In light of various restaurant closures of late (in particular Common Table’s closing today), it’s nice to see a new restaurant open up in downtown Bend: Mazza Bistro, focusing on Middle Eastern fare, opened up two days ago on the 6th in the former Pita Pit location (which closed over a year ago). This should be a nice addition to Bend’s restaurant scene particularly in the Middle Eastern space, as the only other two similar restaurants I can think of are Joolz (also downtown) and Kebaba (westside).

Looks like they’re open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. I haven’t seen a direct menu yet but the Cascade Business News has a good article that mentions some of that:

Featuring an eclectic mix of Middle Eastern cuisine– including mouthwatering shawerma wraps, kababs, falafel, authentic hummus, baba ghannouj and tabboule salad…

Menu highlights at Mazza Bistro include popular items such as falafel, hand-prepared hummus and shawerma (meats grilled on a revolving vertical spit and finely sliced or shaved) rolled in lavash flatbread wraps or served as a plate.

The shawerma wraps feature meats marinated in spices and their own juices via the traditional vertical tower cooking method, accompanied by ingredients such as seasoned onions, hummus, pickles, salad and a choice of tahini or garlic yogurt sauce.

Beer and wine will also be served, as well as Turkish coffee and Middle Eastern tea “prepared in a special way”. Beer selections include six taps featuring a range of craft brews utilizing glycol lines to ensure an extra chilled pour, and bottled items including the popular Almaza Lebanese beer which is a brisk light-bodied beer with a sweet citrus finish.

Sounds promising all around!

Downtown Bend announcement, longer article in Cascade Business News.