Oak Cliff News
New Mediterranean restaurant lines up real lunch deal for Oak Cliff
A new restaurant opening in Oak Cliff is bringing a feature you usually only find in the suburbs (or at Luby's): a lunchtime buffet.
Called Leia Mediterranean Cuisine, the restaurant will open at 244 W. Davis St., in the space previously occupied by Bocce, the Italian restaurant from chef owner David Rice, which closed in April due to flooding. Prior to that, it was the Italian restaurant Inforzato's, and before that, Hula Hottie's.
Leia spokesperson Nadzeya Bondar says that the owners previously had similar concepts in Florida, and were enticed to open a restaurant in Dallas when the location became available.
They hope to be open in mid-October.
"The menu will have Mediterranean and middle-Eastern dishes, made with the best ingredients," Bondar says.
Dishes include gyros, grilled and skewered meats, warm pita bread, salads, spreads, and dips such as hummus in a variety of flavors.
Like many restaurants that offer a buffet option, Leia will do the buffet at lunch, and then switch to regular full-service dining for dinner.
"The buffet will run during lunch, and then from 3 to 9 pm, we'll do a regular menu," she says.
The buffet will be $13.99.
They're still working through the permitting process, so they'll open with a BYOB policy, but will eventually serve beer and wine. "It'll probably take us 90 days," she says.
Beyond the availability of the location itself, Bondar says they're pleased to be part of Oak Cliff. "The neighborhood doesn't have anything like us, and we're the only restaurant that’s going to have a buffet," she says.
