Ali Baba’s Cave

Good thing this place closed down… 3 of my friends have gotten painfully ill from this place. I think it was the lamb…
Funny thing is, one of them got sick on two separate occasions — you’d think he’d learn his lesson the first time around!

Just had the chicken shawarma and it was amazing. Mediterranean food is usually hit or miss for me.
They don’t skimp out the shawarma, I could barely finish mine. The marinated chicken is tender and flavorful. Make sure you ask them to make it spicy if that’s your thing.

Ali Babas is one of my favorite for quick cheap eats in the city. Thier schwarmas are MASSIVE and can easily feed me 2 meals. Fresh, quick and delicious.
It also appears they have recently redone the interior! I love the little cave space where rugs and pillows make it fun to chill and munch.

*** Note: Soon to be renamed Fatoose per the new owner. Confirmed the menu stays the same, but he’ll be adding a few more things. Ouf! ***
I used to hit the one in the Mission on 19^th and Valencia for my falafel sandwich fix. But since I’ve moved over to the dark side of town … I’m hitting the place on Haight and Fillmore. Just a MUNI 22 bus ride away.
I’m just gonna come out and say it… the falafel sandwich kicks ass here too!
It starts off with the lavash bread, hummus, spice, parsley, onions and … the kicker … fries! then eggplant and the falafel patties. Dress it with the cucumber in sauce then lightly heat the sandwich and dig in.
There’s kind of a neat story behind the fries in the sandwich. I asked if it was a Lebanese or French thing and the new owner simply told me the fries were in demand as a side and one day … someone asked to have them in the sandwich. Et voila! The rest is history as they say.
One would think this thing is rather starchy and a handful. That it is, but it’s surprisingly tasty and if you take your time … no problem. I just keep coming back again … and again. Maybe a once a month affair for me.
Can’t beat the price either.
They also have chicken and lamb shawarmas that look pretty good too. Veggie platters look damn good. Baklava is available for the sweet tooth as well.
Drinks wise, I don’t think they have a beer and wine license. So it’s the usual sodas and water.
Atmosphere wise, I agree it’s a little sparten and the «cave» is a little dungeon like. In reality, I think the place suffers from poor lighting and no windows. So it does feel like a cave in a way… But you have to look beyond this and think more about the food. Take it to go if you have to.
The new owner is pretty cool and made sure I was happy with my sandwich and appreciates the regulars and newcomers alike. I could tell he’s putting a lot of effort into keeping his new place clean and tidy, so things look promising.
Recommended…

everytime I go I get the same thing: Super Falafel, extra hummus and I make it spicy!
They have the most delicious falafel ‘sandwhiches’ and if you order it ‘super’ it comes with all the fixings plus eggplant and fried potatoes… it is so super yummy!
I love the interior, the staff are great and I never leave hungry :)

Fast and easy are the main plusses. Flavor and freshness are the main challenges. If I was in the area and craved some med cuisine I’d give it another chance.

Lamb shawarma is goooooooood. Try it.
The place is not the cleanest. Somewhat small. But convenient location in Lower Haight (I live in the ‘hood). Friendly staff. Affordable food! Overall good experience. I would recommend it.

I guess there’s a first for everything.
Well, there goes my first 1-​star review:
Recommended by a coworker who said has the «best falafel he had since the ones he had in Paris»…well, he needs to try more Mediterranean food elsewhere in SF.
Got disappointed by the place once we got there… the interior is old and there were not one single customer in the restaurant. We tried it anyway due to the awesome recommendation.
The falafels were cold and overfried.
Salad was soggy.
The hummus was a ok.
The only best part was the pita bread which was warm and toasted.
Meh…never again.

Lamb shawarma is good
Chicken shawarma is good
Baklava is good

Oh Ali Baba, if you ever want to upgrade your cave into mansion or something, please just make a Chicago location and I will pretty much fund it thru the purchase of falafel wraps. We wandered here after a costumed race through the streets that built up quite a hunger.
The falafel wraps are seriously awesome. It is almost like a massive burrito more than a traditional wrap. The specialty wraps at most falafel joints offer you either fried eggplant or fried potato. This place includes copious amounts of both in the standard wrap. The price was right too!
The atmosphere is probably close to the cave name, but they have a functional bathroom and fantastic food which made them quite popular after said costumed race.

YUMMMMMMMM!
Falafel heaven :). Huge portions at great prices! You definitely have to try this place if you love med wraps. The fries and eggplant are fantastic in the wraps, not something I expected. It’s a tiny place, if you weren’t looking for it you’d probably walk right by without noticing it. Minus a star b/​c it was hard to convey exactly what I wanted (esp if you’re picky like me. :()… language barriers at least from my experience. What I love most about Ali Baba’s Cave is how it doesn’t try to be anything else but a great place to chow down on delicious shawarmas!

I asked the cashier if one shawarma was big enough for two people, and he said no and that they were medium size. He recommended that we get two. Medium, my ass! The shawarmas were actually pretty freaking big. I felt like he lied to me and my friend to make another sale out of us. We ordered a chicken and a lamb shawarma, with so much left over. They both ended up tasting super dry. It wasn’t disgusting, but it just wasn’t what I was looking for. And both shawarmas were in such brittle wraps that kept falling apart. I want to be able to hold a shawarma in my arms and cherish it til the end of lunch or dinner. I was really hoping that this place would satisfy a craving that I have had for such a long time, but it did not. Not even an ounce.

Total fluke of a find! I’m a die hard loyal patron of Oasis in the FIDI (ask forThe Maggie and see what you get – warning: very spicy – so I’ve heard but I beg to differ).
Ordered a falafel and specified «super spicy», watched his eyes of awe then had to instruct him to slather more hot sauce on.
While I’m waiting, a guy that rivals my enthusiasm for food raves about the eggplant and insists the owner let me try it. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of baba/​smoky eggplant. «NO,» he says, «…it’s sliced thinly and DEEP FRIED!» I think, «STOP! Take mine off the grill and reload – puhhhlease!» As I’m paying, I turn around to see a platter off deep fried deliciousness at eye level, taunting me to devour it. Thank you oh stranger for that random act of kindness. PS, you owe me a pair of elasticized slacks.
Did I mention the wrap was in excess of 12 inches long and was $ 7 WITH gratuity?
Oh Baba, you haven’t seen the last of me.
PPS…I’m still sitting in the restauant whilst writing this review. Phenomenal.
Eggplant, falafel, hummus, hot sauce!

They sure do make a good-​sized wrap. They’ve got to be an over 15 in length and can easily be shared between two people.
I chose the Falafel shawarma over the lamb shawarma and was worried immediately afterward that it would be too dry… BUT IT WAS NOT. They do grill the falafels to give it a crunchy outer shell, but the falafel insides stay in good, moist, soft-​chewing condition. The fafafels are crushed a little, topped it off with a little bit of tabouli (salad made of tomato, mint, parsley, spring onion, lemon juice) before before receiving a ladel of pretty amazing tzatziki sauce (some people call it «white sauce») that made it the juiciest shawarma I’ve every had. (They also have hot sauce, but I had forgotten to ask for extra. Don’t forget to ask for the hot sauce when you order!) I was so taken aback by how amazingly juicy it was that I was even happy I hadn’t ordered the lamb.
I will go back and try the lamb soon. And I will make sure to remember to ask for extra hot sauce.

The food is special and creative and damn good. The wraps are made with love and with: french fries, shawarma (chicky or Lamb), yogurt cucumber sauce, sauteed eggplant, hummus and hot sauce make there lavash bread wraps the best in the City. I only wished that their atmosphere matched their quality food product. It’s a bit dingy, no music, and the hookah bar vibe in circa 2005. The staff is cool, affable and always have a smile. They were out of straws tonight and their bathroom was/​is jacked yo!
The shawarma wraps are huge (I had Shawarma envy– 12 footers habibi), filling and tasty. I recommend take out…

If I once dated a girl that I didn’t really care for just because she lived across the street, am I really going to be that discerning with restaurants that are across the street?
Nope.
Decent food but the items tend to get stale towards the end of the evening.
I still eat it.
History repeats itself.
Bastard.

I normally love their shawarmas, but I had two chicken bones in my sandwich, which one cut my mouth. I went back to tell them (and showed them the bones) it was horribly gross and ask how there could be bones in a shawarma. He told me there hadn’t been a bone in one for over 20 years! Really, 20 years?
Anyway, I only asked for my $ 7.00 back, he refused and only offered me another shawarma.
Ali Baba, I used to be one of your biggest fans, and sadly, I’m going to eat there anymore.

Meh. I was super excited when I saw that the meat wasn’t a giant cone of pre-​fab pressed meat product, but when I got home and tore into the lamb schwerma I found it lacked flavor and they were all chintzy with the meat. Yeah it was a big burrito like mass, but it was filled with potato wedges, eggplant, and other fillers. I wanted meat! Gobs of it, but alas. It was only ok and I think I’ll stick to my old standby at 7 Pleasures.
Also — I asked that they didn’t put in the cuke tahini sauce and what does he do? He piles it on. Way to listen to your customer. Boo.

I couldn’t believe the super falafel when I saw it. I was in awe, from the minute he started making it for me I could tell it was going to be the biggest wrap, falafel or otherwise, that I’ve ever gone head to head with before. For $ 5.99? That is a steal for a wrap the size of a 6 month old child. Due to the monstrous size I even had the pleasure of eating it over the span of 2.5 meals, not bad at all.
I love falafel, so when I found this place and saw the options to have the usual falafel fixin’s but also add potatoes and eggplantI just knew it was ON. I’m a dangerous living guy, so of course I went with some of their hot sauce too which worked out oh so well.
Such a cheap-​yet-​still-​tasty option. Seriously, it weighed like 32 pounds, I swear.

What happened here? I used to frequent this place all the time, took a 2 – 3 year hiatus from this location and place looked a little more disheveled & dirtier. The folks behind the counter were nice but didn’t have the consistent sandwich rolling technique down like they did in the past. Portions have always been large but never to the point where the lavash bread is busting out with the filling. It felt like they were just trying to load off day old food before the days ending.
Too bad, hope it was just a fluke day, because I really like (d) this place.