Mediterranean Shish Kabob

I was there in 2012. I finally found the old friend I was looking for from my youth: Rad Y Homayoun. I was shocked I had finally found him after looking for him for 25 years. His wife was polite, however, I didn’t ever hear back from him after asking him to keep in touch and to please get me in touch with my old friends Golam Rowshan and Rasmik (Roy) Arkelian, who i spend years trying to locate unsuccessfully and miss tremendously.
The food was pretty good. I had the shrimp and rice. If Rad or his wife reads this, Please contact me at
with the contact info for our mutual friends. Please! Heidi Schlossberg (Im on FB as well)

The service is ok but the food is really good. The burger, chicken and hummus that we ordered were really good. Concerning that the place is empty for a Thursday evening. We were the only patrons in there and it was not that early. The décor is dark.

Ok the service is ok but the food is excellent. The burger, chicken and shrimp were all
Moist and yummy. I had the basmati rice and it was so good while my boyfriend had the specially rice. So good! Eat here. Eat here eat here. Way better than that crap hole Chicago steak house across the street !

They are a bit quirky and lack weekday patrons, but we like the place. Friendly servers, good food, generally accomodating service. Proportions are generally generours and reasonably good spice and preparation. Reasonably good job…

It’s a 2 star experience. Very uncomfortable eating here during an early weekday lunch. I should have known it was a sign that the place was empty even during lunch time in downtown Los Gatos. It seems during lunch this place is more of a take-​out joint. It was very dark and yes it’s quiet — too quiet. Cave like.
Either they have an open kitchen or a door was open because the sounds from the kitchen (water rushing, cutlery clanking, conversation, etc.) filled the whole place and not in a good way. I also thought it was odd the server never took away the extra place settings on the table. Overall it was just an uncomfortable, subpar lunch experience. The food was neither terrible nor exceptional. Eating in a mostly or even totally empty restaurant is not necessarily an awkward experience (can you tell I keep an odd meal schedule?) but here it definitely was.
Maybe for dinner when it’s more crowded and there is music playing it’s better but for lunch I strongly recommend getting your order to go.

I rate this restaurant 5 stars for high quality Persian style food. It does not get any better than this. I have been eating at this restaurant for over 6 years and have always had a very high quality tasty meal. I cannot conceive of how the negative reviews got written below. The service has always been outstanding adn comes with sensitivity and courtesy. The décor is nice and this restaurant is quiet unlike many other places in Los Gatos where it is hard to hear yourself think. The Lamb Kabobs and the vegetarian Eggplant dish that comes with Baghala Polo (Basmati rice with fava beans, chopped dill and saffron) are real taste treats.

I have had better

Wonderful place, a little out of the main way but worth it! The osh soup was amazinggg, so fresh and flavorful. The bread starter was subtly garlicky and lovely. Burger (koobideh) was seasoned in a great way, along with the chicken… the rice with it was light and perfect as a compliment! The baghala polo and lamb shank was also great. Only downside– the chicken was a bittt dry. A great experience, and we will be back!

Fantastic

Service was okay but food was merely passable. Basmati Rice lacked the flavor or the taste, much to my disappointment.

WOW! Is the most accurate word I could use to describe this restaurant. I dined here with friends last night. One of them was celebrating his birthday. I came accross this restaurant on Unilocal as I was helping my friend find the perfect restaurant to celebrate her husband’s birthday. She wanted to take him to a place they hadnt been before. I called the restaurant and asked if they did anything special for birthdays. I got a chuckle when the person said «I’ll sing with you Happy Birthday» instead of saying «no». I inquired about the corkage fee for wine bottles and he said «since its for a birthday we will open the bottle for free». Excellent. That sold me.
So we look around the menu, not sure what to have, everything looked so appetizing… Each of us decided on a different dish. When the food arrived… WOW! Amazing presentation, OMG! Every bite was full of flavor and so, so delicious! We really enjoyed our dinner with our own wine!!! As we are wrapping up to leave, the waitress brought my friend a birthday candle and sang with us. We were trully surprised. She also brought yummy icecream for all to share.
I am super excited that I found a new restaurant I love that I can visit regularly. Excellent service, Delicious food and Affordable!
Thank you Shish Kabob for making our dinner so special!

Food was ok.
Service was weak. Very inflexible. Their way or the highway. Highway.
Check please!

I’m Armenian, so I’ve grown up with food like this my entire life. There are a lot of great options in the area for good Middle Eastern/​Mediterranean fare. Unfortunately, this really isn’t one of them.
What will immediately get you is the pretty depressing atmosphere. I went in with my dad for lunch and the place was – no joke – empty. The dining area was quiet and dark and the décor was lackluster. The woman who was working was pretty friendly, though, and she seemed really excited to have a customer.
The food was, frankly, mediocre. We started with the classic pita and hummus. The pita was a little dry – possibly a few days too old – and the hummus had absolutely no taste. I had to unload pepper and salt onto it just to give it some taste. I judge a Middle Eastern/​Mediterranean by its hummus and I was offended by how terrible their hummus was. How dare you call yourself a kebab house and have mindbogglingly bad hummus!
For the main course, I got a grilled chicken kebab and my dad got a salad. I must say, the main course was much better – I thought the chicken was fantastic. My dad enjoyed his salad, as well. We were still reeling from the hummus, though. Seriously, it was THAT BAD.
Frankly, this place isn’t terrible, but there is a litany of better Middle Eastern/​Mediterranean restaurants in the area. Furthermore, the fact that this is in DTLG makes it overpriced.
I wish I could give it more stars, but honestly even three stars is a bit of a stretch.

Some rose flavored iced tea that I could not suck down enough of! Very good. I would say it was expensive, but I was the one who ordered too much. Appetizer plate that was great with hummus, grape leaves with rice inside (I apologize, not fancy enough to know what they are called.), falafels… the sampler plate was so good, I even tried some of the mashed up eggplant and found I liked it. And I HATE eggplant.
I can not remember what I ordered, but my dining partner had lamb and it was very good.
THe place almost has the feel of someone’s dining room, when people had seperate dining rooms. I felt very comfortable there.
Business was very slow because of a horrible rain, but I have a strange feeling it is normally much more busy. Central location in Los Gatos. Do what we did, go for a jog, stroll into this place, have a great lunch and drink a ton of tea. It is very fun.

Very cute! If you can find parking…
Great service, especially since I had no idea what to order.
I got the Falafel apetizer and a side of chicken. Which was more than enough seeing that the ap. came with humus and a little salad.
No real complaints except that the chicken was a little lemony. Even one of my Egyptian friends said it was super authentic.
The BEST part was that I was with a big group, like 15 of us, and they had no problem writing us up separate checks. Hello! If you travel with more than 4 friends anywhere you know how horrible this can be, so three cheers goes out to the great waitress at Shish!

We dinned with our friends about two weeks ago at Mediterranean Shish Kebob. The atmosphere is casual, but elegant and authentic. The service was very attentive and personable. The food was first-​rate!
For Appetizers, we shared a wonderful Antipasta (peppers, humus, etc.). I had lamb Kebobs over a very interesting rice dish. This is hands-​down, the best lamb I have ever tasted.
The meals were reasonably priced.
I would recommend this restaurant to everyone I know!
Sincerely,
Gary Jonas, Santa Clara, CA

This place has it all. Intimate ambiance, attentive servers and delicious food! I went here with 2 friends. I had the ground lamb kebabs with a veggie side. It was a huge portion and oh-​so-​good! My tablemates had beef and shrimp kebabs, and loved theirs too. The menu is extensive, but not overwhelming. I especially wanted to try the kashke bademjone and the zereshk polo, but I’ll get those on the next visit.
Perfect date-​night spot. Great food and great location!

Yummers!!! My df and I headed over here for dinner after the Unilocal Elite event at Plumed Horse in Saratoga. Actually, earlier in the day, I had a falafel for lunch, but it wasn’t very good that I wanted a «re-​do.» When my df suggested this place, I was all for it when I usually don’t eat the same cuisine twice in one day.
Anyways, this place is a bit deceiving — the signs outside make it look like a no frills take out place, but when you walk in, it’s pretty nice. There was only one other couple there last night when we walked in around 815P on a Wednesday night. I figure they may be slow cuz it’s tax day. I’m sure they must be super busy during the lunch hours.
Anyways, I had the chicken breast kabob with rice. OH gosh, it was sooooooooooo moist and tender. It was delicous. I can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch. My fiancé loved his lamb burger. Service was spot on and friendly.
We are fans and we’ll be back.

So I had not been to Los Gatos in a really long time. REALLY. Not knowing which way was up or down, all I remembered or could acclimate in my brain was Mountain Charlie’s and Double D’s. Truth be told, I even skipped N. Santa Cruz and made a serious U turn.
Either way, I met up with a «secret admirer» for a light meal last night. I had to be good since I had Ice Cream the day before and had just finished a workout. Shis Kabob was the perfect choice. I ordered a beef kabob that was served with a side of veggies. I could have chosen rice, but I figured I needed to be healthy. The meat was cooked and seasoned well. The vegies seemed steamed, so they were right up my alley. Prior to the beef, I sampled some hummus and naan. It tasted a little soapy, but then again I am a sucker for the Trader Joe’s roasted red pepper hummus. I loved their version of chips (I refer to the free snack served at the table) which was some sliced up sesame bread.
Not sure why this place is dead. The ambiance and décor is nice. Might be small, but the place is a nice option if you don’t want a burger or pizza. Liked that my water glass was filled on several occasions, and the waitress was attentive to our needs. Surprisingly, when I left… the joint was getting busy. I highly recommend this place for Kabob’s and good meal with a «secret admirer.»

Fab cute find on the less frequented size of N. Santa Cruz. We’d driven by it a few times before… and the simplicty of the name drew me in.
Met a fab Unilocaly friend here for dinner tonite, it was empty when we came in. Seems to be the tone of Tuesday evenings, we titter.
Yet 30 minutes later the place was actually pretty busy. Warm and inviting, this place is a little gem. Service was fast and friendly, and accommodating! When I asked them to turn down the spotlight on the table (I felt like I was on stage, should I break out into a tap dance???)…they valiantly tried to just turn down ours with little success, but hey, it’s the thought that counts right?
Chicken Shish Kebob… what else can you really get here right? Yummy marinated chicken breast, served with a sliced lemon. The perk here is that you can get the typical basmati rice OR get grilled mixed veggies. Very little oil. Perfect for a low-​carbing kinda night. Hummus was a little too crazy chickpea for me, but I’m a picky hummus eater. The sour cherry rice was fab (snitched a bite from my hubs to-​go container later!) … I love this stuff. Ate all my chixie and all my veggies. Balanced meal!
Jazzed we tried this place. The food is solid, and the service and ambiance set the tone for a lovely evening of gabbing with one of my fave Unilocaly pals.