Kan Zaman

1793 Haight St. (at Shrader)
(415) 751-9656

Mediterranean in the Haight

Went here for a friend's birthday on a Saturday night and it was PACKED. The host is kind of snotty - it takes forever to talk to him because (1) it's so crowded in the entryway that it takes forever to get through, and (2) he doesn't even give you a chance to ask for a table because he's too busy talking to staff or staring into space. =P

However, our waitress was friendly and accommodating. One person didn't get her drink until after asking for it twice, but other than that, the service was pretty decent. Our large party of 13 sat in a booth aka raised floor, cross-legged style. If only there was enough room to actually sit cross-legged.... =P They have a pretty interesting drink menu; the spiced wine (served HOT) is realllly good! It's like spiked apple cider. =) You can order it by the glass or liter.

The food itself was ok; I've had better middle eastern food. For cold appetizers, we got hummus, baba ganoush, and tabouleh, which were just ok spreads. Some of the pita were a bit burnt. Our hot appetizers were meat pie (not good) and falafel - really good! I've had falafel in berkeley before and thought it was disgusting, but this one I liked. For main dishes we got beef and veggie skewers. Beef was eh; veggie was good and coated in this garlic stuff mmm....

Overall, this is a very trendy and popular place (it's the Haight - what do you expect) with a loud but fun atmosphere (oh yeah, they also have belly dancing every 1-2 hrs). The food is just ok, but if anything, go for the spiced wine. =) For birthdays, they give you a little piece of baklava with a candle in it hehe. This place isn't great on the food side, but a good experience anyway.