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Categories: Food, Middle Eastern
3045 Telegraph AveMon-Sun. 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Oasis is just that, and Oasis of delicious middle eastern food!
We had driven by a few times and always wanted to stop so we made a special trip out yesterday evening. So delicious!
All four of us ordered something different, and every plate was amazing. The kabob chicken was by far the moistest I'd ever had. And the rice it is served with is nicely seasoned without being oily. The desserts are amazing (no idea what any of them were called). The selection of feta cheese is superb and the one we got was delicious!
Friendly people, cheap and delicious food!
My wife and I were extremely excited for this market to open. Finally a halal meat market that didn't look like a 'hole-in-the-wall' ,closer to us than the one in Berkeley. Added bonus it's going to have a hot food restaurant in it. As a whole I appreciate the attempt to be a local "your neighborhood" market and to have a nice decor.
Halal Meat Market - The main guy that's usually running the meat section is a cool dude. Very customer friendly. Their meat selection was not too impressive. Some of chicken parts looked pass their prime. The beef and lamb looked good most of the time. Ground beef = hit or miss. A meat market should never have a miss regarding their meat, misses can lead to illness. After only a day of purchasing some ground beef it had turned grey-brown and we ended up throwing it out.
Restaurant/Cafe - This pretty much has been on point. The veggie plate is wonderful, the hummus and falafel were cook to perfection. Last time we've went our falafels were dry we noticed that they started to precook them and store them in a case-bad move. The Kabobs/somosas were tasty (at times a tad bit salty) Cafe elements are nice, able to sit in or outside to enjoy a meal. Flat screen tv is on in the evenings.
Grocery store - Typical middle eastern products, nice to have some produce, we bought a honey dew, it was delicious.
Bakery - Only tasted the pita bread - not bad. I over heard a customer rant and rave about the 'Afghan bread'
Over all an Average market with loads of potential and nice decor.
I have been here 3 times in the last 2 weeks and have always enjoyed the food. It brings back memories of Laham Ajeeen, but Oasis has their own version of it. Lamb or fetta & spinach wrapped in light dough.
They have a decent selection of middle east beverages and plentiful with the assortment of olives marinated in different herbs and spices. I prefer the mixed olives with lemon, herbs, and olive oil.
The baklava is decent but small and rolled, i like the layered one better..
So far so good and I believe they are Arabic. I preferr the Lebanese style of middle eastern cooking but you can only notice minor differences between each other.
This place is a grocery, bakery, restaurant and cafe all in one. The food is really tasty and pretty cheap. For example a box of about 5 fresh baked spinach and feta pies for $5! They also have a lot of interesting Middle Eastern sweets, cheeses and olives. Love it so far.
A brand new Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food market in the middle of a Grand Theft Auto-ish Oakland neighborhood. Oasis, indeed! The store is as large and well-stocked as any in Fremont and offers grocery items, meat, poultry, produce, and spices all under the same roof. The hot food menu also boasts kabob, shawarma, hummus, falafel, and pita bread. The many kinds of feta cheese (which looks like tofu from hell - I mean that as a compliment) behind the counter dared me to try them. Maybe next time?
This time my friend and I made the modest choice of beef kabob with salad and rice on a plate. We also got samosas as appetizers. Note: food preparation time could take 15 minutes so please feel free to relax on the couches next to the food counter.
The plates came in generous servings. The beef was fresh and tender, not meat that had been cryogenically frozen for ages and then hastily thawed. The rice was a little bland but otherwise acceptable. By the time I ate the salad I was already too full to partake any of the complementary pita bread. My only comment is despite the 15-minute cook time, some of the beef was still fairly raw. I have no problem with raw meat (beef and fish) but prefer it to be cut into thin slices. A huge chunk of pink meat in my mouth always reminds me of Lord of the Flies.
Out of curiosity, We tried an unknown brand of non-alcoholic ginger beer and thought about bringing the bottles back to work and telling people we went to happy hour early. lol
My friend also made the following comments, in case he doesn't get around to write his own review:
The flat-screen TVs on which the menu is displayed are hung too high for customers to read from a comfortable distance or angle.
The picture of scrumptious deli roasted beef sandwiches in front of the food counter is out of place since the store does not actually offer deli sandwiches. At least it's not a picture of a ham sandwich.
The halal meat counter is lined with paper with Harris Ranch logos printed on them. For a second, we thought Harris Ranch went halal.
It appears the market's owner may have inherited some materials from the previous proprietor and decided to continue to use them, which is understandable.
So having prayed around the corner a couple times at the Oakland Islamic Center and working now just down the street.. I decided its time to get to know my local Arab/Islamic food spots near the Masjid.
So this past thursday, I talked my co worker into trying out this place with me. I was hoping that it was good since I didn't want to scar my friend for life regarding Arab food.
So after demystifying kafta, shawarma , falafel and the different cheeses being displayed for my Arab food virgin friend. We finally decided we were ready to order.. but this was no American style- wait your turn and order line.. oh no.. I had people just cut in front of me and so I had to revert to my well sharpened skills I learned in Egypt of how to deal with a line... which means I just made my way to the front and loudly just gave my order to the nice cashier lady- ignoring everyone else.
Oh yeah and make sure you have grabbed your drink from the cold case ahead of time if you want something like water, juice or a soda since they aren't on the menu of the restaurant.
So we waited around about 5 -10 minutes and then our food was ready. Yippie!
My friend and I were so hungry at that point we didn't even make sure we had the right order- hers was the Chicken Shawarma and mind the Kafta wrap. So when we finally realized half way through our wraps we had the wrong one- we just shrugged and continued to chow down.
And the funny thing is my friend was afraid to order the kafta!!
We both got the hot sauce on the side- which I have to say was the right choice.. as I love hot food but this sauce brought the heat- seriously. But the burn was so good we couldn't stop putting it on our wraps.
In the end the food was great for the price.. the store is clean- also home to a grocery with a frozen section, fresh veggies, fruits and a clean butcher area - not to mention the clothing or Western Union!
I will definitely be back.. and this time I will bring my horde of friends!
Came here at the recommendation of my friend since it's a couple blocks from school.
I can only attest to the delicious-ness of the Shawarma wraps... I opted for the chicken b/c I'm not a huge lamb fan. It's pretty big and not too pricey.
Service was quick.. but one of the workers was very nice and offered their business card, telling us that we can place orders before we arrive so that it's ready when we get there. awesome for when we're on a time crunch.
Oasis is a couple blocks away from school and provides both a middle eastern market/grocery as well as a fast food stop for wraps, Mediterranean plates and kabobs.
My classmates and I headed here for one of our lunch breaks and the general consensus was that the wraps (lamb and chicken) were delicious. I had the lamb wrap and noticed mine had a little less extra filling (grilled tomatoes and onions) than others so I'll make sure to ask for extra "extras" next time.
Definitely will come back for more since it's relatively cheap for the portions you get and close to campus. A large wrap that can be split into two (lunch and dinner) for $6-7.
Yumyum for my tumtum.
Just finished eating a hot, toasty meat pie and deli salad (artichoke hearts etc.) for lunch.
Nice stuff, great grocery store, super nice people too.
I'll be back to shop, but next time I'm hungry for pre-made Middle Eastern food, you will find me at WALLY'S in Emeryville!
Just what the neighborhood needs! This place blew my mind with the selection of primarily Middle Eastern based grocery items. I can't rave enough about the selection here. This place has now made my life so much easier. I was actually able to get Italian style giardiniera that's exactly the same kind I bring back from Chicago when I go. They carry a good amount of hard to find Eastern European products as well including a bunch of Bulgarian items such as Bulgarian feta cheese, iryan, sheep milk cheese, and kiopoolu. Great selection of jarred and fresh olives. Good selection of Indian curries, rices, beans, figs, dates and lots of different kinds of sweets including baklava. I'm totally excited to have such a great place in my 'hood'. Now if this place was just about that then I'd still feel a little over-biased by giving it 5 stars, but no wait.
Did I mention they also have a deli? And a Shawarma restaurant with fast food style seating. This place is great, they have a huge oven for making the bread. There was fresh baked Afghan bread for $1.25 each. Wow, and fresh pita bread available to boot.
The folks that run it were extremely welcoming and helpful giving us samples of there freshly made falafel. Delicious!
I tried the Lamb shawarma wrap. Woa.. no wait, this isn't just good. This is like 2am drunk bar-food munchies type good. Oh my. I just ate one today and I'm already thinking about when I can go back to get another.
New favorite spot!
I came back here with a few friends. I wanted to try the falafel and the chicken wraps, but decided on the falafel. It was okay. I've definitely had better falafels, and there was more lettuce and tomato than I wanted (which was none, really. gimme falafel!)
I had a bite of my friend's chicken wrap. I should have gotten that. Sooo tasty. This place definitely does meat well, so I recommend the chicken or lamb. But if you're veggie, the falafel is still satisfying and filling. One wrap for $6-7 fills you up for at least five hours.
Definitely a new quick, cheap filling grub spot for me.
I am soooo bummed I moved out of my house in Oakland when I did. This place was getting the… Read more »
Update 11/1:
I learned of a Middle Eastern dessert today that I had not tried before. Sam introduced me to kunafa and its sweet, cheesy, crispy goodness. Thanks again Sam!
Great place with amazing deli. Sam has two chefs- one from Syria and one from Turkey. The dishes I've tried have all been outstanding and the falafel sandwiches are perfect- falafels are made per order, on the spot. If you go, you have to try the spicy Turkish salad, a sort of Turkish salsa. I bought a container and downed the whole thing with some toasted pita. I can go on and on, but just do yourself a favor and try it out.
They opened today! I've been watching them in anticipation for months. They are a full service market with groceries, meat market, vegetables and a fabulous hot food section where you can eat on a cushioned banquet and watch the guys pull fresh pita bread out of the oven. For $7.99 I had a lamb kabob platter on ceramic dinnerware, with rice pilaf, green salad, an onion/parsley relish and hot pita bread. Portions were generous and the meat was tender. Perfect!
Update: I went back a second time and the guy behind the counter offered me some baklava with my purchase. He said one of the guys there made it by hand, meaning he rolled out the filo dough by hand. It took him 10 hours to make! I am impressed. It was delicious!
I got a lamb shawerma plate for lunch. It was a generous helping and spiced very nicely. Came with some griddled onions and tomatoes, onions with sumac, pilaf, salad, fresh pita, and some insanely spicy hot sauce, by far the hottest I've ever had at a Middle Eastern place. Good value for $9. I also got a chicken samosa, would have been better hot.
They gave us some semolina pastries for free, they were nice, not insanely sweet. I asked about housemade phyllo and they said the pastry guy started last week but he's on vacation this week.
A short update: 9/15/2009
Is the love wearing off? Is the 5 stars tipping towards 4?
What bothers me....
a. parking is a Beeyotch (not their fault)
b. there have been times when I have been overcharged for items, did not appear on purpose, but moreso to the hectic chaotic times and the fact that there appears to be 100 people working there at times.
c. went there today, asked about a Kabob, it was at one of the few times there were not busy. I was told it would take 15 mins and i was gently steered to something else.....I later asked if they had a call in phone # to order for pickup---was told that they are having trouble getting a phone line ?? . they have been openned almost a month??
d. after being steered to another item, i ended up getting the wrong thing, but at least this time, was not overcharged.
I really hope they can work out the kinks and become a bit, scratch that, a LOT more organized.
I have been here 2 times so far and intend to come back often.
They make their own pita bread in an…
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This place has a great selection of Middle Eastern foods and products. Lots of honey and tea as well. The chicken shawarma was big and delicious and they have a nice little seating area so it's not like those other hole in the walls where you have no choice but to take out. Plus, cops eat here and that means it's good!!
I have seen crowds of people around this market at lunchtime and decided to stop in to see what the fuss was all about this evening. Glad I did because I had a lamb shewarma for the first time in my life, and it was really tasty! The deli counter sells a nice selection of hot foods as well as hummus, baba ganouj, tabouli salad, feta cheese, and a variety of other delicious looking prepared foods and cheeses - take your food to go or eat in the dining area which seats about 20 people or so, plus a few tables outdoors. The store is a full grocery market selling middle eastern grocery and supplies, produce, and meat at great prices. Chicken legs for $1.19 per pound - what a deal! You can also buy a whole lamb or goat here. The place is sparkling clean and new. I will definitely be looking for a good middle eastern cookbook and plan on being a regular here!
For the month of November
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area
Happy Hour on Mondays 5pm to 8…
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area
I moved here a year and a half ago and love that…
