Al Amir

Not sure if they’re afflicated with the Al amir in Garden grove…
It definitely beats driving all the way to GG but they don’t have the bigger selection and sweets like the G.G. locale. I always come to the Albertsons in the same center so it was about time I made a trip. So I came in randomly and was greeted by a nice young lady. I just wanted something quick and easy and not go overboard. I kept it simple with Zaatar and cheese. I sat and waited. The wait wasn’t to long. The bag was super hot and she warned me of that. Food is made to order that’s for sure. I came home and started eating. I like to eat half and later the second half in the toaster oven :) Very tasty food. I could easily come here once a week. The ingredients are very fresh and not lacking of toppers. I was satisfied.
Second visit I ordered the same thing and a beef soujouk. Same nice young woman and same super fresh food. The Zaatar and cheese was so good. The soujouk could have been a little moist but still flavorful nonetheless :) Overall solid pies and I will continue visiting and trying more of the menu :)

Love this place. Glad they have a location in Irvine. Did I mention the prices are amazing and they bake your food upon order.

Great customer service there!
I do recommend the cheese with sausages flat bread pizza and the veggie flat bread one too. Prices are really good and mostly with in the $ 5 to $ 10 range per person.

Stopped by here and ordered the lahmbajeen (hope that’s the right spelling) because I’ve never really tried food like this. It’s a flatbread/​pizza like food with ground beef. The price seemed super reasonable at around 4 bucks, so I decided what the heck. The cashier asked me if I wanted cheese on my order, so I said sure. How much can cheese be? 3 bucks apparently. My total came out to over $ 7, which made this a much worse value. On top of that, there was a TON of oil. The taste was alright, but for the price and considering how unhealthy this must be, not really worth it.

Wish it was open later — not good for take out, they dont have boxes and the pizza gets cold —

Ordered for pickup the Chipotle chicken pizza, zaatar and cheese and the lahmbajeen. When we started to eat them they were already hard. I think it’s better to eat it fresh and dine there. The Chipotle chicken was the best, in my opinion, but my husband said the lahmbajeen (beef)was ok. I appreciated that they kept them in the oven until we picked it up, but I don’t think we’ll be back.

I am a fan of the cheese and Zantar! They bake it fresh after you order. The combination of flavorful herbs and cheese with the texture of hot bread/​pizza is addictive. The beef one to me is ok.
The guy who was taking my order is so friendly and patient. He took time to explain what these pie are and the ingredients that he recommended.
Can’t wait to go back to try their other flavors!

Pros
inexpensive
Con’s
Food had too much oil. Very unhealthy
The menu was so difficult to understand. They should use English to tell people what the items were.

The chipotle chicken was super delicious! The guy was super nice and explained to me every single one of their menu choices, and even gave me a small sample to try. The pizza took less than 10 minutes and I loved. Can’t wait to go back to try more!

Just randomly dropped by for lunch. Took me back to dubai and ignited my taste buds and memories from al reef.

When I first walked in I wasn’t sure of this place but I still decided to give it a try. I was greeted immediately and the employees were extremely helpful with giving me recommendations and with their patience. I highly recommend!

Al Amir brings some wonderful Lebanese baked goods to Irvine. It’s a welcome addition to Irvine with their original location being in Anaheim.
I ordered the chicken chipotle pizza ($ 7.50) and it was very spicy. The cashier after taking my ordered prepared it from scratch and placed it in the oven. In less than 10 minutes my order was ready. The thin crust pizza, with cheese and spicy chicken tasted great. It was so good that I devoured the whole pizza but still felt hungry. The fresh dough made from scratch and cooked in the brick oven tasted wonderful. It was soft and warm.
I also ordered the zaatar and cheese mini pizzas. The pricing for 6 was $ 8. Zaatar is typically made with ground dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, toasted sesame seeds and salt. The flavour is very earthy and I enjoyed these as well. Again these mini pizzas were made from scratch.
There were some ready made sambousik (ground beef filled empanadas with Lebanese seasoning) in the display case. These too tasted great and were reasonably priced. The flavors were different from Argentinian empanadas or Indian samosas, however in appearance they were similar to them. The pricing for the sambousik were a little over a dollar.
Over all the baked items tasted great. All of the dishes are savory, there are no sweet dishes here. I wouldn’t consider this a lunch place, rather it’s a place to go for snacks or to get some baked goods for breakfast. While I enjoyed the freshness of the ingredients and enjoyed how everything was made from scratch, I can’t help but imagine how difficult it would be for the workers to keep up with demand if a lot of people came in to the establishment. I also think the business should focus on making the full sizes breads and pizzas instead of mini ones, as those are more labor intensive. Another thing they should consider doing is adding some kabobs and shawarmas. This will help to make this be a more suitable place for lunch. Price wise this place is reasonable for Irvine, although it is slightly higher than other similar places in Anaheim. Service was great here and the baker/​cashier was very helpful and courteous.

Al Amir is a gem inside the shopping plaza on the corner of Jeffrey and Trabuco.
You don’t even need to be a of middle-​eastern cuisine to enjoy the food here — you just need to be a fan of $ 3.50. Yes, $ 3.50 here will score you the Lahmbajeen (spelling?) which is the beef pizza. The crust/​dough is very thin but perfectly crispy. Depending on your appetite, it will probably take at least 2 of these pizzas to satisfy you.
I have also tried their Chicken Chipotle (probably my fave), soujok, cheese and zaatar and lameh and cheese — all were very good.
A good amount of seating inside and there are tables outside as well — just don’t sit at the tables reserved for the Korean restaurant next door or you’ll get karate chopped.
Will definitely be back for more!

$ 3.50 for an individual Mediterranean/​Lebanese pizza that’s made in less than 10 minutes? I’m all about the convenience and I love ethnic foods. And I must say — I was pleasantly surprised by the lahmbajeen (beef pizza). The dough was soft and chewy and they do not skimp on the meat. I’m looking forward to going back and trying the other flavors.

Not a professional customer service location, the prices way high in this location, very greasy and tasteless, i hope this location is not the same owner as in anaheim
Will not come to this location again

The best. From every point of view, just plain delicious. The food is freshly made right before your eyes. Boyfriend and I enjoyed a keshek, cheese and zaatar and Sajouk. The food was so delicious and fresh.
For those of you who are not completely familiar with manoush, The concept is crispy round flatbread topped with your topping of choice. They are typically super flat and while the toppings are generous, they are not as heavy as American pizzas.
Sheer deliciousness. A typical breakfast food but an all day food for me.
The food is fresh and flavorful. This is really just the best you can get. Great food and even better service. Yummyumyum

Al Amir is as good as it gets for Lebanese breakfast/​snack in south Orange County. The menu is brief and to the point — Arabic pizzas with various toppings (manakeesh), foul, hummus, sfeeha pies, and bite-​sized sambousik. The assembly process is transparent, you can watch the ingredients piled onto or spread over fresh bread before the combination is baked in an oven.
The main reason why Al Amir stands out with respect to local competitors is that their dough is handmade, knead into balls, and pressed on-​site. Another place in Irvine that sells manakeesh appears to use store-​bought bread, with a much different taste and mouthfeel. The crust of Al Amir’s pizza is my favorite feature because it’s airy, thin, crispy, and finishes off slightly chewy.
I ordered the zaatar variation and the spread tasted very fresh. I would recommend the zaatar if you’re a fan of uninterrupted earthy, dried herb, and rich minty flavors on bread. The taste is very one-​dimensional and basic. Thankfully, Al Amir did not appear to add any other chemicals or artifical ingredients to the pizza, so it tasted very natural and pleasantly light. It’s perfect for breakfast, a snack, or even a second budget-​friendly meal.
When I found out Al Amir would be opening its second location in Irvine, I feared that the expensive Irvine Company rent would result in prohibitive prices. Turns out each pizza here, regardless of topping, only costs $ 0.50 (10 to 25%) more compared to the Anaheim location. That’s not too bad, considering there are places in south Orange County that charge $ 7 for zaatar manakeesh, which is a complete joke. Come here instead and save $ 4.50!

It is the best place to go to if you are feeling manakeesh, manakeesh is an middle eastern way of making pizza with different types of toppings, this is Al Amirs second location and so far the quality is as good as the one in anaheim, this place will make you feel the actual food from the middle east its like you are already there!

I stopped by this place because it seemed interesting. I saw a sign that said a bakery was open where my usual lunch spot it, and I decided to check it out. I was not familiar with the food that they served, but after entering and speaking with the friendly employees, I came to understand what it was. It’s essentially a Mediterranean pizza/​empanada/​meat pie. It’s a hand held food that is baked FRESH when you order it. They make it after you place the order so be prepared to wait a little bit or just call in the order ahead of time. They give you good portions for the price and it was quite tasty. Me and my group tried the Kafta, Lahmeh and Cheese, Sfeeha, and the Sambousik.
Kafta– It’s a Mediterranean grounded beef (usually in kabobs) spread across freshly baked bread. It’s on the more mellow side for flavor, but I enjoyed the amount of meat I got with the bread.
Lahmeh and Cheese — It’s another different Mediterranean grounded beef with cheese spread across bread. This was my 2^nd favorite.
Sfeeha– It’s yet again another meat spread across bread but with a lot more spices. My companion enjoyed this one.
Sambousik– Little Mediterranean Empanadas/​Calzones that were just the best thing we ate. They are good priced and give you a good amount of filling inside. The only downside is you have to order 12 of them.
Overall, I would come to this place again regularly. It’s tasty, good value, and different.

Since I work right near Cypress Village Shopping Center, I decided to check out the new place that opened in the former Cumin location. I admit, I was a bit thrown off at first because with only a description of «flat bread baked fresh» I couldn’t tell what it was, nor was there much information in the way of signs.
What this is a Mediterranean flatbread bakery. There is a set menu of different flatbreads with various meat and cheese based toppings. They come either as:
A) a single flatbread at approximately 9″. It’s then folded up and eating more like a sandwich rather than a pizza. The price for these range from 3.50 — $ 7.50, depending on what is ordered.
B) mini versions which look to be about 4″ discs. These are sold by either 6 pieces ($ 6.50−8.99) or by the dozen ($ 10.50 — 16.50)
C) pockets that are sold by the dozen. There are closed cheese pocket ($ 13.50/dz), spinach pockets (12.50/dz) and Sambousik, which are meat filled for $ 12.50/dz.
I ordered the a dozen of the Sambousik, which were delicious! I also ordered Sfeeha, which was a very savory meat and pine nut topping. That too was very delicious. My co-​worker ordered some other things, which he very much enjoyed.
I am giving it a generous 5 stars because of the taste and the value (also they were very charming people). However, be warned that there’s still a bit of kinks they need to work though, especially when it comes to explaining what some of the toppings are. At some point, they will probably have a lot pre-​baked, but as of now, everything is baked to order, which takes a bit a time — so be prepared for about a 15 minute wait.
I encourage you to try it because it really is tasty, but I hope this helps to navigate for you when you visit.