Lovin Oven Mediterranean

Very mediocre, it’s a hole in the wall. Prices are fair.

I love this place. Their hummus, baba ganoush, shawarma, falafel, LAHMAHJUN (my god) are all perfect.
Don’t sleep on this restaurant. I think it is my favorite in IV. The salad is amazingly fresh, as are the rest of their ingredients. Seriously, go in and grab a plate of something and you’ll be hooked.

I want to like this place, but it’s just too much of a letdown. Their food is good. There aren’t a whole lot of Mediterranean places around and this place is a decent price. The problem is, I’ve tried to come here 4 times and the always seem to be out of rice. The first time I went, they told me there probably wasn’t enough left, then they were able to give me some, so I guess I got the bottom of the barrel. The next 3 times they said they were out. What kind of Mediterranean place runs out of rice? It’s insane. There’s never even anyone there, are they only making enough for like 3 portions? As good as it was the first time, I don’t think I’m going to try coming here again

Whatever you do, don’t skip this place. We decided to pop in here for dinner last night after watching Anthony Bourdain’s travel to Iran. Was craving authentic Middle Eastern food. The menu here isn’t extensive but they make their food so well. They bake all the dough dishes in their brick oven, which I love!
So you order at the counter and find a seat and they bring the food out to you. The prices are ridiculously low for the quality of food. I’ll say, though, that the portions are fairly small so it’s a good idea for two people to order a dish per person plus another one to share. Trust me, it is great food and you will finish it. And don’t forget to order side dishes! Amazing stuff.
The dining area is smaller than the patio area, the patio area is better for groups. It was such a relaxing dinner. I had the Lahmah bourak, which are seasoned ground beef on four baked dough boats and a side of garlic spread. They were so good together. My boyfriend ordered the beef hummus shawarma. The sweet lady was nice enough to bake us three wonderfully aromatic pita/​dough bread (upon special request) that tasted like heaven on Earth. Actually, it tasted a lot like freshly baked French baguettes, which be the same thing. The fountain machine wasn’t working so we ordered canned cokes, very cold. Doesn’t matter, it’s one of those new machines that make everything taste like Dr. Pepper… which I’m fine with if it is, in fact, Dr. Pepper. Anyway, I had one of the most amazing dinners, and so wish I would’ve ordered more, had I known the portion sizes were little more than tapas. Still. I’ll be craving this place till we hit it up again.
Now. What I didn’t like is that this gem is buried in the obnoxious neighborhood with college kids riding their bikes and skateboards every which way without regards for oncoming vehicles. Quite annoying. Plus the street parking situation… was easy for us because we dined on a random weeknight but I’m guessing it could be difficult during the weekends.
I hear that they close out the area on Halloween, except to the people who can prove they live there. Apparently it had gotten out of hand the previous years with tourists joining in on the rowdiness.

I had passed this place over in the past because they don’t have shish kebab. But a friend recommended it and I gave it a try yesterday.
My choice was the beef shawarma plate which came with a salad, hummus, pita bread and some pickles.
The beef was excellent quality without the usual fat and gristle too many shawarma places give you. It had been marinated in a delicious sauce. The hummus was also flavorful. I was recently in the middle east and this definitely had the authentic flavors.
The $ 9 price was also a good deal for someone like me who does not need huge portions.
If they added lamb shish kebab to the menu I would happily give it five stars! In Isla Vista a bicycle rack would also be nice! Please give this place a try!

I can’t really review the food, because I didn’t get any. I went there to get lunch during the week with some Co workers. We got there around 12:15, and the guy at the counter said they weren’t ready to serve yet, but should be soon. We found this odd, seeing as the sign on the door said that they opened at 11. But we decided to wait. 15 minutes later, still nothing. We ask the guy when they would be ready and he did probably not till 1. We had to get back to work so we couldn’t wait that long. We ended up just going to Aladdin café next to Woodstock’s, which has really good food.
I would like to come back and actually try the food sometime, and if so I’ll update my review.

Great owners. Great service. 80% of what I review are manakeesh places around the country. For isla vista and even the central coast this is wonderful. So lucky to have a place like this here. But it would get a lower rating for authentic taste if I was comparing to places like the Sunnyvale café or Saj in Vancouver or any of the manakeesh places in Dearborn, MI, Berlin, or the Mideast.
But this is the central coast and it’s terrific this even exists.

Hummus Shawarma Plate was under $ 6 and came in a huge portion!
— The pita bread was nice and toasted.
— The hummus and a very small portion of beef shawarma was very authentic.
— The salad was nicely coated with dressing.
— Wrapping the three together was so good!
I’d love to go and try the Chicken Shawarma sandwich next time!

What the hell, I ordered the hummus with beef shawarma for delivery and I get this little scrap plate, with more fries than hummus and beef…

This place has such a nice mom&pop feel, the owners are sweeter than their baklava! They really spread the love on thick, checking in to ask if you like everything and giving you recommendations. The falafel was tasty and not at all dry.