El Ameer Mediterranean Cuisine

Closed. Cinnamon Indian Bistro now resides in this space...

This place is great. I was pleasantly surprised. The food is fresh and clearly prepared to order. The falafel and kabobs were generous and delicious. The baklava was truly the best I have ever had.

I highly recommend this place. Too bad I don't live in this area or I would be a new regular here.

Wonderful middle eastern food. It is great to have a restaurant serving this cuisine in the area and as a bonus it's really delicious. Falafel is the best I ever had. Everything is freshly made from scratch so it takes some time to serve. The hard working owner and his staff are very friendly.

I've been waiting for an authentic Mediterranean/Middle Eastern restaurant to come to this area and thank goodness it is El Ameer! Relaxed yet romantic atmosphere, friendly and attentive service, great menu with reasonable prices, and wonderful, wonderful food. The falafel is freshly made, the tabouli is creamy and delicious, the chicken shawarma is tender and flavorful, and the baba ghanouj is the best I've ever had! El Ameer is locally owned and operated, and the owner hand-selects his own fresh produce on a daily basis. If I didn't live in CA, I would come here every day! Just a stone's throw from Marist.

falafels were the best thing we tried. very nice flavor.
few other things we tried were OK ( we tried vegeterian options only - greek salad (was different from greek we expected) and baba ghanoush sandwich in pita wrap)
food was fresh, service was good in general, but "sketchy".
prices are reasonable.

I really enjoyed my falafel at El Ameer. Everything is made fresh and in-house, including the sauces, which had complex flavors. You can really taste the freshness of the food. The prices have recently been lowered (old prices are crossed out on the menu); for the quality I would consider this one of the better values in the area, with several vegetarian options. I agree that the service can be a little slow but I forgive this in a small, family-run restaurant where the owner makes the food for you. A great addition to the local restaurant scene.

I ordered the chicken shawarma platter and the kofta kebab pita for take out. The staff was very polite and friendly and had my food ready upon pickup. Unfortunately, the kofta was very dry and bland, however I do like that they use lamb rather than beef. The shawarma was dry as well and would benefit from an addition of tahini sauce. The prices are reasonable but I don't think the food is anything to write home about. Overall, I am happy that there is now a Mediterranean restaurant in the area and I would give them another try to see if maybe tonight was just an 'off-night'.

El Ameer catered my sons birthday some months ago. The kebab was very good as was everything. The spices were perfect. Everyone had a great meal. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone that loves good Mediterranean food.

For me, El Ameer was a great trip that lit up an otherwise would-be average day. My father and I went, and as soon as we walked in were seated by a friendly hostess who we later found to be the wife of the owner and chef. When saw the menu became fairly excited by the excellent prices which turned what would have otherwise been a quick falafel run into a full meal.

It was decided that I would get a vegetarian platter and he would get the shawarma, so we could split them and experience more of the food. While we were waiting (which was not terribly long for the level of satisfaction achieved) we were brought a basket of delicious, warm pita, and a plate of lovely green olives, which we proceeded to gobble down hungrily.

When the main course came, I was blown way by the fantastic scent of the aromatic spices. My vegetarian platter came with a sizable portion of hummus, five or six large falafel balls, and a delicious tabouli salad with lots of fresh parsley and cucumber. This was the first time I had eaten tabouli salad, and it was refreshing and tasty, and came with a delicious dressing reminiscent of a tahini, though I cannot rate it as it is the only time I have ever had it. The hummus was great, with an extremely tasteful blend of spices, and, on top of the warm pita, was really delightful. I have had hummus any times and even make it t home, but I must say, this is by far the best I've ever had. It was already a good meal; then I tried the falafel. It had the perfect blend of seasoning, and a great texture, with a crisp outside and warm, soft filling, supplemented by a fantastic hot sauce which exchanged heat for copious amounts of flavor and a wonderful layering of aromatics. My father's shawarma was also excellent, with another fantastic layering of flavor.

We finished off the night with a plate of their lovely baklava, which was also extremely well balanced in all aspects -- not too sweet, crunchy but soft --, and some Turkish coffee, which they brewed fresh and had light tones of cardamom. We were also treated to a conversation with the owner/chef, George, who spoke a bit about cooking, and his hometown in Israel.

The colorful and friendly staff, combined with great flavors and food, and all for an outstanding price warrant both a five star rating and a definite second trip!