Reef Cafe

I'd have never noticed this little Lebanese joint had a local friend not led me to it, but hot damn I'm so glad we stepped in. Be sure to check out the specials board or ask the owner what they've got fresh. The cabbage rolls I ordered were filled with rice and lamb, and were much like Russian golabkis though they lacked the tomato and sour cream sauce that I love so much. Extra star had they served it. My friend ordered the okra, which was fantastic. Both dishes came with homemade pickled veggies, mine jicama, his cauliflower, a side of tomato and cucumber salad and buttery rice.

What makes this place absolutely bomb diggity hilarious is that while we were waiting for our take out and chatting with the gregarious owner, we found out they sell designer jeans. We got a pair of True Religions for $60 with the tags still on em! Hey, at least it wasn't the trunk of an old Pinto.

My visit to Reef Cafe was inspired by Ligaya's review. Struck by immense curiousity, I ambled in with the express purpose of checking out the behind-the-counter jeans action. Lo and behold, yes, there are designer jeans for sale! Whether or not they are entirely legit is debatable, but they did have the tags on them. Then again, they are making really good fakes in China these days...

The proprietor was busy chatting up a young lady at the counter, but I managed to get his attention eventually and put in my order. I casually inquired about the jeans that were hanging out in a box in plain sight, and before he could tell me the going price, the girl (presumably a close friend) cut him off and told me they were $60. The guy later admitted, he was going to quote $70. So just know that you can bargain! I didn't end up buying the Rock & Republic jeans I tried on (yes, you can use the bathroom as a "dressing room"), but it was a hilarious experience and definitely one of my most unique shopping expeditions.

So about the food--I ordered the haloumi cheese wrap as a cover for my mission. It came crisply grilled and adorned with just a drizzle of hot sauce. Not a bad snack, but I feel like it would've been much tastier had there been the addition of a little veggie or meat filling though....Reef Cafe seems to be good for takeout, but I think I'm more likely to come back for the jeans than for the food....Maybe I should've ordered the falafel?

I had heard great reviews about the Reef Cafe on yelp for a long time. I guess I should just learn to trust fellow yelpers. Honestly the place blew me away. A friend of mine and I decided to grab a quick bite to eat for dinner and were really surprised.

It's a real hole in the wall, but definitely worth the drafty small dining area. Now for the juicy part of the review....

We started with a side order of hummus, which ended up being an entire styrofoam plate with homemade hummus. The hummus taste was robust, yet smooth, and the olive oil puddle in the middle of the hummus and finely chopped parsley added to the rich creamy flavor complimented with warm pita strips for dipping. I ordered the falafel pita sandwich. The falafel balls were warm and fresh tasting. The vegetables added to the timbre of the sandwich with tomato slices, pickled radish slices and few other veggies for taste. I added some hot sauce per recommendation of the nice guy working there and chowed down on some of the best falafel I have ever tasted.

The service was great, but realize that you'll probably have to talk to the guy working there because he is so friendly. Not a date place, unless you've been together for a while. It's very small but pleasantly surprising. Let me also mention that the two of us ate two falafel sandwiches and the hummus plate for under $15. And we were two hungry dudes... Enough said, check out this small Lebanese restaurant and prepare yourself for good food, and great service.

Upon the rec of B and Allix, my falafel craving brought me here.
But when we got here, there was so much to try so and under Allix' influence, we ordered falafel, pumpkin kibbe, and spinach pie.
All vegan!
The Spinach pie was to die for, I never order the stuff since I thought it had cheese, but there's no cheese in this puppy and it was tasty.
The best part was the garlic dip it came with which I think should be bottled and sold everywhere except it is not to be eaten on or before dates or other social events.

The Falafel was really good, but the star of my meal was the pumpkin kibbe!
I had never had it before but the richly flavored pumpkin mixed with cous cous was delicious in a pressed pita.

The owner is pretty cool too, he was giving us the recipe for the garlic spread which is entirely too complicated for a normal human being, so I will have to just keep on going back for it.

This reastuarant has awful service.

Although their falafel is very tasty (though not as good as Sabra Grill or Shwarma King), their grape leaves have a particularly unpleasant sauce on them.

But anyway, the quality of the food aside, you can expect to wait about half an hour for a falafel wrap, even if the place is entirely empty. This has happened to me both times that I've been--I thought the first might be a fluke, so I decided to try again, but that was yet another waste of time. Furthermore, the meal was $4.75, but the guy at the counter rounded it up to $5.

No thanks.

UPDATE: These guys are actually SUING a friend of mine for libel because of his review on here. Do you need any more evidence of how undeserving of your business they are? Unbelievable.

I went there on a week i could only eat vegeterian food. This was listed as a vegeterian only place in yelp-NO it is NOT!
Albiet, they have a decent veg offering. Its one of those hole in the wall places in Allston. Allston for all it flaws has some of the most fab-est ethnic resturants in town!
This is lebanese resturants, with pictures of Beruit metro all over, plastic chair and one guy behind the counter, it really is a take out place. You use paper plate and plastic fork to eat. But its the food alone that i give this place a 3 star on. It has really amazing selection on its menu, stuffed grape leaves, falafel, pita and hummus, some cracked wheat stuff- that was amazing, as the guy behind the counter explained it to me, no no its not marijuna... haha, loved the food here, would recommend this place for a take out, or delivery.

This place is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. The homemade Lebanese/Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cuisine has many complex tastes and will make you want to become a regular. It's a small little cafe size place and it does take a while to make things since it's homemade but it's totally worth it. They have both vegetarian goodness and plenty of foods with meat.

I personally love their Chicken Swarma, their pastries are pretty good, their grape leaves can be excellent but occasionally just ok. Their spinach pies are pretty excellent most of the time as well.

I love the Reef so much. It's really the first place in Boston that I ever really adopted as my own, soon after it moved into its storefront in 2004. Salam treated a few of my friends and I to a sampler and introduced us to a whole bunch of new things (for us), including the vegetarian pumpkin kibby and garlic paste. Always says hello even if we're just walking by and always ready to get into a conversation about something. Just been a great person to know in Allston since they moved here.

I'm vegetarian, so I'll keep it to those parts of the menu. The platter is great, the falafel is great. A little drier than many falafel places around town (my current fav is Fourdees in Watertown) because they use paper to soak up the excess grease after they've been fried, but still tasty. The kibby is really my main grab here. It's soft, a little sweet, not too bread-y. Salam has recently taken to toasting the wrap at the end, also. AND, on a lucky day, your wrap will come with the great taste of pickled turnip rather than just a plain pickle slice. Both are great, but I always thank my stars when i get the turnips.

I think the hummus is pretty great, here. Served with a nice puddle of olive oil in the middle, and they're not stingy with the bread.

Sometimes, I wish the TV wasn't turned up quite so loud. That would be the only weird thing.

For me, a lot of the appeal of this place has to do with the ownership, though. If that ever holds any extra weight for you, give this place a shot and don't be shy.

Reef Cafe is a tiny, hole-in-the-wall Lebanese restaurant located across from The Kells on Brighton Ave. While it is not much to look at, the Reef Cafe serves up great food such as shawarma, kafta kebabs, falafel, kibbe, and other Lebanese specialties.

The lentil soup is tasty and a great value at $2.75 for a huge cup of it. The lamb shawarma and kafta kebab sandwiches were both stuffed with all sorts of toppings and packed with flavor. They totally hit the spot.

Reef Cafe does a steady take-out business but also has enough seating for about 20 people in the cafe. There is a TV in one corner of the cafe which is usually airing Lebanese TV programs.

Quite unhappy that you've gone out of business. Reef was a no-frills joint with darn tasty foods. It has been my favorite post-class eatery for the last three years- the Mekanek (sp?!!- it's lamb sausage) with garlic paste was to die for...

We'll miss you, but good luck!

Oh, and if anyone has the recipe for the garlic paste, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know... It's cool but hot but man is that stuff soooooo good!