Layalina Mediterranean Restaurant and Lounge — Restaurant in Denton

I used to love this restaurant. Visited more times than I can remember over the past few years and regarded it as the best mediterranean restaurant in Denton. Sadly there seem to have been some cost cutting changes that have tarnished the high opinion I had.

I have been going to Layalina's long enough to have seen menu prices rise a few times, which was understandable given the economic impact from the event of 2020 and its fallout. Despite this, the food quality was consistently excellent and the serving size was generous to put it mildly and I continued to be a happy customer. Now the bad news.

I had not been to Layalina's in about a year and was looking forward to a visit. There are two dishes I consistently ordered, the mixed shawarma plate (with rice and hummus) and the gyro sandwich. I ordered the mixed shawarma one night and it did not meet my previous expectations. It was not bad, though it seemed less flavorful somehow. My main issue was that I ate everything and did not feel full. It used to be a serious challenge to finish a shawarma plate and more often than not I would have leftovers to take home and have a decent meal the next day.

This left me wondering if I was just really hungry that night or did their plates shrink. I decided to go back again and get a gyro. The gyro confirmed my suspicion. Their gyros used to be absolutely stuffed with the edges of the pita barely touching. What I got that night was a sad excuse of a gyro, rolled up like a fast food burrito. Must have been less than half the meat they used to use. If these are some cost cutting measures, they are extremely aggressive and jarring to a previously long term customer returning after a hiatus.

This concludes my rant/review. If you are a new customer and like Layalina's, good on you and I hope you continue to enjoy it. For me it is a bitter disappointment because this was a very special restaurant but now it feels like a waste of my money. To add a touch of positivity I will say the service was good and the atmosphere was pleasant although I missed hearing the...

Layalina’s decor and overall seating area still remains beautiful! It seems to be influenced by Levantine and North African/Maghrebi art. Service was great.

With that being said, as a Middle Eastern person, I felt that was probably one of the few things about the place left that was really Mediterranean or Middle Eastern.

A lot of things seem to have changed since the last time I came here. Namely the change in music, staff, and different menu items. When I came, there was Fairouz (an old well-known Levantine artist) playing on the speaker, with more Levantine/Palestinian-related decor, and exclusively Middle Eastern menu items.

This time when I came, Bollywood music and dancing scenes were playing on the TV at loud volume, a large addition of Indian menu items, and a staff that seemed to be 100% Indian. Their special was also an Indian dish.

There is no complaints about this, but rather just confusion, since this restaurant used to advertise itself as a Mediterranean and Palestinian-owned restaurant, but it now seems to be so far from that. I didn’t really enjoy the chicken shawarma I ordered :/ but my mom ordered chicken tandoori and it was great, so I feel like that seems to be what the restaurant is now better at.

I feel like rather than this place advertising as Mediterranean, this restaurant should least say they are an Indian-Middle Eastern fusion or something to that effect, since my Palestinian father was very excited to find a Middle Eastern restaurant in Denton, only to find that it seems to have drifted off greatly.

I still rate this place a 4, because I had no issues with the service or atmosphere. We were all just very confused about the change. Is there a chance this restaurant has...

Update 12/23: 2 stars Ugh I hate to say this because Layalina used to be one of my favorite places, but something has happened (change of management perhaps) the past couple months and I will most likely not be returning.

The portions used to be huge- The chicken shawarma sandwich I could easily get a couple meals out of. The past couple of times I’ve gone, I’ve still been hungry after. They cut the meat and toppings they put in one by I’d say 60% or more on the chicken shawarma, 50% less spicy hummus and I’ll attach a pic of what my bf got, it’s bad. I get that inflation is probably affecting their bottom line but it affects me too, and I can’t afford to keep coming with how little food they give you. $40+ for 2 people and we were still hungry.

Btw - I have been there twice since they started scaling their portions back significantly because I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a fluke. The food quality seems not to have changed from what I can taste at least.

Anyway - I’m just disappointed. This used to be one of my favorite restaurants in Denton. I am not a pushy enough of a customer to always send my food back and ask for more or write a bummer review to get a re-do, so I hope there’s a systematic change where they go back to serving people a normal amount of food, otherwise I fear this place will go out of business.

2020: 5 stars Gray is an attentive and helpful waiter who can steer you in the right direction if you need some advice on what to order. Food is fresh and delicious. The light fixtures were beautiful and really made for a nice ambiance. Can’t wait to come here...