Café Efendi Mediterranean Cuisine
| Address: | 488 N Main St #112, Alpharetta, GA 30009, USA |
| Phone: | +1 770-360-8014 |
| Site: | cafeefendi.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 12–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
AB
Abby Banks
Beautiful atmosphere outdoors, mini international mart at the entrance, attentive staff, darling bar and dining area, and delicious food! Im blown away with this hidden gems many benefits. It is hidden for sure, its quiet and located in a quaint neighborhood on a subpar traffic route. The owner was present, and he warmly welcomed. I was seated under festive lights, and it brought a unique charm to my experience. The menu is exceptional! As many Mediterranean places Ive visited, many items on this menu Ive never seen nor heard, so I felt it was authentic, and the taste proved the authenticity. I could taste the freshness in the recently brewed Turkish tea, pita bread, appetizers, and meat. The falafel is undeniably the best Ive ever tasted and possibly in the metro area! Its soft and moist and paired very well with their yogurt sauce! As Im writing this, Im contemplating paying a visit for the falafels. My least favorite of the many foods I explored is the sigara borek; it had a very salty ending, and I found melted feta to be peculiar tasting. I visited before the influx of bodies, so naturally, there was much attention to my table, but I trust the staff is usually friendly. Ultimately I enjoyed the night; theres live music, good food, and good people. Café Efendi is my new Mediterranean go-to :-) UPDATE: I returned a few days after my first visit for falafels. The falafels were the same great taste but the other foods, not so great! I had the lentil soup. It wasnt fresh; it was surely sitting on a burner for some time before served. It may have even been warmed in a microwave because it was lukewarm. The eating utensils were not clean. I requested a plastic instrument. Im disappointed, but I trust this is not a recurring issue.
DA
David Sanabria
First Id like to state, Groupon users beware! THEY WILL NOT HONOR MULTIPLE GROUPONS PER TABLE! They only honor one Groupon per table and there is nothing in the fine print that restricts or mentions this. It clearly states one per person on the Groupon itself, not per table. They only tell you as your meal concludes about this, after you order $20+ of food per person. This is my reason for 3 stars. The restaurant itself was dim and intimate with Turkish decorations along the walls, as pointed out by one in our party. The place was nice and clean. We started off with the Meze sampler which included the Hummus, Taratur, Feta plate, Babagannuj, and one Falafel. Everything was seasoned well but needed more pita bread, especially for its price. For my lunch, I ordered the Karides Sis Kebab (Shrimp). It was nothing but grilled shrimp, I couldnt tell if it was seasoned or not. The tomatoes were roasted beautifully and the rice was decent. It also came with shredded carrots and some pickled vegetable that turned red. If you go, ask for some Turkish red pepper flakes to add to your rice, the red pepper flakes are delicious! The order of Baklava were three little bite sizes (about 2-3 bites per piece). They were soft, delicious and most likely flavored with sweet water instead of honey. The Turkish coffee was not as strong as I expected it to be. I ordered without sugar. The other party members ordered a Death By Chocolate cake. It tasted a couple days old and as if it were sitting in the refrigerator. The waiter and staff was tentative and helpful, prior to the mentioned Groupon above at the end of the meal.
KE
Kelli Cameron
I used a Scout Mob for it and had to show it to the waiter at the beginning, because my phone was going to die. I would assume that knowing we were going to get half off would disappoint the server, because usually that means they dont get a very good tip, but that wasnt the case at all. He explained everything on the menu very well, came to check on us the appropriate number of times, offered to-go drinks, and brought the food out quickly. It was my sisters Birthday so they dimmed the lights in the whole room, brought out a piece of baklava with a candle in it, and had everyone in the whole place clapping Happy Birthday to her. They took the corniness you would expect from a restaurant in a Birthday situation and turned it completely around into a really nice gesture that made her feel special. I had a fantastic time and will definitely recommend this place to others.
JU
Jubin Jose
I just hope you arent walking in when Live Music is going on. if so, please run away for the sake of your ears. A bad tower speaker placed on the floor very close to our seats made what was good live music obnoxiously loud and terrible. Requested the waiter to tone down the volume, but no luck. They need to either get a good sound system or understand the limits of their sound system and tone it down so as not to massacre the efforts of the person performing and torture the people eating there! On the service front - we had to wait quite a long time and request multiple times for just water. Now to the food itself - The food is good, Potions arent much to write about (compared to few similar restaurants in this price range) but the Kabobs were tasty and the veggies that came with it were better than normal.
FL
Flor Silvano
My boyfriend took me to Café Efendi and it was my very first time trying Mediterranean food, so I was nervous I was probably going to walk out disappointed. I actually walked out highly satisfied! This place has become one of my favorite places to go to. I ordered the Donner Kebob and absolutely loved it! I finished my entire plate- which I rarely ever do! This place is consistent and the atmosphere is wonderful! I have been told that they have live music later at night and I have only witnessed a little bit before I have had to leave because we finished our dinner, but they have such marvelous music from the little I have heard. I will be coming back here because they do not fail me in customer service, in the consistency, or the welcoming environment!
SC
Scott Kelley
I used to go there for lunch all the time at the old location. I havent seen the new location but I am anxious to go now that I am working in Alpharetta again. I love Greek food and this place is some of the best I have ever had. My favorite is the Doner (Lamb Gyro). The only thing I wasnt crazy about was the falafel but it still wasnt bad. This isnt fine dining; just fine food. I recommend to anyone. EDIT: Ok, I have been there now. Maybe it was an off day but the meat just wasnt as tender. the food was still very tasty but just not what i remembered. However, I will not reduce their rating until I go one more time. Everyone can have an off day.
ST
Stephanie Kelly
So, Im nuts for Mediterranean food. This place is kind of on the Turkish end of the spectrum,. I should also add Ive only been here for lunch: Though Ive been here MANY times for lunch. I love the Doner Wrap - which is basically a gyro. I get the fries with it. Which are the big fat steak fries - yum. Take a tip from me and get it lightly spicy. It really makes it extra yummy. I do NOT order the baba ganoush as they do it WRONG. Order anything else though :) Also: excellent iced tea. Im kind of a freak about my tea and this place has great tea.
