Petra Cafe & Hookah

Best Mediterranean food in the area. The grilled salmon is great. The service is fast and efficient. Authentic.

On the road traveling to Shreveport, LA and my husband says let’s find lunch. Not always an easy task… we’re vegan. So, I quickly Unilocal vegetarian because that’s an easier way to find vegan possibilities.
So, I am looking at reviews for this place and say let’s go for it. What a WONDERFUL surprise. The waitstaff answered all questions and wanted to make sure everything was correct. We were there for lunch and ordered their vegetarian delight. Came with salad, humus, and pita bread. That was served first before meal. Salad dressing was outstanding. I tried to buy a pint of it. Lots of veggies and spices. Great rice. I got a little worried because I said I ordered the lunch special and there was so much food. He said yes even though the lunch special you get same proportion. We will make this definite stop we are going this way again.

Went to Petra after a 4 year long break since we moved 4 years ago. Well, we were not disappointed. I was afraid that the quality, portions or taste would have changed but it was as if we had just been there the week prior. This place serves some delicious food! Between the 3 of us we ordered the lamb schwarma plate, the chicken schwarma plate and the gyro plate. The plates are around $ 15 a piece. HUGE portions of the meats, the rice and a nice dollop of tzatziki sauce. We were also given the individual salads, hummus and pitas as a starter to the meals. The meats are seasoned perfectly and are complimented so well by both the sauce and rice. I ate at least half of my plate and was full with enough left over for a full meal to go. Service was prompt and friendly and we are looking forward to visiting again the next time we come to Hattiesburg. If you have a craving for middle eastern food I highly recommend Petra. It is authentic and well worth the trip and the price you pay.

Portions were large for a 9 $ lunch menu, they are quick and the food is as good as any Greek chow I’ve ate overseas. Highly recommended this place and will def eat here again.

This place is amazing! I have not been here in 2 years, but it has gotten 10x better. The food is amazing — we had the basic, Hummas as an app and 2 gyros. This isn’t a cooperation place, very unique and personal experience here. The music is relaxing and makes me wanna dance. The employees were friendly and happy to see us at 1:15 AM. This is a definite must for authentic Mediterranean food! I work in the restaurant industry and approve this place. Check it!

One of my favorite restaurants. Great food. Very friendly service. Restaurant is not beautiful or fancy but always seems clean. We often come with our toddler and staff is always very friendly and helpful toward him. Hummus is especially good. We’ve never tried hookah here.

It was a really laid back atmosphere, the lights were not dimmed, and it was only one guy working the entire building… the experience could of been better but it was ok for a night out

First time customer. Pleasant atmosphere with good music. The server was friendly and attentive. I ordered fried eggplant and the chicken shwarma salad. The eggplant was very thinly sliced and perfectly fried. The chicken shwarma was well marinated and was a generous serving. Made for quite a tasty salad. I will definitely try this location again.

This place always had a great staff! Small and family owned but always a great experience. The food is wonderful and they have a plethora of hookah flavors to choose from. Best hookah bar I’ve ever been to!

A Mediterranean restaurant… how are you going to mess up lamb? The lamb kebob felt like it was cooked once, didn’t sell, so it was cooked again. SO tough, my jaw still aches from trying to chew it. The lamb shank was flavorless, bland and chewy. Hummus was decent. I’d only return for hookah.

Not impressed at all. The wait staff was the only thing going for them. Hummus was grainy and lacked any flavor at all. Who wants to eat chickpeas without seasoning? The salad was covered with so much Greek seasoning that it was choking my wife. She had the falafel which was dry and extremely crunchy. I had the chicken kabobs… but there was no kabob. I don’t recommend this place at all. We wanted to try something different and failed.

Excellent veggie plate, the lamb chops were delicious and a Gyro Wrap to die for! I would definitely recommend this restaurant for anyone! Bartender Zach was great and took care of our every need! Come on down and enjoy excellent Greek food at Petra Café.

This place is cool for the novelty and late-​night hours, but there’s no other reason I would go there. The alternately dry, bland, or greasy food, lackluster service, and super strict hookah rules (and prices) are enough to keep me away.
I really miss Aladdin, the hookah place not far from Petra that has a bigger selection of delicious menu items. This place also had a much better quality hookah AND a grocery store for the Mediterranean food fans that wanted to try making the stuff at home. You could even buy tobacco and coals for your own hookah there.
Unfortunately, that place caved while the popularity of Petra grew, built by college crowds who, in my opinion, don’t really know quality service, or care. Sad because Petra was actually a cool place to start. Maybe it’s changed management since it first opened.

Best falafel I’ve had in a really long time; must try!!! Lebanese tea is delicious too! Service is great! They also have a grocery store and hookah lounge.

I can’t say I was very impressed. Although
our server was friendly, the feta was bland, the vegetables were seemingly previously frozen, and the grape leaves tasted right out of a can.

Quite possibly the best food in Hattiesburg. Very generous portions, very fair prices, I will be coming back as often as I possibly can. What I have had so far: chicken and lamb platter, delicious, had to get extra rice though, but fed both my wife and I. The spicy sauce (ASK FOR IT) was probably the best condiment I have tried. I highly recommend this place as it should be the highest rated restaurant in town!

Very friendly service and nice atmosphere – the food was good too – I liked the homemade stuffed grape leaves and hummus the best – we also had lamb and spinach pies that were good.

This place was great. They stay open late and the customer service is awesome. I was passing through Hattiesburg on my way to Dallas (I know pretty round-​about) and I stopped over to hang out with a friend. He took me here raving about how good the food was. I was definitely skeptical.
The food was GOOD! They have huge serving sizes and the food is well marinated. I got the lamb shewarma platter and my friend got the chicken shewarma platter. We split both so I could get a variety and I did not regret it. I was definitely partial to the lamb but the chicken held its own. If you’re passing through or living in Hattiesburg and going to school then definitely stop by. You won’t regret it.

My boyfriend and I visit Petra at least monthly. We’ve gotten a hookah before and it was made perfectly. We love all of the workers. Best service we’ve ever gotten at a restaurant. The food is always phenomenal. The authenticity is astounding and I am sorry that Hattiesburg lacks so many people that can appreciate said authenticity. I have nothing but good things to say about Petra.
I’d recommend the vegetarian falafel plate; a huge portion of food with grape leaves, falafel, rice and more with a lebanese iced tea to drink.

It was hard to find open restaurants on Thanksgiving day when my partner and I were traveling to visit family, but easier on our way home over the holiday weekend. We patronized this spot on our way through Mississippi. Middle Eastern food by a mom-​and-​pop establishment? Yes, please!
It’s located in a strip center across from the University of Mississippi main entrance. There aren’t more than 10 tables inside the joint plus a patio in the front, but the place was steadily busy the whole time we ate. They have put forth an effort with their décor with a glaze on the walls to simulate dimension and art work and ethnic tchotchkes on the walls and shelves. Arabic pop music videos play on the single flat panel tv.
My partner wasn’t super hungry so he tried a falafel gyro. My mouth was watering while checking out the menu so I got the lamb shawarma plate. Several entrees come with a lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion, and feta salad, hummus, and warm pita bread, mine included. The lamb shawarma was excellent, perfectly grilled and was served with a fragrant white basmati rice with a few sprinklings of peas and carrots. So. Good. I had to relinquish most of the hummus and pita to my partner so I could finish my entrée. I couldn’t take it home and couldn’t bear to have leftovers thrown away so I finished it all before we got back on the road. No regrets, I’ll just eat a light dinner. It was delicious. I’d do it again. My partner finished his gyro and my hummus and pita bread. His only critique was the falafel was quite fried, but we’re in Mississippi, right?
They do take out and accept credit cards. Great value — inexpensive to moderate prices and the entrees are a ton of food.