After an indulgent holiday period, many of us find ourselves craving light, fresh, healthy fare to rebalance our palates and get back on track to mindful eating.
Cue Zaatar w Zeit, Vancouver’s newest Lebanese eatery. Rooted in wholesome, plant-based ingredients, healthy fats, and balanced portions of protein and dairy, Lebanese food heavily resembles the Mediterranean diet, which is renowned for its ability to lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
Adorned by Snekwem laneway’s beautiful, colourful mural, the bright and spacious Zaatar w Zeit on Granville, with its high ceilings, wood accents, and pops of colour, is a casual dining space that invites you to take a pause from the bustling downtown pace to enjoy a fresh and tasty meal.
Bursting with authentic Lebanese flavours, and 100% halal, Zaatar w Zeit boasts a menu of healthy selections: vibrant hummus dips, hearty soups, wholesome salads, signature wraps, and baked-to-order flatbreads. Everything is made fresh in-house daily, including their nutrient-packed flatbread dough (four flavours: multigrain, spinach, high-protein, and potato)!
At mid-week lunch hour, this place was a hopping stock trading floor, buzzing with business professionals, students, and locals and tourists alike, who had come in for a quick grab-and-go lunch or a community catch-up over a tasty meal. The experienced staff handled the crowd smoothly and efficiently.
We snagged a window seat for lunch. Beside us was a large, happy group of women with their bubbly young kids, enjoying quality time together around a table full of delicious shawarma platters and flatbreads.
Here are the items we had:
Traditional Lebanese Cardamom Coffee – Strong and aromatic! Unfiltered, finely ground black coffee made of 100% arabica beans, with leveled-up fragrance from the cardamom. In true Lebanese coffee-style, you’ll find the fine coffee grounds remaining at the bottom of the pot.
Green Hummus – The house-made multigrain crackers were the perfect vessel to load scoop after scoop of this creamy blend of in-house made hummus and fresh pesto, topped with walnuts for texture.
Green Chicken Wrap – Pillowy-soft spinach wrap filled with juicy grilled chicken breast and tangy pops of flavour from the pickles. Super mild kick from the jalapeño coriander sauce. (There was Tabasco sauce available, but this would be even better with the option to add a more fiery hot sauce.) The sour cream dip tied it all together and made for a moist, creamy bite.
If you absolutely need something fried to go with your healthy meal, cheese fries are on the menu! Lightly sprinkled with cheddar, these fries are best eaten as soon as they hit the table, for maximum meltiness.
Our meal was enjoyable and satisfying. Though it was plenty of food, we felt light and satisfied, yet not stuffed heavy.
Looking forward to future visits to try the nutrient-packed salads, all-day breakfast platters, and traditional Lebanese dessert puddings. Head over to https://zaatarwzeit.com to view the full menu and catering options.
Many thanks to Zaatar w Zeit and Talk Shop Media for having us.
Zaatar w Zeit
531 Granville St., Vancouver, BC
The West Vancouver location is in The Village at Park Royal (C6-900 Main St.)
Zaatar w Zeit
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