Ariana Cuisine

The best lamb kabobs I’ve ever had in the whole State of California are here! Beef, lamb, chicken… Its all good! Home cooking with a Mediterranean feel! Just go in and hit the back of the marketplace, follow the aroma of goodness!

This place is certainly worth the hype! My wife and I got a Gyro and Rice plate, Beef Kabob plate, and 2 orders of Baklava. They were incredible, especially the beef. The owner was friendly, prices were decent, and we’ll certainly be coming here again!

Their bolani (aloo paratha) is hands down the best in San Diego! It does take 30 minutes to prepare– so call ahead. Scared to write this review because it may draw the masses, but this hidden gem of a dish/​place is worth the raving & gushing. If you want it really authentic, buy yourself some quality Lebneh (lebanese yogurt) to dip the bread into– so, so good!
*It’s a mom & pop grocery store-​cum-​restaurant. Not really ideal for fancy sit-​downs, but doable for a quick lunch. We usually grab & go orders we place on the phone ahead of time.

Wow, small place in a grocery shop, but amazing food. I had a «chef specialty» for $ 9.00. It was amazing. Just FYI is not a fancy place but if you are a food lover and tired of the usual, this is a change and experience.

Hands down the BEST AFGHAN FOOD in all of CALIFORNIA!!! This hidden gem will leave your satisfied! The portions are extremely generous, especially the Bolani. The Kabobs are juicy and fresh!!! Must Visit next time in San Diego!

Menu can be found here:

Tip: when ordering bolani call ahead of time as it takes around 30 minutes to prepare. If there are other orders (esp. around dinner time) you will want to call because people know that the bolani here is the bee’s knees and everyone orders it.
Don’t get this place mixed up with Ariana Kabob House! Ariana Cuisine is in a small grocery store called Ariana Produce. Walk all the way to the back and adjacent to the meat counter are a couple of tables and where all of the food is made.
I ordered sambosas and Bolani Kachaloo and Gandana. It was well, well worth calling ahead of time for. The bolani comes in a small pizza box and is filled to the max. One box could feed two people which is a steal for $ 11.
If you are Asian, the Bolani Gandana is very similar to the Chinese green onion pancakes but with more of a flatbreadish type of construction. It is SO TASTY — not hard to see that it is a favorite of regulars here.
The sambosas so so crispy and flavorful. If you are vegetarian this is amazing as there’s not meat in the sambosas.

Tucked in the back corner of a small local grocery store is Afghan food. I tried the Chicken Shawarma (non spicy option). It was $ 6.29. The chicken was seasoned and cooked well. It was made to order and very basic toppings in the pita bread (tomatoes, lettuce, and red onions). They accepted credit card as well. Food was probably 3.5 and location is a 3. Not many tables and not really a good place to dine inside based on the atmosphere. Probably would just get it to go next time.

Very good shawarma. However, when I last went the tables were a little dirty and I saw a fly buzzing around. 5 stars for the food and 3 stars for the place.

I am addicted to this place. Literally. I have to talk myself down from calling in an order for my Spicy Chicken Schwarma Pita sandwich on a near-​daily basis because it’s so good. The combination of the spicy seasoning he uses and the white sauce makes for a perfect sandwich.
On top of that, the Bolani is great and a bargain, and the chicken kabob is juicy and tender with great flavor. The beef dishes seem good too, but I haven’t personally eaten them. I also had the sambosas and they were spectacular.
Bear in mind, this is in the back of a middle eastern market that does not look like it’s been cleaned or restocked in a long time, but the food prep station looks very clean and he does a good job at being sanitary. Easy parking right in front.

This is so close to the house, why have I never ordered food from here? Ordered the shami kabob plate with am extra skewer of chicken kabob. Omg, this food is bomb! I love this Afghani food, it’s like Persian food. The beef and chicken were well spiced, basmati cooked perfect. The sauces have a good spicy kick. I’ll have to try some of the other dishes I’ve never had before. I have sumac at home just added more to the rice and meat. I’ll be eating this for another 2 or 3 meals. I’ll keep this in my rotation of healthier places to eat.
This is in the shopping center where Little Caesars is in Mira Mesa, in the back of the grocery store.

Mira Mesa’s little Middle Eastern /​Mediterranean secret!
Located in the same strip mall as Little Caesars pizza and in the back of the grocery store.
Give this place a shot because the food is great and the prices are very reasonable. Rula is a really cool guy and his restaurant deserves more attention.
I always get the Chicken Shawarma with rice plate. (Not on the menu, you have to ask for it.)
Do yourself a service and try this place out.

Best meal ever!!! I live just around the corner and I cannot believe how good the food is. I highly recommend the rice plate with shami (ground beef) it’s amazing… most and flavorful. I cannot wait to come back here next week with my husband to try their other plates.

Restaurant in the back of Ariana Produce, who would have guessed?!
Gyro & Rice, served with a salad — Gyros are juicy but a little on the bland side & could use more flavoring.
Baklava — Good.

Food is great! Made to order and friendly owners. I thoroughly enjoyed my plate of lamb and beef, rice, and salad. The fries were just ok. Nothing special. My husband and his friend ordered a curry dish and they both liked their meals as well. There was one specialty that I really wanted to try but was scared to make the $ 11 commitment since I wasn’t sure if it was good or not. I kind of wished he would have offered me a sample to try it. If I had liked it, I most definitely would have ordered it! And I was disappointed in the pricing of the hummus! $ 6 too expensive! It better be the best!
*Tip: The tea is heavy so you have to dilute it! Pour a little tea in your mug and fill it with the hot water. It’s good!
I was also kind of disappointed that they didn’t really have any desserts. We came for an early dinner and we wanted something sweet and they didn’t really have anything. A lot of people came in after us so you would assume they should have more desserts available for the night crowd.
I’ll be back if I’m ever in the area again.

I got the potato bolani and friend got the gyro rice combo. The bolani is superb and you get a super large serving of it, which is hard to find around here. The chef makes it fresh (takes ~15min) and it is soooooo worth it, he’s also a super friendly and super hardworking person.
For those who usually call in for orders, go order in person and bring cash! Their phone line was still down, cuz of the recent storm, yesterday around this time. I hope ATT got their act together and fixed it by now cuz they’re losing a lot of orders from the telephone line being down.
100% will be back again to try the other deliciousness this place has to offer

We came here for dinner and about an hour before they closed. There were 3 of us ordering and planned to eat our meal inside where they have a couple small tables to sit and enjoy your meal. There is a couple that is behind the counter and the gentleman (cook) would prepare your meal. The place is a little counter inside a market so don’t be fooled with the signage.
I ended up getting the gyro sandwich and fries. My friends ended up getting plates. For my 1 sandwich it took a long time to prepare. A few more customers came into to place orders and there were also phone orders which now I feel that this place is legit. Since there is only 1 guy behind the counter, it did take a while for the orders to come out.
My gyro came out but my fries were still cooking. I was pretty much done with my sandwich when the fries were finally ready at which time I was already full. The guy did give me a big portion however, but sadly I had to throw half of it away since I was too stuffed to eat the rest.
Be prepared to wait, unless there is absolutely no one in line or placing orders. Otherwise, this place is pretty good with decent prices. I did feel that the tadziki sauce tasted more like mayo to me, so I wasn’t a big fan of too much of the sauce.
Will come back for another filling meal and to try other items on the menu!

Prelims: located in the back of a grocery store, by the name of Ariana Produce, it’s a tiny, small, dinky mom/​pop restaurant with chairs and tables in a small designated area of the produce store. Owner was the one doing the cooking with who looked like his wife, and while the food took a bit of time to get to us, it was pretty legit. I got a meal with my wife on a groupon, so it wasn’t much in terms of price.
I ordered the gyro sandwich meal and my wife got the chicken shawarma. We both absolutely loved our food. It definitely had that homemade feel to it, with tadziki sauce smothering the meat and lettuce and tomatoes, and it was juicy, tasty, and well-​balanced, as the pita ended up soaking up most of the meat juices. The chicken shawarma was even more delicious, as the meat was definitely marinated and grilled to a perfect doneness. The smoky flavor produced by the charbroiling, the nice marinated flavor, and the delicious spicy kick from the sauce was a very good combo. The meal drowned us in fries, but we were thirsting for a drink (eh? :D) and we ended up getting drinks form the grocery store.
TL;DR Very fresh. Very nice. Much flavor.

Legit.
If I could get away with a one-​worded review, I would just end there. But because I am an avid Unilocaler, I will continue with a description of my experience!
I just moved back to Mira Mesa area and my friend found a groupon online. I decided to purchase the groupon and try them because my favorite food in the entire world has to be Middle Eastern food!
I stopped by during lunch on a weekday and it was pretty empty. However, I liked that it was empty because there are only a few tables where you can eat so if it is busy, I can see there being a problem to finding seating.
The owner (maybe?) was so nice and super friendly! He was the one who was making the food in the back (the front is a small grocery store). I ordered the chicken shawarma sandwich meal and it was plenty of food for one person! My husband ordered the gyro sandwich meal. The meal just comes with french fries (no drink) but we purchased sodas from the grocery section of the store.
The food was really fresh and I prefer it over Daphne’s and The Kebab Shop. The french fries reminded me of McDonald’s french fries.
I will be back for more!!!

Love love love!!! Definitely a hidden gem in Mira Mesa! Someplace you don’t expect to find inside a supermarket! :)
The owner was so sweet when I came in! Very nice and talkative. I got the chicken swarma meal, gyro and rice, and hummus. All was DELICIOUS, especially the chicken swarma. It was so flavorful and the meal came with the best french fries EVER. The chicken was seasoned really well and the bread was so soft! These are all cooked fresh too since you can see the owner cooking while you wait for your food. The gyro was really good as well but not as flavorful. The hummus was delicious! but a bit pricey in my opinion since it is $ 6 for hummus and a few pita bread.
Will definitely be coming back!:)
I recommend:
— Chicken swarma

Came here for dinner on a Weekend.
Their Spicy Gyro Sandwich was juicy and delightful. It was not too spicy but it had just the right kick. They give a lot of meat so don’t worry about portions!
The owner was very friendly! Food takes a bit longer than expected when it’s crowded but it’s not a big deal.
They also provide free black tea.