I recently tried Sahara's Lebanese Grill on Central for takeout and it was fantastic. Everything…read morewas packaged well and still hot when I got home. I ordered the grilled chicken plate with yellow rice, hummus, pita, falafel, and a side salad. The chicken was juicy and paired perfectly with the seasoned rice. The hummus was super smooth and creamy, and the pita was warm and soft. The falafel had a nice crisp outside with a flavorful center. Even the simple salad tasted fresh and balanced out the plate nicely. Overall the portion size was generous and the flavors were spot on. For carryout, the quality held up really well and everything tasted fresh. I'll definitely be back when I'm craving Mediterranean food.

Delicious food ! We ordered one plate and added some extra…read morechicken and it was more than enough for 2 people Friendly atmosphere

As a Delivery Driver: waited 5-10 minutes to find out they couldn't make the order.?…read more The food looks and smells good.

Absolutely Devine! The Baba ganoush was soooo creamy and flavorful! Got the vegetarian plate 2. I…read morenormally don't love falafels but these were so soft and good. Omg the bread was awesome. Highly recommend stop. They were quick. Kind staff. Clean bathrooms.

overall 3.75/5 the food was fresh and very nicely presented. my only lack of in opinion was the…read moremenu was very small. as well as the reviews on the page isn't current at all. the menu there vs online is different. it's alot smaller. the wraps were great the hummus was okay, the fries were gross they were the plainest general fry you can eat. the place is very pretty, clean, welcoming and a great place to be in, when i went with my friend we were the only two people there. they did tell us though that they are expanding there menu so in a in some time it can be changed and maybe that will have different taste and or recipes as well

I got a falafel sandwich here recently as takeout. It was fine, but underwhelming. Granted, I am…read morepicky about the flavor and texture of my falafels. These were lacking in flavor. Fine for a quick dinner, which is what I needed, but I've had better for sure. They are located in a cute little complex on Silver Ave. that feels like an old house, so it would be worth dining in.

We were looking for a change in food from the typical New Mexico flair. We were welcomed right away…read moreupon entering. The place was very clean and well maintained. There were several things we wanted to try but decided on the Chicken Shawarma Platter and a starter of hummus and pita. The flavors were delicious and the portion sizes were hearty! Not one thing was a disappointment. This was a great find on our trip to Albuquerque.

I love to have more options when it comes to Mediterranean food. I have a few others that I…read morefrequent, and I think this one will most certainly be added to to the rotation. This was my first time here and I chose a few of my favorite things. I ordered baba ganoush, tabbouleh and spanakopita. The baba ganoush was tasty, the eggplant had just the right amount of smokiness from being roasted. It was also fresh with the lemon juice. The tabbouleh was delightful with a good crunch from all the parsley. Spanakopita was my least favorite of the three, but still good none the less! My only qualm was that the wrapper was not as crispy as I prefer. The dining room is nice. It gives a little bit of a fast food and dine in vibe with some booths and tables. The service was great, both people who helped us were very nice! I look forward to trying some of their other menu items!

This non-pretentious, family owned restaurant and market is truly a gem. The dining area is humble,…read morebut always very clean and well staffed. The food is fresh and is delivered to your table promptly, and the waitstaff is very kind and courteous. You get enormous portions and they are very reasonably priced. My favorites are the tabouli salad and the eggplant sandwich. It is a dream for vegetarians or vegans, or flat out carnivores. They have something for everyone. The french fries are literally the best in town. Sometimes I will go there on my way home just to get the french fries. I'm not sure what the spices are, but they are so crispy and flavorful. Lunch for three with appetizer and drinks came out to $43. We all had takeout containers. I suggest you call in an order as opposed to using any of the apps, if you go to takeout route. Or order directly from their website. Definitely check out the market as well. I can't recommend this place enough.

Falafel was what I wanted. Will be back for gyros or lamb sangwitches…read more Great selections of food also.

This was exactly what we were looking for: great Mediterranean food with lots of vegetarian options…read morein a low key environment. The staff were friendly and helpful. You should go here.

I've really enjoyed the food the last few times I've dined here. I usually order the rice bowl with…read morechicken and a Greek salad, and it's always delicious and very filling. I recently tried the baklava as well and was pleasantly surprised--it was pretty tasty. Service is generally quick, and the staff working the tables have been friendly. The overall vibe feels like a classic, laid-back spot you'd expect near a university. One small area for improvement would be at the ordering counter. During our most recent visit, the staff seemed a bit distracted while chatting among themselves while we were at the counter trying to place our order. A little extra attentiveness and warmth at that point would really elevate an already enjoyable experience.

The first order I got from the great Greek was really awesome. The presentation of the food was…read morebeautiful and professional. What was even better was the taste of both the Gyro and the feta fries. As you can see from the photo the Gyro was stuffed full of meat and other goodies while the feta fries were plentiful and all covered with sauce and seasonings. Absolutely delicious. I can't comment on the ambience because I got delivery, as usual. But the delivery went smoothly, and as stated above, the presentation of the food was stellar. I also had a second order from them about six weeks later that I ordered with several friends. Again, the food's presentation was appealing, and the food was great. My friends also indicated that their salad and Mediterranean sampler were delicious. I will definitely be ordering from them again, and I don't think you'll be disappointed if you do the same.

I found this restaurant on Yelp accidently! I am soooo very glad I did!…read moreCute simple atmosphere, light and bright with music....charming. It is counter order and if you eat in the bring your food to your table. The staff was outstanding, pleasant and helpful! The food though....OMG....the food was so delicious. I started with Spanakopita and Avgolemono soup. The Spanakopita had the perfect flaky pastry and was a delight to eat. The Avgolemono was fire. Just a hint of lemon with a generous portion of chicken with rice and finished with a sprinkle of dill. Highly recommend! For my dinner, I chose the Souvlaki plate with lamb, steak and added a chicken skewer and a side of lemon potatoes. Perfectly cooked and seasoned meats, generous portions, a tasty and satisfying meal. The lemon potatoes were awesome. Crispy exterior and soft center delicious. I had to order the Baklava to go (you have to eat the house made Baklava at a Greek restaurant) because I was so full after the generous portions....but it looks amazing. All the food is fresh and made on site. A fabulous experience for lunch!!!!!

We found a very mixed bag at the original Menaul outlet of El Chamo Arabe today. Food is tasty and…read moreplentiful for the toll. Service is fine, if not welcoming. The room is pretty but overly warm and reeks of grease. And there were some additional cleanliness issues. I want to return for the food, but if the other issues aren't addressed it may be the last time. Tons of grease smoke hanging in the air (the kitchen needs more serious ventilation - I texted and warned a friend not to come, as she hates the smell of cooking grease in her hair) when we came in at the early end of lunch (the place filled up pretty well behind us - it's Tuesday). It's a nice enough room (loved the painting of Bolívar and the Venezuelan tchotchkes in the case by the door) with plenty of seating - grab and read a menu, order at the front - it prompts you for a tip (went on the heavier side even with the counter ordering because I want El Chamo Arabe to stay around) and the counterwoman (not the friendliest person, but not rude) delivers everything to your table when it's ready (which will be a minute - but you're not here for _fast_ food). The room is pleasantly decorated but overly warm and - well, there's that grease smell issue: it was bad enough that we had to change clothes after eating here. Okay, prices seem reasonable. But when the food comes, prices seem downright _good_ - these folks give you a LOT of food. We got a $5 dolmas appetizer to start (juicier than what one usually finds; quite good) which came with the grape leaf rolls sitting on a pretty tasty dressed salad. We sure didn't need it, though: our mains (a shwarma plate with gyro meat and an arepa picada with one of chicken and one of beef) were really large. Really large. And it's tasty food. Enormous salads with both $14 plates: dressed well with great, fresh romaine leaves cut just right for easy eating. I'd note with some surprise that both the shredded chicken and beef on the arepas were pretty tasty, but was surprised to find the chicken grabbed me more. There is habañero salsa (albeit in a greasy bottle) on the tables if you need piquancy (why not? we're in New Mexico), and that was great. I'm not sure that the plentiful quantity of the mustard/ketchup (or was it Russian dressing?)/mayo sauce drowning of the arepa picada salad was a good thing. It was pretty, but it got to be a bit much for my taste down toward the bottom of it all - I'd ask for it lighter next time. The lunchmeat turkey and American-type cheese slice and perfectly cooked round fried egg certainly added to the salad, and the arepas themselves were a delight. My wife liked the rice and gyro meat and salad of her shwarma plate. Here's the thing: in addition to the grease-in-the-air situation, there were some cleanliness issues. The table where we sat (it was dead when we arrived, except for some waiting DoorDash drivers) hadn't been properly wiped and there were some old rice grains on it. The bottles of habañero and other salsas on the table were grimy and needed to have been wiped. The tray on which the silverware was brought to our table was greasy - repositioning it on the table to make room for our food made me want to wash my hands. And there was a hair (not ours) in the salad under my dolmas: I didn't mention to my wife because she would have stopped eating and I also didn't bring it up with the counterperson since the small restaurant was at that time full of lunching customers who didn't need to be troubled by hearing about it. And I know mistakes happen and I was not interested in a refund or apology; things happen. But I hope El Chamo Arabe customarily pays more attention to keeping things sanitary - the food is good enough that I want to come back and see. Food - 5 Service - 3 Atmosphere - 2 (lose the grease, fix the temperature and it's a 4) Cleanliness: 2 Value - ?

If I could give a zero I would. We placed an order for a chicken shawarma bowl and a beef shawarma…read morebowl with drinks. It came to over $40! This is for take out mind you. I asked her for a reminder buzzer to pick up when ready, and the girl claimed she gave it to my daughter. She did not. I went back to ask for it. She had to place a call to someone in the kitchen, in a separate building for my order number to get the right number. We sat down in the communal dining area for all the other mini restaurants there and waited over 20 minutes. I had gone back to see where the take out was. Finally I saw her bring it through the door from another location outside the food court. The chicken shawarma bowl was in the tray, but instead of the beef shawarma was a chicken shawarma wrap and cold French Fries. I told her she brought me the wrong order and begrudgingly she took it back outside to where she had brought it and 20 minutes later I got it. The bowl was 1/2 yellow rice, 1/2 romaine lettuce with almost no dressing and 3 of the skinniest sliced tomatoes I have ever seen and some cooked beef, very sparingly scattered on only the rice side of the bowl with a drizzle of a nondescript white dressing. My daughter was mostly done with hers when I got mine. I also orders the fried plantain side. It was 4 pieces, equivalent of one small plantain on one side of the cardboard serving boat and some shredded mozzarella on the other side! Now that is a bizarre combination! With almost no meat on either of our shawarma bowls, it was such a huge disappointment. The girl kept rolling her eyes with her mistake and then giving me dirty looks from behind the counter. In the 35 minutes we were there, we were the only people who had placed an order. With the lack of service, and overpriced items, this place will go out of business soon at The Block, just like the overpriced Thai place in the same complex that only lasted around 2 months!

Went to Nora's with a friend. I've been wanting to try this place and then saw a post on the…read moreAlbuquerque foodie Facebook thread about how good it was so a friend and I decided to finally pull off the Band-Aid and go! The service was very nice and personal, and the food was quite yummy! I did not have quite the appetizer as my friend and only ordered the soup and tabouli salad and I was quite happy with both and brought home. Remainder for leftovers. My friend ordered the chicken Shawarma plate. He practically licked his plate clean. I had a bite of his chicken and it was quite yummy. Either the owner or chef stop by the table just to say hello and check on us and ask for feedback. All feedback was good. I know it's a tough time for small businesses, but this one was worth your money. Although I'm familiar with Mediterranean food, there were some Arabic foods that were new to me so we will be returning to try them. We were particularly intrigued with the call ahead dishes. The next time we go, I think we'll try those. Give this place a try!

We stopped ing for a late lunch. The diner is small with only about 6 tables. Interior is nothing…read morespecial but functional. We chose a tasty and flavorful Chefs Special (okra and lamb). Santa Fe Chicken (spicy chicken shawarma) was tender, good flavor and nicely spiced. The salad was really good with a hint of mint. The highlight was the baklava, served warm, sweet and absolutely delicious. If you are in the mood for Middle Eastern, it is authentic and with stop.

I NEVER rave about any Albuquerque restaurant but this food is hands down some of the absolute food…read moreive had here! The potatoes are insaaaaanely delish, the lamb rocks, everything is fresh and tender and the salad is soooo good! I am trying to eat everything and when I get delivery, its always perfect! Thanks guys, keep it up!

Olympias is my favorite Greek food in New Mexico. The food is always delicious and made fresh. The…read morestaff provide super quick and friendly service. The restaurant is definitely on the older side but it still has the feeling of my yah-yah's house. Literally everything I've eaten here has been delicious.