Manakeesh Cafe Bakery
| Address: | 4420 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA |
| Phone: | +1 215-921-2135 |
| Site: | manakeeshcafe.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 7:30AM–9:30PM 7:30AM–9:30PM 7:30AM–9:30PM 7:30AM–9:30PM 7:30AM–1PM 7:30AM–10PM 8:30AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 11
PE
Penn Appétit
Last Saturday afternoon, instead of heading to our usual, conveniently located lunch spot, a friend and I ventured down Walnut Street past Supreme Shop n Bag to Manakeesh Café and Bakery at 44th Street. We were surprised to find the small restaurant to be warm and comfortable, bustling with a sizable lunch crowd. The Lebanese fusion café featured a polished, well-furnished interior with welcoming yellow walls and artfully piled pastries and cakes on display. The restaurant was filled with Lebanese locals as well as many academic types, young professionals, and families. Looking around the restaurant, we saw that most of the attendees were eating flatbread topped with meat or other mixtures. These flatbreads are called, not surprisingly, manakeesh. This dough is commonly topped with cheese or ground meat and folded into sandwiches. It can also be topped with zaatar, Middle Eastern herbs, and olive oil and served as a breakfast food. Manakeesh Café serves their flatbreads with many topping choices, including honey, nutella, labneh, a yogurt cheese spread, egg and cheese, and a variety of Halal meat. As we waited for our orders, we watched the cook throw pull the flatbreads in and out of the brick oven. The busy restaurant staff lost my friends order. Fortunately, the pleasant, courteous staff brought us free baklava to apologize for our wait. The baklava and manakeesh were well worth the wait. I reveled in the warm, soft flatbread mixed with the tangy ground lamb and beef mixture of my kafta order. My vegetarian friend also agreed that his hot cheese flatbread was delicious. I enjoyed the café so much that I decided to return on a weekday morning. I found the atmosphere to be quite different. While the same pleasant staff members remained, the bustling restaurant’s environment had changed to a peaceful one, ideal for studying and quiet conversation. I was once again struck by how amiable the staff was as I watched one waitress pridefully adjust the empty tables’ tabletop decorations to just the right positions. I was overwhelmed by the vast, diverse selection of pastries and sweets available. I asked the woman behind the counter for a breakfast pastry that wasn’t too sweet and a small coffee. She handed me Kanafe, sweet cheese baked into a mild white sweet bread with pistachios and a clear, sweet syrup poured over it. While I found the soft, cheese pastry cake a bit too rich for so early in the morning, I made plans to return for another at a better time of day and left contently sipping my coffee. --Shannon Ridge
JU
Justin Haas
My wife a few friends and I decided to eat here. It was a pretty bad experience we wont be coming back. Cashier whom is the first impression of this place had a unfriendly demeanor. Found out they prefer cash which isnt a problem unless they charge you extra for anything under ten dollars. The receipt they gave me didnt have our initial order of drinks on it just ten dollars even. When we ordered food again just a price. Everyone got their food before us. We had to remind them three separate times what our order was. The third time my friend had to tell them because I was so mad I could have started flipping tables. It took 30 minutes for my food then they forgot about my wifes food and it took 55 minutes. And they didnt even remember us and had to argue that we actually ordered. Food was pretty so-so. Awful service food not that great were not coming back.
AB
Abc xyz
The food here is very good, that is a nonissue. The problem Ive encountered with this place is that numerous times they have forgotten my order after Ive waited a long time, 15-20 minutes. One time, I had been waiting near half an hour and I was one of maybe 2 other customers there. And mind you I was only ordering for myself, and what I ordered was by no means complicated. It was at the point where it became outrageous. They need someone behind the counter that is organized and keeping track of the orders and keeping things moving. So, in summary, if you have all the time in the world to kill, this cafe is fine. The fries are delicious and so is the baba ganoush. If you are a busy person and need to be somewhere or are looking for a quick meal, try somewhere else. The halal truck is right across the street.
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Ashley Baker
Manakeesh is hands down my favorite restaurant in Philly & I always have to take friends visiting me there to try a combo with veggies (half zaatar, half cheese). Its filling, delicious, and inexpensive. My other favorites are the chicken curry crepe, the spinach and onion manakeesh and the basboosa for dessert. I live close by so I often go there and just order freshly baked pita bread to go. They get lunch and dinner rushes on weekends sometimes, but I always manage to get a lot of studying done there on weekend mornings. Its a great environment and the food is always delicious!
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جبر الجابري
طلبت صحن شاورما دجاج وصحن مشكل مقالي. ولما وصلت البيت تفاجأت بأنه مو شاورما دجاج وإنما دجاج مقطع قطع صغيره تقليد بطريقه الشاورما بالإضافة بأنه باللون الأسود وبه رائحه كريهه. أما بالمشكل المقالي قديمه جدا. ومع الصحنين خبزه واحده فقط.
ED
Eduardo Garcia
This is a great place to eat at West Philly! They have the main kitchen where you can order Manakeesh (Lebanese flat-breads with great toppings) and also has a cafe were you can order coffee, sweet and savory crepes, fruit smoothies (with protein if you want), Lebanese and French pastries, and now great ice-cream based desserts! They are usually quick in orders and very friendly. The place is very nice and clean, and usually quiet as quiet goes for restaurants. I would recommend it for everyone!
MA
Maryam Alam
When I go to a restaurant or cafe, I expect to feel welcome and taken care of. Unfortunately, on more occasions than I can recount- the customer service at Manakeesh was not on par with what one might assume from the menu. Their food is good- but in my opinion it is overpriced. For any business to be successful, it is important that the staff greet you with a smile, but the workers here (not all- but a lot of them) are simply rude. I hope that the customer service here changes for the better.
AB
Abdullah AlAbdullah
السلام عليكم ، أجواء المطعم ربما تكون بسيطة بعض الشيء لكنها تأخذك إلى ربوع الشام رغماً عنك ، الفطائر بكل أنواعها في قمة اللذة و بمجرد تذوق البقلاوة تحس بأجواء العيد . أما العاملون ففي قمة الأدب العربي.
GU
Gul Azhar
The walnut and pistachio baklava was flaky and fresh and we loved it. My husband and I also had the white chocolate fruit layer cake and it was also fresh and delicious. Their Manakesh special blend black tea with fresh mint was aromatic and flavorful as was the Caffe Beirut. Everything was reasonably priced and the service was great. The staff was attentive and our turn came quickly even though it was a Saturday night. Were definitely coming here again.
BO
Bob Hardy
Ive visited Manakeesh several times while visiting friends in West Philly and have enjoyed the atmosphere (nice selection between the restaurant, bakery and smoothie shop). There arent a lot of options in the area that have reliable wifi so its nice to take some time there to get work done while enjoying a nice meal. The staff has been kind and the outdoor seating is a great option when its warm outside!
MA
Matt M
Great Middle Eastern Food!! That simple. Its seat your self and order at the counter but thats simple enough. The folks making all the traditional Lebanese and Syrian dishes are super friendly and helpful with menu choices. Attached to the restaurant is a awesome bakery, coffee/tea shop. Once again, awesome traditional Middle Eastern pasteries, shakes, smoothies and juices. Ill be back for sure.
