Pasha Taverna & Lounge, Orlando

MyCityEats' 2012 pick for Best Middle Eastern Restaurant in Orlando, Pasha Taverna & Lounge seamlessly blends Moroccan and Mediterranean cuisines, serving seasoned tender kebabs alongside plates of stuffed grape leaves and falafel. Hearty fish and lamb-shank tagines arrive in decorative conical dishes with plenty of moroccan bread to soak up the sauce. Sweet, subtle desserts conclude feasts with flaky baklava or the Athenian Chocolate-Lover's Dream, which stacks alternating layers of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse.

In a dining room that Orlando Weekly described as “seductively decorated,” patrons sip on Moroccan mint tea amid carmine-red walls punctuated with keyhole-style insets and paintings. Textured benches roll along one wall, ending at a photomural that Orlando Weekly reported depicts the Atlas Mountains and Agdal Gardens. As dusk falls outside, the attached hookah lounge begins to fill with tendrils of scented smoke. On Friday and Saturday nights, belly dancers hypnotize guests with their undulations and their habit of holding a pendulum before the eyes of every visitor.