Made a visit with some friends who are true shawarma connoisseurs. They highly recommend Al Shami…read moreas the best shawarmas in the Houston area. We ordered ahead by phone since our regulars knew the wait can be long. We picked up our order right away and ate by our car since there are no tables in this food truck park. I ordered a chicken shawarma with fries (Chicken Arabi). It comes with a shawarma cut into smaller slices, fries, coleslaw, and garlic and mayo sauces. The flatbread was well crisped. The fries were basic but tasty fries. The chicken was a bit dry but paired well with the garlic sauce and pickles. There are a ton of other food trucks in this area (mostly Middle Eastern cuisine) and dessert options. Parking is the most challenging aspect of eating here. The side of the narrow street is the only option without getting towed.

We ordered delivery from Al Shami and we were disappointed. The beef shawarma sandwich was chewy…read more The fried kibbeh was the best thing we tried. The chicken and rice plate was very chewy, not what we expected, it was supposed to come with french fries, those didn't make the trip to our house. We won't get delivery from here again but we may give it one more try in person.

It took me over a year to realize Gusto Gourmet was more than just a cute cafe but a legit option…read morefor Venezuelan cuisine. Their unique position as one of the only Venezuelan spots in the loop becomes even more niche when one realizes that part of the menu is also Mediterranean / Middle Eastern (#1). If that's not Houston in a nutshell, I don't know what is. The place sports a casual vibe with a clean and bright interior. It's been practically empty with every visit, but I suspect the takeout game is strong here. There is limited parking in the back of the restaurant and the narrow alleyway entrance is somewhat easy to miss. Food wise, I am not disappointed. Their cheese cachapa is the stuff of dreams and includes a number of stuffings from ham to shredded chicken / beef. My vote is for their pabellón, which is a nice combination of shredded beef, black beans, and sweet plantains. For cheese lovers, the double cheese is perfectly indulgent with the sweetness of the cornmeal. The main draw for me was the arepas, which is something I missed having had so much of it back in NYC. La Pelua (shredded beef, mixed shredded cheese) is one of my go-tos, but my all-time favorite is the reina pepiada, a shredded chicken mixed with avocado topped with sprinkled salty white cheese. It's a staple in the Venezuelan arepa game and while their version is very solid, I'm just extremely thankful that it's available. Their breakfast platters are a big draw, which mainly consist of scrambled egg combos paired with arepas and various proteins. I think their yuca buñelos, tequeños, patacones, and especially their mandocas are incredibly underrated. The latter is practically dessert since it's mashed plantains with the cachapa stuffed with sugar and cheese. While they're not known for their empanadas, I do think their cazon (#2) is unique and their potato and cheese is always hearty. The shredded beef is a nice alternative to their arepas or arepitas (side) and make for an excellent snack on the go. Fans of Venezuelan cuisine who find themselves in the inner loop owe them a visit and I highly recommend calling ahead of time to ensure they have items available and to get a jump on the wait time for takeout. They are a slept on gem in the neighborhood and one that I hope sticks around for a very long time. _____________ (#1) The owners are Venezuelan and Syrian. The sweetest couple. (#2) Dogfish? It's really a mini shark.

Great Venezuelan food! I have celiac (gluten-free) and I'm vegetarian and they have multiple…read moreoptions available. They even have a gluten free fryer separate from a regular fryer, which is great! The restaurant itself is very casual, few tables and friendly staff at the counter for helping decide. I tried the caxapa with cheese, 3 empanadas with various fillings, and the plain mini areas. All the items were good especially the caxapa and the empandas, though I think the combination of items I picked was definitely fryer-heavy. The sauces they were served with with are also a nice accompaniment. We got to go and excited to try out more of their menu!

Recommended by a friend. She really likes the pita and hummus here…read more Pita 5/5 My kids and I devour the pita. It's soft and warm. It's thin and fluffy. It kinda melts in your mouth. Hummus 5/5 I love the hummus here. Mix platter 5/5 The food is just so good. The meats are well cooked and seasoned. We devour the fish plate and also the meat one. Rice is good.

Came here for lunch during Thanksgiving as my family eats late and I was starving…read more First time here and I am not disappointed. The restaurant wasn't busy at all as you can imagine on a holiday and I was sat right away. Table for 1. Forgot to take a picture of the menus but they have many options . The restaurant is pretty big and very clean . They keep the tables prepped to seat. Lots of room for large groups as well. My waiter took my order promptly . I started with the Hummus. It comes with one large Pita, seed oil, and the hummus. It was very flavorful and I really needed more Pita. The oil was a great accompaniment ( hummus on pita and dip in the oil) . I the ordered the Lamb Chops served on a bed of Biryani Rice with a grilled onion and tomato. They give you 5 lamp chops and a large portion of rice. She lamb was tender and seasoned well. The rice was very flavorful as well. Very good food. For my meal and a Turkish Coffee I paid $45 and I still have food for tomorrow as I'm going to definitely eat with family TONIGHT!!!

Aladdin has been around for as long as I can remember. My dad used to drive by it when I was a kid,…read moreand I always wondered about it. Now as an adult, I have a free will and love coming here for mediterranean food whenever I am in the area. Many options, and the food comes out fresh, made to order. I just took my boyfriend here and he is shocked that he didn't try this place sooner. I ordered the lamb gyro plate while he got the lamb kabob. Both taste great! The lamb kabob was very juicy. Our sides consisted of caramelized onion hummus, creamy pasta, cucumber salad, roasted cauliflower, and tabouli. All were very good, especially the hummus. Their pita bread is so soft, probably the best pita bread in Houston! Really made the hummus even better.

The flavors of this food is unreal. Such good Mediterranean food!!…read more My husband and I split a 3-side + 1 meat plate - the pita, chickpea salad, and lamb gyro were standouts. Awesome food, quick service, and bustling, busy place!

I've been a customer here for over 18 years, and every time I come, I receive the same great…read morequality. Whenever they update the menu, I usually enjoy the new items. However, the new cashier an older lady has a very bad attitude. Every time she takes my order, it makes the experience uncomfortable. Other than that, I truly love the owners, the previous cashier, and all the other employees. This place is cozy and friendly, and the food quality is always top-notch.

First time trying this bakery while visiting from out of state, and omg... everything hit the spot…read more The Halloum, Zataar, and Meat pies were all must-tries, honestly, don't skip any of them. Service was quick even with the crowd, and I'd highly recommend this place. I'll definitely be back whenever I'm in town.

Dumar's Mediterranean Grill is a small cafe that sits in a well established shopping center with…read moreother restaurants and commercial businesses. The dining area is small and no table service so expect to order at the counter and find a table. The staff is friendly and helpful with recommendations but I entered fixed on finding a great Gyro. They exceeded my expectations offering a pita filled generously with gyro meat. My side was a fresh Greek salad instead of French fries. I was talked into purchasing falafels as a starter and I'm so glad I did. The Falafels easily exceeded a five rating and possibly the best I've ever had. Dumar's will absolutely be a part of my lunch rotation spots.

I've been looking for an undeniable good gyro. Tried this place after the restaurant across the…read morestreet was closed on Tuesdays. So glad I did! Had the Gyro platter where I subbed a side Greek salad ($2.50 up charge) for the standard seasoned fries. The lettuce was crisp with wonderful pepper sprinkled on top of the tomatoes & the vinegarette dressing was so tasty with just the right amount on the salad. The gyro had really great flavor. The meat was tender & very well seasoned. The pita was especially yummy also with the tomatoes, onions & taziki sauce. It was just a darn good gyro. Definitely one of the top ones I've had in the area. The place is small, located in a strip mall, but was fine to dine-in. They also have outdoor table seating. The gentleman who took our order was super friendly. I presume there are lots of regular customers because as soon as we walked in he said, hey I don't recognize you, is this your first time in? It's a little bit of a drive for me but I will definitely return to get my "good gyro fix" with friendly service!

Wonderful place to dine. Service is perfect (Alex was our server), and the food matched it. The…read moreChipotle Seafood Pasta was absolutely delicious... perfectly grilled, pasta cooked perfectly, and the sauce with just the right amount of heat. My wife's vegetable platter was as beautiful as it was tasty. Don't miss out on the wine list, and be sure to try the Lemon Drop Martinis A HUGE plus is the large gluten-free menu with all of the items clearly marked. This place is a gem.

The lamb chops come with sauteed spinach scalloped potatoes, 4 lamb chop pieces. The most expensive…read morewine is california red, called 8 years in the desert.$100 bottle

The hummus was delicious and flavorful. Great music. Great tea. They have hookah outside. Great…read moreservice and vibes. Beautiful decor. Very kind owners.

This is a lovely Mediterranean restaurant, with Lebanese cuisine. They are clearly supported by a…read morelarge hookah enjoying population, with a number of flavors which fill the air inside and on the patio. The food is very good, we had the mixed grill, and the boys had the chicken kabob. The humus is fresh and creamy, with the rice flavored nicely and supported with great pickled delicacies. The lamb was the best, moist, flavorful, and seasoned to perfection the chicken was good, as was the beef. Service is a bit underwhelming, although pleasant and professional you will have to call them over for refills, additional napkins, and the like. This is the one area where I could see the regulars receive a bit more attention.

So we were heading to the apartment from Hobby Airport but since we knew our driver, he wanted to…read morestop by this place to pick up lunch. We said we'd join him but we need the take away lunch. We had to get to our destination. We picked the foods our driver recommended. His choices were spot on. We don't eat Middle Eastern food much but this eatery was full of diners on a Sunday afternoon! Our friend took us to the buffet area and boy, they had an assortment of colorful and very delicious food. He told us what to get and filled up a to go container with his suggestions. Their dessert selection was surprisingly large but I took a few baklavas. I like them! Overall, we will come back here and spend more time walking along the buffet line. We were in a hurry so we did not linger too long. PS After getting into the apartment, we checked out the food and boy, we had a feast. We just took a bite of each of the dishes and enjoyed ourselves. I must say that since I'm not familiar with Middle eastern food, eating it this way was educational. As for the restaurant itself, it was very clean and the ambiance is perfect for a Sunday afternoon early dinner.

Great value. Clean place. Tasty food!…read more I especially enjoyed the chicken kebab and the baba ganoush. Love that there's endless pita and drinks are self-serve The cashier gave us a senior citizen discount for my parents without us having to ask or say anything, which was nice. My only critique was that the desert section wasn't quite at the same quality/taste level as all the rest of the food.

I love Fadi's and have been a loyal customer for nearly 25 years. I first discovered Fadi's when I…read morelived behind the Westheimer/Dairy Ashford location and I've been a regular ever since. I've shared with family, friends and colleagues about Fadi's and always made a point to stop by even after moving to another State. We visited the Memorial location on Dec 31 and noticed a promotion offering 10% off gift cards with a minimum $50 purchase. I thought this was a great opportunity to share my love of Fadi's with my new real estate agent who helps us out in house hunting! Unfortunately, Francisco, the manager told us they run out of gift cards. Since we were on our way to a friend's dinner in Sugar Land, he suggested we stop by the SL location and speak with the manager there, Shane. Because of Houston traffic and other errands we needed to run before dinner, I called the SL location to explain that we wouldn't make it in time and asked whether we could purchase the gift card the next day, Jan 1. Shane flatly said no--no exceptions since the promotion ended on Dec 31 and then abruptly hung up. I understand year-end accounting considerations, but the complete lack of flexibility (and courtesy) was shocking, especially when this would have been additional revenue for the restaurant. It was not customer-centric at all. To be fair, Francisco at the Memorial location did offer to honor the 10% discount if we came back on Jan 1, but he couldn't guarantee they'd have gift cards available. I mentioned that the Meyerland location would be closest to us, but were told that location has a different owner and doesn't participate in the same promotions. That left us frustrated, especially given our schedule the next day. As for the Memorial location itself: the food was good, service overall was solid, and the layout reminded me of the Katy location. However, the cashier experience could use improvement. She was on the phone while checking us out and clearly multitasking while responding to someone else at the same time. It felt rushed and disorganized, possibly due to understaffing. This visit was around 3:05 pm on Dec 31, so I understand it was a busy day, but it might be worth having additional staff to help with carryout or catering orders. I'm sharing this because I care about Fadi's and want to see the customer experience reflect the quality and reputation the brand has built over the years.

I stopped by today for a solo valentines dinner, it came with one deluxe entree, 3 half sides and…read morejuice and I also added on a cheese bread. You start off by ordering your choice of protein and then you get to look at a variety of sides, I don't recall all the sides I ordered but they all looked appealing. They also have some more types of starch products getting towards the register. Everything I had today was full of flavor, the chicken kabob was nice and grilled that you could taste the charredness of it. The only thing that could have been improved is keeping the cheese bread underneath a heat lamp since when I bit into it had a leathery texture rather than being soft and gooey. I also got a guava juice that tasted very natural and not a lot of sweetness either.