Oasis Mediterranean Cuisine in Downtown San Diego

Lovers of Shawarma, Kabob, and Hummus must really enjoy visiting downtown San Diego these days. There are Shawarma shops popping up all over the places.... which could make deciding where to stop for a good lunch or dinner of meat on pita a bit of a torture. With the higher calling of making lunch decision a bit easier on all who visit this little big town I call home, yours truly is committed to putting my arteries at risk while visiting them all and hope to live to tell the tales afterward. My latest gastronomic raid was to Oasis Mediterranean Cuisine on the south side of Broadway between 4th and 5th Avenues (at the north end of the Gaslamp Quarter).

This is a new place, only opened a couple of weeks ago. It is actually bigger inside than it appears from the street. You walk in this narrow corridor with a see-through partition into the kitchen where the cook is lovingly nursing his roasted meat and homemade sage bread... among other things. You place your order at the far end of the counter, and realize that there is a actually a square little dining room in the back housing 6 little round tables seating 2-4. There is even a clean little unisex restroom further down to corridor.

Oasis is offering quite a delicious deal of a Shawarma sandwich (beef or chicken), a side (fries, Hummus, or salad) and a fountain soda (18 Oz) for only $6.99. The menu is quite specialized to Shawarma, Kabob, and salad with price ranging from $5.95 Fatoush salad to the $11.95 combo 3 of a Kind Kabob with lamb, chicken, and Kefta. Even the vegetarians among us can choose from the 3 varieties of salad, Falafel Plate, and Mediterranean Veggie Plate.

Being a meat-lover, I stuck with the beef Shawarma sandwich with fries and Diet Coke. It was... big. I only managed half of the thing for lunch and saved the rest for dinner, which makes the price seems even cheaper! The meat isn't as tasty as you'd get at Sultan Shawarma on 4th Avenue, and they don't give you as much vegetables, but the sandwich is still quite good. The pita is thin but offers enough resistance so that you can actually survive dining here without making a mess. Being an amateur at foreign cuisine that I am, I forgot about the pickle inserted inside the sandwich, so that was the only uncool aspect of the meal that I could offer (if you like pickles, though, you'd probably like it). The fries was surprisingly good, too: thinly sliced, not too greasy, and well salted.

This is a fast-food no service type of place. The guy at the counter was very friendly and got me the food within 7 minutes of ordering. A great place to stop in for a fast and filling lunch for less than $10 while visiting downtown San Diego, especially if you are walking the area (no free parking around. The closest pay lot is at Horton Plaza nearby). They will deliver to downtown area if your order is $20 or more. Catering service available.

Oasis Mediterranean Cuisine: 435 Broadway (between 4th & 5th Aves), San Diego, CA 92101. Tel (619) 704-7973 Hours: Mon-Wed: 11AM-10PM, Thu-Sat: 11AM-2AM, Sun: 11AM-9PM.