Abraj Mediterranean Restaurant

Just bought an eggplant salad with beef shawarma on top. Finally, REAL FOOD. A hearty salad IS possible. So tasty. I don’t do salad dressing, so they did it with lemon and some salt, as I asked. Sometimes it is the chef who is working the register, but he did a great job at both. I hope this plays sticks around the neighborhood. I know where to go for a salad that doesn’t taste like compost scraps.

This is seriously the best food on El Cajon Blvd! I love the combo plate. The hummus is perfect, garlic sauce, tzaziki, everything is good. They also have bottled Mexican sodas which always hit the spot!

I came in and ordered food to go. The entire time I was ordering he was answering a call on his cell phone and talking to someone. So, I ordered shawarma fries and a gyro with fries. I asked for my gyro with no lettuce and no tomato, the guy then asked if I wanted onion and I said yes. The food was not fresh, even the meat was not being cooked, it was all reheated. Still I tried to remain optimistic since there are such good reviews. Well I got home and opened my box and behold tomato and brown lettuce.
I called the restaurant and talked to the guy, he said I never asked for no tomato and lettuce. I told him yes I did and you even asked if I wanted onion and I said yes. He denies that conversation ever took place. I told him he was too busy talking on his cell phone and he did not deny this. He wouldn’t offer to replace my sandwich. So I paid almost 9 dollars for a gyro with barely and meat, with tomato and brown lettuce. Well I am not enjoying my meal. The fries are also frozen crinkle cut, that aren’t even salted.
Awful food and awful service. Skip this place. The restaurant was also dead inside. You will regret eating here. Also the place is run down and there are bottled drinks everywhere and a kitchen refrigerator in the front. It’s like those restaurants on TV that were once great and now everything is old and warmed back up and they have awful service and they can’t figure out why they are not doing great business. Well food prepared like this and receiving awful service deserve to close.

There is a huge language barrier but if you get pass that you can get to enjoy delicious food that doesn’t make you feel like shit afterward. At least that was what it feel like eating the salad with chicken.

This is the worst mediterranean food ive ever had! Usually this type of food is healthy. What i got was so greasy and reminded me of taco bell. The fries were dark brown from them not changing their oil. I ordered a beef shwarma, they gave me a wrap that was grilled. Upset my stomach and felt sick because i ate it i was so hungry… Beware!

Great food no complaints there.
Sometimes they take longer than usual, occasionally have made me wait 5 minutes at the counter while I am staring at my take-​out food that’s sitting there ready to go while they do something else in the back… not cool!

The Shawarma fries are not to be missed! I got the chicken & beef mixed shawarma fries and it was really good! The fries were thick cut style fries so they held the meat and sauce toppings nicely. I liked the beef a little more than the chicken because the beef had a hint of more spices and sweetness. I also shared the lamb shank plate which came with lentil soup, salad, rice, pita, and a choice of regular or spicy hummus. The lamb shank was huge and literally fall off the bone tender. It was very flavorful and filling. Even I shared both these plates, it was more than enough food and I was stuffed afterwards! This little joint may be easy to miss when driving by, but it definitely worth a stop. It’s not necessarily the more décor worthy or special in its ambiance, but the reasonable prices and yummy, filling food are definitely worth coming in for!

It’s one of the highest quality service, food, and profession. The food taste great I definitely recommend this restaurant for everyone.
I love middle Eastern food and this restaurant probably make the best one. I usually go there and eat different kinds every time especially they serve free soup with any meal of choice.

This is the only place we go to for med in the college area. There are plenty of med places here. … but none as good as this one. Chicken Schwarma is really good. So is the hummus. If you like hookah, you can get your food here and go next door and smoke.

I worked at this place about 3 years ago and I miss the food so much! Everything on the menu is amazing, the wraps the combo plates the SALADS the soups and even the desserts. Only down side is that if they’re busy the workers might be a little slower than usual specially if there’s only one or two people working but it’s totally worth the wait. Plus I heard they put up a new menu & new prices so deff go check it out.

I’ve been here a handful of times and have enjoyed the food and service in general. Their hours are great, prices not bad, and it’s always hot and tasty.
However, tonight, I came here for dinner and ordered a water. It never came, and most of our food had been delivered, so I figured the server hadn’t heard me and asked again, at which time I was told they no longer give out tap water. If you don’t find this outrageous enough, my friend proceeded to pay $ 2.70 for a 20 oz. Gatorade. Low blow, Abraj, low blow.
I don’t respect any establishment that refuses water to a person, especially a customer. I can tell you I won’t be back. Which is a shame. I really liked you guys

Such great food! I have found my new favorite lunch spot!

This Mediterranean place off El Cajon boulevard has constantly popped up in my Unilocal suggestions for some time now and some shawarma sounded good for dinner. Abraj is a small little restaurant found in a strip mall right off the road. The red sign is easy to see but the parking lot is very overcrowded from the other businesses next door. This place serves up your typical faire of Mediterranean dishes that you’d find at any San Diego place. The store front is a little shop consisting of a few tables, a TV and a weird brand of ketchup at every table (
). The place was run by a nice woman at the register and a single cook running the kitchen. In the background you can see the vertical rotisseries slowly cooking all the meat, you know they’re doing it right here.
The chicken shawarma combo plate (
) came with plenty of chicken meat. Their combo plates are a pretty good deal at about $ 13ish per entrée, you get meat, rice, pita bread, hummus, soup and a side salad. The meat had lots of flavor to it and was really good shawarma. Sometimes the chicken gets dried out cooking all day, but this stuff was moist. They give you lots of yellow rice with your meal which is seasoned really well when it was cooked. Perhaps my favorite thing was the hummus and pita bread. The hummus wasn’t too oily and had a bit of a spicy kick to it. The pita tasted fresh and had a good soft texture to the outside. While the bread wasn’t too thick, it was perfectly cooked and went well with the food. The side salad wasn’t much but was a refreshing side to the meal and the dressing wasn’t too bad either. I also got a side of grape leaves (
) to go with the meal, they didn’t turn out to be the best I’ve ever had but they were decent enough.
Even though Abraj looks just another place off El Cajon, it provides a really decent sized tasty meal for dinner. If you happen to come around lunch time, they even offer some really cheap takeaway deals as well. The shawarma here was really good stuff, it’s hard to say if it’s the best in the area, but definitely one of the better places to get it.

I haven’t explored the menu very much but I have been here a few times.
First off, when I’ve come in, one gentleman is working and he is hustling. Though he isn’t the fastest by himself, he’s very friendly and the the food is SUPER awesome. He really trys to make it the best of that dish. He’s offered little suggestions on how he could prepare the food special for you, too.
I like this place more because there isn’t a lot open on the area the late so it’s a gem for that. It’s a double plus you can get a meal for about $ 7 too!
Something I do have to laugh off though; two different times I have ordered an item as a sandwich and received a wrap. I accepted it though because they were so appealing.
I do have to admit, a lot of items in the menu I’m not sure what they are. Thank god for falafel and french fries as a fall back. I’ll have to keep coming so I have the gem of the gem. :)

Amazing and delicious! Their service was fast, friendly, and professional, especially for a huungryy girl at midnight! The serving size is also way worth the price. Flava is mouth watering.

Came here after Awesomefest 9, night 1. I ordered the chicken shawarma dinner — chicken shawarma over basmati rice, side salad, pita, hummus & lentil soup (another tomato based soup with rice & chicken was also added).
Two days later I have eaten ¾s of the meal minus the 2 soups which I gave to a hungry friend. Hey, it was a lot for food for me kids!
The chicken had a nice lemony tang and the rice… oh the rice! I’m not a huge rice person but this basmati with golden raisins & almond slivers was so tasty.
The hummus was creamy, topped with a few chickpeas, paprika, olive oil and to my surprise… raw garlic. Watch out for that raw garlic because I mistakenly ate it thinking it was another chickpea. I had hours of garlic breath afterwards.
The side salad was good too… lettuce, tomato, cucumber and a nice light vinegrette.
If I lived around here, I’d be eating at Abraj quite often.

Very friendly staff, but slow service and the food always come oily and greasy. Private parking lot. This review is based on many visits there since its right next door to Zodiac Hookah Lounge where I hang out with my friends. Prices are okay, but not cheap too.

Super yummy Mediterranean food! I always order the Kufta dinner (comes with 2 Kufta kabobs, salad, hummus, soup, and rice) & it is sooo good. It’s about $ 15.00 + tax. Everything is super fresh & flavorful. I love the fact that they’re open ’til 2AM! Owner is super nice & I received great service when my friends and I decided to dine in at 1AM in the morning.
Def be one of the spots I go to after midnight for good food!

It can be a little pricey. But then again, I remind myself that all of them are if you’re used to the prices back in the middle east. That cant be helped lol.
They do have a lunch special, or if you order right you will have a pretty satisfying meal for a good price.
I usually get the beef shawerma wrap (chicken is tasty too, but I prefer beef) for $ 5. It’s not that big, but you can add fries for $ 1.50 and I recommend ordering the lentil soup that comes with Arabic bread and lemon for $ 2.50. It’s good, but not common to put noodle in the soup like they do.
I ask for extra tahina sauce (if chicken, its also good with the garlic sauce) and extra arabic pickles in my shawerma, it comes to $ 11. Not bad. I like their food, and I’m very particular about my arabic food.

Thought it was really awesome that they had Gyro fries, unfortunately it was very salty/​garlicky.
I also tried the chicken/​beef shawarma plate. Portion was kind of small because the it was a small amount of shredded meat. Should probably just stick to their shawarma wraps.