Mawadda Cafe Burien Mediterranean Greek foods

Delicious falafel, salad, baba ganoush, warm dolma! Everything was so tasty and with generous portions. The family vibe is really sweet and I enjoyed eating my lunch in the cafe! Service is top notch, they made me exactly what I wanted, and the ingredients were all very fresh. You must try it, you will certainly enjoy your food and experience!

Gyro combo $15. Nice amount of fresh veggies, plenty of gyro meat. Shaved, old-school style. French fries were perfectly seasoned and cooked in that way where they become delightfully crunchy/crispy.

I’ve been coming to Mawadda Café Burien since I was a kid, and to this day, it’s still my go to spot. This place holds a special place in my heart not just because of the memories, but because the food has never let me down. Hands down, they have the best lamb gyros in the city tender, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned every single time. I’ve tried a lot of Mediterranean spots around Seattle, but nothing compares to the quality and consistency at Mawadda. The owners and staff treat you like family. They always remember your order, they greet you with a smile, and they genuinely care. It’s rare to find a place that combines great food with that kind of hospitality. Whether I’m grabbing a quick bite or bringing friends and family, Mawadda always delivers. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re seriously missing out on a Burien classic.

We stopped in for lunch quite by chance and were very pleasantly surprised by this simple Greek and Mediterranean cafe. Everything was very fresh and very well prepared. Some of the very best dolmata, falafel, and spanakopita that we've tried! A very generous portion of baba ganoush that was delightfully smokey. The proprietor was very friendly and service was fast. Highly recommend!!

I came to Mawadda Cafe on Sat night. There were no customers in the restaurant, but we decided to eat. The store was well organized and the tables were clean. It took us quite some time to choose the menu. In the meantime, two people came in and picked up food. We ordered a veggie combo and a Samosa Plate. The food took a long time to come probably the restaurant was busy with phone and online orders. Veggie combo is a fresh made spanakopita triangular spinach pies, falafel, hummus, and stuffed grape. This dish was quite large and even two people could not finish it. Spanakopita triangular spinach pie is crispy and has a strong spinach flavor, falafel is a little salty for me but a good taste, hummus is a little watering taste. Samosa Plate is a golden crispy triangular pies all stuffed with a delicious filling. Choice of filling are chicken, beef and veggie. We only ate one samosa and took the rest home. There are many vegetarian and vegan choices here. I would like to try other things next time.

Met here for a work lunch (6 people). Between all of us we had the hummus, gyros, dolma, spanakopita, Greek fries and shawarma chicken. Not one complaint! Everything was delicious! Sure it took some time to come out, but you could tell it was all freshly prepared. Worth stopping by if you are in the area.

Mawadda Cafe has amazing falafels! They are always willing to accommodate my special orders. Fast, friendly service.

Employees arguing in the back, cashier had a hard time understanding English. Food was decent but lamb was bad quality.. many pieces were very rough and could not be chewed through. Charged for water (no option for tap water) when I ended up bringing my own water from my car. Salad and rice was fine. But really would not recommend to anyone.

10/10 cuisine. The service is not soo fast but the food is so good that I do not care. Everyone is super nice too. The baba ghanoush here may be the elixir of life. I am not exaggerating. Do yourself a favor and try it out! Just make sure you're not in a hurry hurry

I really enjoyed my meal at the Mawadda Cafe. I was a first time visitor and found the restaurant very clean and comfortable. My server made me feel welcome and at home. It's a popular place with lots of regulars. Looking for a vegetarian option, I ordered the falafel sandwich and a mango lassi, then I added the greek fries. Oh my God. They make the "best fries" I have ever eaten. Along with the sandwich and the lassi, I was very satisfied. I will definitely return if and when I'm in the area.

I LOVE the food from here. We order all the time, but in this last order we got a piece of white wire in our Basha platter. I'm so disappointed because this was our go-to place for Mediterranean food.

They are rude and over charge and when you ask what the extra money is for, they say "taxes". The menu is super confusing and the prices aren't clear.

The food is great and the husband that is owner is great but the wife is very very rude and will over charge unless you catch it. She has really bad attitude and is rude to customers. My friend also had the same experience! The food is really good and as long as you deal with the husband you will have a good experience but his wife will ruin your whole day if you deal with her

I came to Mawadda Cafe on Sat night. There were no customers in the restaurant, but we decided to eat. The store was well organized and the tables were clean. It took us quite some time to choose the menu. In the meantime, two people came in and picked up food. We ordered a veggie combo and a Samosa Plate. The food took a long time to come probably the restaurant was busy with phone and online orders. Veggie combo is a fresh made spanakopita triangular spinach pies, falafel, hummus, and stuffed grape. This dish was quite large and even two people could not finish it. Spanakopita triangular spinach pie is crispy and has a strong spinach flavor, falafel is a little salty for me but a good taste, hummus is a little watering taste. Samosa Plate is a golden crispy triangular pies all stuffed with a delicious filling. Choice of filling are chicken, beef and veggie. We only ate one samosa and took the rest home. There are many vegetarian and vegan choices here. I would like to try other things next time.

Excellent food always. Love their gyros, kebabs, falafel, and their spanakopita is the best I've ever had. We were so, so sad when Greek House went away because we loved Phil and the food but thank goodness we still have this Greek gem right here in Burien.

Mawadda's menu has a range of classic Middle Eastern options. They label vegetarian options, but vegan options should be asked about. Generally, you can trust that their tahini sauce is vegan. I enjoyed a falafel sandwich and hummus plate during in a quiet, orderly atmosphere.

The falafel was great. The hummus was delicious. The plate was full of little delicious bites I did not expect. The baba ganosh was not very good. It did not have the flavor I am use to. It was very bland.

Best Kabab I have tried so far around here I love their Meso Kabab, the lady was very nice and added extra roasted tomato's to my dish They did a great job everything was made fresh and delicious I am from IRan and can't find Persian restaurants close to my home this place is number one next to it If you like and enjoy Kabobs and Mediterranean food Try this little cozy place.

This is a Hole in the wall kind of place. There is no Ambiance but the Food and Service is amazing. One of the the best Mediterranean food we have tasted. We will go back if we ever visit Seattle again!

This is for the 1st Ave location in Burien. We had catering done by them yesterday. EVERYTHING was excellent! They provided each item we asked for, helped with providing chafing pans to keep everything hot. Each item was displayed well and packaged well for transporting. Our guests raved about each and every dish. They went over and above. The menu has Greek and Mediterranean foods, all prepared well. Great restaurant, amazing for catering. KUDOS to them!

Ughhh... I hate to leave bad reviews, but this Mawadda Cafe location really missed the mark. I ordered here recently, thinking that it'd be similar to the Mawadda Cafe in the Brighton neighborhood. But, boy, oh, boy! It is nothing like that location quality-wise. I ordered the foul medemas, appetizer plate, lamb shawarma plate, yogurt drink, and a side of garlic sauce. The foul medemas was good, but was heavy on the citrus. The lamb shawarma plate had poorly chopped pieces of dry AF lamb. It felt like the Sahara in my mouth. The appetizer plate's hummus and baba ganoush were off-balanced, under-seasoned, and lacked depth of flavor. Their hummus tasted like tahini and their baba ganoush was tannic tasting. In addition to that, they forgot our side order of garlic sauce that we didn't receive. Instead what we got was a few things of "tzatziki sauce" that tasted like weird, commercial ranch sauce. I'm sorry, but this is a hard pass for me. I love the Mawadda Cafe in Seattle. If this is even remotely related to that, then count me out. P.S. I was super hungry that day and only had a handful of saltines and snacks, and STILL I refused to finish my meal from Mawadda. It was that bad.

Had a Gyro and side Falafel. Service was speedy, super friendly and the food was absolutely delicious. Definitely coming back!

Great food here but I do wonder why masks are not being worn by staff or other customers. In fact, they should be demanded to wear masks. Separate from the food, this was disappointing. Separate review for the food: the chicken shawarma has too much red sauce, the salad too many chunks of cucumber, and the condiments: hummus did not taste fresh and the salad dressing a little too runny.

This restaurant isn't much to look at, but the food is fantastic! We stumbled upon it while trying to find some Mediterranean food while in the area on vacation, and it did not disappoint. My roommate and I eat a lot of Mediterranean at home, and this place beat the top five easily! You can tell everything is freshly made. We got the two veggie platters and they were beyond delicious! Best dolmas I have ever had!

Went to lunch here recently. Loved it! I had the Chicken Shish Kabob plate and there was SOOOO much food. The chicken was juicy and flavorful. The rice was soft and fluffy. The hummus and bread was so tasty! Will definitely return.

The lamb shank was juicy and tender, but the flavors weren't quite there. It just tasted like it was canned tomato sauce poured over it. It lacked spice and seasoning. I would eat again only if they improved on the flavors. Spanakopita's we're delicious. Had a light thin crust and melted in my mouth. My only suggestion is that they don't place the hot food immediately into the styrofoam container causing it to melt on the food. I would highly suggest using a small sheet of aluminum foil to line the bottom to prevent this.

Service is hit and miss, but the food is spot on. I can forgive a lot when it comes to killer food. I feel like the "Dad/owner" figure is the only one that cares about customer service. However, I get orders to go. No need to stick around. Im not gonna set them up for failure. This family place truly shines in their recipes anyway. Best gyros in town. Hands down. The menu they offer is over the top. I would recommend to anyone getting pick up. :)

Greatest customer service I've received! Very peaceful place to enjoy your meal, the guy was nice and very patient! Would recommend

Basha plate was ok. Menu said it was $25 but she charged us $27. My daughters fish and chips was frozen from Cost Co. We won't go back.

I'm going to preface this review with I'm an out-of-towner and only visited once. I don't love to leave reviews when I only have one visit but felt compelled to on this occasion. Simply put, this is the best chicken shawarma I've ever had. I am someone who thinks she loves chicken shawarma but doesn't in reality. There is some spice in the standard recipe that I'm not fond of. It's not in Mawadda's recipe! This chicken also had a yummy charbroiled taste. If I lived here, I would go here all the time. I gave it four stars because my sister didn't like her meal. She got the appetizer plate which came with a huge delicious looking salad... that had no dressing. She also said the hummus was too cumin-y. Note that there was a long wait to get the food. I was waiting with a very impatient Uber eats/door dash driver who must go there often. He said they are really slow at making the food. I think I waited 20 minutes which wasn't bad. They appear to do well with takeout orders, which makes me happy for them, but also because of COVID they are likely not fully staffed so I would recommend being patient. It's worth the wait!

Nobody is wearing masks! Worker is doing electrical work and is not wearing a mask. Hostess is not wearing a mask. Owner is not wearing a mask. Two kids in the back are not wearing masks. We are in the middle of a pandemic. This is not acceptable!

Much can be learned and appreciated about another's culture simply by preparing a meal and sharing it with them. As such, I came to love middle eastern cuisine while serving overseas years ago. I certainly don't consider myself an aficionado or a foodie, but I know what I like. While I didn't help prepare this meal, it was a treat regardless, and the staff was very welcoming and friendly. Even though it was take out, it held up great on the 30-minute trip home and is easily the best middle eastern meal I've had in the states, and my wife would agree as well. We chose two orders of the Chicken Shawarma which is spiced and grilled over a bed of rice, included a side salad, and hummus (see pics). It was delicious to say the least! The meal was prepared fresh and made to order and as such this is not a 'quick service' or fast food establishment. It only took 10 minutes however for the order to arrive, and in the interim, the owner treated me to a complementary order of falafel, which was out this world as well; I could have made a meal out of this alone! I am VERY thankful to have found this establishment, and I will without a doubt return! Shukran Ali!

MY FAVORITE PLACE FOR GYROS AND GREEK FRIES. Everything is seriously cooked to perfection... the pita is so fluffy, soft, and warm.. the meat is so tender, the fresh cut and crisp veggies... and the FRIES. Ughhh TO DIE FOR. If I could give them 10 stars, I would! Also, they have the best tzatziki sauce! Honestly, the food and the service just make this place one of my favorite restaurants! This place is in Burien... and I happily travel from Auburn when I need my fix! That says something! I wish I had pictures of the food I usually order... but it gets gobbled up way too quick. Woops! Lol

This unassuming and humble strip mall restaurant has it where it counts, in flavor and variety within their genre. Very good Mediterranean fare here with a more northeastern African / Middle Eastern nod. The chicken and lamb shawarma are delicious and grilled perfectly. And the chai is quite good. A number of folks have complained about the gyro meat, and while I concur that it is on the drier side, it is still quite flavorful. It's important to remember what gyro meat is, and how it's prepared. It's like a big, fine textured spiced lamb and/or beef meatloaf formed into a cylindrical shape to fit on a rotisserie. To remain moist it must be served rapidly, shaved to order and not allowed to cook overmuch. In a busy gyro house, this is no problem. In a restaurant like this where gyro is only one of many meats served, they go through it more slowly and thus it is allowed to roast on the rotisserie and loses some if it's fat. Remember where you're at when you order, and make menu choices in the wheelhouse of the establishment, for best quality. Rumor has it the desserts are quite good, and there is one made with rose water calling my name. If they served a good Arabic or Greek coffee traditional style, I'd be back for dessert for sure! I would recommend that the management get rid of the silly Americanized fare and review the gyro program, promote those big beautiful flavors even here in Hamburgerland. Put Sambal on the table instead of Tapatio and Ketchup, and a shaker of sumac too! Be proud of the flavors of your food and fear not the uninitiated consumer- they'll come around if the product rocks their socks off! And for goodness' sake, get a new front booth. It looks like something out of a strip club in the 70's. Flavorful food in an unexpected place. Recommended.

I got a falafel salad. It looked very nice and there was a good quantity of food, but very bland. Needed salt and seasonings.

WOW.. the food is WOW. Seriously it is so tasty and so authentic. Honestly, I would never think that there's a place in Burien that makes a real traditional Iraqi falafel sandwich (with Iraqi AMBA sauce, fried eggplant and potatoes, and in iraqi hajari bread). It was so good that I had to order another sandwich to go right after I took my first bite. My nephew ordered Sultani plate that is also an authentic dish.. we call it "Mashawi mshakal" and he said it was super yummy like nothing else.

tucked into a strip mall near shopping, I came across this place from a sign advertising gyros. coming from Chicago- its hard to find a decent gyro and such.. so decided to try it out! Ordered a gyro, no onion and a side order of rice. (really, a side order of rice shouldn't be $5 but that's a different story) it took about 15 minutes to get the order out and to-go, and was excited to bring it home! rice was warm, as pictured in other reviews. no complaints other than the price. Unfortunately the gyro was a miss! they didn't follow directions, though asking twice to make sure, but the worst part was the lackluster meat. there were about 3-4 pieces along with what seemed like a head of iceburg lettuce. really, really sad. the restaurant itself was clean, a large menu, and the staff were nice. wish the food was a little better.

I came here with a friend who loves this place and wanted me to try since I'm obsessed with Mediterranean food. We shared the shawarma and I ordered the kabob. Gotta say the salad was great, the hummus is good, the shawarma is amazing, but the kabob was not for me. I did not enjoy it very much but I was so into the shawarma that it was say to ignore. I would go back again for the shawarma and the hummus.

The Basha (gyros, lamb shawarma and chicken shawarma) was so delicious, I would name my children after the chef. I need to eat here again.

Not one to leave bad reviews but the owner was super condescending and yelled at me + kicked me out after I placed a pickup order through Uber Eats not knowing they closed early that day. Uber said they closed @ 10. I showed up @ 920. Sucks. I was really looking forward to supporting a local business and try a new place but I'll just stick to snack gyro.

No prices on the menu. Prices are made up as they go along. So what's to stop them from charging the customer $100 for fries? Gyro sandwich with fries and chicken and Gyros plate was $45. Other customers complained about the place too. One customer said "first and last time"

One of my all time favorite restaurants of burien. Most things here are made from scratch with love!!!! I haven't been here in 2 years and it still tastes as good as it did when I first came. The owner and employee are always polite and cook at the speed of light. Thank you for the wonderful meal.... I recommend all things but don't pass up the sambosa's

This place is the real deal. Fantastic Sambusa/sambosa--I prefer the veggie and this location's recipe is slightly better than my prior favorite middle eastern place--Mawadda on Graham in Seattle. I keep wanting to order new things, but I'm really stuck on their chicken and lamb shawarma sandwiches. Thank you for existing. Edit: I should also emphasize that this is the ONLY place in far southwest Seattle that's relatively quick to get to from white center, Georgetown or environs. I've tried most other options besides the Graham street Mawadda, and this place still has the best flavors.

I must've driven by this place more than my fair share of times as it is easily passable. However when you want a break from fast food rut, Teriyaki, pizza, burgers etc. this is a very good stop to go to. This is my first time here and I had the chicken Shawarma sandwich and it did not disappoint. It was just the right size & just the right price point and was super flavorful. Looking at their other menu items I'm sure will probably be just as good. The staff is friendly it's a quiet café ,they are currently allowing The opportunity to dine in. So my next time around I will absolutely try other menu items as it looked just as good as advertised.

Same excellent Greek and Mediterranean food now served in a freshly updated interior!

Not your typical plaza mall/center food joint. Limited seatings with a great menu, I think you'll find yourself coming here more frequently than you would think. Every day they have about 20 plates of lamb shanks to serve, so if you're around, please try it! Braised until it's falling off the bone, it's just so mouth watering. The sauce however, could use a touchup as it taste a little like just tomato sauce. But that's okay, the tenderness makes up for the lack in that department. Sambosas(Chicken please!) which are out of this world! Like little pockets of delishousness in your mouhh and only $1.50 per! Portions are worth every penny because it comes with flavors! Each main dish comes with a side salad which is refreshing on it's own. Had their kebabs as well as chicken sandwich. The chicken sandwich was more like a gyro but it was packed with flavors! I don't care what to call it, just get in my belly. Owner is also one of the sole reason for coming back. He's so outgoing and is friendly. Interacts with his customers which is a must in every restaurant.

I was wildly disappointed with Mawadda. Went in with reasonable expectations based on the reviews. Waited a little too long for someone to take my order, but OK, it's a small business. Ordered a lamb shawarma sandwich to go. Ended up with some very tough beef - a completely different meat than what I ordered - and nothing like any other shawarma sandwich I've ever had. Nothing like tzatzki or anything of note. Bread not toasted, just right out of the bag it would seem. Staff not masked while required to be. I'm going to be generous and say that's two strikes. I should also mention that for the same money at a nearby business, one can get a plate of six tacos for the same $$ amount and that would double or triple what was in this pitiful sandwich.

The chicken kebab is rarely cooked thoroughly and is almost always hard to chew like rubber. Trying to Chewing the chicken caused me severe pain In my jaw joint TMJ on my left side of the face. Horrible

Really delicious! Can't remember the name of the dish but it is a combo of pita bread, lamb and chicken. The dish blew us away - flavorful, juicy and large portion. Will definitely come back to this hidden gem again. Only two small minus points: - Salad was quite bland - We had to ask for water half way through the meal

You would not know from the outside but great place. Low key but good is very tasty. I had the gyros salad and my wife and mom had the sandwiches. The meat was hot and fresh and the salad was crisp and fresh too.

Had dinner here with a friend and the place was a regular strip mall restaurant with kind of mediocre overpriced food. There were no prices on the menu so it was a guessing game, we asked what prices were and it seems like the girl was making them up as we asked. I ordered the lamb shish kabab but was given chicken, it seemed like they expected me to just take it and I sent it back for the correct entree. After 20min, I finally got my dinner and it didn't really have a lot of spices so it was just didn't have a lot of flavor. My friend's chicken shwarma was the chicken version and just as plain. We spent $48 for two dinners, a strawberry fanta and bottle of water. I did tip even though the service wasn't great, it appeared to be a family owned business, and well I think their kids were running it that day, the host was a teenager on her phone and the server looked just like her but looked like (maybe her sister) in middle school lol. Kind of pricey for a strip mall restaurant so I don't know that I'll be returning.

Excellent Mediterranean food. We ordered two vegetarian sambosa's, a falafel sandwich and chicken schwarma entree. Everything was fresh, hot and came out quickly. Service was prompt and attentive. I recommend this place and would return.

We visited on a Friday night. This place is made for orders to go. We dined in. I would order from here but never plan to eat here in person. Service was non existent and there was a lot of handcart and breaking down boxes in the dinning area. The kofta and baba ganoush were good. The number 2 kofta was large enough for two people. Their menu did not have prices and the prices on the screen at the checkout were about less then what was charged. They did match the prices ordering on line. Don't order the chi tea.

Still lovin' it. The owner is absolutely the sweetest. He's always ready with a smile. Everything I've tried from gyros to shawarma to smabosas has been awesome. My husband hasn't been able to try anything BUT the gyros. He's addicted. :) The garlic sauce is AMAZING. If you still haven't tried it, what are you waiting for?

Why on earth people go to the nearby Jack-In-The-Box, when this place is literally a stone's throw away, is totally beyond me. I guess it is yet more evidence of the relative lack of culinary and cultural sophistication of the average suburbanite. I was waiting for tire to be put on my car, so I had my choice of JITB, or this place. Since I have a fondness for Mediterranean food, I thought I'd give them a try. I'm sure glad I did. The fellow behind the counter was friendly, and made me feel like my business was appreciated. The menu is a real treat, featuring many dishes that you don't normally see in Greek/Lebanese restaurants (including 'foul [pronounced 'full'] medmmas', a delightful Egyptian dish of cooked and mashed fava beans served with olive oil, chopped parsley, onion, garlic, and lemon juice). My Gyro was quite good, with delightfully crisp and fresh vegetables, and a sauce that didn't overpower. I thought the meat was a touch dry, though; but to be fair, the one time I tried making gyro meat using the best ingredients I could find, it came out a bit dry, too. Save room for dessert! They have many things you've never heard of, including Burma (also known as 'twisted baklava', or 'sultan's turban'), and they make lemonade and chai tea from scratch. This is chai like you've never had before! So anyway, it's your body. Don't you deserve a real dining experience with fresh, healthy foods, or do just want to sleepwalk through life stuffing your hole with Jumbo Jacks and greasy fries? Your call.

I just found this greek café in the Fred Meyer parking lot (North end) and had a taste for a greek salad. For $6.59 I got the best greek salad I've had in a long time complete with a slice of pita bread. Very good size, nice colorful greens, generous amounts of cucumbers, tomatoes and sliced red onions and a side of dressing. Plus, the man working there was very pleasant. Will be back.

Perfection. Every single time! I have loved every dish from this cute little restaurant! The staff is very kind, and they are accommodating to all requests with a happy attitude. They appreciate their customers and it shows. Thank you!!