Phoenicia Cafe

5 stars– Gyro Plate or anything gyro-​related
2 stars– for possible shady business practices
Came here for a stats workshop recently and had the hummus recommended to me, so I happily obliged. When a group of us got there, we were struck by the tiny booths that leave you very little leg space between you and the person in front of you. Being the smart people we are, we moved to the booth at the end that we were able to maneuver a bit to create more space.
Once the space issue was figured out, we finally ordered. Greek fries for the table, gyro plate for me and whatever else the table ordered. The gyro plate was amazing. The gyro itself was some of the best gyro meat I’ve ever had. The meat was so tender, super salty, and perfectly delicious. I got the side salad and hummus to go with it. The hummus was good, not the best, but good. It was a little chunky, so take that for what it’s worth. To each their own. The salad was surprisingly delicious and came with a nice tzatiki dressing.
The Greek fries were also great. The fries were nice and crispy, which I always appreciate. I couldn’t exactly tell what the dressing was, but it was something creamy as well. I think it was the same thing that was on the salad.
Now the bad.
When we went to pay, they overcharged all of us. I paid $ 12.99 for the gyro plate, $ 3.99 for greek fries and got charged $ 21.50 or something like that in the end. That means my tax was about 4.50 or 25% or so. I hadn’t realized it at the time and wasn’t until I actually saw my friend’s bill become $ 9 from a $ 6 sandwich. I sort of ignored it because I had already been confused by Tempe taxes when I went to El Hefe where all our food came out to an even number even after taxes. I thought I was the wrong, but in the end, I realized, nope, just like others on Unilocal who have noted their shady business practices, they do overcharge. Beware. They didn’t even put the prices on the bill they gave us to confuse us even more.
Now that you know though, do the math and call them out. And when I actually went back by myself the next day, I didn’t get overcharged. It could be because the guy did the math wrong when he split the bill the first night we went or it could have been intentional. I honestly don’t know. It seems like other people have had this experience, so I don’t know what to make of it.
I went with 4 stars overall because the food is so good. Just make sure you don’t get ripped off.

Amazing place to get burgers and their Mediterranean stuff is pretty good as well. Classic burger, Phoenicia burger, philly steak are all we get every visit. I tried the gyro plate and that was surprisingly good too. Above all, they are very consistent and we have never been disappointed. Oh and it’s all halal!

Love it! Awesome hummus. Great gyro meat. Never disappointed. Family who owns it is always kind and gracious. Highly recommend!

Two words: FALAFEL DELUXE. Don’t wear a tux when you eat our falafel deluxe. That should be their tag line. Because you might spill hommos. Hummus. Humdinger?
The owner guy seems like a grump but everyone has a crappy boss at least once in their life, right? Everyone else in there is nice. Even little Timmy. He’s responsible for picking up stray falafel balls. Keep up the good work, Timmy, and we’ll out you on gyro meat!

Location is great, food is tasty! I had chicken shwarma sandwich. Good flavor, wish it had more onion and hummus or tzatziki. Overall, though, delicious! Gyro meat also tasted good. The patio is a little small, but great location for people watching! Good place. We’ll be back.

Service was ok… The guy at the register seemed as if he was irritated with me for asking if the bread was a pita or lavash flatbread and if I could substitute tahini sauce for tzatziki sauce. He said you mean garlic sauce and I said no tzatziki. And he wrote garlic sauce on my order and I had to correct him again…
I went for lunch and I ordered chicken shawarma sandwich, tradional baklava because they offer many flavors, and spinach pie… First off they use cheap ingredients.
Chicken shawarma sandwich was on a pita instead of lavash flatbread, squishy thick tomatoe, chunky iceberg lettuce because it wasn’t even diced all the way, and a runny tzatziki sauce. The spinach pie taste as if it was store bought not fresh at all. And my baklava was made with what taste like all peanuts.
Very disappointed. And it was my coworkers first time trying middle eastern food. I’m sure she won’t give it a second chance.

The gyros are really good and filling although I’ve had better. Their proportions are decent and I have yet to try more of their items. The service is really nice and the restaurant is also clean. Can’t wait to come back :)

Came just to get some baklava and other sweets. They have a great variety to choose from. All of the ones I got were delicious. Light and flaky and sweet. Just right. The food looks amazing as well and would love to come back to try.

One of the better middle eastern spots in the east valley. Huge portions and delicious lamb, rice, and hummus. Very savory.

Shawarma fantastic!
I have eaten here about once a week for 3 years. Wonderful food and staff!

All of the bad reviews are because of overcharging and scamming you. IT’S TRUE.
The beef schwarma was good. And the service was decent and maybe somewhat slow for a tiny place.
The thing that I didn’t like was that they SECRETLY OVER CHARGE YOU. So the beef schwarma is $ 5.99 and the total bill came out to be $ 7.79 which meant they charged me $ 1.80 for tax. It wasn’t only me… it was my other friends as well. That’s a 23% tax onto my order. Like WTF???
I didn’t say anything because my friend said that’s what they always do. And when I read all of the other negative reviews on here, it’s the same story. Well, they are not doing that to me again. Peace out! :)

The food is great, the prices are good, the vibes are chill. Both the waitresses that have served me there have been super nice. They’ll take a minute to follow a small conversation if you strike it and they are quite hospitable. I usually order the chicken shwarma, which is quite tasty, but yesterday I went with a dollar zatar bread pie, some Turkish coffee and a little baklava to close. The bread pie is delicious, I think that the price is fair for what it is, though I must acknowledge that other places would definitely take 3 dollars for it, so kudos to Phoenicia for keeping it student friendly! The Turkish coffee was delicious and had me buzzed halfway down my tiny espresso cup. Needless to say, baklava was good, a perfect way to end my day.
The place has nice air conditioning and calming lighting, excellent free wifi and a p good location of you are willing to pay a bit for parking.
Cheers!

I think the Phoenicia Café really tries, but it does not always quite succeed. For example, the chicken kabob was tasty but two of the pieces were raw in the middle. The pita bread was thin and like cardboard. And the baklava had little honey and almost no flavor except a bitter tang (?).
On the other hand, the kibbee were fantastic (so says my wife who is a kibbee pro), and the portion large for the cost despite being called an appetizer. The lentil soup was a cut above average, and the side sauces excelled.
I know this is a neighborhood ethnic restaurant and so I tolerate the odd layout, the cheap tables and chairs, the lack of décor, and the waitress who didn’t really communicate well with us. But I guess we won’t be back. Inconsistency in food preparation kills as far as a restaurant is concerned.

This place is a hidden gem right near ASU. It’s hard to find good places to eat near ASU since so many of them leave but this place is here to stay.
One night I was craving Greek fries so we decided to grab a few as well as some sides. So we grabbed a table and perused their menu. They have a lot of traditional Greek dishes but I ordered the Greek Fries and spanakopita. I asked for extra dressing and feta on my fries and let me tell you I was not disappointing. The ranch dressing they use has a bit of a bit since it has a heavy vinegar base. It compliments the saltiness of the fries as well as the feta. It is so filling that I couldn’t even finish my spanakopita which was amazing. It had the perfect amount of spinach and the tzatziki was out of this world.
The service was friendly, quick and the meal was cheap. Great deal for your money. You pay for your bill in the store which gives you a chance to buy baked items or other traditional Mediterranean foods. We love the tzatziki so much that we bought some to go as well as their ranch dressing.
Definitely check this place out and their metered parking in front of their restaurant is free after 6pm.

Good, solid food and service. We have been here many times and keep returning. Parking can be tricky here since it is near ASU. Bring quarters or your credit card for the parking meter.

Been coming here for years. Good food, always, and the store has a lot of goodies. The only issue we seem to have lately, is that whenever we come in on a saturday for lunch, there is always either some big catering order or large take-​out order that totally stalls the tiny kitchen.
Call ahead if you don’t want to wait 30 min or more for your food.
Other than that, the food is always just right. The Gyro plate is the best.

Got the shawarma, it was good, but wasnt ask glorious as Biaz Market. Fries were plain jane, wish it was a bit seasoned… goes a long way. The hummas and lamb was pretty glorious… isnt as sandy as most places make it (hummas). Great service and good selection of baklava.

All I wanted was a good falafel sandwich and all I paid for was gross dry falafel soggy tomatoes, withered lettuce!!! This is unacceptable Phoenicia! :(

Quaint old café style restaurant booming with flavor. The Basmati Rice is scrumptious! I couldn’t decide between the beef or chicken ~ after asking our waitress she said the chicken kabobs are more popular. Then chicken it is! So tender, moist and spot on! Highly recommend the chicken kabobs.
I ordered a side dish of the couscous simply to try it. I had the sauce put on the side. I’m so glad I did because I did not care for it at all. Sadly, they used the same liquid to cook the couscous so I could not get away from the flavor.
The hubster ordered sliced chicken in a tomato based sauce with red and green peppers. He totally enjoyed every bite. For an appetizer we ordered the chickpea hommus with pita bread. The «hommus», as they call it, was smooth with a definite chickpea taste and just the right amount of garlic. The disappointment was in the pita bread. It was not fresh, homemade pita bread you would expect at an authentic Mediterranean restaurant, it was store bought! Totally surprised us ~ and not in a good way.

Came here for lunch today after driving past the place for years and wondering if it was any good. I drove around the restaurant hoping there might be a free parking lot for customers, but that wasn’t the case, I had to meter park. Once I found the entrance I was promptly greeted and given a menu, which was helpful because I’d never been here and wasn’t familiar with all of the dishes. Once my order was placed I took a look around the small market and was surprised at how many spices they carried, they also sold couscous for cheaper than any market I’ve been to. I wasn’t quite sure where I was supposed to pick up my order, no one said anything so that was a bit confusing.
The food itself turned out very delicious. I adored the crispy falafel and the gyro meat was super tender and flavorful. They included a bag with three Pitas which seemed a little odd. The hummus was also nice and creamy and they gave me lots of it. I feel the prices were a touch higher than they should have been, but maybe ill just order less next time:)