Sahara

I usually get the falafel platter for lunch or maybe the lentil soup. I enjoy their food and have introduced friends to falafel for the first time through this restaurant. They tend to use some sumac in their food (I think it is sumac anyway). It sets the flavor of their food apart somewhat from other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food places in KC. I am giving them four stars for what they are – a relatively inexpensive informal dine-​in or take out place.

This place is definitely worth a visit. The hummus is the best I’ve had in Kansas City and the baklava is so crispy and not too sweet. You are going to rush back for more. The pita is warm and moist and the every single meat I’ve tried here always rocks.
If you are near the plaza, come by this place and get some great grub!

Best lentil soup I’ve had in KC. Hummus is above average. Tabouli is good. Had schawarma chicken. Great flavor. Bechamael sauce is out of this world. Parking is a little dicey due to construction but Sahara is definitely worth it. Lunch prices at the low end of reasonable. We’ll be back for more.

This restaurant is fantastic. They provided the food for my wife’s and my wedding on short notice, and the guests were all astounded. They are kind, stand-​up people and we highly recommend them. The hummus is the best we have had in KC (and we’re picky!), and the grilled chicken is superb. Thank you Kamal and Mohammad for making Sahara one of the greatest hidden gems of this city!

Done. I’ve tried Sahara probably 10 – 12 times since they’ve been open and it’s been incrementally worse each and every time. There is a complete lack of integrity now. The kitchen no longer takes any pride in the food it’s putting out. They can’t even get pita bread right. It is always cold on one side and burnt/​crispy on the other. Last night’s gyro meat was tasteless and dry. They were out of soup, so we had to get salads. At most places (Aladdin and Jerusalem Café in particular), salad would usually be my first choice. Their dressings are amazing and there are quality ingredients in the salad. Here at Sahara, you’ll get a huge pile of poorly chopped iceberg with some tomato chunks, an olive, and the most American, blandest dressing you can imagine.
Trust me, you can do better at home with a little time and some quick googling.

This was my first time in this establishment and I was duly impressed with the food. I had the Kafta platter with Hummus and it was spectacular. Great place in the heartland of America.

Great food always and is always consistent. Love the chicken platter, It’s awesome. Tons of food for what you pay. The service is always nice too. I think it’s family run because the guys who run the counter are usually hanging out there even when they aren’t working.

Sahara is literally my favorite Mediterranean restaurant within the metro. The food is prepared fresh and the owners are great. The lamb is just amazing. Lintel soup is fabulous and the hummus is Devine. Every thing in the menu is delicious. They do have lunch specials and their portion size is just right.

I was in a group from work that went to Sahara for lunch this week. I have been to Sahara many other time as it is across the street form work. They have pretty good prices and the quantity and quality of food is usually pretty good. I had the chicken kabob platter with the Lentil soup and was happy with the food came with Saffron rice and grilled peppers and onions. The lentil soup was as usual very good. I prefer it over the salad. The tabouli salad has too much parsley for my taste it is almost all parsley with only enough bulgur wheat to say there is some in it. I also find the hummas to be missing something, and I find the pickles on the falafel sandwich but without them it is good, but these could regional differences.
I can’t give them 4 stars because of one thing that happened on our group visit one of my coworkers had not received his order. when he asked about it the man working the cash register and taking the food to the tables, realized he had given the order to the wrong table. He went back to take away the food he had already set down in front of another customer. If they had not already began eating it we sincerely believe he would have taken the food back to give to my co-​worker.

We had a Chicken Shawirma today for lunch. It was so dry & hard chew. It was not even fresh chicken. Please think twice before to this old food restaurant.

Tasty gyros and hummus, reasonably priced. The gyro meat is cut thick. Lunch combo meal comes with the main attraction, hummus, pita, and saffron rice. Generous portions.

The food is awesome, prices are reasonable and staff is great. I’m a regular customer, and always enjoying there food!

I don’t know much about how this place is outside of lunch, but for lunch it’s pretty much awesome! I usually come around noon with my coworkers and we all get one of the lunch specials: choice of meat, tabbouleh, pita, hummus, & rice. So much food for $ 6.99!
I like the grilled chicken or schawarma. I can say that I definitely appreciate the speedy delivery of the food! They give you a number after you order and they bring the food to you.
The place is «unassuming», feels like a high school cafeteria inside… but the food is great!

The location is great for umkc students, not to much parking outside but not terrible.
The food is amazing, prices are on point and staff is wonderful. I can’t wait to become a regular here and try everything!

I’ve been here a few times, once to try, the others out of convenience, I must say that its not very good, but it’s not super expensive, so if you’re hungry, it will work in a pinch. their pita is out of a bag and usually dry and stale, their rice is pitiful and their meat dishes are pretty stale as well. If you are starving, go for it, otherwise, skip it.

Good place to stop by for a quick meal on the go, which really works on a college campus. True, the dining area more resembles a dorm dining hall than a restaurant, but for me it didn’t matter. I ordered my shawarma chicken plate and was out the door in less than 10 minutes.
Everything was not amazing, but solid, and the price is certainly right. The chicken on a bed of yellow rice fills the big compartment of your standard to-​go container. Hummus and tabouleh salad round it out, with warm pita bread. They use dark meat, so the chicken is tender and moist, and the seasoning is nice. The hummus is creamy, not spicy but flavorful. The tabouleh salad is heavier on the parsley than most; I would’ve liked more grain and less green, but it’s tasty nonetheless. I didn’t partake, but if you need a sweet to finish your meal off, they have a whole case of pastries to choose from that look delicious. Overall, it’s not a destination place for me when I want Mediterranean, but if I’m in the neighborhood and hungry in a hurry, I’ll stop by again.

I’ve been to this place before and I was really impressed by the service and the food. The location is really convenient. It’s located by UMKC. It’s a pretty big restaurant. The menus are really nice, they have pictures and you can see what you would like to order instead of just reading about the items you also get a visual of the kind of food you will be getting. This is really helpful in choosing what to order especially if it’s your first time there. When I came here before I always got chicken kabobs and gyros. This time I got beef kabobs. I was a little disappointed because the meat was kind of hard and it was salty for me. With pretty much any order you get rice and your choice of soup or salad. I always get salad and the salads are really tasty. The rice is always perfect and cooked really well. I love the yellow color of the rice. You get a good portion of food and I always have left overs. The price average is about $ 10 dollar and that’s descent for the amount of food you get. I will continue to go there again.

Pleasantly surprised. I’ve lived pretty close to Sahara for nearly two years and never went there because it didn’t look all that amazing. Sometimes seeing a laminated photo of food doesn’t make me all that hungry!
While the interior is more a holding cell than a cozy restaurant, they do have an efficient system worked out during lunch. Several students have their laptops up and there is lots of space. I went in and got it to-​go, and got the lunch special. It has chicken breast that was really good quality, well seasoned and moist. This was over a bed of rice, served with hummus, pita and tabouleh.
Sometime when you get a styrofoam container to-​go, it ends up as a giant mess of food before you get home. Not the case here! Everything was perfectly sectioned off and they had it ready to go the right way.
Probably the best part for me — it’s cheap, easy and healthy. I like the fact that you can get a very filling meal for less than $ 8 and of good quality.

A place to eat, unfortunately not much more.
I am a fan of the Mediterranean cuisine, but this is definitely not a place I would go to enjoy a meal. Don’t get me wrong: there is nothing wrong with this place, but nothing outstanding either and the food quality wouldn’t really bring up lots of enthusiasm from me.

I got the schawarma platter here around lunch on a Monday. The schawarma is chicken, which comes with rice, hummus & pita, and side salad. Everything was very flavorful and inexpensive (I think it was $ 7 for the combo).
It is located right next to UMKC, near the Psychology building. It is nice to have a delicious place so close by! They are set up to order at the register, and they bring the food to you. It was quick, probably took somewhere between 5 – 10 minutes. I will definitely be back!