Panini Kabob Grill - Del Mar

First time here was looking for something different to eat so I decided to give this place a chance. ordered the ground beef kebab with Caesar salad, and it was OK. Nothing stood out and probably wouldn’t go back, but I’ll gave it a chance. Service was OK. The guy took my order and only came back once to check on me so it is what it is.

Super friendly staff. Please be kind and considerate to them, and be patient. If you’re in a hurry, don’t order from a sit down restaurant. Go to a fast food joint if you want your meal in under 8 minutes. Remember, fresh meat takes time to cook and if it’s cooked on a grill, expect it to get some char. Also, don’t order during prime time if you’re in a rush. This location tends to be super busy on the weekends so learn to wait. Other than that, Beef koobideh kabobs are juicy and flavorful. Same goes for the chicken. Best rice to order is the Basmati rice. The chicken soup is also good. The salmon is better when you request it well done and added to a salad. The Spicy hummus is the best. And the tiramisu is scrumptious.

We have been to this place couple of times last year. Their chicken kebab is spot on. Lamb kebab is not so good, avoid that. Artisan bread basket is great and must try the hummus trio. Beautiful ambiance and cozy setup. Service was great in our first visit, but really bad in our second visit. The lights and setup outside the restaurant is really great around the evening hours.

I’ve always loved Panini, but the Delmar branch has been consistently disappointing, and we’ve decided to stop coming here. Every visit is a frustrating experience. Arriving around 6:00 PM, we often wait over 45 minutes just to be seated, and then another 20 minutes before a waitress finally takes our order. Once the food starts arriving, it usually comes in pieces: part of the order arrives first, while the rest can take another 15 minutes or more, often after everyone has finished eating the first part, which ruins the meal. Sometimes we tell them to bring the food altogether but if we do that they bring the whole food with much more delay. We’ve spoken to the manager multiple times about the poor service, but all we’ve received are generic apologies with no real improvement. The last visit was the worst: after waiting an hour and half, they ran out of rice. Why did they take our order if they knew their rice level is low. The kebabs were served first, and the rice was brought later, only half-cooked. It was a complete disaster. I love Panini and their food quality, but the Delmar branch fails every time in service, timing, and consistency. If you’re planning to visit, be prepared for a very long wait and a frustrating experience.

Very chintzy, puny protein servings here. I ordered salmon on a salad, and it was barely 3 ounces of meat. It still cost $30. Go elsewhere for a good meal.

I had the most wonderful greek salad here, it was exactly what I was seeking for a while and I appreciated the timely service despite the fact that there was a huge order before me. If you can look past the Hobby lobby inspired decor, the food here is solid and I will be coming back :)

DO NOT ORDER FROM HERE. I ended up with intense food poisoning. I ordered the chicken kabob meal with the avocado salad and the avocado looked 10 days old and off color. I threw that out and still got sick from the rest of the food. Staff lacks knowledge of menu and is inattentive as well. I have been to many panini kabob grill locations and it was always a great experience until now. Avoid this location at all costs.

Customer, please be aware of the FOOD SAFETY at this place. I have been part of the Del Mar community for many years, and respect and safety are demanded. On August 9th I placed an order online with the appropriate estimated time for pickup. My son checked in on the order and was told 5–8 more minutes, a completely reasonable time. More than one hour went by after their extended 8 minutes, and my son finally got the food. ITEMS WERE MISSING FROM THE ORDER AND THE FOOD WAS COLD I called the manager to get my money back. She wanted to give me $4 for whatever was missing. I explained that I wanted my full money back. She said she was going to do it but was pushy about denying my refund. No surprise—no money back. The fact that food was left out for such a long time is not only a disservice to the customer but also a HEALTH CONCERN. I am reaching out to the HEALTH DEPARTMENT about this place to review their safety and delivery to the customer. Please, customers: food is more expensive than ever, but restaurants like this seem to think safety and receiving what was purchased has no meaning.

Usually come here for lunch, sometimes dinner. It's good either way. The plaza has lots of good places to shop, and there's a movie theater right outside. Good vibes all around this area. As far as the food: their Caesar Salad is really good and bountiful. Lots of cheese and the dressing is perfect. For protein, love their beef koobideh kabobs. The entree comes with salad and rice, there's options if you want something else. I've also had their pasta here, again.. amazing. And yes, u can ask for more cheese. Staff is knowledgeable and courteous. Never had a bad experience here. Already a frequent patron here, don't see a reason why that would need to change. 5 outta 5 stars.

Worst. Service. Ever. No one greeted my party at the entrance, so we had to seat ourselves. After waiting for quite some time, we had to flag someone down just to take our order. It was incredibly frustrating. We waited over an hour for two simple orders of chicken kabobs. During that entire time, not a single employee apologized for the long wait or offered any concessions. When it was finally time to leave, we even had to flag them down again to get the check. Contrary to another reviewer who said take-out is a better option here, we saw people waiting over an hour for their orders and getting visibly upset. This place is completely mismanaged and needs to fire the manager on duty. We won't be coming back. There are better Mediterranean options in the area. Avoid this place if you value good service and your time.

Food is amazing, but very poor service! Ambiance is also great. Our party of 3 arrived at 8pm without reservation. The lady at the front told us unfortunately it was full and she couldn't fit us, but we could order to go. I told her I saw plenty of tables that were empty and she said she has people on a waiting list and it was full. I asked if I cloud get on the waiting list in case someone didn't show up, she hesitated but said "okay" I stayed by the door and suddenly I see a party of 3 arrive, ask for a table and she said "yes , right this way" I ask one of the girls in that party if they were on the waiting list and she said no, so I obviously got the memo that she didn't want us there for some reason (might be that we had just gotten back from the park and were not "dressed up" we were all clean but just very casual. Anyways I walk up to to her tell her why she didn't have a table for us but for the ppl that had just arrived she did and she immediately said "oh, I actually do have a table for you guys" and we dined in. Food was amazing but that experience kind of ruined it for us unfortunately. Also more ppl kept on coming in randomly without reservations or waitlists. Felt really uncomfortable after this.

Excellent food and a great area to meet up with friends or eat a fabulous meal together! Staff is very friendly and great. They were very busy on a holiday weekend but we enjoyed our assorted appetizers and talking while we waited for all the scrumptious food. We had the combination appetizer. We were a party of 8 and enjoyed the succulent kabobs. A fee had chicken, three had beef and two salmon- all were delish! They came with rice and salad or double salad! The hummus and tzatziki with pita were excellent and I really appreciated the option to have it with pita, cucumbers or half and half. Also don't forget to get baklava for desert.

Randomly decided to stop here with my boyfriend and we absolutely loved it. I loved the decor and it's located in such a nice area to walk around in. Our server was a very nice older man, who seemed pretty excited we stumbled upon the place. To start, we tried the Hummus Trio. It intrigued me because I've never had Edamame hummus before and I was happy it tasted good. The Spicy Red Bell Pepper hummus was my favorite, but the edamame and the regular hummus tied for second. I got the Chicken Pesto Panini with Lentil Soup for my meal and the panini was absolutely perfect! I only managed to eat half of it, but even as leftovers, it was delicious. The lentil soup wasn't good. I couldn't even finish my little cup of it. I actually can't pinpoint exactly what I didn't like about the flavor, but the texture was pretty mushy. My boyfriend got the Grass Fed Lamb Barg Kabob, which was also very good. However, the lamb pieces weren't cooked evenly between each other. The side salad was fresh, but nothing special. And the rice was a bit undercooked and bland. Overall, I would definitely come back here again!

Food is great. Wait time takes forever and a lot of patience! Double the estimated time they quote. To go orders are backed up 40 minutes past and at least tell the people waiting to have a seat.

Usually love everything in the family combo. The kebobs, chicken and tofu are great. Decided to get the date salad upgrade but was very disappointed. Had almost no toppings. Strawberry date salad for 2 people had 1 chopped date, 2 strawberries, a tablespoon of Gorgonzola, and 5 walnuts. Very disappointed since this was a $4 upgrade. Should have stuck with the Mediterranean salad.

For my first time at this Mediterranean restaurant, I had a lovely heathly dinner. I was at the library for a cultural event and decided to have dinner in the area. I noticed this restaurant when I visited the Cinepolis a couple of times in the past. I wanted to finally give PKG a try. Lilian, my server, was stellar! She was very knowledgeable about the menu and a huge help to me deciding what to eat. As you all can see from the picture below, my dinner was delicious and for a reasonable cost. You can't beat that!! :-)

Awesome food and awesome price with huge portions. Four of my amigos and i went into this place for the first time while walking around the Highlands for a quick bite, and I had heard the portions here were great and the food was excellent so I recommended we give it a try. Gladly, that did not disappoint! We ordered the family meal with chicken and our came 2 large salads and a HUGE plate of rice, chicken, and veggies. We finished it all, but it was a good amount of food for a regular folk of people (we are 4 hungry bois). The one thing I thought though was that the chicken and rice and veggies needed some sauce, not that the chicken was dry but there needed to be some sauce. As soon as we had asked, they brought out some hot sauce that was very good, though not hot at all , kinda tomatoey but I'd still ask for that as a pro tip. Service and environment were good as well - the outdoor seating was heated and kinda nice. Overall, I'd definitely go back and give them another try.

Huge portions, yummy food! I was surprised by how tender the meat was and the strong flavors from the tzatziki and hummus. Fresh and Delicious. Service was great also. They have multiple locations around town. This one is in Del Mar Highlands across from Cinepolis (my go-to movie theatre). Parking is mall parking so not an issue. There are plenty of good food options at the mall but I wouldn't skip over this spot.

Simply one of the best kabob spots in San Diego. Most definitely the best chain restaurant (they have multiple locations here in SD!). This specific location is extra great because it's located in such a versatile shopping center in Del Mar. The restaurant is situated on the 2nd/top floor right across the Cinepolis theater. So in other words, perfect spot to grab food and then hit up the movies later! The food here is so darn good. We always go with the kabobs because the portions are deliciously huge! I especially love the flat iron steak kabobs as they are so tender. But you seriously cannot go wrong with the chicken, salmon and koobideh. The rice pilaf is the perfect pairing with the kabobs. It eats so well with the grilled veggies on the kabob as well. We also love the salads and the apps (don't skip the dips such as tzatziki and hummus) and the sandwiches/paninis are great, too. Pro tip if you are going with your family - the Family Meal Deals are a steal! They give you so much food. They also participate in Restaurant Week so keep an eye on those specials when they come through!

Fantastic chicken skewers! They only have a few salads, but they are amazing, and this is now my go to salad place. They are a bit pricey but fantastic. The price is the one-star drop. We sat at the bar and had mediocre service. I had come here once before too and remembered the chicken was fantastic then too. In the Highlands shopping center next to Cinepolis. Lots of structured parking and easy to get to. Large covered outside patio, dog friendly. Outside turf with a couple games for the kids to run around.

Just an update January 2024. The service and the food are just as good as ever. We come here at least once a month and have been since they opened. If Yelp had not.given me a free meal here, I may have never known about PKG as it is IN Mission Valley. I generally don't go in that area because of all the traffic and congestion. If you have not been there yet, try it out and enjoy the freshest faire around. That's just my opinion.. lol

We have enjoyed sister Panini Grills in other places and this one measures up! Lovely ambience, healthy and plentiful food, varied menu, the works. The portions are huge so plan for that!

Very impressed! We've been looking for a good Mediterranean and Persian restaurant for our Koobideh fix and were so glad we came here for dinner a couple times already. The first visit we ended up getting a Beef Koobideh Kabob and Chicken Kabob as well as the Lentil soup while the kids got a panini and grilled cheese. On our most recent visit we got the combo of both koobideh and chicken (photo)--just as good as the last time! One person also got Salmon Scampi and they were able to sub in marinara sauce which was nondairy (really appreciated). Food Quality: Excellent. Juicy white meat chicken in the chicken kabob--yes, it was Not dry, which we were really impressed by. the Koobideh was flavored perfectly and cooked at just the right temperature. Also impressed by the variety--my wife got the bulgar pilaf and avocado salad with her entree, while I got basmati rice and the caesar salad with my entree. mix and match! The lentil soup has a mild mint flavor in it, so if you're not a big fan of mint, I'd recommend not getting it. Food portions: Huge--yes you will not go home hungry. Service: Our waitress took orders on a tablet, which were instantly sent to the kitchen. When she left our table, she said the orders were already being prepared and the food came very quickly. Our waiter the most recent visit was so friendly and attentive, checking on us often, too. -----TL;DR----- Pros: great quality and fresh ingredients, juicy meats with plenty of flavor, large portions (we shared the combo with 2 adults), excellent service, reasonable prices Cons: none Bottom Line: we will come back again for more, definitely a winner for our family.

Tasty Mediterranean food. When here for lunch, note they do not take any reservations. Hostess was friendly and the waiter was attentive. The food took awhile to arrive but it was delicious. The chicken kabob was flavorful and I enjoyed the grilled vegetables. The dish comes with rice and salad but I don't really like rice so I had double the greek salad. I had leftovers to take home. I will be back to eat here again!

Had lunch on a Saturday afternoon with my LOs. To my surprise, the place wasn't busy at all. What we ordered - Hummus Trio with Pita - one of our faves! Looks like they swapped the Beetroot Hummus for Spicy Red Pepper Hummus. I really like the beet over the red pepper. Tzatziki with Pita - Another one of our faves. So refreshing! Vegetable Linguine - This is probably a new addition to their menu. This one was just okay, it could really use some spice. Great food and great service makes PKG one of our family favorites in the neighborhood!

We were a party of 6 and sat at outdoor table. The heater was only on one end of the table so the person sitting on the other end was cold. There was an additional heat lamp. Service was slow maybe because it was a Saturday evening. We sat outside for a good 10-15mins before the waitress showed up. The reason for the 4 star is for the food which was well seasoned and large quantity. I probably will order to-go in the future.

The food was wonderful and got it for takeout, however they forgot to include the utensils which was a problem while trying to eat at the beach while watching sunset. Made a mess, but it was yummy.

Our food was super delicious. The kebabs were not dry and the chicken was juicy. The service was really good. This place is not formal and our family had a big table outside.

PKG, PKG, the place to go and the place to be! Wide arrays of Mediterranean eats here, with fresh veggies and salad in accompaniment. The chicken goes best with veggies and their hummus, alone, it can tend on the dry side. Quick and kind service. I love the multiple locations, including in Del Mar and Mission Valley. This place is a staple in Mediterranean food, grab a quick bite and enjoy the taste of culture and convenience! They cater too, with well portioned servings for large parties.

Got food for my wife and I for Valentine's Day the meat was under cooked raw ground beef

Poor poor service. Four of us went after the fair and the place was not crowded. They messed up 3 of the 4 orders. One was a chicken panini rather than Salmon for a nonmeat order. Okay mistakes happen. But it took over a half hour to give us what we ordered. No apologies offered. The manager even came out but basically said nothing to make us feel we were being taken care of.

We got takeout yesterday and had rude service from the staff, who tossed a bag at my elderly father when he asked for one and left! The kabobs are usually great but this time they were tough, edges burnt (we asked for it not to be burnt - we are Persian and know that an "open flame" does not necessarily mean things should be burnt!), and tasted different overall. This location is trending down, will be going to UTC instead!

The food is phenomenal, but we often have to wait well beyond the pickup time for our online orders. Like 15-20 minutes sometimes. And there is limited space to wait inside for to go orders. But... we come back because it's the best food in the whole area!

Unpleasant surprise for having liked this place for the longest time. I enjoy char-grilled food but this was a bit much. The chicken and vegetables were beyond what I would call charbroiled, they were pretty much burnt. They tasted burnt as well, which was very disappointing considering the chicken used to be very good. It was hard to enjoy it. Service was also questionable, where I got argued with about the quality of the food.

The salmon kabobs are amazing! Salmon was cooked perfectly. Try the chicken pesto panini too! Such a great place for a healthy meal. And the service is great! They have a nice outdoor/indoor seating area.

LOVE PKG food SO MUCH!!! Usually I order for takeout cause only thing my daughter can eat is their chicken kabob. She is really obsessed with it! Last night I came visit with my out of town friend and we both loved that experience. He is vegetarian and we were surprised how many vegan options has this Mediterranean restaurant. I always order kabobs or panini but this time service suggested us to take spicy prawn linguine. OMG! That was amazing! Really love food at this place. Can't believe how big are the portions for the price they offer. Excellent customer service! Great food and great quality. Definitely recommend to try this place. The only minus is that they don't have curbside pickup . Sometimes it's not convenient when I came with my dogs.

This is a great Mediterranean restaurant with lots of options and decent pricing. We ordered the family meal which originally included 3 Chicken skewers with vegetables. We wanted to try something different so we sub 2 of the skewers to Beef Koobideh and Salmon. We also upgraded one of the salads to the strawberry date salad. It was delicious and was enough for our family of 4 with 2 hungry young adults.

I was very disappointed last Saturday when I ordered the Alfredo Linguine and added Grilled Salmon. Even though the menu states there are fours pieces of salmon, it doesn't state how many ounces, when the dish came out the salmon pieces were are of different sizes and one was even overcooked and small in size. I then asked for grilled chicken instead. Quite a while later, after the rest of the party was finishing their dinner, mine finally came out. Then I find both Alfredo Linguines (one with chicken and one with salmon) on the bill! Very disappointed in the entire visit

Been here a few times... Paninis are huge! Cannot go wrong with the strawberry date salad. Never order Salmon on pasta. For 9 dollars extra and getting 4 small pieces of salmon for a pasta dish was extremely disappointing and not worth the additional cost Service was slow tonight. Not sure if they are understaffed but it was difficult to flag someone down Will likely come back again but we are starting to learn what to order and what not to order.

I was at your Del Mar location last Friday unfortunately food wasn't as suspected, we have been coming to your restaurant for the last 2 years and this time around the kebabs were look warm, we sent them back and came back the same way so we left totally disappointed. I want to inform you that the manager didn't help and he didn't care . we pay for our soda drinks and left , I wish you can do something about this and your manager attitude. Thank you

We love coming here for some delicious kabob plates. The restaurant is in a great location with lots of other shopping nearby.

I love this place It's comfort food Good portions Always tasty I get takeout here and I like to go in once in a while Service can be slow but generally they are just too busy with their takeout orders However, the staff is very friendly Try their salmon-it's awesome

Came in for restaurant week and we were quite simply blown away. I went with the lentil soup, chicken kabob, and baklava combo. The lentil soup was good, but definitely a small portion but the flavor was great. The real star was the kabob plate which was actually out of this world. The portion was huge, the flavors were great, and the quality of the cooking was evident. For a $20 3 course restaurant week meal this could not have been any better. I will definitely be coming back to try more menu items and I'd highly recommend you all try this spot too!

Great tasting kebabs and ground meats skewers. They could maybe pay a little more attention to the grilled vegetables as a lot of pieces were burnt and inedible without peeling off the charred outer layers.

Loved everything we tried . The food tasted so good. And the quantity is very good for the price. They have so many vegetarian options, which gives me a good reason to visit them again and try more of their options. We tried the hummus trio, which had 3 types of hummus and came with pita . I loved the edamame one, which was different and tasty. They were kind enough to replace the overdone pita with fresh new ones. The lentil soup was homestyle mild and calming. We also had a tofu kabob platter, which was well done and enough to share by 2 . The only con is their restroom maintenance wish they kept their restrooms more clean. .

finally convinced my husband to try this in person and we were not disappointed. the kabob plate is big enough for 2 but delicious enough to not share. service was fast and friendly and i loved how quiet but homey everything felt! will definitely be back! we highly recommend the hummus trio too!

I went to pannini to eat some pesto pasta and teramisu cake i was delicious and the service was very good the server oscar was very helpful to chose the perfect food for my family. I recommend this restaurant to come with your family and have delicious food and service .

Oh no. I loved this place. I mainly order through Grub Hub. Sometimes the chicken is undercooked and I cooked it myself. Often times they forget my drinks. I've had the fettuccine Alfredo a few times. First two times the noodles were spaghetti type not linguine. No big deal but I ordered the fettuccine Alfredo yesterday and I got severe food poisoning. I will spare the details but it's been ROUGH. Bummer. Hope I'm better soon.

the beef kabob was delicious, the rice was quite sticky and weird. the ceaser salad was good but their serving sizes looked like they were made to feed an ant. they barely put any rice on any of my friends plates. The service was alright, they did take a long time to bring out food while the store was NOT busy. The mood here is nice, servers are great, but...The one in Carlsbad is definitely the one to go!

I just love love their food. Consistently fresh, flavorful and delicious. I love their pasta which is so unexpected. Every time I'm visiting my friend in Carmel Valley I have to stop and get food from here.

KABOB'ing Panini Kabob Grill has been my first exposure to Mediterranean food. This restaurant, regardless of location, serves up some good food. FRESH ATLANTIC SALMON KABOB ($19) - choice of rice, I went with pilaf with saffron, Caesar salad, and salmon kabobs. It comes with a slice of lemon and grilled vegetables. Omg the grilled vegetables are so yummy. When I eat here it's either chicken or salmon, I haven't explored the other proteins yet as I'm stuck with ordering between those two. Since it's (lent) Friday I went for salmon. Creamy and fresh and nicely seasoned. HIGHLY RECOMMEND JABA APPROVED. Until the next review...

Very big portions, good and very friendly service, and the place was very welcoming. Good price too, for the portions they give.

The service was excellent very friendly server, food came out quickly but there were tiny flies in the salad! The server was very apologetic and asked what we would like to replace the salads. My Kabob wrap was dry, burnt and very bland. My friend had the chicken and it was good.Over all I would not recommend.

I am new In town but I consider myself an expert on Persian food! This place is beautiful and food and service was great! Great portions, cooked right and delicious

We came early for breakfast and it looked like we were among a few other early birds. Sat by the glass wall for optimum people watching. Ordered French toast breakfast with coffee. OMG their coffee is just fabulous! Dark, rich, medium bodied coffee. Not too bold or too mild, just right. They use only Lavazza Coffee, 100% Arabica. Anyway back to my food. The French toast was just done perfectly. Did not even need any syrup or butter. But of course I put some on! Eggs were cooked over easy and the yolk was a bit runny just how I like it. Bacon and potatoes were seasoned nicely. Overall a delightful breakfast that disappeared from my plate completely! Our waiter was very polite and knew his job well.

I'm a bit cranky about this restaurant because the service- in particular the host/ initial seating was a awful experience. Zero communication and everyone seemed a bit clueless! Sat at the bar to order a drink before our table was ready- never received so much as a hello! Once we were seated things changed for the better. Our waiter was nice, fast and good. Food was good, fresh and hot. If the service can step up, would definitely consider coming back frequently; but until then, I'm skeptical and this won't be my first choice.

Every time I eat at a PKG, I always say, "damnnnn how come we don't eat here more often?!" The food is consistently good at every location. This beautiful Del Mar/Carmel Valley location is no different with an awesome outdoor patio that allows you to enjoy delicious eats while people watching. Our favorites: the edamame hummus, original hummus, falafel platter, salmon kabob, chicken kabob, baklava. Everything was seasoned to the T. It's light yet completely satisfying. Service was friendly and attentive. Lots of parking here. The surrounding space is also nice with lots of comfy seatings. A great place to spend an afternoon!

Delicious!!! Delicious! Heck of a lot of food! I love when you get good portions of deliciousness. We went to the Del Mar location by recommendation of a friend and we were definitely NOT disappointed- I can't wait to go again and try something new - we had the falafel plate and the beef koobdeh plate - both were fantastic. The service was a little slow but the staff was super nice so I didn't mind it too much! You should visit here and enjoy this Iranian yumminess