Ripsik’s Mediterranean & American Grill

Stopped by on a quiet Sunday evening for a DELICIOUS lamb chop special. Three small juicy tasty lamb chops with tabuleh, nice herbed rice, hummus and a roasted half tomato. Someone here cares about food! And a great deal too.
We’ve always enjoyed eating here. Highly recommended.

Today was my first time here and I enjoyed my food. It was something different than I usually have. I order a chicken sandwich with pita bread. The food was tasty and fresh. The place is cute and small with nice staff. Good place to sit down and enjoy food.

Lamb and chicken kebabs were grilled amazing, as were the vegetables on the skewer. Hummus is on point. Texture is smooth, and a good balance of tahini and enough paprika in there for a slight kick. They provided more than enough pita bread.

I love foods and tastes are so best! Yummy! He is who serve to us, it is so awesome, and very respect to customer well. We gave him high rate! You all better come his place for try eat there!

We’ve been looking for a quality Greek type place for a year. This one nailed it. Outstanding food and service. We will be back!

Food was pretty good but as an Armenian some things weren’t as they should be. Example: the rice is not traditional Armenian rice with the vermicelli. I have personally never seen this rice before. Didn’t taste very good. Second: the sarma aka vegetarian grape leaves were soaked in water still. I squeezed water out and didn’t eat it. It was horrible. Inside the rice was dry and not very tasty. I ordered Lule kabobs and these were the thinnest kabobs I’ve ever seen. My son ate them all and I didn’t try but my husband said he’s had better. My husband ordered the cheesesteak and loved it. Waiter is very friendly and this place has potential and I would try it again if I were in the area.

Good food. Service was a tad slow but understandable for a busy place. Wish there was pita bread to eat with the hummus.

The food was very delicious it was my first time going there as an Armenian and to try the food it was so fresh so good awesome place to go I would go again amazing place amazing people! Thank you

The food was okay but not great. I got the vegetarian plate. The pita bread tasted off and the falafels had a strange aftertaste. I did like the rice and hummus however. The staff was super friendly.

I had a falafel sandwich with a side of hummus. Everything tastes fresh and delicious and very prompt with their service. Very good food! Sorry I forgot to take a picture because it looked too good and I was too hungry. Vegan friendly!

Excellent, fresh, delicious food! Great service! Friendly employees and clean place.
Definitely would recommend this place to others and definitely plan to come again, as often as possible.
Great breakfast too, just wish they opened a little earlier.

What a secret place in Riverside. Just enjoyed the Apple Harvest Salad!
Fresh and yummy. Perfect lemon dressing. I have placed two catering orders and the result was excellent. They do an outstanding job.
Delicious kebabs and tasty Armenian food.
Try Ripsik’s. May you continue to have good success! Jeff B. Dorough

Very tasty food, very clean place. Friendly service and good prices
I’ll definitely come back.

Wow! Amazing food !
Very good job guys! One of the best restaurants that I visit lately
A++++
VERY RECOMMENDED!

Pastrami was great, good quality ingredients and presentation. Chicken shawarma was excellent as well. Nice place and good food. I will be back again soon

Went here earlier for lunch and this place does not disappoint! The staff is friendly and the service is great and it has a very homey atmosphere. I had the beef shawarma sandwich, my aunt the chicken shawarma, and my niece the Mickey Mouse pancake. We also shared an order of zucchini. Everything was delicious and fresh and the ranch and garlic sauce was amazing. I love this place.

I ordered the chicken shawarma wrap. Upon initial inspection, my plate was visually stunning and the ingredients appeared fresh and as well freshly prepared. Upon first bite, the sandwich pita bread was warm, the chicken was flavorful, tender, spiced just right, and the accompanying sauce was creamy and unlike anything I’ve had anywhere else. The high quality freshly prepared ingredients as well as the attention to detail is what will bring back here time and time again.

I saw the great review today in the Press Enterprise on this place… that reminded me, I was planning on leaving a Unilocal on this place last month. Enough said… The PE review is true. Good food.
I suppose it may get crowded… its not very big. They do take out as well.

The food is amazing, we were in the bakery next door, came out and saw this place. People were flocking to this place hence we went inside.
Come to find out they had a huge wait. Because of this we thought we would leave but we decided to stay and they gave us a appetizer on the house.
After few minutes the food came, and to my surprise the food is freaking awesome.
This place has amazing garlic sauce, falafels are green and moist from inside, its one of the best place now on my list.
Visit here.

Strange name… Ripsik’s. Actually, it is named after the lovely mother who supports her adult daughter, Anahit, in making her restaurateur dreams come true. Three generations of family you will find diligently working here. Cool place!
The restaurant has a Riverside address on Van Buren, but I think it is closer to the Woodcrest area. The owner (the daughter) is Armenian, who took her father’s own professional chef experience (specializing in Russian and French cuisine), added in the family recipes with the best of Lebanese, Greek and Egyptian influence. A really great blend of healthy, flavor-​inspired cuisines.
Lamb kabob pita sandwich. Lamb «anything» is a head turner in our family. You merely have to mention it on the menu and you will hear the cerebral gears skid to a stop. Nicely cooked meat, it was a really good sandwich that represents them well. A generous sandwich that came with a side, your choice. Mr. B chose nice serving of delicious hummus.
The appetizer combo is always a great way to get an accurate feel for the kitchen’s talents. It arrived with hummus and smoky baba ganoush (with a generous olive oil drizzle), 4 stuffed grape leaves, 4 falafel, and a small lettuce salad. Of course, there were fresh pita wedges.
The stuffed grape leaves (aka dolmades) were served cold, vegetarian style. They also offer a meat filled version that I did not taste. Of all our food, this is the one thing I could pass on, the vegetarian version, because the rice was hard and, frankly, flavorless. I cannot attest to the meat version, but was assured they will happily warm either type. That, and more olive oil, may help with bringing out the herbal flavor I suspect was there.
The falafel, however will be on my list of the best I have ever had. Perfectly seasoned, with an amazingly light texture and beautiful crust, it was so very tender inside. Who cares if it looked almost blackish. Ugly or not, it was a most tasty morsel that I will drive long distances to repeat.
The baklava is lovingly made by grandmother Ripsik herself. Anahit declares Ripsik is a perfectionist and refuses to sell a batch if it does not meet her standards. The day we were there, there were two kinds of baklava, one with walnuts, the other with pistachio. And lots of wonderful buttery flavor. I love a delicate touch of cinnamon and light sugar syrup as opposed to honey, and this was definitely, and addictively, it!
We loved our meal and look forward to eating there again. How can you not be curious when there are still things to taste like gyros, lentil soup, and, yes, borscht?