Pickled Lemon

Closed!

CLOSED! I was in Boulder today and of course I headed for the only Israeli place in Colorado that I know of. They’re gone. The building is empty and for lease. This is going to make my time in the Denver area much less enjoyable, but to be fair, there was never anyone in this place. That’s why I’m always nervous when I see empty seats. It’s inevitable that they lead to failure.

they took away the sweet potato fries??? ahhhh those were sooo goood in the eggplant sandwich. still, i enjoy this place.

I really liked this place. Alas, it’s closed. It looks bad when I looked inside. All the stuff is pulled away from the walls like they’re moving out. I checked their website and it says that they’re looking for a new location. I hope they find one!

This is my absolute favorite place on the hill — I can never resist getting lunch here. Everything they have is healthy and delicious. Their staff are always super friendly as well. They seem to change up their salad toppings quite a bit, and the dipping sauces are great. Definitely going to continue coming back over and over for lunch.

Amazing hummus. Delicious falafel. Local beer. Willingness to check ingredients against all kinds of wacky food allergies. Basically, exactly what we needed.
Just make sure you refer to it as «Israeli food» — the woman at the counter got a little prickly at the mention of «Greek».

Good shawarma, fresh and tasty ingredients. Good selections of sides and sauces. A plus, you don’t feel bloated and gross after eating here! This place is good, not great.

2012 Review #156:
Came by this place after leaving my lunch on the counter at home (I am amazing at doing that). It was pretty empty when I came, so I was able to grab one of the bar seats on the patio, which gives some good people watching and the counter is a good height for reading while eating.
Basically this is a semi-​service Mediterranean place, but more focused on sandwiches, not like Garbanzo. One of my few complaints is I think the prices are a bit steep– a sandwich, even vegetarian, will run you about $ 7 without a drink. I went with a gyro. I was put off at first because they do not have the typical gyro rotating on a spit. Instead they pull out pre-​shaved pieces and heat them on the flattop. I didn’t like this at first, but the advantage is that all the pieces get heated and get those nice crispy edges. Slightly less fresh but very tasty.
You get to add as many salads/​veggies/​toppings as you want to your food, and they have a great variety. I got their «house salad» mix of tomatoes and peppers, some zatar-​spiced onions, feta, green olive, roasted kale, and marinated jalapeño. The latter comes whole, which is a little annoying, but it cut easily. The kale was a really nice surprise and tasted great.
All the sauces that you would expect on a sandwich actually are self-​serve at the sauce bar, which has Harissa, tazkiki, schwarma, jalapeño sauce, and preserved lemons. Both the Harissa and tazkiki were great; I didn’t try the others. Strangely, the preserved lemons, the namesake of this restaurant, were irregular. They weren’t very lemony or salty, very syrupy and sweet instead, and they aren’t used in any menu it except the Harissa. I would definitely come back, though I might try a few other options on the hill first, to see if any are generally cheaper.

For the price and the value, this really is as good as it gets. First of all — excellent service. And the food — oh my goodness. Delicious middle-​eastern dishes with a lot of depth and complexity that you don’t get most places. Smokey, flavorful babba ganoush, amazing sauce bar (try the Harisa!) and light, warm pita and all the other lovely salads and toppings make for an awesome meal. There are so many extras and nice touches — it makes for such a fun, delectable experience.
Plus — atmosphere is great. Lots of light, pretty decorated tables and an overall great ambiance.
I highly recommend Pickled Lemon!

My new favorite lunch place. I’ve been in here at least once a week since I first found out about the Pickled Lemon, and often times more than that. I have seen «Chipotle-​style» fast casual Middle Eastern before, but what separates this place from the others is the attention to detail, and a slightly pared down menu that chooses quality over quantity. Falafel is made fresh to order, and there are a wide variety of toppings to choose from for your pita or your platter. You can make your own unique combination of dish depending on what toppings you include, all of which are tasty, healthy, and work well with one another. I am especially fond of the horseradish beets, which are out of this world. An assortment of six sauces reflecting various Middle Eastern cuisines (harissa from North Africa, mango amba (?) from Iraq, tahini, etc.) are provided gratis, with little take away cups and lids.
Best of all, this place is cheap. With tip, a pita can be had for under 8 bucks. And they are wicked fast. My only complaint lie with the hours: I can’t wait for them to be open outside of the weekday lunch hours (they just started to open on Saturdays, and remain open later on Fridays). This place blows away the competition in Boulder based on price and by a long shot on quality. It is also a local business, and the owners are heavily vested in making sure this place serves it customers right. Finally, they cater, so if you are looking for delicious inexpensive food (especially if you are vegetarian or require gluten-​free), make sure to check it out!

FINALLY! A fast-​casual eatery on the hill with fresh ingredients, great atmosphere and unique food. I love Pickled Lemon and I highly recommend this place to students, teachers, and just about anyone else. My favorite thing to get is the chicken schwarma pita sandwich… the bread is AWESOME. I like to put a lot of the toppings in it because it packs it with flavor. Very fulfilling meal when you are in the mood for something different and delicious. Great pita chips too! Don’t forget to try the different sauces!

Pickled Lemon is great. The prices are very reasonable, and you can get tons of food. The food is always fresh and very tasty. I have been there maybe 20 times since it opened. I’ve had the falafel plate and the hummus plate. I prefer the hummus plate because it’s a little less heavy, but the falafel is also good. This place is by far the best Mediterranean-​ish food in Boulder (and yes, I’m including The Med in this comparison – deal with it).
I’m vegan and it’s really easy to get a good meal here. Every component is really good. It’s hard to beat on the Hill.

If I were a student I would be ALL OVER this place! Do you know how much free food you could stock up on here? And good free food at that. We’ve been here twice so far and both times have had great experiences.
After having lived in NYC for 13 years and eating some of the most amazing Middle Eastern/​Israeli food ever (I am channeling Taim right now — there is really no comparison) I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be able to find good falafel here, but I’m happy to say that Pickled Lemon really does quite a good job in this area. Hummus as well. I am not overly crazy about the chicken shawarma, but it’s more a textural thing. The spicing is actually pretty decent.
The best part of Pickled Lemon, however, is how many delicious vegetables you can heap up onto your platter. For example, I usually order the falafel, then choose from rice or sweet potato fries and then there are sumac onions, hummus, chopped cabbage, charred kale and plain lettuce to add on. That’s not all though — then you can add tabouleh, feta, beets, pita chips, Moroccan carrots, zucchini and mint, and probably some other stuff I’m not remembering. After that, head to the condiments bar where you can get containers of tahini, tzatziki, mango sauce and a whole host of pickled items, including, of course, pickled lemons!
I like the pickled lemon margaritas and of course there’s beer as well and even pina coladas. Such a party!
Fun, easy, casual atmosphere. We’ve brought the kids both times and they’ve had lots of fun eating the fresh pita and just hanging out. So glad to have found this place!

When we walked in it was empty and I felt a little sorry for the place but soon after we started ordering, the line went to the door and stayed full till we left.
This place is sooooooo good. I got the Greek salad expecting the usual but got lots of wonderful surprises in my mouth instead. Spicy cauliflower, mint flavored zucchini, horseradish beets, those amazing pita chips along with the falafel and that soft luscious pita bread. Kale as a salad addition really works.
Normally I need some dressing a salad but there were so many delicious flavors, I didn’t need any of the sauces.
Oh, add on a tahini butter cookie — interesting, rich, not too sweet.

Do you know how happy I am that I finally found REAL Isreali food in Colorado?!? (did I mention I grew up in Israel)?
I’ve lived here for 15 years and this is the only place in Colorado that actually serves tasty Israeli food! I’ve eaten there several times now and every single thing I’ve had was delicious — I particularly like their rice and lentils.
It’s cheap, tasty, and you can go have beers on their patio before/​after/​during class — perfect. I will definitely be back… probably once-​a-​week.

Great food. Great atmosphere. Not too expensive. I’ve had both the kabob and falafel and both were fantastic. It’s has some great vegan and vegetarian choices. This place is a welcome addition to the hill. Way better than smelly deli

I visited Pickled Lemon within a few weeks of their opening. While I was hoping for amazing, quick Mediterranean food on par with Udi’s, that’s not what I got. The chicken was luke warm and rubbery and the various sauces (Tzatziki wasn’t offered) were disappointing. Others seem to have much better luck with vegetarian meals but still, how about you grill my chicken instead of microwaving it?

I wish there was one of these places in Denver. The tastes are amazing. The falafel and chicken schwarma were my favorite mains. Don’t miss the moroccan carrots if you like spice. I loved the green tahini!

This place is awesome. I like Garbanzo just fine, but the flavors here are infinitely better. The meat is pretty good, but as Amanda W. said, the vegetables are the highlight. The pita is awesome, which comes as no surprise since this place is run by Udi’s. Everything is fresh and as good as I would expect from a much more expensive restaurant. The portions are perfect too!
Also, the pickled lemons were tasty.

Yummy!
This new eatery on the Hill functions like Chipotle: walk along the line and pick out the things you want in your pita or bowl. I went with a bowl filled with hummus and Chicken Shawarma as my «mains» and then loaded on the veggies. There are 4 different «mains» and at least 12 different veggies you can utilize in your meal making palate. But wait! There’s more! Once you’ve paid up there’s a rather impressive condiment bar where there are sauces, dressings, and other miscellaneous toppings you can load on to put the final touches on your masterpiece.
I’m actively trying to diminish my distrust of a great many vegetables, so I have to admit, I approached my bowl, rife with cauliflower and cabbage, with skepticism. BUT it was soooooo good! So toss aside your veggie bias and come eat up the yum!
Oh, and I took my bowl to go, but they have an adorable patio so if you have the time to kick back and relax definitely grab a spot outside!