La Marsa

I’m so sad — La Marsa was right around the corner from the office and a favorite for lunch. Unfortunately, they closed up shop last week. Boo.

The Good: the lentil soup is delicious! I kind of felt like I was cheating on Pita Kabob, but I think they’re two completely different styles. This one is clumpier, a little blander in seasoning, but still very comforting. Sandwiches are yummy too, however, my chicken shawarma sandwich was a little too healthy-​tasting and small for what I paid. I like saucy, fatty, large sandwiches when I’m studying and starving.
The Bad: considering this is so close to campus, I’m surprised at how pricy it is. Students get 20% off, so maybe the menu is marked up to factor in expected discounts? I still paid over $ 10 for my soup and sandwich lunch, no drink. I saw on the menu that a chicken ghallbha, for instance, was over $ 20. Granted that is an entrée with salad and rice with pita, but that’s still a little steep.
Granted I do understand the need for this kind of sit-​down atmosphere (like a Palm Palace type setting) for yummy MidEastern and Mediterranean food that isn’t a divey take out place. But come on, know the demographic of the neighborhood. The restaurant was eerily empty, which is surprising considering I stopped in at peak lunch time. I think La Marsa would be nice for the tenured faculty budget and a good place to take out-​of-​town family visitors for a sit-​down meal if you don’t feel like venturing out of A2, but for a daily lunch option, it runs a bit steep for what you get.
If you have a car, yet don’t feel like driving too far, Palm Palace on Carpenter is a better deal. They also have that crack garlic dip and fresh to-​die-​for pita bread.

Never felt the need to create a Unilocal account and review a restaurant until my horrible experience eating here. Shared a shawarma combo plate and falafel plate with a friend. First off, both the lamb and chicken were cold — chicken was crusty as if it had been sitting out all afternoon. The lamb was the driest lamb shawarma I’ve ever had and processed into worm-​like pieces — definitely did not look like it had been shaved off a rotating block. The actual flavor of the meats was lacking, rice was bland and dry, lentil soup was watery. The falafels were inedible due to how salty they were. The only redeeming factor was the first basket of pita bread — warm and fluffy. When I asked for a second basket, the bread delivered was crumbly, dry, and hard as if it were made two days ago and heated up in a microwave. Extremely overpriced at 36 dollars for lunch.
Bottom line: cold, flavorless shawarma and inedible salty falafel. Out of all of the great restaurants and Mediterranean places in Ann Arbor, do yourself a favor and go anywhere else.

I love this place number one middle eastern food !!! people will love this place for sure to enjoy a great mideastern meal and experience!!!

Absolutely the best restaurant in town – not just best Mediterranean restaurant. If you want to have a nice meal, their lamb kabobs are a game changer. Or if you just want a quick, affordable pick me up, their $ 5 lamb shawarma sandwich will always does the trick.
Plus, if you’re a halal foodie like me, get ready to have actual options on a menu!
Worth a visit!

Whenever I am feeling down, bummed off the struggles of being a grad student, La Marsa is my favorite spot to carbo-​load.
DAT FRESH PITA WITH GARLIC SAUCE THO *drool
I tell the waiter each time I come that I am going to need at least 2 big ass baskets of that warm crack in carbohydrate form.
However, since I am poor, I usually only order the sandwiches, which are absolutely best in town. Believe me, I have tried shwarma and falafel sandwiches at every other joint in town– La Marsa’s sandwiches come out on top every time— and for under $ 6! They use more chicken, vegetables, and have a nice garlic sauce they add in.
Interior is nice and service was prompt and friendly. Give this place a shot, at least for lunch!

Was it purely by serendipity that, within a week of visiting Ann Arbor, I ate at La Marsa twice? Believe me, I didn’t choose to go either of those times — other people chose for me! During my taxi ride from the airport, I asked the driver where he would recommend for lunch. He was certainly biased with his answer, because of his nationality, but no matter — he said himself that La Marsa was the next best thing to a family dinner for him! The second time around, I was actually having dinner with other newbies, but somehow we all agreed on this place (well, not everyone — there was no alcohol here so he was not exactly pleased lol). Being a non-​native, it can be beneficial to go by the opinions of others despite perhaps differing taste palettes. I cannot tell you what I recommend at La Marsa, because all of the dishes that I’ve had were delicious. Honestly, just go with your gut and you’ll probably find your perfect dish at La Marsa.
You can take what you want from this review by a newbie of the food scene at Ann Arbor, but I can at least tell when I had a satisfying meal, and I can say with confidence that I would go back to La Marsa for satisfying meal number 3. Thank you, La Marsa!

The food is decent-​to-​good, but inconsistent. Two visits to this place and the tabbouleh was entirely different. The pita is awesome, if it isn’t overcooked. The lamb that my partner got was just… ok. And the fattoush salad with salmon was… strange? I didn’t care for the pita chips in the actual salad. Portion sizes are great. The lentil soup was good, and the baba ghannouj was actually some of the best I’ve had. Hummus was good as well.
One time I went, the service was top notch. The next time, it was non-​existent.
So, based on lack of consistency in both food and service — this place gets 2 stars. I didn’t give it ONE star because the food CAN BE good.

I’ve been coming here for the past 3 years and I think their shwarmas have been getting smaller and smaller. I ate here very recently and noticed that my shwarma was so teeny tiny. Not worth the money I paid for it…
I will say that the fresh bread and garlic sauce is to DIE for. I will gladly pay the money I paid for my shwarma to get the fresh, straight out of the oven bread and their yummy garlic sauce. I think this is the only redeeming thing about this restaurant.

From my July 2013 road trip — I actually took the time to look up this place because this was the WORST dining experience of my life.
The staff was completely useless. Didn’t care to get our order right and no remorse when they messed it up. It would’ve been comical if not for the fact we were there for nearly two hours. I’m willing to give a place a break most of the time, but this was unforgivable. The service was god-​awful in all aspects — messed up orders, ignoring customers, no refills, getting the bill wrong, long wait times, and just a general apathy.
The food is mediocre at best and over-​priced. Everything was just terrible, horrible, deplorable, awful, no-​good, very bad, despicable, worst meal of my life.
I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your souls.

We had an overall great dining experience at La Marsa. I’ll start with the negatives and get those out of the way before I move on to the tasty stuff!
The bathrooms were out of soap and paper towel and all together a bit grungy. The waiter was very friendly but not very professional, seemed new. He did not take our drink order for a long time, and seemed surprised when we asked to order food. He did not refill our water throughout the meal, but the glasses were huge so I only ran out all the way right at the end.
Not onto the good stuff! My friend and I ordered the sampler for two. The sampler can easily feed four, or two UM football players I guess. There was sooo much food, the whole table was covered in plates! it was a great chance to try a variety of middle eastern food and I would highly recommend it to introduce someone to this type of cuisine!
There were way too many dishes included to review them all individually, 10 plates of appetizers and salads and another big plate of lamb and chicken shwarma, chicken kabob, and kafta kabob, rice and french fries.
Our favorite dishes:
Falafel — best falafel I’ve had since I visited the middle east. Soooo good! Crispy on the outside, fluffy and not too dense and heavy on the inside!
Meat grape leaves — we loved these! Perfect spices, great texture and flavor, liked them better than the vegetarian variety though both were good.
Chicken and Lamb shwarma — great flavors, tender meat, perfectly cooked! Yumm!
Hummus, tabouli, garlic butter, fresh pita bread — All amazing, could eat this every day forever!
I would definitely do this again!

My friends are obsessed with La Marsa, so it’s pretty shocking i only made it there last week. I can’t say I am as obsessed as they are. I thought it was fine, I’d go back with them but I wouldn’t suggest it myself.
Everyone seems obsessed with the garlic dip but I’m not sure why. It’s good but it also gives you dragon breadth for three weeks straight and who wants that? Not me.
I accidentally ordered the sauté. Sometimes accidents like this happen. I thought it was pretty solid/​flavorful. I wished it had more veggies but at least I had my side salad.
My friends ordered the vegetarian combo. This thing was ridiculous. Vegg appetizers until the break of dawn. They just kept coming and never stopped. I tasted their hummus and baba ganoush and both were awesome.

Complimentary bread and potent garlic sauce ftw. We sat near the back of the restaurant so it was entertaining to see them bake the little rounds of dough in the large exposed oven and scoop them out with a giant wooden ladle to dump in a basket to subsequently be distributed to diners. I got the lamb with hummus, accompanied by salad. The portions are huge, but I could not stop myself from cleaning my plate and left super stuffed. The waitstaff is personable, and they seem to want to interact with their customers aside from just carrying plates to and fro. My girlfriends and I happened to come on Valentine’s Day and near the end of our meal the manager came by and proudly exclaimed «La Marsa is your Valentine!» which was nice and only a tad depressing. The sandwich and such options are average prices, but the entrees are a bit pricey at $ 15 – 20 each. Go with a
coupon!

Since changing management, La Marsa has provided excellent service in comparison to its service in the past. The waiters are very attentive. The manager as well is very polite and genuinely cares about his customers’ opinions.
I never wrote about the lentil soup, but it is delicious. I’m also super excited that they sell soups in quarts for carry-​out, so I might be doing that soon. Their falafel sandwich is probably the best of the ones at other Mediterranean restaurants in the area. The falafel is not dry at all and I like how they put romaine lettuce in it. Try the sandwich with their garlic sauce; it’s the best!

Great location if you are on ca, pus and on foot, easy for large groups
Pretty reasonable pricing
The lentil soup is fabulous !
Tabasco sauce they had tasted old and the bottle it was delivered to me in looked like it was from when it first opened, the place could be a little cleaner…
I had 2 flies dine with me …
The meal was great going in and they were able to accommodate my food allergies, which is so lovely
Definitely good vegetarian options !

It looks like your typical chain/​upscale diner with booths and whatnot. The busboy was so EXTREMELY nice whereas the rest of the male servers could use some smiles.
–Fresh pita with garlic butter: thank goodness I didn’t have a boyfriend at the time because he would want to steer clear for days after me eating this DELICOUS garlic butter. It is LOADED with garlic but you will taste it for days. Mmm and the fresh warm pitas. YUM!
–Lentil Soup: not the lentil soup I’m used to. This version has mushed lentils (instead of whole) but it’s equally delicious and nicely spiced.
–Hommos with Shawarma (marinated char-​boiled lamb and rice): the hommos here is the best I’ve ever had. I always think so. It’s just very creamy, rich and has a lemony kick to it. The lamb is somewhat too salty and sour at times but it mixes well with the hommos (whose portion is GIGANTIC!). The rice. Forget it. Dry and lacking in taste.
FINAL VERDICT: BEST HUMMUS, but the other stuff I could get better somewhere else.

My first trip to La Marsa and I am presently pleasantly (or just north of pleasantly) full. I’m going to start with the food, because that was the best part. I’ll warn you — the fresh, warm pitas and garlic spread are so good that you’ll need some serious self control to save appetite for your meal. Try your best because it pairs well with the hummus, which is thick and fresh — and perfectly spicy if you get the jalapeño one. It’s also a pretty good sized portion. The lentil soup was hot, yummy and filling (it also went well with the hummus).
Following the trend of lots of food, the salads are huge — trust me, you only need a small. The fattoush and spinach salads were both good, though the fattoush was a little more unique. My only complaint is that the grilled chicken was a bit dry, but next time I’ll try the marinated chicken instead. A friend had the chili which was also great.
Service was pleasant and fairly fast. The setting is just ok, a little cold and dark, but the food makes up for it — both in quality and portions! We all had something to take home.

I’m giving it two stars because like the description says — I’ve experienced better. Maybe after having Pita Café in Birmingham or Bucharest in downtown Detroit, I am forever spoiled because it’s hard to find a chicken shawarma that can match those two places.
Service was a little bit on the slow side but everyone was friendly. I ordered a side of pita bread with garlic and the chicken shawarma. My friend got crushed lentil soup and a veggie stir fry wrap. If you are outside of the Detroit metro area, La Marsa can satisfy your Mediterranean food craving but if you want the real deal head down to the D.

I like this place because of their CHEAP bargains and free unlimited bread and garlic sauce. It is SO addicting and super delicious. Not to mention, their manager is always so kind and so generous in giving extra bread even when I do carryout.
My favorite is Chicken Shwarama sandwich, but they need to add more greens into it. I always have to order an extra salad and stuff the salad into my sandwich to make it taste better.
Also, minus one star for several experiences with rude wait staff.

I have been to this place half a dozen times. It is okay. Nothing special.
The food, aside from entrees, is good. The flavors are spot on and you get a lot for your money. The entrees, however, 9 times out of 10 will be dry and salty.
The garlic butter is AMAZING. Keep asking for more until they stop giving it to you.