bar area… It feels like you’re eating at someone’s home, rather than in a restaurant, which I personally like. And now to the food. The appetizer plate consists of hummus, baba ganoush, falafel, tabouli, and Jerusalem salad (cucumber, tomatoes, onion, green peppers in tahini). The hummus is awesome, and the falafel is the best I’ve ever eaten. I don’t really love baba ganoush, but I actually like it at Ali Baba. As for the tabouli, I just am not a fan of it on its own, but I think it’s okay on stuff. To each his own, I suppose.
Barely got a picture before it was all gone.
The meat plate is my favorite thing. It’s what I imagine they serve in heaven. Shawirma, kibby, kofta, grape leaves, and even more falafel served over a huge mountain of curried rice. It’s seriously good. I always ask for a side of tahini, and then build little stuffed pita sandwiches out of everything on the tray. It’s the best. The shawirma is amazing, it’s unlike anything I’ve had elsewhere.
This would be part of my last meal request.
We also order the stuffed zucchini plate, which is zucchini stuffed with rice and beef in a tomato sauce. It’s so yummy, and I love having that tomato sauce to dip other stuff into (especially the grape leaves). It’s my mother’s favorite thing to order. I think it’s really interesting as it’s unlike anything else I’ve had before (and I mean that in a good way!)
That sauce is amazing. I have no idea what it is, but it’s delicious.
The desserts are good, but they’re not my favorite. There’s the baklava (which I like best of the two), which is filo dough stuffed with pistachios, cinnamon, and honey sauce, and the Burma, which is noodle strings filled with pistachios and honey sauce. They’re yummy, I’m just not a huge fan of pistachios.
Forgot to take a picture, so I stitched 2 of them together from Google Images.
I definitely recommend Ali Baba if you enjoy Mediterranean food. If you’re not hungry enough for the dinner for two, you have to at least order the shawirma and falafel. Those are the best things.
Probably my #3 favorite restaurant in Charleston.
Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine
920 Houston Northcutt Boulevard #2
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
(843) 388-0683
