Restaurant Review- “Ark Mediterranean Grill”

Elena Sarmazian

Staff Writer

As soon as you step inside “Ark Mediterranean Grill,” a new restaurant that opened up in Northeast Fresno this August, you immediately get a sense that it is not your typical Armenian restaurant. “Ark Mediterranean Grill” has a sleek, modern touch to the design, which differs from the classic cultural environment of many Armenian restaurants.

The restaurant’s name is a reference to Noah’s Ark whose traditional resting place, Mount Ararat, is the national symbol of Armenia. The name brings a touch of history to the otherwise modern restaurant.

Since moving to the United States over 20 years ago, the Ekezyan family has owned and operated several businesses. Recently, they decided to embark on a new business venture.

“Food has always brought our family together and every other day is a barbecue day at our house, so a restaurant where we do just that seemed like a great way to start something new,” said owner Kristina Ekezyan.

The Ekezyan family does an outstanding job of offering Armenian and Mediterranean cuisine, as well as offering amazing customer service.

Distinguishing themselves from other restaurants, Ekezyan stated, “Our passion for the food is what guarantees our success because we’re not a chain or fast food restaurant. We won’t serve what we ourselves won’t eat.”

“Our restaurant has a fresh take on food and we make absolutely everything from scratch,” explained Ekezyan.

However, the restaurant still offers the traditional kebob plates with chicken, beef, and an all time favorite Lulu Kebob, as well as other classic dishes such as Falafel, Shawarma, Gyros, Tabouleh, Fattoush, and of course, Baklava.

The family provides a personal and delicate touch to each and every order and works hard to ensure that their customers become regulars.

In addition to of all the wonderful features the restaurant offers, they also offer to-go orders for customers who have a busy lifestyle, but would still like a tasty home cooked meal. In addition, “Ark” provides catering service.

With their hot spot location in northeast Fresno, “Ark” is definitely a new restaurant to check out. The restaurant is located at 1528 E. Champlain Drive, in Fresno.