Sammoon Bakery and Restaurant

They are closed! The phone number listed is disconnected!

I went there and was looking forward to trying their sandwiches and the doors were locked and no one was there and when i tried to call the number it was out of service this place might be closed… considering i went at noon and like i said no one was home…

You will not find any better middle eastern food in San Diego. Authentic and delicious.

This place is still a dump. Indifferent owners & staff. Low prices… because they skimp on???

This place has so much, so much potential, but it fell short. Another Unilocal mislead.
After searching for Middle Eastern food, we saw the great reviews this place had on Unilocal,so we decided to try it out. We came here on a weekend, expecting it to be packed. There was only one other customer picking at her food.
First impression: the décor is outdated, with old paint in need of touch ups or repaint. The tables are dirty. We came up to the counter and were greeted by a smile from an older man who didn’t seem to speak English, so he got the younger man to come up front. We placed our orders, but didn’t bother with desert because what we saw was a very limited selection of week-​old pastries to the left of the register that were covered by a blanket. It looked disappointingly stale.
While waiting on the food, we went to get our fountain drinks. The machine was disgusting and looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in months. We sat at one of the cleaner-​looking tables, which too, was disappointing. Every table was missing several condiments and most of the containers were dirty and crusty.
When the food came out, the portions were large. Presentation was good. For the price we paid, it seemed like a good deal. However, almost everything we had was not fresh. The hummus, baba ghanoush, lamb, yellow rice and even complementary soup were stale as if left out over night for several nights and days. The lamb was cooked well to where it retained flavor and fell off the bone, but it wasn’t fresh. The complementary soup was indescribable. It made me wonder what direction the cook was trying to take it in and when he just decided to give up on it altogether. The bread was pretty good, but my guy said he could tell that it too was stale (I couldn’t tell).
The biggest No-​no was when the older man, who we presumed was also the cook, went to the back entry and smoked within feet of the open door, then came back and handed us the rest of our food without washing his hands.
I believe this place has a lot of potential to serve authentic Middle Eastern food without the sacrifice of Americanizing it, but it does need a huge clean up and makeover before I would consider coming back.

Best falafel in town. Probably in all of san diego. Try the eggplant salad on ur sandwich! Old baghdad photographs on the walls give this place a nice ethnic touch. The place is also big and fresh air.

Delicious food at unbelievable prices! Officially one of my favorite middle eastern restaurants in California! Their Feast for Two is a must try and it’s definitely filling for more than two! They’re authentic and halal! Definitely hard to find! An awesome gem in El Cajon! I’ll be back for more in the future and I highly recommend to everyone in the area!

Let’s start off that this place is just awkward. Walked in at lunchtime being one of the few customers. There was no music or atmosphere except repetitious Arabic commercials on TV. Not the greatest deal, but the deal breaker was the older owner who was not friendly at all. He seemed like to hate everything he did in that place, just felt not welcomed at this place.
The lunch was 6.99 for a Shawarma combo with fries, hummus, and drink. However, a little salad would’ve been desired.

I enjoyed the food when the first opened, haven’t been in months, decided to ear thwew tonight and was not very impressed, waited 20 mins for my plate after being told it would be a 10 min wait. No biggie, the foodbis cooked fresh and I love the fresh veggies so that didn’t bother me, took the food home, the lamb was over cooked, and they forgot my sammoon bread. Was looking forward to the bread to have with my eggplant dip. I haven’t ruled them out completely just yet, however if something like this happens next time, it is likely I will not be returning.
The service however is very pleasant and for the price it is a good amount of food!

The good things:
–Our entrees came with complimentary hummus, baba ghanoush, and bread; the spreads were tasty.
–The beef kabob was delicious; by far our favorite part of the entire meal. I would go back for that.
–Prices are good.
The not-​so-​good things:
–Service is definitely not friendly. We had a coupon from the Entertainment book and the older guy who was taking our order made this face, like he was disgusted by it, and he immediately said, without even looking at it, «it’s expired.» Um, nope, it’s still good for almost a full year. So he accepted it. Awkward, poor customer service, but not that surprising for a mom-​n-​pop restaurant like this one.
–The complimentary bread, (which some other reviewers mentioned was warm and fresh) was not fresh. It was slightly tough and room temperature. But it wasn’t that big of a deal.
–The rice was nothing special; it didn’t really have any flavor.
–The worst… The chicken tikka was almost inedible – as soon as I tried to cut it and couldn’t without difficulty, I knew I was in trouble. It was some of the driest chicken I’ve ever had (and I’m known to overcook chicken sometimes). I almost couldn’t eat it. Seriously, SO tough and hard. I thought maybe it was just bad luck and we got a bad batch.
I would give this place another shot, but it seems like there are so many other good Middle Eastern restaurants in this area…

Best middle eastern food in El Cajon. Fresh and affordable! Great combo plates.
This place has amazing fresh baked bread and must try all their desserts.
Phenomenal lamb shank that is well priced and fantastic for a quick lunch stop!

Good to buy Sammoon from here, but not eating, food below avarage
dont know how they get profit

Super good food, really enjoyed it. We will be back.
The owner was super personable and friendly, explained all of the things on the menu to us and checked on us a few times to make sure everything was good.
I had the combo plate and my Mom had the chicken kabob plate. On the side we had hummus, tabouli and falafel. All super good.

My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed our meal here! We got the Dinner for Two, which came with five different types of meat, three sides, and a basket of sammoon bread. We added a Greek salad and an order of dolmas, but the three of us definitely would have been full without the additions.
The sammoon bread was fantastic. I can’t even begin to describe it’s deliciousness, but I’m still going to try! It was fluffy and doughy, but light and flavorful all at the same time. I can see myself having cravings for that bread in the neat future.
Our sides were hummus, marinated eggplant, and tzatziki — all great. The hummus was creamy and had a slight toasted flavor. The eggplant and tzatziki were both super flavorful.
The Dinner for Two had three shish/​kebabs — one lamb and two chicken. It also had another lamb and another chicken dish. I won’t even pretend to know the names or seasonings involved, but they were super good. There were a couple of falafel, which were some of the best I’ve had. Underneath the feast was a bed of rice.
It was a great meal. My friends and I were very impressed. We will be back!

The place is clean and attractive. The music is fun. The manager is a very friendly man. Beef shawarma wrap is so far my favorite (although I hoped it was spicier than it is). Most Arabic restaurants have very loud music and way too many decorations… This one didn’t which is what attracted me in the first place. I like quieter and more relaxing places to order, and this one definitely was up to my expectations. Definitely gonna go back.

Since we were in the East County for a work meeting, a group of co-​workers and I decided to check out the food offerings on the east side. My buddy offered Middle Eastern food, which initially wasn’t received too well from our group. But after he said Unilocal rated it 4.5 stars, my enthusiasm perked up and we all agreed to try Sammoon. Before we got out of the car, I asked my buddy how many reviews there were and he said 40+, which caused me some pause about this restaurant. High stars with low number of reviews made me skeptical. Sorry Sammoon, 4.5 stars is a little generous. Don’t get me wrong, I would definitely return for the food, but there are other issues that contributed to the okay rating.
Sammoon has plenty of seating, which would accommodate a large lunch crowd, but during prime lunchtime, there was no crowd. Not a good sign. The restaurant is staffed by Middle Easterns, but we had difficulty understanding some of the menu board items. When my buddy asked what one item was, the person he talked to didn’t speak English and there was only one person who did speak English. Ordering food was inefficient and took too long. What was more inefficient was the delivery of food. I recommend that Sammoon look into a numbering system because there were multiple occasions where our food was delivered to the wrong table. There’s also a television showing Middle Eastern news, which added to the restaurant theme, except we couldn’t understand what they were saying.
The reason I would return is for the food, which was Sammoon’s saving grace. Sammoon’s has great lunch specials, specifically the lunch I ordered. For a very affordable under $ 6, I ordered a chicken shawarma that included fries, savory hummus, and a regular drink. The chicken shawarma resembled a burrito sliced in fives and it was packed with tasty, Middle Eastern spiced chicken. The chicken had a barbecue taste and it had a finger licking spread. The tortilla (not sure what it’s called in the Middle East) was crunchy and complemented the chicken. The fries had seasoning sprinkled all over and were decent. Wish they had ranch sauce to dip the fries, which I had difficulty trying to explain what ranch was. Instead of having ranch, the hummus was a great substitute to dip the fries and was delicious by itself. The other food my coworkers ordered looked delicious.
9 times out of 10 Unilocal would be spot on, but it missed on Sammoon. Taken altogether, 3 stars is a fair rating. Sammoon, I would work on your opportunity areas aka weaknesses, but one thing you’ve got going is your delicious food. And that is why I would try you again.

«Have you ever tried shawarma?» Iron Man asks Captain America. «There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I want to try it.»
Am I a Marvel fan? Yes. Did I come here purely because Iron Man & the Avengers all ate shawarma in the end credits and they happen to sell it here? Psssh! Of course not. No. Never. Maybe. Sorta. Yeaaaa.
As I mentioned in my quick tip, they have 2 lunch specials, each for the low price of $ 5.99. The 1^st one consists of: Shawarma (yes!) w/​chicken or beef + french fries + soda. The 2^nd one includes: Shawarma (yes!) w/​chicken or beef OR Kebabs OR Falafel + salad. Honestly, if you’re here for the shawarma, go with the 1^st option. It’s a better deal for sure.
My co-​worker got the beef shawarma & loved it. I decided to try the falafel actually because I read some positive reviews on it. YUM! I never knew falafel could taste so good. It wasn’t small, or tough or dry. It was the total opposite! Flavorful and soft, but textured (?). They were big and tasted like someone actually prepared it (
). Yea, I guess I’ve had some pretty bad falafels in my life :(The bread is freshly baked & tastes that way. I also like how it’s shaped (
).
CONS: They charge $ 1 for a small container of hummus (which tastes bomb btw, esp with their bread). I didn’t like the tzatziki sauce with the falafel. I really wish it came with hummus instead. Is that weird? Also, the salad in the 2^nd lunch combo had olives (I don’t like olives) & was prepared w/​a sour/​tart dressing which was too overpowering for my taste. If you come here for lunch, I’d call in my order ahead of time because I usually have to wait about 15min otherwise, which can be inconvenient depending on your lunch break.
Overall, the employees were very friendly and had the patience to explain the menu to me + I enjoyed the food+ this restaurant is clean! Worth a visit if you’re in this area!
***Don’t forget– SHAWARMA: Avengers Approved***

I figured I would venture out of my little safety bubble of the typical American/​Italian/​Mexican mix and try some Middle Eastern food.
With the help of Unilocal I decided to try Sammoon bakery in El Cajon.
I walked in and was greeted by both the cook and the manager who rang me up. The staff were very friendly and welcoming. I stated that this was my first time trying this type of food and they were helpful in describing the food for me.
After overlooking the menu I decided to try the Beef Kabob with a Hummus appetizer. I ordered extra rice.
When I got back to work, the food smelled awesome.
Beef Kabob — It wasn’t your typical Beef, it appeared as it was ground beef, almost like a beef patty mixed in with different ingredients. It was pretty tasty.
Yellow Rice — It was a longer grain of rice and tasted awesome!
Hummus and bread — I am a bread lover and this place had some great bread. When it comes to hummus, I’m usually not a fan but this was pretty good.
So all in all, my first impression of Middle Eastern food was a good one. I definitely will stop on by and try something else.
Good Service, Clean location, and good food.
FYI — I wish next time they will have some fresh baked deserts

Very delicious and very well priced!
Thanks to Unilocal we found this little place fairly close to our house. As we pulled up it looked a little shady, but as soon as we walked in and were greeted and smelled the beautiful aroma, everything was fine.
We ordered the meal (feast?) for two and it was amazing. And soooo much food. I think it’s $ 18 for the meal and you get a little bit of everything. We especially loved the cucumber/​tomato/​eggplant salad. We loved it so much we tried desperately to Google what it was called because we couldn’t remember. It must be a house specialty because we couldn’t find anything close to it. All I know is I’d be perfectly happy with a giant plate of that and a few pieces of chicken tikka. But why would I only eat those things when everything is soooooo good?!
We had enough food from that meal to fill us both for dinner and give us both filling lunches the next day.
The staff is very friendly and you can bet we’ll be back for more food and to try some pastries. Also, the music videos playing on the big screen were great!

I stopped here during the later hours of lunch and was pleased I was able to still order their $ 5.99 lunch special. I had the beef shawarma wrap with fries and a mall appetizer of tabouli and a fountain drink. (
) I also ordered 4 falafels for .49 each, but I never received them nor did they charge me for them. I guess the order got lost or something.
The wrap was good and hap plenty of tender seasoned beef. (
) It came with some slightly sour but tasty pickles, and fresh chopped tomatoes and onions smothered with Tzatziki sauce. The sauce was the perfect accompaniment to all the ingredients. The wrap came warm and toasted.
The fries were okay. They were properly cooked by had to much excess oil in them. After a while I had to stop eating the, and I could not finish them. The tabouli was good. It could of used perhaps a touch of more lemon and garlic because the dominate flavor was definitely the parsley.
The service was very good and friendly. All in all, a pretty good wrap with a very good price. It would of been nice to try their falafel. I love those things. They offered to make me some after I brought the error to their attention, but I was already done eating and full.