Samir’s Mediterranean Grill

Stopped by for an early lunch and was pronounced the first customer of the day. Couldn’t have had a more enjoyable experience. Samir was super friendly and guided me to a lamb kabob plate — beautifully prepared and left me feeling full but clean. Total bargain too. Will definitely be going back when I need a quick bite on the ave.

Samir suggested a platter that gave us a great combination of stuff that fed 2 adults and 2 kids. The kids generally won’t eat anything but pb&j or pizza, but the 5 year old wants to go back tomorrow. (He tried Baklava for the first time) Samir was very nice and gracious with us and the kids even when the tired toddlers started getting out of control, he even helped us real them in a bit.

Love this place and the owners! So welcoming and very budget friendly! Their falafel plate totally hits the spot.

The owner is friendly but the shwarma sandwich to go was oddly sour, dry, had fried/​wilted lettuce and chunks of onion, and the pita was more of a tortilla. The snapple I got cost $ 4…same price as the sandwich. Good price, but for two bucks more you can get a much better, much fresher, and much tastier gyro on the Ave.

Best gyros, best prices, best people! I literally feel guilty if I eat gyros anywhere else because of how wonderful & personable Samir is!

Samir is a gem. His garlic sauce is amazing on everything. The lamb shank tastes just as good the next day. He will even make gluten free falafel if you call ahead. He is always willing to make the customer feel happy, appreciated and most of all fed (if you don’t like something, tell him and he will make you something else — simple as that). A true U-​District establishment and always the best place when you want well cooked Mediterranean food. Nothing faked or fancy in this place — just decent people & yummy food.

I was disappointed today with the food. We had the beef shawarma. Very little meat and not seasoned tasted microwaved. Lots of lettuce and the Arabic bread was old. I would not recommend this place at all.

Love love love samirs. He is so friendly and the food always comes fast and delicious. A true university way institution.
I get a falafel plate or sandwich each time I ho, and my wife will try other things on the menu. We have never been disappointed.
You will not be disappointed.

Recommended by a friend of south asian descent that the falafels are authentic so decided to give it a try!
Was unimpressed by the falafel plate. I think the falefels were homemade but they were very salty and dry. Also very surprised we only got 3 falafels per plate for almost $ 9 — certainly didnt leave full and this was for lunch. I would give 1 star for the food.
Samir himself seemed nice and the place has a nice friendly vibe, so +2 stars.
I might go back for the sandwiches, since it seems like a good deal, but I wouls not recommend getting the plates if you want to feel full and/​or not ripped off.

Samir’s a bro and the foods good too. We got the feast for two and it was more than enough. Baklava for dessert is totally worth it.

Got a plate and meat was barely warm. Clearly not freshly cooked. Also sort of puzzled by all of the «huge portions» comments in prior reviews. A few hunks of meat, a cup of rice, ½ pita and a handful of romaine certainly didn’t leave me stuffed. Will return, however, for his sunny greeting and to sample a $ 3.99 gyro.

Excellent food and super friendly service and atmosphere!

Eat here religiously if you are low on cash. The sandwiches are ludicrously cheap and the portion size is pretty large for the price. The falafel was super moist and definitely not made from a powder like most falafel joints. Totally gotta give him props for this. My only complaint was that I asked for «a little» hot sauce and ended up feeling like my mouth was on fire. But I’m almost full for less than $ 4 so I’m definitely not torn up about it.
Samir is the nicest dude. He’s covered the place in kind little notes and is super accommodating. I’d honestly pay just to see his smiling face.

Best Mediterranean food on the ave, and that’s saying something! Samirs is that rare combo great food with even better service. The prices are easy on the wallet and portions are big enough for anyone looking for leftovers. So stop reading this and head over to Samir’s… and tell him John and Sky said hello! Cheers

1^st visit. Looking forward to many more. Portions were great and the personable Samir was just like other reviews had said. The temperature gauge he gave was just right for me. Good food and great atomphsere.

Staff is very friendly, but the quality of the food leaves a bit to be desired. Cannot compare with Cedars of Lebanon across the street.

This place is family ran I’m assuming and it shows how much love and care they put in their product. Meal was delicious and at a great price. Super clean, especially when there’s live music and thousands of people for the current street fair right outside.
Highly impressed.
Great job Samir’s

Hadn’t been here in a while. Some things haven’t changed: Samir is still his usual cheerful self, and the prices are still suspiciously good. Unfortunately, I was less impressed with the food this time.
The menu is pretty standard: gyros, various vegetarian mezze, salads, grilled meats. I got the grilled marinated chicken wrap (spicy). I wasn’t sure whether to include this place in the SHAWARMAGEDDON tour, but the marinated beef is labeled as ‘shawarma’ on the menu, so I figure it’s close enough.
Given that the grilled chicken is not actually labeled as shawarma, I’m not going to complain about authenticity. The downgrade to three stars is for the food. The main problem is the assembly. The left half of the wrap was soggy shredded lettuce. I mean water-​soggy, not sauce-​soggy. The right half was boiled-​tasting chicken. Three things saved the sandwich from being downright bad:
1. The meat was piping hot. It was a cold day.
2. The tahini sauce.
3. The hot sauce; not just heat, but a nice tang as well.
As before, Samir was generous with the sauce. It did end up pooling at the bottom of the wrap, making a bit of a mess. But it was a tasty mess, so I’ll allow it.
Given the price, there’s still some reason to come to Samir’s. But with all the other Mediterranean food options in the area, I suspect it’ll be a while before my next visit.

Samir knows what’s up with good cheap grub, especially garlic fries. It’s aimed at students, and there’s not a lot of parking. But if you’re in the neighborhood, the grub here is great, and dirt cheap.
We split a plate of garlic fries, which had dairy-​free yogurt sauce, tons and tons of garlic, and fresh herbs. The fries themselves were very light and fluffy. Pretty amazing, and easy to demolish the whole thing in no time, especially for two big dudes.
We had lamb and beef kebab plates as well. Great light fluffy rice, awesome fresh salad, tender and flavorful meat, decent pita. Add lemonade to that and the whole bill was still about $ 25 for a table full of lunch. Really hard to beat the value here – the food was very high quality for the price, and the staff is friendly. It’s a small place with minimal seating, but they clearly crank out the to-​go orders.

The key at Samir’s is the felafel. There are some other good dishes, but the felafel is fairly consistently the best I’ve had in the Seattle area. The price for a sandwich/​wrap is very reasonable (around $ 4.50 after tax)
Important: Samir has two house-​made hot sauces. If you ask for them, he is happy to add some to your meal, but the are not advertised explicitly.
* The medium-​hot sauce is a green pepper based, with a wonderful, but slightly bitter (in a good sense — a perfect match for felafel) flavor.
* The super-​hot sauce (and it is actually 5 stars hot) seems like a habanero based sauce, with a very light citrus flavor. The flavor isn’t as strong as the green sauce, but it’s good and adds a huge spice kick to your dish.
As others have mentioned, Samir himself offers great service and if things aren’t too busy offers some great conversation while you are waiting for a to-​go order.