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Categories: Bakeries, Greek, Mediterranean [Edit]
Neighborhood: Financial DistrictMon-Fri. 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Our passion is creating gourmet desserts that excite your senses and make you want more! Try us out for the holidays!
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Probably my favorite Middle Eastern joint in the city and I have very high standards!
Their falafel is superb. Too often am I served bland dried out crunchy falafel with wilted lettuce leaves and no hot sauce! Their falafel wraps are well priced and stuffed with moist yummy falafel and all kinds of delicious veggies. I'm also a fan of their lamb gyro! Delicious and seasoned just as well as the falafel wrap. Bonus points that the guys working there remember that I like my wraps without tomatoes!
Never had their cookies but I guess I should probably try one next time I come in!
Also sidenote: To the yelpers remarking on the dry bland chicken wraps...as a Middle Eastern cuisine enthusiast I generally find that 99% of the Middle Eastern places I order chicken wraps from are gonna be bland and dry. I just stopped ordering them after awhile! You should try the lamb...at a place like this it's amazing!
Reza is so nice! I was starving, in a rush and in need of vegan sustinance... he took care of me:) Yummy falafel, awesome tahini and salad was exactly what I needed.
I'm always looking for a falafel competitor to Oasis. The reviews said people love the falafels and the cookies so I tried both. The falafel warp was big, but it was salty and I think it was from the humus and spicy sauce. The falafel wasn't bad, but not to the standards of Oasis. The cookie was ok, but for $1.75 I was expecting Specialty's blown your mind type of flavor. It wasn't.
I would visit here way to often if I lived here. The humus and Falafel are really delicious. The cookies are truly divine. The owner is the nicest guy. I can see some of the things other reviews mention, but I think they are forgetting is this is a quick serve restaurant, overall I enjoyed this place. The prices are certainly good.
I found my gyro to be a major disappointment, it was filled with flavorless chicken and hummus with barely a dash of yogurt sauce, again flavorless. I think people should probably stick to the cookies, cause the Mediterranean vibe is not really kickin here.
The guy who works here is super super nice. He talks to you, makes suggestions, just a nice, helpful guy.
I ordered the chicken shawerma. It's huge! The others are right; it's not as juicy as it could be, but it's still tasty. Nom nom nom.
He also gave us a couple of Turkish delights at the end of the meal because my friend had never tried them!
Ive been back twice now and made sure I got the falafel wrap....
It's good - not great. For the price, it's a very good size, but the falafel is a bit dry and I agree w. whoever said it could use more tahini, especially b.c the falafel is a little dry. At least the falafel is green on the inside, unlike some other places.
But it's a nice little place, the cookie samples I've tried were tasty, and the wrap fills me up. Cheaper then oasis - but their falafel is a little better and the wrap is bigger.
*Grumble*
I'm at work today, and deciding I don't want to eat the leftover dinner stuffs I brought…
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Just came back from this place...
I was on my way home from the bank and thought to go to working girls... however I wanted to try something new, I kinda wish I hadn't now..
I stopped in and the two guys were sitting eating dinner and asked what I'd like. I just got a chicken wrap since I wasn't feeling anything else. I sat down and waited for my food and the other guy talked to me for a bit and played with my puppy. Five minutes later the man comes out and hands me this wrap - it looked good, but tasted rather plain? Kinda disappointed..
I'll come back in and try something different next time, but for $7.55 for a basic chicken wrap seems a bit over the top for me. Maybe I'm just being a cheap ass.
With a name like Golden Cookie, I never would have guessed they had Greek food. We had the gyro plate and it was good. Plenty of food and a reasonable price.
A solid cookie shop. The cookies have excellent texture (crisp on the outside but chewy and soft inside). At $1.75 the cookies here are cheaper than most. My only critique is that the flavors aren't particularly interesting. They have standard chocolate chip (with or without walnuts), white chocolate chip, cinnamon sugar, and my favorite, the coconut macademia. I purchased a dozen cookies and made ice cream sandwiches using roasted banana ice cream and rocky road. (Banana and coconut cookie were the best combo).
The highlight of California Golden Cookie? The owner is the nicest person ever. He gave me a free cookie because I opted to wait for the hot cookies to cool. (I tipped him $2 so don't think this review is written with any bias for the free goodies). But a solid product with excellent service is four stars in my yelp opinion.
This place ROCKS my art-school world.
The guy who works here (manager/owner?) will STRAIGHT UP take care of you. Super sweet and attentive.
AND: if you're nice enough, he'll give you a free cookie on the way out. WHATS UP.
The food's decent, but the falafels could be crispier, etc.
Oh P.S. that cookie was AMAZING
Finally got around to trying their falafel & OMG is it YUMMY!! Definitely a fan & it might even tie w/ California View Cafe for bestest falafel
Thick & chewy Flatbread holds not 3 but FOUR delish & nice-size falafels (yay!)
made right there, on the spot so it's nice, fresh & hot - paired w/ the cool veggies....perfection!
Hummus, & all the fixins are there but it's the Flatbread that makes this super-yummo
Could use a tad more Tahini but I'm a saucy kind of girl
I can only speak to the Macadamia Brownie since it's the only thing I get when I come to California… Read more »
I got the falafel wrap, as my friend rightly noted, these were some yummy falafel! They were super moist and nice and large, with a bit of heat to them. I've had their hummus as well and that is super yummy as well. I discovered that I'm not a big fan of Turkish Delight. I'll be back to try the gyros wrap. Their portions are big!
I was starving and decided that I needed a falafel wrap, so I ducked in to California Golden Cookies and ordered one. I found that while the veggies were crisply fresh, the falafel was warm and well-textured, the sauce somehow came off with a bad aftertaste at times. I was trying to decide if it was a bitter starchiness, or what exactly was happening there. Regardless, the wrap was filling, I felt better eating it afterward--I'm just a wee bit picky when it comes to falafel wraps. Next time, I'll probably try the cookies.
I finally bought my lunch here. I got the chicken wrap. Yes there's a lot of meat and veggies in this wrap (bigger than Ayola's, I think) but the chicken was really dry (DH thinks it's because they didn't slather the sauce on but I don't think that's the reason)!
It's ok but I'm not a fan of the wraps. I can only imagine what the gyros taste like.
Ok I always passed by this place while I'm strolling by restaurant row in Kearny. I wasn't… Read more »
The service was great, friendly, fast. I just wanted something healthy, fast and convenient so I got a plain Greek salad. The presentation was nice and more importantly it was yummy and inexpensive for FiDi that is for sure. How they got such yummy ripe tomatoes this time of year I'm not sure but I was pleased. Just the right amount of feta. Mmmm. There was also a first time diner sitting there and he could not stop raving about his lunch, a shawarma plate. Will certainly head back soon.
It was completely unplanned but I ended up spending my lunch hour wandering around aimlessly, enjoying the sunshine and realized 45 minutes in I am screwed.
I have a 14 hour workday today, only one opportunity to eat and I have spent it daydreaming and strolling around Union Square. Well, time to get to business BUT every place I walk into has a line 12 people deep and I don't have time for that! Every place except this cookie place, and I am not much of a sweet tooth nor do I particularly think cookies are the lunch of champions or people who have a 14 hour workday.
Then I see it. The sign that says falafels. Now, a cookie place probably has falafels that taste like ass, but I am desperate so I enter. Oh. My. God. This thing is the size of a small child from a family of obesity. My arm got tired carrying it back to the office, and it is good, really good, and I can share it with anyone else who forgot to eat on their lunch break as well as any small impoverished country.
I haven't tried their cookies yet, but I will when the mood strikes. If they are half as good as the falafel I will give this place a solid 5 stars.
I picked up a falafel sandwich (not the wrap, but the pita) and it was huge and yummy! Lots of fresh salad, cucumbers, onions, taboule, tasty hummus...I could only eat half and shared the other half with my friend. The bread was nice, too -- it tasted homemade.
A great deal for the price and the falafels themselves were flavorful and not dry. Yum!! Remember to take a lot of napkins -- you'll need them!
CGC saved my ass a month ago.
With my work, we tend to have little "celebrations" that are ethnically themed (I'm being purposely vague here, if you have a question about what I do, please feel free to ask me.).
I needed baklava at 5:30pm on a weekday in the Financial District. I was walking up and down Kearny to find something, anything!
I had dismissed CGC as just a cookie place. I was wrong. Delightfully so.
They not only had baklava, but they had two different varieties (walnut and pistachio). They also accept American Express! One star for that alone.
The lovely owner also threw in a few extra baklava for us.
The baklava was perfect. Flaky, sweet, and slightly oily. They put gobs of honey in this stuff!
I'm going there again today, but this time for lunch.
I order cookies from them about once a month for office Birthday treats! Talk about a reason to live.
They are a small yet reliable outfit with yummy cookies. The guy who I believe owns the place usually gives me a right-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookie while I wait, so A+ for service.
They also have Turkish delight. I can't recall too many places I've seen serving Turkish delight. I personally don't like it but hey, someone out there might.
I have noticed they serve lunch items as well, but I haven't had the pleasure.
Five stars, people, five stars! Nothing could be better about this place - the best damn cookies I've ever had, FREE SAMPLES (and the nice man doesn't even look at you like you're a cow if, for example, you take three samples at a time, then assure him you will come back later when you're not so full to get a full cookie, then you actually come back later), and the aforementioned nice man.
I also must second the other reviewer's love affair with the yogurt-cookie combo. Friends, it's a simple idea, but it's one that's time has come. And do you see other places mixing it up quite like this? No. Oh, you might see cookie places, and you might see yogurt places. But do you see the combo? I don't think so. For all of us snackmasters rollin in the FiDi (and I think you know who you are), it's Pure. Genius.
So I was wandering the area looking for a quick meal for lunch when I stumbled upon this place. I saw the sign for Mediterranean food out front and thought, well, a gyro sandwich sounds about right for lunch. And I saw "cookies" on the sign, so I think, "Score! I can get dessert with my lunch!"
I walked in and the first thing I notice is that there are no cookies in the display case. There are brownies, which look more like fudge, and some different baklava. Not quite the dessert I was looking for, so I figure I'll just get the gyro sandwich and run on back to work. I'm pretty pressed for time and unfortunately, it took a while before the chef/owner came out. I give him my order and wait ... and wait ... and wait. It takes almost 20 minutes for my gyro to come out. The owner was making one sandwich at a time- I assume that it took 5 minutes per sandwich since he made exactly 4 sandwiches before mine came out. I also heard the microwave going off, so I assume that my gyro meat wasn't fresh off the rotating spit. The gyro was really tasty- large chunks of gyro meat and fresh tomatoes and lettuce with tzatiki sauce.
Overall, good gyro, but it was just an insane amount of time to wait. I'd love to continue supporting this small hole-in-the-wall, so I'd be back to try some of the coookies, since that's what the yelpers are talking about. If I had the time and was in the area, I would go back to get another gyro sandwich.
I love this place. Why?
1) They put out cookie samples everyday
2) Coconut cookie. Amazing
3) Its close to my work
The brownies look amazing too but I haven't been able to get past the coconut cookie yet to try them...let me know how they are if you go and get one
mmmmm, cookies......................
***update*** went back today. i didn't think afternoon snacks got much better in the fidi than scrumptious, fresh from the oven cookies. boy was i wrong. california cookies now has frozen yogurt that you can get with warm cookies on top! the combos are endless, the pairing of warm cookies and cold fro yo is genius, and the man behind the counter couldn't be sweeter. go get one. you will thank me later.
***update #2***if i could review Reza, the owner, he would get 5 stars too. Hands down.
Just like the way the shop owner treats his customers, you can tell each cookie is made with love. And you can taste it too. The store closes at odd hours - as long as someone is working and you want to get a cookie, they'll stay open for you.
JONASAPPROVED!
I always pass by this place on the way to my hair salon, so I decided to give it a go. I had a lamb gyro, which was very good - they cram tons of meat and tasty veggies into the wrap. You can cut it in half and have two full meals, the wraps are that big. I haven't tried the chicken wraps, but I guess from the other reviews it may not be their specialty - stick to the lamb or the falafel.
The chocolate baklava is simply to die for - I almost cried the last time I went there and they didn't have any left. The regular baklava is quite good too, and their cookies are large enough to constitute a small meal. Truthfully, I haven't tried the cookies themselves yet (I'm still stuck on the baklava and brownies), but if they're half as good as the other sweet treats this place deserves 5+ stars.The owner guy (I always go on Saturdays) is always nice and friendly too.
I have apologized in advance to my Mother. CGC simply makes the finest chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. Better than Mrs. Fields, better than that place on South Park everyone raves about and better than Mom's (sorry Mom!)
Had the falafal pita sandwich yesterday, and that too was fantastic!
Reza is amazingly kind and generous and makes this place perhaps one of my most favorite places to take a respite from the city!
Order the chocolate chip (semi sweet) with walnuts and a glass of skim milk! Simply Nirvana.
Yes this place has the best cookies and brownies ever! Reza let me try a sample one day and loved it but wasnt in the mood to actually commit to a whole one and to my surprise he said, "here you go, just because you liked it so much" and gave it to me for FREE....I love him. They are truly a diamond in the rough.
On the other hand the gyro is horrible, ive had way better pretty much anywhere...the falafel is in the shape of rectangles and cubes, that is enough to turn me off....but the taste wasnt there either.
.....moral of the story: Freakin Try the Cookies!!!
How could I forget to review my favorite cookie place in the city?!?! The cookies, the muffins, the brownies - um um umh! I've been a customer since they first opened and Reza, the owner, is a great guy! I've ordered several dozen for parties and they are always a huge hit. He'll make them fresh for you at the time you need them if you call ahead of time.
Of note - The low sugar milk chocolate chip cookie is mmm mmm good, but he doesn't make them everyday.
The falafel here tastes alright . Not bad .. but not super great either .
If I could give six stars, then I definitely would - but I think I'm a little biased...
I try to stop by and see Reza at least twice a week or more, if for nothing more than to say hello. He's such a great guy, and gives me free cookies all the time (but don't tell him I said so). The cookies are simply delish, and there's a good range of other food fare, ranging from baklava to caesar salad, gyros to ... well, you get the idea.
Michelle, the chef/cook, is also amazing - she's the boisterous woman in the back with a fro and the amazing green eyes. Be nice to her, and you've definitely got an in.
They also have coffee, which I've tried a few times - their mocha is pretty good, though I doubt it'd pull you Starfucks loons away from your addiction. Give it a try, though, you never know.
So in short, drop by California Golden Cookies: you'll get good eats, good conversation, and maybe even a friend :)
I dunno what just happened. I was out walking around Downtown with my friend during lunch, and all of a sudden I was overcome with this wave of melancholy. I didn't want to go back to work, and I certainly didn't want to have to face anymore people that I don't want to talk to. Did I get up on the wrong side of the bed? Was I suddenly riding some manly and invisible crimson wave? *sigh* I needed a cookie.
Luckily, at about this time, I was just walking by Calfornia Golden Cookies and remembered hearing from a friend that they have some very good cookies. Well, if ever a desperate time called for desperate measures, this was one of them. The first thing I did when I entered was to check out their samples. The lady behind the counter (who was very friendly) named them off, and I decided to try to Coconut Macadamia one because I love coconuts. It was alright...I think if the sample had consisted of more than one bite, I would've liked it more. Then, I perused the cookies they had on display and my eyes quickly landed on the Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie. Trust me, there is nothing I like to see more than the words "mint," "chocolate," and "chip" put together.
The best thing about this cookie was that when I broke it apart to eat, it neither crumbled nor slowly broke apart. The cookie was able to stay in tact while I ripped off section after section. This allowed it to remain chewy and not too soft, which is good because I don't like really soft and gooey cookies, and really hard cookies make me sad. Anyways, the chips stayed on just the right side of sweet, which can be difficult when using mint chocolate chips. Still though, as much as I like MCC, there was something missing. I think I would have liked it a little bit better (and perhaps given it 5 stars) if the cookie dough were a little more baked through. Still though, it's hard to be picky about something that is able to turn your sour mood around.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS!!!
These cookies are awesome, seriously. Need your sugar fix? Stop on in and get one. I had the Snickerdoodle (labeled "Cinnamon Sugar") today, awesome, I'm completely satisfied with my cookie experience.
Also the owner is a really nice guy with an honest smile, he'll get you your cookie!
This place brings out the little fat kid in me, the fat kid who doesn't care about eating three sinckerdoodles in one sitting, even when she knows that certain pants will not fit.
I got into this place last year when a friend would bring them home from her office. I now work around the corner from here, and I stop by about three times a week, snack off the samples plate, and the man behind the counter tries to get me to buy three instead of my usual two.
I haven't really managed to get past the snickerdoodles yet. Although the idea of the coconut cookie excites me. And they serve middle-eastern food too. Clearly they know how to please a woman.
I think I came too late in the day to get anything good. I got the chocolate peanut butter brownie and a latte.
The latte was really bad. I couldn't finish it. The brownie was even brownie-like. It was more like dry fudge. It didn't taste like chocolate or peanut butter. It had a crust that looked to me like a layer of Chips Ahoy. But the strange thing was the random raisin I found. Really bizarre. The guy that worked there was really nice but not enough to make up for the lousy brownie and latte.
If Jesus resurrected in some form of food, then he would definitely be a hummus wrap from California Golden Cookies. Where else can you order delicious falafel, wraps, and salads all the while enjoying the scent of fresh baked cookies.
I was really craving a baked good as I was walking down Kearny, so I saw this place and wasn't expecting anything too great, but just enough to get me satisfied. The man at the counter was very friendly and patient with my browsing. I decided on a peanut butter cookie, but also sampled the white chocolate. Both were delicious! My cookie was even still warm and a bit gooey in the center. I want to return and try the peanut butter brownie, it looked delish. They also carry turkish delight, baklava and some other Turkish goodies.
The Gyro Plate is good and the portion size is huge. If you get the Gyro Sandwich, I recommend asking them to make it spicy. The cookies are amazing.
I'm not a cookie connosieur but these cookies are good. Fresh, soft and not too sweet. I like the coconut macadamia and cherry chocolate cookies.
This is the BEST cookie place in the financial district and I genuinely like the owner - he is nice and kind hearted and has a twinkle in his eye - just as every cookie man should. Sure, the cookies lack the bulk of Specialty's cookies, but they are slightly gooey in the center and clearly made with love......a visit here will brighten your afternoon immeasurably....(especially if the cookies are warm).
Holy friggin crap. So I ambled in here today, looking for a cookie after searching on yelp. I wasn't super expecting to have the good stuff, as I bake all the time, and usually just satisfy my own cookie fixes.
Not ONLY is Reza, the owner of this neat, clean cute cookie joint super nice to talk to, but he bakes some mighty fine cookies. He knows what he's doing, and he's doing it very well. There is a nice assortment of cookies, brownies, and even a couple of muffins, and he also has coffee and other drinks of both the hot and cold persuasion.
I got vanilla yogurt mixed in with his chocolate chip brownie, and man oh man, he is one to trust with recommendations. He also gave me an extra cookie, and is generous.
I'm so going back, and I've told lots of other people in my office. You, California Golden Cookie, deserve your Yelp review with your five glowing stars.
He also takes credit cards, and does accounts AND delivers. Genius.
1/2 Price Wine Special
Neighborhood: Marina/Cow Hollow
Student Discounts
Neighborhood: Union Square
Neighborhood: Union Square
Category: Beer, Wine & Spirits
Neighborhood: Financial District
Category: Greek
Neighborhood: Union Square
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Financial District
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Financial District
Category: Greek
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