Review Aladdins Cafe - Vancouver Island

This is the best donair and vegetarian platter I have ever had, prices are fair for the amount of food that they serve and you can see that they put an effort in their craft and how they cook their good, very gourmet, fresh and delicious, highly recommend :)

Best host n best food in nanaimo. If u haven’t been to this place then u have missed alot. Not only the lebanese food delicious but very nutritious and colourful. Sea food , chicken , kebabs , falafels, salad, tea, coffee, 🍹 with alcohol n no alcohol and much more to eat here. I love the concept of sky look paint inside the restaurant and the embossed or engraved n polished persian newspaper onto the tables is very unique. Music played here takes you back to middle east n if u haven’t been there then it sprout the seed to visit middle east. ( atleast my feelings) I have tasted almost everything on menu as i have been here couple times. Infact on my visits to island , i have to come here. Vegetarian platter looks huge but it’s proper meal with enough of everything. My favourite is prawn rice platter but then i also love halibut with mango salsa. 👄 💦 Apart from food , cleanliness n comfort there is something important that makes ur experience incredible and for me it was the beautiful smile of the server. Later i learned she is the owner. Whatever the reason is her smile and awesome customer service made me give them 5 stars though there are always chances to improve.

Heard it's under new management so I tried this place for the first time. Ordered a steak and I can't finish the whole plate. Tastes good, but the plate was just so big.

This is a middle eastern eatery with delicious food. It has many meat items like souvlaki but when i want to have a vegetarian meal i order the platter. Served with 2 falafel balls, dolmades, homous, spiced carrots, taboulah, pita and babbaganouche..it's filling for one person or easy to share. I often order takeout or delivery but the ambiance is pleasant.

Excellent vegetarian plate & donair. Really some of the best. Friendly waitress. Fast service. Great coffee too. Was busy at 6:30 on Tuesday but didn’t affect service.

Hole-in-the-wall authentic Greek and Lebanese cuisine, A MUST TRY rack of lamb!

A very positive surprise on our trip to canada: nice and large plates plus reasonable prices. Service was also great. Really recommendable

Very friendly service and nice food for a decent price. Would definitly go there again

As far as I know aladins cafe is still owned by a convicted sex offender who only gets weekends in jail do your research

This place made me sick. He serves alcohol without checking IDs to underage staff

I’m visiting my kids in Nanaimo and wasn’t sure about going for dinner as all the chains are here! My kids surprised me by taking me to Aladdin’s. I’m so glad they did! <br/>I had lamb souvlaki and oh my gosh, got the biggest plate of the best lamb souvlaki in a very long time! It was tender, tasty and didn’t have that lamb after taste that makes you wonder why you chose it. Lots of rice and salad plus carrots done in a very tasty sauce. <br/>The service was excellent with friendly smiles, I love that! Not expensive at all, five us ate full meals with a glass of something to a total of $115. If you visit Nanaimo, take time to have dinner here, it’s pretty great!!

This is the most amazing place I have been for Greek food I eat it each day and at different places but this will be my go to the most amazing pitas I’ve had in Canada and probably the best service to

Lovely meal we just had. Moussaka was great but it's the special not a regular menu item, salmon with a citrus ginger sauce also incredibly tasty. The babaganoush and pita were also fantastic. Everything fresh and homemade, made with care.

I really love this restaurant! Portions are huge and price is good. More importantly, the food tastes amazing and service is very efficient. Food came fast.

Fantastic food! Great atmosphere.. Nice atmosphere, and the staff are very friendly. The souvlaki plates are fantastic! Generous portions and the fresh baked bread is just amazing. Try the baba ganoush with it!

Always good, fresh food. This little place has become our favorite, food is always so fresh and tasty, arrives nice and hot. Good service too. Love the unpretentious way everything is presented. Chef's are obviously very proud of the food they create and always have a big smile for you, kind of like going to a friends place for dinner.

Went to Aladdins based on good reviews. I was disappointed in the Greek food offerings in their menu, with not having some traditional items like moussaka, Greek platter, beef souvlaki. The food was ok, nothing i would write home about or even recommend to someone to try. The rice was bland and under seasoned, tzasiki more like a minty garlic dip. The other customers were ordering donairs and sandwiches, maybe those would be better? Overall I wouldn't go back, there are better Greek restaurants out there.

Very impressed. The food is so fresh, full of flavour, huge portions!! Tasty! Tasty! Tasty!<br/><br/>I can't wait to eat there again!

Shady place. Not wowed, he pretends to not be the owner when you ask to speak to him. Waitress adds tip which higher end establishments do. This is NOT a fine dining rest. Same food as his other Alladin's rest beside pizza place in '90's he ran three places right downtown same time. But not on nichol. This location is on the drinking party strip. Great place for paritiers low lifes to interact. Why can he not maintain a restaurant? Keeps opening them.

Was in town for work. Came because of the reviews and was not disapointed! Wow is all I have to say, GREAT food. And this "John Smith" reviewer doesn't know what he's talking about...!

Not very good. Went because of urban spoon rating but was very disappointed. Won't ever go back. And the waitress adding her own tip thing is crap. Didn't notice till I was to far away to go back.

Consistantly Great. We have been following Talal around since he wowed us at Dar Lebanon. Our birthdays, aniversary and even our kids now love to eat here. The food is great the service is excellent. I always recommend this establishment to friends and family.

Huge servings of delicious food. The tomato pesto is amazing and the rosewater milk pudding is Devine!!

Wonderful prepared and delivered food, with a perfect blend of spices to create excellent Mediterranean food. The waitress was excellent. I enjoyed my short but informative conversation with the chef/owner. I wish I could have theis restaurant in my town. We will have to return to Nanaimo soon.

YUM! Best spinach pie I've ever had! Great service. Deserves the excellent rating

Nothing greek about it!!!. NOTHING GREEK HERE

Consistently wonderful food!

Great Little Place. We had a wonderful late Saturday night dinner here.<br/>I had the Lasagna with Caesar Salad and my partner had the Mixed Grill skewers with rice pilaf, greek salad, spicy carrots and tzatsiki.<br/>Atmosphere was great, service was great, food was Great.<br/>We will definitely be back.

Fantastic food and great service. Despite missing one if their wait staff tonight, our Waitress did not miss a beat. Will be back.

Do not judge a book by its cover! A great place to eat super staff, awesome carrot ginger soup!

I've walked around downtown Nanaimo many times when I visit but I don't remember seeing this place ever...and that's a bummer coz when we tried it tonight, it was actually good!!<br/>Go try them out and have their Baklava and Rosewater Pudding Mmmmm...

Aladdin's Cafe Review. The Waitress was hard to talk too, we were the only people in the cafe and said no tomatoe on the wraps, and when the wraps came after about 30 minutes...it looked like there was double tomatoe in that bitch. They need more than one chef that looks like the soup nazi to run that place. I give it a 4/10 if ur in nanaimo goto Mrs.Riches

Really!. Food is good... getting dinged at the till is not cool. Waitress adds her own tip, and if you are having a dinner party she dings you terrible, all with out warning...I was shocked, really enjoy the food, but as long as they have that waitress that needs to learn how to earn a tip instead of taking it, I won't be back...shady practice, and not good customer service policy in the least. Perhaps when they get rid of the sneaky waitress we'll go back

Walked in to the diner looking hole in the wall to find a real gem. The food was all homemade and absolutely delicious. The service was fast and very friendly. The best dining experience of 2012 and I don't expect to find better tasting or fresher food any time soon.

R U KIDDING!?!?!. $3 extra on my credit card bill when the statement came in the mail. thats all i'm saying. do not pay with your CC people. and the food...meh, not enough bang for my buck.<br/><br/>EDIT: Will their new location up the hill from where they are now ruin the business? Who wants to walk all the way up there to get food?!!?? Only time will tell.

The food wasnt quite as bad as the service, but close. Atrocious....

I love the food here! It didn't seem to be a very appealing place to eat at first but once you tried the food here you'll definitely come back. It's a great place to go for lunch but it can be quite busy some time also because the restaurant is very small. The lentil soup is great as is everything else I've tried so far. A little unconventional but the prices and food make up for that!

Aladdin's Cafe. The best! Anything you order will be delicious. Talal is an award winning chef. I consider my meals there to be soul food. I feel welcomed and my appetite is satisfied when I eat there. Small cozy atmosphere with nice music playing in the background, excellent service by the pleasant staff.

Never disappointing after many visits. Great food. The Chicken Galentino is addictive. An open kitchen looks spotless and carefully directed by the owner/chef. Though the seating is basic cafe the food and service are first rate. It is impossible to leave hungry.

Quality AND Quantity!. I went here for the first time several weeks ago, and was very impressed! There were a number of appealing things on the menu but I finally narrowed it down to their spinach pie (spanikopita) platter. It's served with spiced carrots (yum!!), a rice pilaf, and Greek salad (but the server subbed a caesar in for me instead as I'm not partial to feta). Pita bread was also served on the side, but I only had a couple bites as my meal was so large! Ordered their lemonade as well which was really good, and the server refilled the glass (which still had the nice lemon taste in it) with water which tasted good. So much food! Wasn't super cheap though. My only complaint would be that the waitress immediately snapped at me when I politely asked how I could override the gratuities function on the debit machine. I had a four dollar tip in my other hand to give to her in cash, but I guess she'd assumed that I wasn't wanting to tip... Anyways, the food was so good that I will definitely be back! :)

Veggie Platter. Freakin awesome!

1st timer, impressed :). Walking in, the amazing aromas let you know you are not to be disappointed.<br/><br/>I had tabouleh with grilled seasoned chicken, both superb. The home made lemonade a perfect match.<br/><br/>Intimate surroundings, aptly decorated. I will definitely be back, and will heartily recommend

Good Food, Great People. Walked into this restaurant and felt like I had found THE cool restaurant in Nanaimo. It is cozy, has great kitchy arabian decor, the waitress is very professional and can take a joke, and the cooks are right out in the open acting like they're one big Lebanese family. The food ranged from excellent to just okay. I liked the moussaka, the tabbouleh salad, the carrot-ginger soup, and the rose petal pudding. The souvlaki and side dishes (carrots, rice, and Greek salad) were just okay. I will be back.

Sweet Spot. This is a delightful little place to eat. Wonderful food, attentive friendly service and cozy atmosphere. Just like eating in your best friends kitchen (a friend that cooks really well)

The Vegetarian Platter has falafel, which were crispy and very nutty, fresh tabouleh, garlicky babbagannouj, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, spicy carrots and pita bread to mop it all up.