Crystal's King of Falafel Cuisine

We have been coming here for years and they never let us down. Best gyros in town hands down! We like the saffron rice and feta on ours. 2 of us get lamb gyros and 3rd person got chicken shawerma and he will tell you that's the best chicken shawerma in town! The pomogrante mediteranean drink was delicious and we are looking fwd to trying the smoothies as we were to full after the wraps we got. It takes a little while to get orders so dont expect fast food. Its worth the wait and also worth every penny! We will be back!

We love Crystal's King of Falafel and their Gyro's. Our go to is the Lamb Gyro with saffron rice which we split as they are quite large. They are fresh and amazingly delicious with a dressing that really sets off the flavor. You get great value for what you pay and we highly recommend them.

Front desk personnel was very kind and pleasant upon my entry. Got my order in bit longer than I was hoping to. But it was well worth it. We got chicken and beef shawarma, it was best one I ever ate in a Mediterranean restaurant. Hope to visit here soon. Still give 5-stars. But snap memo> pomegranate juice didn’t taste like pomegranate juice. I’m not sure what it tasted like though. Weird.

I go to Crystal's regularly for lunch and am always greeted with friendliness and the best service. I recommend their lamb or falafel gyro. Their baklava is also to die for! I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family restaurant in town.

I've come here many times over the past 8 years and the food is always delicious. 5 stars for the food. The service is always friendly, but not fast. If you're in a rush, call ahead and place an order to pick up. Otherwise, plan on waiting 5-10 minutes for your meal. Lentil soup is the best in the city. Generous portions. Reasonable prices.

The atmosphere is a bit chaotic, however, this is a family owned and ran business and they are awesome people. As a vegan, I was under impressed with the menu. I ended up getting a falafel salad; the white onion was raw (I believe it can be sautéed - highly recommend that choice.) and the tzatziki was dairy based and therefore a dry, pungent meal overall. The falafel was A M A Z I N G!!

After a long and hot day, I was very excited to have my very first shawarma. I have never had shawarma before but I am very certain it should not have turned out this way. Almost every component of the plate I have received was over seasoned to the point where I could feel the individual granular spices in each bite of either the over-seasoned beef or rice. See photos one and two attached to this review : The beef was severely over seasoned. Additionally, I ordered the falafel for my partner. The meat present in her plate was also very over-seasoned. Ontop of all of this, it cost us $40 !!! Holy smokes!! I am very disappointed... Overpriced and over-spiced.

Ordered lamb gyros for my mom and I and we both agreed that these were the best we'd ever had. The seasoning was absolutely perfect and everything tasted so fresh. The wrap was perfect. Not dried out or excessively heavy. Parking was a little tight as they share the complex with other businesses. Walking distance to the college. Outdoor seating looked nice, but we took ours to go. Gentleman taking my order was very pleasant. I will definitely be back next time I'm in town.

Walking in to the restaurant I was inundated with the delicious smells of Mediterranean cuisine. Warm, earthy, spicy goodness. Andy, the proprietor, was pleasant and helpful in making selections. I ordered a couple shawarma plate and a couple pit wraps... the wraps were devoured by hungry young adults before I got to snap a photo. The shawarma plates were spicy and delicious. The beef was slightly drier than I prefer but it was still quite tasty. The niece said the lamp gyro pita wrap was the best lamb she's had. I don't know what her lamb experience has been but it's a great compliment I think. After placing my order it only took 14 minutes to get my food. It was securely packaged and still warm upon getting home. The sauce is peppery goodness. Must have it on everything! Great experience. Will go again!

I love the smoothies here and the falafel. BEST SMOOTHIES IN TOWN! I recommend any smoothie with mango, creamy-style. I love the place's ambience and they play good music. The service is fast!

Drink was good, pineapple mango smoothie, I asked for it to be creamy Service: Good customer service Aesthetics: warm lighting on gloomy day

The lamb pita just can't be beat. So flavorful and filling with the saffron rice. Service is always pleasant and quick. Excellent lunch spot.

Don't order out, you will be ripped off. Honestly the worst food ever! Food didn't' look at all like the pictures... ordered 2 plates and a pita wrap for $50+ ... they were out of chicken and we only got a few measly morsels of lamb meat on the plates... the pita wrap was inedible, just a liquid salad with a few pieces of meat... I had to throw it away, just a total waste of my money... I travel all over the world and this is literally the worst middle eastern food I ever had.

Best pita wrap ever! I absolutely love this place - I've had lots of pita wraps from all over the country but this will always be my favorite! The price is not bad at all the service is good - all around a 10/10! I highly recommend adding the rice to the wrap it just makes it even better!

Food was great, especially for a town like Corvallis! Legit Middle Eastern food - didn't think I'd find that here. We got a combo plate with chicken shawerma, hummus, and kafta kabob. It's an extra charge if you get 2 meats, which was not on the menu and we weren't informed until the employee was putting the order into the system. For the food itself, I have no complaints (wish there was more meat for the meat-to-rice ratio, but it's pretty typical of a restaurant). The chicken was seasoned/tasty, tender, and moist. Kafta was also flavorful, but smaller in size - looked like 4 pieces of kafta, but was actually 2 cut in halves. Hummus was delicious! And I appreciate that it comes with a salad, so it's not just a ton of rice. The only reason it's not 5 stars for me is that it's on the pricier side especially for Corvo (gets close to $20 for a plate), and that the wait can be long even if you're the only customer (however this means the food is made fresh to order, so take this how you want). TIP: Call and order ahead so you don't end up waiting inside for 20 min!

Tried Crystals for lunch today. Had the Greek salad with chicken. Honestly, the Greek salad differed from my expectations but it was tasty and filling. It was more diced ingredients and not chunky. No olives were in the salad. However, the description doesn't claim it. So for what the menu states, it was good. The chicken was fresh and warm. The salad was not what I expected but I was not disappointed. I will return and try other dishes.

So I travel a lot and I love Greek/ Mediterranean food , so this is an amazing combo .. I was hungry and came in and got the chicken shawarma and it had amazing taste better than most I have had . The basmati rice was cooked perfect and everything is fresh .. I was looking at yelp for food ideas and this came up and glad I came , people are nice too

Crystal's is a gem in Corvallis. It's probably one of the most flavorful food spots you'll encounter in this town. I've ordered their falafel combo platter and their chicken combo platter a couple times. Falafel is so well-seasoned and perfectly fried. Their chicken is really tender, moist, and well-seasoned as well. You really can't go wrong with either platter. Definitely check out Crystal's if you're ever in town!

We just had an amazing meal. Do yourself a favor. Eat it. Super delicious all around. Loved the lamb gyro, falafel, saffron rice, and the really good breaded eggplant.

This place is a hidden gem. Took some time to get our food but that is ok with me knowing the food will be made to order and fresh. Highly recommend the lamb gyros pita. Different than your typical Greek style since they do not add Tzatziki sauce but rather a Tahini sauce (I think) but was incredibly delicious. My wife got the greek salad with grilled chicken and was also very delicious. The hummus was a great side appetizer but wouldn't mind trying the baba ghanouj next time. Corvallis is lucky to have a wonderful international restaurant like this. Support Local!!

This is my favorite restaurant in Corvallis FOR REAL! Its delicious food with good quantity and a fair price! The man who owns the restaurant is super nice and you can tell that it's authentic food made by people who know how to make great Mediterranean food! No complaints about this place ever, you have to try their cream smoothies for only $4.25! So good!

I had been at the Women's March 2022 and stopped at this place the smells were amazing. One guy working by himself. Took about half an hour to get my food. I ordered the fava bean dish for $9.69, it came luke warm with raw chopped onion on top. The onion was really old and ick. Waste of money...what was that oil all over the top? About 10 oz in a stirophoam cup. Really? 10 bucks.

Had the Chicken Gyros pita wrap, and wow. The veggies were crisp and fresh, the chicken was perfect, the sauce was amazing and the rice you can add was some of the best I've had. This place is very close to campus and deserves a lot more attention, please give it a shot!

Had the chicken pita gyro with saffron rice and feta. Seriously one of the best pitas I have ever had. Was a bit messy though, so get a fork if you do takeout. Took 20 mins, but worth it. Bookmarking this place for revisitation whenever I am in the area.

This place has the best Lamb Gyros in town, and the best I've ever had. Huge and delicious. You know you're at the right place when it smells like great food as soon as you enter.

So much good food. Healthy, delicious, fairly priced. What else can i say? I regularly come here for their chicken or beef shawarma. They're very generous with their portions and one order can easily last two meals

very casual ambiance but the food was delicious. went for lunch. At first, I thought the prices were a little steep until I saw how much food you got! Took half of it home for dinner tonight. Very tasty and the guy who servEd us was very pleasant and personable. Will go back again.

This place is quite literally my favorite restaurant in Corvallis. Their lamb gyros are the best I've ever had, I can't get enough of them. One of my favorite local businesses and I can't tell enough people about them! I can't wait until their lobby opens back up!

This is probably my favorite spot in Corvallis. It can take a little time, but the food is delicious and the guy behind the counter is always kind. Also, it always smells fantastic in here

Crystals is hands down the best middle eastern food I've ever had. The service is great (kind and generous) and everything I've tried has been incredible. Other reviews have stated the service was slow - 20 min apparently - which I think is silly. Most restaurants take that long or more and honestly fresh delicious food is worth waiting for. If you want fast food head over to McDonald's.

"Upon sitting down to wait, we heard the KITCHEN alive with chopping...they were actually making it to order." I meant to type KITCHEN! Please excuse me.

Easily the worst Its On Us Meal that I got. Yucky Iceberg lettuce, super salty falafel, just overall could barely even eat it, honestly. Stick to the Schwarma place, they didn't offer the best for IOU, they gave out the cheapest worst prepared food by FAR.

Crystal's cafe has been at this same location for a long time now. Their decor has not changed, neither has their food, and I hope it will stay this way for a while longer. This place is situated with a pita pit next door and local boyz on the second floor. I've never seen it packed, but I think its the best restaurant of the three. They serve Mediterranean dishes at a premium price, while it's really delicious, there's no cheap alternative in Corvallis. A Gyro may run between 7-9 dollars. Plates are more expensive, around 14 dollars. Portion sizes are pretty large, so come hungry. Plates come with rice, meat, sauce, and a side salad. Pita is an extra dollar. I personally recommend the chicken shawarma plate tl;dr: Great food and portion size, but I wish it was a bit cheaper

It's not about the Gyros for me. The chicken Shawarma is second to none in all my travels around the lower 48 states and world wide. My God how many students walk right by without trying a non-gyro dish. It's the tenderness of the chicken slow cooked with beautiful spices against the cold onion. The fireworks of flavors in the sky of the rice. I mean all this before you even apply the rich creamy shawarma sauce. Give this dish a try and the very least you'll have the contrast, texture, hot vs cold, and spectrum of flavors by which to measure all other chicken and rice dishes.

Solid place. Great food made fresh to order. It is in a busy spot but it is worth walking to.

This was our first time here and the employee at the front gave us a break down of their menu, which is pretty simple and clear. The menu isn't huge but isn't limited either. We opted to get gyro, one falafel and one lamb gyro both with saffron rice. This place is order upfront and pay and be served. The environment is small, authentic and welcoming, but definitely a little intimidating if it's your first time. The food was great and very filling and worth the price. Would go there again! Better than Pita pit if we're comparing.

Crystal's is... fine. They're known for their falafel which is not the best I've had (and I love falafel). The last time I visited, it took absurdly long (ahem 20 minutes) for a falafel pita (you dump little chickpea croquettes into a deep fryer for about 2-3 minutes and stuff it in a pita with veggies and tahini... c'mon folks). And, frankly, the falafel was poorly executed. It wasn't very crisy and tasted a bit stale, as did the pita. And it cost $7. FOR A FALAFEL PITA. Maybe I'm spoiled because my heavy falafel consumption was from Mamoun's in NYC and Munjed's in Syracuse (GO THERE IF YOU ARE IN SYRACUSE, NY), but this place is sub-par at best.

I really loved the Lamb Gyro with Saffron rice! It had tons of sauce in it which brought all of the ingredients together nicely. Pretty much a middle eastern burrito :-) If you are hankering for some middle eastern good check this place out!

I'm new to Oregon and absolutely love you guys. This is the second time my brother and I have been there in a little over two weeks, both times deserving 5 stars. You can tell this is a place in which the owners take pride. The food is fresh, never rushed, and cooked to perfection. I love Mediterranean food and try it everywhere I go, but this is easily the best I've had. It just seems more authentic than anywhere else. You guys are the best.

Best Chicken Shawarma in town. Order with extra naan bread for dipping in sauce. Great service, too.

Crystals is very good and I do try to go there regularly. We recently ordered in for our office and everyone was quite pleased. The chicken shawarma and falafel plate are personal favorites of mine. It is ironic that the pita pit is right next door but the gyro wrap from Crystals is really a completely different type of product for a different customer. It is not the cheapest but the quality and portions are excellent. Note: the saffron rice is delicious - don't miss it.

Reminds me of when I lived in Saudi Arabia. My dad and I loved this food! Thanks! Authentic and simple. Very good food.

Came down to visit our son and picked up lunch to eat in the park. We purchased 4 of the lamb gyro plates. So much food. The guys ate all of their meal and now don't need to eat dinner. I know I have enough left over for three meals. Super flavorful rice.

This is my favorite middle eastern restaurant, I love all kind off, i loved the falafel and beef and chicken shawarma, the wraps are also delicious, It's close to the college and the prices are really reasonable, The staff are very friendly and helpful.

I saw they were close to school so I decided to try it out because I didn't have much time. So glad I stopped by! I just got a lamb gyro to go with saffron rice added. It was so delicious! The saffron rice was so flavorful that I stopped as I was walking to look at it because of how good it was. They man serving me was also very polite and it was ready in a couple of minutes. I will definitely be back to try other dishes as well as their baklava.

This time I had a Combo meal containing dolmas, a salad (Iceberg lettuce, tomato, onion, dressing with black pepper) and hummus. I chose to have a whole wheat pita. I also got saffron rice with sauce, which doesn't normally come with it. That is a lot of food! I couldn't eat it all.

The food makes me feel like I'm back and my grandma and grandpas. So good, thank you so much! Super quick pickup for lunch and it's so much better than drive thru fast food!!!

Oh, MY. My daughter is now in Corvallis for school, and we've been checking out local restaurants as we visit. The sign in the window stated, 'The Falafel KING'. I'm sort of a falafel geek/foodie/expert/connoisseur and let me tell you. THEY ARE. PLUS: The saffron rice and sauce drizzled on top was the best middle eastern/greek/Lebanese rice I've EVER had. We both ordered falafel gyros, and the tahini and mix of diced tomatoes and onions were perfectly portioned. Each gyro made 2 meals for each of us. Generous portions. Don't eat meat anymore, but if I did, the roasted lamb smells were heavenly. This place knows what they're doing. The M.E. music, while we waited, was incredible. PLEASE someone I know have a celebration here and rent out the whole place. Amazing food, amazing chefs, music... put places in Portland that I OFTEN frequent to shame... AAA +++ Thank you, Chrysals! Can't wait to come back!

This is my favorite restaurant in corvallis. Very friendly service and the delicious food! I come here frequently and have never had poor service or a meal I wasn't absolutely happy with!! They have the best rice i have had in my life without a doubt I would come here just for their saffron rice. Fair prices too, big meals for around 10$

Such good quality food. You can tell the food is very authentic just by walking inside. I love their lamb gyros with saffron rice. One of my favorite restaurants in Corvallis! Highly recommend.

We went there yesterday because the restaurant down the street was closed. Talk about divine intervention. The hummus was smooth and creamy, the best. Also had the lamb plate which also flavorful and tasty. We are glad the other place was closed, so we could discover this place. Yum Yum. Will return to try the rest of the Middle Eastern offerings. About time Corvallis. Thanks Crystal Cafe!

The gyros here are straight up the best in Corvallis. The saffron rice is really good and the sauce they use is perfect. It's a very big and filling meal for the price and a lot of the times you can find deals on the Hooked app which is clutch. The hummus and pita is also really good and worth trying. Def great spot that's not too busy and pretty fast.

For some odd reason this place is never crowded. Most times I'm the only person in the place. Why? I'm not sure? Perhaps I should simply consider Crystals as one of the few hidden gems of Corvallis. First (as it's most important), the food. It's great! In particular I recommend the shawarma. Not only is it cooked and seasoned well, but the portions are huge, and reasonably priced (for what you get). Really, everything I've tried is better than average to outstanding. But a warning.....if you are accustomed to Oregon-ized WASPy, versions of foreign cuisines, you might not like the food. It has authentic spices and lots of them. I'm not sure why some have complained about the decor? It's a food establishment next to a college.......what were you expecting? White linen table cloths and marble floors? And to those who complained about the slow service. It takes time to cook good fresh food. I'll happily wait 15-20 minutes if that's what it takes. If you must have fast service there are both a Burger King and a McDonalds down the street.

I hit this place up for lunch today, having a beef gyro with saffron rice. Very tasty and topped with lettuce and tomato as well. Along with that was an unidentifiable spice of some kind. Sort of peppery with a little heat. Whatever it was, it was good. Portion size was pretty enormous. I'm a healthy eater and it was almost too much. I would have gave it a solid five but the loud middle-eastern technopop they were playing was just as annoying as the american technopop other places play.

What amazing food and customer service! We had lamb gyros and homemade almond baklava... BOTH to die for! The portions are well above average and the food is reasonably priced. DEFINITELY going back.

WOW! I love Middle Eastern food - I have had alot of good, alot of okay and alot of Bad thru the years I was really craving some good stuff so a friend and I googled some choices and ended up here. She had never had real hummus or grape leaf rolls or any middle eastern food so we had the owner just make us a bunch of stuff and it was great - soooooo much better than I expected for being in a small college town. The owner was very nice and wanted to make sure we enjoyed it all. Even added in some extra goodies. Good Food and Nice people - I think that defines a great lunch! #corvsmb

Best shawarma in town. But still doesn't stand a chance in front of a real shawarma. I'm a shawarma enthusiast. And I approve of this place. The sauce is good, but heavy and saturated inside the chicken. Good mixture of tomato and lettuce. And overall very good bread. One thing is, this shawarma is super, but not all the time. Sometimes I feel the chicken isn't cooked enough, I might be too picky, but that's what I have experienced. They also have an awesome super tasty Avocado smoothie. Best smoothie I've had. Just so good. Guy working here is a delight, he always has a smile on his face and ready to take your orders. Waiting time is a bit long, averaging 8-10 minutes. But yet again you're getting fresh and healthy food, so it's worth the wait.