Sanaa's 8th St. Gourmet

I had a good experience at Sanaa's. First of all it was the only restaurant in town I could find that would accommodate my diet, which is essentially whole foods plant based. I ordered the Mujadara, which consisted of bulgur wheat and lentils, the red lentil soup, and a side. I told them I was vegan, and Sanaa herself (I think) very quickly and confidently made sure my dish would be made vegan. She even threw in an extra side at no cost, because she thought it would go well with my dish. Everything tasted really good. I maybe could have used just a TAD larger portion, but I left fairly satisfied. Overall I like the place a lot. Only reason for four stars is I reserve five star rating for truly great veg and vegan restaurants.

Restaurant wasn't open, however the website told us it should be open. Pity!

We were on a road trip through the Dakotas, and despaired of finding good vegetarian food. Google and Happy Cow directed us to this restaurant, and we were so happy we drove a little out of the way to find Sanaa's. The food was great, the staff was very friendly and a happy time was had by all! They had a wide selection of eggless desserts too, and this was the icing on the cake! I thoroughly enjoyed talking to the owner, Sanaa, and hearing her story.

Being my first time eating Middle Eastern, I'll tell you its like Indian food without the heat. I'm not sure if I did it right with the breads and condiments but everything in the buffet was so incredibly good I had to pile up a second plate.
Updated from previous review on Saturday May 16, 2015

On our way out west, we ate lunch at Sanaa’s Gourmet Mediterranean Restaurant in Sioux Falls SD, a popular veg and gf friendly eatery, which I highly recommend. It’s a big place, comfortable, warmly decorated in Mediterranean motif, reasonably priced, has WiFi. All the tasty tasty food is made from scratch, under the loving and watchful eye of owner/chef Sanaa Abourezk. Sanaa is always adding more vegan options - when we were there, she was experimenting with Vegan Tiramisu. The GF Fatayer (Mediterranean calzone) with a walnut spinach olive filling was outstanding, as was the lentil soup, the quinoa salad, the baklava, the basmati rice pilaf … we could happily have eaten for hours.

Sanaas Restaurant, located several blocks east of downtown Sioux Falls, is a very clean, color filled restaurant that serves tasty Syrian vegetarian and vegan food, including gluten free. Her hummus, green olive spread, falafel & eggplant sandwich style wraps, soups specials & a huge dessert case including baklava & date bars - all are tasty & freshly made. She is open for Lunches: Mon - Sat., and serves a wonderful complete buffet on Friday evenings. There are beautifully illustrated books for sale with recipes she serves, with a new vegan book coming out this fall. As often as I am in Sioux Falls, I try to eat here. Try it and you will have a new home away from home for great tasting healthful food and a very pleasant eating experience. There is a ramp for handicapped entry. The bathrooms are very clean & neat. Be sure to ask if you need gluten free or vegan food. She will show you which items are available for the day.