Al-Fanoose

Best falafel in San Francisco. Hands down. Be sure to add roasted eggplant to it though for extra yumminess.
This place is super well-​priced, fast, friendly, and so super delicious. I usually get my food to go, but sometimes with friends, we’ll go sit in the back where you literally feel like you’re transported into another world. It’s not the chic-​est of environments, but it definitely adds to the experience.
Just wish they were ²⁴⁄₇ so I get their food at 2am after an evening of dancing, ha!

Really good Tunisian food… the Shawarma was very good, and a very large portion for the price. They have baklava as well, and very friendly service.

Good middle eastern food, but not «as good as it gets» good.
Huge portions.
Rarely a line, so you only have to wait if you order kabobs that have to be grilled.
Priced for a great value.
Friendly staff.
Plenty of seating.
Bathroom is dirty.

3.6 STARS. Let me break that down for you—
Taste: 4
Portions: 5
Ambiance: 2.5
Cleanliness: 2
Price: 4.5
I’m not usually a Mediterranean food person, but Al-​Fanoose swung me to the Middle Eastern side. Tasty falafel wraps filled with veggie goodness (roasted/​spicy eggplant optional), large portions, and cheap prices (less than $ 6.50) make this a winner.
Only sour patch was that the glass of water that I was originally was given had some food specs clinging to the inside, but the lady making the sandwiches noticed before she handed it to me and cleaned it apologetically before a major faux paus occurred.
My appetite was spared — which I clearly needed given the massive size of these sandwiches. I didn’t even know a «mini» wrap was an option.

Solid Mediterranean food for good value. I got a lamb shwarma atop salad with sides of tahini cucumber and tomato and babaganoush for under $ 11. Quick and easy neighborhood spot, and friendly service

Not sure if the meat is Halal, so I have only tried the vegeterian items here. The falafel sandwich is pretty good (very large and they put french fries inside the sandwich). The vegeterian platters are good as well. They usually give you complimentary flat bread (thin style) if you request it with your platter. Limited seating inside, but nicely decorated with artifacts and artwork from Tunisia and North Africa.

I’ve had Al Fanoose delivered to me three times this month. 4.99 for a «mini» wrap, I just can’t beat it.
Today I ordered a chicken shawarma wrap and a french fries salad (thank you for calling it that by the way. Takes away the guilt), and a ginger brew for 10 bucks. Cannot be beat.

*a quick bite for a hefty well put together snack/​meal
#lambbeefschwarma
#quickservice
I stumbled into this place while waiting for my laundry to dry. Figured I’d get the lamb & beef schwarma. Oh my god what a surprise. It came wrapped up in this thing crusty pita with all the fixins including cucumbers, hummus, tomatoes (?), potatoes, parsley, some hot sauce. What a surprisingly big «sandwich» this thing was like a foot long.
Although messy to eat, it hit the spot and I’ll be sure to be back for another one.

YUM! would prefer a less flaky bread (maybe not lavash for the shwarma) but it was TASTY! I said God DAMN!

Hallelujah!
Tucked in Lower Haight I met my Mediterranean dream. I love eating in this style, hummus, veggies, pita… and I hesitate dining places where the menu consists mostly of what I make on my own at home.
But Al-​Fanoose is an exception. Picture all of these favorites, wrapped up in a light lavish, then lovingly toasted to perfection!
The ingredients are fresh and well prepared, the lavish is warm and crispy. For $ 6.44 you can get enough food to feed a few people. I like to opt for the mini wrap (which is still a good amount of grub) for $ 4.99.

This is a difficult review. On the one hand, I enjoyed the falafel platter with hummus I had that one time. On the other hand, I’ve tried to order again from Al Fanoose TWICE and both times they waited a significant amount of time from when I placed my order to call and cancel my order (over 30 mins). The first time they called to tell me they were closed (although it was normal business hours). The second time I was called and told something happened and there was no delivery driver tonight. I’ll give a restaurant a freebie on a poorly canceled order once but not twice. Regardless of enjoying the first time, I won’t waste my time ordering, waiting half an hour only to end up getting my order cancelled. Just not worth it.

I stopped by Al-​Fanoose the other day for the first time in a few years. Turns out they got a new name and a new owner a couple of years ago, but other than that, the menu is the same, and the food is just as delicious.
My go-​to pick at Al-​Fanoose is the falafel sandwich. It’s a huge lavash flatbread, smeared in hummus and chili sauce (optional; I go without), with french fries, eggplant (extra; I go for it), onion, parsley, cucumber/​tomato sauce, and four huge freshly-​fried falafels, smashed up inside. It’s a treat. I’ve never had a bad one.
Fun fact: «Al-​Fanoose» means «The Magic Lamp» in Arabic. So the owners decided to switch names from one classic of Arabian Nights (Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves) to another (Aladdin’s Lamp).

I’ve walked by this place dozens of times on my way to other restaurants or bars. As a huge fan of falafel, I’ve always been interested in trying it out, hoping it would be one of my new favorite places. While it’s not the best, it’s a pretty good value for the price. The falafel wrap is huge, and you can get it with eggplant, fries, hot sauce, tahini and hummus (as well as onions and some other veggies.) It’s not bursting with flavor like truly or sunrise, but it’s still a good eat at $ 6.50 a wrap. Also, the person who made our wrap was super nice and that goes along way sometimes.

Give this place a shot.
It looks a little sketchy but there are tasty lamb and beef shawarma’s inside.
Big ones.

This review is not about the food, simply because I never got to eat it. I ordered delivery from here on a quiet Sun night through GrubHub. After waiting for an hour, I get a call from GrubHub that Al-​Fanoose has somehow cancelled my order and I won’t be getting any food at all. Needless to say, I find this completely unacceptable. GrubHub went ahead and refunded my card and gave me a gift certificate on top of that, so my problem isn’t with them. This place, however, better get their stuff in order. I will never try this place again.

This place is such an improvement from what it use to be (Ali Baba’s.) The interior is warm and clean and the food is so much better! I have an obsession with North African cuisine — and here I can get those yummy little salads, falafel, and even Harira (they’ll have it during ramadan.) There is even homemade baklava if you’re lucky. :)
So if you come in and see a woman stuffing her face shamelessly in the corner with salads, harira and shawerma — don’t mind me, I’m in food heaven. :)

I’m veg; this is just a falafel review.
I don’t have a clue what these other falafel reviewers are talking about, except that either they got a fresh batch, or they have very different standards for what a falafel should be.
I’ve lived in the Middle East, so I think I have a good standard– hot, fresh, crunch on the outside, moist and flavorful on the inside.
What I got at Al-​Fanoose was exactly the same as what I got at Ali Baba’s –bad falafel. Dry, lukewarm, and tasted like old reused frying oil that hadn’t been changed all week. I only ate half of my pita and threw the rest away.
Most importantly, this place has the 3^rd best falafel. Not in San Francisco. On this block! Best is Café International, 2^nd goes to Palmyra at Pierce and Haight. Either one is a better option that Al Fanoose.
However, maybe their shwarma is divine. If you think its unfair to give only one star on the back of bad falafel, I respect that. But the falafel really was that bad.
Oh yeah, and the place is unattractive inside and makes you want to take it to go, which even the 4 and 5 star reviewers said.
Go someplace else.

This place looks pretty dumpy outside, but it’s actually pretty clean inside and smells really good :)
I got the lamb and beef shawarma, spicy, with everything, a side of dolmas, and a piece of baklava because I was feeling fancy.
Everything was fresh and tasted good. I guess the meat could be slightly more tender, but it was still good. The dolmas are nice and citrusy and not dry at all (dry dolmas are my kryptonite).
The baklava is some of the best that I have ever had! The filo was super flaky and fresh. Lots of delicious honey without being soggy.
I was a bit skeptical by their awning and façade, but I was pleasantly surprised and will go back to try their falafel.

I saw the change of management sign so I thought I would pop in and give them a try. Even though the food looks the same, I was very disappointed. Although friendly, they don’t have a hang of things and it felt like forever waiting to get my order ready. When I got it, I was amazed at how little flavor there was in the lamb. It tasted more like soiled carpet rather than lamb. So dry. I even asked if their lamb was fresh and I got a yes. LIE. That thing must have been cooked and reheated a dozen times to have that texture.

I would give them 1 star, but they are just starting so I’ll give them a chance to improve.

Ali Baba’s Cave is now Al-​Fanoose Restaurant. I assumed this «change» was coming, as the receipts from ABC have had the name Al-​Fanoose on them since at least last fall, but I’m kind of surprised they bothered to change the name.
It looks much nicer than it used to, at least on the inside. They’ve built a whole new counter, and the seating area is less thrown-​together-​looking than before. They’ve also rewritten the menu items on the chalkboard, which had faded to the point of annoying inscrutability.
The outside? Yuck. The new awning is. .. new. That’s the only positive thing I’ll say about it. While the old ABC logo had at least some style, if not verve, the new typeface looks like it came off the liquor-​store assembly line. I find it hard to believe they paid money for this thing. And white on bright blue? What’s that going to look like after a couple of years?
The food is exactly the same, which means it’s wonderful. It’s all about the super falafel. And fear not, Ali Baba’s Cave reminiscers: The ABC on Valencia in the Mission hasn’t changed its name (or its sign). Al-​Fanoose prominently displays an under-​new-​management sign, but everything basically tastes and feels the same. That’s pretty good. And although it’s ugly from the outside, I appreciate the new interior cleanliness, although I fear it’s only temporary. Oh, what the heck? Four stars it is.