- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Cafe Baklava Mediterranean Grill
Categories: Restaurants Turkish Restaurants Mediterranean Turkish, Mediterranean
341 Castro StMountain View, CA 94041
(650) 969-3835
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 11 am - 10:30 pm
Sun 12 pm - 9:30 pm
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
234 reviews for Cafe Baklava Mediterranean Grill
Review Highlights
"The pita bread was warm and lovely."
(in 26 reviews)
"I have never had such delicious lamb before."
(in 58 reviews)
"We love the outdoor seating out by the street."
(in 14 reviews)
Loading...
234 reviews in English
-
Review from A L.
Palo Alto, CA
1/2/2012
Ooh lala a cute little meditteranean restaurant in downtown Mtn View! Gotta love it. It is definitely a nice break from all of those Chinese and Japense restaurants that line Castro street,
While I wouldn't come here with a large group or for any type of big celebration (it's a bit small and low key for that), if I am in the mood for some wraps or a nice kebab and I'm nearby I will probably make a stop here..probably wouldn't go out of my way to come here, though. It's romantic yet casual and there is out door seating. There is another Gyro place down the street which has great food and is also good. This place is more expensive and just a tad bit more upscale.
I only wish the service was good..it was nonexistent. This definitely reminded me brought out the "Cafe" in "Cafe Baklava"..it lacks some things that a nice restaurant might have..aka quality service. But maybe it was a cultural thing, who knows.
I have yet to actually have some Baklava at Cafe Baklave, but I'll save that for my next visit. YUM. -
Review from Local S.
Mountain View, CA
Updated - 12/23/2011
Upscale Mediterranean grill specializing in kebabs, wraps, grilled vegetables, Meze-type appetizer platters, with plenty of outdoor seating. Excellent for business meals. This review reflects eight or 10 meals of all kinds since Baklava first opened a few years ago, replacing a used bookstore and curio shop.
Of several Turkish-owned or Turkish-kitchen restaurants nearby (even veteran restaurant journalists underestimate their number), Baklava is among the most explicit, i.e. unlike so many Turkish kitchens around the South Bay, it doesn't push the "Italian" or "Gyros" or even "Mediterranean" euphemism for marketing reasons. It was surpassed in both explicit Anatoliality and elegance, I think, by Mehmet Degerli's Bodrum Café at 383 Castro from 2008 until a few months ago, but Bodrum has now evolved into SteakOut, a completely different and novel restaurant.
When Baklava opened, it was immediately a hit locally, competing most closely maybe with Zucca, which in 2001 had shown the way. Baklava's strengths were a much more focused menu, done well by a clearly enthusiastic chef who, AFAIK, is still there (i.e., Baklava has seen little kitchen-personnel turnover), and a relaxed upscale ambiance supported by popular European-type outdoor seating, a magnet for the convivial and the well-dressed. So popular that for lunch, even more than usually, I advise avoiding peak-demand times (weekdays on Castro St., that's consistently about 12:15 to 1PM), and avoiding Fridays, when silicon valley employees most often eat lunch out. Baklava's outdoor seating is also popular for weekend lunches and during local street fairs.
If any consistent complaint troubles Baklava it concerns service, which people sometimes find curt or distracted. This may be partly a cross-cultural issue, a factor that caused a persistent public-relations problem several years ago at Vaso Azzurro (nearby at 108 Castro) back when Vaso's front and kitchen staffs were both mainly from Turkey. Service that may have been politely formal in the Old World was mistaken as cold and aloof in silicon valley -- even though Vaso's people were the warmest and most welcoming once you got past that. My most recent Baklava service complaint, and the reason I revised from 4 to 3 stars, was a lunch special, clearly heard by the whole table as "eight" dollars when the server announced it, yet billed as 18. It might have been a non-native English pronunciation issue -- but one that should never be allowed to happen in restaurant service for any reason, lest customers misunderstand it as a deliberate hustle of the kind that, sadly, do happen in some restaurants -- I could tell you some experiences. Such customers may understandably never return.
I've enjoyed everything tried -- most of Baklava's menu -- especially kebabs, served with colorful pilaf and lots of grilled vegetables. Gyros House, Mediterranean Grill House, and Neto, each different in style, are among serious competition for kebab-type dishes on Castro St.; Ephesus is a promising newcomer. Many more options are a little farther away (Best Bite and the two longtime Sunnyvale Afghani places run by cousins -- Kabul, Afghani House -- are especially well-known examples). And yes, baklava is available for dessert -- but name aside, that's not what Café Baklava is about. Yet someone here on Yelp actually judged the whole restaurant on its baklava, a textbook example of a shallow UNhelpful review. (If you like baklava -- the pastry -- and its relatives, go up the street to Rose Market, 1060 Castro, a middle-eastern specialty grocery that retails at least a dozen _varieties_ of such desserts in boxes near the entrance.)Listed in: Favorite Downtown Mountain…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
9/7/2011
Upscale Mediterranean grill specializing somewhat in kebabs, wraps, grilled vegetables, and… Read more »
-
-
Review from Ryan L.
10/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
A friend and I stopped here for lunch. We both ordered the grilled chicken greek salad that I can't remember. It was full of grilled chicken and feta on a mound of iceberg. There were three olives on the plate. It was a decent salad but not the best.
We also ordered hummus that was served with lavash bread. It was ok, but not the best I've had.
The best part of the experience was sitting outside in downtown Mountain View on a beautiful day. -
Review from Tanja F.
San Jose, CA
10/20/2011
It was one of those nights where we didn't have a set place in mind for dinner but wanted to go next door to the bookstore for an author's talk and book signing. We got out of our car and I just followed a delicious smell that led me from the parking lot to Cafe Baklava.
Just follow my nose... it always knows! As I walked down the alley between the parking lot to the front of the restaurant, I noticed dishes with beautiful presentation through the plate glass window. Between the sights and the smell, I knew I had found the place to try.
We were greeted at the front, sat right away, had fantastic service from our waiter and the food was as good as it smelled.
Since there were four of us, we started with the Mezze platter. It was a good choice to get a little taste of a lot of different things. I got the vegetarian moussaka entree which was wonderful. My husband got the leg of lamb (I think it was a special) and my friends got the lamb moussaka and braised chicken. Everyone was really happy with their choices and there was more than enough food. I wanted to lick my plate clean. I would definitely go back.Listed in: Fun With Friends, I love a rainy night
-
Review from Bora T.
Saratoga, CA
9/3/2011
Came here with my girl after dinner for drinks, dessert, & Turkish Coffee. The outside seating makes the Mediterranean experience feel authentic. I like being able to people watch from my table and she does as well so we enjoy sidewalk seating. Good place to go on a nice night. Small perk, but its fun to pop into the bookstores next door afterwards.
Even though we let our server, Yusuf, know we were only here for dessert he still surprised us by bringing out the complimentary pita bread and dip we deeply appreciated. As we were at Cafe Baklava and my girl has never had baklava before *gasp* I ordered 2 servings for us. Yusuf immediately let me know that 2 would be too much and 1 serving was plenty. When it came out I totally understood what he was saying. For $6 you get 4 big baklavas that could feed a family. We ended up bagging 2, one for her mother to try and one for my Mediterranean father to test.
I've had a lot of baklava in my life and I liked theirs a lot. My girl who's never had any did as well. Not too sweet, not too syrupy, and although all baklava is kinda heavy, not too heavy. I also enjoyed my Efes beer and she her wine.
We wrapped it all up with a good dose of Turkish coffee. I took a class on coffee in college and for those that don't know, Turkish coffee is the original coffee so you should at least try it if you've never had it, its the forefather to the espresso shot. And getting 2 for $5 flat is nice. If you ask or are lucky Yusuf will do his trick with it when he brings it to you.
All in all I had a good but admittedly limited experience here, I'll be back to try the entrees another time. However as a Mediterranean cafe Cafe Baklava hits the spot.
tl;dr I enjoyed the free pita bread & dip, our drinks, the baklava, the atmosphere, the Turkish coffee, my company and Yusuf's service. -
Review from haha z.
Mountain View, CA
1/20/2012
Cozy friendly and stylish place with great service and food. Depending on the weather and your preference you can sit outside or inside. The best rainbow trout I have ever tried. They know how to cook lamb which is not so easy to find at myriad of Mediterranean places. Great place to have a dinner with family or friends. Very friendly waiters that would not forget or mess up your special request.
-
Review from Keith E.
San Jose, CA
10/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
My opinion may be biased a bit as I don't particularly like Greek food. However, I was out with friends and was outvoted basically. Usually I can find a dish on any menu that will appeal to my taste buds. I ordered the salmon dish. The menu said it came covered in a red sauce with baked potato and roasted vegetables.. The waiter brought us pita bread and the tomato sauce. Everyone raved about the pita bread.
We got our food. The waiter put my plate down and I was instantly turned off by the look of my entree. It was compounded when I had NO baked potato. ARGHHH! I started to eat. The salmon was overcooked and floating in a red sea of sauce. The vegetables were decent but nothing to brag about. I really wanted that potatoe...lol
The service was good but I won't be returning. Next time, I'll speak louder and suggest another place. -
Review from Amy D.
San Jose, CA
I honestly don't think I would come back here because of their service.
I came here with a couple coworkers after work for dinner and the menu looked delicious.
The waiter we had was very persistent in getting us to order immediately, and seemed a bit impatient. He appeared frustrated since we were undecided... I eventually ordered the Turkish ravoli with a white wine spritzer.
If the star ratings were solely based on food and taste, I'd give it a 4 or 5. BUT the customer service experience deserves negative 2.
Thinking of trying this place out? Sure... I guess. Just make sure you know what you want before sitting down. -
Review from Rina M.
Mountain View, CA
9/9/2011
This place was more of a 2.5 stars because saying it's "A-ok" is pushing it. I came here for dinner and everything was mediocre, at best.
The service was shoddy, at some points our waiter was attentive and at other times, i.e. when my friend wanted to change her wine [the one the waiter suggested] after realizing it tasted disgusting, he looked like he wanted to pummel us. Great.
Food was also ok, seemed like everything was swimming in olive oil and pretty lackluster in taste. We ordered the mezze sampler platter, which was pretty ...mediocre. The baba ghanoush and falafel was great but the red pepper/feta sauce was not even appetizing. If I had known you get complimentary pita bread and dipping sauce, I'd recommend just binging on that and saving room for the entrees. My friend ordered the chicken kebab [tender and pretty good] and I got the Imanbayildi pilav/stuffed eggplant. It was drenched in an oily sauce but the vegetables themselves were well-cooked and decent. Rice was a little dry but when you ladle a bunch of sauce on it, its edible.
I've eaten better food elsewhere and would probably go to Ephesus over this place because nothing really stood out as being good. Worst of all, there were 3 or 4 flies lingering around our table the whole night. What is this, rural India? And if it is, why am I paying $$?
Redeeming factor: cute baby sitting at the table next to us. She threw her fork down on the floor, probably in disappointment with the food.Listed in: Castro
-
Review from Scott L.
Belmont, CA
9/11/2011
This is a review by a vegetarian
The mezze sampler is a expensive for the size. When I ate there it was served with this thin lavash bread. Now, mezze is falafel, dolma, and three mushes. Lavash doesn't work well with mush.
Then I walk by a week later and every table has a basket full of actual mush-compatible pita bread. FAIL. -
Review from Mandy M.
San Jose, CA
11/16/2011
Totally stumbled upon this place and decided to try it out. Going in with no expectations this place turned out to be amazing. The staff is super friendly too!
-
Review from Shanna N.
7/26/2011
I came here for lunch on Sunday... I wasn't too impressed with anything except the warm pita bread and dip they brought to the table which I am really glad they did since they took forever to bring out our plates.
We ordered the appetizer sampler, so we got to try a bit of everything... The Falafels and Dolmas were pretty good. I didn't enjoy the Babaganoush or Hummus very much.
The Spiced Beef in Puff Pastry (can't remember what it's called) was really good. It's like a sesame croissant with some beef in the middle. Also the feta cheese, tomato, and cucumber plate was really fresh and good.
I've definitely had better Mediterranean food before, won't be making my way out here again anytime soon. -
Review from Shru N.
San Jose, CA
8/23/2011
Late lunch on Friday, one of the few places open at 4pm on a weekday
They gave us fresh warm pita and a garlic-tomato sauce to start with, fell in love with that sauce...could be a dish on its own...
I had a taboule (tomato,cucmber, parsley salad) which was good 4/5
"A" had Tavuk Guvec (chicken with eggplant,potatoes) which came with a side of rice, the dish was well prepared 4/5
Wine selection is not that great. but a decent lunch place with reasonable prices -
Review from Golda R.
11/5/2011
This place is not bad for Mediterranean food but I like the Gyro House better which is only a block away. Don't get me wrong their food is good, but its way too oily and overpriced compared to the Gyro House.
-
Review from Courtney R.
Santa Clara, CA
8/8/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I cannot believe this place has 3 stars, I always have had both great food and dining experiences when I come here. My only complaint is that they put yogurt on everything. Sine I am vegan, this is a pet peev (put it on the side). I know it's med food, but it's ON EVERYTHING, I wish it was just Tahini.
They do have a separate dinner/lunch menu. The lunch menu has more warps, burgers, sandwich style things, while dinner has more dishes. My personal favorite here is the Imanbayildi (eggplant). My boyfriend like the vegetarian dolma entree. I recently tried the kabob, but think I will go back to imanbayildi.
I highly recommend coming here, they also give you this amazing dip with bread. The dipping sauce is so tasty, I have to be careful not to stuff myself before I actually get my food. -
Review from Ringo M.
San Francisco, CA
8/23/2011
I was really looking forward to this place, and quite frankly, was rather disappointed.
Good:
House wines were decent.
Eggplant dish was kind of good
Complimentary bread and sauce was really good
Bad:
Rice was clumpy and dry. I'm not that picky with rice so I didn't really care, but the boyfriend didn't appreciate it much. He also said his lamb dishntasted like, and I quote, "dishwater." He left the dish practically untouched after one bite.
Service was friendly enough at first but after the food was delivered, the waiter never came back. I had to hunt him down for our check. It's chill if you gotta talk on the phone or chill or whatever, but at least pay some attention to the, like, 3 tables that where there. -_-
Weird floating things in the water. I don't know what it was, but seeing particles in my water just freaks me out.
The best part of the meal was the complimentary bread and dipping sauce, which we both thought was excellent. Everything else was pretty much meh. -
Review from Anand N.
Mountain View, CA
6/11/2011 2 photos
Cafe Baklava has an attentive staff and they refill your glasses and bread baskets very promptly, no matter how bad the bread is, the mere intent to show attention kind of attracts me. Having said that, the bread is actually awesome, me and my wife absolutely dig it.
Their dishes are prices reasonable at around 11-15 dollars an entree, and they have a reasonably sized menu. The waiter who served us gave us good suggestions and explained clearly about the specials they had.
We have tried the following here:
1. Pan fried Trout (Special) I will upload a picture of this soon.
This was absolutely amazing, my wife and I enjoyed this a lot.
2. Chicken Sheesh Kabab
The chicken was adequately flavored and tender, bigger cubes than a lot of other Mediterranean places I have visited, and the rice is absolutely amazing.
3. Chicken Salad.
The serve a generous portion of chicken and greens with the salad, my wife had this and she enjoyed it a lot.
4. Hummus
Standard hummus nothing to write home about.
I will definitely be back to try more of their dishes including some of the other appetizers on the menu. I would rate it at 4.5 stars just because of the service, the location and the fact that its a sidewalk cafe and I love sidewalk cafes. -
Review from Happy L.
Burlingame, CA
6/24/2011
Came here on a sunny afternoon for lunch with a friend.
The flatbread served at the beginning of our meal was warm and chewy and came with a nice tomato-olive oil dip. It was FREE and probably the best part of our entire meal.
We got the Karides Sote (sauteed prawns in tomato sauce) as our appetizer and while the shrimp wasn't bad, it wasn't anything special. Also, the dish only contained four small-to-medium-sized prawns. For $8+, ummm all right, I'll let that one slide.
The Doner Wrap did not impress me. The meat was barely warm and didn't taste like beef nor lamb. The wrap in its entirety was also very dry. I did not end up eating most of the tanour skin because it was so dry and brittle.
The service was... interesting. We liked our busboy (who helped us switch to a table with shade, helped stabilize our table by sticking a folded piece of paper under the table leg, refilled our water multiple times, brought us boxes to pack our leftover food at the end of the meal, etc. etc. etc.), but the waiter was kind of cold.
One star for the flatbread, one star for the awesome busboy. -
Review from Laura K.
Santa Clara, CA
Updated - 7/11/2011
I've come here several times for dinner, and after exploring the menu a bit more I'm adding a star to my original rating.
The starter bread is now pita instead of lavash, but still ridiculously delicious (really, the sauce does most of the work). My new favorite dishes are veggie kabobs, which have always been the perfect combination of light and savory, and the spanikopita, which is a bit on the heavy side but still SO DELICIOUS. Both these dishes are also quite reasonably priced.
One of the MAJOR highlights of coming here, however, is the kanafeh. If you haven't tried kanafeh before, it's a dessert made from soft cheese and phyllo dough, and it's mind-blowingly delicious. Baklava's is probably my favorite in the area, and the perfect way to finish dinner.
To finish off, I also want to recognize the great service. The owner and servers are very friendly, the food comes out fast and I never have to wait for my water glass to be refilled.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
1/22/2011
I would definitely recommend this place for lunch. I'd been here for dinner once before and was… Read more »
-
-
Review from Megan M.
San Jose, CA
10/20/2011
I am so surprised by some of the negative reviews. We had the lamb shank and lamb chops ( I think both were specials of the evening) both were phenomenal! Both were super tender, I would go back again and again if I could have this every time. We went on a Saturday night and the service was good. We will be coming back in the future.
-
Review from Kes D.
3/2/2011
Excellent service in my experience (courteous and inobtrusive), nice wine selections, cool ambiance, but the food was just not that impressive.
The bread was delicious and loved the dip that came with it. Tabouleh was dry. Manti was kind of bland and unexciting, but very cute. Maybe we just ordered the wrong things??
Also, it's really confusing but the entrance is on the side, sort of in an allyway. -
Review from Candice T.
San Jose, CA
4/22/2011
I ended up ordering a vegetarian lasagna I wasn't particularly impressed with. I picked at it more than I consumed it and later on, it reheated funny and the rice didn't maintain much of its original flavor.
The pita bread that is served before your meal might be the tastiest thing you'll find. Overall, I had a "meh" experience, but the service was good. -
Review from archie r.
San Mateo, CA
5/19/2011
I like this place. Love sitting outside on a nice sunny afternoon.
I love their apps menu. The staff patiently explained the details about it .
The pita bread was warm and lovely . Eating it with yummy hummus, cevzil peynir was delightful . The taboule was fresh and crunchy. Falafel was just right .
Too bad didn't have room for desserts . Will try their baklava next time. -
Review from Melissa N.
Fremont, CA
8/16/2011
Would have given this place more stars, only because the food was good and the free bread and dip was delicious. Though if they didn't give you free bread you gnaw off your arm because the service is TERRIBLE! The food takes forever, and your waiter will randomly disappear, once he takes your order he never returns, you have to hunt him down. No joke. I will never go back because the service is that horrible!
-
Review from Jenna L.
3/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
Been DYING to try this place for the longest time!
It's actually the last that I want to taste from the castro strip.
All the managers and coworkers say it's the best place to eat at. It's moderately priced at $11 - $15 a dish. No one ever spoke of their FRESH, FLAKY, SAVORY PITA BREADS w/ the SAUCE of a lifetime.
OMGOOODNESS GRACIOUS. IT ROCKED MY WORLD. -
Review from Amy O.
2/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
Mixed feelings about this place. The food is pretty good, but the service had attitude.
When we got there, we were politely greeted, and then said that there was two of us. Right then, another waiter walked up to the guy and pretty much lectured him on where to seat people right in front of us. Not a good way to start our dining experience.
So, we get seated outside...that was great. And now we realize that our server is the lecturer. And let's say he treated us about the same. Quickly spoke to us, quickly left the table, was always super short with us and basically throwing our food at us. When we ordered the sampler plate which is mostly spreads...he didn't bring any pita. Huh? So, I asked for some and we never received it. Attitude the whole time. After the no pita incident, I said to my boyfriend, "whoa, what a d*ck!".
Our food was good. The lamb chops were super tasty. A special, $25. Good price...and delicious.
I think our bill was incorrect too, but didn't want to deal with mr. attitude. -
Review from mich e.
San Jose, CA
5/23/2011 Seated via OpenTable
Went here on Valentine's Day this year. I had the dinner special which was a white fish, rice and vegetables. The fish was tender and grilled to perfection, as were the veggies. The rice was yummy! Just enough saffron in it--if you are a fan of traditional Mediterranean rice, I would definitely recommend this place for you.
Servers were attentive and friendly; they made good recommendations as well. They could have done more with the ambience, but it was certainly not unpleasant. I would definitely go back :) -
Review from Mike G.
12/7/2010
Pros:
Solid Turkish food in Mountain View. Order anything with eggplant in it--that's a good general policy for Turkish food.
Cons:
Slow service.
Fun:
Sitting outside on a sunny day on Castro is a lot of fun. -
Review from Sara P.
Mountain View, CA
2/27/2011
I have tried this place 2 or 3 times over the past couple years, mostly after forgetting how unremarkable the previous experience was.
On this particular evening, my water glass came smelling like mold so I politely asked for another. When that came... it had dirty, greasy fingerprints all over it. Not only could I see them in the dark ambiance, but I could feel them picking up the glass - surely the server could tell this since he carried the glass over without a tray. The food was less than satisfying, and we won't be going back. No more benefit of the doubt. -
Review from Melissa S.
Mountain View, CA
9/16/2011
My chicken kebab was under-cooked. Came with plain rice and not-so-exciting roasted veggies. I may return and just have baklava and coffee, but definitely not a full meal.
The service was not consistent or friendly. We had to request our check at the end of the meal. It's possible the waiter was trying to be nice and let us chat after the meal before bringing the check, but who knows?
I will not return any time soon. -
Review from Monica L.
1/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
I really wanted to like this place when I came here last Saturday for dinner with a friend.
I did enjoy the sun dried tomatoes and olive oil dip that they first give to you with some pita bread. It was a great start to an okay dinner experience.
Service was very nice and friendly when we asked what the waiter recommended.
We started with the Saksuka as an appetizer. We were given 4 pieces was enough for the two of us. It was very tasty and I really enjoyed it.
My friend ordered the Karniyarik which was eggplant stuffed with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, garlic and chopped parsley, baked and served with rice and grilled veggies. Her dish was awesome and I highly recommend ordering it. The grilled veggies were very good as well which was a nice surprise.
I ordered the Tavuk Guvec which was chicken cubes with eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, bell peppers and tomatoes. The vegetables and sauce it was in was good but a little bit bland. I did not like the chicken in the dish at all and wound up not eating the chicken.
A nice place and nice service but I was totally turned off by my dish. I spent $12 basically for some vegetables and sauce. I would not order that dish again.
I might be back if a friend wanted to come here but I don't think I would come back on my own. -
Review from velvet p.
Mountain View, CA
8/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
We only intended to have a glass of wine on the patio of this place then continue to walk around mountain view. Well their pita bread was like none I'd ever had, so good! So we decided to order real food expecting something amazing. ordered the dolmas, which you should be able to judge on those if its really authentic Mediterranean food. they were canned. okay, move in to the next item artichokes hearts stuffed with Veggies. gross!! The "Veggies" were from a can too. terrible. we did get a lentils soup that was great, and the service was pleasant. and so was the wine. advice, stick to the wine and pita bread and you'll be very happy!
-
Review from Kayvon P.
Palo Alto, CA
1/1/2011
Was looking for a relatively solid place to eat with no reservations on NYE and came across this Turkish/Middle Eastern place in Mountain View and cannot wait to go back!
What I've Had: Hummus, Arugula Salad, Chicken Kabob, Lamb Kabob, Combo Kabob, Kadayif (dessert)
The hummus and arugula salad were both OK and kept me from giving this place a 5 star but they were definitely tasty nonetheless. The sundried tomato dipping sauce they bring out free with some bread is OUT OF THIS WORLD and so you really don't need to order an appetizer.
The kabobs here are amazing. One of the juiciest and more tasteful skewers of chicken I've had in a very long time. Cooked all the way through and still juicy and tender which is awesome! The lamb pieces were a tad on the tougher side but tasted beautiful as well. The rice and vegetables that the entrees are served with are also very good which is always critical to see at a solid Middle Eastern restaurant (the rice).
The kadayif is absolutely mouth watering. It is very similar to the dessert I've had at Evvia. Nuts, honey, flaky cake, scoop of ice cream...madness. I was nearly in tears when I couldn't finish the thing because of how much food I had eaten.
Had a wonderful experience for a solo dinner on NYE as the service was friendly and the place was super cute although it is a bit on the smaller side. I just researched and found out that there is a new location in Palo Alto which is perfect since that is where I work! Cannot wait to try "Baklava" in Palo Alto as well.Listed in: Best Dessert/Pastry Spots
-
Review from Tan S.
Costa Mesa, CA
8/28/2011
Surprisingly popular place in Mountain View. Both inside and outside seating.
Tried saksuka, enginar (artichoke), and combo kebab. Also ordered two glasses of their fume blanc.
I did not like their saksuka. It showed up as a combination of fried eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, etc and French-style fried potatoes. I think this dish may have fried cube potatoes in it but I don't think French-style fried potatoes are supposed to be in it. They ruined the taste as far as I was concerned. I actually overheard one of the waiting staff suggesting it to a customer who was asking for baked potato. Saksuka is a mezze based on eggplant, using it as a potato dish is quite ridiculous.
The enginar dish is great when properly made. Theirs was bland. I make it ten times better, simply by following recipes on the Internet. Also, the menu claimed it would have fava beans in the stuffing, it had none. The carrots and potatoes were diced really without sufficient attention (big) and as a result, did not taste as they were supposed to. Also, it is a dish made with artichoke BOTTOMS, not artichoke hearts. Somebody should help them with the use of English on their menu.
Their fume blanc white wine was neither fume nor blanc. It tasted like cheap chablis I used to buy many years ago. Sweet and without any real aroma. Certainly not the quality you would expect for $8/glass.
But then again, the combo kebab dish was pretty good. The meats were cooked perfectly, as they say on the Food Network. The grilled vegetables were really very good. The rice was OK, maybe with Basmati rice in a place that calls itself Mediterranean a bit surprising.
I had been to this place some years ago for lunch. My experience both times is OK if you are new to this cuisine, which may explain their tremendous popularity. If you know how these dishes are supposed to taste, try maybe New Kapadokia in the Bay Area, or better yet, go to Manhattan, NYC (short of the real deal). -
Review from Mauricio P.
Santa Clara, CA
9/27/2010
The best part about this place was being able to sit outside.
Other than that, my grilled chicken dish was overpriced for what was served - very little rice and a few veggies scattered on the plate. -
Review from A K.
Mountain View, CA
11/1/2010 1 Check-in Here
This place kept throwing us curveballs. A very uneven experience.
I should say that my husband is Turkish/Kurdish and we're slowly working our way through every 'mediterranean' restaurant in the area. We know whereof we speak.
We started with the bread. It was very differently flavored than most bread I've had at Turkish restaurants, but it was really good and magically held its warmth for most of the meal. The dipping sauce was great too.
We started with the greek salad, which was fine. Nothing challenging about a greek salad- all the ingredients were quality.
The ayran is very good and comes in cute metal mugs that hold more than they seem.
I ordered the manti, which I don't often get at Turkish restaurants, but I highly doubt they got it right. The yogurt sauce was better after I salted it, but the pasta filling was just bad. They use ground beef instead of lamb, and it was really dry and not a great quality. The pasta itself was good, so it was a real shock to bite into each one and having to taste that bland, dry meat time and again.
My husband always gets lamb kebab, and he had no big praise or complaints. The rice and veggies that came with were bland and nothing special. This place also only gives you one kebab instead of two, which is kind of a rip.
(If you want really good, flavorful lamb, I think our favorite place so far is Shish Kebab in Los Gatos. )
For dessert we got the baklava. I was really afraid they were going to charge us $5.95 for 2 pieces, but no, they gave us 4. My husband is the world's pickiest baklava eater and he was very unhappy with their phyllo dough, which he said must have been store bought. I didn't mind it and thought the sugar sauce had the perfect mix of sweet and salt. I think it's my favorite baklava I've had in a while.
But then they had to go ruin it by serving us weak tea in the wrong glasses and giving us sugar packets instead of sugar cubes. It just felt really wrong .
Which brings me to the essence of why I'm on the fence about this place. It just doesn't feel like any of it is made with love. And it's not just the fact that they have Mexicans back there actually making the food. There's just so many details that they didn't care about really getting right. If it was really inexpensive, that would be a different story but like others have said, cheap it is not.
And as far as the service goes, it is bewilderingly uneven. Granted we were sitting outside, but who gives out the check without offering to show us the dessert menu? At a restaurant named after a dessert? There was certainly no reason to hustle us out; there were still seats left plus it was about to rain. The waiter was never rude to us, but he wasn't warm and welcoming either. -
Review from Michael C.
Redwood City, CA
8/17/2011
Had a pretty solid meal here accompanied by a couple fans of Mediterranean cuisine ... we all thought the food was very good. The site itself is pretty small (even with outside patio seating) - was there around 1 to 2pm on a weekday and it was packed with the usual lunch crowd. Started off with the baba ghanoush (nice and smokey; not overly oily like some places). Moved on to share a couple entrees ... the Karniyarik, Iskender kabob, and Tavuk shish kabob. Good, good, and good. The service was attentive - plenty of water and check-ins - and the prices were on par with other comps in the Bay Area.
-
Review from kaela h.
6/23/2010
My husband chose this place for his first father's day lunch. I couldn't object, because it was his choice. I'm giving this place 3.5 stars not because it was horrible. I guess I'm sensitive to icky feeling (will be explained below after the pro). It's not the most beautiful restaurant, but the food's great.
I loved how they come out with warm pita bread and tasty tomato sauce. We shared the grilled veggies salad, which I was surprised was pretty tasty. We demolished it, which is a good thing because we were stuffing our face with the pita (not healthy!).
I had manti (Turkish ravioli) as my entree. I know this isn't the dish's fault, but it didn't have any veggies. Do everyone who order manti get separate veggies? It was a good thing I ordered a salad beforehand. Manti was okay, but I wanted some more spices on top of the small red sauce that it had on top. I can only take so much yogurt sauce. So I dumped the tomato sauce from the pita bread on top. Now I know I just bastardized the dish, but I preferred it more this way. The portion was decent, so I took part of it home.
We shared this warm baked threads with sweet sauce and ice cream on top. I thought it was delicious but SO sweet. That's probably the nature of the dessert, so I can't tell just like Manti if it's supposed to be this way. I liked it but felt tremendously guilty.
Overall, food was great. The service was okay to good since it during a busy lunch period with one server, it seems. There was another guy who was more of a secondary server who refilled our water and got us more tomato sauce.
We sat outside. One thing that really got to me was how they left laundry basket, dish collection bin, and rag outside by our table. I didn't think it looked that professional although that's convenient for the workers to clean the table.
I also thought the restroom was a little yucky with urine all over the floor. Yes, it was a unisex restroom. Must I endure men's nasty habit of letting the urine drip all around the toilet? I had to do a little circus act trying not to step into someone's pee. Yuck!
I really appreciate clean restrooms. Those establishments that pay attention to this detail: thank you from the bottom of my heart. -
Review from meera h.
Santa Clara, CA
12/1/2010
Been here about 3-4 times now.
The staff are alright...not friendly but will get you what you need.
I love their Saksuka (Fried eggplant and potatoes, grilled peppers, tomato and onions served with garlic yogurt sauce)! So that's something we always order!
We also love their initial complimentary serving of bread with a tomato - olive oil dipping sauce. The dipping sauce is so yummy that we always end up asking for more bread and sauce!
My husband's had the Tavuc Shish Kabab ( Marinated chicken skewered with peppers and onions flame broiled to perfection and served with rice pilaf and grilled vegetables) - He says it's OK.
I've had the Rainbow Trout and it's good.
We recently went there with friends and ordered vegetarian. Saksuka of course and here are the others -
Mediterranean Mezze ( Includes: Hummus, Falafel, Baba Ghanoush, Cevizli Peynir, Dolma and Taboule) - we ordered for 4 people and it comes in a large plate with 4 portions of the falafel and dolma along with the hummus and other stuff. We didn't like the Taboule.
For the entrees we ordered -
* Moussaka(Eggplant, potato, mushrooms, tomatoes with a béchamel sauce) - it came in a dish and looked like a curry. it didn't look appetizing enough for me to reach across my friends' order and taste it.
* Imanbayildi pilav (Grilled eggplant stuffed with sauteed zucchini red bell pepper cauliflower ). This is what my husband and I ordered and shared. He is not a fan of eggplant like I am...but loved this dish. Very well done and yummy! I don't know why the description says the eggplant is stuffed, coz all the other stuff was placed on top of a large grilling chunk of eggplant..which was fine with us!
* We ordered 2 glasses of wine( one red and one white) but don't remember the names. they seemed good.
Overall - not a cheap meal but tasty so we will come back! -
Review from Isa J.
Sunnyvale, CA
7/22/2011
A little bit greasy. Service is mediocre. Not kid- friendly. They take their time serving the food.
