Gourmet Express

I used to go here for lunch every week, but that was years ago (I moved out of the the area for a while). I finally made it back, and not much has changed. As a meat eater (years ago), I used to love the chicken shawarma — so garlicky! As a vegetarian, I get the falafel platter, which is also quite good. I usually get hummus and tabouli as sides, though the other sides are also good.

This is one of my favorite lunch places! The garlic chicken sandwich with potatoes is what dreams are made of. If you love garlic, you’ll love this place! The owners are so friendly too. My only complaint is that they’re not open for dinner or weekends… I would be going more often if they were!

Been going here for lunch for nearly ten years. Good food, authentic, decent sized portions at a reasonable price.
Was here for lunch today and rather surprised that there wasn’t a single other person in the place, meanwhile people are lining up out the door to eat at the nearby Dishdash and decided to write this review.
Beware the chicken if you have afternoon meetings in a small conference room lest you inflict the garlic bomb upon them.

This is a small Middle Eastern restaurant tucked away in an office complex. The owner is very sweet and polite. I usually order the falafel wrap and it’s pretty standard, but good. My favorite thing from here is their lentil soup. It has the perfect amount of flavoring and is very delicious. I recommend this place if you’re looking for a quick lunch.

The food and the service both are excellent. I have been going here for years now. This is an excellent place for vegetarians.
The service is very polite and good.

I purchased a Unilocal deal here. When I came into use it the lady who helped me (the owner) was rude. She seemed annoyed that I had the Unilocal deal. I won’t be back because of her attitude. Sad because the falafel wrap wasn’t too bad. Not amazing (like Falafel Corner in Fremont) but good. I would have returned too because it’s not far from my work. Womp womp! Customer service is key.

Great place for quick Mediterranean lunch !!! Location is a little hidden, so its not overly crowded. Hostess was very cordial and nice. Loved their chicken shwerma plate.

The food here is amazing. I have tried their Falafel wrap and aubergine Veggie sandwich. It was freshly cooked and tasty. I also had a few specials here, their chicken kebab with rice was very flavorful. Great food for the price you pay.
The only downside is It is a little difficult to find for the first timer.

The people who have rated this place over 2 stars have obviously never eaten real Middle Eastern food. Everything here was just bland. Not only does it taste bad, the portions are for toddlers. You get to choose from 2 large sides or 4 small sides. I opted for the 4 just to taste more things. All 4 of the sides could have been eaten with half a bite. I’m assuming the 2 large sides could be eaten with one bite.
I got the beef shawarma platter with hummus, potatoes, cucumber salad and the grape leaf wraps. All of them just tasting worse and worse in that order. I had very high hopes for this place. It was truly a disappointment. =’(
Only reason I give two stars is for the customer service. Other than that, this place ain’t worth a damn.

Had not been here in while.
I brought three friends and all of them did not finish their food.
My platter of chicken shawerma was ok tasting; but the shirazi salad tasted like it was made a few days ago. Same with the hummus.
LIke everywhere in Silicon Valley, one needs to constantly reevaluate your products and in this case, Gourmet Express has lost their edge. Sorry, removing one star.
Customer service: friendly; it took around 15 minutes to get our food. And most of our foods were pre-​made. Meh.

Halal meat is served here per verbal assurance from owner. Tried the beef kebab wrap and it was ok. Also ordered the chicken shawerma plate to go and it was okay as well. The serving was bit on the small side in terms of the amount of meat they give you. Very friendly service. This place is located in an old office park behind a 7 – 11, so kinda hard to find. Only open during lunch time hours.

This place was absolute money. Period. Thanks to Unilocal and my awesome Unilocal friends Kathleen and Anna for confirming how great this place would be. All is confirmed.
Today’s lunch special was Chicken Kebabs over rice pilaf with 2 sides. I went for the aforementioned lemon garlic potatoes and tzaziki. I also splurged for falafel as they are generally my measuring stick for a Mediterranean resty. All were wonderful. Full of spices. I walked out feeling satisfactorily full. Not like ate a bunch of crap and now I want to sleep full, but a wonderful feeling that I ate and ate well. great ingredients.
I am definitely coming back but I might have to check that Kinara place out across the street as well.

This restaurant was vandalized toward the end of April 2013. Our team wanted to get lunch from here on a Monday and we saw a sign in the door saying that the restaurant was vandalized and is closed. We came back later on in the week and we were all happy we did so.
The food here is very delicious. Definitely try the chicken shawerma here and order the platter with the 4 small sides to get more variety and taste. We also enjoyed the baklava.
I like how the restaurant interior is very colorful. The music playing definitely makes you feel like you’re in the Mediterranean.
Definitely a great lunch spot! Plus they have free wifi!

I have tried many dishes here over the years. The chicken shawerma is excellently prepared. Tabouli is great. Hummus is a perfect blend of chick peas, sesame paste, lemon and olive oil. The only item I do not like is the felafels because they put a spicy hot pepper in the mix, so you cannot order a ‘mild’ version. When I am in a felafel mood I drive to Felafel’s Drive In in San Jose because they offer either hot or mild.
I don’t think you could go wrong by stopping by Gourmet Express for lunch and sampling their fairly extensive menu.

Amazing chicken shawerma. Havent tasted mediterranean
food better than this .
Only issue is you would have to wait a bit longer if it is crowded.

I have been going here since I was a kid — my dad introduced me to this place probably 17 years ago. And I haven’t stopped craving/​loving it since.
Pretty much EVERYTHING here is amazing. But my absolute favorite thing here is the chicken shawerma platter with any of the sides. Every side I’ve tried at this place has been amazing. The hummus is perfect and lemony. The babaghanoush is garlicky. And the garlic lemon potatoes are perfection!

On a serious note, meat tastes good, but there was barely any food for a toddler.
I would have expected more food for 10 dollars

This is just my first time here. I loved briefly speaking with the owner here who also took my order. The quality of the food just can’t be beat. I had a chicken shawerma sandwich with fries. The creamy garlic sauce and shredded chicken alone are worth the trip here! The chicken is amazingly fresh and moist, and the garlic cream sauce so fresh and pungently perfect. To finish I got the baklava to go and talk about awesome, the layers are perfectly moist, dense, and its buttery deliciousness.
1 star off for seating & deco; I’d like to see some more decorations, nicer chairs & tables, and dine with reusable tableware & cups. But the quality of the food more than makes up for using a flimsy plastic fork. Definitely looking forwarding to coming here again soon.

After watching Avengers I always wanted to try a Shawarma. So I Unilocal’ed it and came across this place.
Me and the gf got the chicken and beef Shawarma. It was pretty bomb and prices were cheap too. Left here satisfied and with the knowledge of what Shawarma finally tasted like. Would definitely go back when craving Mediterranean food. Service was great too!

Went back for lunch on Fri 3÷5÷10. M. was buying so I picked this place. I love the Shawerma Chicken Platter $ 9.50. Lots of shredded chicken meat w/​the creamy garlic sauce on top of it. You can pick 2 sides: I got the tomato cucumber & baba ghanoush. Lots of cut up pita bread given with dish. Owner did reheat the plate in the microwave.
M. got the lamb kebab lunch special I think it was $ 9.50 too. Maybe 3 lamb kebab w/​brown rice and he picked the same sides. He seemed to like them all, but the tomato cucumber wasn’t his fav.
M. got 2 baklavas for us. I love them. The owner buys them, so not homemade. I think she said from Detroit, MI.
Recommended.
To get there: Calaveras, Left on S. Abbott Ave, then another Left on Valley Rd, then a right into their parking lot.
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