Zadna Grill — Restaurant in Redwood City

This is a review for the catering arm of Zadna and not the quality of their food, as the food never arrived.

Zadna was meant to cater my son’s birthday party a few weekends ago that had been arranged over 1 month prior. Leading up to the event, the manager had been in touch to finalize the payment and delivery address for the party. I expressed that given the number of young families at the event, my priority was having the food arrive on time with warmers, should meal times vary.

On the morning the of the event, at the time we were expecting the food to arrive (11:30am), I received a call from the manager asking when they should deliver the food. I stated we were all ready for the food to be delivered, as previously discussed, to which she stated it would be there in about 15-30 minutes.

Once 30 minutes had passed, I then reached back out to the manager only to find out there had been a “kitchen emergency” and it would be another 30 minutes. Understanding emergencies happen, I provided the kids with more snacks, apologized to our guests for the delay, and we proceeded to wait. After yet another 30 minutes, I reached back out to the manager, and she was now unable to provide me with an estimated delivery time. At this point we decided to order quesadillas for the kids from a local taqueria (thank you La Corneta!) as we had 15 kids under the age of 5, and continued to have the adults wait for the nearly $1200 worth of food we had already ordered from Zadna.

As 1pm approached and it became abundantly clear the food wasn’t going to be delivered, we placed another order for the adults from the taqueria and I reached out to the manager to cancel the order from Zadna. I was met with “what do you want me to do? I called and told you there was a kitchen emergency” to which I reminded the manager, that was only communicated after I reached out to her, she reached out to her team, and then she called me back. She then offered to not only credit me back, but to still bring the food. If you’ve made it this far through the review, you know as well as I do, the food never arrived.

Had they simply explained that morning that the order slipped between the cracks and was never fulfilled, I would have arranged for other food to be delivered. For anyone that knows me, I am incredibly understanding- sometimes to a fault. But to bait us along, promising the food every 30 minutes for 1.5 hours was highly inconsiderate. More than the lack of food itself, my frustration is that I spent 75% of my son’s birthday party worrying about where the food was instead of taking the time to celebrate his day.

Be wary of ordering catering through Zadna, because there's no guarantee your food...

Zadna Grill – Local Flavor, Big Lebanese Soul

Tucked right into the heart of Redwood City, Zadna Grill serves up big Mediterranean flavors with a small-town, local ease. After a long, soul-draining week of state testing (educators, you know), my partner and I decided to skip the glorified frozen dinners (sorry Trader Joe’s—we still love your frozen dumplings) and treat ourselves to something fresh, warm, and made by actual human hands.

Zadna was an easy, no-brainer pick: close, casual, and consistently recommended for its authentic Lebanese eats. We kicked off our Friday evening feast with the cheese rolls, which were tasty, though we had slight order envy once we saw the table next to us dipping pita into what looked like house-made baba ghanoush. Next time.

The lamb and beef shawarma plate stole the show. The tender meats were marinated and grilled to that perfect edge between juicy and crisp, beautifully layered with hummus and sautéed onions. The lamb brought a savory fattiness, while the beef added a cleaner bite—balanced out with a refreshingly simple salad that let the ingredients speak for themselves. We also shared the half chicken with fries, which, while ordered under the guise of “moderation,” became very necessary when it came to soaking up the tangy seasonings and sauces. Pro tip: the leftovers reheat exceptionally well in an air fryer.

The space itself? Cozy but open. With seating for about 20–25, a few booths, and a view straight into the kitchen, it’s got that humble, neighborhood charm. On a Friday night, Broadway buzzed just outside—lively but not chaotic. We had the best of both worlds: the rhythmic chop and sizzle from the kitchen in front of us, and the ambient street life beyond the window.

Afterward, we walked over to SF Galleria for soft-serve (ube + chocolate swirl, of course), making it the perfect no-fuss date night. Bonus points for having Peet’s Coffee nearby for a post-dinner pick-me-up.

Final verdict: Zadna is the kind of place you crave when you want something better than frozen but don’t feel like navigating a stuffy dining scene. Local, honest, and genuinely good—consider it Redwood City’s shawarma-scented love letter to...

I waited a while before I wrote this review, coz I wanted to see if the magic will go away like many other places in the Bay that start great but then they steadily decline to mediocre or downright bad.. long story short they held up..

So all similar places call themselves Mediterranean, but this one here is truly Lebanese, because they can actually pull it off.. and if you actually spent a day in Beirut, and know how great the food is there, this one here is the real deal. Actually this is the only place in the Bay Area that has true authentic Lebanese cuisine. The chef, Mohamed (co-owner also, so you know he cares), a Syrian, who learnt his craft in Karam Beirut restaurant in Brumana, Lebanon, and that's no joke. So you get the food made by someone who knows how make the Lebanese people happy in Lebanon. Then you got Greta, greeting you at the door. She is also an owner, and she is also Lebanese, so she will welcome you like they would welcome you in Beirut. The whole experience is good.

Now the food is phenomenal. This is the only place where you will get the real Lebanese tabouleh, and all their grilled meat offering is as authentic as they come. High quality, good portions, cooked to perfection. Try their lamb shank with bamieh (okra), and then thank me later.

You can't go wrong here. I love their food, their hospitality. I introduced this place to my Egyptian buddies (I am originally Egyptian), and every Egyptian in the Peninsula would go there regularly and they won't even take me with them.. :) Go...