Review Lotus Falafel & Shawerma - Oakland

TL;DR - Great, crisp, brown gyros and crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside falafel, but on the pricier side I got the beef and lamb gyro plate which came with hummus, house salad, 2 falafel balls, pickles, tahini sauce, hot sauce, and pita bread. First, the gyros were crisp and brown in the best way, and came covered in what I’m assuming was tahini. Under the sliced meat was some diced onion and another wedge of flatbread, unlike the pita that came on the side. Really delicious, especially when paired with the house salad. Now, the house salad was mostly iceberg lettuce, but with the tomato, parsley, feta, and the dressing it all came together in a very flavorful but refreshing way. While I liked the crunchiness of the exterior of the falafel and the creamy lightness of the interior, I felt like it was missing something. Still, if you like falafel, I would definitely give this one a try. The hummus was also good and while it would have been nice to have more pita to go along with it, I was happy to dip the gyros in before each bite. All in all, this was an excellent plate of food and the service was very friendly. If this plate were about $4 cheaper than the $19.24 that I paid in June of 2022, this would be a 5 star review, no question! I would definitely eat here again; while I was expecting rice with this plate, I didn’t miss it and in fact appreciated that I wasn’t in danger of slipping into a food coma after eating!

Order the hummus, it was tasty. I did not like the fact that it did not come with at least one pitta bread. Most Mediterranean restaurants I go to the Pita bread comes with the hummus but not here, the bread is an extra $1.50. The bread was cold also. I am used to hot pitta bread and cold hummus. The contrast in temp is palletable.

nice little family run eatery, on my first visit I wasn't disappointed. I got the combo shwarma over rice, meat was tender & well done, but a bit dry to my liking. I felt this dish needs a side of greens & a small side of yogurt and some fresh mint!

Went with few colleagues for lunch to try different things. Lunchtime is a busy time for them which may explain the missteps we noted. The menu focuses on standard middle eastern menu with falafel and shawarmas and the like. The process of ordering, paying, and getting the food was straightforward and speedy. Prices were reasonable. Variety was goid and for the most part, flavors were there. The missteps included having the oil temp set too high. This translated into falafel balls that looked gorgeous, but were undercooked to being almost raw on the inside. Good overall and could be better.

Customer friendly☺️ welcoming, fresh, fast and clean. The food is authentic, delicious and healthy 👌🏾👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👏 I love it❣

First time trying out this place, loved it! You can see them cooking the meat on the spot for you & then straight to your plate, it can’t get fresher than that! I got myself the Chicken & Lamb Sherwarma over rice plate, they give you a big portion of rice they could add more meat but the taste is out of this planet! so even though its not much meat, the taste makes up for it! They got plenty of space for seating but during lunch it gets pack from what i could tell when i went. If your taking to go ask for two or three of the white & red sauces, one isn’t enough. Gotta head back to this place next time i’m in Oakland & try the other dishes on their menu. Highly recommend this place to everybody!

We just had Doordash deliver from this shop for our first try. It was delicious! It came hot and fresh and the french fries were not soggy but were warm and crisp. My husband is Egyptian and a good cook so we do not give reviews lightly when it comes to Arab food, but this was flavorful. The kofta kabob was tasty, we liked the pickled veggies that came as a side, the falafel was also flavorful. Our picky daughter even squeezed in between my husband and I sharing a falafel plate and a kofta kabab plate and some french fries, and she made mini falafel sandwiches with the bread, falafel and hummus and ate the fries. It is definitely enough for 3 people to be full. We will be back! *The food stays well for delivery (we live a city away and it arrived hot and the fries were crisp)

Fantastic food! If you haven't had shawerma before make sure and give it a try!