Terrible Mediterranean food, especially considering the number of good reviews that this place has. I visited today for the first time, and the cashier, who seemed to be the manager, was arrogant and rude as he hurried us to order despite the lack of a crowd. He then proceeded to overcharge us for our food, charging us for a plate when we requested a sandwich. This immediately set a bad tone for the restaurant, and the food met the horrible customer service. The falafel sandwich was tasteless, and the salad filling in the sandwich had a bitter flavor. The "spicy" sauces at the table were simply just water with some chiles inside and were not spicy. I also tasted the chicken shawarma, and this was just normal chicken with no salt and no spices, making for a tasteless sandwich. Overall, I would not recommend this place to anyone, and I am still awaiting quality Mediterranean food in Birmingham. read more

Love this little mom and pop place.Food is always fresh and quickly prepared.The best falafel in town for sure.Love the hummus and babaganoush. The chicken is very good and the pita sandwiches nicely filled. It is a very clean place.The owner is friendly and the staff very helpful an polite.The pita bread is made in house and really good!For me it is too tick and puffy ,but most people seem to like it.To me it does not really taste like pita,but fluffy bread.I also had the lentil soup,it was not memorable,.Kind of thin and tasteless.I have never been to Israel,so I only have american Israeli food to compare things with. Overall we have been back many times already... read more

Awesome Middle Eastern fare. I LOVE the chicken swhwarama and usually get the half and half basmati and couscous. Oh, don't forget the puta and hummus. It is the best I have ever had. Only drawback is the limited seating, so get there early. read more

Great lunch spot for Mediterranean food. Vegetarian plate is filling and very flavorful. Kebab is good. Go for the rice and couscous half and half. Only complaint is that the baklava needs more honey. read more

Seriously my favorite place to eat in Birmingham. The flavors are amazing the atmosphere is great and service is wonderful. Order the pickles!!!! read more

The food is fresh and they give you large portions. I love their kabobs and hummus. They have these wonderful sauces on the table. They are also very nice people. read more

It is all excellent and very family friendly! Go!! This is a local business I want to see thrive in our city. The owner is very sweet and works incredibly hard from what I can tell. His attention to detail has produced superior product! read more

My family went for lunch. We all enjoyed our plates (chicken shawarma and garlic chicken). The Israeli Salad is wonderful! The staff was all friendly. Definitely recommend this place to anyone! read more

Good character to the place and the people there, and the food was just outstanding. You could tell it's their own recipe and there is some pride in what they serve. Nothing was lacking. Surprisingly decent beer selection to boot. read more

Excellent Mediterranean food. Especially good for vegetarians. The restaurant is clean and has good ambience and the food also very delicious. Their falafel balls are unmatchable. read more

The rice, couscous, tomato salad were completely bland. I got the kefta kebab it was ironically salty and burnt. You could tell that they haven't washed the grill in a little while cause the burnt flavor was just very acrid. The pita has no pocket to it, it was just a dense frisbee of dough although really good. The falafel was also pretty good, nothing to write home about. I reallly wanted to like this place had been wanting to go for weeks but the food was the worst iev ever had and I hate to say that about a business but it is what it is. read more

I love that this restaurant uses grass fed meats, locally grown and/or organic vegetables, and 100% olive oil! Real food is getting hard to find these days, especially at restaurants. They were also very kind about working with our paleo diet. I really enjoyed the lamb kabob and the salad sampler. read more

Loved it so much we ate there twice in one week. Owner was very friendly saw him going table to table checking on people as it was the first week since they opened. Falafel was unbelievably crave-able and I never had one before. The shawarma is also amazing. Ask for the spicy green sauce they offer you when they bring your food it's amazing. Waiter was very polite and seemed just a passionate about the food as the owner. Who on our second time took our order to help out the lady at the counter. Definitely worth a try it's worth it! read more

Great food at a reasonable price, fast friendly service, and a clean, welcoming atmosphere. I had the homemade vegetable soup, beef/lamb shawarma with couscous, hummus and pita, and knafeh. I will definitely be going back there. Especially for the knafeh. read more

The VERY best Falafel on the planet. Great wine and beer selection. Everything fresh and homemade. The Owner was there and super friendly and helpful. We will definately be back. read more

Extremely good food! Extremely good service! Very friendly atmosphere! Loved all the food and everything else! Great experience!

I visited this place for the first time today at around 2:30pm. It wasn't very busy at this time and I placed my order To Go. The people were pleasent and very efficient at putting together orders. I ordered the combination plate and a piece of baklava. Driving home I got stopped at a red light and in my impatience decided I was going to take a bite of the baklava. Up until today any I had eaten before had been firm and crispy. Thiers is soft, and while good, was loosly assembled. It also wasnt as sweet as I was used to and can honestly say I prefer Purple Onions baklava. I finally sat down to eat and opened the main attraction. Two small cups of sauce of some sort were inside, one a spicy green sauce and one a strange white sauce. The green sauce was too spicy for me an immediately got thrown away. I had thought the white sauce to be a sort of hummus, but after trying it, it tasted like dirt and got thrown away as well. The pita came with it was thick and heavy and absolutely heavenly! Best pita bread I've ever had. It was thick and filling and fluffy like a cloud! The plate also comes with a cucumber, tomato, and onion salad which I found ok. I did eat it all. There were two types of shaved meats and both were good, but very lightly seasoned. I proceeded to add salt. It definately helped. A sausage, a chicken finger, and some falafel was included and were extremely yummy! Lastly there was also a couscous and yellow batsmati rice mix. Both were ok, but not seasoned and rather bland. It made for an effective filler. Overall Id say the meal was decent, but if I ever return I'll probaly only get the falafel and pita bread. read more

My wife and I went there to get out of the house to have a nice sit down lunch. Once we got there, the air conditioning didn't seem to work and there was a bunch of people crammed inside being very loud. At that point, we decided to get the food to go. We ordered two combination plates with hummus. Once we we got home, we were ready to dive in ! The hummus had no taste what so ever. Just bland with a funny aftertaste.The sauces included (tahini and green hot sauce) and were nasty. Most everything in the combination meal was bland. The shawarma was edible but nothing special. My order was supposed to include a falafel. It didn't. I guess they forgot it. Lame. They did not forget to put one in my wife's. She hated it. I tried it didn't think and it wasn't too bad. But, I would not order it again. The kefta kabob was not edible. I have had good Lebanese food . This was far from it. I will have to admit the rice was ok. My wife did like the israeli salad. I didn't try it. The chicken and beef shawarma was bland. No taste. We didn't wait too long for our food to go, but I don't see why they forgot items. We will not be going back due to our bad experience. read more

One of my favorite places to eat chicken snitzel! I also really enjoy the beef kabobs. The rice and couscous that comes with the plates are delicious. read more

kind of a mixed review. The Chicken Schawarma was made to sound like it was suculent and juicy, but it was a mixture of chopped up white and dark meat akin at what's served at a summer camp caftetieria, served over what tasted like Uncle Ben's chicken flavored rice. The Israeli salad was fresh and quite tasty, and the pita bread was soft and delicious. The price was fair, but so was the entree'. Service was good, but the seating area was small and cramped, and the climate was warm and stuffy. read more

A jewel in a Birmingham strip mall. Visiting Birmingham and just needed some simple clean food that isn't a chain restaurant and found this little place. Counter order with table service, this obviously family run shop has great, authentic food. I judge a place by its tabouli and I didn't get any on this visit but rest assured that all other items were good enough to warrant a return visit next time in Birmingham. The pita was extraordinary; fluffy moist and soft. I had the salad sampler and a side of shawarma. Came with hummus, red cabbage, white cabbage, spicy carrots, and beets. I was a bit disappointed to get 2 kinds of cabbage but no tabouli but I suffered through eating it all. The carrots were garlicky and spicy and delicious, the shawarma was moist and not dried out like some places. Just a good place with good food and good service. read more

Finally good middle eastern food in birmingham! Everywhere else has failed me (pita stop, nabeels, tazikis, zoes, purple onion) All ingredients were so fresh. Falafel was perfectly crunchy outside and soft in the inside. Sauces and hummus were great. Baklava is different than most baklava you would have but it was great. read more

GREAT food and friendly staff. I appreciated the well-curated menu. Beef kebabs were cooked to perfection - moist and flavorful. Homemade hummus, soft pita bread, and carrots tossed with lemon & spices made for delicious sides. Make sure you save room for dessert! read more

Great food. Nice atmosphere. First, the pita bread...the best pita bread I've ever tasted...It is not your typical pita bread. It is thick and soft. The pita sandwich I had was stuffed with a pile of rotisserie chicken and creamy humus. It was very good. Second, the fries...homemade and really good fries. I also had the carrot salad and it was also very delicious. The only con was I thought it was a little pricey. However, it is very good. It is definitely your typical middle eastern restaurant. I recommend it. read more

This is a terrific Israeli restaurant that would appeal to anyone who enjoys fresh, delicious food. We're very lucky to have it in the middle of Alabama! We enjoyed the Vegetarian platter--with perfect falafel, hummus, baba ganouj, red cabbage, and quinoa tabouleh--hence, all gluten free! happy day, important to me. And delicious shakshuka. The accompanying Israeli wines were delicious too; and the two of us loved our lavish but clean and fresh dinner for less than $30. read more

Close to where my wife works and I have eaten there about 4 times with her--- all pretty good experiences (but not exceptional)---but pricey for what you get--you could eat in an actually nicer place for the same money--maybe not that type of food----I can make or buy locally elsewhere a falafel just as good (or better) for less--still I will recommend if you are looking for Mid-Eastern food just you could have a nice steak w/sides at Logan's for less money than a falafel plate. read more

Try the combo if you are unsure of what to get. The pita bread was fresh and homemade. Loved both sauces.

I tried the vegetarian plate because it had a variety of food. Other than the cabbage on it, it was really good. I have been there several times and it has always been good. All of the food is fresh and tastes really good. read more

Excellent food. Everything seems to be of very good quality. The food seems fresh, pure and not too greasy. While the food may be a bit less spicy than elsewhere, I think it benefits from being more naturally flavorful. A little pricey, but great food. read more

Delicious! Had a chicken kabob and the vegetarian platter - all fresh and yummy- and staff is super helpful and friendly.

Some out of town friends stopped by and brought take out to us for dinner. It was fabulous! The best pita bread ever and great humus. We had lamb and chicken kabobs plus tabbouleh. The platters were loaded and we had plenty for lunch the next day. I'll be back! read more

This place is a hidden gem. The food was excellent as was the service. I really enjoyed my dinner. Thank you!

Great eatery! Have enjoyed most all dishes on the menu. Friendly staff and great service. Go there for at least one meal every day.

Simply the best Israeli/Middle Eastern fare in Birmingham. Fresh is the operative word here. They bake their own pita. They make their own hummous. Their Israeli salad is a fresh blend of diced vegetables. The meat is organic and the tahini sauce is my favorite. You MUST get the falafel. It is a perfect combination of crisp exterior and moist interior - very flavorful. If I'm passing anywhere close to Eli's I go in to eat, its that simple. read more

Most authentic Israeli food in Birmingham. Fresh, tasty and a great variety at affordable prices. Very family friendly but also great for adults. The chicken shawarma and chicken schnitzel are my favorites and along with creamy hummus and fluffy pita you can't go wrong! read more

I've visited them about 5 or 6 times now and always order the same thing, Beef/Lamb Shawarma. Is has been consistently great and the service has always been great as well. My go to Mediterranean on 280. read more

Had the chicken shawarma and it was kind of dry and slightly flavorless. Hummus was good. I might come back and try the beef. I probably should have order the beef because some people told me the beef was good. Food was a little pricy though. read more

Best Mediterranean food in Birmingham area!! Drive past if for months without trying then stopped in one day by myself. Was blown away by the food quality. Now it's a regular lunch spot. read more

Fantastic food and great service! I was highly impressed that Eli's offered organic, non-GMO, authentic middle Eastern cuisine. The atmosphere was great, service top notch, and the price was well below what should've been charged. Recommend this place for sure! read more

Eli's did a catering event at my work and it was fantastic!! Delicious couscous, rice, and chicken kabobs that were absolutely perfect for the event. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to cater an event or wedding. read more