Aladdin's New Albany/Westerville — Restaurant in Columbus

This was my first time visiting. I will start with the positive: I ordered the Genie combo plate, and the flavor of each item was delicious! This is where the positive ends.

I was pleasantly greeted by the young man when I entered the restaurant. When I placed my order, the young man stated that my wait would be around 15 minutes, which was no problem. Anytime I can get a freshly prepared hot meal, I do not mind waiting.

The restaurant was not crowded around 7pm Friday evening. There was no one ahead of me in line, and there was a couple who placed their order after me.

I am not sure exactly how long I waited, but finally, the couple who placed their order after me received their food before me. Okay, I figured my food should be coming out soon after.

Next thing I noticed was a bagged order came out which I thought was mine, but it was placed in the cubby for online or call-ahead orders. Then immediately the young man retrieved that order, took it back to the kitchen, opened the bag to see what was in it, tied the bag back up, and brought it to me. This was totally weird since the tag on the bag had my name on it, the words “carryout” and “lobby.” Anyway, it was no big deal.

What was a big deal was when I got home less than five minutes away, and proceeded to eat my food…the food was not hot! It was not even look warm—it was room temperature! Was the chicken, rice and cauliflower not supposed to be hot??? If not, why did it take so long to prepare food??? If it was supposed to be hot, and prepared fresh, there is no way it should have cooled off that quickly! By the time I was halfway through eating the chicken, rice and cauliflower, it was cold.

I really would like to know where was the disconnect. Was my food ready sooner, but was not brought out right away? Or did they give me someone else’s order who failed to pick up? This ordeal will not prevent me from coming back, as the food was good, but next time I will definitely check the food temp...

My wife, son and I started to go here after take our little guy to swim lessons nearby. Great first experience, exceptional second experience!

The first time we came, we were a little overwhelmed by the menu (so many good options to choose from), but settled on a couple of their specials. The food was fantastic and it came out surprisingly quick. Service was great - not stopping by to fill up your water every 2 minutes (annoying), but enough to feel like you were being cared for. We definitely wanted to come back after noticing all the healthier options.

The second time we came was this past Monday. We sat down and ordered food - my wife ordered a salad, I ordered a different special, and our son got some kafta (I think?) meat with fruit. We knew something was up because other people were not getting their food and the wait seemed to be much longer than our previous experience. Eventually the waiter came by to let us know that our food was coming out, and we promptly asked for a check and boxes because we had to leave shortly after eating. She came back with the check/boxes, and apologized for the wait, stating that the staff was severely limited that night and the manager was helping out the cooking staff to just get the orders done. The waitress gave us a small container of bakery items and comped our entire meal! We would have been satisfied with just the bakery items, but comping our meal was above and beyond and reflects on the business, owner, and employees. The food eventually did come out and it was delicious.

Thank you Aladdin and employees for being so kind to our family. We understand staffing issues can happen from time-to-time. Your response to the situation was professional and generous. We...

This is one of my favorite restaurants. Dining here is truly an immersive experience, but it's so subtle - you don't realize during your first visit that it actually is an immersive experience until later on, when you catch yourself remembering the music, the flavors... which gives you something to look forward to in subsequent visits, which are sure to come.

They have a chocolate cake that's everything you think a chocolate cake should taste like, and look like. It has tiny medallions on the frosting, giving the cake the look of an expensive coin.

Pictured is the Flourless Chocolate Torte...and it's every bit as good as it looks... maybe even better.

Their bakery is unmatched, & don't get me going on the soups, salads and traditional, Middle Eastern lunch and dinner entrees all of which, are reasonably priced.

Also pictured is the Tuna Shawarma Wrapped. Unlike dishes from other cultures which have some similarities, this dish doesn't have any goopy, sugary or tomato-y sauces.

This dish is purely ingredients which work together like a symphony...no need for sauces...& it's DELICIOUS!

Everything here oozes of understated quality of the highest measure.

The ambiance is also, understated high quality; contemporary, Middle Eastern music softly serenades you...the grooves & hooks are mildly hypnotic, greatly enhancing your "in the moment" experience.

You need...