Cuisine:

• Mediterranean
• East and West
• Middle Eastern

Cleopatra Mediterranean Cuisine Description:
This Middle Eastern restaurant, although nearly camouflaged by its innocuous surroundings, boasts a menu of farm-raised halal meats that is drawing customers from across the metro area to its door. The combination of consistently well-prepared food and the warmth of a family-owned enterprise makes Cleopatra worth the considerable drive from downtown New Orleans. The restaurant's interior proves to be an elegant space, overlaid with bleach-white linens that bask in the dim glow of beaded Syrian chandeliers. It all adds up to a comfortable setting for a familiar menu of grilled and spit-roasted lamb, beef and chicken prepared with above-average results. The pita bread is baked in-house and may be some of the best in the area, served warm, its surface roughened with flour, the body puffy and bready. Stuffed grape leaves, soups and crisp salads give vegetarians something to savor while desserts come from the Middle Eastern bakery, Oasis, next door. Like many other local Middle Eastern restaurants, Cleopatra serves no alcohol.