I stopped in this afternoon on a whim, noticing this shop on my list of places I want to try. I…read morewasn't super hungry, as I'd had a fairly late breakfast, so I was delighted to see that they offer a mini version of their chicken shawarma. Perfect! I took no pictures because I was eating in the car and just dove in, but it was well-wrapped for the journey. I was kicking myself after leaving for not remembering to ask for no onion, only to discover that, thankfully, they didn't put raw onion on it! I was delighted, and this may be the best chicken shawarma I've ever had. The meat was flavorful and plentiful for a small order, and to my utter joy there were strips of pickle tucked in with the meat! It was such a delicious mouthful that I was really wishing I'd gotten the full size after all! It's better that I didn't, and now I can't wait to go back again and try more things, like the shawarma fries! Parking can be difficult so be prepared to hunt and maybe walk a bit. The staff was all woman and while they weren't chatty, they were all diligently doing prep, which is necessary. I honestly can't wait for the chance to come back soon!

Was looking for a place I hadn't been to try out and my son found Shawarmaji which had great…read morereviews. Big fan of shawarma, so gave it a go. First off, parking is a pain, but not unusual for places in this area. And the place, it's sort of a hole in the wall. As a general fan of holes in the wall, didn't bother me, but if you need a place to be spotless and comfortable, maybe not for you. 3 of us, so got the chicken wrap, lamb/beef wrap and lamb/beef arabi style. The best thing was the fries. Perfectly fried and seasoned. The wraps were good. The chicken had a ton of cinnamon, where even my son who loves it was saying, "that's a lot of cinnamon". The lamb/beef was good. Both wraps were big, well built, had great meat to veg to sauce ratio throughout and did not come across too dry like other places. Ask for the spicy sauce. The drinks were interesting. My wife got one of the Freez drinks, which she said was ok. I got a Vimto which had artificial sweeteners in it, which I hate. Serves me right for having a "when in Rome" attitude and not reading the can. Overall, it was good, but would I drive over to go again, probably not. To me, it didn't live up to the hype (3.5 stars and I rounded up), and didn't really set itself apart from other places that are a little cheaper, or more expensive places that are a little better.

If you're looking for halal Mediterranean/Egyptian food, this spot is definitely worth checking…read moreout! They have tons of options and are very vegetarian-friendly as well. Everything is made fresh to order, and you can really taste the quality in every dish. I especially loved the grilled meats -- they had that perfect smoky char flavor straight from the grill. The staff were incredibly friendly and took the time to explain the different dishes and the best way to enjoy them. Beef, Kofta & Chicken: Super flavorful and packed with spices, with an amazing grilled/charred flavor. I loved being able to build my own wrap with all the different veggies and sauces! Hawawshi Traditional (Egyptian Meat Pie): Similar to arayes, but even more flavorful and juicy. It comes generously stuffed, and the arugula paired perfectly with it. Chicken Breast Bowl: OMG, the fries were so good! The chicken and fries combo worked perfectly together. The chicken had subtle hints of lime and was served over a creamy mayo-style sauce that tied everything together. Salad: Light, refreshing, and topped with onions, pickled veggies, fruit, and vinaigrette. Overall, it's such a fun and casual place to hang out. There's an outdoor patio with self-serve tea and water, and I loved the cozy lights and tent setup. I'll definitely be back!

The wait time was ridiculously long. We ordered at the kiosks and waited over 30 minutes for our…read morefood. During that time, the staff never acknowledged us, and we had to make several attempts to get someone's attention just to ask about our order. The food ended up being good but not enough to justify the long wait. The dining area was also a letdown. The enclosed patio with its clear plastic covering trapped the heat, making it feel like we were sitting inside a greenhouse. It was uncomfortably warm and made the meal much less enjoyable. Overall, the food was fine, but the combination of the long wait, lack of communication, and uncomfortable dining area made for a disappointing experience.

Great Food easy on the system delicious feel good food…read more Fantastic rice and salad Meat was amazing Every bite just tasted healthy I wished I lived closer

The food and service here never disappoint. I've been a frequent customer since 2009, and was…read morehooked at first bite with their beef kebab sandwich. Every dish is seasoned perfectly and not overly salted. I've tried just about everything on the menu and the meat is always tender. Vegetables here are top quality as well, which compliments the dishes nicely. And the green yogurt sauce is spicy! In a good way. I usually order an extra with the biryani plates, because *some* is just never enough. Their mango lassi is super mango-ey. I don't know what kind of mangoes go into this drink, but it has the most sweet, tart, and ripe fruitiness (emphasis on fruitiness), and the yogurt in it adds good balance. Perfect drink. There is a good variety of items to choose from, so I don't get bored eating here. You can tell everything is cooked fresh on a daily basis as well. Don't sleep on the desserts either. After trying baklava at many restaurants around San Jose, I regard Gulzaar Halaal's as my personal favorite. Crispy layers, firm yet chewy bottom, and never stale. Perfect balance of sweet, nutty and spiced. My favorite dessert though has to be Kanafeh. Soft-ish, melty sweet cheese (with rose water, I think?). Ask for it warmed. I've always felt relaxed when eating in the restaurant. Tables are frequently cleaned. The owner is very attentive, making sure customers are happy with everything. Their interactions with people are always very respectful and kind. Last but not least, the bathroom is clean, neat and tidy.

The food is really good here and the restaurant is really clean in every single spot and the…read moreemployees are so nice to us and they made the food so fast and really good all thank to em Amar

Hella yummy Palestinian food in the Bay!…read more I've heard of Holyland but finally had the chance to dine there for a weekend lunch. These days it's always at the front of my mind that food spots that call themselves "Middle Eastern" or "Mediterranean" truly divulge who is the owner and chefs are. I'm talking about only eating from restaurants that can name the country their food comes from be it Falasteen, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the list goes on. Holyland is located in the industrial part of Santa Clara, and they boast lots of interior seating (great for large parties and group meals) and also run a catering service. So there's loads of parking and plenty of space. My friend and I were hungry, so I got the lamb kofta and he had the beef plates. We were SO happy. It comes with a light tangy salad, delicious hummus with a kick of spice, a bed of delicious yellow rice and slender pita bread. They also have serve-yourself hot cardamom tea which is so delicious and perfect. They also serve a bunch of other refrigerated drinks like Salaam Cola and kefir. The mezze plate with x4 different dips looks so yummy, I would get that next time with a large group to share. Will definitely head back with a larger group. We saw other diners from couples, to solo to large families eating. The interior could use some sprucing up, but the quality of the food, staff, and authenticity of the place is #1. Delicious. Freedom for the Holyland Five and liberation for all of Palestine!

I ordered the beef steak with rice and my bf order the chicken suqaar with rice. The food took a…read morewhile to come out but when it did arrive, I immediately noticed the generous portions. Both meats were juicy, flavorful, and tender but if I had to pick one it would hands down by the beef steak. One thing to note about the dining experience is that it was uncomfortably hot inside the restaurant. I went on a summer day when it was in the high 80s and the restaurant didn't have AC or a fan... it was a lot warmer inside the restaurant than it was outside. I felt so relieved when I stepped outside.

My first time trying Somali food and definitely won't be the last! I read some reviews prior to…read morecoming so I knew we weren't going to have water, but man that tea or Shaah was tasty! It did have a lot of sugar, but it was pretty similar flavor-wise to Indian chai (sans milk), so it paired very well with our order. We ordered the chicken suqaar and the beef wrap. We opted for the chapati (sabaayad in Somali) with the chicken suqaar, but would love to try their rice or their version of injera during our next visit! The menu at first glance looks kinda confusing since they have Lunch in big letters on one side with a ton of their dishes and Dinner on the other side with the remainder of the dishes, making it seem like a few items are available during this time... but the Lunch portion just states that it comes with a side of rice, pasta, chapati, or injera (which is the same as Dinner...) so kind of an interesting stylistic choice there, but this is to say that everything on the menu is available the whole time they're open. The meals were so flavorful- the chicken suqaar had a ton of onions, carrots, chicken, green-bean like veggie, and spices, and was served with a green sauce that had kind of a habanero or jalapeno taste to it. The beef wrap was huge and I only ate half of one for dinner- it was flavored so well and the beef was cooked perfectly. This came with a side of the green sauce and a white sauce. I'd love to return and try their injera with chicken, kay kay chicken, beef suqaar or beef steak, and their sambusas! I saw some on another diner's plate and it looked sizable and filling. Jubba is located right next to a VTA light rail and an apartment complex so there's decent foot traffic, but overall, a wonderful place to try and eat!

Social media strikes again…read more.. I came across a reel on IG featuring Iraklis. The food looked intriguing and scrumptious...in other words FIRE! I would not have known about this place if it wasn't for the reel. I'm also not familiar with Syrian and Lebanese cuisine. Thought I'd give it a shot. Not the biggest of venues, it a bit small on the inside, they have few benches and tables outside. Parking wasn't an issue, plenty of spaces in the parking lot. The staff was very helpful and informative. This is a fast casual spot with table service. They do bring the food to you, but you can help yourself to everything else afterwards, is: water, sauces, napkins etc. #SyrianEats: WRAP: ~ SHAWARMA: Damascus style CHICKEN - 5/5 Absolutely DELISH!! Love the garlic spread that came on the side. The wrap was already tasty enough, but somehow it was even tastier with the Garlic spread. Even the fries that came with it were spectacular! That drizzle pomegranate molasses... just DELISH!! This was one of the best wraps I had Stateside. Actually the best! PLATE: ~ MANSAF - 5/5 The Lamb shank was excellent as well! Tender fall of the bone with flavor galore, and the butter sauce was amazing as well...delish! The rice that came with the Lamb shank was OK. It was probably good, but the flavor profile didn't stand up to the rest of the food. I thought it could use more flavor, but that just me nitpicking... 4.5 ***** rounded up to 5***** for me This food here is amazing. I'll be back...

Was craving a chicken shawarma, so I went off to TikTok and found SO many recommendations for…read moreIraklis! We placed an order for pickup and got two original chicken shawarma wraps. The garlic spread that was in the wrap was addicting! I definitely recommend eating it with the chili sauce for an extra kick. The chicken that I got was a bit dry... but nothing the sauce couldn't help fix. The portion size was HUGE; I think I probably could've been satisfied with eating just half of it. We also got an order of their baklava to-go, and this was also delicious! The baklava was sweet and moist.

This was my first time having uyghur food and i really enjoyed dining here! I enjoyed the flavor…read moreprofile of every dish. We were a party of 6 and were seated immediately. Service is friendly! At the end of our meal, we were offered free soft serve. I plan to come back in the future :) ORDER RATINGS - Pilaf served with salad and unsweetened yogurt dressing 9.5/10 This was my favorite dish from here!! - Golden crispy roasted lamb ribs 9/10 - Uyghur grilled lamb shank 9/10 Loved the seasonings that came with this dish. For both of the shank dishes, keep in mind they are a bit hard to share in a large group as you have to cut the shank yourself - Braised lamb shank with naan 8.5/10 - Big chicken plate 8.5/10 The hand-made noodles in this dish were so good!!! - Eggplant with mashed garlic 8.5/10 Great appetizer for a garlic lover! Has spice / a kick to it. Wish the egg plant was served in a more sharable way though

So hard to decide what to order! We ended up getting:…read more- the big chicken spicy dish with wide noodles - crispy lamb ribs -beef noodle soup I really loved the lamb here. Nice depth of flavor and doesn't taste super gamey. Some pieces were a bit fatty so just be aware. Beef noodle soup had a really nice flavor profile also! The big chicken dish was good, but the potatoes came out a bit hard, and it's not my favorite to eat a lot of chicken with bone-in pieces. My partner loved this however. We also got the hot lemon honey tea and a passionfruit yogurt drink. Liked both- the lemon honey drink was super sweet though, and I think you'll like the yogurt drink if you like kefir. Will definitely be back!

Took my mom here for an early dinner and so glad I did! The…read morefood was delicious and the service was amazing! It's a hidden gem. I'm coming back with the entire family for dinner soon!

Had a chance to try Tamra for a work lunch and enjoyed the experience. The restaurant is located…read morenear a gas station, but when you walk in it's very cute. THe service here was really nice and the food was fresh. For our order we got: * 6 sampler dips - this was fun to try because there were so many options of dips to try. I really enjoyed the hummus and labneh as well as the other dip that looked like hummus. The pita you could tell was very fresh, but a little smaller in size than what I have seen before * Chicken skewers - this came on a bed of rice with roasted tomatoes and zucchini. There was also a sauce drizzled on top which was nice. This dish I enjoyed the meat. I felt the rice was a little off though and the tomato was a little thicker than it should have been. Overall though enjoyed the company and the time here!

Great food and service. I loved the mansaf with rice and our amazing waitress recommended a…read moredelicious dessert. The staff was attentive and helpful, a manager invited us to an available bigger table and it was a pleasure to be served by our waitress Vicky. This was my second time here and I will be back in the future

Busy Weds night, due to music on the street. We were headed somewhere else but we saw the food…read morecoming out and decided on Dish Dash, And they could seat us. T his may have been the best meal I've ever eaten. My adult son and I shared the chicken and beef kabobs with roasted Brussel sprouts and potatoes, and the lamb shank in yogurt sauce with cauliflower over rice. The flavors of everything was an incredible experience. The lamb was falling off the bone, beef so flavorful, the chicken perhaps was a tad over cooked. Malek, our server was so kind and attentive, ad was all the staff. Full bar. It's not inexpensive, but we got what we paid for and had huge arid leftover. Did I mention the Za'zar dipping sauce for the bread. I need to learn how to make that.

Best in town!!! Best falafel + Best customer service = Best…read morefriends for life! Their falafels are always made to perfection, and you can really tell they love what they serve & everyone who stops by.

I ordered three large falafels and told the guy taking orders No HOT SAUCE and all of them had HOT…read moreSAUCE and they even gave me extra HOT SAUCE I had to throw all of away !! What a waste of money Why did they not listen ???? I'm done with Falafel Drive In and I have been going there for 20 years