Mardini’s Restaurant

It’s been a couple years since I’ve been here and at that time, they were still in the middle of renovations. Well the place looks fantastic inside — spacious booths and plenty of tables. I got the falafel plate which comes with about 5 – 6 falafels, perfectly seasoned and fried, hummus, fresh romaine salad and warm, soft pita bread for $ 8.99. Generous portions and their hummus is so creamy and delicious. I’ll be back again!

I recently started working next door at the doctors office and I was so hungry I thought I would try this place since it was literally right next door. I was very skeptical about trying it because I’ve never had Greek/​Mediterranean food before… I went with the most american choice there and got a California Burger! It was so delicious and BIG! Literally so good I had them 2 days in a row for lunch. I recommend trying their homemade garlic sauce, its so delicious I think I’m addicted. Maybe someday I will branch out and order something that isn’t part of my norm…

I always pass this place on the way to work. One day after a meeting, I decide to visit. I ordered the falafel plate. It came with a salad and hummus. The hummus was well-​whipped and tasted very smooth. The vegetables were good, but the falafel was a little dry. I have yet to try the souvlaki, but I am willing to give this place another chance.

For a dinner party I was asked to bring appetizers. Called ahead and ordered Dolmas and Falafel. Everything was ready when I picked it up and nicely packaged. Best Falafel I ever had… and the Dolmas were great too. Very friendly owner. The cashier was ok… efficient is best word for him.

I’m not even exaggerating when I say that this is the best Mediterranean food I’ve ever eaten. The falafels are flavorful and are moist on the inside and crispy on the outside; their shawarma plates are delicious and filling; the hummus is tastier than any other hummus I’ve had; and if all that wasn’t enough to make your mouth water, they have this garlic sauce that is out of this world.
I first became a fan when my office ordered from here — we used to refer to it as «the one with the really good hummus.» Our office moved up to SF over a year ago and when I passed by Mardini’s the other day, I stopped in to grab some dinner for the family. I can’t believe I forgot how good this food is. I’m back for the second night in a row.
This is a family run business that makes their food fresh daily. Scratch that. They make your food fresh to order. So you’ll have to wait, but it’s worth it.
If you ever find yourself on Willow Road, treat yourself and stop in for a bite. You won’t regret it!

Had the smoked turnkey sandwich with swiss cheese and avocado. It was super delicious!

Delicious flavors and fresh food! So far, I’ve only had the greek salad with falafel. I’m not sure I’ll be able to order anything else. The falafel looked a tad over-​done and I was afraid it was going to be burnt and dry. It was NOT. Omg, it was perfect. I broke them up on top of my salad and they were the best falafel I’ve ever had. That salad was perfection.

Mardinis has the best fatoush salad in the entire Bay Area. For those who don’t know what a fatoush salad is: romaine lettuce, cucumbers, onions, Roma tomatoes with a light vinaigrette dressing topped with crunchy roasted pita chips. The pita chips on top are the bomb!
Eating in is a better bet than delivery. I’ve done both and found the food some who loses some of it’s charm in the delivery process.
Some of their meats are halal as well including lamb and beef shawarma and the gyro.

I review on behalf of my colleagues. We catered Mardini’s via a 3^rd party vendor! They did a great job with presentation from a catering standpoint. The portions were huge, and that was confirmed by our employees who ordered! They really liked the customization of the dishes possible, enabling them to really maximize the contents of the large portions :)! So tasty, great presentation and one that’ll we’ll definitely keep in our catering cycle.

Mardini’s is the go to for good Mediterranean food. They make excellent Gyros, Burgers, and hummus. The California burger has become my go to when I want some food and I need to get a ton of work done. This is a great place to sit down, put headphones in, and hammer out a ton of work.
Not very good for groups, they seem to have a limited staff and get your food very slowly when they’re swamped.
The coffee at Mardini’s is absolutely terrible, so they got a star off for that. Call me a snob, but I would rather inject myself with some kind of crazy caffeine saline solution directly into my bloodstream than have their terrible, old, cold coffee again. Ugh, In fact, make that two stars off.
In summary:
Food is good here!
Coffee makes you say OH-MY-GOSH-WHAT-DID-I-JUST-DRINK-I-THINK-I’M-GOING-TO-DIE

As others mention, the falafels are awesome — light, the right amount of moistness (many others are too dry for me), and flavorful. The beef and lamb gyros are also moist and have nice flavor.
The hummus is fine but not as good as Oren’s. Likewise, the pita at Oren’s is far better.
The service is somewhat slow, because there are just two people taking orders and prepping food. However, it beats the wait at Oren’s.
So for your falafel or gyro fix, with minimal wait, this place is great.

This place serves some of the best gyro’s I have ever had. The meat is SUPER flavorful and what I love the most is their tzatziki sauce isn’t super thick and has more in depth flavors of cucumber and spices. Their bread is a thin unleavened kind of bread dough which is great when you want to enjoy all the meat and veggies and not get so full off of a huge slice of pita bread.
Their dolmas are moist and flavorful, their tabouleh is zesty with lemon and onion with tomatoes. Don’t forget to finish your meal off with their amazing baklava! The best part, order through Unilocal and your food is waiting for you when you arrive, pick it up and eat at one of their outside tables, eat inside without the wait, or take it on your way.
Huge fan!

We went on a Sunday evening, and the place was deserted owing to the long weekend. The food was great, but the service was even better. I think the joint is run by a couple, and both of them were very courteous, taking time off to explain the different dishes, and giving us tips on what combinations are best.
Will definitely go there again.

Humble little Mediterranean spot in the middle of Menlo Park. It’s truly family owned, and operated. Chef/​dad Laith is the head chef and greets everyone that walks in the door with a warmth and familiarity that makes you feel right at home.
Great for vegetarians or meat lovers alike.
AND now you can grab a bottle – be it a full bottle, half bottle or a single serving-​size bottle– of wine off the shelves and enjoy it with your meal at the table! I’d get the half bottle of Chablis with a chicken kabob or shawarma dish, or a little 187ml of Tiamo (how cute!) Prosecco with a vegetarian dish, or a single-​sized Santa Julia Malbec with a lamb or beef dish. And if you are with a couple people you can share a full bottle, they’re all very reasonably priced thankfully.
Places like Mardini’s are getting harder and harder to find nowadays, especially on the peninsula!

I really liked how the food here is made-​to-​order and you see them making it right in front of you! Because the food is made fresh, it isn’t the fastest lunch you’ll catch — but totally worth the wait if you have time.
I got the lamb/​beef gyro. The portion was HUGE — enough for two meals. They actually cut the gyro in half and wrap half for you to take home. They are very generous with the amount of meats they use and everything tastes so fresh and delish.
I look forward to coming back and getting some falafel!

Lamb/​beef gyro wrap is tasty and can feed two or an extra hungry hombre.
Their wait times are pretty high but that’s because your food is made to order. Hang back, order beer or wine (variety served from their cold case and counter), or watch the crew make freshly made falafels while you wait for your food to be prepared.

Cute café! Loved the lady at the counter (think she’s the owner), very sweet and offered recommendation too. We got a chicken burger for my guy and a fattoush salad for me! Goodness gracious, haven’t tasted food as fresh as their Fattoush, was like they just plucked the leaves right at the time of serving. :P
The plates are big and their chicken burger comes with fries, I ate all the fries within seconds from my guy’s plate and he looked furious (fries before guys, hahaha)
Fattoush came with fresh pita chips, looked desirable, tasted delectable. Gonna try falafel next time!
Silent clap– When I told the lady/​owner that I loved their fresh pita chips, she made a whole box for me for just 50 cents! I am sold to this place!

This visit went all kinds of wrong for me.
It started with me asking for a to go cup of ice because I had bought (from them) a can of soda that was not very cold. The younger lady said that I could use the little water cups to get ice, when I looked at her perplexed and asked could I just get a to go cup (the one with the lid) she straight out said no.
We came during lunch, and all we ordered was the Gyro; 45 minutes later we finally got them (my lunch break was done by then). I am not sure why this took so long, at one point the older lady stated from a far a few things as to why the wait was so long. Eventually someone came by to apologize for the wait and say it would be a few minutes longer.
Eventually I got to eat my gyro but it was burned (pic below)! After I took the burned layer off, surprise, it was a really good gyro! In fact it is one of the best gyro’s I have had (not top spot though ;)
I think had it not been for the service this place would’ve probably gotten a higher review, but service is huge for me. The burnt gyro didn’t leave the best impression. Kind of says a lot about attention to detail and quality check of a business.
Two stars was my original rating, however I considered 1. Keeping me updated & apologizing for the delay a plus 2. The Gyro was actually delicious and 3. Price for what I got was VERY dissent. Which brought it up to a three stars.

Thank you, Mardini’s. You made me believe again in a good gyro in the area. Finally I can have excellent meat without driving 30 minutes or taking a flight.
Sure, I’m biased. I love their souvlaki too. But when that beef and lamb is done so well and they give you a lot, I can forgive you for using lavash for your wraps.
Also you may wonder why the wraps are slightly more expensive than other places. When I say they pack the meat, tbey really do. They always pre-​cut my wraps in half. They’re pretty much 2 distinct wraps for the price of 1.5 Can definitely split one of these bad boys over two meals.
I’ve had the platters too. Salad is decent as is the rice. Not really the fan of the hummus though — I honestly can’t tell if I’m eating hummus or tzatziki from taste alone. But if you don’t mind that, it’s pretty smooth.
I will keep ordering take out from you guys, thank you!

We stumbled upon this gem while waiting for our appointment down the street. The food was fresh and delicious!
We ordered a big salad, chicken kabob, and beef kabob. The plates came with rice and hummus. The chicken and beef kabobs were super juicy and cooked perfectly. Service was quick and friendly too!
We’ll definitely be back next time in the area regardless if we’re hungry or not!