Silan
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
224 reviews
Mountain View, CA
"My friend asked whether or not I would Yelp this immediately after dinner (I was in awe / he knew it was coming). I told him I wouldn't.…" read more »
25 Reviews for Silan
VEGETARIAN REVIEW
This is my favorite restaurant in Menlo Park, hands down. Not corporate, lovely homey decor, and good ethnic music. The service can be slow, but the food is usually incredibly good and fresh. Our favorites are the cold appetizer plates and the kebabs (especially when tomatoes are in season). We also really enjoy the spinach and the folded pizza bread -- you will, too!
For dessert, stay away from the baklava and order the fruits and cream. They are lush, delicious, and spectacular.
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After 6 months in Menlo Park, my wife and I have tried most all of the restaurants and this is our favorite. We've been almost 20 times, several times with friends. The Kurdish food is great, atmosphere nice, service relaxed and friendly, prices low. For a stellar dining experience, choose another place. For distinctive food, affordable prices, casual dining, we like it. Lots of meat dishes, lots of vegetarian dishes, plus unusual pizzas, wraps, salads, pita sandwiches. $8 lunch, $12 to $14 dinner entree. Good wines and beers. Note: closed 3-5, closed Mondays.
Added: I just noticed they make and bake their bread fresh -- even during dinner -- great to have warm from the oven.
They have some outside tables, on Santa Cruz Ave; we prefer the inside tables, especially when the sliding windows are open.
Parking is readily available behind the restaurant in the Menlo free lots.
I was here with some girlfiends - their choice and I had pretty low expectation. Was totally surprised and delighted - great dishes that I hadn't ever tasted before - a bean dip with tomato paste was outstanding, as was the pizza. The service was gracious and low key, in fact, yes, a little too much so. I found that almost all the dishes I ordered had bread as a main component and it would have been nice to have been steered toward some other choices. But our waiter was so gracious (especially in letting our rather noisy girl group stay way past closing, offering a friend who came after closing whatever she would like) I didn't mind. Prices were really reasonable. If I lived in the neighborhood I'd be a regular for sure.
Cool, cozy Kurdish cafe.
Great place for a mellow meal of kebobs, lamb stew, and a variety of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean sauces and appetizers [like hummous (chickpea dip), baba ghanoush (eggplant dip) and dolmas (grape leaves)...except offered on the menu under their Kurdish names, which I can't recall].
If you don't expect prompt service, you won't be disappointed. This place is excellent if you're in the mood for a reasonably-priced meal in a no-rush, comfortable and casual environment.
Only one complaint: the quality and taste of the Maste Siwan (yogurt based cucumber dip) can be really inconsistent, so I wouldn't recommending eating just that dish as your main meal (which any normal person...besides me...wouldn't do anyway).
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I went to this place once and had a great experience, but went back today for lunch with some coworkers, ordered the same wrap I had last time, and halfway through my wrap, I chomped down on a QUARTER! Yes, as in the 25 cent piece you put in a parking meter.
I let my mind wander as to how a quarter could have found it's way into my wrap, but I'll spare you the details now. Suffice it to say that I was sufficiently grossed out and didn't eat the rest of my meal.
The waiter (and owner, I think?) didn't charge me for my meal (which I didn't eat most of), and gave me a couple of half-hearted apologies, but he lacked the shock or concern I expected for something so bizarre and disgusting.
I really liked this place, but I definitely won't go back now! Eeewww!
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3.5 stars
This is a review by a vegetarian
They say you always remember the first time you have Kurdish food. At least I'm guessing that Kurds say that. For those of use who don't routinely travel in Eastern Turkey, Northen Iraq, and Northwestern Iran, Cafe silan offers a simpler alternative for familiar yet newish cuisine.
The Good: friendly service and good atmosphere. It's got not-really-sitting-in-downtown-Menlo feel. The owners talk to you without interjecting themselves fully into your meal. The bread is baked on premises but for our dinner it was not warm. I can only assume that as this is a small space that they bake all their stuff in the morning and don't keep it going throughout the rest of the day. This bodes well for lunch. Lentils and humus and the chick pea croquets were all top notch.
Mediocre: the greens with the chick pea balls were very salty and bitter. Barely edible.
This is probably deserving of another half to full stars for the carnivores.
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THe first time i've had Kurdish food. It was very intresting. The portion was HUGE and very affordable. I got a really big meaty stuffed salad wrap for 5.50 and I only could finish half. The hummus was also really yummy.. the bread they served it with was to die for! You can tell they make everything from the bread to the wrap fresh. Has a home cooked meal touch to it. The service IS a lil slow since there is only one server and one cook... but this place is really small and cozy so its not that bad...The server is so nice though... very friendly and making sure everything is alright. and since its in lovely Santa Cruz Avenue... and the weather is so great... you can't NOT like this place.
My wife and I had dinner here last night. The food was SUPERB. I guess I can get some of the complaints about service--it wasn't your typical super-chipper-howdy-do-sit-down kind of service, but whatever. The food just rocked, and you should definitely come here. For dessert I had apricots and prunes with creme fraiche and balsamic vinegar--and I really liked it.
Went here this week for dinner with a friend who frequents this place regularly for its Kurdish food. Had their garlic-style pita bread to start off with, which was very good. I had the spinach ricotta dumplings for a main course and absolutely loved it. The meal really hit the spot! The portions are huge which is great because that means I can eat leftovers for lunch. Another nice thing is that they serve free tea that is yummy!
Just a side note: the waiter broke a glass of red wine next to my friend (who then got poked by some glass). Accidents happen. He was extremely apologetic and brought a ton of bandages/alcohol out to my friend. Our dinner was on the house and he gave us a free pear dessert which was yummy.
Also, here's an article on it from the Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/...
I wanted so much to like this place, and I went a bunch of times. Every time I was disappointed. The food runs from mediocre to bad, and they play the same 45 minute music loop eternally, half of which is good, half bad, but all of which wears very thin after you've heard it a dozen times. Slow, bad service. I'm perplexed by why so many people claim to like this place. Once Sultana opened just down the road, I abandoned Silan completely (and yes, I realize they are different ethnicities, but the end product is fairly similar).
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For something different- that is Kurdish, Cafe Silan is one little gem tucked away quielty on Santa Cruz Ave in Menlo Park (next door to Baskin Robbins). Deco is carefully put together with small pieces of unique cultural items hanging on the wall- such as the Turkish Blue Eye symbolising good luck.
Silan is a small cosy restaurant and as expected, there is just one chef and one lady at the front of the house to cover. We went on a weeknight and sat by the sidewalk to take advantage of the cool summer breeze at night.
Food was excellent, we had a taste of their seafood kebob and also lamb kebobs. Both come with rice and bread on the side. Serving was plenty and cooked well to our satisfaction. In terms of prices, it's not expensive either. An entree is about $15 and appetisers were approx $8. Dessert menu looks mouthwatering and local too, but we were too full to try any as we just managed to finish our meals.
Will recommend this place to anyone who appreciate a nice meal and at the same time- not running a tight timetable!
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Very tasty food, great prices, nice atmosphere. I love the smell of the wood burning stove. This place may become one of my local favorites -- I will be back!
This is my favorite place in the Bay Area! It is hard to find open, but when you do it is always a special treat. Some of the stuff is average, but their more traditional fare is amazing. Try the (don't remember the name) dish with bread squares, beef, some sort of tomato-based sauce, a fresh bit of creamish sauce, spices, herbs, and cheese. Ahh! It is amazing. Their pizza-ish meal is great too. You will leave this place feeling fresh and light--not bloated. And you'll want to go back IF you order the right thing. The kabobs aren't so great. To find this tiny nook of a place, look for their round "Cafe Silan" sign. It's on the same side of the street as Peets.
I really wanted to like this place because it was small and so unique - it's the only place in the Bay Area that specializes in Kurdish food. Unfortunately the food wasn't up to snuff and was pretty forgettable. The baklava was a sin against baklava and was way too sweet.
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This is one of my favorite places for lunch...its close to sand hill for a quick lunch if you go at an off-peak time.
We also cater food from them for lunches at the office and everyone loves the food.
My favorites are the chicken kabob, the wonderful bread and the yogurt dip. Their baklava is delectable too.
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Ahh!! Almost forgot @ this cozy little place tucked on Santa Cruz Ave in Menlo Park. As a Kabob lover, I rarely miss any place that says Kabobs, and this one is one of the top one for me.
This is a "Kurdish Restaraunt" (I Love Bay Area, where else you can get food from so many ethnicities, New York, You Stink!!!)
You have to try "HEVIR U GOST", This a thin Bread topped with "Veal, Tomato, Onion and Parsley", Since they make their own dough this when comes out of the oven is sooo hot and fresh....writing this makes me hungry
Guess what go ahead and try every dish they have , trust me its worth it!!
What ever you do, don't miss their Tea. (You will need an acquired taste to like this). They also have very good wines!!!
cafe silan is tucked away in a tight little corner in the downtown menlo park strip. i am a big kabob lover & i'd have to say this is up there with my other 2 favorite places like Best Bite in Mtn View, & Chelokababi in sunnyvale.
i have gotten the lamb wrap here which is filled with lettuce, tomatoes, rice, & some unique sauce. it is very full-filling. i have also gotten their koobideh kabob which is also excellent.
it's a tiny place but cute & quaint...great for lunchtime. the only negative thing i have to say is that the service can be really slow...
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I tried this restaurant on my friends' recommendations. The place is small and a little crammed up. The food was nothing extrordinary for what I had heard about it and overpriced. To top it all off, the service was super-slow. We had to ask the waiter 2ce before he got us water. Then he vanished for a long time before he came back to take our orders. Then he vanished again for half an hour before we got our food. Then it took another quarter of an hour to get our checks.. We were totally pissed by the end of it all!! We would never go back to this place..
Cute little restaurant. I came here on a Sunday evening and I loved the fact they have an option of getting the big or small kebabs. The chicken and the rice was excellent and the prices are reasonable. I also ordered the appetizer muscles and they are GREAT!
Closed on Mondays. Silan is one of my favorite places to go when I need comforting food. I've tried nearly half the menu at this point and I must report that everything is wonderful. The cuisine is Kurdish and it is the only place that I know of where you can find it. They have a "bottomless" bowl of bread that is just great. The bread is like a hand made pita but not quite. Very hard to describe. Anyhow, you need to try this place if you haven't.
An excellent little restaurant for lunch or dinner. The cuisine is mediterranean, with delicious vegetarian as well as lamb and chicken based dishes. Be sure to try their fabulous breads (baked fresh in house) as well as their drinks (try the fantastic dried fruit drink). The space is a little small, with seating for about 20 people, but the food and the culture is worth the wait.
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I love this place because of the fresh yummy food and low prices! I have tried about 1/2 of the menu so far and haven't been disappointed yet. The service can be slow; however, the food has always been worth the wait.
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Excellent bread, but the meat in their kebab was horrendously fatty and undercooked. Not enough vegetables in the wrap, far too much bulgar wheat.
a friend and i stumbled in for dinner and were pleasantly surprised! we were under no time crunch, so the fact that the service was slow (one cook, one waiter) was perfectly fine by us -- especially with the bottomless basket of pita bread and the tea they served upon sitting down. i definitely would not go back if i needed to pick up a quick meal, but if you're in the mood to linger, this is a great place. on the advice of the waitress we had a sort of a lamb stew and a chicken pasta dish -- both were very good and very unusual. $15/entree is a little more than we were planning on spending for the evening, but it was a really great change of pace. definitely recommended.
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