Noah’s Ark features Mediterranean and Armenian dishes
A new twist on a Mediterranean restaurant brings many people to eat at Noah’s Ark. Noah’s Ark lies on Barstow and 1st, and is about a ten minute drive from Fresno Christian.
Noah’s Ark is a fancy restaurant and bakery that serves Mediterranean and Armenian food. The family that runs the small joint noticed that most Armenian restaurants were plainly decorated. They wanted to try to make a colorfully themed interior and a fascinating place to eat, so they came up with the idea of Noah’s ark inside the restaurant.
The restaurant opened on October 10, and business was slow for the first couple weeks. But after the Fresno Bee put an ad in their newspaper about the Mediterranean themed joint, more people started to come.
From the outside, Noah’s Ark looks like a small, not noticeable venue. Stepping through the doors brings both amazement and disappointment.
The restaurant is decorated like the inside of Noah’s ark, with wood walls and old fashioned lanterns dangling above the guests. A giant mural of the ark is painted on the wall, by artist Kevork Donigian.
But other than lots of chairs and tables and the painting, the building provided no other decorations or eye-catching scenery. The place looked unfinished, and there were few guests inside.
I ordered one of the Ark Specials, which was a combination of beef and chicken kebab. The dish also contained pita bread, a side of rice pilaf, and a salad.
Even though I had ordered ahead of time, the plate arrived hot and ready. The beef was medium rare, which I personally liked, and the chicken was tender and juicy. There was also an option of putting the slices of meat inside pita bread and covering it with hummus, which all went very well together.
The rice underneath the meat remained warm even after I had eaten almost all of the meal. It didn’t stand out, but it tasted very good.
I’ve never liked to eat salad, but Noah’s Ark’s salad made me change my opinion. They put slices of onion and diced tomatoes and cucumbers on top of green lettuce, with a creamy dressing covering it all. There were a lot of fresh flavors in the salad that blended together nicely.
I also tried a falafel dish, with hummus and rice pilaf. Falafels are deep fried balls of spiced mashed chickpeas. The falafels tasted very grainy, but held together. I wasn’t able to finish the whole thing because the taste was overwhelming.
Overall, the price of the meal was understandable because of the quality of the dish. The food wasn’t the best to eat for lunch, but it would be a perfect dinner meal.
The restaurant also had a bakery that served custom cakes and many other delicious desserts.
The family hopes to go bigger with their restaurant and open a second location next door. They plan on turning the building next to them in a connected bar.
The restaurant also caters and delivers, so if you’re ever in the mood for Mediterranean, call (559) 225-1045.
If this restaurant interests you, look at their menu to order ahead.
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Noah’s Ark offers themed interior, cultural food.
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This writer can be reached via Twitter: @schultz_kamryn and via email: Kamryn Schultz.
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