Cedars in University District
| Address: | 4759 Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA |
| Phone: | +1 206-527-4000 |
| Site: | cedarsseattle.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
CH
chill lax
If you think this is good Mediterranean, you havent been around much. Its fast-food quality at best. We were anticipating a great meal from the reviews, but the service was awful, no one waited on us unless we physically got their attention through the whole meal, and when they did help us, it was as rushed as possible before running back to the kitchen. The food was sub-par. The dolmas (they call them "grape leaves": first bad sign) were undercooked, the rice inside was practically hard and tasted undercooked. The lettuce in our salad tasted very strange, like cleaning chemicals, and the tzatziki sauce tasted very much like ranch dressing. Hear it from a lifelong conisseur of medi food, even the pita bread "naan" was a fail, it was kind of stale, as flat as board and not even heated properly- tastes like its full of preservatives and came out of a bulk package. I literally chuckled when I first picked a piece up at how obviously crappy it was. It is not warm, delicately crispy and soft "naan," not by a long shot. Its clearly prepackaged bulk pita bread. There was no life to this bread! I think it might remain undigested in my stomach for a few months. The baba ganoush and dahl soup were edible, but we didnt feel any enthusiasm over them, just relief that they were edible, mostly. I even asked about the tzatziki sauce, which is supposed to be yogurt based with dill and cucumber. The waiter told me both times I asked that it was the right sauce and swore there was no ranch in the ingredients. If it wasnt in there intentionally, ranch dressing must have spilled into the container because it tasted distinctly like ranch. We were too overwhelmed to ask for a pass on the check for this regrettable meal, and we doubted we could even hold the waitstaff attention for long enough to be heard, so we paid and left. They did give us a free baklava, I think to belatedly make up for the complained-about sauce, but attentive and patient customer service throughout the meal would have made us much more likely to return. If youre going to serve people bad food, at least ask them how it is tasting and offer to bring them something else straight away, not as a consolation afterthought to take home with them. My dining companion and I both give Cedars circa March 2016 a solid C minus.
BR
Brynn Brooks
Dirty, crowded, and unhygienic. I wont be back. Note: I deducted one star because Ive only visited once. I deducted two more for the uncleanliness and unhygienic serving decisions. I deducted the fourth because the naan was the only thing that stood out - the rest of the meal was just ok. Details: I was disgusted by the water closet and the well-loved sauce caddy, and, therefore, was not surprised to be doubled over in pain most of the following day. Industry folks know to look in the restroom for a glimpse into the kitchen. Strike one. The sauces / spices are served in canisters with spoons and most certainly not cleaned between guests. My friends spoon ended up in the sauces, which likely happens all the time. Our server was unphased when we told her, and I would be surprised if even half the double dippers inform the staff. Its fair to assume you are eating, essentially, leftovers from the tables before you and likely from the days prior. Strike 2. I had hoped my concerns about the cleanliness would be unnecessary, so I gave it a whirl, as my friend apparently loves this place. Plus, I ate at less-than-white-glove food carts and night markets while studying in China and only became ill once, so there was a good chance I wouldnt get ill from this place. The food was decent. The naan was the best Ive had. My friend and I actually ordered extra naan to take home. I have a somewhat sensitive stomach, which typically manifests as slight discomfort after a greasy or high-fat meal. This was greasy and likely high-fat, but I was more than uncomfortable. I was nauseous with tight knots in my stomach from about 6:30AM-3PM the following day. This was not a sensitive stomach issue. Strike 3. TL;DR: The naan is not worth the risk to your health. And Im adventurous / silly enough to try the food after seeing the conditions for a bacterial illness waiting to happen.
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A Private User
Refused to serve us with our physical service Labrador. I called ahead and explained to a nice young lady that we were walking 7 blocks in the rain from our hotel, and asked if we had time to make it before they closed. I was told they were closing at 9:30, and she asked me to try to be there by 9:15. We arrived at 9:12. As the same nice young lady was seating us, three men came from the back. They pointed to our service animal (who was wearing his service dog vest) and spoke excitedly in their language. They gave the young lady a command, and she said, "Im sorry - we are closed". One of the men offered to get us food to go, but refused to seat us. Food was still coming out of the kitchen, and was being delivered to tables. It was very obvious they did not want our service dog in their restaurant, and their refusal to continue seating us was thinly guised as a sudden decision to close. Our service Labrador is very clean, calm and well trained. If you are handicapped and in need of a service animal, I would not recommend this restaurant. The food smelled wonderful. We were very hungry after a long drive, and it was difficult to walk away without food.
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Amelia Petersen
Fruit flies mating in the hummus. In our small corner of the restaurant, there was so decoratively and openly displayed, a Glade air freshener that covered up the smell of the pita bread, that when examined closely had a small black spot and smelled sour. The samosas came out on a bed of romaine lettuce, with the feel of a Hot Pocket fresh out of the microwave that has been zapped for two minutes too long. I desperately tried to cut into my samosa with my knife and fork, only to be foiled and have to stab my fork through the middle of the samosa and bite into it like a dog. Which, by the way, is about how they treated us. No waiters were around for about 15 minutes after we got our food and I struggled to swallow the samosa that I had bitten in to. We aired our grievances to the waiter that finally arrived, and he brought a manager. The manager returned with our bill and expected to us pay for the drinks which we had barely drank, while the fruit flies continued their copulation on our hummus. If youre the type of person who takes any amount of time to examine where and what you are eating, avoid this place for your own good.
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Alexander Diaz
The food - GOOOD portions! I especially loved their naan! =9 We ordered several rounds of it and the entrees we ordered came quickly and were also very flavorful. I think this place spawned off my love for Indian food! =) The price - Not bad, about $7-$8 for a good helping of your dish and $3-$4 for naan (very worth it, though Im not sure I could tell the diff between the garlic and regular naans). The ambiance - Its a bit small and slightly dimmer but its quite nice for dinner. It holds quite a bit of people in a smallish space, so maybe if youre on a first date, the outside seating might work better! =) The service - Fast and friendly. They refill your water like crazy!---we ended up turning it into a small game and saying how fast we can go through the glass before they try to refill it haha.
