Gotta Eatta Pita

Absolutely my favorite place to eat. Food is always fresh and delicious. The staff is friendly and courteous. I 100% recommend this place.

Underwhelming I must say. 6pm and the place is empty. Not a soul. I ordered online and picked up. Maybe that’s what everyone does. Anyway, to the food. I ordered a pita with shawarma and falafel mix. Opened it up about 3 minutes after leaving. It was barely warm. The falafels (I assumed there was more than one but hard to tell since they…) had fallen apart and kinda mixed in with the rest of the content.
The flavor matched the presentation. All mixed up and very non-​descript. The meat was bland. There was a bit of kick from the spicy sauce… frankly that was the only appealing element.
Had a slice of baklava that was also falling apart. Of course they tend to be oily, but I could have fried a cod in the amount of oil from this one.
Overall a very dissappointing meal.

Wow! Seriously, i just had the best Shwarma bowl. Hummus and hot sauce was amazing. Most of all, the service was great. You want to come here.

Gotta Eatta Pita did everything right, from their catchy name to their customer service, and their delicious food. It was my first time eating anything Mediterranean, but the workers were friendly and helpful (even when I asked what falafel was). The food was flavorful and I liked the combinations, and the falafel I had was piping hot and crispy (I went right before lunch time on a weekday :)
Edit: I forgot to mention that the guy that seemed like the manager took the time to check on a large party that was eating there, and made sure they were enjoying their meal, etc. It was unexpected (for this type of restaurant) and I thought that was excellent service on their part.

My overall experience here was really good. We were welcomed by a friendly worker and he explained the place to us, because it was our first time. They bake their pita bread daily and most of the stuff is local. He gave us samples of the hummus and pita bread to try and I was sold on the hummus. It’s chipotle style Mediterranean food and though the bowls may look small, serving size is pretty big! The eggplant is awesome! I would definitely come back!

Gotta Eatta Pita (GEP) is the brainchild of Yaniv Benaroya (aka The Pita King) the East Bay native who got into the Pita game right out of High School, when his parents bought him a pita bakery! His love for the Pita continued through college and culminated into his dream of GEP. This local East Bay chain made its way to SJ last June, and I initially hesitated coming here as they were right next door to my favorite Downtown eatery of Back A Yard. However after seeing the amazing reviews, and 4.5-star Unilocal average, I finally broke down and gave it a go – and boy am I glad I did because I’m hooked! The ordering process is done very SUBWAY-​style*, as your order is put together as you work your way down the counter. I’ve put together a guide to help you make your perfect order:
1) Choose your receptacle– You can either get a bowl or freshly-​baked Pita to stuff full of their delicious ingredients.
JD Pick: I like to get the bowl with a Pita on the side (75¢ extra).
2) Base Dumping– This will make up your bottom half of your bowl/​Pita with either Israeli Couscous or Organic Mixed Greens.
JD Pick: Both! I like a little bit of it all, and the mixture of the two is perfect.
3) Stuff it, would ya?!- Now you get to pick the rest of your goodies: Hummus, Tahini, Hot Sauce, Tabbouleh, Eggplant, Organic Mixed Greens, Tomato & Cucumber Salad, Purple Cabbage Salad, Pickles, Sheep’s milk Feta Cheese, Roasted Peppers, and Kalamata Olives (please note the last three items are an extra charge of 75¢/each).
JD Pick: Hummus, Tahini, EXTRA Hot Sauce, Tomato & Cucumber, Purple Cabbage, Pickles, EXTRA Eggplant and the Feta are what comprises my bowl of heaven.
4) Top it off, pal…- They keep it pretty simple here at GEP as you only can choose between Chicken Shawarma or Falafel for you Veg-​Heads. They’re both pretty delicious, and can’t go wrong with either.
JD Pick: Again, I like to do both! Half-​N-​Half Bowl gives you the best of both worlds and no extra charge.
5) Cough up the dough– Just pay and get ready to dive in!
JD Pick: A filling and semi-​healthy meal for around $ 10 is always a winner in my book!
Service & Ambiance– The interior of GEP is clean, modern and a bit spartan in their décor. There is actually outdoor seating area available if you exit out the back door. The employees are always friendly, helpful and efficient – my favorite!
GEP has risen through the ranks and has quickly become one of my favorite spots for quick, healthy and inexpensive lunch in the Downtown SJ area. Highly recommended.
*I hate to break this misconception, but Subway was doing «Chipotle-​style» long before Chipotle was a gleam in its Poppa’s eyes.

Alright, I’m a pita believer. This place nailed it in every category as far as my needs go for a cheap, healthy, filling place to get on the go. The staff here consisted of one young lady who was so incredibly sweet (black hair tied up and tattoos).If this place only employed people like her, they would be the diamond in the rough, she Deserves major kudos for the customer service she provides.
Falafel was amazing. I’m talking best I’ve ever tried. Fillings were fresh and flavorful and that eggplant filling is lovely. They don’t accept tips here but boy would I leave a fat one If I could!
Follow my lead and give this place a go for lunch time, you won’t be disappointed.

Hooray for Mediterranean food! I got a chicken pita with my desired condiments and was very pleased. I must say the sauce is really what tied it all together. Although the down side is that when you bite into your pita, you’ll get a bite of either just chicken or just lettuce… whatever you put in there, in sections since it’s hard to toss it up in there. It was good, I liked it and was happy that they had Martinelli’s apple juice as well :) my favorite!
Will be back to try the bowl next time!
However my buddy that I was with asked some standard questions about the about the sauce and it seemed to have stumbled the employee. Not a problem if you don’t have any allergies but might be an issue for those who may be curious as to what ingredients go into the food/​sauces
Oh and the Baklava is VERY good! Loved it.

I found GOTTA EATTA PITA here on the Unilocal feed. My wife and I love Mediterranean food, and this place had high ratings with 100+ reviews. We went there tonight after going to Christmas in the Park and we both loved it!
I ordered the chicken shwarma bowl and a side of falafels. The manager that made it was super friendly and walked me through the assembly line as he was making my bowl. It had several «layers» to it from cous cous, eggplant, greens, hummus, tabuli, cucumber salad, feta, tahini and the chicken. It was delicious! The falafels that I added to the bowl were also the bomb. My wife had the chicken shwarma pita and she LOVED it too. The pita was thick and freshly made and was amazing!
The manager there was friendly and helpful and we enjoyed our first trip there. We’ll be back!
4.5 stars!

It looks and feels like a Chipotle but it’s not…
Same concept as the make your own burrito chain except its with mediterranean food.
1) You get to choose from either a pita or bowl.
2) Then you pick chicken schwarma or falafel (or half and half!)
3) any toppings to your desire! (FYI some stuff like feta cheese costs an extra .75)
So they are super generous with the portions here, the pita gets stuffed and the bowl is deep. I’m a big eater and the bowl was more then enough for me. I had the schwarma and chicken was moist and tasty.
The next time you’re in the San Pedro Square area and don’t wanna deal with the ruckus inside the Market, come across the street and check out Gotta Eatta Pita!
I left here happy and full for less then $ 10, they validated parking, and employees were super nice as well…
WINNER!

Absolutely delicious!
Im a bit of a falafel snob and am always looking for the best falafel in area. This place makes top 3 of my list!
I had the pita sandwich with most of the toppings. The falafel bites were perfectly made. They were soft in the inside and crispy on the outside. Falafel is put in a nice box to keep it from getting messy. I really appreciate this! The box actually opens part way to make it easier to take out.
The spicy sauce is REALLY spicy! I can handle a fair about of heat, but this was too much for me. Lesson learned. Nonetheless, I crave this place and love that is much closer to home than my usual spot in Sunnyvale.
I wanna eatta pita all day everyday!

I love Gotta Eatta Pita– also because it’s super fun to say and I always have willing lunch partners to go there.
The chipotle-​style anything is really popular right now, so it was really only a matter of time before one opened for Mediterranean food. I’ve been here a number of times and I always get the same thing– the only con that I can think of is that there’s really only limited customization that will really change how the dish tastes I.e. Pita vs bowl; chicken vs falafel.
I typically pick the bowl and do a mixture of the salad and couscous, topped with pretty much everything. I’m a fan of the red cabbage and the eggplant (the eggplant in limited amounts though– it’s fairly oily and can pool at the bottom of your bowl), and the falafels are the best I’ve had in this area. The spicy sauce added to the hummus is really good too. I also usually ask for some tahini sauce on the side. The feta cheese (extra $) is very rich– it’s made from sheep’s milk, if I remember correctly. I also add olives (also extra $) because that adds flavor.
Speaking of flavor: my only issue with eating it is that literally all of the tasty items are at the top and bc of the bowl shape (and the fact that they have to literally push the food down in order to close a lid over it– there’s really not that much room!) it’s actually kind of tough to have a bite of all the flavorful items and the couscous/​lettuce. If you’re not careful, you’ll eat all the delicious items and be left with a relatively flavorless couscous/​lettuce!
Baklava is also amazing. I can only think of one or two times (out of almost a dozen visits) where I’ve walked away without a piece.
4.5÷5, rounded up.

Went here a couple months ago actually on a whim and had the best experience ever. Delicious food — so warm and tasty! Staff was amazing friendly as well. They had maybe 7 falafel balls left, but went out of their way to get a fresh batch ready so that I could have fresh, hot falafels. Thought that was not super necessary, but was a testament to their amazing customer service.
Cute packaging too — the cashier explained how you can pull of the tab to easily eat on the go: D
Great portions too. If i stilled worked in downtown san jose, i would eat lunch here all the time!

My coworker suggested that we order take out from this restaurant for lunch. We each placed our orders online (very convenient) with a pick-​up time of 1:30 PM. My coworker and I came around 1:30 PM and it was apparent that our food was not even made. We saw the worker with the to go order papers in her hand. Usually I would be very understanding if I saw that the place was really busy. However the restaurant was not really busy at all, so I was disappointed that our food was not even worked on at all.
On to the food! I ordered the all natural chicken shawarma bowl with a base of organic mixed greens, hummus (on the side), s’hug which is the hot sauce (on the side), tomato and cucumber salad, purple cabbage salad, pickles (Mediterranean style), and the tahini sauce (on the side). The total came out to be $ 9.19 tax included. To be completely honest, the food was fresh tasting but it wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be. I wish there was more flavor to the chicken. I am a huge fan of pickles, but these pickles I were not a fan of. If you really like normal pickles I don’t think you would really like these Mediterranean style ones (but try it for yourself and get it on the side). My coworkers liked their bowls, but to be completely honest I would not go out of my way to come eat here.

Yum! For about $ 9, I got a generously filled bowl of deliciousness.
Salad greens, falafels (a little dry but they are precooked so it is understandable), tahini sauce, hummus, tabbouleh, babbaganoush, spicy paste (SOO GOOD), cucumber salad and purple cabbage slaw. So refreshing and healthy, extremely filling portion as well.
The manager was very kind, he gave us complimentary baklava and a bag of pita which would be delicious toasted. Service was extremely kind, they walked us through everything as it was our first time, let us have samples and were patient. They even came over to ask how our experience was.
Will definitely return!

Delicious, inexpensive, and healthy meal option in DTSJ! Gotta Eatta Pita hits the spot! As everyone says, think Chipotle-​style, but with far more generous offerings and more variety. Really glad that there is a healthier (and quicker) food option nearby when all my coworkers do a BackaYard food run.
For my first visit, since I wasn’t too hungry, I opted for the kids plate and hubby had the pita (which came in an awesome-​sauce pita box, made for easy eating and no drippage!). The couscous was a little bland, but everything else was on point: the shawarma was tender and flavorful, the falafel was crispy but not oily (best I’ve had that wasn’t at the Drive-​In), and the eggplant babaganoush was perfectly cooked with a light smokey flavor. Plus there is no right or wrong way to enjoy all the freshly prepared ingredients!
Casual food joint with good food and great service. Definitely will be back.

I enjoyed my pita, but I didn’t * LOVE * my pita.
I had a falafel pita with lots of stuff in it, and even with all the stuff it managed to not really seem moist enough. I really do not like dry or mildly-​moist-​to-​dry falafels. It just makes it harder to swallow and chew, etc. Plus, I like drenching my falafel sandwiches in tahini, so I think if I come again I just need more of that.
The pita bread was soft and definitely fresh, but it had a weird texture. Pillowy but there was a tortialla feel to the outside that I just didn’t love. It made it more chewy and I can see how that would be good for this kind of overstuffed pita sandwich deal, I mean, I can’t complain that my pita fell apart but the trade off is this kind of weird texture that made me kind of «meh» my experience.
The falafels are ok. They gave me about 5 – 6 falafel balls, but it was crammed on top of the other stuff and so I knew that by the time I ran out of falafel I’d have a ton of other shtuff to eat so I needed to conserve my balls. PRO TIP: take out 2 – 3 balls before you dive deep into your sandwich so you can have some to eat when you get to the end of your sandwich and there is nothing there except SHTUFF and you need more balls. MORE BALLS PEOPLE. :)
Anyway, the falafel was ok. Nothing amazing but certainly not the worst in my life.
The green spicy spread has a kick to it. They do ask you if you want light, med or heavy — I got medium and probably could have gone light. Its good flavors though so I think its worth having to add to the overall bite experience.
I also got the tomato cucumber salsa thing, tabbouleh, pickles, cabbage and the tahini in it. Oh, and some lettuce. It was a very dense experience.
They stuff your pita in a box at the end, even if you are eating there I think. I said I was eating there and they still stuffed it in a box I had to peel away to get open. Its a cute gimmick, but just GIMME MY PITA. I wanted to just eat it right away, I was starving, but I had to tear open and mangle my box to get it. Adds to the «meh».
I think this place is worth going to, but not regularly for me. Some will love it, some falafel connoisseurs will probably not like it. You will either rate it above or below falafel drive in and call it a day.

This Gotta Eatta Pita location is spacious, very clean, offers great customer service, and the food is delicious.
A few things I enjoy about eating here:
— It’s one of the few restaurants in downtown San Jose where you can find a meal for under $ 10.
— You can order your food online and pick it up whenever you want.
— The pita comes in a box that allows you to take it anywhere to eat while keeping the pita «safe.»
My favorite thing to order is the Traditional Pita with tabbouleh and feta cheese ($ 8.92). The Traditional Pita comes with all of the free toppings aside from the tabbouleh, so you have to ask for it separately. The feta cheese is a premium item, and it costs .75 cents extra. While the food is pretty darn good, I deducted one star for the pita bread, as it isn’t warm, and it’s somewhat thin. I prefer my pita bread to be a little thicker and be slightly chewy when I bite into it.
If you’re in the area, I recommend eating here at least once.

Already facing stiff competition from the nearby Back-​a-​Yard, I wholeheartedly thought, «yeah, even if this place is good, I’d much rather just go to Back-​A-​Yard if I’m going to trek all the way to Market St.»
Boy, was I wrong.
While Gotta Eatta Pitta does not have quite the same selection as other places that look like Chipotle (and this place TOTALLY looks like Chipotle), everything they *do* have is very well done. Gotta Eatta Pitta’s broken down two ways: first, choose a bowl or a pita wrap. second, choose between two protein options: falafel and chicken. third, add whatever you want (hummus, spicy sauce (S’hug), tahini, a variety of greens, etc.) I went with a not-​too-​adventurous mix of greens, couscous, and chicken in a bowl, partly because I didn’t want to overpower my palate, but mostly because I was afraid it would be mediocre and would be left with a bunch of food I didn’t like
Again, I was so, so wrong.
The chicken and pearled couscous were incredibly well seasoned. The hummus, which I admit I usually dislike because, was incredibly smooth and worked well with the S’Hug. The greens were… well, they were greens. Not much to screw up there. And the side of falafel (6 for $ 1.99!) were seasoned well and incredibly crispy, making it a perfect complement to my bowl. It overstuffed me a little, but still rang up to under $ 10, which made it pretty amazing in it’s own right. My coworker was amazed at the double-​scoops of chicken, which we all agreed was pretty generous, and I was amazed at how much I actually enjoyed hummus for once. Overall, a great experience, and definitely worth checking out if you’re in the mood for some cheap, tasty fare.
—
sweet: tasty food at a great price point
bitter: lack of selection — some gyro meats/​lamb would make this place an easy staple for me

What the what!!! There’s another place in downtown San Jose where I can eat for under $ 10?! Score!!! I get super excited when I find places like this (yoga ain’t cheap, yo!), and it’s even more exciting cuz I love Mediterranean food! After I got my fruits and bean pie at the farmers’ market, I walked over to this place that used to be Amir’s. Like what most reviews say, it’s set up like a Chipotle where you just point to the stuff you want. I am a fan of their simple menu!
I ordered a falafel pita and opted for the red/​yellow stuff, green stuff, brown stuff, and some tahini. I have to pat myself on the back for choosing some pretty good stuff! The eggplant with caramelized onions really stood out, it was intimidating at first but it was great! I also ordered falafels on the side and giggled at the small fried balls. They were for my baby girl but I couldn’t stop popping them in my mouth like M&M’s. They were immensely addictive, I’m glad falafels are somewhat healthy! The service I got was adequate even though I could sense nervousness from the girl who helped me, making me think she was a tenderfoot. She was so darn cute!
I enjoyed my pita and falafels so much it inspired my lazy ass to write my 200^th review! I’m looking forward to trying other things from their menu. I highly recommend this place, and of course, I would say to my peeps, «You gotta eatta pita!»