The Goodness Land Middle Eastern & Mediterranean Food Restaurant — Restaurant in Garden City

I discovered The Goodness Land on Michele R's business blog on local businesses and thought that this placed sounded amazing by her reviews (I am big fan of her reviews!) and looked at their Yelp page. There are many positive reviews on this location. I looked at the many photos and came across the owners Yelp page where he has over 400 photos posted. I looked at nearly everyone! I am someone who WANTS to be someone who tries new stuff, but I have an issue with trying new things-- I'm working on it because I want to experience all that life has to offer.

Now onto the establishment.

I. Parking and Front Walk Way-- Good ample parking in a medium parking lot shared with other businesses. When you walk to the front of the building the ground up front has wonderful affirmations and words of wisdom that people leave written in chalk (see my photos). It was heartwarming to read some of the messages. I was limited on time, or I would have left my thoughts. So far, I was loving this place. I'm a passionate, sensitive Anthropologist who likes that yucky love stuff and seeing life to it's fullest. Positivity and love go a long way.

Indoor-- I walked in and was immediately was greeted by the owner, which I recognized from Yelp. I looked at all many of his photo's the night before and his smile made me feel as if I knew him. I liked that. I walked to the counter and looked at the menu. You order like a fast food counter. The order taker is right in front of the kitchen, so you get to watch them cook and see the cleanliness/lack there of-- this place was clean-- nothing to worry about there. The woman that took my order was very nice. She wrote my order in Arabic and I thought that was beautiful to watch. The written language is very elegant, to me, and I enjoyed watching her write it. There is also a guest book that you can sign and look at other peoples words and thoughts, which really made me feel that this place certainly is GOODNESS LAND, and these people are awesome! Once you order, you set down. You don't pay until the end, or at least that's how we did it. There was, albeit very low, Arab music playing. I would have liked to hear the music a little louder.

Seating and inside-- Very interesting, cultural, with warmheartedness and beauty. The owners have done a good job working on the place and making a warm feeling environment. There are a lot of seating that was spacious. The booths were large and would accommodate people that are larger. I am a big guy, but even I had to lean forward because there was so much room. This may be hard on smaller or older people, but it was fine for me.

Food-- I am a special eater since having a Gastric Sleeve in April 2017; therefore, I don't eat much and usually just share a plate with my dining companion. However, I decided that I would order an À la carte, kebab. I didn't think of it being a different culture than I am used to. The kebab wasn't anything that I was used to and it was lamb. I tried it, took a bite, and decided it wasn't for me-- however, the flavor was good, and the presentation was beautiful, which my taste buds and mind has nothing to do with this establishment-- they did very well. I gave it to my dining companion who really enjoyed it. He had the lamb sandwich and really enjoyed it. I got the Mediterranean salad, and it was flavorful and good. The olives had pits and I wasn't prepared for that and when I bit down I had a sharp pain in my jaw-- Again, it's me, I didn't know the olives would have pits. I've had olives in a Mediterranean salad from Gyro shack and they didn't have pits. Needless to say, the salad had good presentation and good taste, with fresh ingredients.

All-in-all, I am glad I went and I would recommend this place. When my diet opens up to where I can eat more foods, such as carbs, I would like to come...

There is so much I'd like to say about this establishment, I hope it will fit in this review space!

My brother took me here for my 1st visit, and I love Mediterranean food, so I had high expectations.

This place did not disappoint! From the amazing atmosphere inside, to the cleanliness, to the menu items I was so excited to try it!

I ordered a Tabouli (Taboleh) salad as an appetizer, and they brought us cold bottled water without even asking!

The Tabouli was excellent, one of the best I've ever tasted.

I decided to go with a platter to try out a variety of things, and it was absolutely spectacular. Normally, at ANY restaurant I visit, at least 1 or more things on my plate aren't perfect, but this place broke the rule.

Every single item on my plate was incredible! From the perfectly made Falafel, to the Hummus with the right amount of spice and olive oil, to the chicken Tikka that tasted like it was made in a clay oven, to the excellent saffron rice, I could not stop eating this food!

They offer many different kinds of drinks to enjoy with your meal as well, including many middle eastern specialties.

I ordered a can of sprite, but they also offer it in the bottle with real cane sugar!

I am in love with this restaurant, since it is so close to my work, I know I will be back to eat here again many times in the future! I am so glad my brother introduced me to this place.

Lastly, the staff was super friendly, courteous, attentive, and considering how busy they were (both dine in and take out orders never seemed to stop while we were there), they handled it as if they'd been doing this sort of business their whole lives!

Well done Goodness Land, can't...

I am a frequent customer at this Restaurant, but the last 3 times I have been there it has been only the lady working. Before, the owner himself always gave great customer service! Since the lady serving us, our order has been incorrect/bad experience all 3 times. The first time I order the Kabob #15 she brought me shwarma, I asked her nicely to bring me what I actually ordered. She started arguing with me and trying to blame the mistake on me even though she wrote it down on her tablet. The second time I ordered on the phone an hour before I needed to pick up my order, It was just one platter. I arrived on time as I stated on the phone, and they did not have my order ready I had to wait an extra 45 minutes for them to make my food. Today I called in on my lunch so I could get the food to go, he said it would take 15 minutes. I arrived 10 minutes later from my call and by the time I got to the lady upfront she said she had not received my order, and told me that I had called the wrong phone number. The phone number I called was this phone number here on google. So I placed my order again in person with her, and waited an extra 35 minutes for my order to be ready. She was very rude and ignoring me the whole time I was there. She was trying to rush me out through check out and said no need to double check my order is all in the to go bag. Also when I got to work I had a little time to eat and all the sides of food were missing. I am just very disappointed because the owner has worked very hard to build his business and I feel like she is giving him a bad reputation from her awful customer service. I know it makes me not...