All Your Mediterranean Staples at Sababa Pita Bar

July 25, 2020July 26, 2020 Taipei Expat

New safety measures for COVID-19: Surfaces are disinfected regularly and staff wear masks.

Delivery information: You can order for them on UberEats and Food Panda.

Sababa Pita Bar is one of those OG restaurants that has been around for years, staying in business by serving consistently good food at reasonable prices. Specializing in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, it’s located in the quirky alleyways of the Taipower Building neighbourhood, which is famous for being saturated with cafes and interesting restaurants. And while Sababa definitely isn’t as Insta-worthy as some of the other business in the area (here’s looking at you, Hedge Cafe, C-Tea Loft and Central Park Cafe) it also doesn’t have to be: the food speaks for itself, and it’s decent value.

We usually start off with a mint tea ($100) or a mint lemon soda ($90), but the most recent time we went, we decided to try the sangria pitcher ($600). It was actually pretty good (we prefer it to the sangria at Toasteria), but we felt like $600 was a little steep for the relatively small pitcher that we got.

For food, we started off with the mezze ($170) which came with hummus, salsa, labneh, mint yoghurt, and a basket of warm pita bread. This was a great appetizer to split between a few people, and we particularly loved the strong flavours of the mint yoghurt.

Whenever we come to Sababa, we’re sure to get one of their great salads. We love the Cairo Chicken salad ($230), but recently we find ourselves ordering the Cyprus salad ($220, pictured below) with chopped tomato, cucumber, beetroot, olives, chickpeas, feta cheese, mint lemon vinaigrette. Both are fantastic and with great portion sizes, but we prefer the dressing on the Cyprus salad.

Another thing Sababa does well is their stuffed pitas. We’ve liked every pita we ordered in the past, and the Chicken souvlaki ($180) — made with roasted chicken, mint yoghurt, feta cheese, cabbage, and tomato — was no different. The chicken was perfectly cooked, and the generous serving of mint yoghurt brought all of the flavours together.

FYI: Sababa also has a night market stall nearby their restaurants where the stuffed pitas are much cheaper (though also a little smaller). Check out the exact location in the map that we’ve attached below. The pitas at Falafel King are also great value.

Next, we ordered the Mama’s Meatballs Plata ($330) with handmade all-beef meatballs, hummus, tahini, and cheddar cheese. This was the first time we’d ordered this, and it made for another great sharing option. The meatballs were juicy and soft, and we didn’t hate the combination of hummus with cheese.

Check out their menu:

Overall, Sababa has stood the test of time and continues to churn out delicious Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean classics many years after our first visit. We’ve always loved their salads, stuffed pitas, and mezze and are impressed that they have kept up the quality throughout the years that we’ve eaten there. We’ve never turned down an invitation to eat at Sababa, and we won’t be stopping any time soon!

What’s the vibe?

Modestly-decorated restaurant serving consistently good Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food. A favourite of expats, you’re almost guaranteed to see foreigners there every time.

Worth it?

It’s not the cheapest restaurant in Taipei, but we feel that their prices are pretty fair on the most part and the food is consistently good.

Would you go back?

We’ve been back to Sababa countless times and will continue to return in the future.

Last updated July 2020

Sababa Pita Bar

Chinese Name: 沙巴巴中東美食

Hours: 11.30am - 10.30pm

Phone:
02 2363 8009

English Address:No. 17, Lane 283, Section 3, Luosifu Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106

Chinese Address: 羅斯福路三段283巷17號

Sababa Pita Market