Sufi Mediterranean Cuisine

Came here for date night on a Monday around 7pm. It wasn’t too crowded but there was enough people there. Staff seemed friendly. The place is also kid friendly which is nice if you have kids. They have a buffet which I decided to go with. I have to say everything that I tried was really good and not overcooked or sitting too long. Definitely fresh. Hubby had a lamb dish which I had a little taste of. Very tender! The desserts at the buffet area were great was well. Small portions which is another plus. We also had Persian martinis that were strong and yummy! — one star for the no sign on ladies room door. Wasn’t sure where to go, lol. Other than that loved this place!

This place has a wonderful selection of foods to choose from.
I have never been to a Persian/​Mediterranean buffet but OH BOY this place is Y-​U-​M-​M-​Y!
The chicken and beef kabobs are flavorful and hot. Actually all the food is fresh and always well stocked. I enjoy the variety of breads they also have. Price wise this place is very affordable especially if you are going to feed a family they will leave with a full belly…

Baby friendly, great service, no crowd and the dinner buffet was on point. What more can I say– I’m in love.

Very beautiful restaurant best food i ever had last night we had a birthday party and the Manager of the restaurant made everything for us thank you so much baba joon :)

Weekday dinner buffet experience was great. Good variery, great flavor, good service. Food was fresh and there was a constant turn over. Would definitely give it a shot.

Where has this place been all my life?! Endless chicken and beef kabobs! ’nuff said. I had no idea this place existed since it’s located behind some buildings off Balboa Ave. I came by for the lunch buffet and man was I impressed. The selection was way more than I has expected. They had everything from cold salads, hummus, soups, various chicken dishes, and desserts. Bar far my favorite were the chicken and ground beef kabobs. Both were super moist and flavorful. The chicken wings were also another favorite of mine with a nice char on them from being flame grilled. Price is $ 15.95 for lunch and it comes out to $ 17ish after taxes. I think thats a very great deal since Persian food alone will usually set you back $ 15 for just 1 kabob.
The service here was great. When we arrived the guy who I assume is the owner or manager greeted us and was super friendly and explained the buffet. Table was cleared often and we were checked up on often as well. If you aren’t in the mood for a buffet (why the hell wouldn’t you be) they do have a standard menu to order off of. The space here is huge so I looks like it would be a popular banquet place. Definitely a hidden gem in SD!

This is the first Persian food buffet I’ve been to. Here on a Sunday with a group of family and friends 12 of us for a leisurely 3 ½ hour brunch.
Food is very good and ranges from straight Iranian dishes such as Gorme Sabze and Baghala Pollo to Arabic fare like hummus. Of course you’ll also find kabobs — chicken, fillet beef and Koobideh (ground) beef. Chicken wings/​drummies. All manners of rice dishes. Persian style crunchy spaghetti. Gheimeh. Various Persian Ash style soups — Ash e-​anar, Ash e-​jo, and more.
Also an omelette station. They brought some bowls of Kalle Pache to the table (extra cost) as well which if you don’t know what that is — you probably don’t want any.
Various salads including Shirazi and Maast a Khiar, and Salade Olivier, plus more traditional salad bar vegetables.
Abundant fresh fruit and Persian desserts. At the table drinks including tea, soft drinks, ice tea, etc are included, pitchers of Doogh I believe are extra,
Live Persian music band. Many servers all attentive.
In all a great experience and quite recommended. Lunch buffet daily with extra food at higher price on Sundays (currently $ 24.95 Sundays; $ 15.95 rest of the week).

Very good service, some pricy but so delicious. Koobide was great. Dessert was really good. Amazing lunch buffet. They have also tea service that made me happy after too much eating. Everything was so fresh.

This place was aaaawwwesome! The food was super fresh, the tables, carpet, décor was very clean, and the waiters were all friendly. Mon — Thur they have a dinner buffet, and I thought it would be a great way to try many different Persian dishes, and for $ 15.95 a person it ended up being a great choice!
The buffet had a lot of cold options, like veggies, pasta salad, hummus, cucumber/​yogurt sauce (which was delicious), and they had two different kinds of rice, and many meat and veggie dishes in a a sauce/​broth to eat with the rice. Of course they also had super tender chicken and beef, roasted on a skewer which was the best part about the place.
I’ve never had home made Persian food, so I cannot determine its authenticity, however if you already like Indain food and Thai food, and are looking to have something new, I’d totally give this place a try. Nothing beats a clean restaurant, and honestly no matter what I ate, it was fresh and tasty… even the spaghetti and buffalo wings as one of the last options at the end of the buffet he he heee.

Needed a quick bite, and I found this place! Really nice inside with great consumer service. I order the buffet and it was good, hot with alot of selection and for 15 dollars. Not bad at all, I’ll will be back for sure.

Total confusion at the end of a nice evening. Manager not much of a manager, short, rude and not very customer friendly. He should take example of some of his employees. This used to be a favorite place to go. Will have second thought next time. Food good, limited menu and not open to changes or substitutes on menu. Waited for check too long. Check your bill carefully. We were charged for the wrong items. Many other options out there, try them.

This my second visit here, my mother-​in-​law is a big fan. My first visit was for the lunch buffet. However, we arrived to late. Also a large party had just ended so the place was a little busy cleaning on the left side of the restaurant.
We were seated in okay location, I was comfortable in the little corner. In the beginning we had a male waiter who brought water, cucumbers, bread, and a sample of the Mint/​regular kefir drink. The waiter told us there were two kinds of kefir like drinks… flat and carbonated. The flat kefir had two kinds: original and mint. Both are made in house, to me there were on the salty side, however I could see how it would compliment the food with spices/​herbs.
For the appetizer we ordered the Persian Platter and Sufi salad. If you are a fan of eggplant way to go. If you font know whst to order get this and try all the dipping choices. The only thing I liked was the beets and walnuts… I would call jumbling things toogether a salad. It was a weird salad yo me… like it had been leftovers thrown on the plate.
Entrees: Hubbs and his mom ordered lamb shanks and I ordered the chicken kabob and the beef combo, that came with rice. I thought it was tasty, however not worth $ 18.00. More like $ 12 or $ 13. Hubbs and his mother liked the Lamb Shank and the rice.
There were a lot of employees moving chairs and tables, vacuuming. I’m sorry its just plain gross when someone is sweeping or vacuuming, while you trying to eat. And although he was not right next to us, the dirt and dust carries from the Vaccuum and it smells. I personally felt akward and wished we would have came another time.
It was really hard to find help, because after we put our entrees in for order (we never saw him again… what??) Twice I had to ask for items because no one came to attend us. Also they never came and collected the dirty dishes we were finished with. *annoyed face*
Horrible experience I am sad to say

Not bad. They were willing to accommodate a party of 12, which was definitely a plus.
The first half of their buffet consisted of salads and hummus/​baba ghanoush-​type dishes, and the second half was kebabs, meats, soups, and sauce dishes. Their best item was an innocuous-​looking yellow kebab made out of chicken which was extremely fluffy. Even on a relatively tame night (maybe 2 – 3 parties besides mine), it ran out and had to be replaced with a rather generic spaghetti, so there is the concern that they will run out of things on the more popular nights. There was also a ground beef kebab and another chicken kebab, but by far the best one was the one that ran out.
I hear they have baklava on some nights for dessert, but it wasn’t there when I went.

My co-​worker told me about this place and how they have AYCE even on Saturday’s!
All the beef and chicken kabobs I want!!! Hell to the YES!
All the food was freshly cooked and were constantly examined by staff. The meats were tender and full of flavor. The hummus was a tad on the grainy side but it wasn’t much of an issue. I dip everything in hummus which is why I mention it. The had different types of rice, veggies, salads, side dishes and desserts. 10 minutes into our meal, we noticed there wasn’t any type of bread in the buffet. It turns out that the bread is in a basket by the desserts on top of the bar, wrapped in cloth to keep its freshness. I seriously over ate here but that’s the whole point of a buffet right? Definitely a place to add to my list and worth the 20 minute drive.
Service was attentive and our drinks were constantly filled. The AYCE is priced at $ 16 which to me is worth it. I spend that much when I go to other places who serve single dishes.

Came here for a large dinner tonight with about 40 people. Service was prompt and friendly. Tasted some hummus and baba ganouche and both were very good. Really liked the bread that accompanied it. For dinner I got a chicken kabob and some rice and the chicken was really fresh and succulent with very little fat on it. We didn’t pay for anything so can’t speak to the prices. It filled up later on at night and they have some live music so it seems like it’s a popular place. Would definitely come back.

I like to come here on chicken wing and spaghetti Wednesdays. Best chicken wings and spaghetti ever!

** They have an AYCE lunch option for $ 15.95. **
There was a nice selection of salad toppings, two types of kabobs, chicken wings, two types of rice, grilled vegetables, soups, stews, and even spaghetti.
Favorite items:
— salad bar: their house made salad dressing was AMAZING. I loved it with the fresh vegetables offered as toppings.
— Chicken karahi: My favorite buffet item of the day. This tasted like a rich savory chicken stew to me. The chicken was decently tender and the stew had a nice spicy kick to it that I thoroughly enjoyed.
— kabobs: the chicken kabob was nicely tender and seasoned
I was looking forward to trying the chicken wings but unfortunately the wings tasted dry. The wings had a nice char to them but unfortunately tasted dry. There were only a few wings left in the tray so perhaps they stayed out too long. And the tray wasn’t refilled so we weren’t able to try more during that meal.
There’s a good selection of desserts offered as well.
Service was so-​so but the restaurant was getting busier by the time we finished. Friend thinks the variety here at Sufi Mediterranean Cuisine is substantial compared to other buffets. I personally thought the $ 15.95 price was hefty but that’s because I didn’t eat as much as I had wanted. Regardless, it was fun to try out Sufi Mediterranean Cuisine and experience their AYCE lunch buffet.

Came here this past Saturday for the weekend buffet. You may not see it right away off Balboa Ave but just turn into the parking lot where you see the sign and they are located in the back back portion of the shopping center. I believe the buffet was about $ 15 a person which is a great bargain because the average Persian entrée is $ 15-​$ 20.
Hopefully I can recall most of the items in the buffet:
Hummus
Baba Ghanoush
Sufi Special Sauce (lol)
Salad (whatever that is)
Ashe Reshte (Persian Noodle Soup)
Barley Soup
Standard Persian rice which I love
Brown Rice with stringed carrots aka Kabuli Palow
Beef/​Lamb Koobeidh
Chicken Kebab
Chicken Wings (my favorite)
Baked Chicken
A bunch of vegetarian dishes
Napoleon Dessert (Fresh cream pastry on a small, flakey crusty thing)
Fruit
Persian Tea
Hopefully the next time I come back here its on a Sunday since word on the street is that the buffet goes Super Saiyan. **Google Super Saiyan**

Mediterranean cuisine!?? Please do not be ashamed, call it Persian food or Iranian food
I have been to this place quite a few times, but this time around I decided to give them a Unilocal.
I had a feeling that they had a new chef, I try asking the waitress but she had no clue, even though she was very friendly and nice.
Two of my friends and I visited on the Friday night hoping to have some buffet which they are very famous for, unfortunately on Friday Nights they do not have buffet.
They had live music, at first the band look very shady but when they start playing music they were Awesome!
My friends and I decided to get the tadig as the appetizers, meanwhile we were having their hot fresh bread with butter, which is complementary, The bread was fresh, hot and awesome! It was amazing!
After a few minutes the waiters came back and said the tadig was not available, tadig is crunchy rice which is created at the bottom of the rice pan, when the rice is cooked on a slow flame with some oil? That’s when tadig is created, tadig is crunchy, it comes with a choice of stew which is put on it to make it soft and tasty.
My friends and I were pretty disappointed, the waitress saw our unhappy faces and went back to the kitchen and miraculously brought us some of the leftover tadeak, it was awesome and delicious!
My friends and I decided to get the kebab combination family style, The kebabs were absolutely delicious, we got the chicken, lamb and beef kebabs, of course it came with rice which was cooked Persian style.
The music was really good played by some local band called Gypsymenco, The service was also good but it looked a bit Chaotic, people were running around like chickens with no head, looks like they need a good Manager, that will make them perfect in service.
Overall the food was excellent, The service was good, The music was awesome, people seem to be very happy, I did not see anybody complaining about anything, I hope they will keep up their service and serve excellent food next time around when we visit them again.
Keep up the good service and food guys, we will be back to have your delicious food!

Precursor: if you’re in for lunch, please don’t get the buffet. You’ll be missing out otherwise…
My girls and I ordered: beef and chicken koobideh, lamb shank, tadig, and ska side of hummus + masto khiar. The koobideh was awesomely juicy, and the tomatoes were grilled to its smoky peak. The lamb shank was as soft as my baby blank. The meat fell write off the bone, into this broth of madly savor. The hummus, homemade (as it should be), and the khiar has just the right amount of dill.
Also located next to Balboa Market. If you didn’t get enough food, you’ll find everything you liked on the menu as this market. And their kabobs aren’t all that bad either.