We chose this establishment based on its reviews, but unfortunately, we were slightly disappointed with the service. Throughout our visit, we had to remind the staff a few times that our party needed attention. However, the food was excellent, although the prices were high. Despite this, it was still worth it. Our dining experience for three people totaled over $200, including appetizers and wine. I highly recommend trying the Istanbul Trio, falafel, and lamb kebab as main courses. The house Cabernet Sauvignon was also enjoyable.The service was lacking, and the staff's attire could have been sharper; they seemed like they had just stepped in from the street. On Thursday night, the restaurant ran out of baklava. Towards the end of our meal, a strong smell of smoke emanated from the kitchen, forcing us to leave quickly as our clothes began to absorb the odor.Overall, I would recommend giving it a try, but perhaps only once.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Baklava, Lamb Kebab, Istanbul Trio
Nancy Mace
Great food. Very nice service. Liked the decor. Not expensive. A great find in Alameda!Vegetarian options: Yum
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hummus, Baklava, Hallumi, Beets Salad, Istanbul Trio
Y C.
I don't know why it took us so long to get dinner here but I'm glad we finally did. The food was delicious and service was warm. Ala Med is a Turkish restaurant but given the broader mediterranean influence, I think people will find a lot of familiar items here.Our table ordered various items:Istanbul trio: Both hummus and haydari were good but I loved the muhammara - this version gave equal importance to both the walnuts and the red peppers and was well balanced with a slight kick from some chili. Eggplant salad: so good, well seasoned, and refreshingManti: meat dumpling with yogurt and tomato sauce- everyone loved itImam fainted: vegetarian eggplant dish - flavorful, easy to eatButcher Kofte: I really liked the seasoning of the meat but didn't love the texture as the meat seemed to be really finely ground but that is a personal preference. I did enjoy the rice and chickpea salad it came with.For dessert there was rice pudding(good) and baklava(average). I liked that everyone got a small cup of tea to finish off the meal.
David M.
Great little restaurant with excellent array of savory dishes. Cozy atmosphere and the best baklava you'll ever eat.
S A.
Consistently excellent food and wonderful service! Can be a little noisy if crowded but worth it.
serkan saltan
The menu at Ala never disappoints. I tried almost half of the menu to taste everything they have. I still have other half to try. Last night’s delight was Manti and Istanbul trio plus Mucver. All were made to perfection felt like in Istanbul.
I love everything i tried here so far. It is family run business in Alameda. Their selective menu will take to Istanbul. Last night I tried the manti, Istanbul trio, mucver and baklava. All were so delicious. Definitely going back.
Ethan (Rxset)
This was such a luxurious experience! Definitely recommend this place! ??
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hamburger
Morgan Engel
The food was pretty good, overall I feel like the quality and the taste was delicious. The problem was that we showed up at 5:30 and we went home at 7:30. We had three small children with us which means we had to figure out how to entertain our children for 1.5 hours while we waited for our food waited for our drinks, waited for our check; waited, waited, waited. For a restaurant that's this expensive: $220 for two adults and three children, I would expect prompt service, available wine, and overall to be in and out at our leisure, not at their convenience.
This is a great place to enjoy some Greek food. It's a little pricey ($20 for a burger), but the food is excellent. What we had...+ Imam Fainted - not sure about the name, but this is a vegetarian stuffed eggplant, and it is delicious. The eggplant is soft and stuffed with peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes, and then topped with melty cheese. It's actually quite large.+ Lamb burger - juicy and delicious. The bun was a bit average though.+ Hummus and pita - wow, this hummus is so good.+ Beet salad - the beets are juicy and sweet. The lettuce and cheese complimented the beets so well. I had considered getting this as an entree, but glad I didn't. It's small - definitely side salad size.We all enjoyed our food and will definitely be ordering from them again.
Karen C.
I'm so glad to have had a chance to come try Ala Mediterranean because it did not disappoint! My party of 2 came on a Friday night and it was seated right away, which is always nice. We started with the Istanbul Trio, which included hummus, muhamarra, and the Heidari. However, we subbed the Heidari with the eggplant salad. This was one of my favorite items! The hummus and the eggplant salad tasted refreshing and was very flavorful. But, for me, the star of the trio was the muhamarra. I loved the the roasted pepper flavor with nuttiness from the walnut! All of these paired with warm pita bread was a great appetizer to start our meal. I had an chicken kebab for my entree, which also came with rice and salad, and pita bread for sides. I was pleasantly surprised by the juiciness and flavor of the chicken. It was cooked perfectly and was definitely the star of the plate. I only wish there were more chicken on the plate! My partner had the lamb burger, which he also loved and said the lamb was so juicy and tender. We finished our meal with baklava. This was a flaky dessert with a dense bottom and sweetened with honey. It was absolutely delicious and wasn't overly sweet. The warmed baklava was a nice finish to the meal. Overall, my party enjoyed our meal at Ala Mediterranean Grill! We'll definitely come again for our Mediterranean food fix!
Danelle Schmitz
The best Mediterranean food in Alameda, run by the nicest, most accommodating and customer service oriented family. I highly recommend Ala.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
hanh tran
I love this restaurant. As a former customer service and concierge expertise, I love their atmosphere and wow. Their food, my goodness is magnificent! Flavorful, COLORFUL, AND pairs great with red wine!!! I can't recommend enough!!! Hummus was wow! And patties (forgot the name) are delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Liz O.
Delicious food , very fresh Chicken kabobs cucumber and tomato salad Pita bread yummmmmm I will be returning
Great food. Charming little spot.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Hummus
We chose this establishment based on its reviews, but unfortunately, we were slightly disappointed with the service. Throughout our visit, we had to remind the staff a few times that our party needed attention. However, the food was excellent, although the prices were high. Despite this, it was still worth it. Our dining experience for three people totaled over $200, including appetizers and wine. I highly recommend trying the Istanbul Trio, falafel, and lamb kebab as main courses. The house Cabernet Sauvignon was also enjoyable.The service was lacking, and the staff's attire could have been sharper; they seemed like they had just stepped in from the street. On Thursday night, the restaurant ran out of baklava. Towards the end of our meal, a strong smell of smoke emanated from the kitchen, forcing us to leave quickly as our clothes began to absorb the odor.Overall, I would recommend giving it a try, but perhaps only once.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Baklava, Lamb Kebab, Istanbul Trio
Great food. Very nice service. Liked the decor. Not expensive. A great find in Alameda!Vegetarian options: Yum
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hummus, Baklava, Hallumi, Beets Salad, Istanbul Trio
I don't know why it took us so long to get dinner here but I'm glad we finally did. The food was delicious and service was warm. Ala Med is a Turkish restaurant but given the broader mediterranean influence, I think people will find a lot of familiar items here.Our table ordered various items:Istanbul trio: Both hummus and haydari were good but I loved the muhammara - this version gave equal importance to both the walnuts and the red peppers and was well balanced with a slight kick from some chili. Eggplant salad: so good, well seasoned, and refreshingManti: meat dumpling with yogurt and tomato sauce- everyone loved itImam fainted: vegetarian eggplant dish - flavorful, easy to eatButcher Kofte: I really liked the seasoning of the meat but didn't love the texture as the meat seemed to be really finely ground but that is a personal preference. I did enjoy the rice and chickpea salad it came with.For dessert there was rice pudding(good) and baklava(average). I liked that everyone got a small cup of tea to finish off the meal.
Great little restaurant with excellent array of savory dishes. Cozy atmosphere and the best baklava you'll ever eat.
Consistently excellent food and wonderful service! Can be a little noisy if crowded but worth it.
The menu at Ala never disappoints. I tried almost half of the menu to taste everything they have. I still have other half to try. Last night’s delight was Manti and Istanbul trio plus Mucver. All were made to perfection felt like in Istanbul.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Butcher Kofte, Mucver, Muhammara, Baklava, Lamb Kabob, Lamb Kebab, Hallumi, Shepperd Salad, Kulbasti
I love everything i tried here so far. It is family run business in Alameda. Their selective menu will take to Istanbul. Last night I tried the manti, Istanbul trio, mucver and baklava. All were so delicious. Definitely going back.
This was such a luxurious experience! Definitely recommend this place! ??
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hamburger
The food was pretty good, overall I feel like the quality and the taste was delicious. The problem was that we showed up at 5:30 and we went home at 7:30. We had three small children with us which means we had to figure out how to entertain our children for 1.5 hours while we waited for our food waited for our drinks, waited for our check; waited, waited, waited. For a restaurant that's this expensive: $220 for two adults and three children, I would expect prompt service, available wine, and overall to be in and out at our leisure, not at their convenience.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Cigar Borek, Hummus, Salad, Lamb Kabob, Lamb Kebab, Chicken Kebab, Beets Salad
Restaurantji Recommends
This is a great place to enjoy some Greek food. It's a little pricey ($20 for a burger), but the food is excellent. What we had...+ Imam Fainted - not sure about the name, but this is a vegetarian stuffed eggplant, and it is delicious. The eggplant is soft and stuffed with peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes, and then topped with melty cheese. It's actually quite large.+ Lamb burger - juicy and delicious. The bun was a bit average though.+ Hummus and pita - wow, this hummus is so good.+ Beet salad - the beets are juicy and sweet. The lettuce and cheese complimented the beets so well. I had considered getting this as an entree, but glad I didn't. It's small - definitely side salad size.We all enjoyed our food and will definitely be ordering from them again.
I'm so glad to have had a chance to come try Ala Mediterranean because it did not disappoint! My party of 2 came on a Friday night and it was seated right away, which is always nice. We started with the Istanbul Trio, which included hummus, muhamarra, and the Heidari. However, we subbed the Heidari with the eggplant salad. This was one of my favorite items! The hummus and the eggplant salad tasted refreshing and was very flavorful. But, for me, the star of the trio was the muhamarra. I loved the the roasted pepper flavor with nuttiness from the walnut! All of these paired with warm pita bread was a great appetizer to start our meal. I had an chicken kebab for my entree, which also came with rice and salad, and pita bread for sides. I was pleasantly surprised by the juiciness and flavor of the chicken. It was cooked perfectly and was definitely the star of the plate. I only wish there were more chicken on the plate! My partner had the lamb burger, which he also loved and said the lamb was so juicy and tender. We finished our meal with baklava. This was a flaky dessert with a dense bottom and sweetened with honey. It was absolutely delicious and wasn't overly sweet. The warmed baklava was a nice finish to the meal. Overall, my party enjoyed our meal at Ala Mediterranean Grill! We'll definitely come again for our Mediterranean food fix!
The best Mediterranean food in Alameda, run by the nicest, most accommodating and customer service oriented family. I highly recommend Ala.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I love this restaurant. As a former customer service and concierge expertise, I love their atmosphere and wow. Their food, my goodness is magnificent! Flavorful, COLORFUL, AND pairs great with red wine!!! I can't recommend enough!!! Hummus was wow! And patties (forgot the name) are delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious food , very fresh Chicken kabobs cucumber and tomato salad Pita bread yummmmmm I will be returning