Jasmine Kitchen

Comfort food in the heart of Kirkland

Garlic fries to die for, wall art to squint at

Just before you reach Totem Lake’s Village as you’re heading up 124th St. hit up Jasmine Kitchen! This place was one of the earlier entries into my list of Mediterranean restaurants to visit and I definitely wasn’t disappointed. My regular order is a chicken shawarma sandwich, a plate of greek fries, and a can of Vimto – hard to go wrong with that!

Because Washington State doesn’t allow chicken shawarma to be cooked the standard way on the rotating stick of dreams, I have to weigh my judgements accordingly, and with that note I’ll say the chicken is wonderful. It’s not heavy on the seasoning, they don’t add bell peppers or taco seasoning, and it definitely leaves you parched from all the garlic – exactly what I’m looking for. Definitely an 8/10 for me.

Their meat shawarma options – both lamb and beef – are top-tier as well. The lamb doesn’t feel too greasy and the beef is well-seasoned. 8/10 for sure.

The greek fries are also spectacular – they make their toum sauce well and they know it – dousing the fries in the toum and feta cheese. I wish they’d use a crispier french fry so they don’t get super soggy super quickly, but all in all an easy 9/10.

Their dolma, however, leaves much to be desired. They have that distinctly canned taste and only have rice in them, no tomatoes or onions to be seen. As always, I will admit that finding consistent fresh grape leaves is pretty much impossible at a restaurant scale here in the US. Nonetheless, a 6/10.

Jasmine Kitchen is open from 10a-9p daily and they’re right off of a 405 exit – though parking is limited and hard to get in/out of. My general rule of thumb is that if I can’t go there for a late-nigh hunger pang, I can’t give it a 10, and the parking situation has me pulling it down to a 7/10.

The variety of food is spectacular though, there’s options for shwarma, gyros, wraps (tortilla), sandwiches (Arabic Pita), and plates with rice – which you can substitute for greek fries! I highly recommend it. I give it 10/10 for the variety.

The ambiance is refreshing for me, hearing the staff speak in my accent and being able to chat with them as if they were old friends as soon as I walk in the door is welcoming and really reminds me of home. The Arabic music also brings that sense of nostalgia. However, I need them to update their wall art as soon as possible – it’s pixelated, blurry, and hard to look at. I know there’s better options for what to hang on their walls. It’s also laid out a little strangely, and the door to the offices and bathroom is directly across from you as you walk in – yes, odd to point it out but I feel like it makes a difference. 7/10 for the ambiance.

Value for money is also where Jasmine really shines. A very filling chicken shawarma sandwich for $9.75, in this economy? almost unheard of. Their plates are also reasonable – you can have an entire chicken for only $16.99! 10/10 value.

Authenticity is something I’m very picky about, which can be hard to gauge and talk about correctly since so many things vary from region to region, however I will say that certain things are easy to pinpoint as inauthentic, none of which Jasmine has shown me. They have jars of Lebanese pickles on display, their flavors hit the spot, and they clearly know what they’re doing! Again due to my rotating stick of chicken being sorely missed, the most I can rate the authenticity is a 9/10.

And now the big question, would I go back? Absolutely! They’re a 10 minute drive from my house, I enjoy the food, and they’re wonderful people to know. 10/10 would go thrice a week if I could afford it.

Tallying Up the Scores – 84/100!

Chicken Shawarma	8/10	Greek Fries	9/10
Meat Shawarma	8/10	Dolma	6/10
Location and Hours	7/10	Value	10/10
Menu Variety	10/10	Authenticity	9/10
Ambiance	7/10	Return Factor	10/10