Zaytoon Mediterranean Restaurant & Bar

Zaytoon Mediterranean Restaurant and Bar is a casual fine dining restaurant on the Solano Strip, offering guests a taste of Middle Eastern comfort foods. Inspired by fond memories of growing up with an olive orchard, brothers and co-owners, Izat and Walid Eliyan named the restaurant Zaytoon after the Arabic word for “olive.” Much of their youth revolved around harvesting the family orchards and dining underneath the rows of olive trees. By opening Zaytoon, Izat and Walid hope to share their childhood memories of the olive harvest with the Bay Area community.

Adding a combined 50 years of culinary experience, Zaytoon’s head chef and co-owner Haitham Salman, along with co-owner Salam Naser join Izat and Walid on their mission to showcase the diversity and richness of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. Highlighting their Palestinian roots, Walid points out the Middle East “is so much more than the politics we often hear about.” Zaytoon embraces the cuisine of Palestine, Morocco, and countries cradled by the Mediterranean Sea and represents the tapestry of various influences on Jeruselam street food and the Palestine family table.

To help breathe life to their culinary dreams of Zaytoon, the owners brought in manager Cynthia Olivas and her twenty years of fine dining expertise (Four Seasons, House of Prime Rib, and Town Hall). With her knowledge, Cynthia elevates Zaytoon into the casual fine dining realm, setting it apart from the everyday shawarma fast food stop.

Contributing to the conception of a Middle Eastern bar, Jessica Maria, a 30 year veteran of the hospitality industry and owner of the Hotsy Totsy, was brought in to create Zaytoon’s bar program. From the Sultan’s Iced Tea to the Rock the Casbah, Maria’s unique craft cocktails were designed to complement the Zaytoon’s Middle Eastern flavors and the food.