Aladdin Mediterranean Cafe - San Diego

One of the Staples of Mediterranean food in the San Diego area. Aside from the regular kabobs and shawarma they offer some home cooking dishes. The four star is for something I'm mentioning at the end of the review. Three stars for taste. For two people we ordered $90 worth of food which brings me to the price it's about 30% more than average on all diahws. We ordered makloba which was cooked perfectly but the taste was bland. Portions huge not small like the picture. We also ordered the Mezza collection of appetizers which had meats in it and not only salads. Backlava with ice cream is decedent andbfresh. The reason for the four stars is our waitress Stephanie added 18% gratuity for two people at the end and when I asked why she said when you order over a certain amount we charge that even for 2 people which was ridiculous I asked her to remove it and she did.whether the owners know or don't know about this I don't like restaurants that don't have control over their servers. Service was good. You have to come try those home cooking flavors for yourself and my advice to the owners is to have a family style section for those huge portions and the regular section on the menu for one person portions. Just my 2cents.

I visited Aladdin based on recommendations. First impression of the place that it's really neat, nice decorations and atmosphere. They have a big enough place for big parties. I visited with my mom and friend. We ended up sitting in the next room not the one close to the kitchen. Place is great and quiet, and parking wasn't bad. They have two hour parking outside. I had seen pictures and had an idea of what I wanted to order. I wanted to try the cauliflower tahini appetizer, tabouleh and Baba ghanouj. I wasn't too sure about the meal yet. To rate the food some dishes were better than others and I think it was very highly priced!! Compared to other middle eastern restaurants I have visited. Cauliflower appetizer 5/5 very small plate and its worth the try but not worth $12! Baba Ghaouj 5/5 also small plate that was 8.50 Tabouleh 2/5 It lacked flavor, didnt have Bulgur which is the main ingredient of tabouleh. Definitely not worth $13 Lunch Special which included the shawarma sandwich and soup/or salad. it was $10 Lamp Chops $31, there were 5 of them, some rice and hummus. I would give them 3/5. It definitely lacked flavor! Dessert we had the cheese knafeh, i think it was good. Tea each was $3.25, not worth it for sure because it didnt taste good, and too pricy for a cup of tea Something that I noticed was the high prices for a really small dish! not worth it. I am giving them 4 stars for the great service, and rating some of the things I really enjoyed. I would give them another chance, but I still think their prices are ridiculously high!

Amazing Mediterranean food and always friendly service. One of my favorite San Diego local spots.

I have ordered today from my Favourite restaurant Aladdin. Specialized in middle eastern and Lebanese food, the food was delicious, I ordered for take out chicken kebab wrap, flafel and hummus dip. For dessert I have the cheese kunafa. Highly recommend.

The food was excellent, prices a bit high and the shabby appearance made it feel just okay.