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Categories: Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Neighborhood: ClairemontMon-Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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I love Aladdin because I regularly show up there with a large group of women (15-20) on Friday nights, most of the time without a reservation. They not only accommodate us, but they actually seem happy to have us there! That's a really hard thing to find - most places treat you like pariahs when you do that sort of thing.
So for starters, the service is remarkably and consistently great.The manager (owner?) and servers are super friendly and efficient.
Second, the food is delicious - I've had salads, wraps, and pizzas and everything is always yum.
Finally, the prices are reasonable. Depending on what you order, you can get away with ~$10 per person.
We had dinner at Aladdin Café last Friday night. There was no wait, we were seated right away. The menu has lost of choices!
For appetizer, we had the hommos! It was fresh and very good! The waitress kept bringing out warm pita bread to go with the hommos. Very good! We had to catch our waitress to ASK for place settings.
We were in a group of five people and out food came out at all different times, at times about 10 minutes in between!
I had the chicken kabob entrée. It was very good but overpriced for $19. My husband had ordered the Koufta Kabob but was brought the chicken kabob. He ate it even with the mistake because his food came out last =(
One of our friends had "Abu's Pepperoni Pizza" which he said was "good" and our other friend had the chicken byrani which she said was "very good"!
At the end of our meal, we split our check. We specifically told the waitress to use the $20 cash, the, $20 on one credit card, and the rest on the other credit card. When the receipts came back, the $20 cash was not applied to our bill. Again, we had to flag down the waitress to get the bill fixed.
The food was good enough that we might visit again!
It may seem like I am not very adventurous, but I always have the same lineup of food when eating at Aladdin: Diet Coke w/ free refills, falafel w/ Tzatziki sauce, pita, hummus, and the chicken shawerma. I'm always getting these items because in a word, they are dependable. My lineup may be a bit large for some individuals, but there's a good reason for ordering so much food. The service here is extremely slow. It's usually the manager (owner maybe?) and another waitress. If you're with a group, you'll probably get hungry waiting for your shawerma.
Perhaps one day, I'll hop on the phone and call someone up from the bullpen for relief in the ninth, but for now, I'm sticking with my starting pitchers. Too bad the umpires here always stop the game for a rain delay.
Ate here with a couple of friends on a friday night. Food was great! Yummy warm pitas and chicken kabob. The place is a low key place to eat - so easy to stop buy. Will definitely eat here again.
I've been going to this place for years. I love it. It feels so authentic. The people, the food. And they've always been so nice. Their pita bread is hot and fresh and the hummus is sooo good.
Aladdin is a longtime favorite of mine even though I generally order the same item at every meal. I first started coming to Aladdin during their ill-fated UTC food court attempt, and was hooked.
While their other entrees are fine, my weakness is for the chicken salad. It's enormous (at $11, not cheap), and you get a lot of value for the money. While most of the salad's volume is derived from a mountain of romaine, the extras that make this salad what it is are delicious and plentiful. First, the chicken breast meat is generous and well-prepared. There's a good amount of tomatoes -- not as ample a portion as the chicken, but still respectable. The salad carries enough feta to apportion in every bite without overwhelming the other ingredients. Finally, pistachios add a sublime crunchy texture as well as complement the thick balsamic dressing.
This salad should feed one very hungry person, or, paired with an appetizer (the falafel is a nice counterpoint) would make a fine light lunch for two. If you're dining in, take advantage of their large selection of teas.
If you're taking out, a single slice of baklava can easily last for a weekend.
YUM!!! This is by far one of my favorite restaurants. My husband even got me the cheese borak for our valentine's celebration one year, delish. I've never had anything bad here. Pizzas are great. I almost always order hummus and pita, grilled chicken salad, and of course the cheese borak.
This place does get busy and although the waiters are always SUPER nice, it slows down when they are packed and don't have a great waiting area either. Just FYI in case you are eating in a hurry. Better to come before or after the mid-day rush. Parking lot can get crowded too, just be patient, one always pops up quickly.
DELICIOUS! If you're looking for excellent, inexpensive, high-quality Mediterranean food you have to try Aladdin!
Their dolmas alone are worth the trip into Clairemont. Their falafel is flavorful and not at all dry. The baba ghanouj is fantastic as is the hummus. If you like Middle East-style spiced meats, you can't go wrong. Even their pita is good. Next time I'll have to sample some of the mysterious-looking beer and a dessert.
We lucked out in that our waiter was also one of the chefs, so we got the low-down on the methods to their deliciousness. Aladdin looks like any little old strip mall ethnic place - you never know what you're gonna get in places like this, unless you have a personal recommendation from a friend (which I had). I'm glad I took the recommendation, because I will definitely be going back again and again!
Just wanted to amend my previous review. I have to admit that yes, many of the reviews here are right when they point out that the wait staff does tend to run a little slower and get overwhelmed during their dinner rush. I do recommend showing up a little early and you are *guaranteed* a great experience.
Anyways, I went with my family the other night, and I believe our server was the owner. We've been going there for a while, so I think he recognized us. Super friendly guy, incredibly polite and attentive throughout the entire meal. All our food came out on time, though toward the end of the meal the rush had hit and the wait staff was definitely hustling. Couldn't really complain--the baba ganoush was light and creamy, the pita soft and warm. My lamb briyani was delicious. I usually enjoy a Turkish coffee afterward, but this time passed and just had a kanufa. Perfect--sweet and creamy, with a little crunch.
Those worried about all the meat--there are a lot of vegetarian items on the menu (baba ganoush, for starters). The dolmades are among the best I've ever had, and you should come with someone and split a vegetarian platter for a true spread. You can always get one of the salads without meat, too. Very full and very delicious. Best Middle-Eastern food in San Diego.
I just wish we'd seen the ad for a free appetizer here on Yelp before we'd gone!
I feel like I have to stand up and defend the honor of one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego.… Read more »
I've been meaning to try Aladdin for years and finally got there. When I asked for vegan options, the waiter looked a bit puzzled at first, but then offered several choices.
The dolmas are outstanding, as is the hummus (some of the best I've had). I also tried the vegetarian pizza, which is made with baba ghanoush instead of cheese--very fresh and tasty, though I would have liked a little more baba ghanoush on it. My omnivore husband was very happy with his chicken sandwich.
Service was very friendly and efficient.
We're adding Aladdin to our list of places to go with family--enough vegan choices for me and a menu that the rest of the family will also like.
Aladdins was pretty good.We ordered pita and hommos (yes that is how you spell it),chopped chicken salad(a must),two pizzas (bbq chicken and lamb), and two desserts that the our server suggested. One of the desserts my brother accurately pointed out as tasting like the smell of a Las Vegas casino. It wasn't like cigarette smoke but there is just a certain smell about a Las Vegas casino.
Although the food was fantastic, I couldn't help but feeling that some of it wasn't made fresh at the restaraunt.There will always be some downfalls to any restaraunt.Take the hommos for example.It was really good but it tastes exactly like the store bought Americanized hommos.I also had the feeling that our server didnt really have that accent.He sounded like he was acting in a movie.He was a fantastic server but his voice was a thick accent by a poor actor.
Overall,Aladdins was worth the trip.Good food in a clean restaraunt with excellent service.
A short story entitled "I've never been so angry at a restaurant before":
I came here as I usually do and ordered a sandwich with tabouleh as the side salad. The waitress misunderstood me and brought the tabouleh as a separate side, as well as the standard greek salad as the side that comes with the sandwich; I was charged separately for the tabouleh side. I didn't eat the salad that came with the sandwich, just the tabouleh.
No problem, just a mixup, right? I asked the manager (owner?) if he could take the extra salad off the bill, and he told me he could only do that if he fired the waitress, because that would be her third mistake. WHAT?? I've never been so angry at a restaurant before. That's a heck of a lot of pressure you're putting on me just to get me to pay for the salad. Whether he was bluffing or not, I paid for the salad, left a decent tip for that poor waitress, and will never return to one of my previously favorite restaurants. (and tell the whole Yelp world too.)
In my experience, the food has been great, but that was the least professional the manager could have been, and the most greedy, and I just can't continue to support that. Crap. I used to like that place so much. Any recommendations?
I like this place and return over and over. The food is excellent, and I'm not saying just one or… Read more »
I went here for the first time today and loved it! Hamdi was very courteous and the falafel I ordered was the best one I have ever eaten!
The place is clean and decorated nicely also. The only downside is limited parking.
Hm ... maybe I'll have to try this place again?
I remember not liking anything. I didn't think there was that much selection, and also I'm not that much of a meat-eater, and there was a lot of meat stuff.
I ended up only eating baklava ...
I'll try coming back here with a person who knows their Middle Eastern foods.
Aladdin has some pretty damn good Mediterranean food. Their hummus is some of the best I've had in a long time and the pita bread they serve with it is the softest, most delectable pita I have ever had. But when it came down to writing a review, I realized that I just didn't have much else to say about the place...
Do you ever have a hard time writing a review? Do you think your reviews are boring? Do you have nothing good to say about a restaurant? Well, you're in luck! I've created a handy little YelpLibs review generator for those days when you just can't write another review. Feel free to use it in your reviews too!
Choose a word for each number below:
(1) adjective
(2) type of building
(3) name of restaurant
(4) adjective
(5) adjective
(6) color
(7) adjective
(8) adjective
(9) restaurant employee, plural
(10) adjective
(11) adjective
(12) period of time
(13) person's name
(14) exclamation
(15) food, plural
(16) food, singular
(17) food, plural
(18) food, plural
(19) food plural
(20) container
(21) food, singular
(22) adverb
(23) period of time
(24) verb, past tense
(25) small container
(26) adjective
Next, plug those words into the review below, cut and paste the results into your own review and you're good to go!
"Last night I visited the most (1) restaurant I have ever been to. It was located right in the middle of a (2) just outside of town.
The name of the place, "(3)," was lit up with (4), (5) (6) lights. The seats were (7) and (8) and the (9) were less than (10), but the atmosphere was (11) nonetheless.
A (12) or so passed, and then a waitress came up to me and said, "Hi, may name is (13), and I'll be your server. Can I take your order?" "(14)!" I said. "It's about time! I've been sitting here for a (12) ! I'd like a bowl of (15), the (16) and (17) dinner plate with extra (18), hold the (19), and give me a (20) of (21)."
My food came (22) -- it took about a (23), by my watch. I must say, I (24) the meal, especially the (18), though I spilled some (21) on my shirt. I had the leftovers put in a (25) so I could take it home.
I'm totally going back tomorrow, it was (26)."
well, the first thing i noticed was how friendly the staff was. everyone. the passionfruit shrimp salad was so delicious. not sure what kind of dressing they used but it was really tasty. my husband got the chicken shewarma sandwich and it was really good too. the spices/sauce was really good and the pita was soft. i also enjoyed the selection of teas. overall it was a good lunch. it was a little pricier than i expected but worth it! i will be back.
Yum! Delicious and healthy, too! A little bit pricey, but worth it. My husband and I got the Chicken Schwarma and Vegetarian Meza Feast. Both came with salad, we had enough food left over to feed a couple more people. I loved it all. The service was excellent, too.
(update 9/09) We've been here 4 times now and have tried different items, but we have decided that the Aladdin Meza feast is the way to go -- ordered to go, for an even better deal. I think the portions are slightly larger when ordered to go, and each dish is packaged separately. We're always broke, but we both think spending $25 for the Meza feast is completely worth it.
When you're looking for something different and bored of the same old stuff, Aladdin is the place to go. The chicken kabob sandwich is great, the pizza is great and the cheese and lamb borak is to die for! Everything is very flavorful and leaves you satisfied.
The salads and rice plates are quite good, but everything costs more than it should, so I can't get as excited as I otherwise would. Wow, I must be tired to write an awful rhyme like that. Anyway... hummus, rice plates, salads good; pizzas, not so much. I like the passion fruit shrimp salad, despite the fact that it contains no passion fruit.
The service is undistinguished. The strip mall atmosphere and fast-foody look to the restaurant don't match up with the high food prices.
If you just want a falafel or some gyros, you can go to Dino's down the road for much cheaper, but if the prices don't bother you, you can certainly do a lot worse than Aladdin.
Awesome!
Went for the first time on Friday, then returned 2 days later for some more. My wife, friends, and I ordered the Chicken Biryani, Lamb Shawarma, Kabobs, and some fresh hot mint tea...Very Good!!
Aladdin is my absolute favorite lunch spot in San Diego. It's great for any meal, but it happens to be really close to work so I go for lunch. Their salads are HUGE and AMAZING... I always get the chopped chicken salad - it has pistachios, tomatoes, feta, spices, sundried tomatos and delicious chicken chopped and spread throughout. Their chicken shwarema is amazing, as is the mixed grill, kabobs, actually EVERYTHING is great.
They have HUGE plastic cups for water and soft drinks which will parch your thirst and make sure you're not looking around for the waitress after two sips.
Hamdi runs an amazing restaurant, tucked away on Clairemont Mesa just off the 805. Go to Aladdin for a great lunch or dinner... and call me if you want company! haha
I LOVE Aladdin's! I've been coming here since I was a child and I've only had one meal that wasn't outstanding (there was a new cook who didn't get the proportions quite right on the hummus that night). The waitstaff and cooks are always very nice and accommodating. For example, when my father and I were waiting for takeout last time, they offered us complimentary bottles of water, which were quite refreshing on the hot summer's day.
You MUST get the hummus and pita bread, it is the creamiest hummus I've ever tasted. Their recipe was published in the Union Tribune one time and we tried to recreate it, but to no avail. There must be some magic used to make the hummus that delicious and creamy. When you do takeout, make sure to ask for extra pita bread if you're sharing a full order of hummus with the family.
The pizzas are good; I loved the Rajah's Cheese Pizza as a kid and my parents have always been satisfied with their Mediterranean style pizzas.
The lentil soup is quite good as well and the chicken kabobs are nicely seasoned and well cooked.
Overall, Aladdin's is a great place to eat and is perfect for a quick takeout dinner. They are a bit pricey, but the food is great and the portions are a fair size for the money.
Aladdin is good
Swell mediterranean
Get humus for sure
Ok, there's a haiku dedicated to Aladdin!
Seriously though, I had a chopped chicken salad with pistachios, olives, feta, and lots of other little healthy knick-knacks thrown in. It was awesome! And a huge serving. The humus is very good and tastes authentic to the middle east. There's much more to sample. Here's another haiku about that:
Gnaw a beef kebab
Maybe eat a pizza too
Save room for dessert
I had been scoping this place out for a while. I got the heads up that it was good so last night I went for dinner. It's an odd experience for dinner because the place has the feel of a very casual cafeteria...but the dinner prices are in the ballpark of casual fine dining. I don't have a problem with a $19 chicken kabob plate if it's good (which it was, and included a salad, rice, hummus and pita bread) but the atmosphere could have reflected that a bit more...that's all I'm saying.
However, this place does the trick if you want a no frills meal where you don't have to get all fancy to enjoy some good eats. I have to say the highlight b y f a r is their basmati rice. ooooooh man, that is quite possibly the best rice I've ever had! I wish I knew their secret. It's infused with herbs or something because the flavor is delectable...I could have eaten just a huge bowl of the rice and left happy.
Our server was really friendly and attentive. She was helpful and non-judging to some of our stupid moments - like my bf asking if he could take the turkish coffee 'to go' no knowing it's like 4 slips worth.
Overall it was a pleasant experience. the timing was great with our salad coming out in a few mins and our entrees coming right after finishing the salad. I always hate when I'm just starting a salad and my meal comes out...then you have all these plates and don't know what to do b/c your meal is getting cold. So kudos for that.
I took a bit of my meal home so I didn't gorge myself and the server gave me an extremely gracious amount of pita for the road.
Pretty happy with my experience. I'd like to try it for lunch since the atmosphere reflects it better and the pita sandwich prices are a bit less of a dent in the wallet!
I went for lunch on a Sunday
Baba ganoush was good
The kebab platter was good too
Lebanese beer- So So
Service was good
Baklava was on the drier side- So So
Three and a half stars
I'm not sure why they need to exactly call it Aladdin (I feel the Disney theme song playing in the background on cue, but oh well). My friend suggested this at a moment's notice so I decided to give it a try. I really wanted to like this restaurant, but I've just experience better ethnic Mediterranean/Lebanese/Middle Eastern food - at considerably cheaper prices. The ambiance of the place made me feel if I was going to go on a magic carpet ride, but I felt like I needed to smoke from a Hookah....except there was none to be found. I have yet to try the Hillcrest location as I've seen other Yelpers rate it higher, so I'm willing to go there next. I just don't see myself going here again.
Came here for lunch with some friends having driven by it for the last 6 months that I have lived in Clairemont. I am a pretty avid enjoyer of Med/Mid Eastern cuisine and so were my buddies so we figured we had nothing to lose. Upon ordering our sandwiches which seemed like a great bang for your buck deal, our waiter attempted to persuade us to go for one of the platters (the most expensive thing on the menu). Having killed two kegs the day before among just about 30 people, we opted to go with our oringinal plan of kabob sandwiches and things of the sort. Following our decision our waiter got much less friendly and our water glasses suffered accordingly.
The food however was pretty solid. Not the best in San diego, but still very fresh and flavorful and for a good price. My mom would be proud that I also devoured the generous side salad that came with the sandwich. I am definitely going to return. I would have given Aladdin four stars however gotta dock em one point for the service. Hopefully the service will be a bit friendlier on my next visit.
Solid 4! This place has awesome food. I ordered the "hommos" with lamb ($10.75) The lamb tasted like it had a cinnamon spice flavor. Fantastic. Next I ordered the chopped chicken salad ($11). It was too big to finish and had a million different veggies, pistachio nuts, sun dried tomatoes - almost everything you'd want in your salad. Husband ordered the BBQ chicken pizza. We tried to figure out what was Lebanese or Greek about it. Tasted just like good ol' American BBQ chicken pizza to us. It was great! Oh, and the Lebanese pilsner was super refreshing.
The service was fantastic, but we showed up at 5:30 on a Sunday and it wasn't busy.
I look forward to returning with a hungry belly.
It seems like the fancier a Middle Eastern restaurant is the lousier the food is and the worse the experience is..with that said:
I'll start with the positives since i'm a positive kinda guy. The food WAS good. Was it great? Nah. They DID have some cool artifacts for sale in the back of the restaurant. I'll even call the service friendly.
The negatives:Was I in a Middle Eastern restaurant or an ice cream parlor? I didn't feel at home. I could barely hear myself think inside the place. Was I in Iraq or in a shopping. Of course the latter is obvious, but try and make it feel a bit like the Middle East.
I'm sticking with Ali Baba.
Whenever I'm in the mood for a big healthy salad, this is the place i go. They have some of the nicest salads I've tasted in the area, in particular the chopped chicken salad which has a wonderful variety of ingredients including sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, Persian cucumbers (the small tasty ones) and pistachios.
The servings are very big though when it comes to salads and even appetizers, but surprisingly smaller than most other lebanese/middle eastern restaurants when it comes to their babaganoush/hummus/etc dips. I'd definitely recommend going with a friend to share or taking the lot home for later.
The previous reviews are right about the atmosphere not fitting in with the fine-dining twist to the menu, but in all, considering the amount of quality food that comes out and the accompanied friendly staff, it doesn't become such a big deal.
I think that one of the problems with this little genie is inconsistency.
Today was a good day for the kids at Aladdin's because the hummus made me weak at the knees and the accompanying pita were soft little pillows of love, the perfect combination of chewy+crisp.
My falafel were crunchified but not to the point of burnt, and the garlic sauce was finger-lickin' good.
My mamasita had the chicken Shawarma sandwich and declared it delicious.
Service can be lackluster to absent-but again, the angels were singing because we were seated lickety-split and refilled before we had to ask.
The only major slip-up was bringing our check too soon, (restaurant was half-full, no need to turn the tables) and not offering dessert.
Don't most restaurants want to upsell????
Prices were a bit higher than I remembered, makes me grumpy that does!
For an exquisite Mediterranean meal Aladdin would be my place of choice. Their menu is exploding with flavor from each item you order starting with something so simple, yet the tastiest in San Diego, as hummus and finishing with lamb chops that will melt your senses. I nearly felt like taking a nap after my wondrous meal at Aladdin, but the brewing Turkish coffee kept me up and ready for what was going to be a superior day!!!
Salaam 'Alaykum
I've been coming to Aladdin's for a couple years now, which says something in itself. The cost of Aladdin's can be on the steep side, especially if you order some form of a platter. Their humus is delicious, and their chicken schwarmas cannot be beat anywhere else. I do recommend this place for the smaller orders on their menu without the added trimmings. If you feel so inclined to get more, do so a la carte.
Aside from that, their core staff have been there for some time and are friendly and courteous to you. They provide excellent service dining it, and prompt take-out. The only drawback for their take-out would be their limited parking.
I don't think Aladdin is bad, I just think this place is over rated and over priced.
For the same amount of price you can get better food in Bandar (Gaslamp area) or for a cheaper price, in Vine Ripe or Sultan Banoo... Just a thought.
We go for lunch all the time. The mediterrean salad is excellent as well as the Hummos and the falafel. The food is fresh and flavorful.
I cant even go into detail, except to say...
*FART NOISE*
Meat was SO hard to chew, tons of fat. Falafel wasnt anything special, prices are WAY too high for the food. Booooo
My coworkers were raving that this place serves the best hummus in San Diego. True, their hummus is pretty good, but their chopped chicken salad deserves even more kudos. The sun-dried tomatoes lent a nice sweet tang, the pistachios a satisfying crunch, and the dressing and feta on it were made for each other. And did I mention it was huge? I split it with a coworker and still had leftovers. Overall, the place was charming (they sell decorative boxes in one corner of the restaurant) and the service timely and friendly.
Killer vegetarian biryani - oh so good!
Lately their quality seems to have gone down a bit. The last few times I've gotten their hummus it's been served cold/refrigerated - bleh. Previously they served it up warm and it was incredibly creamy and smooth. I'm not sure why they decided to change, but the switch has killed the texture and taken a 5-star hummus to a 3.5. Still probably my favorite out there, but I hope they reconsider and go back to their previous version/preperation.
In addition to the hummus, the last few times I've gone with friends they've mentioned that the food in general just isn't as tasty as it once was. Outside of the aforementioned vegetarian biryani (OMNOMNOM), I'd have to agree.
I still don't mind going there by any stretch, but it hasn't lived up to its former glory of late.
agree with scott l. all the ambiance of a mall, without the delicious food you want in an authentic hole in the wall.
Wifey and I had lunch here last week. Service was "efficient" (ie: not friendly, but it's the lunch crowd, so it gets a pass) but the food was just mediocre. Had some appetizer that was forgettable, I had a lamb sandwich that was forgettable and wife had the vegetarian platter that wasn't good at all, either. The tzikhi (sp?) sauce was the consistency of whole milk and flavorless and all of the items in her platter were flavorless/bland, too.
Skip this place.
Neighborhood: Kearny Mesa
Category: Fast Food
Neighborhood: Kearny Mesa
Category: Mexican
Neighborhood: Kearny Mesa
Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Kearny Mesa
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Hillcrest
Category: Mediterranean
When pizza, burgers, and cali burritos have grown…
