They always make you feel at home without being to in your face about anything. Very respectful family owned place. Great hospitality and service! I'm middle eastern myself and this is middle eastern food down to a science. Not like how taco bell is mexican food... none of that mess... The food is simply amazing and they cater to your needs and always make sure to greet you. The prices are very low for the quality and large quantity. That alone is the perfect reason to come and try this place out! Moe the owner knows his stuff! read more

Still good. Good falafel sandwich, also the hummus and baba and dolmas are great. Had a lamb sandwich once and that was ok too. Nice people. Good prices. Eat here! read more

I can't say enough good things about Al Aqsa. They've got the best falafel, amazing vegetarian options, and a student discount! The owners are very kind and always hooked it up with generous pours when I stopped by for Turkish coffees in the rain. The baked goods are nice, too. read more

Small family owned and super friendly. The food was perfect I feel bad I didn't know they were here until last week I would have been here more often. read more

Parking is a little bit of a pain and don't forget to feed the meter if your visiting during the work week. Decor is blah and reminds me of cheap IKEA tables and chairs. Food is really good! My personal favorite is the hummus with lamb. Another good choice is the Shawarma. read more

Salem four-star worthy. The fare is fresh and prices reasonable, so it's a wonder why anyone would opt for the Subway next door when they could have a shawarma wrap instead. The portions aren't huge but perfect for lunch. According to my intern, it's a family run joint, with one gentleman manning the counter and tables while someone cooks in back. The Arabic music videos playing behind the counter are a big plus. read more

Excellent authentic yummy middle eastern food. The dolmas were amazing ! We had the lamb and the kufta. Both were delicious and portions ample. I will return again and again read more

The best shwarma wraps/gyros I've had. Love this place and they know me well too! The hot sauce they include is delicious.

I have eaten lots of different middle eastern food for my whole life, and this place is not good. Their shawarma is garbage and not like any other shawarma I have eaten. I tried their other plates and they are below average in flavor, but expensive. The prices are a ripoff and the spices are very off. It is unfortunate that this is the only halal restaurant in town, because it is low quality and expensive. read more

Loved the chicken shawarma sandwich very good food my husband ordered a beef plate with rice very tasty just moved here from Idaho and we will definitely be coming back here also very friendly nice man and wife read more

This is really the best [and healthiest!] easily available restaurant for students at Willamette. It's basically a survival necessity! The gyros are yummy, flavorful, and healthy. They always include plenty of meat, even expensive meat like lamb, and the veggies are fresh and ripe. The service is always quick, especially for to-go meals. For those complaining about the prices--a lamb gyro here is ten dollars, which is about what I'd spend for a sandwich and chips at Willamette. Meanwhile the food is much, much better--and during "rush hour" at Willamette's dining hall, this option is also quicker. They have a plentiful, extensive menu, and virtually everything I've tried has been very good. The owner has always been kind to me. I cannot recommend this place enough. read more

great flavorful, the customer service was great, the coffee yumm, the falaffel was a bit on the dry side otherwise EVERYTHING we had was delicious. We will be back! read more

This place is an unexpected little gem. The food was so authentic and just overall DELICIOUS! Also the hospitality can't be best, such a sweet couple :) read more

The food is so very good and the owners are so kind and friendly. Exceptional value. best middle eastern food I've had on the west coast. I'm so grateful they are in Salem. I bring all my out of town guests here. read more

Stopped in for lunch after visiting the Capitol. The food was delicious. We ordered the chicken schwarma plate and a falafel hummus plate. The falafel hummus plate wasn't on the menu but I mentioned that I saw a picture a yelper posted and they were happy to make it for me. The atmosphere is a little drab but the restaurant is clean and the service was quick and friendly. read more

Decent Middle Eastern food at a pretty good price. We asked about a mezza plate and got baba ganoush, falafel, and dolmas. The falafel was reasonably good, tender and pretty tasty. The dolmas were excellent. Then I had the Hummus Plate with chicken. Nice hummus, and the chicken nicely cooked. The bread was more akin to tortilla than pita, rather disappointing. Baklava for dessert-- I opted for the pistachio filling, and I think it was homemade. Delicious. Overall, not up to par with, say, Ya Hala in Portland, but we will return and try some other dishes. BTW you will have to feed a meter to park nearby. read more

Fantastic little restaurant, my wife and I tried pretty much every Mediterranean restaurant in a 50m radius and this is by far our favorite. Its not much to look at a glance, but the food is fantastic, and the service very friendly. It's just a great little Mom and Pop place! The hummus is great and well dressed up, The Lentil soup is AWESOME, The falafels are some of the best we've had, And The Kafta kabob are very well spiced and have amazing flavor read more

This quaint restaurant is my favorite for Middle Eastern food in Salem. I always get chicken shwarma and it always delicious. The owners are helpful and friendly and it is a perfect place for lunch. The prices are reasonable as well. read more

I was a fan after 1 visit! I've been there twice now and can't wait to go back. The food is excellent, service is great, the Turkish coffee is a whole experience, and the baklava is heavenly. I am very happy that this new restaurant is my neighborhood! read more

This place has the best middle eastern food in Portland/salem. The price is low, service is fast and the food is fresh. Generous proportions for the prices as well and they're very willing to cater to your needs (I'm a picky eater). You can either go to subway and get a six inch for $4 or a gyro for $.99 more and be fuller than with a 6 inch. My personal favorites are the gyros and rice plates that are only 7.99 that come with a big portion of meat, rice and vegetables. They also have vegetarian plates and great dessert. Good place to go with family or friends because its a small and personal setting without tons of other people talking or loud music. I give this place 2 thumbs up. read more

I came to Salem on business. I had never been in town before, but I live in a town that doesn't have much middle eastern food. I grew up in an area with an abundance of Arabic residents, so I'm always on the prowl for good places. This place seemed well reviewed, so in I go. Wow. This is the worst middle eastern food, if not some of the worst food, I've ever had. Let's break it down: 1: My girlfriend ordered lentils and rice. I watched them stick the rice in the microwave, stick the lentils in the microwave, nuke the food twice, throw it on a plate, and bring it out. WHAT? If I wanted nuked lentils I'd go buy a microwave meal and pay a quarter of the price! The lentils were tasteless, and when I told the owner what happened he denied the microwaving even occurred, saying "it was for another order" even though I watched him do it. 2: Turkish coffee that was drip brewed. Uhhhhhhh... 3: I ordered hummus and lamb, but the lamb was burnt and hard. I was in the bathroom while they were preparing mine, but it was likely also microwaved. 4: They brought out my girlfriends food over 10 minutes after mine. She basically had to sit there and watch me eat my meal so it wouldn't get cold. 5: The soda machine had 2/6 dispensers working. 6: The spanakopita was not actual spanakopita, rather it was simply a dumpling with spinach in it. Which was soggy and slightly cold. Likely undermicrowaved. 7: When it came time to pay, the credit card machine wouldn't read my credit card, so I had to go across the street to pay an ATM fee. He explained that "this has been a problem," but made no effort to inform me about this ahead of time. I have never in my life left a food review before, until today. STAY AWAY. SERIOUSLY. You'd be better off eating a frozen meal from Fred Meyer's! I feel ill thinking that I gave my money to this place. The only good thing I can say about this place is that their hot tea was quite decent, but it was just standard mint tea that you could probably brew yourself. read more

The only good thing about this place was leaving it.the baklava was good .but.....w.t.f was that. Almost threw up the falafel was soggy and musty there was to much mustardy weird sauce on the shwarma. Maybe I just don't like that kind of food but I've had it before and it was awesome. read more

First time visit during lunch and ordered the lamb hummus plate. The lamb was very tender and spiced well. The hummus itself was tasty enough to take an extra serving home for late night cravings. The owners are very friendly and I'm looking forward to becoming a regular! read more

So the wait was really long like 20 minutes for a lamb gyro. The gyro was not typical tasted more like steak. Actually it was pretty good, however the meat was a little chewy not as tender as actual gyro meat. read more

Great food A++++ healthy and a lot of flavor!! Defiantly a new flavor to ur tongue :)

Tasty food, generous portions. Would like to have seen cleanliness up a notch or two. Definitely worth another visit. Mint tea reported to be delicious. Turkish coffee unremarkable. Lamb & rice delicious. read more

Spartan decore, have had better hummus other places. Service kind of disorganized, but friendly! Lamb and chicken gyros were okay. Will go again, but not on top of the return list. read more

Gyros, dolmas, and pistachio baklava were so tasty! The service was great! And the air conditioning felt good on a 90+ day! read more

Al Aqsa - Menu page 1 - Mediterranean Near Me - Salem, Oregon

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Good food. I had the Falafel for lunch. Super fast service. Next I will try the Turkish coffee and baklava.

Great friendly service and yummy food. Had the gyro, hummus, and Turkish coffee. Give it a try for something different and delicious.

Wow. This was probably the best meal I have had in a while. As suggested by a previous poster, I went with the lamb shawarma (along with falafel and coffee) and it was amazing. So full of flavors that blended beautifully. I was full about 3/4 of the way through, but I couldn't stop. My wife got a gyro and salad, both of which were great as well. The hosts were super friendly and quick with service. I will be back, very soon! If you are in Salem, do yourself a favor and eat here. Keep in mind, this isn't McDonalds. If you don't like food that isn't fried and served in seconds, you probably won't have the same experience! (Previous complaint: coffee was gritty and served in tiny cups...thats what turkish coffee is, and it's delicious) read more

When I first discovered Al Aqsa last spring, I was overjoyed. The food is flavorful, delicious, and cheap, and it is in immediate proximity to Willamette Campus. The shawarma alone keeps me coming back for more, with choices of lamb, chicken or beef. However, all of their food is incredible, and I have yet to regret any choice. A must for any Willamette student. read more

I loved this place, the best lentils and shawarma I've had in a long time. The waitress was great, prices were great, fast service as well. I will make sure to stop by next time I come to Salem for work. read more

Excellent food. Excellent service. Good prices. Authentic middle Eastern food. Owner very pleasant. Turkish coffee outstanding.

worst experience ever the food is ok .. too much garlic but the owners run some sort of credit card scam .. I got charged for $76 extra dollars in fake charges .. contacted the owner and he was rude and confrontational... I reported them to better business beau-rue.. visa customer service rep told me this is the 3rd incident they got about this place in last 4 months stay awayyyyyyy read more

Avoid if you are vegan. This place is advertised as vegan friendly but it is not. I ordered a the lentil dish and dolmas and the dolmas were fine, but the lentil dish had obviously had dairy scraped off of it, and was missing the salad it was supposed to come with. I asked for tahini in place of tzaziki and it was obvious he forgot and scraped it off, and the sauce he gave me smelled like sour cream. I called and told him I was unhappy and that I found the dairy and some beef crumbles and that I felt sick (still do) and he proceeded to argue with me. I know what dairy smells and tastes like and I know what beef tastes like. This dish was not vegan. Even if you aren't vegan I'd avoid as the owner or whoever was there (I assume he was the owner as there were bills strewn out on a table and he was the only one there) is obviously dishonest and didn't want to admit to being wrong. Just admit it, dude. I'm on a very limited budget and very unhappy this was my one time eating out this month. What a waste of 15 dollars. Seriously. Avoid this place and go to Cuisine India a few doors down or the Mediterranean market/deli downtown. They are amazing. This place not so much. Also they took the eggplant and cauliflower wrap off the menu apparently so that's uncool. read more

Good food and everything but its so expensive. Would rather go to Indian restaurant and this is come from an Arab person.

Love coming here for lunch. They have great falafel (get the spicy sauce) and the owners are so kind and welcoming. Would definitely recommend the mint tea as well! read more

Wow! Where's the spice? My two friends and I have never had more tasteless middle eastern food in our lives! That is hard to do since one is Lebanese and the other is Israeli. We started with the Baba Ghanouje appetizer which was soaked/overwhelmed in lemon juice and had no smoky flavor at all. The tabouleh was not an even green color which was worrisome so when we tasted it we were not surprised to find out that it too was soaked in lemon and way to salty to even eat. One of my friends had the lamb shwarma which was overcooked and had no flavor whatsoever. Even the basmati rice had very little flavor, not even a hint of salt. The "salad" that was supposed to come with the meal was served in a tiny cup the size used to serve condiments in(strange). My other friend got the falafel sandwhich which she said was inedible. It was overcooked and was also flavorless. She said that it was served with some kind of "nasty" sauce masquerading as taziki. I ordered the lamb gyro sandwich. The lamb was overcooked and absolutely tasteless, not even salt or pepper much less the great spices I normally look forward to with a gyro meat filling. Lastly, the pita bread, while it was served warm, was not home made as far as I could tell but warmed up store bought. Overall , a totally disappointing experience entirely! Never going back. read more

Order two meals 1 messed up one was good. Couple items out of stock service a little slow. Had to order at the counter it might have been the time of night and if some of the help was gone. read more