Notos Southern Bites

This goes to show how long it's been since I've been to Total Wine -- I never noticed this place was right next to them! There are such a unique combination of southern food and Mediterranean. I knew I had to try the best from both sides, and friends had been telling me to get fried chicken and a gyro, specifically. I honestly didn't want fried chicken, so I got the spicy chicken sandwich instead. And I didn't wanna double down on chicken, so I got the shawarma gyro. The order was supposed to be ready in 5-10 minutes, and I went to browse in ALDI in the meantime. When I got back it was ready, so I grabbed my napkins and I was on my way. To make sure you grab napkins on the way out -- there were none in the bag when they handed it to me. Also, you can dine in if you'd like -- they have plenty of tables, but it's set up like a casual fast restaurant.I got home and was delighted and how yummy everything looked! I had the chicken sandwich first. I loved everything about it. I could always do spicier, but it had a nice kick. The bun was nice, the chicken itself was good I think... tried to taste it by itself but the ends sticking outside of the bun were more bread than meat. But everything together was fantastic.The gyro was one of the most flavorful ones I have had to date... I don't know what kind of magic they got going on, but I loved that. Makes me excited to try more of the Mediterranean selections especially. If you haven't been here yet... go.

Introduction:I was very happy when Notos opened a couple of years ago because it was something unique to my neighborhood. I bought my home in Russett in 2020. And while Russett is a nice neighborhood and has a lot of advantages, one of the disadvantages is somewhat the lack of unique local restaurants within 2 miles of me. Go a little further to Laurel in Prince George's County, 3-5 miles away there are some more local options, or some other areas a bit further. But if I want to quickly grab some food near me, before Notos, my options were Panera, Chick Fil-A, Chipotle, Popeyes, McDonald's, Burger King, & Royal Farms. In early 2021, &pizza opened, which was a nice addition. Charley's Steaks too was good more recently. But those are still chain restaurants. Granted chains can be great. For example, I love CAVA, and I learned one opened in Laurel about 4.5 miles from my home (where Potbelly used to be), but I still haven't been to that location. I'm more likely to go to the Columbia location of CAVA a bit more than double the distance. Restaurant Experience in General:Notos is somewhat like CAVA in that they have bowls & wraps on their menu. But they also have a "Southern" menu with fish, fried chicken, etc. I've mainly had the Mediterranean bowl with rice &/or lettuce as a base, typically chicken, hummus, olives, & a few other ingredients. This place like CAVA is delicious! The price is comparable around $11-12 for a bowl nowadays. They are pretty nice in here too, and the service is efficient.I'd say I come to Notos on average once a month as this is a solid option in the area. They also have specials on Monday & Tuesday advertised in front. Unfortunately, it just seems like I never end up going there on either of those days.November 2023 visit:I had a second date here at lunchtime on a rainy November Sunday during Thanksgiving weekend. I told her the thing to get was a bowl and that it's excellent. She got this much more expensive platter that was like double the price. I paid for hers, but was annoyed. She said it was way more food than she thought. I told her, she should've gotten the bowl like I did, and she admitted after the fact mine would've been a better choice. I helped eat a couple of the things, but some of the food ended up going to waste. The food was still high quality. This 2nd date was a strange one. The first date was great, and this one fell flat. This chick was from Indonesia, worked with kids living at the home with the family & kids in Lanham, and had just moved here in October. She told me that she & the family were moving to California next week! I said how crazy it was. Who knew if it was true or not? She Uber/Lyft to get to the first date in Greenbelt with me taking her back home. This time she did the same but quite a bit further to Maryland City, and she said don't worry about taking her back home.Visits with my girlfriend in 2024 & Fried Chicken:I got a girlfriend in February. We've been to Notos together a couple of times. She really liked on our first visit on Oscar Sunday in March. This has been an option for us.I had mentioned to the person making the food &/or cashier a couple of times in 2022-2024, that one of these days I should try the Southern side of the menu like the fried chicken. The guy assured me the fried chicken is great, and I said I live close to here, and there's already Royal Farms & Popeyes for fried chicken, so I'm not sure when I would get.One day in the summer I believe it was Friday evening, my girlfriend saw the outside posters with Monday/Tuesday specials. Of course, it wasn't those days, but she said I didn't know they had fried chicken! I said yes they do, but I've never had since I've always gotten the bowl here! And if I'm in the mood for fried chicken, I'd likely go to Royal Farms with a small chance I'd go to Popeyes. This was one of those days when we were undecided on what we wanted to eat, and I said, let's just go to Notos. She said that she wanted to get the fried chicken, and since I wasn't dead set on any particular food option that day, I said I think day is the day I'm going to finally try the Notos fried chicken myself too. I have to say the fried chicken was excellent too. On par with the high quality of Royal Farms, but different. Also, it was more expensive than RF. But I definitely wouldn't rule out as an option here, but if I'm going to Notos, I'm almost always going to get the bowl since I know that's excellent and the only of its kind in Maryland City.Conclusion:Definitely will keep coming back for the bowls & even the fried chicken on a rare occasion. Maybe I'll try getting a wrap and/or other options.

Fried chicken was solid. Tender, great crunch, seasoned pretty well (could've been seasoned a bit more). I have to try more food from their menu to be able to give it 5 stars.

I stopped by Notos Southern Bites on my way to work, and I was pleasantly surprised by the twist on their name. Though I expected soul food given the "Southern" in the name, it turns out they serve Mediterranean cuisine.Ambiance was good as it was a clean bright restaurant store front with lots of lighting. The food was quite good. The chickpeas were perfectly spiced, the hummus was creamy and delicious, and the fish was well-prepared. The service was a bit slower than expected, though it wasn't too busy when I visited. I'm guessing the delay was due to the fish being made to order, which is understandable.Parking was convenient since it's located in an outlet. Overall, I enjoyed my meal and will likely return to explore more of their menu.

Update: had the shawarma wrap and it was amazing! Loved all the ingredients that I selected for the wrap!

Tried the 3pc tenders and a chicken Shawarma wrap. Both were very good, service was friendly, and the food came out fast.

Great experience and easy to order I got the lamb and beef kebab I think it needed to be on the grill for maybe 5 min more it was a bit mushy in the middle. I love that when you done in they serve you on real plates it elevates the experience of being there. The gyro was good but the white sauce tasted similar to ranch and not white sauce. The resturant looked clean but I didn't walk around to inspect. The prices were pretty fair and the naan was pretty good. The fries were spectacular!!!!

Very good eats. Idk what kind of special they had to get me this chicken curry but it was soooo good. I didn't try any of their southern bites but I will have to go back and try it. Everyone in here was nice too!

Had the salmon and Shrimp combo. Absolutely delicious. Customer service even better. Can't wait to come back.

Amazing food. Good service and generous portions. Loved it! It was worth the drive since it's not close to home. Go and check it out.