Restaurant with healthier fare about to open in the shadow of Wichita’s largest hospital
A new quick-service Mediterranean restaurant will open on Monday at Central and Hillside.
Hassan Ballout, who also owns Albero Bistro at K-96 and Greenwich, said his new Levantine Kitchen is just about ready to go at 3337 E. Central. The space is in the same strip center as the Panera and just a few doors to the west.
It will offer healthy Mediterranean fare and will have an option where people can build their own bowls, choosing from proteins, vegetables and sauces displayed at the counter.
Ballout shared a copy of the menu, which you can see below. It offers a la carte items like hummus and pita-wrapped sandwiches with fillings including shawarma chicken, beef gyro, seared tuna, grilled jackfruit, beets and falafel. There’s also an interesting dish called “falanachos,” which features falafel on nacho chips with tomato, pickles, lettuce, jalapenos and tahini sauce.
There’s also a list of bowls — including one with rice, gyro meat, tomatoes, pickles, feta cheese, olives and tzatziki, and a jackfruit bowl topped with red onion, lettuce and raspberry barbecue sauce. The build-your-own option allows customers to create bowls to their liking using the above-mentioned proteins then choosing from toppings like hummus, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, olives, feta cheese and relish and from sauces like tzatziki, garlic, tahini, oregano dressing, Greek dressing and harissa.
Ballout said he wanted to open a quick-service restaurant that offered healthy Mediterranean fare and had a menu that was vegan friendly.
Starting on Monday, Levantine Kitchen will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
The restaurant space is across Central from Wesley Medical Center. It has seating for about 20 and will be takeout friendly. It’ll also have a front patio when the weather warms up
Ballout worked for 10 years at Bella Luna Cafe before branching off on his own in 2014 to open Albero Cafe at 4811 E. Central. In 2023, he had to close the Italian restaurant after learning that his landlord had other plans for the area.
His second restaurant, the more upscale Albero Bistro, opened at the Greenwich Place development in early 2021.
Levantine Kitchen menu
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 12:53 PM.
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