Visited this Escondido location recently and had a very pleasant experience. Food was excellent and the service Citlalli provided was even better. Everything came out in a timely manner. Citlalli really made our first experience excellent. Try the chicken kabob and the chicken pesto panini, highly recommend. read more

A friend recommended this place, I ordered the meat lover, very big portions enough for two people. Our server citlalli was attentive. Everything was very fresh and tasted good. read more

Genuinely, the best food I've had in San Diego. Period. It's a scratch kitchen, and I don't know how to explain it, but everything tastes so, so fresh. Even the croutons taste like they made the bread and toasted it right before serving. I was expecting to wait a long time to be served since it's a scratch kitchen, but we're always served a bit faster than we expect. The portions are very generous, especially for the reasonable prices (around $20 for each entree dish). It always gives us two very hearty meals, one in person and one at home, which becomes about $10 per meal. They have some the best falafel I've ever had, and that includes the falafels I've had traveling in Palestine. We've also had their chicken kabob platter, and the pesto pasta with chicken. (Don't let the plate fool you, that dish is deep and still renders two to three portions.) We're actively fighting over the leftovers of that one. I usually don't even like artichoke hearts, but they tasted amazing in this dish. There's plenty of seating, it always feels like a very elevated date. I was surprised at how reasonable the prices were given how nice the place looks. They're gonna see our faces a lot more often! read more

Panini Kabob Grill - Pesto pasta with chicken, side of ceasar salad, and chicken kabob platter - Middle Eastern Near Me - Escondido, California

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The service was good. They brought the drinks out relatively fast. The also brought out the food in a timely manner. We recommend the Combo Platter. It's comprised of their different hummus with pita and panini bread along with falafel. For the main course, I got the Steak Panini. It was delicious but a small bitter after taste but nothing distasteful! Definitely recommend it. I'll have to try their kebabs next time! read more

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We love this place. We went for a Saturday lunch, got a table on the patio right away and started out nicely. The waiter was nice, but he left for his break, which he warned us about, then after a little while, a waitress brought our food. My order was wrong. I ordered salmon but got chicken. She did not come back to check on us at all, so I just ate the chicken. The food was good as usual. The caesar salad was a bit too much drenched in bland mayo dressing for me. Our drinks were not refilled, and the glasses were empty. I could see the waitress and the other waiter chatting inside. The waitress came back to clear the plates after a while, so I told her my order was wrong. She checked the menu and said I saved two dollars. I would have rather eaten what I wanted to eat although it was $2 more. I didn't ask for a refund or anything, and thought this was a very poor handling of the problem of their end. She definitely needs more training because our dining experience counts on these servers. This place has a nice ambiance, good food, competitive pricing, but always has poor service. At least when we have been there multiple times. Hopefully, next visit may be better. read more

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After checking out an attraction in the area, we were looking for a lunch spot that was open early. I hopped on the trusty Yelp app and came across Panini Kabob Grill. Located right outside the Escondido Mall, parking is easy in the large free parking lot that surrounds the mall. Ambiance (4/5): Pretty much your standard casual Mediterranean restaurant. It's pretty spacious, too. We were seated at a booth. They have some funny artwork on the walls. We sat behind a cool dog painting. Service (4/5): Overall good service. A bit slow (I had to get the waitress' attention to close out, but she was friendly. She tried to get us to order some hummus. It was a no-go for me as my sandwich came with hummus. Drinks (3/5): I had their homemade strawberry lemonade. A little too tart for my taste but I appreciated that they make it in-house. Food (4/5): I went with the chicken wrap which comes with chicken shish kabob, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and tzatziki sauce in a flour or spinach tortilla. It's served with a choice of two different salads and a side of hummus. Perfect for lunch! I was impressed with how fresh and crisp the veggies are. They pride themselves on serving healthy food and you can taste it with the produce. The chicken was a little dry (it could have been juicier with more seasoning) but still a solid wrap. read more

Located outside the North County Mall near the food court. They have indoor and outdoor seating. Our server was very friendly and helpful. We started with a basket of bread that came with artisan bread and pita bread. We ordered a side of tzatziki sauce (one for each of us). The pita bread was not as soft as I prefer it and the tzatziki was more sour than I'm used to but I really enjoyed the artisan bread. I ordered the Chicken Shish Kabob plate with Mediterranean salad and basmati rice. It was a very large portion and everything tasted good and fresh. The chicken was cooked perfectly. I would definitely order it again. read more

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First time at this location. Friendly and fast service! The prices are amazing for a sit-down restaurant that is fresh and health-friendly. I ordered both the chicken and beef kabobs plate which comes with your choice of salad and rice. Be careful when ordering the bread basket ($6) and the appetizer combo platter ($15), it will feed a big group of eight and you will get full and will have left overs! The appetizer combo comes with all 3 hummus specialties, caprese, and tzatziki. Vegetarian entries and affordable family meals are available, the kabobs were soft and fresh off the grill. Our big party had no complaints! read more

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It was a pleasure to eat here. They gave us free bread as appetizers. (Pita bread and regular bread) I reccomend the tea, for your drink. The lemonade is fresh and hand squeezed. The food was delicious! It was soft and they gave us the perfect amount. I am very excited to eat here again. Definitely recommend! read more

Panini Kabob Grill - Restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - Escondido, California

Located at the back of North County Fair Mall, or now Mershops. I do not know if there is a direct entrance from when you are inside the mall, but it is next to 24 Hour Fitness (which I heard is closing down?!) Large restaurant with plenty of seating inside & out. Friendly & quick service. My dad came here for a quick snack so decided to split the Beef Koobideh Kabob: 1 skewer, served with salad, rice & tzatziki. Omg, the kabob was so darn good! Juicy & so flavorful. It is a bit pricey so good thing we shared! read more

So happy to see that opened a Panini Kabob in this area. We have a ton in OC where we live and always love dining in. The quality of food is great and the service was great as well. Each location they make look very much alike as well. They have indoor and outdoor seating area. This will be our pit stop now when visiting the wild animal park. read more

Panini Kabob Grill - Chicken Wrap with Mediterranean Salad - Middle Eastern Near Me - Escondido, California

I was excited when I saw they were opening a location right by us! If you park nearby the food court, its right next to the stairs. Nicely decorated and pretty clean. One bummer is that this location doesn't have the Ka-Boxes as listed on the Panini Kabob main website. We came here with one of our friends who were expecting, and it took forever for the food to come out. I got the Charbroiled Chicken Shish Kabob and paid extra for the strawberry date salad on the side. Everything was delicious. It was just the wait took super long. We probably would come again, but not as keen if we're super hungry! Takeout also took forever when we tried to order, though we did that during the time they opened. read more

Still the same quality from another one of their locations! My favorite is their chicken kebab, but you honestly cant go wrong with any of their choices. Also, a little secret tip, get their tirmamisu! Surprisingly, it's one of the best I've had, despite being from a non-Italian place! read more

Food: I ordered 3 large appetizers & a salad for clients & they looked great. Service: efficient and professional Ambiance: this was take out read more

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I absolutely love this place. It is my go-to spot and I eat here almost every week. I usually order takeout through their website, and the process is always smooth and efficient. My food is consistently ready on time, which makes it super convenient. Highly recommend! The restaurant itself is sterile and in my opinion doesn't have an ambiance. Unless you're grabbing a a casual meal with a friend, I'd stick to takeout. read more

Delicious food and reasonable prices. This is a beautiful new restaurant people of Escondido and surrounding areas need to check this out. I ordered the falafel appetizer as my meal. So delicious and alot of food for under 11.00. Bonus is it's attached to the Mershop Mall take a walk inside after your meal. Went in on a early Sunday afternoon, they were not very busy. But could have been because there was a football game on. Quick service, pleasant environment with inside and outside seating. read more

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Met another couple for lunch at the Escondido location. Service was a little slow, they seemed to have a light staff for lunch midweek. Ten minutes after getting some water, we had to go find someone to give our lunch order to since no one came back to take our order. 15 minutes after order we were getting served. Two of our orders were salads with protein on them along with One Salmon and one Lamb Kabob lunch. We also got a cup of Lentil Soup to try it. The lentil soup was delicious. The lunch portions were great. The lamb was a little over cooked and dry. The flavors were excellent on all our dishes. We had to flag someone down to get more water and to get our final bill to pay. We enjoyed the location, Ambiance and food taste/quality except for the dry lamb. read more

We've been waiting a year for this to open!! Nice to have a new comer to Escondido!! It's a casual place with indoor and outdoor dining area. Basic and clean decor. Service was very new... so please try to give a little Grace to the workers. They are trying to get into the groove of things. Food was amazing! Kudos to the chefs- large portions for a good price and many options to meet your taste. This fit into my Mediterranean diet. Alcohol is also offered. We can't wait to go back. Welcome to Escondido!! read more

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The restaurant had a nice atmosphere and the food tasted decent, but the service was extremely slow throughout the entire visit. It took a long time just to place our order, and we waited even longer for the food to arrive. Drinks were not refilled often, and it felt like the staff was overwhelmed or unorganized. While the employees were polite, the overall experience became frustrating because of the delays. I understand busy nights happen, but the wait times were much longer than expected and made the dining experience less enjoyable overall for our table read more

Second time this week. It's just soooo good!!! For two people: Total 4 sodas in can, extra basmati, side of pita bread, kubideh two skewers $20 and Meat lovers $26.99 chicken and beef Kubideh. Everything was delish! Service was great, place is clean and ambiance is great too read more

I have eaten in Panini Kabob Grill at different locations and each has maintained the food quality at different locations in Del Mar, Mission Valley, and Escondido. I love the different choices of dishes for vegetables and meat. The service is great, fast serving, servers are courteous and knowledgeable. The ambiance is pleasant with low notice and classic decor. I recommend this to my friends. read more

The food is delicious at Panini Kabob. The service was friendly and fast. We ordered and received the food fast. I enjoyed sitting by the window, they have outside sitting also but it was cool so we sat inside. Great place to eat delicious Kabob. read more

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With nearly 30 locations throughout California, Panini Kabob Grill recently opened their newest location in Escondido at the North County Mall! I checked it out and was really impressed. The restaurant itself is stunning. Stepping inside you wouldn't think you're at the mall, not that there's anything wrong with that. Although they've only been open for a few weeks, the service and staff all seemed dialed in and professional. I ordered the Beef Koobideh Kabob plate from their selection of Mediterranean Entrees. It comes with basmati rice and Greek salad. The portions were plentiful and beautifully presented on the plate. Everything was hot and delicious. It's evident they're working with quality ingredients that are thoughtfully prepared. After studying their menu, I cannot wait to return and try some new things. Highly recommended. read more

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Our second visit was less impressive. The five shrimp on the $23.00 "Wild Caught Jumbo Shrimp Kabob" were 21-25 size, not jumbo. The Caesar salad had horrible stale croutons and was served with no dressing. I asked for dressing and received a cup of some kind of creamy herbed dressing, not Caesar. The rice was cold and bland, and the yellow stuff on top had no taste. I estimate the cost to build this dish was at most $4.00 for the shrimp and maybe another $1.00 for the salad and rice. So, $23.00 for $5.00 worth of food with little redeeming value. The chicken on the $20.00 "Charbroiled Chicken Shish Kabob" was nicely charred, but was fairly chewy and tastless inside. As with the shrimp dish, the rice was cold and bland. Another poor value. My solution to the cold and bland rice was to cut up the veggies from the skewers and mix them into the rice, making it all quite tasty with a little of the red hot sauce they have if you ask for it. The $18.00 "Steak Panini" had tasty beef, but precious little of it: I took half home and weighed the beef and it was only 1.5 ounces. It was supposed to be topped with Provolone and Persian pickles, but the cheese was melted under it into the bread, and there were no pickles. So, $18.00 for but 3 ounces of beef, two slices of bread, and a decent if limp salad. Not a good value at all. The $15.00 "Appetizer Combo Platter" was good, with the falafel balls being the star. There were three types of hummus but all tasted the same to me. The pita bread was, I swear, the same manufactured stuff you can buy at the grocery store even though the place claims to be a "True Scratch Kitchen". The menu also frequently uses the term "homemade". Did somone make those items in a home and bring them to the restaurant? Isn't the correct term "housemade"? read more

New spot that just opened at the mall after a long renovation. We came with high hopes, but the food was pretty mediocre. The newly built restaurant is clean but not welcoming. The entry feels weird and confusing. The service was strange, I assume because they were training. The chicken was very dry and bland, but the salads were nice. We paid to upgrade them to date salads. The falafel was flavorful and pretty good but the overall sentiment was "meh". Perhaps they will improve as they settle into a groove. We will try again in a few months. read more

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First time visit was great! It had a slow start since there wasn't a hostess outside but after that, smooth sailing. Sam served us and was super friendly and accommodating. We ordered the Chicken, Koobideh (ground beef) and Flat Iron Steak skewers which included choice of rice and salad. My chicken was so juicy and I loved the lemon dressing on the Romaine Avocado salad. Everyone else loved their dishes too; had good texture and flavors as well. Restaurant is new, nice and clean. Loved all the framed photos around the entire place. Will be back! read more

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I came to this kebab shop for the first time and the food itself was fine. However, I experienced an incident with one of the staff that I felt was inappropriate. When i first walked in i wasn't greeted by the staff , no hello, welcome in, or ill be right with you, While I was wearing workout clothes (shorts and a sports bra) -- perfectly reasonable for a post-workout visit, mind you there is a 24 hour fitness literally next door -- an employee (Her name is Carmen) made an unsolicited comment about my body, telling me I was "displaying everything" and that I "could see it." This was the first comment i was greeted with. No, : "hi can I help you?" I wasn't asked to be judged by my outfit. I wasn't looking for her opinion. The audacity. This was uncomfortable and unnecessary. I reported the incident to the manager, who handled it professionally. On the positive side, other staff were kind and respectful, including a waitress who complimented my outfit. Overall, I hope the management addresses this type of behavior so that all customers feel respected when visiting. Needless to say i am sorry to say i will not be coming back. read more

Amazing food and options!! Their Rigatoni Rosa is a delicious cheese marinara sauce pasta, and their appetizer items are very good! I especially reccomend their strawberry date salad!! As someone who doesn't love salads, this one I would get any time! The manager was very sweet and served us personally, we chatted with him when it was mostly clear right when they opened, and the atmosphere is very clean and warm and friendly!! A great family place read more

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My review is based on the service and the waitress's attitude. My point is that you give them tips for their hospitality and customer service, otherwise I can eat at home and cook my own delicious food. Going out to eat specially with bunch of old friends, is all about having a good time, relax and enjoy. But not with Citlalli as our waitress. To every single person in the group she was absoultey unprofessional and rude. So we asked for a different waitress. But, she already ruined my mood and that, to me, was unacceptable. Just my feedback to the management of that location. read more

Exceptional service, quality, and portions in a family friendly environment!! Lamb was top notch along with juicy chicken and sides prepare to perfection. My next go- to restaurant when I'm in North County. read more

This place was very good! The food was delicious and came out quickly. The inside is also styled very nicely. The only critique I have is that the manager looked very stressed and was putting that on the employees. They weren't even that busy at the time and the manager looked rushed and panicked. Take deep breaths and know it's not that big of a deal. The customers can wait. read more

A must try! We had the salmon and chicken with spinach tortilla. One with chicken soup and the other with a Mediterranean salad as a side. Everything was tasty and the tortillas were nicely grilled. Samantha was our server who was very attentive and friendly. Prices are reasonable and afterwards you can walk off your meal in the mall. Will definitely return! read more

I had the pleasure of working with LaDan Nasseri from the Panini Kabob Grill catering department, and I cannot speak highly enough of her professionalism and attentiveness. She went above and beyond to assist me with my catering order for an important event, ensuring everything was planned perfectly. LaDan's exceptional service and genuine willingness to help made the entire process smooth and stress free. Thank you, LaDan, for your outstanding support. I truly appreciate it and look forward to working with you again. read more

Panini Kebab is consistently one of my go-to spots. The food is always fresh, flavorful, and comes out quickly. Their kabobs are perfectly cooked, the portions are generous, and you can tell they use quality ingredients. The staff is friendly and attentive, and the restaurant is always clean and well-run. So glad they came to Escondido. Whether it's a quick lunch or a casual dinner, this place never disappoints. Highly recommend! read more

I've been here 10x, tonight was extra special as me and 30 other friends celebrated my 50th birthday. Thank you for the great service , great food. Special shout out to Sam our server who is the best. read more

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Chicken Pesto Linguini was outstanding. All the food was delicious, though it took over 30 minutes (kabobs, panini sandwich and hummus trio). Front area was understaffed and not trained properly. There needs to be a greeter at the front door. Male trainer attending Josclyn's tables while on break was friendly and followed-up on quality of our entrees. Bus people and servers should make trips worthwhile by removing plates when finished. There was no flow or organization. Good to see an expeditor working the kitchen window. He was on it because our food was hot and presentation outstanding. We will return and hope the staff learns efficiency (they were patient and kind). read more

Excellent service and high-quality food--a truly lovely place. Server named Sam: her attitude and attentiveness at every moment--always accompanied by a smile--were excellent, from the moment I arrived until the moment I left. I will definitely return, as I absolutely loved both the place and the service.... read more

Tried this place today for lunch and were pleasantly surprised. The decor and ambiance of the restaurant is really nice and looks very clean. My husband got a combo Kebob plate and I got the spicy shrimp linguini, both with a side salad. Food tasted good, but could have done with a tad more flavor. Next time I will also get the salad dressing on the side as it was a bit much. Portions were a good size for the price. Staff were friendly. I would definitely go back again. read more

LOVED IT! Tried this place for the first time tonight and it was great! I came in after the gym, wanted to see how it was... saw mixed reviews, which seems normal for a place that just opened, but the food was great. Everyone was very nice and friendly. Two gentleman helped me, recommended some of their favorites, and the food I got to go came out super fast! Definitely 5 stars! Definitely will be back again.! Looks like they've found their groove so can't wait to try more of their food soon!! I got the combo kabob read more

Panini Kabob Grill - Combo Kabob - Middle Eastern Near Me - Escondido, California

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I really LOVE this place (we go to the location in Mission Valley); the food is consistently EXCELLENT, & prices are on scale with other My only "complaint" is that the service can be a bit slow, but then again, it encourages us to slow down, sit back, relax, & enjoy the dining. I have introduced friends & family to this place & so far, everyone has enjoyed it as well! read more