Yaffa Grill

2844 Colonel Glenn Hwy.
Fairborn, OH 45324
937.429.4959
website

A dive restaurant in Fairborn across the street from Wright State University and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Yaffa Grill is a pretty simple restaurant operation and attached grocery store serving Mediterranean cuisine. Busy during the lunch hour for its variety of fresh food and relatively healthy options. This place is all made for convenience, whether you want carry out or a quick buffet. The food here is fresh and pretty good.

The restaurant is a very simple operation; dine in and you will find a walk-in buffet where people come and grab food, or there is an option to carry-out. Some of the things to try:

Chicken kafta with mixed vegetables: This loved dish features Chicken meatballs cooked in a thick sauce with a nice helping of veggies on the side. It’s a good main course, relatively lighter than some of the things you can try.
Hummus: This hummus is thick and creamy. A bit heavier on the oil than I prefer, but that’s easy to dab out of the stuff. Good with grilled pita.
Falafel: The fried balls of falafel have a crisp outside but are still soft and chewey inside. With a buffet, one of these goes well on top of just about anything.
Shawarma: The popular meat preparation style where meat is cooked on a spit. In the buffet, this meat comes loose. The chicken is just a little browned on the outside, the lamb is amazing.
Baba ghanoush: The smoked eggplant recipe that serves as another good dipping item or something that tops a pita bread. It’s good as a side dish.
Greek salad: Only a salad in the sense it is packed with vegetables. The chopped cucumber, tomato, onion and other veggies in a light, vinegar sauce. A good starter or garnish for some of the above dishes.

The restaurant is a pretty simple operation; the buffet is all that you see when you come in; it’s a bit confusing because there are several doors without a clear reception area, but you are seated by a server. During lunch hours, the place actually gets pretty busy; lots of Wright-Patt airmen pay this spot a visit for lunch, so there can be a crowd. They can be slower to refill water and manage people in that rush.

The restaurant is a pretty simple one, a neighborhood operation that purveys food with a simple appeal. Yaffa Grill has a little bit of charm to it and there is a lot of good food to be had here.

Recommendations

The spot is a buffet to dine in, but it’s pretty inexpensive. The food is good, though the crowds can be significant and the service slows as a result.
If you don’t want to dine in, there is a take-out option which is pretty convenient.
The next-door grocery store has a lot of Mediterranean goods and spices that can be found in few other places in town.