Out of this world just like stepping back in time. We felt like we were back in Morocco and Middle…read moreEast where we lived for 10 yrs. Ambience superb and the food was delicious. Ordered Mezze for appetizers then ordered Soltani platter. So much food we had to take some home. My 78 birthday was a success. We've tried to get reservations there for over a year, really hard to get.

Leila you did not disappoint! You lived up to all the hype and our anticipation. So happy to be…read moreable to celebrate my Moms birthday here last night! It's like we stepped right back into the souks of Marrakesh we visited a few years ago!! What an immersive dining experience! From the service, the decor, creative cocktails and food...everything was exceptional! It took us 2 years to get a reservation and we had the best night ever. The Saladin Platter and Soltani Platter fed all 3 of us with food leftover for another 2 people. We had the following cocktails: Red Sea Ritual which was great. The Riad which was our vote for best drink! And the Joon which sadly was too salty (brine) for our liking. Also shared the Date Night cocktail which we didn't realize was a dessert cocktail but awesome if you love dates (the fruit). Haha We are already planning our return. We sat upstairs which felt like we were in an Arab Bedouin tent with a spectacular view of the "village" below and the upstairs bar looked spectacular! Next time we'd like to sit downstairs in the "souk" atmosphere! Shukran Leila Team!

I have eaten there so many times I can't even count. Their food and their restaurant is my favorite…read moreplace to eat in San Diego. George and Samia are the most wonderful people in the world. George will come out of the kitchen and explain, in detail, every item on the menu. I laugh when I read or even see a subpar review of Alforon. Those people are either high on drugs or never experienced excellent food before. Chicken Tawook, Tabouli salad, house pickles, everything is off the chart and that's just the for starters. You can close your eyes, point to a menu item and have the best meal of your life. Explore their whole menu, you can't go wrong with a single item. Hands down off the chart and excellent food by two of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life.

First of all let me say that the love dessert has me hooked. Best thing here! One of the most…read moreunique and tasty things I've tried in a while, and that's saying a lot w my sweet tooth. I love the floral and pistachio taste, and it doesn't leave you feeling heavy afterwards. The mint lemonade is also a must have- tastes like it came from the garden in the best way possible. For savories, I had the spinach and cheese bajeen, baba gannouj, and the lamb fatteh - all had a lot of flavor and tasted homemade. I love trying new foods so will have to come back with more friends and try other things on the menu. The downside of this place was being seated on the right side of the restaurant near the carry out section. This was the pit of despair. I noticed that most of the staff goes to the other end first, and as a result 4 tables got seated after us and all of them had food on their table before we managed to flag one of the staff. It was definitely busy in there but he replied that he was simply going in order, but apparently order or left side to right side instead of arrival. I recommend trying to get seated on the side w the stained glass windows for better service. Other than that, the experience overall was pleasant.

Oh my gosh. This place is so good, I highly recommend checking this place out…read more I had the Moussaka (Lebanese eggplant stew) and I throughly enjoyed it. It was so flavorful and the portions were pretty big. I also got to try the cheese fatayer, I loved the pastry it came it, it was great. This place has great vegetarian and vegan options along with some gluten free options. The menu is marked very well and they make it easy to navigate. The staff were friendly and the food came out fairly quick. The restaurant is on the smaller side. There was seating available for large and smaller parties. From the dinning area, they had a window into the kitchen so it was fun to be able to see the cooks make the food. They also had cute decor that added to the ambiance of the restaurant. There is plenty of parking available in the plaza that it is in.

Good food - disrespectful service. Came here with my husband and kids to celebrate and we will…read morenever be back again. Lebanese food is always great and the food here was good - but this is not middle eastern hospitality. Disappointed.

This review is long overdue! We've been coming here for years. This place is fueled by a love for…read moreauthentic Mediterranean cuisine and a desire to create a warm, welcoming space for everyone. Service is always on point! They're quick to serve and attentive to customers! The quality of ingredients are fresh, authentic, and portions are generous! I ordered the Greek fries with steak! And my wife ordered the Greek fries without protein! These fries are served golden and crispy, topped with savory, aromatic ingredients. The yellow Greek sauce is fire!!! I always ask for extra sauce- it definitely complements the fries with a zesty flavor profile! I can literally put that sauce on everything!!! It's that delish!!! Prices are reasonable! Limited seating areas indoors. However, they do have a few round tables outside to sit and eat. Overall, this place is a great spot to enjoy some lunch or dinner. You won't leave disappointed! And you'll be back sooner than later for more Mediterranean comfort food!

I ordered a hummus bowl with ribeye steak shawarma, classic hummus and added chicken kabobs, and…read moreasked for tahini and garlic aioli on the side. The meats were nicely marinated though a little dry. Good thing I asked for the sauces on the side since the hummus made everything pretty salty and soggy once mixed in. Also wished there were more veggies and rice included. I also assumed pita bread would've been included since the online picture showed it. Decent food but we had issues ordering DoorDash delivery for a work lunch. The DoorDash driver only brought 1 bag of food with more than half of our food missing so a team member had to go in person to figure out the problem. Turns out another driver took our second bag so Micheline's remade the lost orders. They must've been so busy since they should've verified with the first DoorDash driver which orders were whose and some of our orders had missing or different ingredients. I might try them again but would order in person.

We've been to Tahini before but decided to make a special trip to Tahini to support them after…read morehearing they've been constantly harassed with hate messages/crimes -- which is so horrible and sad. The food is was great and one of my favorite spots when I'm craving middle eastern wraps- I did built your own pita so of course I like the ingredients. I loved my pita bread (it's much different from the Greek style if you haven't tried it before!) and the enjoyed the steak in particular. It had a lot of warming spices (nutmeg and cinnamon maybe?) and the flavor is pretty unique! I added bell peppers, pickled cucumbers, lettuce, tomato, red onion, tahini sauce, and garlic sauce. I also got a piece of falafel - I always gotta judge a place by their falafel and this one was crispy on the outside and soft in the inside which was perfect. Next time I need to try the halloumi cheese stix with fig jam! Place was very clean and the decor was nice. I also love the Finjan coffee spot next door.

The food here is genuinely outstanding - fresh, colorful, flavorful, and made with care. Every time…read moreI eat here I'm reminded why I keep coming back. The staff is also consistently warm and kind, which makes the whole experience feel good from the moment you walk in. My only real frustration is with the wait times on online orders, and it's significant enough that I have to mention it. I work 10 min away and only get a 35-40 minute break. The app consistently quotes around 20 minutes- but honestly, 20 minutes shouldn't even be necessary. I've stood there and watched them make a bowl. It takes about two minutes. Other similar restaurants have my order ready in five minutes, consistently. So when the app quotes 20 and then I still end up waiting at the 20 minute mark on top of that - in a nearly empty restaurant - something is off. Today this happened (I hit the 20 min mark with no food), and I had to go up and ask them to make my order. This isn't a one-time thing either. It's happened enough times over the years that it genuinely deters me from coming here on my break. To their credit, there was a stretch where it seemed like they had it figured out, so I know they can do it. I just wish that consistency would stick. If you're not on a time crunch, absolutely go. The food alone is worth it. But if you're relying on a quoted pickup time, build in a buffer- a bigger one than you'd think you'd need.

The food here is incredible, I think the ambiance and theme of the restaurant fits the food, very…read moreMediterranean experience, the service here is great, thank you to our waiter Travis, absolutely goated. Absolutely would eat here again 5/5

An absolute standout, elevated by exceptional service and unforgettable flavors…read more From the moment we sat down, Ivis set the tone for the entire evening. As first-time diners, we really appreciated how knowledgeable and intentional his recommendations were!! Everything he suggested was spot on. His attentiveness was seamless (never overbearing, always present), and he made the experience feel curated rather than routine. Now let's talk about the food... wow. Every dish came out fresh, beautifully prepared, and packed with flavor. You can truly taste the authenticity and care in each bite. It's one of those menus where everything sounds so good, you're immediately planning your next visit before you've even finished your meal. The ambiance makes it versatile enough for anything, whether it's an intimate date night or a lively group dinner, it executes both effortlessly. Safe to say, we've found a new favorite. We'll absolutely be back... and next time, we're ordering even more!

Delicious food and really beautiful restaurant. Hummus, baba ganoush, tabouli, all the middle…read moreeastern comfort food Service was warm and welcoming. Lots to see. Artwork is beautiful.

This place is so homey and friendly, one feels like a member of the family here. The food that…read morecomes out of that kitchen is so amazing and I haven't even tried everything yet. I keep getting the lamb shank as I am a big eater and the meal comes with a big Greek salad and a wonderful rice you just have to experience. I have tried the vegetarian grape leaves and they were wonderful, spicy and a flavor that lingers well after leaving the cafe. And Bibi is the consummate host. Never a problem. He shared that the cafe name is from the name of a famous Lebanese singer named Fairuz, check her out on youtube.

Yummy! This place rocks, its convenient location on the end of UTC mall means it's never too busy…read more The food is delicious and the chicken kabobs taste so authentic. Definitely feel grateful to experience the food there

Hands down one of the worst restaurants I have ever eaten at. Yesterday I went here for an early…read moredinner date with my wife around 3pm. This was the only thing I had eaten the entire day, since I have been fasting. I was very happy to eat food because I had been to one other Panini kebab location and they were great. I ordered two beef kebab, along with a Greek salad as a replacement for rice. Upon getting the beef kebabs. The meat was dry and the salad was overdressed to the point of almost being un edible. I started to eat the food since I was starving and did not want to wait another 30 minutes for what should've taken 10 minutes to make. I finished my meal and paid and then not even 10 minutes later I started to feel sick. I just thought since it was a lot of food maybe since I hadn't eaten all day it was from digesting every thing; but almost 3 hours later things kept getting worse, and I started to feel really really bad. I had to call off work and I went straight home. I was throwing up for almost 3 to 4 hours I didn't have it in me to call the restaurant and ask for a refund that night so I waited until the next morning. Luckily, I got a few hours of sleep while throwing up for almost the entire night. I called the restaurant around 11:30 AM. The next day the manager I spoke to was extremely inconsiderate, unhelpful, and also rude. The manager said "we follow strict procedures and guidelines so no one gets sick from the food". I later checked the reviews for this restaurant and it turns out I was not the only person that got sick from the UTC Panini kebab grill almost all of the one star reviews are from people getting food, sickness, or the food taking an extremely long amount of time I don't know why the food took almost 30 minutes to make when we were quite literally the only customers in there at this time. This restaurant deserves to be shut down and deserves no business from anyone that comes to the UTC mall, there are much better locations with sanitary and good food for at the same price. This restaurant really needs to rethink their sanitation and cooking processes because the manager consistently told me that the meat was not the issue. I told him "maybe the issue was the salad". Or maybe the "issue was the server that brought it to me". I don't know what the issue was but also I shouldn't be lectured about the entire process that it takes to get the food to me. Especially when the food was far from sanitary and even the next day I still feel sick almost 24 hours later. The managers were no help and were unable to offer me a refund on cheap food that was barely edible. If you are a manager please don't respond to this, you were unable to help over the phone so I don't want a lousy reply on yelp. Please do not eat here 2/2/26 Go to Mr Shawarma in San Marcos, Downtown or Pacific Beach. They are a real family owned business and have sanitary and quality food.

Really wanted to love this place, but...First the fries were served cold. I should have said…read moresomething. On the positive The Wagyu Pita wrap was up to its hype. The Chicken Shawarma bowl had too much rice and not enough chicken. I will try again when it's less busy.

I decided to visit this location for a late lunch during the week. I was so busy at work that I had…read moreto not had an opportunity to get lunch. I was able to sign off at 330p and head over to this location. The place was empty and there were clean tables and floors when I walked in. I was greeted by the lady behind the counter, and she had a smile on her face. I ordered the beef & chicken shawarma plate, Wagyu Beef eggrolls, and a bottled drink. My food was freshly prepared. I received my order in 7-10 minutes. It smelled wonderful. I paid for extra yogurt sauce and left to take my food to-go. When I arrived home, I enjoyed a delicious meal. Everything was prepared with great flavor, portions, and care. I had the garlic sauce and the yogurt sauce with my meal. This place is one of my favorites. I have been eating their food since the Southpark Truck days, phenomenally delicious. Thanks!

Amazing food, I got a wrap with fries and they were fried perfectly. And the chicken omg! it was…read morejuicy like never in my life have I had chicken that juicy. I deadass recommend coming here. The service here was super welcoming. It was my first time coming and my first time trying kebabs, and Carolina the store manager actually came up to me and talked with me. That's crazy to me. You can tell they really care about their customers. Lowkey gave those Chick-fil-A TikTok service vibes. The ambiance was really nice too, came with my lacrosse buddies overall had an amazing time and just a comfortable place to sit and enjoy your food.

Got the San Diego wrap with carved lamb & beef, and it was delicious! It includes fries inside like…read morea California burrito, and it did not disappoint. Their fire chili salsa is fire, so be sure to put some. Carolina was also amazing when she was ringing us up. She was very friendly and personable. I was with a few folks who were trying it for the first time, and she helped them navigate the menu easily. Highly recommend this place, 5 stars!