Kamal’s Middle Eastern

I had high hopes for this place when I quickly read reviews on another website. Boy, was I disappointed.
$ 11.95 for an extremely underwhelming platter. Went for the Moroccan Chicken option and although the meat was good, the sizing was awful for such a price. The pita that accompanies the meal is of the worst I’ve ever tasted. Far too chewy; you need to stretch the stuff like laffy taffy for it to break.
I also opted for a side of falafel since this is a staple of Mediterranean places. Ugh. I’m saddened that I couldn’t even finish it (and I finish everything) because of the taste and texture. There was no crunch on the outside, the inside was dense, flavorless, was just mushy and cold. I have a feeling they were microwaved.
There was really nothing redeeming about this adventure except for the hospitable gentleman at the front. He had great customer service skills.

We were starving by the time we finally parked and walked over to Reading Terminal. We did a quick walk-​through before picking where to eat, and decided on Kamal’s since there was no line, and I love Middle Eastern food. I ordered the falafel platter, which was very good and filling. Jus ordered the Moroccan chicken, which was also pretty good. My only suggestion would be to warm the pita bread before serving, although it’s really not ‘that’ big of a deal.

I will never go here again. I got a large greek salad with chicken. Also a side of tahini sauce. The chicken is the kind that you would get on any roach coach. Disgusting. The salad was a soggy mess. Lettuce was brown in places. There were no red onions. I dipped the pita in the tahini and that was my lunch because I couldn’t stomach it. Also $ 12. Are you serious??? Do yourself a favor. If you want a greek salad go the greek place at the Bellvue. Top notch and only $ 10. I just was in the area and had to go here. Never again!

My experience at Kamal’s was a mixed bag. The falafel platter was actually really good. The tahini sauce they put on it was amazing. The hummus was pretty good, above average. The pitas were okay, if a little thin. Had I stopped there, this would be a four star review, no problem. But the spinach pie was ruined by a microwave. Cmon guys at least use a toaster oven or something. I wanted to give it more stars but the soggy Spanakopita prevented such an honor. They can do better, I hope to update my review with better news in the future.

I went to RTM near the end of the day a few weeks ago, my only goal being a hot meal. I wandered aimlessly around for several minutes before Tony Stark started whispering «shawarma. shawarma. shawarmashawarma» in my head. And so I went to Kamal’s.
After I ordered my shawarma, the owner struck up a conversation with me. We had a really nice, long talk! He was super nice, and genuine, and it made me super excited to try his food. I knew I was going to love it.
But. I didn’t. Not really. I’msosorry. I didn’t love it. I didn’t really enjoy the chicken, or the side of rice. I didn’t really enjoy that the shawarma was put on top of a cold salad, making them both near room temperature instead of separately warm and cold. The pita was also very dry, but that could be easily chalked up to the fact that I got there before closing. Lastly, I didn’t enjoy the $ 12 price tag.
I liked the tabbouleh salad that it came with?
Sorry, Kamal.

You can score much better Middle Eastern food at the King of Falafel food truck on JFK Blvd near Love Park. And for about half the price or less.
I used to frequent this place years ago and was surprised to recognize the same owners from years ago on my trip here today with my teen. She voted for Middle Eastern (among all the glorious RTM choices), and I had no bad memories. . so we had a couple of their platters. She chose the falafel platter (about $ 10) and I had their Vegetarian combo platter (3 choices for about $ 9. I selected eggplant stew, baba ghanouj and tabouleh. Both came with stale white pita bread (shamefully awful stuff). My platter portions were small, and the quality was not good anyway: the parsley in my tabouleh seemed slightly yellowed — not fresh; the eggplant stew was small leathery cubes of eggplant that was almost the consistency of tofu or seitan — not what I was expecting and not entirely pleasant «mouth feel.» The baba ghanouj was ok, with too much tahini for my taste. My daughter’s falafel platter came with about 5 nice sized falafels (I’ll give them that).
We did not have dessert — but my memories of their baklava were good, for what that’s worth!
With all the choices at RTM, I will not return to Kamal’s.

5 stars all the way for me. The chicken kabob platter was amazing. I will admit I am a newb to the middle eastern fare but the tabouli (bomb!) the salad with whatever that dressing is (bomb!) the chicken was perfect and the hummus was BOMB, the rice… eh, but mix that in with some hummus and tabouli and bomb!

I was in Philly this past weekend and decided to check out RTM. I love Middle Eastern food so I decided to give this place a go. I ordered a veggie platter with two sides (falafel and rice/​veggies).
The falafels were good. Not too flavorful but they weren’t dry like most falafels I’ve had in my lifetime. The rice and veggies were extremely underwhelming because it was just literally rice and some string beans. The falafels were put on a bed of generic iceberg lettuce salad, so that was disappointing. For the price I paid, it wasn’t worth it.
I was rather impresed with their harissa hot sauce. It was $ 0.50 for an ounce container, and it contained a decent amount of heat with some awesome flavor.
If I visit again, it will only be to get their smoothies.

Delicious lamb shawarma platters.
Take home some of their babganoush (eggplant spread)-it’s fabulous.
Their spinach/​feta pies are also homemade and excellent!
Forget the smoothie stuff-that’s for lightweights.
Get the Middle Eastern real food there!!!

The culinary highlight of our visit was definitely the baklava. My daughter had the chicken platter, and I had the lamb platter. It was nice because it included some tabouli salad, rice, in addition to the meat. They are very efficient at serving even though they get crazy busy at noon. If you can, try to get here about 11:30 PM, if you’re coming for lunch. The only disappointment was the hummus, it was ok but not some of the best I’ve had. Overall our food was very tasty, I would recommend this to others.

I have been to reading terminal so many times and have tried almost every place there but this is the best !! I always get their lamb shawarma platter and a juice! Love their assortment of fresh juices and their lamb shawarma is to die for !! That’s as tender as the meat gets !

Mango pineapple kale juice was fresh, tasty and sweet — a good way to sneak kale into my lunch. The side order of grape leaves came on a little bed of salad, which was a nice touch.
I didn’t have any customer service issues like the previous reviewers, but I don’t expect that much attention when things are bustling at RTM at lunchtime, so I’m wondering if maybe people just had unrealistic expectations? When I asked whether kale would taste ok in the combo above, they were pretty friendly and said that’s actually a popular choice. They didn’t give me a hard time for deciding to add coconut at the last minute.
Anyway, I expect I will go back. Haven’t tried any of the other food yet, so I can’t comment further.

This Reading Terminal Market smoothie stand leaves much to be desired.
My friend and I stopped by for a couple of smoothies. It’s pretty difficult to screw up a blend of fruit and juice, but Kamal’s smoothies were mediocre at best. Our Strawberry-​Kiwi-​Mango smoothie had tartness with a «kick» from the kiwi. The Orange-​Guava-​Mango didn’t taste much like fresh orange or guava. Both smoothies were too thin, but had chunks that got stuck in the straw. Neither drink was sweet enough. Maybe the fruit wasn’t ripe?
If I were withering away in a scorched desert, I would gladly drink another. But there are just so many amazing possibilities at RTM, I just don’t see the appeal. Stay away.

This review is solely for the smoothie that I got here and the customer service that I received.
I was really craving a smoothie and was in the middle of Reading Terminal, so I decided to wander towards the first smoothie sign that I saw. The smoothies at Kamal’s are made in a corner, so customers can’t see clearly what ingredients are going into their drinks — a little disturbing for me, but not uncommon nonetheless.
Here’s the unusual and funny thing. I saw one of the employees (let’s call him «Employee #1) making a green smoothie, and I asked the other employee («Employee #2») what ingredients were in it. Employee #2 began answering my question, saying «Oh there’s spinach… and kale…» and then, mid-​sentence, he just turned his attention to another customer, asking for her credit card to pay! When Employee #2 got the credit card from the other customer, I caught his attention and asked him again what was in the green smoothie that was being made earlier. He said, «It has all the greens, kale and spinach…» and then he turned around mid-​sentence and left again! I honestly don’t even know what to make of the situation — I felt so disrespected that I was basically completely ignored… twice.
I finally got the attention of Employee #1 who actually fully answered my question and recommended that I get a mango-​pineapple-​kale smoothie if I wanted something green. The smoothie itself… was alright, especially since it cost me $ 5. The smoothie could have been smoother and sweeter, but it wasn’t a bad smoothie.
I guess I’m just severely turned off by the rude customer service that I received.

One-​liner: Pricey, uninspiring Middle Eastern food at the Reading Terminal.
I ordered the chicken schwarma plate, which came to a whopping $ 12. OK, it must be huge I thought. Nuh-​uh. It’s modestly sized and some of the strangest schwarma I’ve ever had. It was like someone ripped up a chicken sausage and threw it on some rice. Most of the plate was taken up by salad + tabouli, which tasted fine but wasn’t exactly filling. Rice was overcooked and drippy.
I guess if you’re at the Terminal and jonesing for falafel this place would be OK, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back here.

Mango strawberry smoothie here was pretty good. It tasted a bit artificial compared to the fresh squeezed
Juices I’ve become accustomed to but it tasted good and quenched my thirst for something cold and fruity.

I was back again recently, and a woman came up and asked them how much their bananas were. The guy behind the counter explained that they were $.65, and said that they were somewhat expensive because they are a juice bar and don’t usually sell just the bananas. He then suggested where she could get a banana for a better price in the Market. If that, plus a consistently excellent falafel sandwich, doesn’t get you a five star review on Unilocal,I don’t know what will.

Falafel wrap! It really hit the spot. Only complaint: when I ate my way to the bottom of the wrap, there was too much sauce, which probably dripped down from the top.
FYI — they also have whole wheat pitas for no extra charge.

Though I never had any of their dishes they make I am giving them 3 stars on their beverages. Smoothies, to fruit concotions, down to the Mint Lemonade. Kamal’ s has some great options to quench anyones thirst. The food part of it does look interesting, along with some of their desserts. I will eventually give it a try, but being I’m inside a foodies paradise it’s hard to fully commit to one spot.
Located right in front as you walk in from 12^th St. side of Reading Terminal you can’t miss this corner location. Go with the Mint Lemonade, you’ll enjoy it and your taste buds will too.

Because I am unimpressed with the level of cleanliness here, I have confined my purchases to items made off-​site: Pita bread and spinach pies. Those items have been adequate. I truly want to love this place, but I just can’t until they clean up their act. Literally.
For good Middle Eastern food at about the same price point, try Mama’s (Vegetarian), Bitar’s or Cedars. For a more upscale experience go to Zahav.
Do not buy the baklava here. It is swimming in syrup, which is wrong, wrong, wrong. For the real deal, and if you can postpone joy for a few days, then order baklava from Shatila (
), whose phyllo-​dough-​based pastries are world class. Truly worth the wait.