We arrived at 5:30PM on a Friday without reservation but we got a table shortly. The restaurant is located small strip mall which has limited parking. Service was warm, fast, and efficient. Food: large portion, flavorful, healthy, delicious. Our favorite: the mixed grill lamb chops, chicken, and different kebabs. The garlic sauce compliments the meats well. We can’t get enough of it. Arabic salad was refreshing and light with lemon and extra virgin olive oil dressing.
Vegan Restaurant
Aladdin Mediterranean Restaurant
· $$$$ · sanDiego · Strict-vegan verified
Fully vegan
Editor synopsis · 0 reviews
Diners overwhelmingly call out the signature dish as the must-order. The vibe reads as vegan restaurant — service is consistently described as warm and unhurried. Common gotcha: queues form at peak times — go early or late.
Excerpts
We arrived at 5:30PM on a Friday without reservation but we got a table shortly. The restaurant is located small strip mall which has limited parking. Service was warm, fast, and efficient. Food: large portion, flavorful, healthy, delicious. Our favorite: the mixed grill lamb chops, chicken, and different kebabs. The garlic sauce compliments the meats well. We can’t get enough of it. Arabic salad was refreshing and light with lemon and extra virgin olive oil dressing.
We were visiting San Diego and decided to try this Middle Eastern restaurant since it had a lot of good reviews. We visited on a Monday evening around 6:30 pm. There were not a lot of people but the server who greeted us at the door told us there was a party in the back. We ended up sitting upfront. We ordered the tabouli & the kibbeh as appetizers. The tabouli was definitely fresh but lacked lemon juice. We told our server but he didn’t do much about it. We made it work. The fried kibbeh was so delicious. One of the best I’ve ever tasted. Highly recommend. For a main meal, we ordered the vegetarian biryani rice and the mixed grill. The rice was so flavorful and delicious. We all loved it. It was cooked to perfection & the portion was definitely generous. The lamb chops were my favorite and had so much flavor. Definitely cooked to perfection. The chicken was OK. I expected more Mediterranean spices, but it was just more like grilled chicken. Not the flavor profile I was expecting. The meats were definitely tender and juicy, and the flavor was good. We ordered a dessert to go and the filling was delicious, but the phyllo pastry had a lot of ghee. Definitely took away from the dessert. We ended up paying about $160 with tip for the three of us. I do have to mention the service was OK. Our server was not around much so we ended up having to ask another server for assistance. Another thing to know is the service was not really with a smile. I’m not sure if I’m ever in the area if I will return. Maybe I’ll take a to go order of the rice and & kibbeh.
We were visiting San Diego and decided to try this Middle Eastern restaurant since it had a lot of good reviews. We visited on a Monday evening around 6:30 pm. There were not a lot of people but the server who greeted us at the door told us there was a party in the back. We ended up sitting upfront. We ordered the tabouli & the kibbeh as appetizers. The tabouli was definitely fresh but lacked lemon juice. We told our server but he didn’t do much about it. We made it work. The fried kibbeh was so delicious. One of the best I’ve ever tasted. Highly recommend. For a main meal, we ordered the vegetarian biryani rice and the mixed grill. The rice was so flavorful and delicious. We all loved it. It was cooked to perfection & the portion was definitely generous. The lamb chops were my favorite and had so much flavor. Definitely cooked to perfection. The chicken was OK. I expected more Mediterranean spices, but it was just more like grilled chicken. Not the flavor profile I was expecting. The meats were definitely tender and juicy, and the flavor was good. We ordered a dessert to go and the filling was delicious, but the phyllo pastry had a lot of ghee. Definitely took away from the dessert. We ended up paying about $160 with tip for the three of us. I do have to mention the service was OK. Our server was not around much so we ended up having to ask another server for assistance. Another thing to know is the service was not really with a smile. I’m not sure if I’m ever in the area if I will return. Maybe I’ll take a to go order of the rice and & kibbeh.
Really great food. Meat plattar was really awesome , meat was so fresh and flavorful. Bread was warm and fresh off the oven. Lentil soup was really good as well. Tabouleh and Rice were great too. Turkish coffee was legit. Overall great food and must try Mediterranean food if you are around.