Shahin Shahidy opened Padria Mediterranean Cafe in November and she already has a new family.

Many of the local business owners and patrons know her by name. They stop by for lunch and many take advantage of the Cafe’s order-by-phone service on the way home. From Shahidy’s family pictures that hang on the wall, the brisk business that the restaurant generated on Mother’s Day to the family recipes, the family atmosphere is prominent.

But Padria has many more things to offer. The Reporter sat down with Shahidy recently to discuss one of Kirkland’s newest restuarants.

Q: What separates Padria from other Mediterranean restaurants in the area?

Shahidy: We try very hard to have it an upscale gyro shop. It’s not going to cost you an arm and a leg and you get a very beautiful restaurant and beautiful music. One of the biggest comments I get is that not only the food is good but (the restaurant) is so clean. They say that when they come here they feel like they are going to their own mother’s kitchen.

It’s not just commercial but we are here for them. I am always here and that is one thing that they like to see. When the owner is there it makes a big difference.

Q: Describe Padria’s menu.

Shahidy: We try to go with the standard menu but we have our own touches. My restaurant experience is that if people don’t know something they won’t try it. Once they try it here they will compare it to other places. We wanted to have food that people can compare with other restaurants and we have our own touches from my mom’s recipes that we have had for years. She is an 86-year-old woman and she has been known to be a good cook all her life. Our food is so fresh. We do not have a freezer. We are only working with two refrigerators. We don’t have a microwave here and everything is prepared in front of people. That is a major difference from a lot of other restaurants.

We get a lot of families here and they come in, husband and wife with two or three children. One time a guy asked me to warm up a meal in a microwave and I had to tell him we don’t have a microwave. I thought he would be disappointed but he was happy.

Another thing about our food being fresh is that I go every day and pick out our meat. I go to the butcher shop and pick my own beef souvlaki, my own chicken breast. They know what to give me. In most restaurants their lettuce is already cut and washed in the manufacturing and it gets delivered in a plastic bag. We don’t do that. We buy our own romaine lettuce, our own English cucumber and do all the cutting here. You cannot fool people.

Also one thing is that our food is really healthy and people like that. One of the things that people tell me is that they don’t get tired of the food. Myself, if I eat Mexican food twice in two days I get tired of it. This food you don’t get tired of it.

Q: What would you say are your specialties?

Shahidy: I am well known for our rice. We do our own french fries here. We buy it, wash it, we cut it, we cook it and then we fry it in olive oil. That is the No. 1 thing, and we add feta cheese to it. We have lamb shank and my customers, they tell me “this is too low for what you are selling.” If you go to another restaurant it might be a $30 meal, but we have kept it low so that people can afford it.

Q: Why did you open Padria?

Shahidy: Well, we moved to Washington and I had been doing totally different things. I worked for a technology company, HP, for 20 years. But I wanted to focus on what I like to do. I enjoy having a restaurant, having the interaction with people. I love people and they love me, too.

Q: What is your favorite dish on the menu?

Shahidy: My favorite dish is lamb shank.

Q: What are some of the unique things that you do for your customers?

Shahidy: We have Happy Hour that starts at 4 p.m. and all of our appetizers are at a discount. Our beer is a steal at $1.75 and wine is $3.50. A lot of people try to make it like two minutes before 6 p.m. because they want that price. If they stay longer after that they still get that Happy Hour price. They love that. We have (live) music on Friday nights. The guy we have plays mediterranean music and sometimes I ask him to play jazz or blues. That has been really great but I wish we had a bigger place for dancing.

Q: Why did you pick this location?

Shahidy: Because of traffic, Starbucks is across the street and Kirkland is a good location. There are a lot of upscale people.

To order by phone call 425-814-1693. Padria Mediterranean Cafe is located at 9708 N.E. 119th Way in Juanita Village. Visit www.padriacafe.com.