The face of Castro Street changes ever faster these days. Few people blinked earlier this year when Mountain View's lone tobacconist, Castro's Fine Cigars, closed its doors after 10 years in business and, following a couple months of construction, was replaced by the Mediterranean Grill House at 650 Castro St.

One of the former co-owners of the cigar shop, Hasan Ibrahim, is co-proprietor of the new restaurant along with his son Mohammed. While the senior Ibrahim has worked in the biotech field for the past 15 years, he also has a long history as a restaurateur, having owned various dining establishments in the Midwest and California since the 1970s.

His newest effort has a rather austere decor, dominated by a long counter housing various kebobs and salads awaiting final preparation, and where diners place their orders. Polished wood tables line floor-to-ceiling windows, and a single painting adorns the far wall.

Mediterranean Grill House offers a small selection of soup, salads and appetizers as starters. We lapped up the red lentil soup ($2.75), which was served in a large bowl with chopped parsley sprinkled over the top. Unlike other lentil soups I've tried, its texture was creamy and the broth rich, which offered a nice complement to the soup's faintly spicy undertone.

We also sampled the baba ghanoush ($2.99 small/$5.99 large), which is offered as an appetizer or a side dish with plated entrees. Mediterranean Grill House mashed charbroiled eggplant into a thick paste that was punched up with mint leaves, lemon juice and tahini (sauce made from ground sesame seeds). The smoky and sweet eggplant flavor was delectable.

When a restaurateur spotlights a selection as the "house special plate" ($9.99), I have to give it a whirl. Mediterranean Grill's house special consisted of a choice of marinated beef/lamb or chicken shawerma, all thinly sliced from a rotating vertical skewer. Heaped atop a plateful of hummus (garbanzo bean dip), the dish was served with pickles and sliced pita. We opted for the beef/lamb combo, but found the cool hummus had noticeably lowered the warmth of the meat by the time it reached our table. Unfortunately, due to its tepid temperature it wasn't very appetizing.

But we enjoyed the delightful assortment of tastes and textures featured on the veggie delight plate ($8.99). Two falafel balls made of deep fried garbanzo bean batter sat aside a pair of plump dolma stuffed with rice, onions, mint and spices. Accompanying these were generous scoops of hummus, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh (cracked wheat salad with parsley, tomatoes, onions, lemon juice and olive oil), tahini and a serving of delicious garlic potatoes. Our only criticism was that the falafel seemed to have been cooked too long, leaving the crust hard rather than crunchy.

The lamb kebob plate ($13.99), a simple dish of marinated chunks of lamb charbroiled on a skewer, was delicious. It was served with plenty of basmati rice and choice of salad or hummus, and proved to be a meat lover's dream. We also ordered the chicken kebob ($13.99), which was similarly plated, and were struck by the tenderness of the pieces and the tanginess of their marinade.

Due to the sheer amount of food on the plate, the feta cheese salad was rightfully listed as a plated entree, and at a mere $5.99, it was the best deal on the menu. The restaurant also offers a wide selection of wraps that are perfect for the lunch crowd. We tried the falafel wrap ($5.99) and chicken shish kebob wrap ($8.99). Both are offered with either a whole wheat or spinach tortilla stuffed with broiled tomato chunks, lettuce, pickles, onions and parsley.

Being of Palestinian descent, Ibrahim guarantees that his meats are halal — the Islamic version of kosher — in which the animals are slaughtered using only the most humane methods.

His dessert selection is limited and he does not serve alcohol, nor does he intend to. But Ibrahim does offer hearty food at reasonable prices, and his customer service is attentive and hospitable, which makes Mediterranean Grill House well worth a visit next time you're in the mood for kebob.