Lazeez Kitchen — Restaurant in Oakland

We found this place while in the area—it popped up in a search for nearby restaurants, and with all the great reviews, we decided to give it a try.

It was close to closing time when we arrived, and it was dark outside, so we weren’t quite sure where to park at first. Luckily, we found a spot just across the street.

From the start, the customer service was excellent. The person who took our order was friendly, knowledgeable about the menu (especially gluten-free options), and very helpful.

We decided to share a chicken shawarma plate and a hummus plate. The portions were generous—probably more than enough for the two of us!

The chicken shawarma was delicious, served over a bed of yellow rice with a side of Greek salad that I actually preferred over the ones I had in Greece. The food was beautifully plated, and it was clear a lot of care went into its preparation.

It took about 15 minutes for our food to arrive—not the fastest, but absolutely worth the wait for the quality and attention to detail.

The hummus plate was huge, served with pita for my non-GF counterpart. The hummus itself had a distinct and unexpected flavor—different from traditional hummus. The more I think about it, the more intrigued I am. I’d love to hear what others think! It’s definitely worth trying alongside their other dishes, but I’d say the hummus might be a bit much if it’s the only thing you get. Or it may be just me. The unique flavor is somewhat distinctive and might be too much for one person to finish on their own especially if it’s the only dish you get. You can solve that by sampling more dishes!

One thing I’d love to see in the future is the option to add cut veggies with the hummus, which would be great for those who don’t eat pita.

Although this is a Middle Eastern restaurant, as I mentioned, some of the flavors were different from what we’ve had before. Having just visited Greece, we found ourselves trying to pinpoint the unique spice blend but couldn’t quite figure it out. There seemed to be a hint of cloves. It was very subtle.

Towards the end of our meal, our server offered us complimentary chai, which was a lovely touch and perfect for a chilly evening. We really enjoyed that.

Before leaving, we chatted with our server, who turned out to be the owner. It seems to be a family-run place. When we asked about the flavor influences, he explained that while the food is Middle Eastern, they are originally from Eritrea and incorporate Eritrean spices into their dishes for a unique Middle Eastern experience. That explained the flavors we couldn’t quite put our finger on!

Overall, we had a very good experience and recommend this spot. I would call it a hidden gem!

It absolutely deserves more recognition.

They also offer catering. We thought we could try that sometime but want to go back and try other dishes first!

(Also posted on Yelp— we liked them so much, wanted to...

(4.5 rounding up) We walked in to a clean space that you could def eat in at. The man at the cash register was super kind and friendly. He gave us some tea while we waited for the food which did take a tad longer than I expected bc no one else ordered before us visually but then 2 people came by for the their pick up orders so we will do that next time.

Husband got the plate and I got the wrap for chicken shawarma and it was good! Not better than my own imo haha but it actually does taste like 85% similar.

It’s partially on us bc we did take out and had to run an errand before we could eat so it was a tad soggy and it had a slight spice to it I didn’t care for but for reference I don’t even like black pepper so take that statement with a grain of salt (pun unintended).

I will def come again and order the same thing but maybe request to not have all the extra stuff inside bc as a Lebanese I prefer my shawarma with as minimal things inside as possible. I was also definitely missing my...

Enjoyed the food here. Restaurant is clean and the service was really nice. It was a peaceful vibe. Kinda made me feel like I was in Brooklyn, NY honestly.

Although the area is sketchy, it has a sense of warmth and welcome inside.

I took off a star because the place was not crowded at all and our food was not rushed out (Good thing), but once it did come the rice was cold. However, the issue was immediately rectified.

I had the chicken plate and my wife had the lamb plate. Very very very delicious. The portion size was nice. She also got the fresh fruit juice (Mango). That was good too. We will go back again. I really loved the atmosphere...