Fayza Restaurant

First time I have been to Fayza. Really good Falafel/​Shawarma. Lots of options for vegetarians: Try the soup and falafel salad, they’re pretty good. For the non vegetarians, the Gyro and the chicken shawarma are consistently good and one of the best in Seattle. I will definitely be back!

There is nothing in the Seattle area like Fayza. All the other shwerma/​gyro places in the ave are all the same except with different names. Fayza is a new innovation with its top of the line modern (and classy) dinning area like no other in the area.
Their chicken shawerma is the most authentic that I have had outside the middle east just like there daily special. The daily special is something new and different made everyday by the cheif that tastes like something you would have at a 5 star Gourmet restaurant. Which is why I have to give this restaurant the 5 stares it deserves.

Came here to try it out as it was had opened since the last time I visited Ave. Tried the falafel sandwich and the Greek fries.
To be honest, the falafel sandwich was quite disappointing. The flavor just really wasn’t there and I have had better falafel on other places on the Ave.
Their Greek fries however were pretty good. I enjoyed the generous amounts of toppings they put on top and the fries were very crispy and well cooked.
Overall, the place is very «hip» and much cleaner than many of the other Mediterranean places on the Ave. However, the food from what I have had so far isn’t on par. I do hope to try their meats to see how it stacks up, but in the meantime, I would only recommend their Greek fries.

Absolutely delicious. Gyro sandwich and baklava were both fantastic… and what value for the money! Clean and nice place. A very long wait for our food (by the time the last 3 received our food, the first 4 were finished eating).

Food is decent but I waited 35 minutes for a chicken salad. There were 4 people working in the kitchen and only 5 other patrons in a restaurant that has seating for at least 40 people. It really shouldn’t have taken that long. I also emailed this feedback to restaurant management a while back but never heard back.

It’s sort of like a falafel McDonald’s — cafeteria style, def doesn’t match up to the caliber of some of the other Mediterranean restaurants on the Ave. Didn’t taste bad, but definitely didn’t measure up to what a falafel could be.

The food is good but the restaurant is freezing, they play terribly music, and it takes ages to get the food

Beware this place if you’re just looking for a quick to go meal. I came in for a study break and wanted to try this place since it was close by to the library and my friend wanted some greek food. I found a coupon for 50% off a gyro so I decided this was a good choice to eat. There was no line so we thought we could be in and out in 10minutes. Lo and behold we waited around 25 and were very unimpressed. My beef gyro was lackluster but I was pretty much starved that I scarfed it down anyways, but my friend’s chicken gyro was really soggy and her fries were on the limp side. There are plenty of other options on the ave and even though the place is new and clean looking, the kitchen is kind of inefficient.

The food at this place is awful! I had the «jumbo» Beef and Lamb Shawarma which costs $ 7.50 with a 15% UW student discount. The sandwich was actually very small and not at all filling compared with everything else I’ve had on the Ave. The pita was awful: soggy and doughy. The meat and garlic sauce were okay in terms of taste and texture, but there was something disgustingly limey about the taste of the whole thing. Initially, I thought they just added too much citrus, but the more I tasted it, the more it felt like I was eating lemon-​flavored detergent (literally!). It left a terrible soapy aftertaste in my mouth which didn’t even go away after munching on two bars of dark chocolate!
Fayza is really bad, and clearly won’t last long. I feel bad for the owners because it looked like they invested a lot of money in the place. But it’s honestly the worst restaurant I’ve been to on the Ave, and not by a small margin. I had been sorely disappointed when I went on the Opening Night a few months ago because everything was wrapped in plastic and paper and felt even more synthetic than the biggest fast food chains. I immediately realized that this place would not last anywhere – and especially not in a hipster town like Seattle. Since then, I noticed that it’s always empty, that they were giving food samples outside a few times, and that they had student discounts… sure signs that a restaurant is going under. I figured I’d try it again out of curiosity and for the discount and because my go-​to-​in-​a-​pinch restaurant Chipotle is apparently having an e E. coli issue (!). I wasn’t expecting great food based on my recollection of the Opening Night, but god that was much worse than I thought!

I would not spend my time or money here again. I walk by here often and finally decided to try it, and I regret that decision. I had a falafel sandwich with fries. In addition to lacking flavor, the falafel was both dry and mushy, which are two qualities I would ordinarily think of as being mutually exclusive. But somehow they managed to pull it off. The fries may have been average at best if they were fresh, but they tasted like they had been sitting in a warmer for at least an hour and I could barely choke them down. With so many other good places on the Ave (Shawarma King, Cedar’s of Lebanon, Aladdin), I would recommend that if you are walking by, you just keep on walking.

I was craving falafel and a quick look at Unilocal showed fayza had 4 stars (20 something reviews at the time). I know Aladdin is great, and just a block further down the Ave, but i was willing to give this place a try.
When I first walked in, I felt like I was at a university fast food spot. It was sterile, lime green, reeked of lemon scented cleaning Chemicals, and was playing pop music at an obnoxiously loud volume.
I ordered a falafel salad, pita and hummus specifically «for here». There were 3 men behind the huge counter making my 1 salad, and pita + hummus, and it took them around 10 – 15 mins. When my food was brought out, I was shocked that my salad was smaller than most side salad (for 7 – 8 bucks) and was disturbed by the fact that everything came in plastic packaging.
When I went to take a bite, I realized they forgot the falafel. The only woman who was working at the time was the best aspect of the dining experience, and noticed right away, and brought out the falafel. The falafel looked like over-​sized dog food. Semi flat and dry brown coins that looked like they were punched out by a machine.
The salad was the worst salad I’ve ever eaten, the hummus was the worst I’ve ever eaten, the pita was paper thin. The menu would be more forthcoming if they called it a tortilla. When I ran out of pita there was still over half of be gross hummus remaining.
I was in a rush, otherwise I would have definitely gone elsewhere once I took my first bite. I forced myself to eat it.
They have signs that say «bus your own meal so we can keep prices down and quality up». Gladly. But where do I put the paper and plastic containers that the pita, hummus, and salad came in? Disappointingly, the trash. No composting. Tons of unnecessary packaging.
If you’ve ever had good shawarma before, you will know this place is a sick joke.
Afterwards I perused the reviews to see what misinformed people could possibly be giving this place high ratings, and there are about five reviews written by people who give 5 stars and a simple «best shawarma in Seattle» review. Upon digging further all five of these gents had only 1 review. Conveniently 5 stars for Fayza.
This place is inauthentic, and I know those reviews are not genuine. Be warned.

Very clean and quiet place to get your falafel or shwarma.
The guy even brought us some complimentary falafel

I was thinking about trying this place for a while until I did yesterday!
The food was fine, however, I got very bad stomachache and I spent the night throwing up:(I think the meat was out all day in unhealthy conditions !!

They have Amazing Falafel
I tried their falafel sandwich with the great Greek fries and um ali
Really very tasty and clean food

I have been in this restaurant several times, and I always order Um Ali. It tastes really delicious. I recommend you all to try it.

Good food for a good price. I got the chicken shawarma and it was filling but not too big. Nice clean new space and very friendly staff. Definitely worth checking out.

Decided to try this out with a coworker a couple week ago. Place looked spacious but they had also just finished completely remodeling the local before opening. Ordered the Gyro pocket and a side order of popcorn falafel. Food uses way too much fancy packaging. I feel like that’s part of the reason why they prices are so high compared to other Gyro restaurants on the Ave. Gyro pocket was disappointing. The size was small and the beef on the inside had no seasoning. There was tzatziki sauce inside but only in one corner. Once you ate through that it was nothing but dry beef. Felt like eating boiled meats. Popcorn falafel was pretty moist on the inside but still under seasoned. Felt like it could have used a dipping sauce of some type.
Food wasn’t really worth the money and the waste in packaging borders ridiculous. Also I think their pickles were served in trading card sleeves. They had three spits of meat rotating but it looked like they were for show since two of them say there with the heating coils off. They had another kitchen in the back that was empty. Looked like it was being set up as a ice cream/​bakery bar. For being recently opened I saw cobwebs in the lighting fixture above our table. Took a while to get our food as well even though we ate there. Don’t think I’ll be coming back with such disappointing food.

Came here with some friends on a whim. This place is open late at night and actually has some decent deals. They’ve got $ 4.99 pockets or you can do a combo with 2 pockets, fries, and soda for $ 10.99. Not bad at all. The food didn’t blow us out of the water, however it was nice and clean with good customer service. We tried the gyros, beef and chicken shwarmas, and baklava. The shwarmas were spiced nicely and were presented in cute containers. The next time we need to get a gyro fix, probably won’t go out of the way to come here, but still appreciate the clean and simple atmosphere they have here.

This is an updated review. Before, I complained about too much packaging and the fast food environment. Today, fayza is a relatively new place. The menu is simplified and some of the extra packaging has been eliminated so good on them, somewhat. They offer a discount to UW students which is always nice.
However, I still don’t believe they are separating their trash into compost and don’t understand why they can’t get a compost bin. They don’t even have a recycle bin. What’s going on here? It’s a pretty lazy setup. I’m not even sure the highly inked paper and cardboard is compostable. Also the music is top 40s or something terrible.
Anyway food is good and quick. Hope they continue to improve the conscientious side of the business.

So I was walking in the U District and smelled the shawarma cooking at this place. I had already eaten but had to check it out because it smelled so good! I’m so glad I tried this place! I had the chicken shawarma, gyro and a bread pudding dessert we call «Um Ali». The chicken shawarma straight up tastes like what I get back home — not Americanized at all. It’s 100% authentic. And there’s no other place in Seattle that has these super traditional desserts. This place is so fresh and really presents a brand new concept. Nothing like what already exists here. It’s a must try for everyone.