Lahmacun Pizzeria – Mediterranean Grill

Unfortunately, this place is now closed. The shop was being remodeled when I stopped by and workers told me the owners moved to Hillsdale Shopping Center. Indeed I followed up on that and found the lady working at Pita Gyros at the Food 31 restaurant court in the lower level of the mall. They have many Mediterranean delicicies such as kebaps, falafel and etc. They have pizza but unfortunately no lahmacun, no pide. :(Owner told me they have this place for 3 years now. I hope it is a good business.

We are a regular customer here. Always find the same delicious and fresh wraps. The lady who makes them is very friendly and sweet too.

Probably three and a half stars. I’m not a pizza eater, so I can only comment on the non-​pizza aspect of the menu. I found the chicken kebab plate to be quite tasty — I see other comments about the spices not being adequate but i would not agree. The rice pilaf was fluffy and the pita bread had a pleasing consistency — a bit crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
As far as service — the woman behind the counter had a bit of an attitude when I asked for a small container of hummus on the side. She offered me the full hummus side, but I just wanted a very small container to dip the pita bread, not a half pint container. To my mind a small amount of hummus should come along with any plate that contains pita bread. Ultimately she relented but I found her demeanor to be less than accommodating.

Excellent customer service. High quality food and respectable waiting time. Highly recommend.

What a treat! Family opened and operated. Try the Lahmacun Turkish Pizza.

A very small family-​owned place with pretty good Turkish food located in a small street mall in San Mateo. It is so great that some people take true pride in their food! :)
However, I have to confess, I am a little bit of a snob when it comes to kebabs (both grounded meat and pieces), dolmas, hummus and other Mediterranean goodies. As far as I am concerned, spices and marinade make it either work or… not work.
Let me start with what’s good:
— The lady (guessing the owner) was very sweet… she stopped by and made sure everything was OK and we were enjoying the food. Ans we also received a very sincere «thank you» as we were leaving the place.
— All food was made from scratch, as soon as we ordered she started cooking
— Chicken kebabs were very tender and made ‘just right“
Now, some cons:
— Well, chicken kebabs were just one of three meats we tried… beef was very overcooked, but well marinated. Ground kebabs were bland and a little tough. I must confess that great bread and hummus made it still enjoyable
— What is up with atmosphere and very old, dirty looking furniture? Honestly, it was not pleasant sitting inside… looks like they have been putting a lot of effort in maintaining the place, but remodeling is way overdue!
Overall, I would love to try some more of their foods, definitely coming back to the lamajoun and pizza. But I’ll take it to-​go next time, please :)

Being from Istanbul, I always crave good Turkish food. Here it is; almost like at home. Lahmacun is superb, Kebaps are very good. Cacik and ayran are delicioso. Enjoy the best while you can… BirTurk

Gyros.
This place has never ONCE had a customer inside actually dining… But with all these Unilocal reviews I must be going on the wrong night!
This is our go-​to gyro takeout spot. Pita is perfectly thin enough to not stuff you and I always get extra tzatziki sauce — but that’s just me.
We like these gyros much better than Aladdin Gourmet International on Hillsdale.

Having lived in the area for the last five years I’ve finally been able to check this place out. Décor as more to be desired but quaint and clean. Food is delicious — warm bread, excellent lentil soup with great texture and flavor. The lahmacun was warm and crispy, best version I had so far. This restaurant is off the beaten path, had a one woman show for the evening but food was good, inexpensive, and rather quick.

empty and dreary… small and shabby strip mall location… searching for a drink… pizzeria high chance of beers… inside and finding completely empty… most of staff or owners seated at the tables talking… walking behind counter to hand pick-​up orders… not the traditional pizzeria… hybrid of turkish mediterranean pizzeria… might try, but here for beers… small good beer selection on draft… two beers $eleven after tip… seated center in emptiness… sipping a red ale…

Their pizza is thin like brooklyn style pizza. They got exotic flavors like lamb, which was what i ordered. It was good.

Reading the other reviews, I think I must have just ordered the wrong things, but my order was very bad.
My to go order: got a small pepperoni pizza — the cheese wasn’t really melted and the crust was floppy. Also ordered some calamari, which was by far the worst part of the order. There was no breading, it was fried for way too long as it was rock solid, and it tasted like a straight up rotten fish market.
However! I ordered hummus and it was freaking delicious. The homemade bread was toasty and so good with the hummus. I think I may have done wrong by not focusing on Mediterranean orders which others harped on, so I would be willing to give this place another go, but I would definitely order what the other Unilocalers recommend, and not standard pizza or calamari.

Wow! This place is fantastic. I’m sure the pizza is ok. However, forget the pizza and have the Turkish menu. The Lahmacun, and Pide were fantastic. Savory, lamby goodness. I would travel to eat the food here. It’s not long on ambiance. However, the food quality was outstanding. Not the best place for a date. Unless your date is homesick for awesome Turkish food! Give these folks the business.
Did I mention that the prices are pretty reasonable too?

Best Lahmacun I’ve had in the US so far. Admittedly I’ve only had it at 3 places but so far I’m pretty in to this place. It comes with all the fixings and while at $ 4.50 seems like more than you might pay at other places, it’s really well made with the lamb having good texture as well.
The lamb pide we got was excellent too with really soft dough.

I’ve been here twice and it has never disappointed me. My boyfriend and I love Mediterranean food and this place is one of a kind. They make these Mediterrean pizzas called Lahmacuns that taste like heaven. It’s minced lamb on top of a nicely baked flatbread. It’s very tasty. I highly recommend this dish.
We’ve also gotten the chicken sharwrma plate which is delicious and has good portions for the price you pay. You get salad, bread, and chicken sharwrma. My boyfriend has also gotten a couple of their wraps which are equally delicious and very filling.
The service here is good. A bit slow because it seems like they only have one person working. I don’t really mind it because the restaurant is fairly empty, which I don’t mind. I’ve been here on Friday nights and the place is rarely busy, which I love because I hate waiting in lines.
They also have amazing Turkish tea here.
A hole in the wall place that I highly recommend!

It looks like part of my Unilocal journey is to try all Turkish restaurants in the Bay Area, and let you know Unilocal people. Being home sick and and having limited cooking skills I crave for Lahmacun (a round, thin piece of dough topped with minced meat and minced vegetables and herbs (onions, tomatoes and parsley))
very often.
You have no idea how lucky you are here to taste this authentic dish in Bay Area because it is very very difficult to find good one.
This place is awesome. It is a family run business, so do not expect anything fancy. Food has a soul here, and owner are always welcoming.
Food is no different than Turkey. It is still awesome. Here is short Turkish Food 101 for you if you come here and you are not sure what to order. List is for two people or me
1. Lentil Soup
2. Hummus as an appetizer
3. Mixed Grill
and Lahmacun (ask for extra lemon)
Lahmacun is not Pizza. even you may find that lahmacun looks like a pizza, but there is a big difference between them. A pizza is sliced and it can be eaten with a knife and fork while you don’t need knife or fork to eat lahmacun. Put some red pepper, squeeze lemon, wrap it and it’s ready to eat. Please do not use fork and knive — It looks funny — Use your hands. There is a restroom if you need to wash them :)
I was looking through some reviews. There are some funny ones like worst lahmacun. Are you kidding me? Well here is something for you!
Keep Calm and Eat Lahmacun

Somebody told me that they make the best lahmacun at this place, I made a trip all the way from San Francisco, but its was the worst lahmacun I have ever tried.
I really like Turkish food, but this is the place I am never going back to, food is bad and overpriced. The lady who cooks was really nice though, extra star. She was by herself cooking and serving which made it forever to get our food, beside us there was one more table eating already.
Lahmacun supposed to be really thin, but here it was pizza thick and in addition very bland and tasted funny.
Lentil soup was overly salty.
Mixed grill tasted funny, I am pretty sure that was because it wasn’t fresh. Dressing on a salad was super vinegary.
Never again

Was on our way to South SF, and starving, so we Unilocaled what were the top restaurants. This place caught our eye, and the pictures were making me drool!
A tad far from the freeway, and in a random plaza, with a dumpling place next door, and other random restaurants. It looked like a typical pizza joint, but the murals on the wall and in the bathroom gave it that Mediterranean feel. We ordered at the front, and luckily there were pictures of all their foods to give us an idea. We went with the hummus (since it had such rave reviews), the lahmacun, and the lamb kebabs. Prices were very fair as well, with a Snapple, total was $ 28! The lahmacun was only $ 4.50!
Since we were at an off time, there was only one other diner, and the woman who took our order also started whipping up the food in the kitchen. I saw some lahmacuns were already made, and she threw it into the oven. She was really sweet, and brought out the hummus, some fresh bread, and lahmacun shortly after.
The bread… so of course I’m a carb whore, but one of the best breads I’ve ever had. Freshly baked, warm, and chewy, I was in in CARB HEAVEN! I never had hummus with bread as an appetizer before, used to pita, but this combo went together like PB & Jelly. Amazing! Hummus was so flavorful, definitley one of the best I’ve ever had. The lahmacun was like a thin pizza with minced meat and onions on top. Very good, it was a nice light appetizer. It also came with a side salad, and I liked putting the raw red onions on top. It went well with the hummus too! Lastly, our lamb kebabs. Bursting with flavor and so tender. It was given with a bed of rice, salad, and a tzakiti like sauce. There was also this grilled pepper that was spicy as hell, but really good! Amazing! All the food was so good, and if I was in the area, I’d be back again for sure!
I did ask her what kind of bread we ate, and she said it was homemade. Love mom and pop shops, definitley some of the best food ever with extra TLC.

We have been looking for good Turkish food since our trip to Turkey recently. This place did not disappoint us. They serve very good Turkish pizza dish and kebabs.
The food does taste very authentic. We had a nice chat with the owner about Turkey and they were friendly. They also serve the Ephesis Turkish beer.
They are a couple of miles away from the San Mateo downtown in a quiet strip mall.

This place is a hidden gem. It is tucked in a pretty ghetto plaza with some mom and pop stores and a gas station. Not a typical place you would look for a decent meal. However, the quality food served here is worth getting out of your comfort zone.
You must try the Lahmacun. Afterall, this is what this restaurant is named after. It looks like a Turkish version of a thin crust pizza — only with more delicate toppings that is well seasoned. It is done so well here that it actually resembles a good Italian artisan pizza at a fine diner.
The Kasbasi was also very delicious but it is nothing like a pizza. Perhaps more like an open face calzone with much better meat? I don’t know why I keep comparing Turkish to Italian.
I had a very fulfilling meal there. Portion is definitely on the larger size.
Food is excellent here but the décor is pretty dated. Not really a place you should bring your date to. The old wooden furniture actually smells kinda strange. You have been warned. Just don’t let that discourage you from trying the good food. Order take out like all the smart locals do.