Soom Soom Fresh Mediterranean - Brentwood — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I needed a quick bite before work, so I opened Google Maps to find a nearby café, and this one caught my eye. Surprisingly, I’ve been to this plaza before but never noticed this spot.

What convinced me to give it a try were the reviews mentioning large portion sizes (some people even said things like “the portion is huge, the lid won’t even close, I couldn’t finish it” etc.). So, I placed an online order for pick-up.

Unfortunately, the portion size wasn’t that big at all (I'll attach a photo so you can judge for yourself whether it’s enough or not for you).

But what really disappointed me - is the hummus. Or rather, this tasteless, textureless mush that had nothing to do with actual hummus. It was completely flavorless and unrecognizable, definitely not something that should be called hummus 😳🤯 I’ve never tasted anything watery like it, and I was honestly shocked… I couldn’t and didn’t even want to eat it - it was just unpleasant 🤢

The rice and chicken were average - nothing special in terms of spices or depth of flavor. The so-called Mediterranean salad turned out to be just finely chopped tomatoes and cucumbers - no olives, onions, feta cheese, or spices. I’m glad I ordered extra tomatoes and cucumbers on the side because they actually tasted better than the salad.

Funny enough, the tastiest part of the whole meal turned out to be the garlic sauce - for which I paid an extra $1 😁 (while in other places you can happily get five different Mediterranean sauces for free).

I paid $23 for this one meal including tax. Sadly, it wasn’t worth the money. It didn’t live up to my expectations, and I’ve had much tastier and more affordable meals at other places that also claim to serve Mediterranean cuisine (even at the same price, the food was way better).

I don’t plan to return to this place even if they change the hummus recipe or improve the salad,...

When does open not mean open? While this may sound like a riddle, it's standard operating procedure at Soom Soom Brentwood, which despite opening at 11 a.m. today, had its doors locked at 11:20 because its two employees were furiously fulfilling a $400 delivery order (I know this because the app driver told me outside). The manager opened the door for her, saying "just a few minutes longer," but when I asked him if they could make me a falafel plate, he said "No, I'm sorry, we need to work on this order - it will be 20 minutes."

So, despite being a loyal patron of this Soom Soom location since it opened 3-4 years ago – forgiving its ever-increasing prices and Hunger Games-like parking situation, because the food is good and portions generous – I am unlikely to return anytime soon soon ;)

A quick tip for Mr. Manager: Restaurants typically require 24-hours notice for large catering orders, for precisely this reason – To avoid alienating walk-in customers. However in 2022, I guess delivery apps rule the dining world, and the rest of us can just...

They should call this restaurant Same Same since it exemplifies what all Americans with bland and no cultural taste consider Mediterranean food. It no longer astonishes me when I read the reviews of people in Brentwood and the Westside of Los Angeles consider this food excellent. The food is fresh but this is not Mediterranean food. This is Mediterranean style food for the unsophisticated palate that is widespread on the Westside of Los Angeles. I am not a Shawarma eater any longer but I have had some amazing Shawarma in my lifetime and have traveled all over the Middle East and this is not Mediterranean food. This is the equivalent of New York like pizza or cheesecake but no where close to the real thing. I had Linner with my sister at "Same Same" last night and she confirmed what we knew from our two previous experiences at this restaurant. Fresh food with no real character and definitely not real...