Ashraf Hijaz

I recently visited Mal Al Sham and had an amazing experience. The staff were welcoming and attentive, and the atmosphere was warm and inviting. The menu offers a wide variety of options, and every dish I ordered was incredibly delicious with outstanding quality and beautifully presented. A must-visit for anyone looking for authentic Middle Eastern food and excellent service!

+9

Ali Mason

It's a casual Syrian/Mediterranean restaurant where you'll get your money's worth. Delicious food, nice and attentive employees, clean restaurant. The first time I went by with a group of friends and we all got our own dishes to go. We all agreed it was delicious. The second time I went with my sister and cousin and we got the family combo platter for 3, it was more than enough food. Third time I got a family combo platter for 5 for a good-bye dinner knowing that it would be enough for 7/8 people. I also bought some pita bread and a yogurt cucumber salad, somewhat similar to tzatziki sauce. It can get busy, especially on weekends but my only complaint is the parking. It is limited on their property but you can park on the street. I will be back sooner than later.

Qusai Sabri

Great tasting food! We tried the shawarma (both beef and chicken), hummus, baba ghanoush, and the mixed grill! everything was excellent! The highlight for me was their authentic Iraqi tea, which made the meal even better. Highly recommend!

R B

This is THE BEST Halal Mediterranean Food you will ever try all across LA, Bay area and Sacramento! Halal Huge portions very tasty Fair Pricing 👌🏼

Ryan Rupley

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Authentic, Delicious, and Worth Every Penny! 🔥 The food was freaking amazing – packed with flavor and super authentic. 🍽️ Portions? HUGE! You’ll definitely leave full (and probably with leftovers). 💵 Prices? Unbeatable for the quality and amount of food you get. 🌍 The vibe is real – surrounded by guests who clearly know authentic food when they see it. 🤝 Everyone was so nice – from the staff to even the fellow patrons. It honestly felt like a community. If you’re looking for a place that’s authentic, welcoming, and delivers both quality & quantity… Mal Al Sham is it! Highly recommend 👌

Minnesota Tours

Best Arab restaurant in America. Hands down. Amazing food, large portions and great service. I specially loved the chicken sandwiches. Eat here once in your life time.

+4

Ahmed Hani

One of the best Arabic restaurants in San Diego! We ordered mix grill, the beef skewers were very delicious and the rice was tasty and well seasoned. The beef shawarma tasted amazing and is a must try! They have an outdoor dining area where you can enjoy the good weather and vibes. The service is fast and the staff are so friendly and helpful. Definitely worth to visit again.

Bob Deltaco

This place is surprisingly cheap and comes with a lot of food food that is delicious as shown in the picture you get all that for 12.81 with TAX and with each bite it has a different taste making it very unique and greasy. The restaurant I would definitely not recommend because some hours it gets so busy in the store and outside of the store where you can't even walk into order. sadly it can't be an easy fix unless they take some tables out reducing profit so eating here Made the atmosphere very unpleasing there was no yelling but the place is so small which makes it very difficult to move and talk. With all I said the food makes everything better so order take out and you will understand.

Chris Hinshaw

El Cajon is flooded with Iraqui restaurants. One of the best is Mal al Sham. Indoor and outdoor dining, always busy but always an available seat and full of native Iraqui's. So you know it's authentic. We had the Mixed Grill (Special) with Fatoosh salad, a Fatoosh salad (I love fatoosh!), and a Falafel wrap. The table next to us was a family group who had a pizza looking flatbread covered with a deep red sauce. We asked about it, and they shared it with us. It's called Lahm Bi Ajeen. Delicious.

Vanessa Simmons

Delicious!!! Shared with our children because the portion sizes are large. We loved the chicken shawarma the most and even liked the pickled turnips. Highly recommend for a filling lunch. Great service, atmosphere, and affordable prices

Kevin Bullard

Super crowded with local Arab Muslim community who are very nice and the food was tremendous. A Lebanese buddy at work recommended it and said it was the real deal here in El Cajon and he was not wrong. Super authentic food. Very happy we went and will be back.

Kamalesh Ram Chandran Govindaraj

The meat is so tender. Such a great authentic food. Place is quite busy and you'll have to find a seating. The shawarma chicken wrap is really amazing and must try. The first cup of tea is on the house and it taste so good. It's a must try place if you are a meat lover.

+3

Mohamed Hasan

I had an amazing dining experience at Mal Al Sham restaurant in San Diego! The atmosphere is warm and inviting, making it the perfect spot for a cozy meal. The menu offers a fantastic array of authentic Middle Eastern dishes that are bursting with flavor. I highly recommend the kebabs and the shawarma – both were cooked to perfection! The staff was incredibly friendly and attentive, ensuring that we had everything we needed. Overall, Mal Al Sham is a gem in San Diego, and I can’t wait to return for another delicious meal!

+3

Recommended this place by my roommate as his favorite food! He said there was a fire before and hadn't been since. It has its own parking and in the el Cajon downtown that also has plenty of parking …

Recommended this place by my roommate as his favorite food! He said there was a fire before and hadn't been since. It has its own parking and in the el Cajon downtown that also has plenty of parkin…

Recommended this place by my roommate as his favorite food! He said there was a fire before and hadn't been since. It has its own parking and in the el Cajon downtown that also has plenty of parki…

Call to order take out when uber and all them aren't working. They are opening another location across the street! Yay!

10 experience. The food is absolutely amazing with generous portions, and the lighting and interior create such a great vibe. They also offer a fantastic outdoor atmosphere, which is a huge plus. T…

Best shawarma in town. chicken or beef-you name it. I enjoy ordering their dishes as well. The ouzi is delicious. It's generally busy here when I come on the weekends, but I never wait long for my …

My all time favorite restaurants in San Diego I'm so glad they reopened this place is so good from there chicken shwarma sandwich, falafel, lentil soup everything here is amazing and you must try i…

Out if words for how AMAZING the food is! How generous the workers are. How peaceful the place to sit and enjoy it. My family and friends love to stop by for lunch and the real Arabian black tea.

First time I've been here. Their foods are amazingly delicious. Great service and selection, very informative. ambiance is super chill and inviting. We're there for their mansaf.

Delicious food! Best middle eastern food in Cali! The salad is delicious ~ can't be beat! the rice and chicken is always on point.

It was my second time , I pick up food, as always very busy restaurant because the food is very tasty and big portions . They offer Turkish tea as you are waiting for your order. The ambience is ok…

Everything is delicious. They are EXTREMELY busy and crowded, so id recommend calling in your order for take out. My only complain would be the lack of parking.

Delicious food, great service, affordable prices, large quantities of food. Free tea. Patio where you can bring your dog.

Pretty good middle eastern food. The falafels were excellent. The schwarma meats were dry. I liked the beef kabob. The good stuff was good and some was meh.

parking lot was full and super packed inside, good sign that this place would be good. The food portion was huge and for a good price too. The rice has a nice cinnamon flavor. The salad is refreshi…

Very Nice Staff, Delicious Food. Nice outside ambiance \n\n BUT Businesses should be honest and not take advantage. Customers should know to LOOK AT YOUR CHECK. At the bottom of the check there is …

Marbie

Very nice employees and good service. Place was crowded inside and out. Have heard about this place for years but never tried. The portions were huge which was nice, but to be honest it wasn't great. Felt the meat has no salt or seasoning (breaded chicken) and garlic sauce (more like a paste) was hardly garlic tasting. Rice was a brown, over "spiced", yet no saltiness or flavor which is strange. Bit into a big ole piece of cardamom, had to spit out. Anyway- added some yogurt and bought spicy Harrissa later on and it kind of saved it. I prefer rice that's a bit more "buttery" (ghee) and less spices, similar to Kaelins Arab food. Anyway, nice place but food could be better.

I visited this place around 11:30 AM on a Sunday and ordered both chicken and beef shawarma. To be honest, the shawarma was well below our expectations. We noticed that the sandwiches were pre-prepared and stacked like a tower behind the counter, which gave the impression of staying busy but raised concerns about food handling and freshness. The sandwiches were then thrown on the grill just to crisp the outside, while the inside remained cold and lacked freshness. I understand that serving a large crowd can be challenging, especially during busy hours, but quality should never be sacrificed for quantity. The service was decent and the atmosphere was fine, but the food itself needs serious improvement. With better attention to freshness and preparation, this place could be much better.

NO FLAVOR, NO SEASONING just bland...Ok i was headed to alibabas. Damn says it's closed so went to this place.. oh hellzna..NO COMPARISONS to alibabas. SAD service , food not great, CHARGE FOR Wate…

I had falafel last time, it was nasty I asked the manager in charge about that, he said he'll look into it I went again a month later, same thing, I told the server, don't go there .

The food was very good, but the server refused to provide a simple glass of ice water. She stated that we had to order a bottled water. Which is totally against the CA Health and Safety Code 113725…

The food was very good, but the server refused to provide a simple glass of ice water. She stated that we had to order a bottled water. Which is totally against the CA Health and Safety Code 1137…

Rose İn

The place we've been going to for years seems to have changed not only its appearance of the restaurant but also its service in a NEGATIVE way. On January 21, 2026, Wednesday, around 8:00 pm; while we were still sitting at the table, the female waitress asked if she could clear our table. Even None of the tables I saw had been cleared before the customers left... we said yes. Then she said she would bring the bill. We said we had just finished our dishes and just started drinking tea and asked if she could bring it after we finished. Although she said they were open until 10 pm, she immediately sent another waiter with the bill. She didn't like that I asked her to bring the bill later. Afterwards, she deliberately did the opposite of what I had requested. I mentioned this to another waiter, but instead of admitting the mistake, he forced me to explain the situation repeatedly. Eventually, he understood, albeit late, and offered us a treat, which we of course declined; however, what we wanted was neither a treat nor a discount. We simply wanted the mistake to be acknowledged and not repeated to someone else on another day.

NH DCF

I’ve been a customer of this restaurant for a long time, and it used to be much better. But lately, the quality has gotten worse day by day. The kebab and shawarma are often overcooked and burnt, and the food doesn’t taste the same anymore. I’ve mentioned this issue to them several times, but it feels like they don’t care now that they have many customers. I honestly do not recommend this restaurant anymore, it’s a waste of money.

Ramin Amiri

I bought kebab from this restaurant, but the food was completely burnt and not edible. When I went back to let them know, they refused to replace it and were very rude. I was really disappointed with both the food quality and the customer service. I won’t be coming back and don’t recommend this place to others

+2