Amir Restaurant

We went here last night only to find that the place had closed. Really, really sad. We went once, a couple of weeks ago. It was right before close and they were rather rude but the food was amazing. We wanted to try it again, earlier in the evening, but apparently we’re too late. If not for the rudeness we experienced, I’d have given this restaurant 5 stars.

Veg combo: stingy on the pita! Only two quarters, not even a whole pita. How am I supposed to eat everything with just two little pieces? It’s like a plate of dip with two chips. Disappointing.
The falafel was overfried. Any more and it would have simply been burnt. The tabouleh was way too salty.
They forgot our drinks. Also, employees smoked right outside the door and that made eating there incredibly unpleasant. No wonder there were zero other people there on Friday night while Back A Yard was packed.

I went to this place and I invite a Persian friend thinking that this restaurant serves Persian food.
My Shishtaouk was not so good. It had bones in it, though it should be boneless. The chicken in it tasted kinda old and not tender. We were the only two people inside that restaurant on a fine Friday evening and despite that my food was horrible. I left most of the chicken untouched after first bite.

Tried Amir takeout again. This time the Takeout portions was alot more than previous. Food was delicious as usual and service was super friendly. Was hoping the small portions we got last time was just a hiccup. Was very happy with what we got, a big improvement. Upgrading to 5 stars.

This place is a little hidden, but I think it’s worth a stop if you’re looking for a quick bite to eat. The interior is really nice and well kept.
I ordered their beef shawarma and made it a combo with garlic fries and a drink. I like their drink selection — it’s different types of juices as opposed to soda. I had their peach lychee and it was pretty good and refreshing.
Their shawarma is decently sized and I thought it tasted pretty good. I was a fan of their garlic fries though! It was a good balance of the garlic taste and smell, but it was not overwhelming where it would have left you with garlic breath.
I was pretty satisfied with the food and I think this place is worth a stop if you want some Mediterranean food. Their service is also friendly!

Incredible Mansaf!!! How is this place not packed ²⁴⁄₇? I dream of the Mansaf and my wife is giddy every time we discuss going to Amir’s. This is one of those places that you don’t want to Unilocal about because you are afraid of it being overcrowded and the quality suffering. I am Unilocaling because I am afraid of losing my Mansaf! We stumbled on this dish accidentally and now we order it every time we stop by! Truth be told, we discuss the Mansaf everother day while choking down some brutal dinner near by.
FYI: today is Valentine’s Day and my wife is supporting me writing this review while still at the table, Mansaf flavor still lingering in our mouth.
We love Amir’s Mansaf!

Great food here with excellent service. Tried there platter with the three different types of meat. I really enjoyed the chicken and the beef. The babaganoush and the falafels were also really tasty. I would also recommend getting their juices as the owner makes the juices fresh. I mixed the mango with lychee juices and it was really tasty!

While living in Sunnyvale I fell in love with Mediterranean food. I also happened to live across from two fantastic kabob restaurants.
I had high hopes, our tea came with fresh mint (always a huge bonus) and the service was quite good, but that’s where the pluses ended. The bread was obviously from a plastic bag and the hummus was awful, not even savable with the oil they drenched it with.
My ground beef kabab was cheap. The meat was cheap, it looked pre-​made and later cooked and made my stomach upset after eating it.
Unfortunately while with service they tried very hard, and my honey liked his lamb, all the bells and whistles of Amir cover up cheap ingredients and bad food. A really awful combination.
There is no way I’ll be walking into Amir again.

I am a fan of Amir! Been here 4x already for the past month of December. My coworker suggested it and I fell in love. Their unsweetened ice tea is so refreshing and fresh– they call it wild berry I believe and it is free refill too just ask the cashier. The food here is awesome! It taste home made, my favorite is the chicken kobob with rice. Yummy! I tried their greek salad as well it is tasty, and their desserts are all freshly baked and delicious. The place is clean, inviting and relaxing. I love sitting on the couch/​chair with cushions. Very pretty lamps from Turkey!
The only downside is that it’s quite a wait for your order to arrive, however with the quality of food you get it’s worth it!

If I could give ten stars i would. Everything here is so amazing. I come here all the time. But this post is not just to rave about everything. I tried their mansaf tonight in response to someone saying they hated it. Well turns out it is my favorite dish now. The lamb fell right off the bone, the yogurt was super complimentary to the dish. I let my boyfriend try a bite and he was in hog heaven! We both decided that 12.99 was really cheap! They could charge 40 bucks for this amazing dish. Though I hope they never will because then I couldn’t eat it.

I can stop looking for excellent Mediterranian food because we’ve found the best we’ve had here at Amir! We arrived around 6:00 on a Friday & the place was empty (glad I’d read Unilocal reviews or we might have gone elsewhere.)
The décor is so pretty, comfy seats, lovely colors on the walls & friendly staff too.
We each had a glass of their minty lemonade… perfection! A nice touch? Drinks are served in pretty different color glasses.
We started w/​falafel as an appetizer, they come piping hot, crunchy on the outside & are served w/​a housemade hot sauce & pita bread. Yum!
Hubby had mansaf, something he really enjoys & he was in heaven.
I had a combo plate which comes w/​one each chicken, beef & ground beef skewers… all were perfectly cooked, served on a bed of rice w/​a nice salad & hummus. Oh, and more bread. :)
We were offered a choice of 3 desserts but neither of us had any room left. Next time… I can’t wait to go back!

I had lunch here twice before — I remember the first time not being so great and expensive. But this time around, I had their gyro wrap that comes with a bit of salad + their mango-​peach juice and I remember thinking the price was more reasonable. This menu was their lunch special priced item so it probably has something to do with that. Anyways, this time was also the first time I had their orange sauce.
Their gyro wrap was alright. I’ve never had mind-​blowing gyro wrap before so meh. what really made it good was the sauce! I think many SJ restaurants have their own version of the «orange sauce» but I definitely like this house’s the best! it is a bit spicy but I didn’t think it was over-​the-​top spicy.
AND THAT MANGO PEACH JUICE!!! YAAAAASS!!!
*ahem* sorry. In any case, I really like that juice — might come back just for a cup or two of that! It’s subtly sweet and tangy which my taste buds just fell in love with. Awesome~!
All in all, I’ll probably be back — but maybe just stick with lunch special pricing. Otherwise it can get a tad bit overpriced and expensive for the food you get.
P. S. this place has parking validation so that’s another + from me~

Great food! It was the first time I had Mansaf and I loved it. We ordered the specials of the day which were the mansaf and the goat casserole.
I absolutely loved the Mansaf, the goat casserole was good not great. Overall a good meal.

Came by for lunch the other day as our sushi joint on Santa Clara was closed due to a gas leak in Downtown SJ…
Ordered the braised lamb shank and they came out with the Mansef… after everyone else got their food*ooops?!? The lamb shank itself was dry, over-​cooked and bland. The yogurt didn’t have much flavor to it either.
…the braised lamb shank was supposed to come with a salad… but since they messed up our order and gave me a Mansef, they said that a salad wasn’t part of it… they finally gave us a salad a long while later…
The salad tasted like it was hanging out in the fridge… I also tasted some sand/​grits in my salad… did they wash the lettuce?!?
…they «forgot» to bring me water too… until we finally asked again.

⁴⁄₅: I tried the mansaf, which is a lamb shank, with rice and yogurt sauce. It’s available Monday and Tuesday only. $ 14:
There is also a pita underneath everything, which you can’t see (but it’s a very nice addition). The lamb shank itself is meh. However, you get a huge quantity, and everything else about the dish is good. Ask for extra yogurt sauce: they only put on a small amount. Overall, I would say that it’s only half as good as the Mansaf at Dishdash, although at DishDash you get a much smaller portion, for $ 17.

3.5 star for food actually, I wish I can give 4 star because the service is really good and environment is pretty nice.
The environment is clean and not too crowded during Friday lunch time. Cute décor. Good place to catch up with friends or eat with coworker. The staff are very friendly. I ordered just the regular kebab with garlic fries. Everything is pretty fresh, huge portion, but just okay overall. …The kebab was a little stale.

I really wanted this place to be good. Everyone was so nice! But the food was lacking. The beef and chicken shawarma was oily, which made the pita that it laid on also oily. The pita itself was very fluffy and warm. Rice was dry and hummus was grainy. I have nothing to say about the salad; it was a side salad, whatever.
Word of the wise: don’t order the side of garlic fries. It’s really small. It was also just drenched in this garlic sauce (duh) that wasn’t very garlic-​ey.
The hot sauce was preeeetty good though.
I was also conflicted on the tip because you order the food at the counter and they bring the food to you. Water took a while.

I got the Beef Shawarma wrap which comes in a pita with lettuce, onions, tomato, pickles and tahini (
) Lots of meat (
) and good flavors though the meat was overcooked and pretty dry. The tomatoes and tahini helped a little.
Looked like they griddled the meat prior to assembly so maybe too much time on the flat top?
Would give them another try, if I was in the area.

Tried out Amir Restaurant in Downtown SJ, a few doors down from Back-​A-​Yard. There’s street & City lots nearby.
Place was empty at 5pm on Thurs when I went. They food is good, so more people need to give it a try. Inside is clean & stuff is made fresh.
I got the lamb wrap combo that comes with a lamb wrap, fries which I then substituted for salad, & a drink which I picked mango. Lamb wrap is a good size, not too big or small, not a lot of lamb, wish there were more. Salad had tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions.
Ask for Hot Sauce to make it all Better — it’s really spicy & made by the chef secret recipe.
Mango drink was good enough. Huge cup, but filled with ice so not that much juice.
I want to try the baba ganoush, red lentil soup, greek salad, baklava, etc.
Credit cards allowed. Bathroom in the back.

It’s really meant to be. We were on our way to visit the restaurant next door but it was closed that day.
Amir is a great find. It’s like finding a new and better buddy :) I avoided it before because it didn’t look that attractive from the outside. I know I judged this book by its cover. I’m human and flawed:(
It was just us on a late Sunday afternoon. I was attracted to the description of charred marinated beef (sheesh kabob). The attraction lasted beyond the first look and bite. I went all the way! Even the flavored rice that came with it was tasty. The side salad was loaded with fresh greens. The dressing was non offensive and light.
Portions were awesome! I had at least 8 – 9 pieces of medium sized beef cubes all charred to perfection! All super tasty and tender. Worth the $ 11+!
Service was great and fast. Clean, colorful inside and right across is the garage. Although I forgot to ask if they validate?
Can’t wait to go for a second visit!