On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Categories: Greek, Mediterranean
Neighborhood: University DistrictMon-Fri. 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Loading...
Hole-in-the-wall goodness!
My boyfriend and I CRAVE these gyros if we don't have them in awhile. So the place feels dive-y. So WHAT, you don't have to live there. Just get the hell out of the some DELICIOUS gyro + basmati rice w/ tatziki (which is REALLY good and tangy and get the hell out of there.
You can see the meat roasting on the spit. YUM.
Great food. Cheap, quick, ready to go. It's a classic hole-in-the-wall, which I love. The lamb/beef combo is great, the sauce is plentiful, messy food but oh so good.
Location on the Ave can be a bit sketchy at times.
Cheap, delicious, and convenient. This is a good late-night spot for a quick meal. 3.5 stars~
The gyros are good (lamb in particular, chicken is o.k. too, and the lamb and beef combo isn't half bad). The curried (?) rice is also quite good and they put some sort of yogurt white sauce over the top --I could eat this as a meal all by itself for under $2. The fries are average but they are thick and good for dipping in either the yogurt sauce or ketchup.
Minus stars for the fact that it's cash only and people smoke in the dining area at night which is kind of a bummer, so more often than not I'd wind up carrying the gyro home which makes it not quite a wonderful experience. Other than that, not many complaints. This is an OK place to grab a bite!
Aladdin Gyro-Cery makes a solid gyro that'll send you on a magic carpet ride.
I had the Lamb and Beef Gyro, Stuffed Grape Leaves, House Iced Tea, and Baklava. The gyro was awesome. I don't know where they get their bread, or if they make it themselves, but it's amazing. It's nice and warm and has the perfect amount of fluff for a gyro. The bread isn't too chewy, and is thick enough to prevent any soggy mishaps. Whenever I go to get a gyro anywhere, I always struggle with the question of whether I want lamb or beef. Now, I don't have to make that decision. I don't know why more gyro places don't just combine the two together. The additional ingredients keep it simple and make it easy to enjoy the meat.
The Stuffed Grape Leaves were a disappointment. They were overly seasoned and taste like they had been sitting in the fridge for too long. I think I've had better stuffed grape leaves from the supermarket. The House Iced Tea tastes like a random mix of herbs and spices. Unfortunately, they don't come together in the drink and left my tongue confused and disturbed. The Baklava was another disappointment. Though it was nice that it wasn't drenched in sugar, eating their Baklava kind of made me miss that about baklava. The baklava doesn't taste fresh and comes off as bland, and tastes like any baklava you can get at the local supermarket. There was also baklava sugar syrup all over the dollar bills I got back for change.
The interior is also awesome. With a ridiculous hodgepodge of furniture and seating arrangements, eating here can be really entertaining.
The prices here, aside from the Bakalva, are great. You can't get a better deal for a jumbo gyro. And I always appreciate a place that offers a late night snack.
Regardless of the disappointments, the gyro was so awesome that I'd love to ask Aladdin Gyro-Cery to make me its Jasmine.
GET: Lamb and Beef Gyro
Cheap. Filling. Delicious!
I wouldnt recommend this place for a romantic date, but for a quick lunch bite... you just can't beat it. The food was seasoned well, with a perfect sauce:meat:lettuce:tomato ratio.
The decor is quite something too.. A weird mix of Mediteranean, Arabian, Palestinian. In any case, you'll have something to look at if there is a lull in conversation. The seating area is surprisingly large for how small the store front is. The couches along the wall really help promote a chill, sit back and relax while you enjoy your gyro sort of atmosphere.
Lamb and Beef Euro with rice.
Every time.
The only thing I don't like is the way they do water - a sports pitcher right after you walk in. It doesn't look like it's cleaned all the time.
Besides that, the atmosphere is great, and I LOVE this place.
Ok, it really should be 3 1/2 but yelp doesn't allow me to do that. I wouldn't say I'm a "fan" but it's not "just ok" either. Either way, thank you Aladdin for fulfilling my gyro craving at 11 pm last night.
I had just finished watching Top Chef, and on the show someone had made a gyro. I looked at the boyfriend and said "I want a gyro." He reminded me that Aladdin was open, so we headed out there and got the lamb & beef gyro. It's messy, so be prepared, but it totally hit the spot for me.
The gyro is the best I've had in the UDist, but it's not quite as good as Lake City Gyros. The meat is very flavorful and has moderately crispy edges. The combination of meat to vegetables to sauce is excellent.
The falafel are ok, but not spectacular. The mixture is good, but they're a little burnt on the outside.
The lentil soup is reasonably tasty, but could be a little more pungent than it was. My friend said that he's had the soup when it was older (had simmered longer) and it was better. We know the soup we had was fresh because the cashier/cook said he had just started serving from the new pot.
What the heck happened to this place!?!
Ehh, my Greek fries were undercooked (cold) and sogged out.
Ehh(x2) my lamb/beef gyro was also coldish and bad veg (not enough) to meat proportion (too much)....not so good when it's cold though.
Bonus: the ladies bathroom has been painted to cover the decade(s) of grime and graffiti.
Ehhh(x3)....glad that meal is now down the toilet pipe.
A great hole in the wall. Good food at cheap prices. The chicken souvlaki is delicious. Really good marinade. Rival to Mr. Gyros in Greenwood but cheaper with bigger portions and less pretty boy fake ass kissey service. You can't beat the rice and hummos at Mr.Gyros though.
Not bad, but not great, either. Tracy Jane is correct; my gyro was also a bit dry. The prices are great, but the taste just doesn't make you say "wow."
I thought it was going to be the best damn gyro I had ever eaten, since it took them forever. Alas, Aladdin, it was not to be, though. Mr. D's kicks your butt everyday and twice on Sunday!
Oh, the thing I liked the best was all the "stop the invasion of Palestine" signs inside..........yes, all the settlements and checkpoints inside the Palestinian areas are ridiculous.
Ordered a lamb gyro combo (pop and fries) and baklava to go at about 10pm on a weekday. The order was about 9 dollars. I was given no number or directions when I paid so I just stood around waiting by the grill like all the others.
My gyro was tasty. The meat was tender and flavorful. I appreciated that it was not fat ridden. The gyro was full of lettuce, tomatoes, sauce, and lamb. There was so much meat that I ended up taking some out. The bread was hard on the edges. The baklava was petite and a honey treat.
The staff was nice, but not super into communication at Aladdin Gyro-cery. There is seating it the back and they will bring you your meal if you are staying.
FYI's~
* Cash only
* They are open late- good for cravings
* Combos are $6+
* The menu on the wall is large and detailed- Breath and try and not feel rushed in the crowd of customers- it will help you make a better choice
* The fries are basic restaurant fries- not good- not bad
There is really only one thing you need to know about this place to get you to go.... Meat on a stick! One of my favorite things in life in Tacos el Pastor. And to get the real deal the meat should be shaved off a leg that is slowly turning with a fire behind it. Well this is the Gyro version of that. If you get the lamb and beef, they mix the meats together and then shape it like a leg and stick it through the middle onto a machine the constantly spins the leg around, cooking it. The result is AWESOME! I don't even like lamb and I will scarf these down. Plus the prices here are really good. The have different sizes, but the most you will spend for a gyro is right around 5 bucks. The chicken with the hummus in another fave and I always have moments of indecision when I go here.
I lived in Seattle for 7 years, before recently moving back to Portland. This was one of the first places I found when moving up there and one of the first places I have missed!!!! They are open late night, the service is fast and the guys are usually nice. Over the 7 years I have been going here they have changed the back around a couple of times. My friends and I all agree that it was better before. There used to be kind of a seperation in back with couches. Now they have a wall bench that goes all along and a few booths. But it seems dirtier in the last year. It might just be that my sobriety could have been in question the first couple of years I frequented here....you never know. However one of the friends I used to go with never drank and agrees that the back is going down hill.
Go here for gyros on the Ave. The gyros are cheap, flavorful, and filling. I got the jumbo lamb and beef gyros for $5 and it was the best five bucks I have spent in a long time. You get soft, warm pita bread filled with delicious tender and flavorful meats, and its topped with lettuce, red and white onions, and their special sauce. Good, honest, cheap eats!
Prices: cheap
Food: good
Service: not best but good
Atmosphere: college/good
Overall: great for the price you're getting it all at
*I love everything there so I couldn't single out anything particular but obviously Lamb Gyro's are gonna be their bread & butter
this place has great food at good prices. they are generally speedy with their service and their employees are very friendly. Great place to go late at night if you're hungry after a few beers!
Just as Steve C. said...not bad but not great, either. I ordered the jumbo falafel and it was 5 dollars (the reason for the 3rd star - otherwise, this place gets 2 stars)...but here's what burns me a little. They have a price of 4.57 and when you include tax the total should be 4.97 or 4.98 (do the math). I know this is nit-picky but why not just list the price as 5 dollars (including tax)? It just seemed strange to me.
Anyway...very typical falafel sandwich from a low-budget place. Iceburg lettuce, cheap tomatoes and onions. The sauce was decent, although there wasn't very much of it. The falafel balls themselves were decent yet a little mushy inside.
I'll probably go back - but only after checking out all the other spots. Just keep in mind, this place only accepts cash.
I had a sudden craving for Aladdin Gyro-Cery, but unfortunately, I'm across the country.
This place is fantastic and it's really a staple of the Ave. Sometimes, you just don't want to choose from the 50 million pho and thai restaurants!
Great gyros and the most polite phone order taking personel! If you have time, go sit inside and enjoy the relaxing tent-like atmosphere...
This place is the best. I've tried other gyro shops in the area, all fall short of the Gryocery in the u district.
Good bang for the buck. Good portions, taste great during the late nights. Lamb and beef gyro is all you need
A run up to University District had us going past this old college haunt. Dinner plans were different, but this place called us in. Missing Berlin's numerous Doener stand, this is no substitute, but something that is also delicious.
$5 gets you a mouthwatering gyro complete with lamb/beef mix, lettuce, sauce, and tomato wrapped up in its cosy individual wrapper. There are plethora of other options, including vegetarian options, but this is one place I rarely venture off the favorite.
The place itself is perfectly bizarre. Cash only, languages flying, "Free Palestine" signs prominent. In a word- awesome. As it was Mother's Day weekend, we sought to excite & amaze my future MIL and her trepidation turned to amazement once the gyro entered her mouth. Success!
Gearing up for a trip back to the place I called home (for a year), one of the few places I want to get some food at is Aladdin.
Coming from SF, which is filled with a variety of great food places, Seattle was kind of a bust in this area. Try finding good mexican food in Seattle... it's too far north. The indian food is decent depending where you go. But what they do have over SF is good vietnamese and mediterranean food.
I was introduced to this place by an old co-worker and thought it was hands down the best gyros I'd ever had. Super cheap and tasty, especially if you get the hot sauce. I've only had their beef and lamb gyros but I bet their falafel looks pretty damn good when they're dumping it in a grease pit. Also great after drinking in the U-district and eating it on the bus back to Capitol Hill.
Went there for the first time last night - before the crazy Saturday night rush of college kids got there. We had a falafel plate, lamb gyro and chicken gyro and to be honest, I wasn't impressed. The falafels were blackish on the outside and obviously fried in old oil, which left us feeling ill. Also the falafel mixture had too much cumin - which I discovered later was a recurring theme here. The chicken gyro had so much turmeric it was actually yellow in color. The only saving grace was the lamb gyro which was tender, well seasoned and actually yummy.
Here's my problem though, when I call up and ask a supposedly Middle Eastern restaurant whether they serve shawarmas and the nice Arab lady on the other end says yes yes, yalla come, I think I've hit the jackpot. Shawarmas from back home! (I grew up in the Middle East) However, GYROS are NOT Shawarmas - the thick doughy bread, held like a taco, too many vegetables, the wrong sauce for a shawarma and insult to injury all the damn cumin and turmeric - if I wanted my 'shawarma' to taste like chicken curry I could have just stayed at home and opened a bottle of Patak's.
The service was friendly though.
yum yum... late nite cravings after long nights of studying.
Cheap, delicious and fast.
I'm not a picky vegan so I'm opt for the jumbo fallafel every time (now around 5$, prices have kept on rising these last few years)
They have this sinfully sweet and delicious foreign soda which reminds me of a similar Venezuelan soda called frescolita.
Have to come prepared with cash and empty stomach.
Only bummer, not the healthiest food. I always get a little stomach ache after eating there. But I get that with most unhealthy foods anyway.
Quick and delicious. If you venture inside you'll see the traditional decoration and seating areas. Their Gyro Salad is enough for two and has plenty of gyro meat! Hummus is good when I don't have time to go to Trader Joes. Also their dolmades are tasty too.
The only thing that I find difficult is finding parking...granted most of the patrons here are college students within walking distance.
Oh yahhhh. Open late night--that time of night where you need to make a decision as to whether you'll be eating honey walnut prawns in Chinatown, or a gyro on the Ave. The eggplant gyros are just as good as the ones with meat, but I recently discovered their Greek fries, and boy oh boy is that feta and special sauce just sooo good! I know that back, say, 9 yrs ago or so, this was a good spot for flavored bidis...butta...yah, it's no longer something that anyone I know of searches for, so I suppose that's besides the point. But you know, if that IS what you're looking for...this is probably a good place to find them.
If the people who work here seem angry with you, it's not true. They're just tired of all the late night annoying crowds. But really, they're nice.
Cheap, delicious, and portable. All that you need to remember is the lamb and beef gyro. Tender and juicy - the warm slices of tasty lamb and beef are married together with the delicious meat juices, and also there's a slight curry taste that goes perfectly with the cool tzatziki sauce and fresh chopped lettuce and tomatoes. All enveloped beautifully in a warm fluffy pita. The perfect size for a filling meal and/or drunk craving.
But, that doesn't matter - drunk, sober, wasted, tired, high - whatever you are, just order one if you're in the area. It's been four months since I was in Seattle and I still crave it. That's how you know, homies.
Yum.
Brilliant.....the largest lamb and beef gyro comes out to 5 bucks even, and it's amazing. Quick service too, and open late.
Cheap and very good gyros.
It's very casual, with plastic plates. Not for a date, but perfect to have something to eat.
#9 combo. Enough said.
Life would suck without Aladdin's. I often fantasize about taking a giant bite out of the rotating wad of gyro meat behind their counter. Their gyros are so huge and delicious that I could quite possibly eat myself to death from a platter of them. I really like their rice side too--it's a cup of rice with a blob of their magical gyro sauce on top (I wouldn't quite call it tzatziki since it tastes a bit different, but it's pretty close to tzatziki).
In a nutshell, Aladdin's is cheap, ridiculously delicious, and an Ave essential. Go there and get your gyro on!
I can't say enough good things about this place. Yes, I've only ordered one menu item for the past 10 years, but its the best I've ever had! Nothing beats their #9 beef and lamb gyro, I've had many from all over and have never had a gyro that even comes close in deliciousness. I also have a soft spot for the people who work there because I've had many an intoxicated after hours night where they would unlock the door and let my friends and I eat our gyros inside the restaurant even though they were technically only doing outside service. They also listen to their regulars, there was a time when they changed their recipe and made every gyro spicy and eventually went back to the old recipe because so many people came to order it with no spice.
Oh ps- the bathroom is ghetto beyond words, do not venture there unless you have a weapon and are confident in your use of it.
There gyros here are good enough, but I wasn't wowed by them. I had the chicken gyro while my girlfriend had the lamb. I thought the lamb was much better than the chicken and will have that if I come here again. The fries were very crispy and delicious. And the Mt. Dew tasted like Mt. Dew because it came in a can. I don't know why I commented on Mt. Dew at a gyro place. That is really weird.
I did like the Persian decor and also liked the fact that they had the Seahawks game on.
Overall, good meal for only $7.
Zipzap Zubidy Bop!
I don't know if I've actually been here before midnight. It's always when I'm working late at night at school, getting really hungry, and the only other options I have are Jack in the Box, Safeway, or Memo's Mexican..and I guess the 'other' Aladdin.
They serve good food here consistently. Their baklavas are usually way too sweet, but I think that's just how baklavas are. I've never had a baklava that wasn't. It's perfect with strong bitter coffee.
I like the atmosphere here, too. Comfy couch Middle eastern style in the back corner..I just wish they would dim the lights a bit. It's like.. wal-mart bright in there.
The people are always nice...they dont talk much usually, but still at least they're not mean. And no meal at Aladdin is complete without a Vimto...give it a try
I am so grateful that this place is so close to my house, in the UW student wasteland that is the U district. They're open mad late, the guys that work there are chill and very accommodating, they play great music, and have the best setup in the back corner of the restaurant-in the back area with the benches, there's an inexplicable sculpture of sorts which, if memory serves me, combines a hookah, a small, ancient tv, and various and sundry items. it makes very little sense and i love it.
everyone i've taken here loves it.
they've been totally chill about my gluten-intolerance and even said they would make me falafel sans wheat flour...which i can't really take them up on because it would still be deep-fried in the same oil that had been used to fry items containing wheat. but still...it's hard enough having to pepper every restaurant i go with questions about what's in their food and how its prepared, and these guys gave me the opposite of 'tude when questioned.
did i mention the food is fresh, delicious and inexpensive, and consistent!
love you guys. thanks for makin' my stay in the U-district a littl ebit brighter.
MMM good. I stopped by today for lunch with a friends who had been here before. We both order the lunch combo with fries and I got the greek fries. The gyro came to the table fast and full! The fries were covered in a yogurt sauce and feta which looked weird but the taste was really good! It was a totally filling lunch and for $7 with a soda.
I gotta venture out to the ave more often.
Hell yeah. I had walked all the way from Fremont with no plans, other than to eat somewhere on The Ave.
Walked by this place and though "I guess some lamb would be good right now," and ordered a gyro plate.
It was only then that I noticed the awesome pun "Gyro-cery." I was slightly more excited to get my food at that point. It took about 15 min for a take-out order and I gobbled it up on a street corner. The meat was so tasty, and the rice complimented it perfectly. My only complaint was that the tzatziki could have been more flavorful.
I'll be going back next time I find myself hungry in the UD.
I actually ate here first about 3 years ago when I first entered college. It was one of the places that was recommended to me by a friend, and oh man what a good recommendation!
The food here is cheap and the workers are really friendly. The food is amazing. I usually opt for the Chicken Gyro, but sometimes I go for the beef/lamb when I'm feeling dangerous ;) I've never had a chance to try out the Turkey Gyro, but I'm not too fond of turkey anyway. The baklava here is great too, not overwhelmingly sweet like I've had at other places. The place is large enough that I've never had a problem finding a seat. It's a great place to go when you're on the run too. It's open late and they're always friendly.
Make sure you make your way here when you come by the U-District. It's worth the trip! :)
Gyreka! I am a huge fan of the food here: it is cheap and it is good.
The only thing that prevents 5-stars is the attitude/atmosphere. The cooks completely ignore customers, and at times I have felt that some employees and even sometimes customers give off a hostile vibe, especially if you go in during off-hours and there are just a couple people in there, like you are in their private space. Weird, but easy to overlook. The gyro are totally wonderful.
FYI The yelp map places this place on the wrong side of the Ave.
Neighborhood: University District
Category: Middle Eastern
Neighborhood: University District
Category: Middle Eastern
Neighborhood: University District
Category: Sandwiches
Neighborhood: University District
Category: Burgers
Neighborhood: University District
Category: Indian
When it's noon-ish, you're starved and you need…
a list of nostalgia and comfort foods in Seattle.…
I grew up here, and it's a city with some great…
Two slices of bread, some condiments, and a…
Here are some of my favorite places to dine for…
Get the most bang for your buck so you can justify…
Got $5 or less? Here's where to go (in no…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
