Ta-eem Grill

If you close your eyes you are on Ben Yehuda in Jerusalem. The food, the scents, the ambience are so close to an authentic Israeli experience less the long trip there and the jet lag.

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Taeem is hands down has the best shawarma (and pargiot, steak, etc). They used to be a very small shop but they have remodeled and totally expanded allowing for more seating inside. They are located on melrose between fairfax and labrea.
It is always packed and there’s always a line to order, which isn’t surprising considering their amazing food and fair pricing.
We got there almost at 10 pm and there was still a line and it was packed. Unfortunately, they were out of shawarma so we got pargiot pita and rib eye steak. Their plates come with variety of side salads on the side and for the sandwiches you have to go in when it’s ur turn and Tel them what you would like to be in your sandwich.
Also, another thing I love about this place, they are not cheap. If you want a lot of one thing, they’ll just put it in, it’s no problem and they are very nice about it.
We were definitely in a food coma after we left. Had to just come home and pass out.

Came here to catch up with a friend over dinner and oh my, we made a great choice! It’s a pretty casual location (order at the front, they serve your table, etc. etc.) but it works well, especially since the staff were really welcoming and attentive! I ordered the schwarma plate and my friend got kabobs. Both were delicious but the schwarma was phenomenal, probably the best that I’ve ever had. Thankfully it was just the two of us because the portion sizes were large and I LOVE leftovers! Honestly, if I were a local, I would go here every week. Definitely looking forward to my next trip!

Great food, excellent service at this place.
I love to visit again and recommend to all friends.
Thanks for everything.

Really good food, but saturdays are closed.
Update: its monday 7pm I am standing in front of it and its closed again.

Best shwarma in LA. Stuffed with tender chicken and their tasty sauces and veggies the pita oozes with spicy goodness. Ask and they will give you a side of their babaganoush to slather over the warm pita.

One of my favorite spots to eat israeli food! Huge portions and amazing quality. Ive been here a few times and usually go with the chicken shawarma laffa bread but it gets too filling so i just did the pita bread and it was still great. Good thing about this place is that they aren’t cheap with their meat and fries. And the food is made real quick, once i ordered they had the food ready by at most 10 min.

Great service! I was greeted immediately. They were already working on my order. (I ordered pick up in the car and walked in. Estimated time was 10 min). The man told me my order would be ready shortly. We ordered 2 rib eye plates, schnitzel, and shawarma chicken. When they were done they told me that they were going to put it in a box and take it to my car. (Probably because I was holding my 18 month old son.) my boyfriend came, so I told them it was alright. But very sweet of them to offer.
Food was delicious, but the rib eye was supposed to be medium but was a little tough. Also, wish there was a big of fat on the steak.

This place feels likenosrael from the moment you walk in. They serve you salads when you get to the table so overall it’s a huge amount of food for what you’re paying. I got the chicken shawarma plate and it was awesome. Would definitely come back for lunch. Lots of searing, would be great for groups.

Stopped by yesterday when I was shopping on Melrose, and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I got the grilled chicken plate, and the servings were huge. I was glad I got it though, because it came with a side salad, hummus, baba ghanoush, roasted beets, and sweet potatoes. If I was headed home after, it would have easily made two meals, but I didn’t wanna drive around with food in the car all night.
The best part was the bread, which I think must be fresh and is really thick and fluffy. No joke, I think it was my favorite pita I’ve ever had.
It’s got a nice atmosphere too, casual, but not really divey.

Schnitzel Pita sandwich was bomb. You can choose what goes inside of your sandwich. I pretty much got everything with a side of eggplant. The pita bread is grilled which gives it a nice crunchy feel to the sandwich. a lot of tahini sauce — yum
Coming back to try their Shawarma plate!

This place superbly lived up to expectations possibly even surpassing my favorite San Francisco equivalent (Old Jerusalem). We had the Chicken Shawarma and Beef Kabob; both were full of flavor, extremely well prepared and came with oodles of delicious sides.
It’s counter service so putting your order is in quick and the turnaround for the food to arrive was very reasonable given the crowd. Environment is pretty noisy, almost bustling despite us being there at a non-​peak hour. I absolutely will return.

Been a while since I submitted a 5 star review. This place really knows how to treat its customers and the food is awesome. We arrived a bit early and was asked to wait. The opening time was 11a but they couldn’t get us in until 11:07a. The owner apologized and the gave us some extra treats.
We ordered 3 plates (Shwarma Chicken, Kabob and Eggplant) to feed 4 people. It was still too much food! However, we got fries, falafel, rice and bottled water as a bonus and the owner came by to check on us multiple times. There was no need, the food was great and they made is feel really valued.
Even with the $ 8 tip, it was only $ 55 all together. A great value, great food and great owner. You can’t ask for more than that. This is definitely on my list of places to return to when in LA.

Was finally in the area so got to try it out! Looked super busy from the outside but if you go in there are a lot more tables. A little pricey, maybe since it’s Kosher? If I was closer I’d probably come here a lot since you can get good healthy food from here!
FOOD:
Chicken Breast Plate (4 stars) Thin but very flavorful chicken breast filets! I expected something more like kabobs since that’s what most Mediterranean places do but it was still very flavorful. Healthy and tastes great. Good amount of meat too.
Eggplant side (4 stars): Whatever this was that they give on the side was amazing. So much flavor for eggplant!
Pita Bread (5 stars): So soft.
Laffa Chicken Shwarma Wrap (4 stars): This was HUGE! But it was good. Chicken schwarma was very flavorful.
SERVICE:
Owner was really nice and came up to the tables to see how everyone was doing. The guy we ordered from wasn’t as helpful with our questions. It was our first time there and he just gave us really short answers. When you order a wrap you need to listen for your number cause they will call you up to customize it. But when it’s busy it’s hard to hear your number. After a while we just went up to them and I guess they already called our number earlier.
ATMOSPHERE:
Pretty big on the inside. Outside they have tables as well but those filled up fast. They have TVs inside as well. You order and they give you a number to stick at your table or call you up if you need to customize a wrap.
PARKING
Metered street parking. I got lucky with one in front so I didn’t mind, but if it’s busier I’m sure it’s annoying.

I haven’t been to Israel, so I can’t say first-​hand, but given how delicious my experience was, I want to agree with everyone who says Ta-​eem is 2^nd to the real deal.
I recommend getting a platter and sharing. It is a lot of food, but a great way to try a little bit of everything. I had the chicken and tried my friend’s falafel. Both were perfectly seasoned and cooked.

Taeem is the best kosher eatery that most people overlook. Being kosher the prices are reasonable and the service is quick. It reminds me of a hybrid Mediterranean Chipotle but much more authentic. I have had a lot of shawarma and this is one of my favorites because of the customizing. My go to is the chicken shawarma in a pita. The laffa was good too but the pita is not for everyone and the pita is a safe bet. I normally just put whatever they point to and make sure to add fries. By the end of it my pita is falling over and filled with all the essentials. The chicken has a nice crispy texture on the outside and the addition of eggplant, tahini, hummus, lettuce and
whatever else you want will elevate the flavors of the chicken.
Tip: Portion sizes are big especially the plate which is good for sharing. The fries are a good side if you beed something extra for a smaller meal.

Amazing chicken shawarma! We were nearby watching some football games at a bar and the service at that bar was sloooow. I was starting to get hangry which is never good. I looked up nearby awesome places on Unilocal and Ta-​eem came up. The chicken shawarma was really flavorful and juicy and was destroyed very quickly. On my way out, a couple employees (who most likely were the owner/​managers) thanked us for our business.
Update on 12.2.15: Got the beef kabob plate in addition to chicken shawarma last night and that was super delicious as well.

53%
Pretty good chicken shawarma plate.
***
Came here for a late lunch, Oct ’15.
Ta-​eem Grill seems to be more of an Isreali restaurant with a number of cooked meats on the menu. I recall reading the dishes may be prepared in a kosher friendly manner. The chicken shawarma appears to be one of the more popular things to get. There is no beef or lamb shawarma.
Every meat dish on the menu can be ordered as a wrap, lavash wrap, and a plate. Although the plates are typically the most expensive, it also comes with a generous side of baba ganoush spread, pickles, spiced carrots, beets, hummus, pita bread and the like. While I don’t know if the portion size of actual meat given is any different between plates or wraps, I can say the plates come with a fairly generous portion of meat.
The dining environment leans more on the casual side. Diners order at the counter, the food is brought to the table when it’s prepared 10 – 15 mins later. Some of the staff are a bit impersonal but by no means rude. Others are quite attentive. It’s pretty random who might check on you. The place has never been too busy during the occasions I’ve visited. I would say it’s pretty comfortable and not very loud.
I find the food is something I have mixed feelings about. I’ve only tried their chicken swarm and their chicken thigh plate. I’ve never ordered any wraps. I don’t recall much about the chicken thigh dish and didn’t take notes, so I’ll maybe write about that another time.
I’ll get more into the food sampled.
Chicken swarma plate. Approx $ 15. Dish rating 53%.
Note the plate comes with a decent amount of slow grilled marinaded chicken cut off a spit. It reminds me a lot of ‘al pastor’. If I recall correctly, there might be a bit of fat or skin wedged between the meat, but I’m not sure.
The flavor of the meat seems a bit more muted than I’d prefer although not entirely absent. The chicken isn’t dry and unpleasant, although it is cooked a bit more than I’d prefer and not quite as juicy as I’d like.
What seems to stand out more is what appears to be a marinade. It’s by no means overpowering and the flavor of turmeric and maybe a yogurt seem to come through. Because it’s not too aggressive, I could discern not much beyond that. It’s not bad.
By itself I find the chicken mildly delicious at first bite, but it falls a bit flat towards the middle. The beets and carrots as well as the hummus complement the chicken and are essential. The warm, denser, pillowy pita work well to scoop everything up.
Portion size is fairly generous when you consider all the condiments that come with the plate, while the amount of meat given is on the moderate end.
Overall Ta Eem is fairly decent. I like how the food is hearty and pretty filling for a reasonable price. I find myself enjoying the condiments and dips more than the meats. I’m not very familiar with this style of cooking, but it’s enjoyable enough where I might visit maybe on a few occasions a year.
Not bad.

SO. EFFING. BOMB. I was looking to refuel with some hearty sustenance after volunteering at AidsWalk, and came across Ta-​eem Grill on my bookmarks. I decided to share the Chicken Shawarma plate with a friend and wow WHAT A GLORIOUS DISH — it came with a hefty amount of chicken served with a simple cucumber tomato salad and hummus, as well as warm pita, vegetables, and hot sauce on the side. Just stuff everything into a pita for a good time in your mouth! I just wished the chicken was more tender and juicy, for it was pretty dry on one side, probably from being on the spit for so long. I definitely recommend getting the plate over the other options — although it is $ 5 more than the pita, you can basically make 2 pitas with the portion included.
I also got to try their fries, which are very similar to the fries offered at In-​N-​Out. Perhaps even better. I KNOW THAT IS A BLASPHEMOUS THING TO SAY BUT I STAND BY IT. They were super fresh, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, perfectly salted, with no need for condiments. I usually go crazy with ketchup on my fries but I honestly did not need any to enjoy these!
In terms of service, the servers seemed really friendly, but new and unsure of how to anticipate our needs. This place is also strictly kosher, so the manager made me put away my unopened bag of Cheetos lol. I am definitely looking forward to coming back and trying their other plates!

Chicken shawarma is so juicy and well seasoned. Got it as a plate, which comes with a huge spread involving a basket of pita bread, hummus, a cucumber tomato salad, sauces, and a plate of carrots, coleslaw, beets, etc. Pita bread was good but not amazing. All the sides were delicious and nice complements to the chicken!
Bf got chicken shwarma laffa which is like a Mediterranean burrito and is HUGE. After you order you can see the laffa being made in front of you and you get to choose exactly which sauces and sides you want in it. Definitely messy! (They have a sink in the front though where you can wash your hands after.)
Was surprised at the plate costing $ 16 but once I got my food I realized why… the portions are crazy! Was stuffed and still had enough for leftovers. The people that work here were all very nice and helpful. Lots of tables, most of them are for large groups.