Cafe Efendi

If you like really tasty food this is a place to go. Friendly clean and hospitable environment.
We plan to go back with a group of friends who like interesting healthy dinners.
This is a hidden gem that has been around for a few years but deserves a try.

Good food with a home cooking feel. My belly is dancing for more. Owner is friendly, staff was great too, a little gem in Alpharetta

Ok so we went one time and the last time, the food is really expensive and not at all flavorful, it was just 2 of us and a kid still they charged the service fee $ 8 plus the tax and tips… so not recording to anyone worth even trying …

Went with the family on a Monday night. Aside from one other couple we were the only ones there.
Not really impressed with the food nor the prices. But expensive. They charged service fee even though it was my wife, me and three toddlers.
Felt like the place was more about appearance than the quality of food.

I don’t understand why this lovely restaurant (both inside and out) with outstanding food and excellent, polite and personable service is not rated higher. I’ve been here several times, tried several different kabobs, the mezzo platter and more, including the second best tabouli I’ve had anywhere, and never been disappointed.
Come see for yourself. I hope you’ll agree with me.

Haven’t been to café efendi since the old location but I saw a deal on groupon and decided to try it out again. Love the decorations and the atmosphere of the new place! We ordered hummus ($ 5) as an appetizer and it was amazing! The bread was great too I could have eaten a basket of it alone. We ordered the doner kebab ($ 16) and green beans and lamb ($ 14). The portions were big. For a healthy meal the green beans and lamb was tasty but it definitely could have used more lamb. The doner kebab was basically gyro meat on a bed of rice pilaf with a side of chefs salad. The gyro meat was tasty but dry and the salad seemed like a pre packaged mix with shredded lettuce and carrots, but I really liked the rice pilaf. A 4 piece band came on with amazing jazz music! Overall good place though food is slightly overpriced. FYI to anyone using a groupon the server did add an 18% gratuity which didn’t bother me as I would have left more anyways being in the industry.
3 stars because of the band

Had I rated this restaurant while I was still at the restaurant, it probably would have received four stars, but thinking about the experience and an unfortunate, lingering gastronomic response to the food here pushed it down to three stars.
The service was good. Our waiter seemed genuinely interested in us enjoying the best food there, and since not all of it was the most expensive on the menu I assume he was sincere. However, when he compared the efendi kabob to a gyro, he was incredibly misleading. My wife ordered this dish, and what came to the table was 60% yogurt sauce, 10% red substance on top of the yogurt sauce, 15% pita bread cut into bite-​size pieces, and 15% a very dry, flavorless meat. The server did tell us the meat was from the previous day, which is why we ordered the one with the sauce, but the sauce drowned and mutilated this dish.
Thankfully, my spicy lamb kabob was pretty good, so I switched with my wife and we each managed to enjoy a good deal of the meal.
Backtracking slightly, we also had two appetizers. The baba ganouj was phenomenal. It was chunky, which is new to me, but the flavor was just right and the house-​made pita was pretty phenomenal. The seasoned beef patties, however, were great in the mouth but provided the most god-​awful burps I have ever experienced in my life for about 20 hours. I won’t mention any further exhaust problems.
The pistachio baklava, however, was probably the best thing we had here. In the future, I may return to try the mousaka, but I will most likely just go in for Turkish coffee and baklava as a snack.

I’ve been to Café Efendi many times and it is consistently wonderful. The food is great Mediterranean fare with high quality ingredients. The best part of this place is the people who work here. Always warm and friendly. Oh, and they have the best hookah in town!

This was my third visit — ignore my other review now. What a pity. This place has gone downhill since we visited last year, and without improvement it will soon be gone. And I say this sadly as we need restaurants of quality in this area. I wonder if it has changed hands as the cheerful gentlemen of prior visits were not there.
The food was OK but certainly did not seem freshly prepared. The pita was cool and crisp — no fresh bread flavor or slight oiliness that it used to have. I had moussaka which again did not seem fresh, but rather warmed over from being cooked some other time. It tasted OK but the flavors weren’t vibrant like on previous visits. For what we got it was quite pricey. But really, I don’t mind paying what they ask for food prepared to order as it clearly was before.
I will continue to check the opinions of others but without consistently good reports I’m unlikely to be back. As I said earlier, what a pity.

I get that they’re trying to make it authentic with decorations and all but they could’ve done better on seating. Tables are small and cheap, seats are uncomfortable. Came in to eat with my family and the prices just seem over the top for what you’re getting.
Service is slacking and no one seems enthusiastic. Music is also just way too loud to even hold a conversation. Ordered an app, didn’t even bother trying a main course, left within 15 mins.

The server was rude and disrespectful. The food was still pink from the inside. Charged us for things we did not order and arguing we us. This is not an «authentic» anything. It’s down grade and an insult to the culture and it’s food.
Never going back and calling the better bisnuess buerue on them for frued.

Amazing food, amazing service, amazing experience! This place is legit! Come once and you’ll be hooked. Kunefe and Doners are incredible. The owner is super nice. Highly Recommend!

If you are looking for a place to whisk you away to the Mediterranean right here in Alpharetta, this is the place to go. This is not a «want to be,» but the real deal in every aspect: décor, staff, food, and ambiance. This spot transported me back to my years spent over there in a delightful manner.
You pay slightly above average price for a meal out, but it is well worth it, as you truly get what you pay for here. Perfectly sized portions from appetizers to desserts. The cuisine is delectable, from the pita to the dessert. It tastes as though the baba ghanoush and everything else on the menu is made fresh on the premises, though I did not ask. If you are used to Americanized Middle-​Eastern food, hang on to your hat, because you will be in for quite a shock at the savory tastes of the real deal. Authentic recipes such as I had not tasted since my return to the USA brought every good memory flooding back to mind.
The quiet, peaceful, dimly lit atmosphere is also a nice touch, with a keyboard player some nights adding to the ambiance. The authentic artwork and décor adds to the restaurant’s appeal, as does the wait staff. My husband and I have gone several times, both on a date night and with our children. Only one word of advice: If you are going on a weekend night after 7, I suggest calling first as they may be quite busy as any restaurant of its caliber might be.

This place was great. The bread is awesome. I had the lentil soup which was also good. I’d say it was a little pricey but a lot of Turkish places are. If you check out the prices before you go and it works for you, check it out. The food was good.
Atmosphere was great… They did a really nice job with the décor. Perfect for a romantic dinner.
The baklava was ok. I prefer baklava made with walnuts and these were pistachios. But it was still good.
I would definitely go back.

Meh.
Experience: Upon our arrival, we were asked if we wanted to dine inside or out on the patio. It was our first time, the dining room was beautiful, but we chose to sit on the patio because the weather was so nice. Had we known that the patio consisted of crummy, wobbly tables and unpleasant chairs, we would have sat in the dining room. It didn’t make our $ 25 entrees worth it with that kind of ambiance. That being said, you’ll enjoy your dinner much more in the dining room, maybe…
Food: We started with the hummus, which was not the best hummus ever, but it wasn’t bad either for $ 5. The pita bread was very good, though the first round was hot and soft and the second round was hot and crispy. Not sure what it’s supposed to be like, but I preferred it soft and my husband preferred it crispy.
For my main course, I had the Kuzu Sote. I would almost say it was delicious, but now that I think about it, I wouldn’t go back just for that dish. It was flavorful, but for the price I wanted less mushrooms and more lamb. Where was the lamb?!
My husband had the chicken kebabs. Not really being into Mediterranean food, he figured he couldn’t go wrong there. The chicken was unseasoned. There’s no excuse for unseasoned chicken. Along with rice pilaf, which the menu said it came with, he also got a ton TON of cabbage, a roasted tomato and hot pepper, and this lettuce stuff with raw onions. If you like that stuff, good. But it took up most of this plate. He’d rather just have what the menu said (I guess this is more for the owner/​chef than for dining guests, but there it is anyway).
I’m happy I had a Groupon. I’ll take that $ 10 I saved and look for another Mediterranean restaurant.

Came here for lunch because we had the groupon.
For two of us, we spent $ 26. This included 2 lunch entrees and baklava. The baklava was $ 5 for 3 tiny pieces. It was good, but not worth $ 5 in my opinion.
I would not go here again, because their groupon policy is very shady. I saw a $ 4.68 added on to the bill, so I asked what it was for. At first the guy said it’s for using the groupon. So then I said, the groupon didn’t say anything about an additional charge. Then he said it was the tip. $ 4.68 is 18% tip. I’m all for tipping, but it should not be mandatory unless for a big party.
Jerusalem bakery is far superior anyways.

First I’d 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 it’s price.
For my lunch, I ordered the Karides Sis Kebab (Shrimp). It was nothing but grilled shrimp, I couldn’t 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.

3.75 stars.
Decent doners. Flavorful falafel. Super service.
Turkish/​Mediterranean food served in casual surroundings.
Today we chose between a burger and Turkish food for lunch The verdict? Café Efendi was cheaper than Five Guys, and more flavorful and fun, too.

Let me just warn you ahead of time that like most Mediterranean sit down restaurants, Café Efendi has very laid back service. This means your drinks, your food, the order, the hookah, everything has a nice fat time span between them.
This is not uncommon, and in fact, I think expected at this type of restaurant. I expect to spend at least 2 hours at dinner, and it might very well be impossible to get in and out in under an hour.
The food here is worth coming for. The Doner, or the Iskender Kebab is amazing. I also like the Chicken or Lamb Sote.
The owner is friendly and the staff seem like his family.
Four star rating instead of five because the one thing I have a hard time forgiving is the empty water glasses on my table for more than 30 minutes. It doesn’t take that much effort to check on us with water, which is so important in these summer months, and that could easily be improved.

Had dinner with a girl friend. We’re big fans of belly dancing. What made me attracted to this place was it was free belly dance class on Thursday’s. I got a Locally deal online and decided to try this place along with great reviews online.
We arrived early and sat on the deck. It was a nice, beautiful day and we both enjoyed the atmosphere.
For appetizers, we ordered hummus and sigara borek. The waitress advised for us to not order our entrée until the belly dance class and then they could cook the food prior to finishing class.
The belly dancer is gorgeous and a really good instructor. She was very patient with our danceless selves.
For dinner, we had falafel Plate and adana kebab.
Food is healthy, fresh, and yummy.