Maggots. In. The. Rice. Ordered delivery from here for the first time. Chicken Swarma and Gyro were both edible, not great, but as we were eating, realized that the rice looked...funny. On closer examination (with a magnifying glass), the long, tapered rice grains with a red tip were not rice at all. Easily identified as rice maggots. Do not eat here. You will regret it, as we now are. read more

Great spot. Great good. Friendly owners. Great for the neighborhood. We use Mawada regularly fir take out read more

Restaurant is closed. I was here on a Thursday 1230p. Yelp says open; I arrived to pick up my Grubhub order and there's no sign anyone is working. Nothing on their website about Covid scheduling. Unless you call and someone picks up I'm not sure they're open. read more

Mawadda Cafe - the front of the building - Middle Eastern Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Very good middle-eastern fast food here, taken up a notch; prepared carefully and with fresh ingredients. The flavors really pop, from the delicious sauces to the garlicky hummus to the well-marinated meats. And it's plated and served with obvious pride and careful precision. They really care about their food here! Service is friendly and prompt. Do NOT miss the homemade chai here! Rich, spicy and warming, just the thing for dessert! Soooo good. I would come here just for the chai. Thankfully, the food is excellent as well! One star missing for exterior cleanliness- I almost didn't go into the place, because of all the debris outside. Take a little time, do an occasional sweep around your business, and really show your pride in welcoming your guests. I know keeping things clean in a high-traffic area can be like herding cats, but it pays dividends in customer comfort and satisfaction! Recommended! read more

They have pretty good gyros here. Try their gyro plates with rice. Tastes great.

Incredible gyros! The meat is perfectly cooked, the sandwiches are overflowing with ingredients, the tzatziki is flavorful, and prices reasonable. I cannot wait to order from here again. Our new go to read more

Mawadda's garlic tzatziki salad dressing/dipping sauce is absolutely, without question, the best I've ever had in my life. However, if you choose to eat in the restaurant, service may be confused. Last night, when my friend Liz and I entered Madwadda, we weren't sure if we were supposed to order at the counter or wait to be seated. We went to the counter and placed our orders with the rather stern guy. When we were about to pay, he asked us if we were doing take out or eating here. When we said "for here" he waved us over to a table and told us to take a seat, without taking our money. Another guy came out and placed a pitcher of water and glasses on our table. A pitcher of ice water on a hot day, now that's a plus! We had ordered shawarma dishes (Liz requested beef and I asked for lamb) and an order of Greek fries. As we waited for our orders, Liz whipped out her new IPad and demo'ed its features. Pretty cool device. I didn't like it though when she pulled up Google Earth and zoomed in on Southeast Idaho where I am from, only for us to discover that the house, farm and woods where my mom grew up, and I roamed as a kid, had been blown away to make room for two cul-de-sac streets, sometime in the past two years. I'm still processing this new piece of reality. On a much more positive note, Liz has been experimenting with infrared photography, and on her IPad shared with me some incredible scenes she had had shot over in the Eastern Washington desert, specifically Ellensburg Canyon. We received our orders in good time, except for the Greek fries, which never appeared. I didn't have a chance to ask about the fries, because the staff never once came back to our table after dropping off our orders. My lamb (cooked with slivers of white onion) was excellent, not muttony and seasoned mild and pleasingly. Pardon my ignorance, because I don't know what the "bread" is that came with the dish is, but the best I can describe it is like a Salvadorean pupusa. After first, I thought the rice, a very attractive mosaic of assorted yellow and orange rices was overly-pungently spiced. From the rice, I pulled out a bay leaf and a couple cloves. But you know what, the rice's flavor quickly grew on me and in the end I really liked it. We waited and waited to see if they would drop the check off at the table. They never did, so I walked up to the counter. Actually, they didn't seem to have a check so the guy asked me what we had, and he rang me up based on what I told him. But as we left, they were very nice and the people working there called out several thank yous as we left. So despite some service snafus, the food is so good you should check out Mawadda. read more

Love Mawadda! One of our favorite Friday night take out treats. Our faves are lamb kabobs and gyro salad.

I called in to order a beef and lamb gyro today and the guy took my order and then immediately hung up on me. He didnt take my name or a call back number which was strange to me. About 30 minutes later my boyfriend arrives at the establishment and describes my order. There was no one in the restaurant except the chef and cashier. They then informed him they gave it to another customer because I called an hour ago and they dont hold onto food that long. My boyfriend had to ask them to make me another one they didnt even offer! I texted him to come home, the whole point of ordering ahead was not to wait for them to cook the gyro, as many have said on yelp they take a while to prepare an order. It was clear they had never put the order in. I was so disgusted with that ordeal i didnt want this cafe to receive my business. I will not be back and will instead try another greek restaurant nearby next time i am craving greek food. read more

Fresh falafel takes time baby, so chill, have a little chai and sit your ass DOWN. I love the fresh factor, the place is scrupulously clean, the menu and owner WARN you that it will take a little time so I'm not sure what the huff and puff are all about. I really loved the hummus, it was flavored well and not too runny. The garlic sauce was lethal though and I felt myself alienating innocent passersby as I continued through my day. Beware you vampire wannabes, this stuff is serious business. The salad was on the plain side but that is fine with me, it is merely an accessory for my plump little falafel babies. The stuffed grape leaves are tangy and have a tiny little bite to them that left me smacking my lips. A falafel salad will set you back about $8 so this place isn't dirt cheap but portions are healthy and the owner is a dear. The parking lot was a tiny bit scary-skinny slots for fat cars and after the big lunch you really need to open your door a little wider so maybe next time we will park on the street. read more

Literally the greatest customer service ever the guy in the front was so nice even though he was very young he was very respectful and funny!!! read more

They've raised the price to $5.50 a gyro. Wooopdeeedooo! The price is still reasonable. The Meso Kabob and the Gyro are still my faves! Oh, they also raised the price of the chai to $2. Last time I was there (earlier this week), they had three guys in the back as opposed to the usual two. The service was quite a bit faster, I think. I ordered two gyros to go and I was out of there in less than 5 minutes! Rami is still very friendly but will sometimes rant to customers about the economy. He's a passionate man, that guy! read more

Mawadda Cafe - The menu (as of July 2010) - Middle Eastern Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I love love love their gyros! Make sure you say sandiwch though, im not sure how to order food sometimes. I usually call ahead of time because it takes a while for them to make the food. You can either eat in, or take out. I usually order either the lamb, spicy chicken, or lamb sharwma gyro. The lamb sharwma gyro is cook like cubed lamb pieces with tomatoes, its really good. But the first time i ordered the lamb sharwma, it came out like the combo meal picture, i think it's number 12, which was still really good!! but not what i wanted. Make sure you comfirm with them if its a gyro or not. The garlic sauce is to die for, it's an extra 50 cents, but its totally worth it. My go-to place for authentic gyros! read more

Mawadda Cafe - It's huge today!!! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This place is consistent and yummy. You can never go wrong with the spicy chicken Shawarma! The garlic sauce is here bomb too. It's so good that I want to put it on everything! I get it separate than the tzatziki sauce, so depending on their vibe you'll have to pay .50 cents. I believe this is a family establishment and I have been here a handful of times. I have made a to-go order by phone 30 mins before closing and they were nice to take my order. The other dishes look good too but I haven't yet to tried it. read more

Mediterranean food with plates and sandwiches. I'm a sandwich (gyro) fan and I love the gyro place in U district (Aladdin's). They have gyros for $5 and a combo meal for $7. At the Mawadda Cafe, their sandwiches were about $6 and combo for $9. The guy who was taking our order was super nice and I got a beef and lamb gyro sandwich (what I normally get at Aladdin) to compare. I got the combo and they had an array of drinks you can choose from ranging from San Pellegrino to Vitamin water to asian canned fruit drinks. At Aladdin, you only got to choose soda. After we ordered he said don't worry about it now just have a seat and we'll bring your food to you. He was really nice and we paid at the end of our meal. My bf got the chicken shawarma (which had a really different flavoring than mine). The gyro sandwich was a little different than Aladdin's. There was more yogurt sauce and they have cucumbers that brought a freshness to the gyro. There was also a TON of meat. I would definitely come back if I'm craving gyros! read more

Mawadda Cafe - Beef and lamb gyro in the front and chicken shawarma in the back! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I normally stick to the spicy chicken gyro combo w/ Greek fries. They include a generous amount of meat in their gyros!! The chicken is packed with curry flavor. Whatever you order, you have to make sure you ask for the garlic sauce! It's addicting! Not every visit requires a long wait, but when it does the food is totally worth it. I know there are a lot of reviews regarding the wait times, but call ahead to speed up the process if you know you will be short on time. Otherwise, come here if you a little more time on your hands. The staff will not bend over backwards for you, but they do what they can to meet your needs. Don't let the negative reviews turn you away from one of the best gyros and Greek fries you'll ever have! read more

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The owner is really nice. Organized a huge order for my birthday and everyone raves about how delicious the food was! I ordered each person their own sandwich/gyro due to COVID awareness and it worked out perfectly. Each one was wrapped separately. The flavors were amazing and everything was ready on time. I would highly highly recommend them and I'll be back to have lunch a few times a week to support this local business. read more

Today's experience at Mawadda Café was completely ridiculous. My order was very simple, a chicken shwarma sandwich and Greek fries to go. The cashier was inexplicably flustered but somehow got through the transaction. I paid and waited. While I waited, someone got up from his table and tried to pay for his meal. The cashier ran his credit card and informed him that "it didn't work". He asked her to run it again. She ran it again and told him again it did not work. At that point, he told her that he could see that her card reader said that his card had been approved. He checked his bank account on his phone and discovered that the restaurant had charged him TWICE, once for $14 and then another time for $22 - all while insisting that his card was the problem. He actually showed her his bank account on his phone, and ONLY THEN did she apologize. Then, she handed him $11 cash from the register, as if that was supposed to make up for it. He then had to ask her for the rest of his refund!! Unbelievable. (I checked my own bank account and was relieved to find out that hadn't happened to me too.) I waited for over 25 minutes for just a sandwich and fries, and just when I was getting up to ask for a refund the chef came out and casually announced to me that my order had been completed and had just been sitting behind the counter, out of sight. NO ONE HAD SAID ANYTHING. I was pissed but I had no more time to waste, so I took my cold ass food and walked out, never to return again. When I got home, I was also annoyed to discover that because I paid $1 for two extra sauces, they ripped me off for the one that was already supposed to be included with the Greek fries. Two stars because the food turned out to be absolutely delicious, but unfortunately it can't make up for piss-poor customer service. read more

This place is a hole-in-the-wall. It really doesn't look like much but... the food is fantastic. The hummus and pits was very good. If you like garlicky salad dressing this is the place. For a meal I ordered the Gyros and rice. It was gyro meat, rice and some small pita wedges. The meat was tender and packed with flavor. The rice was light and fantastic. Portions were great and service was good. What can I say...I will definitely come back. read more

First time experience here. I had the #14 chicken Shawarma and it is very good. I called a head and it was ready when I got there in the exact amount of time they told me. I 'm defiantly going back there soon. read more

Excellent food. We tried kufta, shawarma and sultani and they were the best. Full of flavor without being overly spicy. The portion size was also large and thus we shared our food between five. We will definitely go back; love love loved the food! read more

Always bomb. I eat at the restaurant half the times and get takeout the others. Good vibe in there. Owners are super sweet dudes. Get the lamb. And the chai. read more

This is my second Mawadda cafe I've been too - the first was in Burien. I went in for a Greek salad and it was amazing. The dressing has a garlic zing too it like no other. Plenty of lettuce, red/green peppers were a treat and 2 containers of dressing. Friendly service and a great cup of $2 chai! I'll be back read more

Mawadda Cafe - Middle Eastern Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Always excellent falafel. Very prompt takeout service. They have been a reliable and consistent neighborhood fixture for many years.

As you drive into the parking lot of Mawadda Cafe, you might think to yourself: Really? Mediterranean food in the middle of South Seattle? Yes, that's right. And Mawadda has some of the best. I tried the Chicken Shawarma. It was so so good. The chicken was tender and flavorful and the rice that was served with it was delicious too. Their garlic sauce is to die for. I seriously would just eat that sauce with everything. The salad was fabulous too. The place was relatively clean and servers were nice. I wish we got water though...we had to ask for some. read more

Mawadda Cafe - Yum - Middle Eastern Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Our family loves this place!!! They are always so kind. A small family owned restaurant with the best gyros in the south end!

It would have been 3 stars if the gyro meat had been heated, with a slight char. It would have been 4 stars if feta was added. It would have been a 5 star sandwich if the pita bread had been brushed with olive oil then toasted on the grill. This was the excellent gyro I had to complete at homeafter paying $9. read more

Love their Gyros!! I ordered one to go as usual and it was HUMUNGOUS! I totally got my money's worth! The Greek fries are awesome and the Sambosas are addicting fried little pockets of love haha. There is ample parking as it's in the fred meyer parking lot area and not too busy during the day but dinner hour can be packed. read more

Mawadda Cafe - My Humungo gyro - Middle Eastern Near Me - Seattle, Washington

After coming here for so many years, we recieved the WORST customer service ever by a young girl with curly hair. She was very rude! I ordered my regular meal (gyro combination), she tried to charge me $.50 for garlic sauce on my gyro instead of tzatziki sauce and $1.50 to have one of the orders with greek fries instead regular fries. My friend then ordered a meal that cost her over $16.00 & was charged $.25 to use her debit card. Then another friend ordered her dinner and tried to overcharge her. They had a different price behind the counter, we told the girl the price on the board says otherwise. She rudely responded saying that's not what it says here. She proceeded with running my friends card and said it was declined. My friend was surprised and asked her to run it again. The girl rudely responded by saying it wasn't her fault her card was declined and that she needed another card. My friend kindly asked her to run again and it went through just fine. By this point the customer service was so poor I decided to ask for a refund. We all asked for our refund. I expressed how disappointed I was in the customer service and the girl condescendingly responds saying, "I'm sorry you feel that way". The brother quietly gave us our refunds. The owner/dad was on the floor praying and offered no apologies. I feel like a jackass for raving how good the food was to my friends but they never found out cuz the customer service was so awful. I can say I will not ever return and will not recommend this place to anybody. The quality of customer service has declined. I really liked this place at one point in time. The prices are too high and King County food rating is "OKAY" that clearly means they are not clean and need to be better. Suggestions to the owner, if you really want your business to sustain, value ALL your customers that come through. Stop nickel and diming them and make sure your prices are aligned throughout the restaurant. Good customer service is everything! Try it. read more

Sooo Delicious!! New favorite place. Don't know if they offer hot sauce but definitely need one.

Wonderful little gem down here on the South End off of Rainier. We stop in for dinner often but also have used them for catering parties. Food is quality and so delicious. I'm really into the falafel. Portions are generous. Clientele is diverse in a really great way signature to Hillman City/Brighton. Family that works there are so kind. This is a really nice addition to the neighborhood. Highly recommend stopping in, supporting Masada and getting some great food. read more

Seattle favorite. Best gyro meat I've had in Seattle. The owner is always friendly and lively. Tried the falafel again this time and wow was it amazing! Nice crisp outside with a perfectly cooked inside. Again, some of the best falafel in Seattle (if not the best). Overall, this should be on your list of places to try. read more

Mawadda Cafe - Middle Eastern Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Where can I start, if you're looking for a quick bite with a side of DISRESPECT and RACISM this is your place to go. I've been hesitant in making this review but after hearing similar stories I can honestly say I'm not alone in my complaint. I used to work close by and would come for lunch often. I usually had the same order (Chicken Shawarma) but as time went by they became more and more sloppy with my order. As time went by the hospitality and respect began to fly out the ordering window like their dishes. Imagine waiting twice as long as people who came in and ordered after you. Sadly, as a native Arabic speaker I've over heard them talk negatively about customers of all different backgrounds, especially Black customers. I'll end with this, the disrespect must stop. If you're customers are diverse treat them all the same. The food is good but not worth the disrespect. read more

In short: TOO... MUCH... GARLIC! Additional points: Had to wait more than 30 minutes for the food. Apart from heavy use of garlic in everything (and I mean everything!), the food was ok but it the prices were relatively expensive for what you get. read more

This place is legit. It blows away any other Mediterranean/middle eastern walk-up. I've been to quite a few places and this one stands out for the complexity of flavor. The chicken shawarma has a delicate balance of garlic, lemon and spices. The the lamb shawarma had a unique spice mixture that I hadn't had before, at once hinting at a bit of curry, but only delicately so. (There are other places that have an over curry flavor, lacking in subtlety, this is not it.) The falafel too, had just the right texture and flavor profile as well. Sambosas, were much the same general style visually as sambusas at North African restaurants, but also had a unique flavoring. I enjoyed both the beef and the veggie, but found the veggie most surprising--almost more samosa-like in the flavoring of the filling. I also have tried their gyro, which is good, but alas is only a gyro and I would recommend venturing out of the gyro-ghetto and into the luxurious deliciousness of shawarma. read more

I ordered two shawarmas to go. It's simple as that. After 20 minutes' wait, I came home and found two gyros. I can't believe the cashier even confirmed the order with me twice before they started cooking. Not returning for sure. read more

The food is FANTASTIC! My dining partner had chicken kabobs. I had gyro and spanikopita plate. Dear, sweet universe! The food was unbelievably good! Service is super friendly and helpful. This is a cute little hole in the wall. Very clean and comfortable. I gave it a four because it did take a long time to get the food. But, again...worth the wait and amazing! read more

Probably the best Mediterranean food ive ever had. Ordered the Greek fries and the vegetarian plate. The flavors were very powerful and the food was fresh. I loved it. read more

Mawadda Cafe - Middle Eastern Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Looked up Mawadda on Yelp and internet, open to 10pm! Great! I call to order take out at 9:20pm on a Friday night. Me: Hello, I'd like to order take out. Woman: We close in 10 minutes. Hang up. Mistake? I call again. Hello, I noticed you're open to 10pm, can I order take out? Woman: We close in 10 minutes. Hang up. There are many other options in Columbia City to order take out. I won't bother trying Mawadda cafe's brutal customer service again. Hang up on Mawadda Cafe. read more

If you stop by here you MUST I repeat, YOU MUST TRY the Chai Tea! I live on the east side and come down here just to have their Chai! The gyros are yummy too and the salad is my favorite. The dressing is ahhhhmazing! The owners are sweet. Definitely will be back! read more