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Aladdin
Categories: Restaurants Middle Eastern Restaurants Sandwiches Middle Eastern, Sandwiches [Edit]
4342 16th Ave SWCedar Rapids, IA 52404
(319) 365-2025
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 9 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am - 10 pm
Sun 11 am - 8 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
11 reviews for Aladdin
11 reviews in English
-
Review from Mark M.
Cedar Rapids, IA
4/30/2012 1 Check-in Here
I found the food I had delicious (Chicken Kabob Platter) and they accomodated my low-carb request (Aladdin Salad rather than rice) with no complaint or resistance.
-
Review from Kate M.
9/20/2010
I'm so glad I found Aladdin. And! It's close to my moms place.
The staff are all friendly and professional. The food is really good. Large portions at reasonable prices. Nice atmosphere. What more can I ask for? Oh, and they have a fairly large selection of dry goods, canned food, candy, cookies, etc from the Middle East.
I'm pretty sure I'll be dining here at least once a week when I'm in town.Listed in: I'm in Iowa, and I'm hungry
-
Review from Michelle S.
Chicago, IL
10/14/2009
No. This was not a pleasant meal. The first thing that I always notice about a restaurant or eatery is the ambiance. This place does not have it down "yet". There might be hope. I'm confused by the waiter service when it clearly looks like a spruced up fast food joint. Candles on Formica topped tables does not work people. You have to start from ground zero. Think lighting, color, music, comfortable seating and tone down the knick knacks. Less is more.
Alright, the veggie options were not good. Samosas bad, hummus/ baba ganoush are oily, the pita was deflated, and the falafel was rock hard, as well as flavorless. This is ok for fast food perhaps, but then keep it that way and don't offer waiter service and $$ prices. Also, the fly and fruit flies buzzing around our table did not help my experience. I also had little floaties in my hot tea water prior to tea bag dunking. -
Review from Ed F.
Cedar Rapids, IA
7/14/2007
Anything from falafel and gyros to a full Mediterranean dinner can be ordered at Aladdin. I would highly recommend the gyros. It's done right - roasted on a spit, not pan-fried from frozen. The pita is fresh and served hot from the griddle, that and a good dollop of tzatziki sauce makes this the best gyro in CR. The tabbouleh salad had way too much parsley in it. The hummus is pretty good. The Aladdin Platter was maybe a little too exotic for even my adventurous taste buds. Only liked about half of this huge meal - enough for two people.
Something unique for a Cedar Rapids restaurant - you and your friends can fire up a hookah for $15 at the outdoor tables. -
Review from Jim B.
Cedar Rapids, IA
12/22/2007
I like this place a lot. For flavors that are different that what one might usually experience in Cedar Rapids, this is the place to go. The Gyros are very good, as well as the hummus. The kabobs are very well seasoned and generally the meat is very tender, especially the lamb which is a favorite.
Occasionally my wife and I share the Alladin platter, which is plenty of food for the both of us. And don't forget to try the baklava for dessert!!
Service is the only part of the experience at Alladin that causes me to give this otherwise excellent restaurant a four star instead of a five star rating. -
Review from Jessica T.
Los Angeles, CA
10/23/2008
A colleague found this place online before we were in Cedar Rapids on a recent business trip. The menu looked great online! We were very excited to try it ... and I was sorely disappointed after we did.
The short version: underwhelming atmosphere, underwhelming entrees, good appetizers, unbeatable prices.
The Tolstoy: I wasn't expecting what I found when I visited Aladdin in October 2008. The website is very well done, very pretty, very professional looking, and led me to expect a place with some nice atmosphere, good wait staff, and cloth napkins. Instead, Aladdin is in a strip mall puddle of fluorescent blah. The walls are painted with (Egyptian?) scenes of pyramids and sand dunes and camels, complete with plastic kitch. I've been in fast food chains with more pleasant ambiance.
When we arrived that Monday evening for dinner, there was nobody in the restaurant. I don't mean there were no diners: I mean there was **nobody** in the restaurant. We stood around awkwardly wondering if we'd misread the "open" sign and walked in to a closed restaurant. Eventually somebody found us and seated us.
The menus we were given had the same stuff as we'd seen online ... but they were in poor repair - sticky, smudged, torn. We were very hungry, and my friend had his hopes up, so we ordered and ate.
The food was a mixed bag. The falafel appetizer was AWESOME. I could have eaten my body weight in that stuff. The six pieces were served with yogurt (I don't think it was tzaziki) and were warm and crispy and YUM! The dolmas ("veggie grape leaf rolls") were also tasty and a bargain.
The dinners, though, were not that great. Both came with a tomato-cucumber mix that was sour (white vinegar!) and salty and covered in some powdered spice that was gritty and bitter in the mouth. The vegetables were really raw tasting, like they were just moments previous tossed with the "dressing".
I had the gyro platter. It was ... underwhelming. I got a pile of gyro (soggy, especially greasy) and some rice (plain, buttered rice). I thought I might get some parsley or onion or tomato or something to liven it up, but no.
My friend, however, had the lamb shank and was very pleased. He sucked every bite of meat off the bones. He definitely enjoyed his dinner more than I did mine.
The saving grace was that we two ate for under $15 and the falafel was delicious. I sincerely doubt that I'll return and eat at Aladdin Restaurant again. -
Review from Khiem L.
10/26/2010
I love the food here. The spices used to make the kafta are awesome. The beef kabobs are juicy and not full of fat and chewy pieces of beef. The salads are great. The rice is good too but could use a little more seasoning. The hummus with a little bit of some of their lamb is fantastic. My girlfriend always gets the gyros and loves those. Int the multiples of times that I have been here, I have tried many things and the only thing I can say I didn't like was the spicy chicken sandwich. The lamb plates are good. The dinner plate for 2 is a very filling meal. The cost is also very doable. Service is pretty friendly but it is always changing so it's never a guarantee.
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Review from Al L.
Bothell, WA
6/28/2009
been here many times.. food is good and tasty..
variety to choose from.. lambs, chicken, beef..
i really like their sticky fried rice and salad..
they have special discount menu during lunch hours on the weekdays and price is affordable..$8-$10
fast service
not too friendly staff..
their drinking water is disgusting.. better order soda/others
not too many people eat.. here but i can see many prefer taking out food or have the "to go" orders.. -
Review from Carla P.
North Liberty, IA
2/11/2010
This place is a little whole in the wall. Just a few tables and I think they only have one wait person and one cook. But they bring out the food speedy and the food is always good. Their specials are awesome. They also have some few grocery items on the side. Plus baklava to take home. Yummy!!!
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Review from Dallas M.
Cedar Rapids, IA
7/12/2008
This is the best Mediterranean food in town. While I would not call it the best place in the world, it meets every expectation I had in Cedar Rapids. The people and atmosphere is pleasant. Good place for lunch!
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Review from J. C.
Cedar Rapids, IA
9/18/2009
Love the food, dislike the atmosphere and staff. We'd get delivery from here without a moment's hesitation, but the staff can be uncommunicative and/or grumpy enough that sometimes even carry out has us hesitant to call. Sometimes they refuse to give change or store credit when you use gift certificates, so be sure to ask what policy they're feeling like at the time before you order or pay in case you need to order more or use a little cash to avoid wasting gift certificates.
