The butcher is also the cashier. The butcher cut oxtail for a customer went and checked them out then came back to cut more meat. She got out the meat, went to the back door- still same gloves, opened the door, stared out then came back in to finish cutting then grinding meat. I heard something muttered to another employee by her about "muchas moscas", although I didn't see any. The fresh ground lamb was $12.99/lb and same day down the street at NPP it was $9.99/lb The store is not very cool on a hot summer day. Given the warm room temp, I expected the glass case with the meats to be sweating if it was chilled? Idk Also no fresh breads or produce. Some refrigerated hummus and other dips available. I'm giving a second star only because she was very hard working. read more

If you need to cook middle eastern food with high quality ingredients, there is no better place. Their meet, lamb, chicken, beef, is the most qualitative meet you will find in San Digo. Grounded meet? no problem. They will grind it for us, thin or thick, as you like it, with or without your recipie spices, or no. read more

Ordered chicken from this place today and found multiple bugs/roach-like contamination inside the packaging. Thank God I always inspect and wash my chicken before cooking because this could've been really bad. I called and the response was basically 'bring it back and we'll replace it,' with no real concern about food safety. Honestly really disappointed and uncomfortable with how casually it was handled. Please be careful and always check your food. read more

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Da Real Deal Black Seed Oil I shop here for five reasons: 1) black seed oil, 2) Jerusalem olive oil, 3) whole coffee beans, 4) teas and 5) hard to find spices. Although this market offers a lot more to a variety of culture and diaspora cultures. The black seed oil is pressed every single day. It can't get more organic than that. Jerusalem olive oil is only sold here. Can't get more original than that. It's an all purpose oil in my home. I dip my bread in it with French sea salt. My hair is luxurious. My skin is radiant. My make-up is removed easily. And my DIY body scrub is buttery soft. No need to comment on customer service because every single customer is "the family." Prices are incredibly fair Hey you..reading this...you will be given immeasurably more than you can imagine. read more

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They have affordable Mediterranean products and the employees are friendly. But the neighborhood is a little sketchy and there's only street parking. read more

Mid east market 5 star food will come back again. Food is very very good quality. Fresh food. read more

The Mid East Market has all things Mediterranean/Middle East and somehow packs all that into a pretty small space given their selection. I love that they have not only one of everything you could possibly be looking for, but they have multiple brands of most items as well, so you can be sure to get your favorite. Dry goods out the wazoo, but also a huge selection of frozen and fresh prepared foods. The garlic spread that they make is to die for. Staff is so nice and will help you find anything you need. They are attentive enough to notice if you biked or walked in and then package up your goods to make it easier to get them home with your mode of transport. read more

Great little market. I've never been to a store that could pack so much stuff in such a little space. I'm not too familiar with everything I saw but enjoyed seeing the bulk spices and different foods. Definitely will go back. read more

I shop here for a friend who lives in another city that lacks any kind of Middle Eastern market. But this market tends to have anything she's looking for. And I will buy supplies for her before I drive back to her town. I also noticed the diversity of shoppers here. This store serves northern African, Middle Eastern, and east European cultures. It doesn't seem focused on the food of just one country. The staff is always friendly and helpful. Their customers seem polite and friendly too. read more

Great quality food and meat for locals and people like me. It's hard to find good Middle Eastern spices and ingredients; this place has it all. The owner is very helpful and patient, which is a plus in my book! read more

Looking for a good array of ethic foods and spices, and this joint delivered! Friendly staff and plenty to choose from, and prices seemed fair. Only issue I saw was parking is challenging, so be patient! read more

A great place to buy high quality goat meat and mideastern groceries. The staff are nice beyond description. Overall, a wonderful shopping experience, always! read more

This business owner sure knows how to pack the maximum amount of product into his shop! The refrigerated and frozen foodstuffs was filled with exotic (to me) items that I wish I could ask what/how they're used. SPICES, SPICES, SPICES!!!! I was in spice nirvana; everything from ground cardamom, whole cardamom, 7 Arabic spice, zaatar (red and green), suya, shawarma mixes, sumac & a whole lot of other spices I'm not familiar with is available, and in small quantities, so you're not stuck with a lot if you're not familiar with east/African and or middle eastern cuisine. I couldn't resist, so I purchased a bottle of camel milk, and they even have a small halal meat counter; I'm vegetarian, so I avoided the hooves and hard chicken (African cuisine(?)). I also purchased a darling stainless steel warmer for $9. I guess it's used for coffee, but I'm going to use it for hot water for my tea. There's an amazing fresh garlic spread the Owner (graciously) allowed me to sample. It's so good, I purchased 3 small containers, when I should've purchased 1 small and 1 large -- your breath will reek of garlic, but wow , it's amazing! Suggested use is in place of mayo and just as is on pita. If you like the fermented bread a lot of African places use as an edible plate, they have it at the checkout counter. Limited health/beauty products and bulk items -- they've got it! Like I said, an impressive and efficient use of every square inch. And it's pretty clean, too! No flies buzzing around. Parking can be a challenge; it's a blink and you miss it kinda place on the corner. All street parking was taken, so I chanced it and found a spot in the back. Please don't hesitate to pay this business a visit. There was so much to see that i wanted to take it all in and not take a bunch of pictures. read more

I have visited this market a couple of times to pick up Lamb Chops, pitas, and garlic spread. Now honestly I'm not sure if the lamb is really free range New Zealand as they say, but if it is, it's the best priced I have ever seen. Regardless, they taste delicious. I have gotten them twice and both times they were great. They have tons of spices and all kinds of other Middle Eastern rarities. Only street parking which could be difficult during prime hours. read more

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Merguez was disgusting, mealy and dry, it was the oddest consistency and tasted sour, steer clear if you want traditional Moroccan merguez. The market itself was nothing special. read more

Mid East Market - Not authentic if you're expecting Moroccan style, did not hold up on the grill and we tossed all 5 lbs a what waste of $$!! - Meat Shops Near Me - San Diego, California

At least, it DID get us in the door. But, word of advice, don't bother with the Groupon. His prices go higher if you pull out that Groupon. But come here anyway. As a regular customer, the owner will treat you well. An enjoyable ethnic experience, this humble, little neighborhood store, located in a very eclectic cultural area of San Diego, is devoted to Middle Eastern, Halal meats, foods, and dry goods. We came away with a couple of grocery bags laden with good cuts of lamb, ground lamb sausage, and various condiments. The butcher, whom I am assuming is the owner, brought a whole lamb out of cold storage and cut our chops to order. He explained the lamb comes from his farm in the nearby high country of Ramona, and is grass fed. We have yet to sample the meat. Some freshly cooked, warm half moon-shaped pastries were near the cashier. Better known as samosas, they came with three types of filling, beef, chicken, or vegetable. The beef was perfect, not spicy at all. The filling was very interesting, a rich green color from the parsley and peas, other spices and garlic, at $1 ea. The pastry dough was delicate and delicious. And the store's assistant, Karen, got as excited as we did when she noticed our interest. She is quite proud of their products. She took me around the store several times, introduced us to Lebneh, a dry yogurt that she recommended to eat with our samosas, also their homemade garlic spread, and the finely chopped green herbal mix and olive oil that is used to season the beef filling. They carry many different types of imported feta cheese which we were allowed to taste. Large buckets of seeds, grains, flours, beans, nuts, dates, lined up throughout the store. You can buy these in bulk rather than by the package. A very enjoyable experience. For those who live in the San Diego area, be sure to stop by. Bring your open mind, appetite and creative juices. And hopefully, they will share some of their culinary secrets with you. read more

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Amazing fresh meat is sold here with friendly service and good prices! I'm so happy to find them thanks to Yelp! I was craving some lamb chops but was a bit sick of eating out, so what do I do? I yelped for some halal meat in the area and found this. (Halal meat is one of the best meats I've tasted so I'm always on the look out for a halal restaurant or a halal meat market.) And voila I found this place! I went on a Sunday and found the meat display case empty! What!? Then Nazaar, the son of the owner, popped out from the kitchen behind and said they still sell meat on Sundays, it's just that they don't bring them out. So I asked for some lamb chops. He brought out a whole rack and asked me to come to the back and watch him slice it up with an ever so sharp electric meat cutter. He also said they raised their lamb in their own ranch in Escondido, all grass-fed too! The meat was never frozen, big plus! I went home, fired up the grill, put those babies on my cast iron pan, set off the smoke detector, smoked up the whole house, choked and coughed on the smoke, and finally got to try the chops. Wow, totally worth the hassle!!!! The meat was not gamy at all with very good lamb flavor and a delicate texture. I was like a ravenous lion tearing away the meat and fat from the bone with my teeth and fingers. My friend tried lamb for the first time and liked it too! I also got some pistachios from the market. Really good and fresh. I'm not a fan of the Turkish pistachios though. They taste a bit weird to me. Also bought some Karoun mint yogurt drink for my dessert. Yum! Can't wait to try their other cuts! read more

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Wow! I went for the first time today; I am so impressed with the quality of their lamb! It's not very common to find fresh -- never frozen -- lamb around here, but here it is, and it's 7alal! They also have plenty of delicious dried fruits, and natural nuts: cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts etc. Honey and Oil from (Jerusalem) 10/10 will shop here for the rest of my life in San Diego! read more

Mid East Market - 7alal Lamb - Meat Shops Near Me - San Diego, California

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My husband and I came down to check on this store to buy fresh halal lamb for Eid. It's a small store that is pretty tightly packed full of stuff. We got to the meat counter and there was nothing in the cases. We asked for lamb and also chicken thighs. The lady at the counter said she wasn't sure if they still had chicken left but would check. She came back and said they only had about 3 pounds. I took it, but by the time we got home and I opened the bag, there was definitely that "not so fresh" chicken smell. Raw chicken shouldn't have a smell if it's good. This had almost a strong gasoline smell, which means it's pretty far gone to me. I ended up tossing it out. I normally would have given one star, but the lamb was actually super fresh. I should have asked to smell the chicken first, but I don't know... to me, the smell was pretty strong so the lady that sold it to me should have known it was already bad before she put it in the bag for me and just not have sold it. read more

Super small store, limited offerings. Very messy in certain areas with some dusty, slow moving near-expiring products. Some prices are pretty high compared to other markets. Customer service was very kind and helpful. read more

Visited this market for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised. Its small, limited on some fruits and Veggies, however they have a wide variety of ethnic food and spices. I purchased fresh goat meat, some spices, dries fish for a west African dish, date cookies, and jamaican chicken patties. I loved the customer service and the fact that their meats are fresh. I will visit this market again. read more

Mid East Market - Meat Shops Near Me - San Diego, California

Best fresh goat in San Diego - the family owners and staff are fantastic. Butchering is amazing and always done with care. Checkout stand impulse buy of in house pita chips great as well. Thanks for serving our community with great kindness and respect read more

Came all the way here because I wanted to take my husband somewhere we can find some familiar food for him since he is new to the country. A Middle Eastern market was perfect for me to find everything I needed and couldn't find in a regular grocery store. We found some amazing dates that was perfect for Ramadan. They have a great selection of meat as well. Amazing market to find everything you need Middle Eastern. read more

Outstanding market! The variety of spices is huge indeed. I got the fenugreek I was missing from my spice cabinet. I also came here to buy fresh goat meat and a few hours later, my stomach was absolutely satisfied. I read another review on here that said this market sources its meat from Poway, so no wonder it's always so fresh. What really caught my attention and got me to visit this market was the Vietnamese sign outside that said "thit de tuoi", meaning "fresh goat meat". Now that part of El Cajon Boulevard is named Little Saigon, I think this is a very inclusive welcome sign. It got me hooked for sure! read more

When I first came across Mid East Market's Toum at the Hillcrest Farmer's Market, the staff scared me away from coming into the actual market after I mentioned I am vegan. They made it sound like the market was a nightmare scene of bloody corpses hanging from hooks visible from all vantage points. But then a vegetarian friend implored me to go, promising the word-picture laid out by the off-site staff was overly dramatic. While there is a notable butcher counter in the back, the store is dominated by clean and organized shelves stocked with imported canned and dry goods from the Middle East, India, and Africa. A beautiful selection of dates, spices (like Ethiopian berbere, Moroccan Ras el hanout, and Syrian ground Aleppo pepper), housemade toum and babaganoush (dairy free!), bulk flours, nut (including $7.99 lb raw cashews), and olives. The staff was friendly in the very best, non-intrusive, manner making me eager to become a regular customer. read more

Mid East Market - Bulk Flours - Meat Shops Near Me - San Diego, California

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Great place to try out thanks to a Groupon for $30 for $50 worth of lamb chops and/or lamb sausages. The staff was very friendly and helpful. For the Groupon, we got about 10 lamb chops, and they threw in some free lamb sausages for us to try. We grilled both the next night, and they were both very fresh and good. The lamb was fatty, too, so it had a lot of flavor. I liked the flavor of the sausage, but there were too many whole pieces of things in it to my liking. There were some small pieces of tendon/bone, but on the plus side, there were also whole pieces of garlic. This store is really cute and sells many items for a good price, like lentils, garlic spread, cheeses, and baklava. The meat prices were also very reasonable. The lamb chops run at market price ($12.99/lb at the time), and the lamb sausages were $7.99/lb. I will definitely pick up some more lamb if I'm back in the neighborhood. read more

Mid East Market - halal meat menu - Meat Shops Near Me - San Diego, California

A great mid East market that has many specialties that you can't find other places. The reason I went there was looking for Halal chicken. I bought a whole chicken and it was the best chicken I've ever had. Seriously I don't think I'll be buying chicken anywhere else ever again. read more

Found these guys at the Little Italy Farmers Market this past Saturday... Amazing spread... Took the black olive spread and the parsley chive spread, a half cup of mayo, a generous amount of Cavender's Seasoning and four cans of tuna (wish I had fresh caught) and mixed it together. I then cored out 4 tomato's, stuffed them, and baked at 350 for about 45 minutes... Amazing.... I can not wait to get more to further experiment!!!!!!!! You guys sure did make an amazing product! Thank you. read more

A lot of items on the shelf in this grocery store are already expired months ago. In fact today i bought cream cheese that is made by them, and it was produced 5 days ago according to the label, and guess what ? It tastes rotten and apparently expired ! also months ago i ordered Sambosa from them, and guess what again? The cheese Sambosa had black mold! Disgusting !! This is unacceptable!! Im done with them!! read more

So I just want to say thank you for all the generous help I received coming here! Such nice people! I'm not Muslim but my husband is and I'm trying to learn how to respect my husband religion and cook and buy the right food and this place has it for sure! Even if you weren't coming for halal meat, it is still amazing quality! Honey is the owner who always helps me and very sweet whenever I ask him a question. Thank you guys! read more

Perfect location for your Middle Eastern needs, groceries that is. They carry a wide variety of groceries from both the Middle East as well as the far east. You will not be disappointed! There is a moderate amount of parking, but you may have challenges during certain times of the day when it gets crowded, or if there is a lot of traffic. The staff is friendly, and can help you navigate when you're needing to find something particular! read more

The best middle eastern market in San Diego. They have everything !!! Support local biz

This market is excellent for fresh grass fed goat, lamb, and beef. They also make organic black seed oil which has amazing health benefits. Met the owner who helped recommend what cuts of meat to get based on what I planned on making. Cooked up the goat in a curried stew and could taste the freshness. If you eat paleo this market should be your local go to spot! read more

We live just down the street from this place, so we count ourselves lucky that we can walk here anytime we want. The family that runs this market is very kind and makes the best homus, baba ghanoush, and sauces with fresh veggies and herbs. Great selection of Middle Eastern spices for when we are itching to cook at home. Also, fresh Bulgarian cheese! read more

The local lamb is hands down the BEST lamb I've ever had in my life. I've made leg of lamb, dishes with ground lamb, and rack of of lamb and they've been incredible every time. It's local and humanely raised meat which is super important to me. Oh and the eggs! They have wonderful eggs! And today I found out I can get my thanksgiving turkey from them! And it's also local and humanely raised - I can't wait! While I go mostly for the meat, they also have a great variety of spices, the feta is lovely, and the dips are good too. Truly though, if you care about humane, grass fed, healthy, local animal meat, do yourself a favor and check these guys out! read more

Are you looking for hard to find Middle Eastern foods both prepared and ready to prepare then this is the hidden treasure for you. Wonderful helpful staff halal foods.A wonderful reasonable find is Shea butter white solid in plastic containers in the beauty section also I bought an Xtra large metal Tpot with built in strainer spout for $20.you need spices for masala tea you can find them here.its good to look around this large store first.And yes they have fresh baklava daily prepared by the wife of the owner. Enjoy this hidden gem of Middle Eastern food items. Its a place you will return to again and again!!! read more

Great market to shop at and the best place to get meat, especially there lamb and goat.

Amazing amazing amazing! This place truly sells halal meats. The owner butchers the animals himself. PLEASE be very careful with other grocery stores that claim to sell Halal meats. They also sell authentic and delicious homemade samosas and other Middle Eastern delights. Speaking of samosas, Middle Eastern samosas are delicious and this market sells one of the best that I've ever tasted. read more

This place is great. Walking in you feel like you left City Heights/San Diego and walked in to a corner market near the Tigris. A full butcher shop in the back for lamb addicts like myself, with a large freezer to pick up some for later. Also has small amenities like tea sets and hookahs. Plenty of spices and foods from all over the Mid-East. Even a music section. I foresee many great meals at my house to be made from ingredients purchased here. They take card, too. read more

One word: MERGUEZ I got hooked on this spicy-cinnamon-lamb sausage when living in Germany where I found it at most Halal butchers. It's about twice as much here but MAN it is way better than what I was used to! Fragrant, hot, and you can see all the fresh chopped up spices inside. I can't afford it on the regular but what a fantastic treat! This place also has a great selection of different flours in bulk which is essential for my wimpy gluten-sensitive stomach! I can't wait to come back and poke around more. read more