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Categories: Greek, Mediterranean [Edit]
Neighborhood: Lower Haight
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The food is special and creative and damn good. The wraps are made with love and with: french fries, shawarma (chicky or Lamb), yogurt cucumber sauce, sauteed eggplant, hummus and hot sauce make there lavash bread wraps the best in the City. I only wished that their atmosphere matched their quality food product. It's a bit dingy, no music, and the hookah bar vibe in circa 2005. The staff is cool, affable and always have a smile. They were out of straws tonight and their bathroom was/is jacked yo!
The shawarma wraps are huge (I had Shawarma envy- 12 footers habibi), filling and tasty. I recommend take out...
If I once dated a girl that I didn't really care for just because she lived across the street, am I really going to be that discerning with restaurants that are across the street?
Nope.
Decent food but the items tend to get stale towards the end of the evening.
I still eat it.
History repeats itself.
Bastard.
This place is great. The shawarma's are good. You can almost split one with someone if you wanted too. Be careful when you ask for them to make it hot. It will blow your brains out. I had to go around the corner to the local market and get a jug of Kefir to cool down my stomach from the intensity of pain and heat. Love this place!
This place gets a 4 stars instead of 5 for the fact that there is a lot of street vermin around (lower haight people). Don't hate me either for hating the lower haight. My ex almost stepped on a needle. After that event, she stopped walking in that area with flip flops. Filthy area.
I normally love their shawarmas, but I had two chicken bones in my sandwich, which one cut my mouth. I went back to tell them (and showed them the bones) it was horribly gross and ask how there could be bones in a shawarma. He told me there hadn't been a bone in one for over 20 years! Really, 20 years?
Anyway, I only asked for my $7.00 back, he refused and only offered me another shawarma.
Ali Baba, I used to be one of your biggest fans, and sadly, I'm going to eat there anymore.
I'm from so cal, but every time i make the trek up north i always stop by here for a lamb sharwma. drunk or sober, it's happiness in my stomach
I couldn't believe the super falafel when I saw it. I was in awe, from the minute he started making it for me I could tell it was going to be the biggest wrap, falafel or otherwise, that I've ever gone head to head with before. For $5.99? That is a steal for a wrap the size of a 6 month old child. Due to the monstrous size I even had the pleasure of eating it over the span of 2.5 meals, not bad at all.
I love falafel, so when I found this place and saw the options to have the usual falafel fixin's but also add potatoes and eggplantI just knew it was ON. I'm a dangerous living guy, so of course I went with some of their hot sauce too which worked out oh so well.
Such a cheap-yet-still-tasty option. Seriously, it weighed like 32 pounds, I swear.
18 INCHES OF PURE FALAFEL PLEASURE!!!
Well, I didn't have a ruler on my person at the time, but the falafel sandwich I ordered at Ali Baba's Cave in Lower Haight very well could have been a foot and a half long.
Yes, it was huge (okay, I'll bring a tape measure next time for accuracy) and I made three meals out if it, practically. But did I mention it was tasty?
Wrapped up in a lavash and grilled, the sandwich comes with french fries, roasted eggplant, cucumber-tomato salad, falafel, and a plethora of other items that I can't remember right now but taste sooo good.
The restaurant itself is kind of funky, smell-wise, and the tables and chairs are a little dirty. But, who cares-- it's really a take-out kind of joint anyway. Four stars for Ali Baba's Cave!
Meh. I was super excited when I saw that the meat wasn't a giant cone of pre-fab pressed meat product, but when I got home and tore into the lamb schwerma I found it lacked flavor and they were all chintzy with the meat. Yeah it was a big burrito like mass, but it was filled with potato wedges, eggplant, and other fillers. I wanted meat! Gobs of it, but alas. It was only ok and I think I'll stick to my old standby at 7 Pleasures.
Also - I asked that they didn't put in the cuke tahini sauce and what does he do? He piles it on. Way to listen to your customer. Boo.
Yelp, you have ruined me forever. Never again can I just casually walk into a new restaurant. No, now I must pause at the door as I research how many stars the joint has and if it's not 4-5, why not? Unfortunately, I did not do that this evening. So I sit here with six inches of falafel sandwich in my tummy and wait for the indigestion that I have now read about to hit me. Thanks, Yelp.
What happened here? I used to frequent this place all the time, took a 2-3 year hiatus from this location and place looked a little more disheveled & dirtier. The folks behind the counter were nice but didn't have the consistent sandwich rolling technique down like they did in the past. Portions have always been large but never to the point where the lavash bread is busting out with the filling. It felt like they were just trying to load off day old food before the days ending.
Too bad, hope it was just a fluke day, because I really like(d) this place.
I've been frequenting this location since the early nineties (wow that's retro by today's… Read more »
Great if you love 5 lb lamb shwarma wraps. Bad if your teeth can't cut through lamb skin and fat served in 1" cubes. Good hummous, heavy on the tahini. Bad idea to eat this monster while you are driving, since the grease just drips mercilessly onto your pants while you whimper.
Playing pool across the street at Mad Dog in the Fog, I decided to run over for a sandwich. I hadn't eaten all day, and ordered the lamb falafel w/ hot sauce.
It was very spicy, and extremely tasty with satisfying portions.
After a few bites I wrapped up the rest went back to the pool table as i began to sweat. Lips burning and breathing fire.
But this is a review of Ali Baba's Cave, not the bar across the street.-- So I've got to say this place looks like nothing special, but I was very down with their wraps. Lots of seating and fair pricing.
You guys really liked that falafel? I ordered the falafel plate which came with tabooleh, tzatszki, hummus and pita, it was quite a bit of food for 6.50.
The falafel the man behind the counter served was cold, who likes cold falafel? I asked him if it was hot and told me it was only 25 minutes old. He was nice enough to give me some fresh from the fryer, the only thing was, it was beyond crispy I tried to cut it with a fork, it flew across the room. Falafel is one of those things, everyone makes it different. I like mine with more cumin, at least it wasn't grassy, I've had some versions where it seemed to be nothing but parsley and mint.
The hot sauce is definitely hot, I can take hot but this was so hot I started to hiccup. i can't say the meal was bad, the hummus was decent. I just couldn't say it was great but at 6.50, I can't say I was ripped off either.
I like "La Med" better in Berkeley.
I broke a tooth eating the falafel. Okay, not really - but I did have to use a knife to saw through the outer crust and break down the petrified chunks into slightly more edible, bite-sized morsels.
And theeen I saw the cockroach.
Never again.
This all happened on my first visit, so maybe the falafel rocks were an accident...but I would be willing to bet that the cockroaches are probably still kickin' it behind the counter.
These guys are great.
They make an amazing falafel sandwich. Spicy, multi-textured and massive. It's just fun watching them assemble the thing. Plus, it's toasted. I have yet to eat an entire sandwich but any leftovers makes for an incredible addition to a green salad. You can get two meals out of one falafel sandwich. Seriously. It's loaded with roasted eggplant, fried potato wedges, fresh falafel and laddled to the brim with tzatziki sauce. Did I mention that it's roasted on the grill?
This past weekend, Ali Baba made a party platter for a little get together I had at my house. For $37 plus tax they will make a tray of food that they claim feeds 15 people but in reality feeds more like 25. It was awesome and they made smiley faces out of tomatoes and olives on top of the hummus. Style points will get you everywhere with me.
Perhaps the mediterranean wrap in the city. Or I was just hungry and my stomach is enhancing the memory. Either way, it was outstanding. Hummus forms the base. Delectable chicken and turkey come together for the main attraction. Potatoes, parsley and veggies (which wasn't included on the official menu description, but they added at no charge) topped it off. The guy helping me expertly rolled everything up in lavash bread (fun healthy fact - only 70 calories and 0 fat grams in the brand they use), placed on the grill for a quick sear, and delivered to my anxiously awaiting hands.
As I left to walk home, I found myself smiling while eating.
Ali Baba's falafel sandwiches are literally as long as my arm. I don't think I've ever been able to finish one. And pretty cheap for as big as they are. They put pretty much everything in the sandwich (french fries too!) and the hot sauce is yummmmmm.
The ambiance is a little lacking though it lives up too its name - fairly cave-like.
great prices ($9.75 for a shawarma plate), some original items on the menu (Ohzi dish, deep-friend eggplant, Moroccan couscous salad etc), plus very friendly guys running this place make for a winning combination.
HUGE sandwiches that can be eaten as 3 meals, the perfect recession special. they were nice enough to make me a falafel and chicken combo.
Well the name describes it---it's definitely a cave....but this cave has falafel and shwarma that is unreal. My roommates and I go...grab these monster sized sandwiches for a mere $7 and could be fed for days! Ok...it could be two meals, but the best two meals of your life.
ps--They put fries in your sandwich, need I say more?
Sure, this place is wicked sketchy, but that's why it's right at home in the Haight. Don't go here if you want fine dining.
Go here if you want awesome affordable Middle Eastern food with big portions. Seriously, the falafel sandwich is over a footlong packed with falafel, eggplant, fries, and all sorts of good stuff.
The lamb shawarma is also incredible, with all sorts of fun, delicious sides.
Definitely eat in if you can, I've noticed the portions are bigger.
The water was absolutely terrible and undrinkable though...granted, not a huge huge deal, but still very weird.
Good food, not all that expensive and nice sized portions. I always get stuff to-go. The $2.80 falafal appetizer gets you four handball sized pieces with humus on top and if you like some hot pepper sauce. A great budget lunch or dinner. Their wraps are huge. Always friendly staff, never had an issue in all my once a week visits.
I had falafel and the vegetable skewer. Pretty good. Not amazing but definitely fulfilled my craving. I would go there again. Not too pricey and respectable food.
Had half a falafel sandwich today for dinner and I'm 6-foot 1-onch weighing in at 190 el-bees. 2nd time here in a week! The home fries and cucumber sauce is the clincher! Can't wait to try their lamb gyros.
If you like lemon-y hummus like myself then don't pass on it. I'm also a fan of it's smooth texture. Having experimented in making hummus from scratch, this guy is pretty top-notch.
Did I say $6? with leftovers for lunch tomorrow?
Serious! I love, love, love this place so much! I ate my first falafel here on a visit to the city and ever since I feel so spoiled because Ali's Falafel are HUGE and amazing and now I can't go get a falafel anywhere but here!
I can't help but feel like I'm being ripped off! Ali's is so good and great prices! Just be sure when you order to pay attention and keep an eye out if you don't like something they can leave it off or add it on! The most important thing too is the hot sauce is just that HOT! So if you don't like spicy food, skip the hot sauce, they have a cucumber dill sauce.
Seriously, I ordered with hot sauce and thought ya that looks good- and sort of forgot how hot it was until I got half way through it and my lips found a pocket of hot sauce which could ruin your day or your experience!
It totally grabbed me by the boo-boo but I will never stop eating here ever!
So a friend recommended that this place is the BOMB! for falafel sandwiches and is a must try during a trip to the city. So during a day long trip to the city, we decided to check this place out with quite high expectations.
45 seconds into entering the restaurant, the expectations came crashing down! We all knew that this is a "hole in the wall" kind of place and the setup didnt matter as long as food is good.
Experience:
Service - Super Rude - mocking the customers in a sarcastic manner as some of us didnt understand few things on the menu and asked for info
Falafel Sandwich - I was told that its the traditional way of doing it with the fries, fried eggplant inside the sandwich, maybe i dont have the taste buds, but it didn't strike a bell within any of us
Other food - My friends found the lamb sandwhich quite sad as well.
Overall all of us came out pretty sad and were able to eat only half of our sandwiches. The main reason for the quality of food and not the big size of the sandwiches.
Sorry to the SF locals who love their local joint, but had much better falafel, sandwich at other places.
Strangely enough, although this location is much closer to my house, I've been to the Mission Ali Baba's Cave much more often. In fact, although I've had food from here a bunch of times, today was the first time I ate at the Haight Street, um, shaft.
The food is just as delicious as at the Mission store. (I want to say "as at the original," but I don't know which one came first. Does anyone know?) The hummus is killer, and in general you get a lot for what you pay.
It gets only three stars, though, because the interior looks too much like the Lower Haight itself. I'm all for grunginess, but I prefer the tables I eat off of to be a tad bit cleaner than the sidewalk. And when I was here today, all the tables were messy. Seriously, I tried most of them. The staff weren't too busy, but instead of wiping the tables or getting more cups for water, they were checking out the girls who walked by.
Yum. I've never before been to a falafel place that puts HOMEMADE french fries and freshly grilled eggplant in their falafel wraps. These wraps, including the falafel contained inside, are hauntingly delicious - something I dream about and have to go back for repeatedly.
The prices are really good, for huge amounts of homemade food.
Today I had the lamb shwarma platter... for just under $10 I got fully TWO MEALS worth of food, so took half of it home to have tomorrow.
I agree with those who say the cleanliness is a little "sketchy"... that's why I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5; HOWEVER, the food/cooking area looks pretty clean and fresh to me. It's mainly the dining area and bathroom that seem like they could use some freshening up.
It's probably been almost 3 years since the last time I ate here - but I'll be damned if it is STILL not the best falafel I've ever had. I can't believe it only gets 3.5 stars on here!
The falafel must not have been as big as it used to be, because I was able to finish the whole thing this time around. Still a pretty gnarly falafel though.
This place was great. Easily the biggest falafel sandwiches I've ever seen. We laid them out next… Read more »
If I'm in the mood for Mediterranean, this is the spot. One of my favorite places, I went on my birthday (the casual weekday birthDay, not the elaborate weekend party birthDay). This location is WAY better than the Valencia st one. They are personal with customers which is good for us. If you are polite and friendly and tip, they hook you up. If you are snooty and uptight or rude, you get back the kind of food and service you deserve. I always order the lamb schwarma and maza combo appetizer. They stuff it full of great sauce, eggplant, potato, and my fav, lots of juicy lamb. The thing is exploding and dripping until you lick your fingers clean after. We get double scoops of hummus and ganoush topped with olives and onions. (I'm drooling now) Yes the ambiance is lacking, and is a little dirty, but it keeps the food cheap and that's what I go for anyway. Bomb-ness.
Best Shawarma I've ever had. I just wish they had a place like this in the Inner Sunset. They don't even charge you for extra eggplant. Wait, that's a lie, it depends on who is making your shawarma.
I definitely enjoyed Ali Babas
What can i say that hasn't been said already. This place is pretty good and they have a great selection. The choice of pastes and sauces are great, the pitas warm and fluffy, the rice if good. I really enjoy eating here.
When I've gone in the past i get the Chicken Shawarma(kinda my staple for Mediterranean places) and i loved the whole meal. The plate was big and the servings were generous.
I will say the dinning area is a little sketchy, though. I mean, they keep it clean, just the place could use a little updating.
I plan on going back again soon, and I would recommend going here to other people.
There's a reason why this place has been around for more than ten years, it's just so good. Spicy, saucy, a bit greasy. I don't go often--I try to stay away, but just went tonight and bought a chicken shawarma, tried to save half for later (suggested if on diet of any kind) but just attacked the second half within a half hour. They fill these with marinated chicken, good quality hummus, fried potato, sauteed eggplant, parsley, and a cucumber yogurt sauce. Other places just aren't this good.
S-H-A-D-Y.
I've been to the Valencia St. location before, and I found the women working there to be super friendly. Unfortunately, the Haight St. location is down the block from where I live, so I thought I'd give it a try.
When I walked in the door, the lone guy behind the counter was on the phone and stayed on the phone for a solid 2-3 minutes before acknowledging my presence. Strike one.
There was a funky odor. Foul tip.
When the dude finally decided to make my sandwich he did a lousy job of it, and skimped on most of the trimmings. At the end of this prep process he swept something from the cutting surface into my sandwich. Uh, gross? Strike two.
Then dude #2 came from no where to relieve the rush, and rang me up for my food. Except he charged me a different price than what was on the menu. Already exasperated from the wait and grossed out by their lack of health standards, there was no way I was letting them rip me off. Strike three.
"We change price. Everybody pay new price."
"Well, I'm not paying it. It's your loss, now."
[Exit Patricia, stage left.]
Oh yes. Big-ass, delicious falafel sandwich is a must. & they give you plenty of space & cushions to relax on while you recover from the goodness you just shoved down your esophagus. You might have indigestion afterward, but you've got to go at least once.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PLACE! I used to come here several times a week when I was first introduced to it--serious. This is the best falafel sandwich I've ever had, and here's why:
+ HUGE: a full sandwich is almost a foot long and can easily serve as two meals (that says a LOT coming from me--I'm such a big eater!)--just ask them to cut in half.
+ Comes with so many things--I always get an extra slab of that DELICIOUS spicy sauce, some tahini, tomatoes, lettuce, fried potatoes, eggplant (they'll charge a bit extra for this), and of course the falafels. I love how they smash the falafels into the sandwich so that you get an even distribution of falafel to fillers, so most of your bites are just as delicious as the next!
+ It's cheap (I think somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 for something that can be shared between two hefty eaters, or two separate meals)
+ GREAT customer service--those guys who work there are ALWAYS super friendly! Plus, they didn't seem to judge me for coming in every couple of days...hahaha...my friend lives a couple blocks from here and we used to walk over there ALL THE TIME.
Although this place isn't the most aesthetically pleasing place to eat, it's still one of my favorite spots in the city. =)
Minor note: If you're squeamish about bathrooms, I'd steer clear of this one then--not the best in the world.
It hurts me to give Ali Baba's two stars but the quality has seriously declined over the years. I was up all night with indigestion after eating here.
If I could give this place 0 stars I would... I hadn't been in a while and I felt the need to eat something veggie last night so I stopped in here on my way out. The place was utterly dead and I had an feeling almost instantly that I had made a bad decision. But for some reason I carried on and ordered the falafel sandwich.
My first beef with this place is why and hell can't they make fresh falafel? They're quite obviously not very busy. Would it be too much to ask them to fry up some fresh falafel? The guy grabbed a few pre-fried falafels and smashed them into the sandwich. I was hoping they were maybe sorta fresh, but as soon as I ate one it was stone cold and I knew it had been sitting around forever.
I wasn't paying complete attention when I walked in, but I'm pretty sure the guy was taking the trash out when I walked in. He came back in and took my order and started to make my sandwich. Now, like I said, I wasn't watching him like a hawk, but he DEFINITELY did not wash his hands. I got seriously grossed out. I almost walked out right there. But again, for some reason (very unlike me) I stayed and watched as he made my sandwich.
He asked if I wanted everything on it. I said no. I asked for him to add Babaganoush. Which he did, about a teaspoons worth. Thanks. And then he proceeded to put EVERYTHING on the sandwich which is exactly what I didn't want. But for some reason I went along with it.
Then he threw the sammy on the grill to heat it up. Except instead of heating it up, it just burnt one side of the sandwich.
After all this I stupidly paid for the worst falafel of my life. Brought it to the table, proceeded to open it up and just eat the falafels from within. They were cold and old...
This place does not deserve to exist.
Why the hell can't anyone in SF make a simple decent falafel sandwich like you can so easily find in NYC?! Just pita, fresh falalel, a bit of salad and some humus. It's not brain surgery. And it shouldn't cost more than $3-4.
There's something about the Mediterranean diet that I find so pleasing to my palate - the olives, legumes, vegetables, meats, and spices coming together in a historically preserved gastronomical medley of flavors, a culinary tsamiko if you will.
The shawerma wraps are second to none in size to any burrito/"wrap" you can find in the city, sans the rice and beans, and substitute with creamy hummus, eggplant, and cucumber salad. I like mine with everything, which also includes fried potato sticks(not crisp enough to be called fries), red onion, cilantro, and a hot sauce that has a nice fiery red kick to it, all craddled in a grill-toasted lavash wrap. I've recently been ordering the chicken version, sometimes the lamb has a bit too much gristle for my liking, but I enjoy it nonetheless. And if I'm feeling temporarily vegetarian, I usually audible to a falafel wrap, and it hits the spot quite nicely, without any animal fat-induced glaziness.
There are other items on the menu, but I feel like I've covered the basics and heavy hitters. There's no discernible difference between the Haight location and the one in Mission, I prefer the former for no other reason than you can take it to go and grub on it next door with an Edel Weiss brew from Toronado, but then there's the ever present aroma of Pine-Sol and urine that you have to deal with, plus the prickly bartenders, but hey, they serve good beer, hooray!
I am OK with dirty restaurants and all but you totally gave me food poisoning.
I am now scared of you.
1/2 Price Wine Special
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Happy Hour Mon-Sat 5PM-7PM
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