Aladdin's Cafe Reviews

We were lost, visiting a new city, and were looking for middle eastern food. This restaurant was not what we expected to find in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It was fastastic. I had the Lamb Shwarma - so moist and delicious. My wife had the beef kebab... the savory spices were perfect, and the saffron rice compliemented both entrees. We wish we had more time for dessert. For an appetizer, we enjoyed the stuffed grape leaves. We recommend, and will return someday.

When you first drive up to this place, the outside makes you want to drive right by it, but we had a Groupon from a friend and so we went in. What a nice surprise. DELICIOUS FOOD! Large portions, great staff. We had the Special for Two and it could feed four or more. Yummy! We had hummus, stuffed grape leaves, chicken and beef kabobs. Would definitely come back again. Don't drive by, come on in. You will not be disappoionted.

This place is near my home and I've been several times. I've had several menu items, all very delish (maybe with the exception of the green salad- lots of iceberg and what tastes like bottled dressing) but I have just recently discovered the Chicken Shawarma! Oh boy- it is something I now crave and inhale once seated and it placed on front of me (I like it with rice). The homous is one of the best in town. Kafta sandwiches are superb as well as the falafel. If you are pregnant and have the Shawarma, just make sure you are near by when that craving hits you!

Ordered meze plate and lamb kabob. Everything was perfect and delicious. Looks a little rough on the outside but come on in for a good meal.

I was hoping the was going to be middle eastern food, but sadly it was not. I had the beef kabobs, and yellow rice, small salad, hummus and a soda. There was only one other table filled when we got there for lunch, and one other who came in after us. Service was?? Well, I had to ask for everything we needed down to small plates for our hummus and bread. When I did ask, we received it, but it was a lot of work. Okay, the food...the kabob was so dry and flavorless, I had two bites. The yellow rice tasted like white rice, no flavor at all, salt and pepper didn't even help it, had 4 bites of it. The hummus wasn't bad, wasn't great, but wasn't bad. We ate all of it with the flatbread, which wasn't that good, tasted more like soda (baking soda) bread, it was denser than I am used to, but wasn't very good. I was asked if I would like a refill on my soda, which was very nice....my salad never came. When we left they asked if we wanted to go containers, I had already laid my napkin across my plate (indicating I was not taking it with me). A new waitress said to me you did not eat much. Exactly. Don't waste your time on this place, and they are running a Groupon..avoid it and head to Nicolas's instead.

Food and service was spot on. No wait tome. Friendly . Accommodated special request. Gluten free, no diary.

My Wife and I come here and use the coupon available from restaurant.com and get a great value. The dishes with lamb are particularly good... shes a vegetarian so she loves all the beans and spices they use on her dishes. Highly recommend the baba ganoush!

There aren't a lot of middle eastern or Mediterranean restaurants in this neck of the woods. This restaurant I've gone to off and on over the years. Haven't been there in a while, but ordered take out (20 minute wait) by phone for a Friday night dinner -- and everything was quite tasty and reasonable. Their lentil soup is excellent! And their pita bread is tasty too. The family is kind and if I lived nearby, I'd visit more often than I do! If you haven't eaten at Aladdin's ... make sure you check it out!

We've had lunch here twice, and loved it both times. The lentil soup is amazing, and the kebabs, falafel, and even the rice are all delicious. The iced tea has a wonderful flowery taste and is very refreshing. The servers both times were very friendly and attentive.

Aladdin's catered a friend's gathering last Easter and we finally made it there! The food is excellent and some items may have a twist compared to other Arabic restaurants in town (homemade recopies you know...) but the food is excellent and authentic. We had the feast for two and enjoyed good hummus, baba ganuj, kafta & chicken kebab skewers, salad, falafel, dolmathes. Pita was unique (and possibly not authentic but very tasty). All were great. For $35 total (for that meal). For desert (extra $) we had knaffe and baklava - both I think we liked more than most if not all the other Mediterranean / Arabic restaurants in town. The building itself is not too impressive and the interior is not high end with the lotto but the owner is in here and is friendly and the food is reasonably priced. If you have a waiter/waitress that doesn't know the answers to your questions, you might try to ask for the owner. Otherwise service was pretty prompt.

We are in town for the weekend and found this place because of good review's-- we loved it! The third Saturday they have belly dancers and when we walked in a lovely dancer was dancing. Charming! The dinners are reasonable and food so delicious! Loved fresh pita, chickenkabobs and rice. Finished with baklava and Turkish ice cream. Perfection. Staff so friendly. Made our day in Portland special

We now live just down the street from this gem of an establishment and we eat here very often. Everything we have tried on the varied menu is something we would get again, simply deliciously spiced and generous. Chicken shawarma wraps and plates and krafta sandwiches with basmati rice are our go to...homemade hummus with pita bread and greek salad- our taste buds call us back often! Great friendly, attentive service, authentic tastes and easy pickup from their big parking lot. So glad they made it through the pandemic and are still serving up the best Mediterranean cuisine in N Portland. You won't be dissappointed!

My fiance and I were spending the week in Portland, and we found this place by accident. It is so inconspicuous, but I am so glad we stopped by. The food was delicious and Authentic. My family is from the Middle East/Mediterranean, and the food did not disappoint. Definitely would come back!

Tender bread, moist kabobs, savory rice, the list could go on. My friend and I ordered the "Family Style for two" which gave us a sampler of several dishes. In particular, the kabobs were moist and nicely seasoned, in fact everything was delicious. While we were there, it began raining and as we had walked there, our waitress offered to give us a ride home! I am planning a return visit next week.

This is a very small restaurant in a strip mall setting. When you drive up, it's not impressive, but when you go in, it's very well decorated, very clean and the owners and staff are very attentive. We tried a Sampler plate and the beef Kabobs and it all was delicious! Lentil soup was excellent as well. Portion sizes were generous and prices were very fair. I have been to several East Indian places in NE Portland and Gresham, and this is the best of the bunch.

Very simple decor but also very pleasant. It doesn't look like much when you first walk in, but don't judge by that. Stay and eat! The service was excellent and the food portions were gigantic. The best thing is the prices were very fairly priced particularly considering the cost of things in this part of the country. This turned out to be one of the cheapest meals on our two week vacation. The pitas were freshly baked and gigantic - the best I've ever had! They have a strawberry lemonade made with rose water that was delicious and refreshing. The lamb shank is a don't miss item on the menu. My wife got the kafta kabob and couldn't finish her meal. This is a true hidden gem and I'm SO glad we ate here instead of at the hotel we were staying at right down the street. Do NOT be fooled by the appearance! You will not regret giving this place a try!

Great little family owned and operated Mediterranean restaurant in NE Portland. We've lived near this restaurant for 9 months and never tried it because of the exterior. We had a Groupon and went in for dinner recently and were very pleasantly surprised. The restaurant is small, well decorated, and comfortable. The service was excellent with very good explanations of menu items and recommendations. We tried soup, several different dinners, and I even tried a Lebanese pilsner beer which was perfect with my meal. Although it is a Mediterranean restaurant, there are more Middle Eastern than Greek items. I tried the Aladdin's Combo and my daughter had the Shawarma plate (both with lamb). The hommous was creamy, the soup delicious, and the meat so tender and well seasoned. The dinners came with fresh, hot pita bread and a dipping sauce that was very tasty. We enjoyed our meal so much we have been back twice. The restaurant is also on line for pre-ordering food to go.

The food here is remarkably delicious, and you can tell that the staff have taken great care in preparing it. The baba ghanouj has a distinctive smoky flavor because they barbecue the eggplant. The Mediterranean Bowls are huge and full of fresh yummy things of varying tastes and textures--the salmon in the Salmon Rice Bowl had some sort of savory-spicy sauce drizzled over the top that was so good! The mint tea is lovely--flavored subtly with mint and rose--very refreshing and not overpowering. And a bonus: the restaurant has a parking lot in front!

For someone who doesn't know the Middle Eastern cuisine, this place may be okay. But I have tried many places before and this place is just short of a simple sign from being a public restroom. The food was horrible. Tasted like it was sitting there for hours. The waitress didn't even pay attention to us when we walked in. SHe even mistook my orders, and when I told her I was dissatisfied with the food quality, she started arguing with me. The chef wasn't even Middle Eastern, he looked Mexican, with probably the least knowledge of that cuisine. This was a cheap and filthy place. The restroom was out of paper for drying my hands, and the toilet had not been cleaned for days, may be months, with dried feces overflowing and the plunger left in. Totally nauseating and the filthiest place I have seen in a while. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE IF YOU DON"T LIKE FOOD POISONING.

We've been coming to this neighborhood restaurant for years. Last night, after a couple of years of absence, we rediscovered this family-run Moroccan eatery again and were again welcomed warmly. Their lamb shank with plums and apricots is to die for as well as their Shawarma plates (with scrumptdelicious hummus) and flat bread. And we were treated to home-made cardamon/pistachio ice-cream on top of a warm crispy-skinned baklava with spices and nuts flown especially from their middle-eastern source! All ingredients are fresh and authentic. We will not be waiting more than a few months to return even if we have to drive more than 30 minutes!

The chicken salad is sooo good! The decor is interesting and fun to check out.The staff is nice and friendly. Will be back!

We went for our second time at Aladdin's Cafe, a Mediterranean restaurant (so, yes, it's many different countries' food!), and again enjoyed the hummus and bread (and our server brought us more bread without our even asking!) as well as our entrees of lamb kabobs for me and beef kabobs for husband. Everything tasted very good and we will be back soon! The baklava is a most delicious treat to have for dessert, and we once again indulged in enjoying a large piece of that! We like the people who own this restaurant and found out more about their background while talking to one of the owners. Very nice people and I wish them a LOT of success as we want to come back lots of times in the future!!

The lamb special with plums and apricots was yummy. They warned us it would take 15 min which was fine but then they overcooked the other dishes in our party. Baba ganoush was very good. Too much rice on the plates. Overall ok but not worth going out of your way.

My hubby and I decided to eat here on a whim! We absolutely loved it! What we did was get a variety plate of appetizers and each got a main course so we could try as many different things as possible! The owner was great!!! He added to our fun experience! We look forward to returning again when we are down that way!!

We were here this past weekend with our three young children. It looks like they done some remodeling. The place was very clean and the food was amazing! I'm not sure what the other review was talking about. The hummus was freshly prepared as was the flat bread. This place serves authentic, homemade Middle Eastern fare. The lamb was delicious and the mint tea was a real treat. The kids had a great time as well. We happened upon this place and we'll definitely be back.

We had a lovely dinner for two here. Getting to sample several different dishes was terrific. Every single dish was well prepared and tasty from the salad, kabobs, humus, warm flat bread, and through dessert. The staff were warm and gracious and made us feel like we were honored guests in their home. I will definitely come back.

We were going to eat dinner at a different Middle Eastern restaurant tonight, but when my husband was talking to someone earlier today about our plans, and this guy said he liked the one we were planning to visit, but suggested Aladdin's Cafe as being an even better one in his opinion, we decided to also come here for our meal. We found some of the best Middle Eastern food anywhere in Portland! And we have enjoyed meals at a number of restaurants serving this type of food, so we have lots of experience. We had the hummus which was probably the best we've ever had at a restaurant along with great pita style bread, then I had the lamb kabob and husband had the kafta (beef) kabob, both of which were very delicious and plentiful in amount! The lamb meat was some of the highest quality lamb we've had, and I had enough left over for another meal tomorrow along with really good rice. Husband had the lentil soup which was very good, and I had the salad which had a nice dressing. We both felt happy that we'd come here for dinner, and definitely plan to return soon! And "Jorge" did a good job as our server! On the way out, I saw the baklava which we'd somehow forgotten to order, so we bought a nice piece to have at home, and YUM!!! It was great!

Aladdin's is a great Mediterranean restaurant that might get overlooked because Portland has recently added a few new, trendy Mediterranean/Greek restaurants. Don't rule out Aladdin's. It offers delicious food at a great price. So many restaurants have substantially increased their prices. Not so at Aladdin's. The chicken kabob is flavorful, and the rice is amazing. The eggplant dish is delicious. The pita bread is baked onsite and is a nice addition to the meals.

A friend insisted I come here because the cuisine is one of my favorites and I was visiting the area. What a delightful place! We were on a time crunch so I was glad the food came so quickly. And what wonderful food! I had the Lunch Lamb Shawarma Sandwich and I absolutely loved the flavors and was very satisfied the rest of the afternoon having had a wonderful, filling lunch.

We always enjoy this Cafe, and while our meat was a little overcooked this time, the flavor was good. We will be sure to specify medium next time! The fries were excellent, and we ordered the garlic sauced fries to share with our friends. I think the sauce may have been a bit too much for our stomachs as we both felt a bit queezy that night into the next day. BUT, they tasted SO good going down!! We will be back as the service is always good and we like the food here!

SO happy to have discovered Aladdin's Cafe! They were very accommodating and helpful with our late to-go order and took the time to offer great food suggestions. We enjoyed a delicious, and ample meal and will definitely be back! Love to support a business with great customer service and wonderful food. The hummus is the BEST I've ever had! We'll be back!

Good food, less of a wait then Nicoli's

We had a group of 14 show up late afternoon on a Sunday. Our server was super patient and gracious - splitting many checks! The food was hot and tasty. The lentil soup was amazingly delicious and I also really enjoyed my Chicken Rice Bowl. All of my friends raved about the food.

When we want great Mediterrean/Middle Eastern food, this has become our go-to place! The staff are always friendly and nice, and the food is always given in large enough portions that allow for a second meal later! We both had the lamb kabobs, salads, as well as their hummus and pita bread all of which are always so delicious. It is probably one of the very best hummus dishes we have gotten at ANY restaurant that offers this type of food, and their pita bread is always VERY good! On another note, on this last visit, I noticed the small Syrian flag on the window sill, and with the recent devastating earthquake in Syria and Turkey, I asked our server, Jorge, if any of the owners or staff were from that country. With deep sorrow, we learned that the owner's family was there and were affected, and that another well known Middle Eastern restaurant owner in the Portland area, had lost an entire family group in that earthquake! That set the tone for a rather somber meal as we thought about their beloved people who had been so deeply affected by an earthquake so many thousands of miles away as well as those family and friends who were now here in Portland! So very sad!

We enjoyed everything we had. The lentil soup and tabouli was very good, the Schwartz was some of the best we've eaten, and the Aladdin plate was exceptional. The dipping sauce for the chicken was particularly exceptional. Finicky daughter was exceedingly satisfied!

This unassuming small restaurant is tucked away on the side of a convenience store on NE 33rd. Don't be put off by the appearance. The menu is middle eastern, but the owner is Syrian, and her take on classics makes all the difference. The falafel sandwich was delicious. The bread is among the most tender and delicious I've had. A couple of good beers on tap and some wines by the glass made this a memorable and affordable meal. We'll be back!

Clearly off the beaten tourist track (unless you're staying at the nearby Kennedy School), Aladdin offers many traditional Middle-Eastern favorites, some with a Syrian twist. After two visits this month, my wife and I have designated it our favorite of many good Portland Middle-Eastern restaurants! The fresh Syrian flatbread is a tasty variation on typical pita. We love Aladdin's choice of seasonings in both its hummous and lentil soup. Both daily lamb shank specials offer ample portions and respectively delicious sauces. The house-made pistachio-cardamom ice cream and rose-water scented tea taste authentic and are both prepared with care. Guests are greated warmly with great hospitality. Don't expect luxurious surroundings, just a casual and comfortable home-like cafe!