This review is in regard to the tabouleh and the hummus. Â The tabouleh is not authentic, the owners may be authentic but they've altered their tabouleh recipe for the uncultured hill-billy yahoo's that reside in Springfield Il. Â Tabouleh is supposed to be green and tangy! Â Your hummus is the absolute worst I've ever tasted, a person would do better (much better) going to the grocery store. Â Bobbi's Garlic Hummus is awesome! Â Holy Land's hummus is bland as hell - disgusting.
Review Source:Really? Are you serious? I cannot believe all the hype in the other reviews, which is what led me to HLD. Everything here except the salad and hummus was horrible. Â I grew up eating a lot of Middle Eastern food as a direct result of my cultural upbringing. I have had Middle Eastern food that would make your eyes roll back. The food at Holy Land Diner? Not even close in this or any other lifetime.
Review Source:Brought my husband here last week while we were in town for the holidays. He said it definitely lived up to my rave reviews, and now he's craving it again. Too bad we're 2000 miles away :(
The hot naked falafels and the lentil soup are just how I remembered (sooooo good!). I would move back to springfield from san diego just for the restaurants (*jiggle*). This one is definitely in my top 5.
Fantastic food provided an amazingly friendly waitstaff!
This was really a hidden gem and completely unexpected when we walked into the mall. Â The falafels were crisp and the hummus had the perfect consistency. Â A nice respite from the standard bar food offering of your average mall!
I've been looking for a good Middle Eastern restaurant in the Capitol City. Good? How about FANTASTIC!!! The owner is cordial & inviting & the food is as good as Middle Eastern food gets in the U.S.! Not lying when I say that the tabbouleh is the best I've ever tasted...and I've had the fortune to live a brief period in the Mid-East! The lunch buffet is amazing and varied, freshness and flavor like you rarely find in Springfield. The hummus is good as it gets. I can see myself visiting this gastronomic treasure weekly, at a minimum. You'd be a fool not to try this wonderful establishment, or not to find yourself returning again and again!
Review Source:HOLY LAND INDEED. Â What more could a person ask for than a Greek food buffet? Â The day I went, there was salad, which you had the option of dressing as you like and an amazing split pea soup that I would have been happy with on its own. Â The hot bar had gyro meat, some zucchini tomato stuff (a bit bland), some ok falafels, and the most amazing lamb meatballs ever. There was a vast tub of hummus that I, at one point, considered taking a swim in, but I decided to hold off until next time. Â
The only thing that would have made my experience any better would have been some dolmades (stuffed grape leaves). Â The bf says they usually have them, but they didn't last week when we went, so bummer. Â Some baba ganoush would have been nice, too, but everything was so great, it's hard to complain.
YUM.
Went back for the lunch buffet the other day. While I was eating I was asking myself, "What more could I want from this place to make it five stars?" The answer was nothing.
This place is so spot on. The flavors are incredible and its the kind of food you want to keep eating even after you are full. They have some of the best tabouleh I have ever tasted with large chunks of onion, tomato and a good amount of parsley. My favorite meatballs in a mild, amazingly-addictive sauce, creamy hummus. The other day they also had a great cauliflower/green pepper dish in a light tomato sauce that was crazy, CRAZY good. This place is a dream for vegetarians or people with dairy issues, but also satisfies carnivores with meatballs and gyro meat.
For me the sign of a good restaurant is a place you want to go back to as soon as you leave and thats what Holy Land has become for me.
I'm totally bewildered as to why this place has gotten so many good reviews. Â I was totally unimpressed with the lunch buffet. Â There was just not much of a selection and the things on the menu were not very good at all. Â I usually like this type of food too. Â I think it's just the mediocrity that some folks have grown used to sadly.
Review Source:When he was an Illinois State Senator, Barack Obama told Afaf (the owner) that she made the best falafel he's ever had. Â I have to agree; the falafel, tabouleh, and hummus are awesome! I don't eat meat, but my meat-eating friends like the meat based entrees. I love the vegetarian options, including the lentil soup. Â We are regulars for the lunch buffet, and have dined at the Saturday evening vegetarian buffet as well. Â
The price is great, about $7 per person for the lunch buffet.
Yummmmmm.....
When we arrived, Afaf got the lowdown quickly: we had never eaten there before, and I am a vegetarian. She took us over to the buffet, told us what everything was, and made a point of telling me which dishes I should avoid. It was tremendously exciting to me that out of all the items, there were only 3 that contained meat.
Everything we ate was delicious. And a bargain! $6.99 for the buffet. Now, typically I do not care for buffets, as I prefer my food to be made specifically for me; however, I will gladly make an exception for Holy Land Diner any time.
It was like eating at a favorite aunt's, between Afaf's friendly and welcoming personality and the tasty homemade food.
Food = delicious. Variety of good stuff at the lunch buffet. Â Good lamb, chicken, hummus, veggie stuff, salad, and delicious baklava and frozen yogurt. Â Falafel...mmmmm. :D Â I tried the potato soup which was a bit too creamy for me, but I loved the light but flavorful lentil soup. Â
Service = friendly. Afaf is a sweet lady. Â
Decor = simple, diner feel.
Go here if you want something different in this little town. :D
I've been to Holy Land Diner several times, at the old and new location. The owner is a great lady. I remember in high school some friends and I got there late and they were closed, she let us come in and set us up a mini-buffet for a discounted price.
Now I usually go to the lunch buffet with my mother. I love the falafel and baklava. The buffet is usually pretty simple, lentil or potato soup, salad, veggie pizza, cookies, olives, falafel. Sometimes meatballs, sometimes chicken wings. I'm usually very satisfied when I eat there.
Holy Land Diner rocks! We went here for lunch one afternoon before hitting the Dana Thomas house and were pleasantly surprised. Upon first entering the Vinegar Hill mall I was a little confused and I thought that I was in the wrong place as I was surrounded by a bar, pizza buffet and arcade games. After walking past that mess I was met by HLD. We were greeted right away  and asked to see a menu; there is no menu- it's a buffet setup. So we took a tour and agreed that we would give the food a try. It was SO worth it. The salad area had everything to make a good mediterranean salad with olives and really good pickles (which I believe were homemade). The lentil soup was some of the best that I've had in recent memory; everything else we tried was top-notch. The hummus was delish, falafel was perfect and the day's special, eggplant parmesan was wonderful too. I have nothing but the best to say for this place and it's a terrific vegetarian option for SPI. TOTALLY worth the $7!
Review Source:The woman owner of this place is THE BEST! Â I found this joint upon searching for veggie fare in Springfield (on Yelp of course) and was eager to try it. Â
When I got to the diner, the door was open but they were closed for a party-- I was disappointed and let her know that I had heard great things about her restaurant and that I would check back next time I was in Springfield--she insisted on filling a to-go box with food from the party she was preparing for. Â I told her not to worry about it and she insisted! Â
Great vegan lentil soup, baklava and couscous... the falafel was sort of strange but everything else was fantastic. Â Next time I am in Springfield, I will pay Holy Land Diner a visit and so should you.
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