Mawadda Cafe — Restaurant in Seattle

This has been a go-to favorite spot of mine for almost a decade now. The food is a great pick me up on a rainy day, and a good slice of Mediterranean food. Mawadda means love, and it really shows in the business Chef Rami has created.

The small establishment is a tiny hole in the wall spot, right off the corner of Graham and Rainier. It's a very quaint and intimate establishment, only able to seat 22 at the most. The drinks fridge is on your left when you enter, and you can see all of their coolers, bathroom, and very cramped kitchen. Absolutely nothing is hidden here, you can see everything they do. At peak, you'll ask yourself "how are the three/four of them moving around like a ballet back there?". Even at the end of a day, after cleaning up, you can see that man back there wiping the sweat off, and flashing an award winning smiling.

The gyros are simply massive, and are ALWAYS juicy as heck, along with the usual accoutrements. My personal favorite is the lamb shawarma plate. Delicious and tender cubes of lamb that are simply to die for, paired with a very fragrant seasoned rice and tied off with a wonderful tzatziki sauce. This comes with a side salad, and a pita with hummus.

Maybe it's attachment to this place, but I absolutely love Mawadda Cafe. Mawadda means love and it shows with this place, and Chef Rami...

I’m thinking cultural differences caused the man taking my to go order over the phone to rip into my ass for asking if their spaghetti is popular with the kids. The menu says it’s a lamb meat sauce so I was just wondering if it had a more unique taste or if it was similar to Italian style spaghetti sauce. I am ignorant of how Mediterranean style spaghetti would differ from Italian.

The man taking my order was obviously offended because his response to “is your spaghetti popular with the kids?” Was: “how can you ask me this?” “That’s the same as asking if I liked my kids, how can you ask that question?”

I made a small attempt to interject in my defense but honestly he was so matter of fact and his tone felt like disgust...all I could do is just hang up the phone.

I’m super disappointed too. I just visited in person 2 days ago. The man at the counter incouraged me to dine in and I did. The food was great and the man who took my order brought me a complimentary dessert which was delicious.

I was planning to order for my family of 5 tonight and wanted to keep it simple with the kids while the adults enjoy more of what they specialize in.

I’m so disappointed! I ordered the lamb salad last time and it was good, but be very careful what you ask or you may walk out with your ass in your hand in stead of...

It's just a small neighborhood restaurant, but the food is delicious, carefully prepared, and the atmosphere is always friendly. They got an extra star for the garlic sauce, which is unbelievably yummy. I forgot to take a picture of the food because I was too busy attacking it. Take the side salad. Coarsely cut romaine with red onion and the garlic sauce for dressing. Slices of cucumber and tomato for garnish. Just lovely.

2020 update: Mawadda is open for takeout and the food is delicious as always. And you can order the chef's garlic sauce (which is absolutely outstanding) in bulk - either pints or quarts (they have jars on hand just for garlic sauce aficionados).

UPDATE: a lot of restaurants have had to revise their recipes because of the COVID crisis, but Mawadda chose to maintain their standards and raise prices a little. I think it was the right decision, because when I order the lamb biryani, I know exactly what I'm going to get - the same delicious dish I've been served...