Nancy L.
Yelp
MEH. meh. meh.
This was a downer on virtually every level.
Let me start with a few positives:
Pita - very fresh, very good.
Tahini - good.
BYOB - although we didn't take advantage of this visit.
Now the downers..
Around 4pm on a weekday we walked into a nearly empty and cozy middle eastern inspired dining room playing middle eastern holiday music..(in the Spring, huh?). Only a few diners inside. Hostess greets us, now seated we browse the menu..
Ask hostess (who also serves us) a few questions regarding menu. She gives us mainly two word answers. Seems sort of rushed and overall demeanor is impersonal, uninterested, unenthused. The smile on her face was all we got.
I asked how long the kebabs take to cook and my answer was "as soon as you place your order". Alrighty then.. Onto the food...
We ordered the baba ghannouj and small order of falafel to start.
Baba ghannouj is stated on menu to be a chunky and tangy puree of roasted eggplant. Falafel is described as a chickpea fritter. Description of falafel was spot on as this was definitely more of a fritter than a falafel. Served piping hot. Very crisp shell, very soft bite. Not at all dense. No parsley. No flavor. Tasted like chickpea and only chickpea. I happen to like fritters, but with flavor..
Upon tasting the baba ghannouj we were confused and thought maybe she brought us something else. We couldn't detect ANY eggplant. There were no visible "chunks" as described. Still perplexed, we asked our Server if in fact we did receive what we ordered, and she confirmed we did. I'm not sure what this was, but it tasted nothing like baba ghannouj.
It was tangy, I'll give them that and that's all it was. I eat this all the time and it was a poor excuse for baba.
We waited a good 25 min for our entrees to arrive.
I thought maybe the meat takes awhile to cook.
I envisioned big juicy pieces being that it took so long.
My Kebab combo plate of Spicy chicken and beef kefta arrives, along with friend's Classic Shawarma sandwich. My hypothesis was wrong. No big pieces here. This would have reasonably taken about 10 min. tops to cook.
While my plate was hot, my friend's Shawarma pita sandwich was not. Logic tells me it was sitting while my plate was being prepared. Friend said shawarma was ok but dry. My Kefta was dry and scrawny. Spicy chicken was tender chicken breast pieces, they give you three.
Nicely charred and cooked well, but had a forward spicy hot kick that lingered. It was all I tasted. Wouldn't be surprised if they doused the chicken in bottled hot sauce and threw it on the grill.
My combo comes with rice, small salad and two sauces. Tahini & a yogurt sauce? I couldn't tell. Rice was really bland, dry and tasted as if it had been sitting for hours, no way was this fresh. Salad portion was ridiculously tiny. Could it be the small plates they use to cram everything on it just doesn't work here? Yep.
Could it be that $15 for a combo sounds like a good deal only because your really getting half the amount you'd likely receive at other middle eastern joints? Yep.
Would I come back? Nope.
What we did have did not taste authentic middle eastern, and if they claim it is, that's ok too - but I like flavor with my food. Not only was it overpriced for the absence of taste & portion size, and the wait unjustified, but the dining experience itself was just unwelcoming...We couldn't wait to get our check and leave..
I'm surprised by all the high star reviews (reason we came here). I can see Dawali's being a convenient choice as its across the street from the theatre and byob makes it all the more alluring. But as convenient as it might be, I'd go to Reza's before I'd come here or Kebab House in the burbs and skip this place..