Zaina Food Drinks & Friends

Wish I could give these guys less than 1 star. Very rude person who did not acknowledge the fact that there was water in the shawarma plate that he served us. In fact, the person went on saying that he will charge me double next time I visit that place since I complained about the food !!!
Bad Ambiance, Bad Food and Shitty People !!

We got the lamb gyro, falafel, fries and the baklava. The lamb gyro was overall good but the meat could’ve used a lil more seasoning, fries were good, my friend had the falafel and she loved it. I didn’t try the baklava but my friend didn’t like it very much. I want to return and try other things off the menu.

If you are a vegetarian, I suggest you go blindly with mixed vegetables over basmati rice with pita bread. Neither too spicy nor bland. They serve it with some nice and savoury sauces over it. And extremely good portion for $ 10

We came here our first night in Seattle and fell in love with this place! The food came out quick and it was hot and delicious! We ordered the Lamb Gyro plate and a chicken gyro sandwich and when asked if we wanted it spicy we said yes. Gyro plate came with hummus, rice, salad, pita, and olives. The chicken gyro was so yummy, loved the spice. The flavor of everything was amazing, such a great price too! We would definitely come back here!

«Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It’s been thirty years since my last confession.
I find myself constantly having impure thoughts about the gyros and fries at Zaina. Oftentimes when I am with my wife, my mind drifts to these spicy, hummus and tatziki– laden delicacies. I can’t help it — their powers are strong.»
«Worry not, my son. Find bus 49 and follow your passion. And bring one back to the missus…»
Amen!

Soup wasn’t so good. We were there at 11 am on a Tuesday. The «lemon water» they have out complimentary was almost all gone and tasted as if it was from a few nights ago. Only thing that seemed fresh was the gyro.
Gyro was delicious.
Lentil soup old.

Went here last night and caught an employee with an attitude mid twenty a beard, short hair .Ever since I walked in he was looking me up and down. I was eating on the granite counter and then he stated that I need to move in the room in order for me to clean. I am a understandable person I move. I eat my gyros and he has not cleaned anything. Really? I walk out to my car and the same dude comes charging out yelling, like hey you did not pay come back in ! I was like bro look at my car I’m not gonna steal your food. I walked in cleared it up. I love the gyros here but the service from here is a ¹⁄₅. They have no structure for their payments of customers. Show customers respect and give them the benefit of the doubt. If the dude who gave me this crappy service, you may have been having a bad day but that’s no reason to take it out on me!

Great spot for some quick Greek delights. I have been here a couple of times and finally tried the gyro fries. So good! Perfect spot if you want a quick lunch or a light dinner.

Best Med food in the area… competes with Golden Olive or Petra… maybe better!!!

Having moved here from Los Angeles, I’m biased! Having said that, this place was okay. Their customer service was great though! The owner was really attentive and even asked us for each ingredient to be put on. I think their soup would be the only thing I’d give a 4 star to.
The trick is to find out restaurants by giving them a try and not going solely off of reviews and stars. A four or five star restaurant to one person may be a 2 or 3 star restaurant to another. Everyone’s taste buds are different!
But for a quick sandwich/gyro…this place does the trick!

Cute small shop a couple blocks before you hit Pike’s Place Market. What caught my attention was the poster that advertised gyro fries. I love gyro meat and fries are my weakness — put them together and you’ll have my head turned.
I waited a bit longer for my food to come because the gentleman said he was going to make fresh fries for me which was definitely worth the wait. The gyro meat on the fries was so moist and tender. I could of eaten a whole bowl of that. The hummus, tzaziki, chili also enhanced the flavors. They ask if you want everything so if you don’t like a particular ingredient, let them know!
Great spot to grab a quick affordable meal and then be on your way.

Delicious Greek/​Mediterranean food, overall. After reading the nearly unanimously positive reviews by my fellow Unilocalers, I went here for dinner one night while in Seattle. I was very hungry, so ordered the yellow lentil soup and the falafel sandwich, both of which are two of my favorites foods!
The falafel sandwich was one of the best I have had anywhere: falafel was crispy on the outside yet tender on the inside, vegetables tasted fresh, the tahini sauce was very flavorful, and pita was perfectly fluffy and chewy.
The yellow lentil soup was a bit harder to gauge, primarily because I misunderstood the employee’s question about whether I wanted hot sauce in it. I have never heard of anyone adding hot sauce to lentil soup, so assumed the question referred to the falafel sandwich. Thinking it would add some zest to the sandwich, I therefore requested a small amount. I almost immediately realized my mistake, though unfortunately not before the employee had deposited a substantial amount of hot sauce on top of the soup. Even after thoroughly mixing the hot sauce into the soup, the color was more red than yellow, and I was unable to identify any actual flavors of the soup. Given the quality of the falafel sandwich, I am sure the soup is similarly top-​notch, but I would caution patrons to be explicit about which dish you want hot sauce and other condiments added to!
Apart from that snafu (which was mostly self-​inflicted, though I do feel the employee could have communicated a bit more clearly), the dining experience was great. While some might dock a star for the very bare-​bones interior, this was not an issue for me. Just bear in mind that Zaina is more geared towards take-​out or a quick meal than a leisurely or high-​end dining experience. That being said, if you find yourself in the area looking for a reasonably priced and nourishing meal, I would definitely recommend Zaina.

Simple Mediterranean food and fast service. I really enjoyed the falafel plate. Great prices!

Service is fast, place seems to be clean enough… we went a little later in the evening and I ordered the chicken kabob, and I guess I just expected something a little different than what I got… also, the chicken seems a little dry… girlfriend had the falafel which was great, and Zaina does a great job with the side dishes. the tahina salad, tabouleh and hummus were very good… Definitely will be going back at some point soon!

It was an exciting moment, being introduced to my boyfriend’s native cuisine. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t know what to order, how to order it, or how to pronounce most of the items on Zaina’s menu.
Having no clue what to expect, it sure wasn’t a fun session of two men speaking unfriendly things about us in Arabic, and what they didn’t expect was my bilingual boyfriend to understand it.
Drama aside, the flavors of Zaina’s food had me completely tranced. The falafel plate is now one of my favorite meals — but only with the hot sauce, because I like things hot.
And they have LARGE bottles of only the best — Coca Cola.
Sadly, my baklava was left at home too long and went bad. But, just means another trip to Zaina is in order!

I used to enjoy eating at Zaina when they were located in Pioneer Square and was disappointed to hear they closed but so was happy to hear they opened a location near Pike Place market on Pine. I visited with some buddies from work and they enjoyed what they ordered, the beef gyro and some shawarma but my chicken gyro just wasn’t up to par with my experiences at the Pioneer Square location. Mine was very dry but they did give me some extra sauce. Even with extra sauce, the it just didn’t fix the dryness of the meat. I’ll give it another try sometime and write an update but if it wouldn’t have been for buddy’s feedback, I would have only given it two stars.

Came here for lunch with a coworker and decided to try this place out. On Pine between 1^st & 2^nd, small mom & pop type of place, probably family run. The lady was running lunch by herself so mad props to her for keeping up with the line and getting the food out quickly.
We both got the lamb/​beef gyro sandwich. If you order lamb or beef, its the same thing. Lady said the meat is a mix of beef & lamb, so there is no difference unless you order chicken. Good sized gyro, good amount of veg, nice tzatziki sauce, pita was nice, meat was very moist and flavorful. You have the option of getting it «spicy», they just add Sambal chili paste to it. There’s a huge jug for sale at the counter. Surprisingly, the gyro was quite good! I also got a baklava to go and it was quite good, flaky, crispy and the pistachio filling was good with a good amount of honey flavor! Kinda pricy for it though.
Lunch prices are mostly reasonable and the lady was very nice & friendly. Ill be coming back for lunch!

been here 2x now… had a chicken shawarma sandwich, and a falafal sandwich, the 2 visits. (you can get them spicey!!)
both were great, fast service, and super friendly employee both times.
there was a good customer presence & most seemed to be repeat customers.
(good sign)
recomend

In the shadow of the Seattle Public Market is an attractive and compelling little gem of a Mediterranean Food restaurant: Zaina Food & Friends. If you want an inexpensive and satisfying option to Corporate Clone restaurants, check this place out.
I had a lamb Gyro sandwich and a side order of Baba Ghanouj, and I was stuffed.
Everything is fresh and delicious, and the gentleman who served me was friendly and welcoming.
Prices are very good too, especially given the size and quality of the food.

This is a review of lunch with my brother at Zaina Food Drinks and Friends on Pine Street.
Zaina is a Mediterranean/​Greek restaurant featuring relatively light fair. It is a very causal restaurant. The space has some features that lend themselves to the restaurant’s Mediterranean roots but mostly it is basic and functional. The restaurant was clean and well maintained.
The staff was hyper-​friendly. There was a short lineup but it moved very quickly. Plus, after ordering, our food was out in less than ten minutes. During our entire stay, there was a steady stream of customers.
We each had a gyro. I had the beef and my brother had the lamb. They were each freshly prepared and piping hot. The wrap was soft. The meat was tender and flavourful. These were some very tasty gyros. Plus, the gyros held together well.
Beef
Lamb
The price for our lunch was $ 17.50
Overall: Friendly staff, clean comfortable space, combine with hot freshly prepared tasty food to create a very enjoyable lunch. I would certainly return to Zaina for another lunch or casual dinner.