Panini Kabob Grill - Park 12

**What makes this different:** While The Mission wants you to chase fusion pancakes and The Blind Burro locks into the Padres crowd, Panini Kabob Grill skips the hooks entirely. No arcade floor. No craft cocktails. No weekend reservation panic. This is a café-style Mediterranean joint in the Park 12 complex that opened recently, figured out portion sizes fast, and settled into being exactly what the neighborhood needs when you just want lunch without a scene.

The kitchen runs the café-chain playbook—panini, kabobs, breakfast plates, Italian entrees—but the early reviews point to execution that punches above the format. Portions lean generous (multiple people flagged this), ingredients taste fresh, sandwiches land solid. The staff seems genuinely invested in making it work, which tracks for a spot still in its opening-week glow. One person tried it after enduring weeks of 12 AM construction noise from the build-out, which feels like the most East Village origin story possible.

It's the kind of go-to you'd want in a neighborhood this dense—business lunch spot, casual weeknight dinner, takeout when you don't feel like dealing with a wait. They do beer, wine, vegetarian options, and outdoor seating that works if you've got a dog. The vibe skews clean and functional rather than designed for Instagram, which is refreshing when half the neighborhood is trying to manufacture a look.

The menu spreads wide enough to cover Mediterranean and Italian bases without getting fussy. The early word suggests sticking to the kabobs and panini until the kitchen settles into whatever becomes the signature move. Park 12 needed something like this—a spot where the food shows up quickly, tastes good, doesn't cost a fortune, and doesn't ask you to commit to an experience. Sometimes that's the whole point.