Dalton's Cafe Ostro is Best of Georgia winner for Mediterranean restaurant

Dec. 19—Dalton resident Tim Norton said he eats at Cafe Ostro in downtown Dalton "maybe twice a week."

"My favorite is probably the grilled mahi mahi," he said.

Norton said he wasn't surprised to learn that Cafe Ostro was recently named by the Georgia Business Journal as a winner in the Mediterranean restaurant category in its Best of Georgia awards.

"(Restaurant co-owner and manager A.K. Demirhat) really takes a lot of pride in his work," Norton said. "If he's not in the back cooking something, he's working the tables or talking to customers to make sure they are happy. And the food is great. It tastes great. They have generous portions. It's healthy, and you don't feel bloated when you walk out."

Demirhat said he was surprised and honored when he received a letter from the magazine three months ago telling him the restaurant was a winner and would be in the Best of Georgia issue.

"I did not know that we had even been nominated," he said.

According to Georgia Business Journal's website, readers and the magazine's editors nominate businesses in every category and then vote on the winners. The magazine selects Best of Georgia winners, regional winners and honorable mentions depending on the votes.

Cafe Ostro, at 240 Hamilton St., was opened three years ago by Demirhat and co-owner Haisar Shehadeh.

Shehadeh is a 1989 graduate of Dalton High School and a local business owner. Demirhat moved to Dalton 10 years ago from Atlanta. Demirhat said he has been working in the restaurant industry for almost 30 years and first moved to Dalton from Atlanta to manage Panda Express.

He said that he quickly learned to love the city.

"This is a big honor for me," he said. "It makes it even bigger to know that I was nominated by a customer. I'm proud to represent Dalton."

Demirhat, who is originally from Turkey, said the recipes he uses are based on his mother's recipes.

"Everything is made fresh daily," he said. "Everything is very healthy."

He said the restaurant's specialty is shawarmas, chicken or beef slowly roasted on a vertical rotisserie over a fire.

"It's a unique taste," he said. "When we first opened, a lot of customers had not had shawarma before. They had questions, wanted to know what it was. We gave them samples, and when they tried it, they really liked it. We have a lot of people who come back again and again for the shawarmas. The shawarmas, particularly the chicken shawarma, is our most popular food, the bestseller."

Demirhat said if someone is eating at Cafe Ostro for the first time he recommends the chicken shawarma.

The shawarmas are served with hummus, a dip or spread made from cooked and mashed chickpeas and other ingredients. Demirhat said the hummus is his signature side dish.

Cafe Ostro also has seafood dishes and offers a number of salads and vegetarian meals, such as dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice and spices), babaganoush (roasted eggplant with various seasonings) and falafels (ground chickpeas mixed with onions and spices and fried). Demirhat said all of their foods can be made gluten free.

Dalton resident Kara Thomas said she first ate at Cafe Ostro "a few weeks ago."

"I've been here two or three times since then," she said. "I really like the chicken shawarma. I didn't know they'd been named a winner (in the Best of Georgia contest). But after eating here, I'm not too surprised. The food is very good."

Cafe Ostro is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.