Tannourine

I love the food here!

Ordered in Tannourine for an early dinner, since the options for free delivery near me are pretty slim pickings (gotta love downtown San Mateo). Ultimately, it was a very mediocre dinner.
THE LOWLIGHTS.
— Bland, grainy hummus with store-​bought pita
— Tough, under-​seasoned chicken shawarma (mostly fatty or dry pieces, only)
— Grainy, watery tomatoes and blandness all around in the fattoush salad
— Standard prices
It’s averagely priced, but not really worth your money or time, unfortunately.

I had food from them once before and it was not bad. Not sure what happened this time, food was delivered cold. Chicken kabob was over cooked and dried. The veggies were undercooked. The babagnogh had no flavor. I’ve had better at the place in the mall. Very disappointed for what they charge.

A very nice, well appointed spot in an older shopping district of San Mateo. The atmosphere is upscale with tablecloths and comfortable surroundings. I was surprised how nice it looked inside just judging from the ordinary storefront appearance.
The menu is very varied and lots of interesting choices. Some warm pita bread arrvied right away with what seemed like a yogurt and oil with herb dip, very tasty. Drinks were brought promptly and I decided to have a lamb dish. It was well prepared with a variety of sides beside it, hummus, greens, etc. All of it was delicious and something I’d order again. Lamb can be good or bad, but this was tender and without a lot of fat. One of my dinner companions had a falafel dish that he said fell a bit flat, cooked a bit too firmly with a hard crunch of the outside. Otherwise all of the entrees at the table looked appetizing.
I would have never have found or looked for this place, so glad I was introduced to it. For someone who loves Mediterranean food, this Lebanese restaurant hits the spot, This is a good place for a casual meal in a nice setting for conversation.

Very good place, worth a try. My special one took me and my kids there on my birthday. The kids were not very cooperative. The waiters were very nice and patient. Food was good, rich and tasty. Didn’t order lamb shank. Will try it next time. Loved the quail. It was tender and flavored. Before we left the owner gave the kids some dessert she just made for themselves. Very delicious. They should have put it on the menu haha…

Definitely a mom & pop kind of restaurant, and DELICIOUS! Huge portions, heavenly baba ghanoush, perfectly cooked meats. We shared a salad and it was yummy. It seems everything’s made with love– healthy, fresh ingredients. Atmosphere lacking although the décor is beautiful. Looking forward to returning :)

Please hire more drivers! Your food is too good to NOT deliver it to me! I’m brokenhearted now that I’m going to be deprived of all that deliciousness. .
Seriously, LOVE your food. Raved about it to my friends, that you even deliver! Let’s fix this injustice!

A solid 4 or even 4 ½ star place! Walking into this place you are welcomed with a very quiet, professional place! I was pleasantly surprised by this! I was also surprised to see that when we walked in, the place was empty! Granted it was a Thursday, but I thought this place would be bustling with people!
The ambiance is very welcoming, the low light and the well dressed workers made it feel very professional. This is probably a little biased but I loved the music they played as well. I’m a huge piano fan, and am very partial to piano music. But the piano added an extra layer to the feeling of the restaurant and immersed me into the atmosphere in a very enjoyable way.
The service was above average, nothing that really stood out, but it was definitely pleasant. We had an older man serving us who could explain all the different foods, which was helpful for me because I wasn’t really familiar with all the different types of food.
Finally, the food. What is a restaurant without good food? A fast food restaurant! (I love In-​N-​Out, don’t hate me, it’s just a joke!) The food was magnificent! My family had ordered the 4 person dinner, (We got it from Groupon, it’s definitely worth it, go check out the deal) and it was actually more than enough for the 5 of us. They start you out with some appetizers which I will not embarrass myself to try to name them, but I savored them, especially with the baba ganoush. The platter of food for the main dish was the spectacle. It’s a platter of food with beef, chicken and a LOT of different types of vegetables! The chicken was unquestionably my favorite part. They seasoned it in such a way that taking a bit was a symphony of different flavors. Don’t forget to take advantage of the different vegetables that come along with it. It can add a lot of flavor that can’t be found in the chicken or beef.
Real quick, the 4 person groupon dinner comes with the baklava. I love baklava, but I find that it is very easy to screw up. A lot of people will often make it too sweet and will overwhelm the original idea of baklava. I was pleased to see that the baklava was the ideal balance between sweet and the crunch. Just something to note if you are a baklava fan.
Overall, I loved this place, I would totally come back. I’ve read some reviews that some people didn’t exactly love the service. I didn’t really have a problem with that, most probably that we were the only ones in the restaurant. The food here was the highlight. A lot of flavor is found in all of the food. Come give this place a visit!

I eat a lot of Mediterranean places, and this place definitely meets my expectations. They have a rice with lentil dish and beef plate that had a wonderful array of flavors. Our company ordered a number of other dishes, everyone, including myself, loved it.

The meat shwarma (beef and lamb) was delish. The staff was very attentive and friendly, but not overly so. Only suggestion would be for them to dim the lighting a bit to improve the ambiance.

came here tried the shish kabob dish and loved it.
Its a very fancy place.
I felt good, it was great taking myself out for a nice date night.
I deserved it.
THe food was excellent, very tasty.
As I was sitting there I could tell everyone else in the place were regulars.
Thats always a great sign too me.
They were really raving about the place.
The service is excellent.
The ambiance and décor is excellent too.
I loved the portions, hell the prices are excellent too.

Excellent service. Excellent food. Great ambiance. Delightful evening.

It was a slow lunch at the restaurant. One other table plus us. I worried the way I do whenever a restaurant is near empty during what should be a peak period. I was encouraged, though, by the two wait staff that worked our table. A young man and an older one. Both were friendly and attentive.
The food, an order of meat shawarma and an order of kafta meshwi were good.
The meat was mild but flavorful and the dips on the plate were very tasty.
It’s a shame that it wasn’t busier, as the effort and taste are there. I wish them better business.

Food: 5 stars
Service: 3.5 stars
Ambiance: 3.75 stars
Let’s start off with the good: what I like about Tannourine is that the food really delivers. It is very authentic, very flavorful and fresh, and it doesn’t take forever to come out even when the restaurant is full. The restaurant itself also reminds me of some family-​operated dining establishments in New Jersey, where I am from. There’s a nice homely feel to the dining room, almost as if you’re eating at someone’s house. Appropriate for both a date and/​or family outing.
What I don’t like is that the restaurant does not seem to operate well — they are understaffed in waitstaff. There was only 1 waiter and 1 busboy running the whole dining area, and it was difficult to hail them for service needs. Also, they often close out the restaurant for events without notice — I tried to go in twice on a Sunday and they were closed for an event both instances. Even on the Friday that I was finally able to stop by for dinner, they were preparing the space for a larger event at the end of the night.
So, in summary, I would definitely return, but probably on a weeknight. (Make reservations! I don’t know if they’d seat you otherwise, as they really reserve each table for their rsvp’s.) Yes, the food is good enough for me to deal with the inefficiencies in service.

Ordered via DoorDash. Props to the restaurant and Door Dash for arriving early.
Hummus & Shawarma is served with generous (and warm) pita, but the chunks of shawarma are cut too large and really chewy; no good for dipping with pita.
Falafel is generous and light, but way way too salty. Ended up tossing almost all of it.
On the upside, the Kibbeh (the meat version of falafel) is good, though not any better than the frozen kibbeh you can get at Costco. Can’t see myself ordering or visiting here in the future, especially with all the new (and good) Mediterranean places in San Mateo.

At first glance this place has a very nice dining room and the service was great while I was the only one in there, but after a few customers came in after me… no follow up, and I had to flag down the two wait staff just to get a box, and then again I had to flag them down to get the bill. Not impressed with the service at all!
So now for the food. Over the years I have learned to enjoy Mediterranean, but honestly it isn’t my favorite type of cruise. There are a few things I enjoy, hummus and meat, so of course that is what I ordered. I wasn’t impressed with the quality or flavor of the meat. The meat had some really fatty pieces and other pieces were a bit on the dry side. The hummus was average.
Prices are okay. Parking can be difficult as there is limited parking on 25^th, but there is a parking garage in the alley way just south of 25^th Ave!

Interestingly, it says closed today (Sunday) but it actually opened. Anyway, I am a big fan of Mediterranean food, but I haven’t tried Lebanese food yet. So, that’s why I am here.
What we ordered:
1) mezza combo $ 13
2) shisha kabob (mix grill) $ 20
Mezza combo has tabouleh, hummus, baba ghannouge (eggplant based dipping for pita bread) kebbeh (fried minced beef ball) cheese bourak (it’s like chinese spring roll but with cheese stuffing) sambousek (just like empanadas).
I really like the shisha kabob. The meat was tender. rice absorbed the tastes from the meat so it tastes and smells even better.
In terms of the mezza combo, I love the sambousek and the Kebbeh. The hummus is good too. The cheese bourak is good if you are a cheese lover. The baba ghannouge is interesting. I don’t think it is very flavorful and the texture is a bit weird to me. I guess it’s just not for me.
Overall, I would highly recommend this restaurant.
Shisha kabob has kafta (mixing of ground beef), chicken and beef kabob with salads and rice on the side.

I’ve been wanting to try this restaurant for some time now, so I was quite excited when my fiancé finally wanted to give it a try as well. We made a reservation for 6:45 and the place wasn’t packed so we got to choose our seats. We soon realized the reason it was so empty is because everyone comes in much later for the belly dancing! Belly dancing happens every Friday except the 3^rd Friday (I think) and usually starts around 9−10pm. We had gotten a bottle of wine so we were hoping to catch the beginning of the show, but we couldn’t hang until 10pm. That and I think they needed to clear our table for the dance floor. Hahaha… we got a few hints that «all tables were reserved for the show».
The service was awesome and our waiter was very very friendly and sweet. Also kind of funny too — he joked around with us a few times. The free bread and dip that they give is DELICIOUS as well. It’s basically olive oil with yogurt but something about the combo made it super awesome. Plus they give you tons and tons and tons of pita bread. Seriously… hugest basket of pita ever.
For our appetizer, we decided to get the Chef’s Recommendation, which was a combo of a couple different hot and cold appetizers. All were delicious! It came with hummus, baba ghannouge, and a few other things that I’m not sure the name of. From looking at their menu (and pictures) online, I think it may have been the cheese burak, kebbeh, and sambousek.
For our main dishes, my fiancé got the lamb shanks and I got the garlic chicken or farrouge meshwi. My fiancé loved the lamb — I’m not a big fan of lamb, so I wasn’t as excited about the dish, but the meat was very very tender. I enjoyed my chicken although it was a bit dry. However, the garlic sauce was amazing and you could definitely taste the garlic. My fiancé didn’t like the chicken as much.
Overall, I think we’ll definitely be back but I would want to try another dish. And probably not get the appetizer dish since we were WAY stuffed by the end… unless I end up getting that as my main dish =). We want to come back to watch a belly dancing show for sure!

First things first, immediately upon being seated we noticed dirty silverware and dishes at our table — they weren’t washed properly at all.
Food wasn’t bad. Especially liked the pita and yogurt dip with olive oil we got to munch on. I had the Kafta Kashkash (beef/​lamb) which was very tasty along with the rice which was soft and fluffy. The portions were good and the staff was friendly, but we did have to ask for water. Entrees were a little pricier than I expected so it might be better to come for lunch.

They don’t have enough waiters here but when they actually serve you, they are nice.
I got some certificate deal from
so I came here to try.
Kebbeh — it’s meat version of falafel. Very juicy inside, ground beef. Outside is crispy just same as falafel.
Lamb couscous — it’s well cooked. The zucchini, lentils, carrots and couscous are juicy. But the lambs are dry. The flavor is light. I like it but my friend doesn’t.