Baklava

Mmmm the complimentary bread and sun-​dried tomato with olive oil dip is goood.
The lahmacun pizza was ok… Reminded me of the Mexican pizza from taco bell but with a lamby aftertaste. I would skip this and try my luck with a different starter. Damn I want a Mexican pizza now!

To be honest, the food was average, I was expecting more quality and traditional Turkish food. The portions are small and a bit pricey for the food u get.
The pita bread and hummus I think was the best I had.
It s a crowded place so u should make a reservation or U might wait a bit for a table.

Love the ambiance of this place! Tall comfy booths, white tablecloths, outdoor seating… fancy, but not snobby. The hummus here is probably the BEST hummus I have ever had… and the pita bread is thick and warm and fluffy! They also give you a free sun dried tomato dip that pairs well with the hummus. The entrees are a bit pricey, but the portions are very generous, even just two kabobs were quite filling. Something about their vegetables, I don’t know where they grow ‘em, but it’s somehow much more flavorful than the onions or bell peppers I get at the market! And the chicken on the kabob wasn’t dry or bland at all. The lamb one was a bit tough, and gamey, I don’t like to eat lamb for that reason… but my brother thought it was good. I ordered the salmon, and I’m always hesitant to order salmon at restaurants because I can’t STAND when they overcook it (I like my salmon to be pink and moist in the middle) but it was done perfectly so that it was flaky and juicy and it paired perfectly with the veggies and lemon. It came with some risotto in the middle, but that was easily forgettable, the salmon was much better. The service was okay, they forgot to refill our waters, and there was a small piece of steel wool in my brother’s food, but these things happen. I’d still come back, even if it’s just for some hummus!
Also, a little sad that I didn’t get to try any BAKLAVA here! Didn’t even see it on the menu. It’d be cool if everyone got some free baklava at the end of their meal… just wishful thinking!

I came here with my girl friends for a birthday dinner, which went amazing! The service was good and the food and drinks were great. After having a good experience, I decided to make reservations for Valentines day which was only a couple days away.
Valentines day, I bring my boyfriend here and i’m super excited to show him how amazing this place is. As soon as we sit, I see they have a «Special» Valentines day dinner menu. It came with appetizer, entrée, dessert and a glass of wine. Everything was amazing, although the entrée had literally 6 CUBES of kabob. Which is ridiculous because when I came the week before, 6 cubes were a one person portion but for valentines day, it was for two. We each had 3 small cubes of kabob. It all came out to be like over a hundred dollars for two. If the portions were larger, it would have been somewhat worth it. We still had a great time, it was a nice romantic setting but I hope they don’t rip customers off next year…

My first and last time eating at this restaurant.
I was excited to try this place since I had a $ 50 Bloomspot coupon. I made a reservation on
, and arrived to a full restaurant. The restaurant lighting was extremely dark, and the tables were close together. Not good for those with claustrophobia.
Overall, the food is average and extremely pricey for the small portions. We had the meze platter for two, which came with 2 falafel balls, 2 vegetarian dolmas, 2 phyllo dough stuffed with cheese, tzatziki, hummus, and babaganoush. This platter was $ 20, and not worth the price. The falafel balls were pretty good — crunch on the outside and moist on the inside. The babaganoush had a lot of garlic. The other items did not stand out. I also ordered an appetizer of the patlican dolmas, which was a thin piece of eggplant and stuffed with cheese, tomatoes, and served in a tomato sauce.
My hubby had the prizola which was 4 pieces of grilled lamb chops with roasted potatoes and veggies. He liked the flavor of the lamb chops. This dish was $ 28.
I really liked the complimentary bread with the dipping oil.
The bad news on why I will never go back again:
1) The restaurant lost my credit card two minutes after giving it to the waiter. The waiter asked if the credit card was in my purse.
2) The waiter didn’t look at the coupon I gave him and gave me $ 40 off for a Groupon discount. I had to correct him several times that I had a $ 50 Bloomspot coupon.
3) The restaurant was supposed to call me the next morning so I could pick up my lost credit card. I ended up calling around 5pm the next day to see the status and they could not find it.
4) The restaurant called me three days after I dined at the restaurant saying that I could pick up my credit card. Well, by that time, I cancelled my card.
Really bad customer service.

We came here on a busy Friday night. The place was full of people and energy.
The staff and service were fantastic. We ate at the bar and the bartender was awesome. Really friendly and fun to chat with. He made us some interesting drinks and made our meal memorable.
The food was ok. We had the appetizer platter and the kibbeh to start. Kibbeh may be one of my favorite appetizers, but here it wasn’t very good. It was too battered on the outside and the unique texture and flavors didn’t come through. Th appetizer platter was good, but expensive for what it was ($ 20 for two). Some of the items that were supposed to be hot were lukewarm. Entrees (kabob and moussaka) were decent but nothing to write home about.

This was a great dining experience.
–Better service than I did at Le Bec Fin in Philly (which is pretty good service!)
–Wait staff helped navigate the menu to perfect choices
–Drinks and water glasses never less than half-​full
–Food: yum
–Personal thanks from owner for coming in
I usually stay in the city when I come to the area and drive to Palo Alto when business allows. I think I’ll stay in PA next time so I can be walking distance from this place.
Will def be back.

Decided to try Baklava after we got tired of waiting at E across the street.
Easy…no waiting at all for a Friday night in Palo Alto.
A nice salad, I had a lamb moussaka. I thought this was not too bad. They did forget to give me Feta cheese with my salad. Ahem, this is a Greek place, right?
One of us tried the Sea Bass. Uh mm, she didn’t seem like it that much. Another friend tried the pizza-​style salad, ditto, no big fireworks. Oh well.
I think this is a good place for the dollar value and for the get-​seated-​quick value; but I’m afraid if you stray a little bit beyond the standard Greek dishes, the level is not quite there. Then again I’m not in Athens, Santorini nor am I back on Mykanos. However, there’s a huge competition for Greek or Med food in PA… The Baklava was good and the service was good.

This was a really tough rating/​review for me to come up with because the people and the service here was absolutely stellar. The staff was really friendly and we had 2 – 3 people at our table either busing or taking our order. They were fantastic.
Cons:
1. The food however was not-​so good. I ordered the Salmon and it came w/​grilled veggies on top of a sauce which ended up being some type of ketchup. The veggies were bland with no taste or flavor and the salmon wasn’t much better. I really was not happy with the food. for $ 20 on an entrée, I’d expect much more. All they really needed was to add some salt. just a smiggin’ of salt and it would have been much better.
2. There was lipstick on my glass. I didn’t notice because it was so dimly lit for dinner that I didn’t see it until I was on my second glass of water. wahwah. fail whale.
Best part of the meal:
The pita bread and the sun-​dried tomatoes was awesome. You can get full just off the bread alone. mmm, bread.

Is there such a thing as drunk Unilocaling?
Yes. Yes there is. and apparently I’m not very good at it. I wanted to review Baklava as soon as I reached my computer after visiting the restaurant, but I just did not have the faculties to do it. Mainly because I shared a pitcher of their namesake Raspberry Punch with a work colleague — and it was so good! The refreshing cocktail with fresh raspberries and sugar mixed with prosecco and vodka came in a pretty carafe, veritably packed a punch and indubitably kicked our butts. Granted, we only had this coupled with the sampler (which was delicious, btw — but I’ll get to that in a bit), so there was not much to soak it up. In any case, any chance of being productive for the rest of the afternoon was shot, but it made for a very good team bonding session at lunch!
As for the food:
The pita bread served to us as soon as we were seated was delicious. It was warm and toasty and came with a delightful dipping oil with sun dried tomatoes. The mezes sampler included:
— Boregi (Deep-​fried phylo dough stuffed with feta and potatoes. Need I say more!?)
— Taziki
— Hummus
— Baba Ghanoush
— Falafel
— Dolma
Everything was very good but the Boregi and the Falafel were the definite highlights of the plate. This was a good choice to rope in my interest to try the other stuff they have on the menu for the next visit.
There was very nice seating by the sunny window, outdoor seating as well. The wait staff was friendly and checked in adequately without hovering. They poured ice water out of clay pots which I think was a nice touch. Would definitely go back.

Food = Tasty & Fresh
Ambiance = Cute & well decorated
Service = Attentive
Price = Too expensive! I would come back here if it weren’t for the price

Really awesome service, nice spot, and the food is solid/​good. Glad I went, but probably won’t be going again as it is pretty pricey.
MUST-​HAVE: the free pita bread!
* Service — 5 stars
It wasn’t too busy and as expected, our server gave us plenty of attention. He was very pleasant and had a pretty sexy European accent. When I voiced concern about the sides that come with the lamb chops, he offered immediately to replace any of the sides with anything and I got a salad instead of the grilled veggies. We had a slight miscommunication about which one (I was pointing to one and reading its ingredients but said the wrong salad name), and I when I asked why my salad didn’t have feta as I thought, he brought a side of feta right away.
* Free pita bread — 5 stars
(with olive oil & sundried tomatoes)
BEST PART OF MEAL. Fluffy, slight crisp, warm and soft, and the dip was absolutely amazing!
* Patlican Dolma — 3.5 stars
(Grilled eggplant rolled with goat cheese, fresh tomato and basil, served in a spicy tomato sauce $ 9)
Nice tangy sauce with strong tomato flavor.
* Yogurtlu Kebab — 3.5 stars
Marinated ground lean lamb flame-​broiled to perfection, served atop taziki yogurt sauce with tomato
* Lamb chops — 3.5 stars
Though a little small, these were cooked to perfection (I’m a medium-​rare gal). As always with this dish at any restaurant, the sides are a little bland. Though the mashed potatoes had good texture and were decent. A little pricey at $ 29. wish we had known as this was a special and we didnt know what we were paying until we got the check.

We went here to redeem a Living Social coupon we bought recently. The ambience inside is lovely. We went on a Saturday for lunch and it was nearly empty. We found the service a little slow, for an already slow day.
We ordered the prawn starters to begin with. The prawns seemed overcooked, tough and not as succulent as they should be. Even the quantities were a little low, just 3 pcs. But the sauce was delicious. For entrees, we ordered the special of the day which was a delicious grilled salmon with spinach salad and a vegetable kebab with a rice pilaf. The vegetable kebab looked less like an entrée and more like a starter and we felt the pilaf was undercooked, which we told the waiter about. However, the falafels and the grilled veggies were delicious and perfect. On the recommendation of our waiter we ordered the Kunefe which was delicious and the Baklava, also delicious. They even brought us Turkish tea on the house along with the check.
The flavors are authentic and the service warm, if a bit slow. We want to go back there for dinner because the dinner menu has a lot more variety. I would definitely recommend this place for a good Turkish meal.

Upscale-​appearing restaurant without the upscale prices.
This place has an extensive menu, but I’d have to say that their kababs are their finest offering. Generous chunks of meat that are grilled just perfectly; tender and moist. They remove the food from the skewers for you, so you don’t have to embarrass yourself while wrestling with a potentially deadly weapon.
Not everything on the menu is a hit. I had the Iskender recently, and found the beef and lamb slices to be dry and tough, and the sauce was just too overwhelming, both in flavor and quantity.
Dolmas here are very good. At many restaurants, these tend to be oversalted and overflavored, but here they’re seasoned to perfection and covered with a light yogurt sauce.
The dessert menu could use a bit of expansion, in my opinion. They serve baklava, of course, and a handful of other choices, but there really isn’t anything that I’d call a light dessert. After a meal that can be heavy, I like to finish it off with something that isn’t so rich.
Overall, this is an excellent choice for a quiet, relaxing dinner.

Delicious warm pita! We had a group of 12, everybody enjoyed their meal. All staff were welcoming and attentive. Nice décor, affordable. Check it out!

Came back last night to try other dishes. The owner was there and came and greeted us. He was very friendly and nice and wanted to make sure we enjoyed our time there. We ordered the following (see photos too):
Dolmas — as stated in my first review, nice and warm rice with pine nuts wrapped in grape leaves and drizzled with yogurt sauce. Slight tart flavor which is a good appetizer to me.
Lamb Moussaka -(see my photo) lamb lasagna dish which is different than the commonly made American style lasagna. A thick slice of grilled eggplant serves as a layer in between the ground lamb and the first layer, which looks «cheesy» but in fact is a layer of bechamel sauce (which basically consists of butter, flour and milk cooked down). The bechamel sauce is very creamy and goes well with the tender grilled eggplant and ground lamb. All of this is sitting on top of a tomato-​based sauce. The rice pilaf and roasted potatoes are served on a separate dish.
Roasted wild King Salmon — it’s gotta be The King if I eat salmon, so it was a pleasant surprise that they serve King Salmon. Wild King Salmon contains higher omega-​3 when compared to farmed or Atlantic Salmon, so I’d go for it whenever I can. The roasted salmon was cooked perfectly with seasoned tomato sauce on top, and served on a bed of tenderly cooked veggies (zucchinis, red bell peppers and red onions). The portion was big so I saved part of it for lunch next day.
The dessert was a scoop of ice cream served on top of shredded phylo dough with home-​made syrup. It was so sweet and we were so full at that point so did not finish it.
We both really enjoyed the complimentary pita bread served with home-​made sauce. The pita bread was fresh and warm and goes perfectly with the sauce, which is made from sun dried tomatoes, olive oil and a bunch of fresh herbs.
Another 5-​star dining experience in a family-​feel environment with fantastic foods, attentive service and warm welcome from the owner. What more can I ask?

Great place for group gatherings. I really like their interior design. I think the photos we took there all turned out nicely. I only tried two dishes, but everyone in the group seemed to like the food, so I’ll assume theirs was good too.
MEDITERRANEAN MEZE: Delicious sampler plate with falafels, hummus, baba ghanoush, cevizli peynir, dolma, and taboule. I highly recommend this appetizer because you get to try a little of everything, and it tastes even better because their pita bread is served piping hot. It was so soft and fluffy, and reminds me of Dish Dash’s pita bread.
SWORDFISH SPECIAL: I ordered one of the specials for the night, which was swordfish kebabs. It was really good, but way too salty, so I had to eat it with lots of cous cous and pita bread.
We were celebrating a birthday, and had brought our own cake. I was really happy to find out that they don’t have a cake cutting fee. Overall, great meal, and I’ll be coming back.

I have been disappointed by many highly rated restaurant in Palo Alto and I figured the Unilocal ratings for this area are often slightly inflated by at least half a star. That is not the case for Baklava. The quality of the food here, while still not quite a solid 4 stars on my book, did not disappoint.
I have a theory. You can tell how good a Mediterranean/​Middle Eastern/​Greek restaurant is simply by the quality of their pita bread and dip. The pita here is thick and puffy. That is a good sign for some healthy pita. The bread was indeed quite fresh. The sun dried tomato dip is tasty and addicting. I liked it so much that I packed the all the leftover pita and dip to go.
The appetizer and entrees were as good as the pita. Meat Borek has a light and flaky pastry shell and the filling was tasty. They were nicely fried and not oily at all. Mediterranean Burger was refreshing. The ground lamb used as the patties was delicious. The bun could be better though. I wouldn’t even mind if they use the nice pita bread instead of the regular mediocre burger buns. Iskender (Alexander) was very gratifying. The thin slices of lamb and beef were tender. I find the sauce is a little too sweet. Perhaps too much tomato and not enough yogurt. The nice pita bread at the bottom got a little too soggy because of the sauce. I would much rather have them served on the side.
Was too stuffed for lunch to order their dessert. I wouldn’t mind coming back here again to try the Baklava this restaurant is name after.
Service was friendly and the ambiance was comfy. They have a few tables outdoors that is perfect for those who enjoy sunshine or moonlights.

Very nice setting with nice lighting and high ceilings. Definitely the nicest looking Mediterranean/​MIddle Eastern restaurant among the many that are in this area with the exception of Evvia.
Service was really good and I like the traditional bright red vests the waiters wear. Too bad the food was so uneven. My favorite item on the menu is the «pizza» mezze (small plate/​appetizer) which is like a thin crust with gyro meat which was amazing. Everything else was just OK from the lamb kabob, chicken risotto and the baba ghanoush.

After watching 3 consecutive World Cup games since the ass crack of dawn and taking naps in between, it was time to get some food. Too lazy too cook cause of the heat, I wandered to get some sustenance. The Café Baklava owners from MV have taken over D’Asie’s old space and turned it into a very nice Mediterranean/​Middle Eastern restaurant. Very open space, tinted skylights, removal of the elements up in the ceiling (anyone remember the clutter of Left At Albequerque?), and large format doors that open fully into the street for nice days in the shade with a breeze like today.
The menu is familiar for those who’ve been to the MV one. However the space and ambiance is much better. The MV suffers from a very broken up space, while this is one large area. Had the Sote Doner and Iskender Kabob (yes I was hungry, cause you know sitting around watching soccer burns lots of calories). Excellent deep flavors in the meat and the sauces. The iskender Im used to, usually has cool yogurt on the side but here, it comes on the cast iron plate that carries everything else, creating a thicker sauce.
Very friendly service with the chef greeting me himself. I dont think a lot of people know about it yet as they’ve only been open for a week. Frankly, I think this is a step up from most of the «Greek/​Med/​Mid East» fare in the area. 4.25 stars