Yalla Mediterranean
| Address: | 55 Crescent Dr f, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523, USA |
| Phone: | +1 925-825-8644 |
| Site: | yallamedi.com |
| Rating: | 3.7 |
| Working: | 11AM–8:30PM 11AM–8:30PM 11AM–8:30PM 11AM–8:30PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11:30AM–8:30PM |
Location
Photos 98
Reviews 12
LL
Lloyd Silver
This is one of my absolute favorite restaurants. If you enjoy Mediterranean food youll love Yalla. They are trying to be the "Chipotle of Mediterranean cuisine". Well, I think they do a much better job of pulling that off than Chipotle does of serving quality Mexican food. The line moves quickly where you order at the counter - choose a protein; salad, wrap, or plate; and pick your sides. It is incredibly underpriced in my opinion. You get a huge portion of delicious food for under $10. Ive tried several of the meats, all of which I love - chicken skewers, steak skewers, schwarma. If youre looking for gyro, this is not your place. I like gyro, but this is a different style of med food. Its a nice, casual environment. You can come here for a quick bite or frankly turn it into a decent, relaxed meal. Ive been going there at least once a week since it opened and have not been disappointed once. The service is fantastic and the owner does a great job of running the restaurant and making sure his customers are happy. Note: The business took over Daphnes and I think they made the mistake of taking over their Google page as well. Some of the reviews here are from several years ago and do not apply since this restaurant is only a few months old as of February 2015.
MO
mo Got - hacked
My experience at Yalla was indeed super uninteresting, it is a perfect example of how hyped something gets because of major advertising on Pandora and what not. The food was not rancid, meaning it seemed fresh but lacked the flavor and vigor of traditional smaller mom n pop owned Mediterranean spots around anywhere in the bay. When I bite into a gyro or falafel it bursts with flavor, these "keftas" that "Yoe" recommended were better than fast food but definitely not better than gyro meat like he pompously explained but it was definitely worth a shot. Bottom line, had better Mediterranean at the mall but the employees are super friendly minus the awkward vibe of the owner/manager/cashier that hovers over the employees and customers when taking your payment. #Yallagetmeouttahere #subwayversionofMediterranean
NI
Nia Lorre
Despite the little "V" and "DF" on their menus, Yalla does not serve vegetarian food at all. They only have side dishes to accompany their meats that they claim are vegetarian. I tried to order a vegetarian meal and was told point blank that you "have to order a protein" and that it "has to be a meat". Obviously Yalla needs to go back to school on what protein is and stop the false advertising. Yes, I contacted their corporate office to discuss this and no, they did not respond. This is just another Chipotle fast food operation. Dont kid yourself about it being healthy. (Example: their french fries are fried in animal fat.) Who knows if those items they claim are vegetarian or dairy free really are? I know I wont be back.
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Mike Wes
They give a lot of choices of Mediterranean food for a good price. It would cost double to get better quality. So for relatively fast food it rates 10xs better then the fast food choices. If you just eat the rice, lentils and salads you are eating several time healthier than the fast food places and along with their choice of chicken or steak, you get all the extra protein you could use. I love Mediterranean food so I have to have it with olive oil. Yallas attendants are always willing to give me olive oil when I ask and they always make my plates to special order. Bravo Yalla!
JO
Joe Ellett
Yallas advertises that everything is fresh and it is, but its not very flavorful. The kefta isnt broiled on a vertical broiler and sliced, nor is it pieces of meat on a skewer; its weirdly textured little meatballs that are apparently cooked by rolling them down a grill. I got the kefta with rice and lentils, expecting the lentils to be tender and creamy, but they were firm to the point of crunchiness, with no liquid to speak of. The Baba Ganoush had very little flavor at all. This is one place I will not be returning to.
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Rita Jones
We like the food, but the service needs some improvement. Today we ordered chicken skewers rice plate to-go. The cashier asked us to wait and she said she would deliver the food when its ready. After waiting for about 15 minutes, we got our food in a bag so we left to drive home. When we got home, the chicken skewers were missing from the plate. How disappointing. We tried to call them but nobody picked up the phone. Lesson learned: always check your to-go order when you receive it next time.
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lishadeane
Im international student from saudi arabia and my friend whose I.S. like me was from dubai and Ive been here in the bay since 13 and been strolling around Mediterranean restaurant to taste my all-time fave shawarma. And i must say, this is the best Mediterranean restaurant Ive been to. I love their chicken shawarma. Feels like Im home. Its too close to the shawarma in saudi. Taste it guys!!! The sauce are: humus and the white sauce that looks like ranch but not really pickles then chicken. ❤❤❤
AD
Adam smith
I have tried this place three times and it has gotten worse every time. The service is slow and not very friendly. Their portions are extremely skimpy for the price. The guy put a spoon of chicken shawarma pieces from a heated container on my salad that was old, dried and tasted horrible. They over charge you for very little and low quality food, so it is a ripoff!! I was there on a weekday at around 1pm(lunch time) and the place was dead, so it figures!
JA
James Griffith
LOVE this new concept from Daphnes company. Decent price for a TON of great food - you can easily get two balanced meals if you save leftovers. Ive only ever been at off-times, but the one time we went at peak dinner time they were very slow because of a large to-go order that held everyone up and it looked like they needed one more staff member. Hopefully they dont let kinks in the system like that ruin their chances because it really is a great place.
WI
William Grady
First time trying out this place. After I figured out how to order (much like how you would order in Chipotle), I ordered the chicken shawarma. Im not an expert on Mediterranean food but I do know what I like...and this place, I really like. The serving was plentiful (you get three sides) and the workers were friendly (they were patient with me as I tried to figure out what I wanted). If youre in the area, I definitely recommend this place!
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Annabelle Call
Ordered fallafal plate. Manager put chicken on it twice. First time blamed an employee. Second time I asked what he was doing he told me that is what I ordered. He was extremely rude and had a little temper tamptrum when I told him I wanted the other man preparing plates to finish mine. Disappointments continued when eating the food. Lentils and potatoes were undercooked and the pita was dried out on the edges.
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Katrina Nelson
I have gluten free, dairy free, and egg free sensitivities. Its so nice to go to a place that makes it easy to order! They have gf and df typed up next to the menu items. I had the chicken on rice- the chicken was very flavorful and the rice was bland- so it made a good blend! The plate was $10. A good price I think :) Ps- come closer to Sacramento and Ill be a regular!
