Mawadda Cafe

I have been hearing that Mawadda at 2352 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98 116 has closed. I asked my mail carrier today (since he delivers to them), and he said it is true. He said they are redecorating the restaurant which will be Japanese food.

I was in the area for a spa appt. It was one of those days when the day gets away from you, its 3pm, and all you’ve consumed is a latte and a banana.
I was craving shawarma and popped in. On the positive side, the cashier was very friendly! Now, why I wont be back:
Overpriced: My go to shawarma spot is Falafel King, near pike place market. Even in this tourist trap, the food was much cheaper than Mawadda.
Taste: This food is very bland. I did enjoy the chicken, but also had lamb and the texture was odd and had no flavor. Rice, no flavor. You get the gist.
Freshness: Salad was wilted and the hummus tasted like it had gone bad.
I will be back at Falafel King tomorrow to get my fix.

I want to like this place but I don’t! You show up when it’s supposed to be open and it’s not! Either change your info or get it together!

You don’t know sometimes when you wake up you just have a hankering for a specific kind of food? Today, mine was Mediterranean. I really really wanted to have a tasty gyro with some hummus and tabouleh who knows, maybe even some extra tzatziki sauce.
So I take to Unilocal!Holy carp, there is a Mediterranean place just up from me! I looked at the clock and it was 12:30 p.m., just in time for lunch– I Drive up the street to this café that opens at 11 a.m. only to find two men standing around in the dining room and the doors locked. That’s weird. I we’ve got a gentleman to see what was going on, perhaps they were just getting ready to open or something. No such luck, the man waved me away.
This is when I held up the page with the hours to the window the gentlemen finally comes over to the window and gruffly says we’re not open we came in late today.
Interesting how they treat customers, no apology, rude and unprofessional. If this is the amount of care they take when addressing a potential customer I’m not interested in finding out what kind of care they take in food preparation.
Tip* Call before you come they may not actually be open.

Got gyro with fries. Gyro was okay– nothing outstanding about it.
My problem was the fries. They tasted like they got some detergent or something before being fried. They just didn’t taste right. One hour later I got diarrhea.
Will not be going back.

This is a good place for Greek food in West Seattle. We ordered the chicken shawarma plate and the falafel salad. It was all made fresh which was the best part. The quantity was good and so was the taste.
Good value for money if you want fresh food.

I really really wanted to love this place, but it’s pretty underwhelming. The food is just okay and a little over priced. The rice and hummus were very bland. The meats are seasoned well and tasty. We always get our meal to go, and it’s never ready when I arrive to pick it up. My last gyro had a big piece of plastic in it, which looked like a corner that was cut off of a plastic packet/​pouch.
I’m glad to have a Mediterranean option in the area, but I usually opt get my gyro fix when I’m out and about since Mawadda has left a lot to be desired.

Went there today for lunch for the first time. Very nice gentleman (guessing it’s the owner since he was working my himself) let me know it would be 20 minutes to make my meal to go for lunch. I waited cause I was anxious to try it after reading really good reviews. My meal (chicken fettuccine) was ready in 20, very fresh and hot and delicious! Came with bread and salad which I wasn’t expecting. It was a huge meal and have plenty for two left overs. Will definitely eat here again.

Awesome, chicken schwarma sandwich (the spicy version). Tasted very fresh and had the perfect seasoning. I stumbled upon this little place while on an appointment nearby, and was very satisfied with the sandwich.

A quiet Mediterranean café with gyros, falafel, shawarma, ganoug, spanakopita, and more. I usually get a gyro salad which is fresh and filling along with a sanpellegrino. Highly rcommended. But, ot sure how they are surviving with few customers. Maybe not a good location? Give them a try if you’re in the area.

I think this place is great! Its right up the street from my job so when I do go there its like a 3 minute walk! There’s usually the same man in there and he is very kind! The first time I came here, I said I was going to sit and eat so he didn’t charge me till after I ate and brought my food to me. Service is always great! Place looks empty from the outside but who cares when the food is bomb. Now I’ve only had their gyros and fries but I looooveeeee it! I always get the gyro combo plate which is a delicious lamb gyro w/​side of yummy fries and any drink out of the fridge. It all totals to aboit 10 bucks but definitely worth it! There is Lucianos Pizzeria across from them and they also have gyros. I’ve had their gyros and honestly Mawadda is the way to go! I don’t go here all the time cause I try not to eat out a lot but when I do treat myself this is the place I tend to go to!

Thick cut fries, hot and made to order. Juicy tender lamb shawarma sandwich is so good I have never made it to try the rest of the menu. Five stars!

Bottom Line: Good food but get it to-​go
Review: Got a Gyro for lunch, and it was very tasty. I never see this place busy but it has great Gyros. I recommend getting the food to-​go, as the décor is not very appealing.

Friendly counter staff, but the food is bland. Rice tasted like minute rice, and falafel tasted and looked like it was mass-​produced and frozen. The tell is that they look identical whereas hand-​made ones would all be different. Tiny chunks of chicken in the kebab, and the shwarma is not much better, though a bit more filling. May be passable for a quick lunch, but not a dinner option.
Too much needs to be improved for me to want to come back. Cannot recommend.

Love these guys, awesome falafel and I don’t like falafel. Seriously top notch falafel. I like the variety they have and freshly made to order food. Sometimes a bit slow, but worth it.

The food is worth 4 stars. It’s a limited menu, but what they do, they do well.
They sometimes don’t have a specific menu item. +1 for freshness, –1 for availability.
The time from order to them handing you food is terrible. You can adjust for this by looking at the menu online, placing an order, tripling the time estimate they give you, and then dining in or taking out as appropriate. –1 star.
I honestly don’t know what takes them so long, but I don’t have a problem calling in an order. If you can live with that, give them a call.

This place has a tasty gyro and interesting atmosphere.
The gyro was probably worth five stars, but the price is a bit high for a single gyro. I also attempted to order beef sambosas but they were out which was pretty disappointing for a 2 p.m. late lunch :(
The greek fries are fair and cost extra to add with your meal.
The location is perfect, right by a yoga studio and movie theater, but the price kind of made this a second resort gyro place to visit.
The workers are extremely nice and cared about our experience and how we enjoyed the food which was really nice to see in such a small restaurant!

The reviews left me uncertain what to expect. The storefront and dining room are non-​descript. Not a soul in the place on a weekend at 11 am. Not very auspicious. However after ordering chicken shawarma and gyro sandwiches and a lot of clattering in the kitchen, they quickly presented us with some amazing food! Seasonings, sauces and tender meats are great! The fries are equally memorable but unfortunately they only give you several of them. (See my photos.) I mean that quite literally. Perplexing twist considering the number of restaurants that seem glad to supplement the main act with a heaping dose of potatoes in some format! Shrug. Here’s looking forward to the next visit! Next time I’ll order a side of fries to go with my fries.

My friend and I had a really nice lunch here today.
We started with some hummus and pita ($ 5.50?) and shared two plates… the Sultani ($ 17) and the gyro & salad ($ 10).
The hummus was nice. It had a bit too much olive oil (runny) for my taste but had a lot of tahini which is fabulous.
The Sultani plate comes with a salad (which we did not realize) which came out with the hummus and pita. The salad was nice fresh hand-​torn romaine with cucumber, tomato, Spanish onion and some kind of creamy garlic dressing which tasted pretty good but had the texture of bottled canola dressing.
When the Sultani plate came out it was a selection of three meat dishes served over a bed of seasoned rice. The rice was a very nice compliment with some mild interesting flavors I couldn’t exactly pinpoint. I’d love to say it was saffron but I don’t think it was. The meat was chicken kebab, lamb kebab and kefta.
The kefta was the highlight of the plate — so delicious! The chicken was breast not thigh and was marinated in something minty — yum! The lamb was something like cinnamon/​nutmeg/​clove and was equally delicious.
The Sultani plate was attractive and had a really nice variety of flavor profiles. My «beef» was that it was ALL overcooked. The chicken breast was the worst (obviously with it’s low fat content) and the lamb was pretty tough too. While I’ll admit I like my meat on the rarer side, this was really overcooked so for that I am regretfully subtracting a star.
The meat on the gyro plate was the typical corporate «food service» highly processed ground loaf filled with gluten and other non-​meat ingredients. It’s the same stuff you get at any gyro shop. It tastes great and has it’s place, but it’s «fast food.» We knew that going in. It was shaved thin and grilled well — soft in the middle and a bit crispy on the edges.
The absolute best part of the entire meal was the tzaziki (is it called something else outside of Greece?). OMG the garlic and fresh shaved cucumber and fresh dill. I am pretty picky about my sauces and make my own tzaziki at home all the time but THIS WAS AWESOME.
I also appreciate that the food while salted, was not over salted.
Service was casual and friendly if a bit slow but we were happy to have a leisurely lunch and felt comfortable staying to chat and pick for quite awhile.
All in all a very nice lunch! Thank you — we will be back!

Was here at 2pm on a Wednesday. My husband & I were the only customers. The chef was very nice. We ordered Chicken Shawarma Sandwiches. Very filling & yummy, but much different than any shawarma I’ve had before. He asked us how spicy we wanted it, and my husband & I were confused because we’d never heard of spicy shawarma. I ordered mine «medium» & husband ordered his «spicy».
We were quite surprised at how much it tasted like Tandoori chicken with curry powder. Very Indian-​fusion. Surprisingly, not AT ALL spicy. The sauce was great. I had to eat my sandwich with a fork because it was impossibly messy & too big to bite into. The favor was great… but not like Medditerranean shawarma I’m used to.
In Michigan, we had these great Shawarma sandwiches with that really thin pita, spicy pickles, & thick garlic sauce that was like whipped butter. I miss those.
Oh! The chai was marvelous! Quite heavy on the ginger I think, but I liked that. Creamy & spicy deliciousness.