Mediterranean Express

Best place for lunch! You cant really beat the deal for the portion you receive! Also it comes with a side of salad or amazing lento soup! I usually get this to go and it is always quick and easy. Also how can I forget, their bread is delicious and hand made :)

Lunch special is $ 7.95 for the chicken koobideh. I asked for half rice and half salad. Since you are getting half of each, you wouldn’t assume they would charge you an extra $ 2.00!!! Unbelievable. And lets talk about the 10 pieces of lettuce, 2 pieces of tomato and 2 pieces of cucumber.
Unbelievable. This place is right next to my office and all 10 people in my office are now boycotting. I’m spreading the news.

My review is based on lunch and catering from there. I have not had dinner there. The prices are fair for the portions you get in relation to other Mediterranean restaurants. Everything is tasty and not over/​under seasoned. I would recommend their beef luleh kebab and the lentil soup, both are one of my favorites from them, but their chicken is also very good, never dry. It’s a great place to stop by for lunch.
I knocked down one star due to the service. The lady helping us was a bit dry and breezed through the table quickly to take our order. The restaurant wasn’t even busy, so there was no reason for her to be in a hurry. She checked on us once or twice, however, she started cleaning the table before we were even finished eating! She even took my water off the table before any of the plates were taken away which was really annoying.
Overall the food is great, I would definitely recommend going here for lunch.

The food is delicious!
My favs: salmon lunch with salad, chicken kabobs with grilled veggies (esp the tomato), and yummy lentil soup. Their lentil soup is whole bean rather than creamy and the flavor is wonderful. I usually add some MangoHabanero sauce from BWWs (yes, a bottle lives in my purse) and it is magical. I order lunch from here as often as my budget will allow and delivery is always quick and courteous.
Lunch special is less than $ 10; includes entrée, soup or salad, and noon (awesome fluffy/​chewy pancake bread).
What are you waiting for? Try them just once.

2 stars because of service & food ! I was really disappointed in this place because I’ve heard a lot of good things about it so I finally decided to try it out.
Let’s start with service. Waitress was a bit air-​headed. My brother & I ordered two different things & she thought we both ordered the same. He also ended up receiving chicken instead of beef. She never came back to check on us or give us refills, we had to flag her down if we needed anything & we both noticed that she would constantly come back to check on two tables behind us. When I would ask her for something she would never actually stop to listen to what I needed, she would just keep walking by & give a quick «okay». Her service made me feel unwelcome & it felt incredibly unfriendly.
I ordered the lentil soup as it came with my meal & the soup was great. If I could give the soup stars of its own I’d give it a 4 out of 5. Pita tasted a little undercooked but okay when dipped in the soup or with butter. I ordered the beef shish kabob & I felt like the rice was way overcooked & was mush. The meat tasted alright but it left a weird after taste in my mouth.
Overall the experience was not pleasant & since it was my first time there it didn’t leave a good enough impression that would make me want to come back.

I work real close to this restaurant. My co workers and I order their Caesar salad with chicken for lunch. The employees already know us, by name. We absolutely love this place. (Aside from the rude waitress/​employee that occasionally takes our order.)

This place is the best value for lunch. The waitress named Kati gives great service, very fast and caring. I have enjoyed the lamb shank for lunch for $ 8.95, comes with baghali polo (green herbed rice with fava beans), and your choice of lentil soup or salad. The lamb is cooked for a long time under a low heat and is nicely trimmed and has a nice flavor of spices and celery in the sauce.
Their broiled trout at lunch is also great, just nicely coated with tasty spices and also comes with soup or salad and rice.
The naan is freshly made there, one man doing nothing but cooking it in the tandoor and hooking it with a long pole when it is done. We always ask for it a little more well-​done than it usually comes.
They also have the usual Persian specialties, chicken or beef kabobs, stews, and so on. My husband likes their combination, which is a skewer of beef filet kabob and a skewer of ground beef (koobideh).
All the lunch specials come with the soup or salad. There is also a small dispenser of half-​pickled vegetables which is self-​serve available. We didn’t know about it until we noticed other patrons having it and since then, we are hooked. Celery, cauliflower, carrots, whole cloves of garlic, and chilies. Help yourself and don’t miss them, like we did the first 4 times we came.
The same place changes completely for dinner, becoming a Persian cabaret with entertainment on the weekends. Then it comes with the standard dinner and Persian performers after. Cover charge includes the dinner, drinks and extra appetizers or desserts extra. Price will vary depending the who is performing. They close the curtains and cover the food prep area then and it might as well be a different place altogether.
For me, I prefer the lunch. Oh, by the way, the Persian friends you may have all call this place Cabaret Tehran.

The lentil soup here is amazing, also the freshly made naan! I work next door and i have always had great service. The guys behind the counter are very friendly and make you feel welcome. I haven’t worked my way through the menu but everything looks delicious

I have been. Coming here on and off for punch and dinner. Kabob meats are fresh and delicious. I also like the persian salad. They have music on weekends which is fun.

The waiter was great; however the food was terrible. Flavorless and bland. I’ve never had food that was so poor in taste before. We order lentil soup, eggplant, hummus, gyro, lamb shank and Greek salad. All were equally terrible in taste.
Just by the looking at the food on our table made us lose our appetite. We kindly paid for our food; however as we walked out we realized we wasted our time and our money. It is a shame to call the type of food Mediterranean.

I work next door to the restaurant … and yes the services is not the best, whether you order for delivery, pick up, or dine in. It’s sad, BUT. They have an AH-​mazing Lential Soup that will make your mouth sing.
Lential soup over powers the crappy service in my book … just sayin’
=D
xx

I work in Encino and walk every day at lunch. Although there are tons of restaurants, few are worth spending money in. This place is no exception! I had a hankering for middle-​eastern food and figured if I walked far enough, I’d stumble into something in this vast stretch of Ventura Boulevard. and sure enough I did. I wanted a vegetarian plate. Without looking at the menu (I didn’t have my glasses), I ordered a 3-​salad plate to go. I chose Babaganoush, hummus, and cucumber/​tomato salad. I’ve had this in other places and they always put it on a plate for about $ 8.00. Instead, each salad came in a plastic container — like you’d get in a deli — and charged me $ 12. In their defense, it was enough for 3 meals. However, everything was flavorless. I ate the hummus hoping the flavor would materialize but it didn’t. Ditto for the babaganoush. Cucumber/​Tomato salad… how can you mess that up? I wish I could say this place was passable since the people were very nice. But that would be inaccurate.

This place is delish! I work right by the place and got their koobideh lunch special. Tasted amazing and came with a lot of food. It came with a salad already but you have a choice of getting more salad or a soup. I got the their lentil soup, yummy! Also came with fresh lavash bread. Really good, Getting it today! Yum! Yum! Yum!
As for the ambiance, the place looks way too good for the prices they charge. Very roomy and have nice patio outdoor seating.
Reason for 4 stars and not 5: 1 time I phoned in and ordered and when I went to pick up, I think they mixed up my order. The food was still good but mixing up is not hence the 4 stars but still definitely worth the try!

I love this place. You will be afraid to walk in because of concerning about the price. But… actually, the price is reasonable… For lunch special, I can get $ 5 dish (1 Chicken Koobideh Kabob)…good choice… my husband enjoy food here every week.

Two Week’s Special
Two entrees for $ 10!!!
All good! Comes with rice.
Ground Beef
Ground Chicken
Piece Chicken
Salad
Nice place. Band area. Large eating area. Outdoor seating.
Looks like a all-​you-​can-​eat section inside but its not. Pretty weird setting for a nice looking restaurant. You pick the food there, pay for the food, get your drink & refill it there. — mostly self-​serve then.
Service/​waiter is nice.
Location: Plaza with carousel, coffee bean, boutiques, etc.
Parking: Street Metors or unvalidated National Bank parking structure.