My wife and I just moved to Wake Forest. Coming from the NY metropolitan area we were skeptical…read moreabout restaurant quality. We were very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and service at Charlie's. The food was very good and the wait staff were pleasant and inviting. I would highly recommend this establishment to all.

Just didn't think the food was that great. Just didn't seem very fresh or high quality of meat.read more

"Consistency Matters"…read more The food is delish, let's start there. This hasn't been on my bingo card for a while and boo hoo! The garden pizzette and chicken shawarma are fan favorites for a reason. Chicken Shawarma is a (IMO) well seasoned cinnamon forward profile that delivers a tender chew. Don't let the cinnamon description deter you. The flavor is complex, savory, and very good! The garden pizzette is delicious. The perfect mixup of feta, mint, tomato, and cucumber...Chef's Kiss (dip in hummus and/or tzatziki for that extra, extra added flavor). We also loved the tzatziki/lebnah sauce. Perfect balance for our Americanized palate. My biggest complaint, would be consistency. I ordered twice in one week. Each meal was delicious, but noticeable different. Not a huge factor, but one I thought worth mentioning. Bread was whole wheat ... cool/ not a problem .. but also not my preference. All in all, a darn good meal! Sold side options. Fast casual Mediterranean/Lebanese : 4.5

I usually go to the Cary location for multiple catering orders that I place per month. The people…read moreat the Cary location have been very polite, friendly and helpful. I was going to be closer to the Raleigh location this past month so I decided to go to the Raleigh location and see if they could do the same as cary. I went in and asked a young man he said that should not be a problem for me to put in my catering orders and then have my payment done a certain way at the register, as they usually do, in cary. I placed my order and got to the register and then the very nice girl that was there was going to ring me up. She wasn't sure how to manually enter my credit card information that I needed to give, so she asked what I'm going to assume was her manager or whoever was in charge that day? The woman turned around and looked at me as if I walked in and started in her face. Her face was so disgusted, twisted up, and snarled with disapproval. She asked me, with a huge attitude, "what was going on here?". I politely explained the situation, which is that, at the Cary location our company pays over the phone when I arrive. I handed her the phone to give her the credit card information and she was speaking to my boss (who is a very world-renowned doctor) about the payment info. She was so rude to him and said "well usually we don't do this but we'll do it this time". I informed her that from now on, since it was such a problem we will gladly go to the other location or just another restaurant in general. The younger people at the register were extremely friendly and polite and really made this experience the most positive thing from this whole trip to this location. As I was leaving the female who had the attitude earlier did say that she " was sorry, and that she just didn't know what she was walking into". At this point, I really did not care about an I'm sorry, because I will never go back to this location. I don't care who or what she is, but if she doesn't know what she's walking into, then the best idea for her(if she had any business or common sense)would be to approach it in a professional manner and not with a stank attitude. I have worked in doing catering sales,amahing businesses, throwing events, and ordering multiple catering orders for other businesses that I run. I have never and would never, approach anyone like this if I was uncertain of any situation. It puts a really bad look on their whole concept. I have already talked to multiple people about this and told all the physicians that I work with. I have also discussed this encounter with other people who do multiple orders for catering and other event networking groups. I will never be ordering from this location again. I hope whatever they do, they get it right, and start hiring people who appreciate having a job, to make sure that no one else feels so turned off by someone like this. I'm only giving a two stars for the Friends League kids that were at the counter and at the cash register

This is a favorite place in Wake Forest. Food is so fresh and delicious and consistent…read more The service is always friendly too. Comfortable to stay and eat but I see a lot of take out orders being prepared and picked up too.

they messed up my order, leaving off several requested sides, which I paid for, and the teenager on…read morethe phone tried to argue with me over $1 worth of tzatziki instead of just making it right. lost me, and I used to come here 2 or 3 times a month and get lunch for my whole office. literally only asked if I could come pick up the olives and sauces. I didn't want anything special. hope that $1 of tzatziki helps you pay your bills. enjoy time you saved not making my order right!

This place has a small, but private, parking lot. I ordered takeout at the counter during lunch…read moretime on a weekday. At the very back page of the menu was the daily special, which includes some sort of protein in a bed of rice (no sides) for about $9.00. I think the food was worth the value. It took about 10 to 15 minutes to prepare, so order ahead if you want to get in and out. The ambience is very casual and the place looks like it has aged, but in a good way. Feels like it's been around forever whether that's the case or not. I would return to try some other items as the food was fresh and delicious even as a takeout.

My husband and I decided to give this place a try and we really liked it. I don't think we will be…read moreback bc the portion size of meat vs the portion of rice was astronomical. They gave us probably 4 cups of Mandy rice and barely any meat. I was very disappointed. It was too expensive to justify getting that much rice and that little meat to go with the rice. The Mandy rice was also an upgrade charge of $1, the meal comes with white rice. We also got an upgraded side of sambosas -- they were tiny!!! Very disappointed about the portion sizes here. I got a side of the tzatziki salad and that was delicious and a great size, no upgrade charge. I also didn't like my order, the chicken had a funny texture and the beef was tough. I think I got the chicken kabab & the beef tikka kabab. But I loved my husbands order of shish tawook 2 skewers. Overall it felt like everything was an up charge and the portion sizes were too small to justify the up charge. I don't mind paying extra if it worth the price, but I didn't feel like it was.

Oh My -- Ate at my First Aladdin's Eatery twenty some years ago when a shop opened up in Dublin,…read moreOH. I was kinda annoyed because it had replaced a Dairy Queen I liked. But what first appeared as a Lebanese "health food, vegan, vegetarian" restaurant even though they had some meat dishes -- turned into one of the favorite restaurants of my life! Their hummus, pitas (light and fluffy but not overy thick), hot sauce, shawarma, salads, kibi, lamb plate, soups (V9 rules) all became things I craved for the next twenty years. And the desserts! I think they made up for all the "healthy" stuff by having freshly made cakes to indulge after a good meal. Thank goodness they had franchises in Cleveland (where I visit my mother) -- when I had moved away from one I could get my fix there. But while in Columbus area, Dublin restaurant closed and I went to the one in Grandview quite a bit. I have been back in North Carolina for 12 years now. On a day trip to Raleigh, I stopped by the store at Brier Creek (8201 Brier Creek Pkwy #107) OH MY! It has been a while (I think I need to go visit my mother! ) Had my lunch staple. shawarma salad with Aladdin's dressing (they used to have a zesty tomato back in the day that was really good) a small hummus and HOT SAUCE! I am so glad the south is staring to get the grand taste of Aladdin's Eatery! Like I told the owner -- From the first day I tasted any meal to yesterday, the meals and food are consistent -- if you go back in time, they would be prepared and taste the same -- like Heaven, mother's milk! Now Lebanese, middle eastern may not be for everyone but if you want a good healthy salad or some great soup, I am sure you can find something here.. but you will miss out on the spices and flavors! I think the main thing about Aladdin's besides stellar food and consistency is the people! I have not met an owner, server, host that was not friendly, courteous, gracious and human! These folks are great! And just like the food has been so since day one! I wish all restaurants and business could be like Aladdin's, the world would be a better place -- after my meal yesterday, I am refueled and ready to go in body and spirit! Thanks for the lifetime of great meals, see you soon!

Good food, great service, but one thing stood out: I was recommended a wine over the one I chose…read more It was offered as "more authentic to match the food, same price." It wasn't good - I didn't appreciate being pushed old inventory that had started moving toward the "vinegar" stage. This doesn't deter me from going back - the food is great! - but I will be more careful.

Everything here! From the food, to the service, to the atmosphere is outstanding. It has a warm,…read moreinviting feel that makes you want to stay awhile. Highly recommend giving it a try!

This was a major disappointment. We'd been here once before for some friends' wedding celebration…read moreand thought the banquet/catering food was pretty good so decided to add it to the list to come back and check out their regular menu. Place was EMPTY on a Thurs at 6pm. Service was truly bad....like we had to get up after being seated for 15 minutes and ask the hostess if we could get a server to help us....in an empty restaurant. 40 minutes after being seated, we got our food. The food was just bad with the exception of the flatbread I ordered that was pretty tasty. My husband had the falafel and veggies and was given horrendously over seasoned and tough falafel with super under seasoned and undercooked veggies (like chunks of raw carrot). The other sides we ordered were a flavorless Fatoush salad and very mid rice. We never got the pita that was offered to us and after the second reminder, we just gave up on that. We tried it. Won't be back. There are WAY better options in the area for dinner.

Best falafel!! Ive been here four times and one time was just to buy like 15 pieces of falafel. All…read moreof their sides are vegetarian but are on the oily side. Other than the orzo salad and dips, I don't think i'd keep coming back for the rest of the sides. But you can't ever go wrong with the falafel. The wait for food is kind of long here but I don't really mind it. There's indoor and outdoor seating and plenty of parking. Never have had a problem with service.

"Bodega-like Mediterranean Grill & Grocery in Parkwood area of Durham"…read more This place is WAY off the beaten path for most, but I'm so happy to have gotten to try it out. Nestled in a little strip between a Muslim school and a mosque is this grill and grocery. We came on a Wednesday evening, and almost every table was already taken by diners. You order your food at a counter, and it has the Middle Eastern foods you'd expect-- kofta, shawarma, gyros, falafel, baba ghanouj, hummus, baklava, etc. I opted for the lamb gyro sandwich with a side of baba ghanouj, and my dining partner had the falafel sandwich. They call your number when it's ready. Food took maybe 10 minutes to receive, so we browsed the market area. It's not a huge selection, but very traditional-- nice seeing so many labels in Arabic, and along with standards (e.g., canned fava beans for Ful Medames), they also had things like frozen chopped mulukhiyah leaves-- that's definitely a rarer sight. Lots of good spices too. The food was EXCELLENT. The lamb was juicy and perfect (unlike what another Yelp review said), the tzatziki sauce was delicious, and the baba ghanouj was perfectly cooked and textured. I had a small bite of the falafel, and it was indeed one of the best I've had in the US. Price was fair, too-- the sandwiches are all under $10 before tax and tip, and making it a combo with side and drink cost just something like $2.50. And service was friendly-- although they called out numbers, they did walk out with the food to try to find and bring you your dishes. And while it was an older space, it was overall still generally clean. Overall, I'd VERY happily come back.

I had a pick three platter. The chicken salad was decent but not as good as Sassool. I also tried…read moretheir potatoes, which were on the vinegary side. The beets were on par with Sassool and the pomegranate salad had mostly strawberries. Vibes were nice, service was fine. Pretty easy to find parking on a Friday night.

We stopped in to visit and enjoy some Lebanese foods. We have been here a few times and enjoyed our…read morevisit but this past weekend our visit was very disappointing. We ordered the grape leaves, baklava, namoora and tabbouli. I am Lebanese and these are staples in our home. The grape leaves were extremely dry and tough. The rice was very undercooked and the leaves themselves were so dry and tough we could barely chew through them. We ordered 12 and thought maybe it was a fluke but all 12 were completely inedible and we threw them out immediately. The baklava was okay, nothing to write home about. Very simple syrup forward and you couldn't taste much else (we ordered the walnut). The namoora was stale. Very dry. Namoora should melt in your mouth with with a slight chew. This was again, tough and stale. We threw those out as well. Lastly, our favorite salad, tabbouli. The lemon taste was nonexistent. The parsley wasn't chopped fine as Tabbouli should be. It was a watery mess. Overall, we won't be back. We spent over $75 on 4 items and left feeling hungry and bamboozled. There are other Lebanese food spots to visit in the Raleigh area, I will stick to those. Please do better when representing Lebanese cuisine. 15 workers behind the counter can seem like you're doing something right but in the end, it all comes down to the freshness and authenticity of what you are claiming to serve.

The food is top tier. It's always been great but somehow I believe it's gotten even better. How?!…read more Yesterday my family came in and ordered multiple dishes. All incredible. the chicken especially is the perfect texture and flavor but all of great. Family favorite for about a decade. We do takeout or we dine in a few times a year as well.

4 stars since the food was really good! My gyro bread was torn so I could not eat it as a…read moretraditional sandwich. It was more like a salad it was torn. There was hardly any T sauce on it too. I like my meat a bit more cut up than the big chunks so that's why I'm giving it 4 stars and the disappointment of having to eat it with a fork. But i will say it's the best gyros we have found around here. The fried pickles were really good!!! Great ranch too

Looking for a healthier alternative for lunch with my daughter…read more She had the Steak and Cheese Gyro and I had the Chicken Gyro and we shared a side of Falafel. So yummy. The service was great and everything came to us as soon as it was made so super hot. They even had a fancy tea dispenser that did sweet / unsweetened and you could add lemonade! Super convenient location and the restaurant and bathroom were super clean! Definitely visit again!

This place is a little hidden gem in a random strip mall. I was on an epic day of thrifting with my…read moremom, and so at one of our stops we yelped a lunch option nearby. We both love Mediterranean food, and the reviews were great, so we stopped in. The chef makes everything to order, and she evidentially is the former owner, who sold her shop in order to spend more time with grandkids. She's lovely! As we waited for our food there were a few others who came in and seemed to be regulars who knew how good this place is. I got chicken shawarma deluxe, and it was perfect. No notes! My mom got the vegetarian platter and specifically raved about the falafel- they were like adorable little donuts and really tasty. I would highly recommend this place! Glad to hear a change in ownership didn't seem to cause any issues.