Lauren RabainoGetting tired of late-night trips to Pita Pit? If so, Petra, a new restaurant opened in San Luis Obispo that specializes in Mediterranean cuisine and pizza may be able to help you out.
Samir Aburashed and his father Todd opened Petra in early December. The restaurant is located on the corner of Higuera and Toro streets, ironically situated next to Jaffa – one of the few restaurants in town that serves a similar style of food. Aburashed invested $300,000 to get Petra up and running, which included demolishing a flower shop that stood on the property beforehand.
The interior is lined with cedar from floor to ceiling and the unique aroma of freshly baked pita bread runs throughout, as there is no wall separating the kitchen from the main dining area.
There is also a downstairs room available for large gatherings. A flat-screen TV is mounted to the wall for entertainment.
Aburashed describes Petra as “two restaurants in one,” featuring traditional Arabic entrees and pizza. Jordan is the main influence behind the restaurant’s cuisine and “Petra” is a reference to an archeological site in the country.
Petra serves three options of meat: lamb, chicken and gyro, a combination of beef and lamb. All meats are tender and boneless. The flavor and texture of the chicken is superb after soaking in a spicy marinade for hours.
Vegetarians too can enjoy items like falafel and baba ghanough, which are prepared flawlessly from scratch. The fried falafel chunks are a mixture of breaded garbanzo beans and cilantro. Baba ghanoush combines fresh eggplant with various spices. These dishes are refreshingly unconventional – for Americans at least.
All items can be ordered on a pita, which includes lettuce, tomatoes and Mediterranean sauce, or as an entrée plate.
Plates include fresh pita bread, pickles, hummus and cucumber yogurt. The hummus and yogurt are made daily by Aburashed’s mother, Sana. It is easy to tell that these homemade side dishes are vastly superior to almost anything on the market.
The pita bread is arguably the best item at Petra. Served fresh out of the oven, it is hot, thick, fluffy and delicious.
A good way to eat an entrée item is to put it on top of the pita bread along with hummus and the creamy yogurt. Todd personally makes pita in an enormous $3,000 mixing machine.
Petra offers four signature pizzas, including the Greek feta, which Aburashed said is the most popular item. This pizza uses homemade pesto sauce as a base and is topped off with fresh spinach, onions, tomatoes, artichokes and feta cheese. The pita bread is thin yet sturdy, and is puffy on the outside like a traditional pizza.
The pricing is modest, considering one meal could sufficiently feed two people. Entrees run between $6 and $10, while pizzas are $9 to $20, depending on the size. Petra also has six types of beer on tap, including the thick and hoppy Stone Indian pale ale.
Petra is open every day from 8 a.m. until midnight. Delivery is an option, as long as the order is $25 or more. Aburashed has a license to deliver wine with orders.
Petra is the epitome of a local business. Aburashed, a Cal Poly communications graduate, and his family, which has lived in San Luis Obispo for 35 years, own and operate the restaurant all day, every day.