International Food of Denton

Guys Great food but if you go down to Beirut Mediterranean you get more food for the price. I bought the beef shish kebab and it didn’t come with pita bread? You pay $ 18 and you better expect that pita bread.
The new Mediterranean restaurant down the street called Beirut middle eastern restaurant has better food more food for less of a price.
Talk about atmosphere it’s more like a store but if you go to Beirut down the street it’s more like of Mediterranean setting with low light
This is my first time here and I’m kind of disappointed about the pita bread but the food taste good but for that price I won’t be coming back.

International Foods simply changed its name to Green Zatar. Same family runs it, same kitchen staff, same wait staff, same menu, same everything. International Foods is NOT CLOSED. NOT CLOSED. NOT CLOSED. They simply changed their name. Exact same great food and service. Very clean, very healthy, very friendly.

First, just a heads up, the sign actually says «Green Zatar» (we almost drove past it looking for International Foods).
This was one of the best Med. meals that we’ve had. My husband and I eat at Greek/​Lebanese/​Mediterranean places nearly every week (we just crave those flavors) and this place was well worth the drive from N. Ft Worth.
It is a bit of a hole in the wall but it’s quaint inside and the service couldn’t be warmer or friendlier.
We started with the Zatar Bread and falalels. That bread was so good – warm, salty and just the perfect amount of olive oil and feta. The falafels are flat disks but not overcooked (i.e. too crunchy/​dry) – they were piping hot and just had enough crunch outside and tender inside. Believe me, we’ve had some bad falafel experiences…
The main courses were: Chicken Biryani for the husband – spicy and delicious; and Beef Mousaka for me – nice crust of cheese on top and then creamy eggplant and beef inside. I ate every last bite and I normally do not eat red meat. I usually stick to chicken with hummus/​babaganoush and dolmas but I really wanted to try a new dish today. I am so glad that I did. Yum!
We ate every last thing that we were served (except for the salad – that was the only forgettable thing).
Overall, great experience and will definitely be going back.

International Food of Denton (or Green Zatar as it’s now known) is a pretty decent restaurant in the middle of a really odd strip mall. The first time I went was to IFOD/​Green Zatar I was with a group of four or five people, but we were served immediately and the food didn’t take too long to come out. The service was excellent. I always feel like the employees go to great lengths to make sure their customers are happy.
I love the veggie platter. There’s just something about a plate of hummus, baba ganoush, and saffron rice that is fantastic, particularly because you can just mix them all together and it keeps on getting better. Their dolmas are addictive. My boyfriend and I occasionally will make some food at home and call in an order for the dolmas to accompany our meal.
My minor complaints with IFOD/​Green Zatar are as follows:
I don’t really care for the fact that their soda is canned, but it wouldn’t have bothered me so much if I had been warned about it.
Also, the menu (as most people have said) is pricey. I want to say that the food is so good that it’s worth it (it’s pretty tasty), but if I’m ordering a veggie platter, I shouldn’t be shelling out that much money. It’s decent food, but when ²⁄₃ of the platter is rice and chickpeas, it’s really not cost effective.
I like supporting local businesses, but due to their prices, I can’t support it as often as I’d like.
Updated 7÷22÷13: We’ve been going to Green Zatar more often lately. I love the family who owns the restaurant. We are always recognized and welcomed, the food comes out very quickly, and our orders are always perfect. I’ve never left Green Zatar hungry and I’m always happy. For that, I’ll bump up my review to a 4.

In my review, I mentioned how Yummy’s is better than IFOD. I take that back. I went into Yummy’s some months ago, and it was much, much worse than I had remembered it. Dingy restaurant, terrible food — I’m not stepping into it again.

AKA Green Zatar, Great food, nice little environment, and has a fair little selection of Mediterranean groceries.

I believe they have been renamed the Green Zatar… Anyway, I’ve been there a few times and always enjoyed their dishes. I especially liked their hummus and olives. I’m not sure how much of the food they prepare themselves or how much is imported but everything is tasty. The Persian (I think.) tea they serve is fantastic! I will definitely be going back.

A beautiful restaurant in a not so beautiful strip mall!
The family operating this restaurant is very nice. They have been taking good care of the restaurant for many years. The food here tastes a lot like a homemade meal. It is cooked when ordered and that’s why it takes time to get your food. However, I feel their menu lacks some authentic Persian plates.

Wow what a find! I enjoyed everything that I tasted. The service was wonderful. If you every have a chance to to go I would recommend it.

I do not often write reviews but I so enjoyed the experience, I wanted to say something here. We went on a Friday night and were the only ones there in this quaint and clean restaurant. The service by the owner and his wife was absolutely amazing. Our food was incredible as well. The décor was sweet and relaxing. We had a truly wonderful experience from top to bottom. We are already planning another visit in the next week.

I don’t know what I was thinking when I made this review. I wouldn’t wish their food on my worst enemy… ok well maybe them… but this was truly awful. They get two stars because I didnt die from eating it, but it was awful. I will stick to yummys.

I have also been going to IFD since it was all grocery store, then added a few tables, then became almost all restaurant. As a grocery store they stocked foods from all over and so were truly international; now that the focus is on greek and persian cuisine, the name might be a little confusing to newer arrivals. It’s easy to miss, tucked away in a strip center off the main drag, but well worth the search. The mural (which reminds me of Mikonos) along with the latticework and suspended lights creates a sweet, intimate little space. Hakima, Ali and Hormat always treat me like a family friend and take great care to make sure my every desire is catered to. I have never tasted better baba and their hummus is yummus, though I usually like lots more garlic (so that it bites back); I suspect they dial it down a notch or two for local tastes. Tasty kababs, zesty tabbouleh, succulent moussaka, tender and tangy Chicken Capri, all served on a generous bed of rice. No, there aren’t a ton of different dishes which is okay by me; I prefer a few solid hits over well-​intentioned variety anyway. As for portion size, I always leave full and you can probably tell by my pic that I’ve got some capacity. Spana is delish, though I recommend eating it there and not after it’s had a sauna in the styrofoam box. And you absolutely must try the Ash e Reshte, a traditional Persian noodle soup with lots of lentils, beans and greens, served with a dollop of creamy yogurt. It’s not served all the time, so you might want to call ahead.

I visit the area twice each year and always make a special effort to eat here. Their baba ghanouj is first rate. Meat is tender. Dolmas are fresh. The people that work here are perfect and hospitable. Don’t miss the salad with herbs (zatar?).

A charming, small, storefront restaurant that is decorated with a mural, strings of lights and candles. The food was delicious. I can highly recommend the Chicken Biryani and Lamb Kababs. We also enjoyed the hummis and babi ghanosh for appetizers. We were the only customers the evening we visited so give this family run restaurant some love!

Great rice, the rest was OK. Not too expensive. The family is VERY nice.

Overall:
Well, having had a TON of experience with middle eastern food (considering that’s where I grew up), the food was merely OK, although the dish I ordered was not typically middle eastern.
Ambiance:
Very clean, sparse but campily decorated, the International Food restaurant is a good place to go for a casual bite
Food:
Fresh, tasty food. Now here’s the caveat: this place is primarily persian and greek. If you read middle eastern and think Egyptian, Lebanese, etc. think again. I made the bad decision of ordering off-​menu, for a chicken shwarma. For those who have had a real chicken schwarma, you know it’s heaven on a flatbread. It’s fragments of fresh roasted chicken with garlic sauce, pickles and fries. The ingredients vary according to the location. unfortunately, my order turned out to be a Gyro. Yup, a gyro. With Tzatsiki sauce. Needless to say, I was kinda bummed. But still, the gyro was tasty, otherwise the score would have been a ²⁄₅
Cost:
Varies, lunch time is the best (naturally), Ranges from $ 3 to 14-​ish. Reasonable value for money.
Service:
Very sweet girl, I think she’s the daughter of the owner, and she was very accommodating. Good service

This place is adorable. The décor is campy and fun. The service was good, the food took quite awhile for us being the only ones there but we were in good company.
I really enjoyed the zatar bread. So simple and amazing. My persian burger was really good, could have used a little more seasoning to make it taste «persian» but good all around.

Good service and authentic flavor.

I guess I wouldn’t have been a bit disappointed if I saw more on the menu. I was assuming by the name of this restaurant that there would be more than Persian and Greek food.
The food was good, but for the prices you don’t get as much as compared to other restaurants. I like to eat enough to be full and take some home. Even the appetizer and dessert was way over priced for the size. We got the spankopita, the gyro dish with rice and some sweet desert. All tasty.
It’s a nice and quiet place. Very friendly service!

I’m going to be lazy. I wrote this review when I was working for my college newspaper and I had a monthly section called «The Iron Tongue.» (read below)
International Food of Denton is perfect if you are dining with a small group.
The well-​lit restaurant is tiny (which is probably why a realistic Santa Fe landscape mural is painted against the back wall), and so are the tables, which only accommodate two to four people.
Nonetheless, the service is a big thing at this family-​run business.
Our waitress had constant smiles and was very prompt about refilling our water and Persian black tea ($ 1.49), a refreshing and perky beverage made from whole tea leaves.
This week’s «Jack» ordered french-​fries ($ 1.49) and «Jill» ordered a samosa ($ 2.49) and a falafel sandwich ($ 4.99).
The fries were «adequately french-​fried,» although the dish came with only a small dish of tomato ketchup (enough to fill half a shot glass), so Jack asked for a refill three times. Instead of ketchup, the tables had pepper, salt, and a purple spice, which we discovered was ground sumac (not the poisonous kind).
Jack sampled the sumac by putting it on his fries, which gave them a mild lemony flavor.
Jack could not taste the sumac, though. «I think this stuff is purely aesthetic to give your food a different color,» he said. Jill’s somosa was the size of her palm and was served very warm.
The crusty pastry is filled with lima beans, potatoes, and corn, and seasoned with caraway. Jill did not like the caraway, but she liked the yogurt sauce that came with it.
I ordered a Veggie Combo ($ 8.99), which came with homous tahini, baba ghanoush, dolma, falafel, spana kopifa, flat bread and rice flavored with the smallest amount of saffron.
Although the combo sounds like a lot of food, it adequately feeds one person with a large appetite.
Homous tahini is a garbanzo-​bean dip flavored with tahini sauce, baba ghanoush is a dip made with eggplant, falafels are doughy fried balls made from chickpeas (like a hushpuppy, but more flavorful), dolmas are pickled grape leaves stuffed with rice, and spana kopifa is a filo-​dough pastry filled with goat cheese.
Everything was delicous, flavorful, and not greasy at all.
Jill liked the homous tahini because of its «sharp» taste.
The only thing I did not finish was the rice, because it was slightly dry.
Because I lived in the Middle East, I am slightly biased, but this restaurant passed the authenticity test.
I would not, however, recommend it to people who like bland food.
Another bonus for International Food of Denton is the variety of foreign food they sell in their grocery, against one wall of the business.
The grocery includes canned and fresh food from the Mediterranean and Africa, like Bulgarian Sheep’s milk and bottled Orangina, an orange beverage.