I recently tried Sahara's Lebanese Grill on Central for takeout and it was fantastic. Everything…read morewas packaged well and still hot when I got home. I ordered the grilled chicken plate with yellow rice, hummus, pita, falafel, and a side salad. The chicken was juicy and paired perfectly with the seasoned rice. The hummus was super smooth and creamy, and the pita was warm and soft. The falafel had a nice crisp outside with a flavorful center. Even the simple salad tasted fresh and balanced out the plate nicely. Overall the portion size was generous and the flavors were spot on. For carryout, the quality held up really well and everything tasted fresh. I'll definitely be back when I'm craving Mediterranean food.

What a find. Group of four went for lunch. Woman at counter greeted us warmly and encouraged us to…read morepurchase the pistachio chocolate sitting invitingly next to the register. We ate it later and it was amazing. Everyone ordered something different to eat. Service was prompt and friendly. Food was fresh, flavorful and freaking amazing. Best meal we've had in our week visiting Albuquerque. Highly recommended!

Absolutely Devine! The Baba ganoush was soooo creamy and flavorful! Got the vegetarian plate 2. I…read morenormally don't love falafels but these were so soft and good. Omg the bread was awesome. Highly recommend stop. They were quick. Kind staff. Clean bathrooms.

Been passing this place for decades and finally decided to go inside and try the food. Food was…read moreterrific - four of us ordered different things, and everyone liked what they ordered: stuffed eggplant, lamb kabob sandwich, shawarma combo, and a vegetarian plate No. 2. All tasty. You order at the counter and they bring it out when it is ready. Nice job with original artwork inside and outside. Recommended.

overall 3.75/5 the food was fresh and very nicely presented. my only lack of in opinion was the…read moremenu was very small. as well as the reviews on the page isn't current at all. the menu there vs online is different. it's alot smaller. the wraps were great the hummus was okay, the fries were gross they were the plainest general fry you can eat. the place is very pretty, clean, welcoming and a great place to be in, when i went with my friend we were the only two people there. they did tell us though that they are expanding there menu so in a in some time it can be changed and maybe that will have different taste and or recipes as well

I got a falafel sandwich here recently as takeout. It was fine, but underwhelming. Granted, I am…read morepicky about the flavor and texture of my falafels. These were lacking in flavor. Fine for a quick dinner, which is what I needed, but I've had better for sure. They are located in a cute little complex on Silver Ave. that feels like an old house, so it would be worth dining in.

A-frickin'-mazing!!…read more Got the chicken shwarma and gyro wrap. The meat in both was amazing and the tzatziki and garlic sauce together (one from each dish) made both dishes twice as good! Mix and match these sauces for the best experience!!

Mazaya Cafe is a cute, cozy spot tucked away in the Bricklight district. The interior is warmly lit…read moreand filled with comfortable booths. Stepping into the restaurant, you feel insulated from the noise and sunlight of the street. The food is excellent, easily some of the best Mediterranean food in the area. The menu has a range of options for meat lovers, vegetarians, and vegans. My personal favorite was the falafel plate!

Food was amazing! It was a busy time of day and the young man waited on me the same way he did…read moreeveryone else. The food was fresh, service was excellent! That mint tea - oh my goodness! I know I'll get that again.

One of the best middle eastern restaurants in Albuquerque. Shawarma's falafels and plates are well…read moredone. The taste, smell and feel of the Middle East is Alquds! I've had almost everything from the menu and have never been disappointed. Alquds is my go to since I live in the northeast heights.

This was exactly what we were looking for: great Mediterranean food with lots of vegetarian options…read morein a low key environment. The staff were friendly and helpful. You should go here.

Great spot for Mediterranean food! I got the chicken souvlaki pita, and the pita is warm and soft,…read moretzatziki is nice and garlicky. The skewers were still in my chicken, which I'm not sure if that's how it usually is, but biting into two different wooden sticks was not a great experience. The side salad is good, but the chips unfortunately weren't great. They ended up being pretty greasy and still kind of soggy. Prices are super reasonable though, and we had a great time. Would definitely still return!

The first order I got from the great Greek was really awesome. The presentation of the food was…read morebeautiful and professional. What was even better was the taste of both the Gyro and the feta fries. As you can see from the photo the Gyro was stuffed full of meat and other goodies while the feta fries were plentiful and all covered with sauce and seasonings. Absolutely delicious. I can't comment on the ambience because I got delivery, as usual. But the delivery went smoothly, and as stated above, the presentation of the food was stellar. I also had a second order from them about six weeks later that I ordered with several friends. Again, the food's presentation was appealing, and the food was great. My friends also indicated that their salad and Mediterranean sampler were delicious. I will definitely be ordering from them again, and I don't think you'll be disappointed if you do the same.

This was a bee to us place to try. They are not a local place but a franchise from what I gathered…read more The food was pretty good but the service was incredibly slow. Having the brewery across the street and lots of door dash orders meant that dining in orders took a lot longer than we anticipated. It would be great to have some blinds for the hot afternoon sun, every seat was in the sun and hot. We also had to go back to the counter to ask for our baklava that they didn't bring out to us.

We found a very mixed bag at the original Menaul outlet of El Chamo Arabe today. Food is tasty and…read moreplentiful for the toll. Service is fine, if not welcoming. The room is pretty but overly warm and reeks of grease. And there were some additional cleanliness issues. I want to return for the food, but if the other issues aren't addressed it may be the last time. Tons of grease smoke hanging in the air (the kitchen needs more serious ventilation - I texted and warned a friend not to come, as she hates the smell of cooking grease in her hair) when we came in at the early end of lunch (the place filled up pretty well behind us - it's Tuesday). It's a nice enough room (loved the painting of Bolívar and the Venezuelan tchotchkes in the case by the door) with plenty of seating - grab and read a menu, order at the front - it prompts you for a tip (went on the heavier side even with the counter ordering because I want El Chamo Arabe to stay around) and the counterwoman (not the friendliest person, but not rude) delivers everything to your table when it's ready (which will be a minute - but you're not here for _fast_ food). The room is pleasantly decorated but overly warm and - well, there's that grease smell issue: it was bad enough that we had to change clothes after eating here. Okay, prices seem reasonable. But when the food comes, prices seem downright _good_ - these folks give you a LOT of food. We got a $5 dolmas appetizer to start (juicier than what one usually finds; quite good) which came with the grape leaf rolls sitting on a pretty tasty dressed salad. We sure didn't need it, though: our mains (a shwarma plate with gyro meat and an arepa picada with one of chicken and one of beef) were really large. Really large. And it's tasty food. Enormous salads with both $14 plates: dressed well with great, fresh romaine leaves cut just right for easy eating. I'd note with some surprise that both the shredded chicken and beef on the arepas were pretty tasty, but was surprised to find the chicken grabbed me more. There is habañero salsa (albeit in a greasy bottle) on the tables if you need piquancy (why not? we're in New Mexico), and that was great. I'm not sure that the plentiful quantity of the mustard/ketchup (or was it Russian dressing?)/mayo sauce drowning of the arepa picada salad was a good thing. It was pretty, but it got to be a bit much for my taste down toward the bottom of it all - I'd ask for it lighter next time. The lunchmeat turkey and American-type cheese slice and perfectly cooked round fried egg certainly added to the salad, and the arepas themselves were a delight. My wife liked the rice and gyro meat and salad of her shwarma plate. Here's the thing: in addition to the grease-in-the-air situation, there were some cleanliness issues. The table where we sat (it was dead when we arrived, except for some waiting DoorDash drivers) hadn't been properly wiped and there were some old rice grains on it. The bottles of habañero and other salsas on the table were grimy and needed to have been wiped. The tray on which the silverware was brought to our table was greasy - repositioning it on the table to make room for our food made me want to wash my hands. And there was a hair (not ours) in the salad under my dolmas: I didn't mention to my wife because she would have stopped eating and I also didn't bring it up with the counterperson since the small restaurant was at that time full of lunching customers who didn't need to be troubled by hearing about it. And I know mistakes happen and I was not interested in a refund or apology; things happen. But I hope El Chamo Arabe customarily pays more attention to keeping things sanitary - the food is good enough that I want to come back and see. Food - 5 Service - 3 Atmosphere - 2 (lose the grease, fix the temperature and it's a 4) Cleanliness: 2 Value - ?

If I could give a zero I would. We placed an order for a chicken shawarma bowl and a beef shawarma…read morebowl with drinks. It came to over $40! This is for take out mind you. I asked her for a reminder buzzer to pick up when ready, and the girl claimed she gave it to my daughter. She did not. I went back to ask for it. She had to place a call to someone in the kitchen, in a separate building for my order number to get the right number. We sat down in the communal dining area for all the other mini restaurants there and waited over 20 minutes. I had gone back to see where the take out was. Finally I saw her bring it through the door from another location outside the food court. The chicken shawarma bowl was in the tray, but instead of the beef shawarma was a chicken shawarma wrap and cold French Fries. I told her she brought me the wrong order and begrudgingly she took it back outside to where she had brought it and 20 minutes later I got it. The bowl was 1/2 yellow rice, 1/2 romaine lettuce with almost no dressing and 3 of the skinniest sliced tomatoes I have ever seen and some cooked beef, very sparingly scattered on only the rice side of the bowl with a drizzle of a nondescript white dressing. My daughter was mostly done with hers when I got mine. I also orders the fried plantain side. It was 4 pieces, equivalent of one small plantain on one side of the cardboard serving boat and some shredded mozzarella on the other side! Now that is a bizarre combination! With almost no meat on either of our shawarma bowls, it was such a huge disappointment. The girl kept rolling her eyes with her mistake and then giving me dirty looks from behind the counter. In the 35 minutes we were there, we were the only people who had placed an order. With the lack of service, and overpriced items, this place will go out of business soon at The Block, just like the overpriced Thai place in the same complex that only lasted around 2 months!

Went to Nora's with a friend. I've been wanting to try this place and then saw a post on the…read moreAlbuquerque foodie Facebook thread about how good it was so a friend and I decided to finally pull off the Band-Aid and go! The service was very nice and personal, and the food was quite yummy! I did not have quite the appetizer as my friend and only ordered the soup and tabouli salad and I was quite happy with both and brought home. Remainder for leftovers. My friend ordered the chicken Shawarma plate. He practically licked his plate clean. I had a bite of his chicken and it was quite yummy. Either the owner or chef stop by the table just to say hello and check on us and ask for feedback. All feedback was good. I know it's a tough time for small businesses, but this one was worth your money. Although I'm familiar with Mediterranean food, there were some Arabic foods that were new to me so we will be returning to try them. We were particularly intrigued with the call ahead dishes. The next time we go, I think we'll try those. Give this place a try!

Not as nice as the last time. Prices have risen. Again…read more Nora's had just opened and the server had just started work. The woman serving was pleasant and hustling but she clearly needed more help as the place got packed quickly for a Friday lunch. The table by the window had a sticky floor from a clearly evident soda spill and the window was grimed with handprints of children. Folks, that should have been cleaned before you left last night. Come on, people! Food was cooked to order and was fine (not great this time) and in a nice portion size. It was served on a wooden cutting board - after seeing the inadequate cleaning job on the floor and window, I had to wonder how well last night's crew had actually sanitized the cutting board. Sorry, but I no longer want to rush back. One good thing: wifi for customers is norascafe25 .

Delicious food. Great prices. Clean environment. This food is authentic for sure. I would come back!read more

I was desperate for food late at night and to my surprise there was a middle eastern place open…read morelate. So I didn't think twice, I decided to try it out and I ordered it through Uber Eats. Apparently they didn't have hummus even though the menu showed it available, which is fine these things happen but they didn't let me know ahead of time; they just told the driver when he came and asked him to ask me if I wanted to replace it with a slice of pie. I tried to message the driver back but he was already on the way 3 minutes after the message. I called the restaurant, they had someone answer the phone who doesn't speak English and only speaks Spanish. I mean, I think the phone rep speaking English is definitely not a bad idea when your customers speak English, but let's put that aside, I happen to know a little rusty Spanish so I spoke to him and I told him I didn't order desert on purpose , but he can send extra of an item I already did order , he said it was too late and just hung up on me. The food got here and the tabouli was awful, worst I've ever had. The dolmas tasted canned, the Greek salad was barely eatable , the garlic dip was more like a garlic mash, and everything tasted like it went bad and was sitting out for hours