Aladdin Cafe

I’ll preface this by saying the food was good, it’s more the service I’m reviewing. My boyfriend and I came for lunch and ordered 1 meal to go on our lunch break. It turns out there was no cook at the restaurant yet, but instead of telling anyone this they continued to take orders. This meant that we waited 30 minutes for a to go order, which was frustrating.
If they had said their cook was running late we would have gone elsewhere and gave this place another chance a different day. Instead we most likely won’t be going back. It felt disrespectful to the customer to not let us know that no one was available to even cook our food.

I’ve never tried the food here. I think I got a drink here once. The staff is really friendly and the hookah was pretty good. It lasted a long time and the guys coming around changing out the coals are really attentive. Definitely would come again.

The employees here are friendly and professional. My order did not go through online through SB Meals and they were quick to help out. The food choices are amazing as well and the quality is great! I highly recommend this eatery.

The Beef Kebab is sooo yum, it has so much flavor and I have found myself craving it! Def the best thing I have tried!
We have also gotten the chicken plate which was good and the Lamb which was huge but kinda lacked flavor.
Also the people (family?) that owns it are really genuinely nice and obviously really care about their food and customers!
IV was really in need of a middle eastern place and I am so glad it’s good. :)

This may be the first time Unilocal has failed me. It showed 4.5 stars but this is definitely a 2.5−3 star kind of place. The other low scores were accurate in saying that the food here is not bad but very boring, rice tasted like it came out of a box, and the beef was nothing special, no exotic spice that I was craving. I went with 2 star because of the price, I paid 13 $ per plate for two plates, bill came to about 30 $. I could have gotten much better food for that price. On the bright side the service was excellent and friendly.

This is the best Middle Eastern food in the area, hands down. It’s a little expensive but totally worth it. My friend and I shared some hummus, a beef shawarama, falafel, and the kanafeh dessert. The hummus was fresh and melt-​in-​your-​mouth creamy, just the way it should be. The beef shawarma took a while to prepare but it’s because it was made lovingly to order, the beef delightfully hot and pressed in the pita with parsley and some mysterious sauces. The kanafeh (sweet phylo pastry with cheese inside) was excellent and my friend said it was very similar to what you would find in Israel. Even the pita was tasty as hell. Can’t wait to go back and try more stuff.

Ordered the beef kebab plate and it was very tasty. This is real food. We will definitely be back soon.
The people working there are friendly too, which is a bonus for me.

this place is amazing!!! i’m eating their leftovers from last night and I am literally reliving my happiness that I felt last night. the beef shawarma plate is perfect and everything you need. their hummus compliments the plate very well also. although I was a bit skeptical about the price and wait, what they brought to the table offset all those cons! great service too c: definitely one of my fav spots in IV

I really love this place. The owner and staff here are wonderful and so accommodating. Food is great and the owner was my über driver. Such a great spirit!

Just ok. The cashier got my order wrong – English is a bit of a problem. The food was just so so – falafel even below that. Not enough pita for the hummus; salad was boring. Baklava recipe was a «made simple» recipe – just nuts and honey covered with one layer of pasty on top and bottom. Better food at Santorini’s on campus.

One of the best hookah I’ve ever tried and in the happy hour from 2 – 5 it is for 16 $. Their chicken shawerma wrap, flafel, humus, konafa and pita are super delicious. We also ordered beef shawerma plate it wasn’t so good the beef was a bit dry.

We went in for the free hummus and falafel and they made us pay for something. This wasn’t specified. Super annoying.

This place is amazing, as you can see in the photos I posted the quality of the food is very high and is very nicely priced.
The shawarma sandwich was my favorite, as it was filling and perfectly made.
You really can’t go wrong with anything here, my family is middle eastern so I know authentic middle eastern food when I eat it, and can tell you for sure these guys know what they’re doing.
Can’t wait to be back, it’s my favorite place to eat in SB.

I ate here when it first opened and did not like it, but I thought I would give it another try.
It is not that the food is terrible. It is just that there is nothing great about any of it.
The hummus lacks any special hummus flavor or texture. Just bland ground chick peas with some tomato bits tossed on it as if that makes up for bland hummus.
The rice was like Uncle Ben’s rice with yellow food coloring.
The shish kebab is beef, not lamb. No special flavoring. The beef is not the worst cut, but it is not a great cut. It has too much fat and gristle for my taste. I don’t tolerate that well.
I think the Lovin Oven a block away is far superior in every way.

Aladdin café is fairly new, they actually opened last year, and I came to try it for the first time with a friend who loves to hookah. And let me tell you, their hookah and shish quality is the best I’ve had! It was very smooth and the flavors were wonderful. My friend has been to a whole lot of hookah bars and he says this is one of the best he’s been to.
Steven was our waiter and was so friendly; he was very on top of asking if we needed more water, beer, and made sure charcoals were always provided for the hookah.
I ordered one of the beef plates ~$ 13 and it I would say the price definitely matched the quality and QUANTITY of the food. The plate is huge and I would even recommend splitting with someone unless you’re super hungry! It came with a yellow rice, salad, hummus, pita bread, and the beef of course. The rice was delicious and the salad had some spices with some oil (I think) drizzled on top. They are very generous with how much hummus they give you and it went well with everything.
Happy hour deals are great for pitchers at this location. There’s indoor and outdoor seating and it’s right next to woodstocks.
This family-​run business definitely shows they treat their customers like family as well. :)

Okay, just one more review… last werk my friends and I ordered the shish kabob. Loved it… tonight my wife ordered the vegetarian combo… amazing hummus, baba ganoosh, and felafel. I had the New Beef Shawarma. Amazing taste…

COMPLIMENTARY GARLIC SAUCE*!!!
No better words in the English language.
Unless you combine it with
HAPPY HOUR (3−5pm)
$ 8 pitchers of Goose IPA
Regularly, it’s $ 3.50 for 20 oz pours.
Each plate comes with hummus, salad, and rice, none of which are throwaways. Cleaned the entire plate of food, and almost licked it. Everything goes well together, making it a perfect meal.
Good food. Good beer. Good prices.
*garlic makes the world go ’round

I went there for the first time yesterday for dinner and had the shish taouk (chicken). It was delicious! The chicken was cooked perfectly and it came with a huge side of rice, salad, hummus, and bread. I couldn’t finish the plate by myself. Next time if I get it Id definitely split it with someone.
The people who work there are so friendly and helpful. My friend and I didn’t know what to get and the lady at the register helped explain what each dish we were curious about was. She was super nice.
I definitely think this place is worth going to, and I’ll definitely be going back again.

Middle Eastern cuisine is hard to find in this city. Aladdin café has good food, much better than the more popular Zaytoon. The beef was a little tough, but the chicken tawook was excellent. The accompany garlic sauce was a fluffy perfectly emulsified mass of garlic essence. I am a garlic fiend and I want to put this stuff on everything.
The service on the other hand was awkward and chaotic as if there were too many cooks in the kitchen. We ordered 3 platters and one appetizer for 3 adults and 2 kids. The appetizer arrived first and none of us were given plates. I got extra plates from the counter and we proceeded to savor the baba ganoush with pita bread. After a few minutes, the first platter arrived and it came with only one fork and one napkin. Again, I went to the counter and got utensils for everyone. After a short while, the second platter arrived with two forks and two napkins. At this point, we didn’t really need extra forks and napkins, but the smiling woman insisted we take the extra utensil and napkins. Aside from the awkward and friendly service, everyone enjoyed the food.

Aladdin Café is a great option for eating in Isla Vista. It’s good food, and it’s not crazy jam-​packed like everywhere else (Woodstocks). I was impressed with the flavor of the beef here. The hummus was also pretty good I think it’s a bit too bland but paired with the pita it is quite good.
I would recommend people try this place out as it’s better than a lot of the food in IV and deserves more business.