“People follow me,” chef Gadi Cohen says. “They like my food and my vibe.”
That’s how Cohen explains his decision to open Ayuni Shawarma & Grill, a new Israeli-style, kosher-style shawarma restaurant in Santa Clara. Basically, he was encouraged by supporters who frequented his kosher food truck in San Jose.
“Ayuni” is a term of endearment that means “my eyes” in Arabic.
The eatery, which opened three months ago, offers both chicken and beef shawarma. The meat is marinated in a spice mixture and then carefully layered on a vertical rotisserie, where it slowly roasts on a rotating spit. After becoming crispy on the outside, the meat is shaved off with a long knife and goes into a pita or onto a rice plate.
While good shawarma can be made in an oven at home, it’s the specialty equipment that elevates its taste and texture. It’s not so easy to find authentic shawarma places in the Bay Area. One Israeli friend told me that he loves shawarma so much that he patronizes a well-known establishment in the East Bay, even though he must close his eyes to its political messaging in order to get his fix. Now, if he’s willing to make the drive, there’s a more welcoming option at Ayuni.
With his bald pate, full-sleeve tattoos, heavy Israeli accent and big personality, Cohen, 51, is a commanding presence. Originally from Haifa, he said that when he was growing up, no one cooked much in his house. While he did some work in restaurants as a young man, he originally started a gardening business. When a friend decided to open an Italian restaurant and needed help, he worked as a prep cook from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for six months, chopping vegetables and cleaning.
“One day, the chef comes to me and tells me, ‘You come to work with me on the hot line. If someone knows how to prep like you, I [can] teach you everything,’” Cohen recounted. “Day after day, for five years, I work 14- to 16-hour days. I burn and cut my fingers. And one day, I wake up and say, ‘I like it, I’m good at it, and people like my food.’”
He decided to move to the U.S. in 2018, and for four years worked as a handyman in Las Vegas. Then a friend told him that Israeli celebrity chef Eyal Shani needed help opening an outpost of his popular chain restaurant Miznon in the Venetian Resort. Cohen worked with Shani for around eight months, until one day a customer visiting from San Jose told him, “You have a good vibe and you cook great food. Please come to San Jose, where there’s almost nothing kosher.”
Cohen arrived in 2022 and was content for a while with his kosher food truck, Meat Factory, offering shawarma just two days a week. The truck was owned and supervised by Chabad of Almaden. But then, an investor approached Cohen and was able to convince him to open a shawarma restaurant in the South Bay.
“The food truck was nice, but I tell you the truth: People come and ask me, ‘Open a restaurant.’ My customers pushed me to do this.”
In addition to Ayuni’s shawarma, Israeli street food favorites include entreés like falafel, chicken schnitzel, beef and chicken skewers, vegan shawarma made from soy, grilled chicken, Merguez sausage and sabich (the Iraqi eggplant and hard-boiled egg sandwich). Sides include hummus, french fries and a variety of salads displayed at the counter: carrot, matbucha (spicy cooked tomato salad), both green and red cabbage salads with different flavor profiles and chopped salad.
I tried the beef shawarma and the chicken schnitzel. Aynuni’s oversized metal plates were filled with generous portions (two people could share one plate), and garnishes like roasted garlic, a spicy sauce that wasn’t quite z’hug, sumac onions and pickles made the meals feel authentic. What didn’t: a bit of Mexican-style salsa, and jalapeños in several dishes. It’s perfectly normal, though, to find authentic dishes adapted into new versions, influenced by local culture and ingredients.
As word has gotten out about Ayuni, located only a stone’s throw from the San Jose airport, Cohen said he’s heard more and more customers say, “I feel like I’m in Tel Aviv.” To him, this has to be the highest compliment. In the future, he said, he could see opening an Ayuni location in Palo Alto or San Francisco.
For now, Cohen is serving people of many different backgrounds, along with happy Israelis.
“I want to spoil the people and give them a lot of options,” he said.
Ayuni is closed on Shabbat and is ingredient-kosher; it has the word “kosher” on its website but is not certified kosher, and Cohen provided no verification as to whether the meat is kosher. He said those with further questions about kashrut can come in and ask him.