Yalla Mediterranean is a fast casual restaurant restaurant that is doing what every restaurant should be doing, and that is making food from scratch, using local produce, and sourcing responsibly raised meat and wild-caught fish. A concept simple enough to understand but not easily achievable. Well, they're doing it.
So how it works is this...
Step 1: Choose Your Style
What that means is you can either choose between getting a wrap, a salad, or a plate.
step 2: Pick your favorite
Pick your favorite meat or topping to go with step one. Some options they had at the Burbank, CA location I went to was falafel, chicken shawarma, shalafel (half shawarma half falafel), grilled chicken, steak shawarma, salmon, and kefta (turkish spiced ground lamb & beef).
Its that simple!
I chose to go with the grilled chicken atop basmati rice with seasoned vegetables. This comes with 3 sides so I opted for the moroccan carrot salad, greek potato salad, beet and kale.
A little descriptions for the sides, from the left:
Moroccan carrot salad: Carrots, cumin, dill, olive oil, golden raisins, honey, greek vinaigrette
Greek potato salad: Yukon gold potatoes, olive oil, red wine vinegar, scallions
Beet and Kale: Roasted beets, feta, mediterranean vinaigrette
Next up is the chicken shawarma on top of their awesome Power Greens salad base (they have two to choose from), Kale, balsamic apricots, feta cheese, lemon vinaigrette. Doesn't that just sound fancy? Not to mention the portion is pretty decent too, this salad could last me easily 2 meals.
Here are some of their other kick-ass appetizers that are really a vegetarian, even a vegans dream. They were all so good, I really couldn't decide which one to eat, BUT my favorite has to be the fire feta! First of all, love feta. Secondly, its spicy. Thirdly, they give you a big scoop of it. Fourthly, I've never even heard of this or hand anything even remotely similar. So it wins extra brownie points just for being unique.
From the top left:
Barley salad:: no description, might be discontinued
Baba Ganoush: eggplant, parsley, lemon, garlic tahini, olive oil
Tabouli: parsley, dill, tomato, cucumber, bulgar wheat, lemon juice, olive oil
Hummus: GMO-free chickpea, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil
Turkish slaw: red cabbage, cilantro, lime juice, honey, olive oil
Fire feta: Spicy blend of pepper, feta, & seasoning
Falafel is always another good choice for vegetarians or vegans alike, as the tahini sauce is made of sesame seeds, and not dairy.
I would also like to point out that their "dishware" is compostable! Definitely more kudos to them.
I think I hit the motherload with this one. How appetizing does that look?? This is their 3 option, the wrap. And look, they filled it with fries!
They've also got some premium, hormone free tri-tip steak shawarma. I gave it to a tri-tip expert and we both agreed that it was tender and of great quality. It felt like the kinda meat you only get at a fine dining experience.
Need dessert? Well they've got it! This is their house-made greek frozen yogurt. You can get this with honey, chocolate, or sour cherry sauce. Or better yet, with cinnamony and walnutty baklava!!
They've also got some yummy original and strawberry house-made lemonade that is worth trying.
All in all, the reason I love Yalla and would go back is because I like to support other companies that take the extra effort to be socially responsible. I also like that they have a ton of vegetarian and even vegan options to choose from. Thanks for reading Yall' a! If you enjoyed this article till the end, please give it a like, share it, and subscribe to my YouTube channel!
xoxo,
Nellie Christine
