The hidden treasure of Marshall Street is hands down King David’s.

The nice, little Middle Eastern café-style restaurant has fast service, is cheap and is very convenient. King David’s is not only an excellent place to sit down for quality cuisine, but also a great hangout spot with a casual, enjoyable atmosphere.

Milad and Angela Hatem established the restaurant in 1974 and began serving university students and faculty members. The original location of the establishment was where Chipotle resides now (129 Marshall Street) but the son of the owners, Charlie Hatem, decided to down size and relocate upstairs in 2011.

I’ve been to King David’s a bunch of times and usually get the salmon salad, which I highly recommend. This time, however, I changed it up and went with the Greek Chicken Salad. This consists of lettuce, tomato, feta cheese, black olives, grilled chicken and Greek dressing. I thought the chicken was fresh and tasty but had too much seasoning on it. The dressing was very heavy and made the salad taste like it was unhealthy.

I also got a side of hummus which was superb. I dipped a few pieces of pita in the hummus and it melted in my mouth. I liked how thin the pita was, because it was light yet satisfying.

They do not deliver but do curb side pickups. They also offer an off campus meal plan. Prices are medium and range between $7–$15.

The restaurant is medium sized and has a fair amount of tables for seating. There are designed rugs throughout the restaurant along with stained glass star light lanterns. The restaurant plays Lebanese music and all of the decor symbolizes the designs of the Middle East.

King David’s is well known for its gyros, kebabs and hummus. There are three different kinds of gyros: chicken, beef and lamb and all are made fresh from the rotisserie. Their tzatziki sauce is also very popular and is homemade daily. The restaurant specializes in vegetarian food and offers an entirely separate gluten-free menu.

 

I would say that the restaurant offers a pretty healthy menu overall. Everything is cooked with unsaturated fats and there are a lot of healthy options. Having a healthy menu for students is imperative to Hatem because he knows how health conscious people are today.

A must try on the menu is the Greek pitza. All of the pitzas are baked on 12” pita with fresh mozzarella, Greek olives, tomatoes and Greek spices. You can also add additional toppings to the pitzas for a 0.75 charge. There are several pitzas to choose from including: Greek cheese, chicken, mushroom, roasted red pepper, pesto, vegetarian, chicken pesto, sun dried tomato, artichoke, spinach, eggplant and chawarma.

King David’s is also known for its Baklava, a sweet layered pastry typically with nuts and other fillings. There are three flavors: Walnut, chocolate and pistachio. They also offer other desserts like rice pudding and coconut cake. All of the desserts are baked at offsite and are delivered daily.

King David’s has another location in Fayeteville, New York. It is located amongst Syracuse’s fastest growing shopping destinations in the Fayeteville Mall. This location has been open since the summer of 2004 and is known for offering a more intimate dining experience. Here, beer and wine is offered, unlike the King David’s on Marshall Street. The Fayetteville restaurant is bigger and has the capacity to make more of a variety of food. They offer more Greek dishes such as Musakka and Pastichio.

Kind David’s is a reliable dining option near campus. The restaurant is accommodating and always provides a fresh meal.

Published on September 27, 2015 at 9:33 pm

Contact Callie: caweinst@syr.edu