Suite Cafe & Grill

Awesome food and service. And awesome pizza.
The chicken is more tender than any other chicken I’ve ever tasted.
Sauces, dressings, and sugar cubes are all home-​made and delicious.

Amazing food and service! I always have late night cravings and they’ll always accommodate my to-​go order before closing. They’re currently renovating and it’ll be an even better place than it already is!

The kabob platter for 4 and an eggplant stew fed 5 people. Really enjoyed our experience here. Staff was friendly and helped us with ordering the best combo to fit our tastes.

This cozy little Afghani restaurant is a family owned business. There were only two staff when I came by for lunch: son as the waiter/​cashier and mother as the cook. The interior design didn’t really made me feel like I was in an Afghani restaurants, but it was nice nonetheless. As a bonus, there was also corner full of hookah stuff for sale. The place was spacious, and there were plenty of tables for large parties and even several booths. The son and the mother were both very nice, and the service was fine.
I only tried out the Grilled Beef Kubideh Wrap for lunch, and it was very good. All the ingredients were fresh and the sauces went great with the wrap. I only wish that the wrap was a little bit larger for the price I paid. This place also has pizza, sandwiches, kabobs, and stews. They also have lunch special Kabob Platter with rice, salad, and stew for $ 7.00. I regret not seeing that on the menu since it was on the back, and I wished the server had told me about the lunch special.
I’d definitely come back here again to try some kabob.

I came here at 9:30 and they told me they were closing and only had food to go after telling my husband that they were open. I wouldn’t have taken my kids out of the car just for them to tell us as they are walking out of the door they are closed. So warning they close at 9:30 not 10

I stopped in here to pick up some lunch today. I ordered baba ganoush and a gyro wrap. The baba ganoush was a little bitter for my taste. I did enjoy the gyro. Everything tasted fresh. The décor of the place is unique, I felt like I wasn’t in Jacksonville! The lights were off when I approached this business, but there were people inside so I walked in. The service was also friendly. I would return if I were on this side of beach blvd.

The following review was published under my byline in the Florida Times-​Union on Saturday, March 7, 2015. This is an original, unabridged version of that review.
For years, Beach Boulevard has been one of Jacksonville’s richest foodie destinations, well known for its diverse line-​up of family-​run ethnic eateries. The 4-​mile stretch from Southside to Kernan boulevards is particularly thick with tastes ranging from Philippine to Argentine.
Toward the eastern edge of that drive is one of the newest in the global roll call, Suite Café Grill.
The Afghani restaurant opened in September at a small center midway between the 295 East Beltway and the Florida State College South Campus. Inside you’ll find a colorful, richly decorated dining room, a handful of booths and just a few more tables. The harsh overhead fluorescents might get to some dine-​in patrons – they did to us. The owners would do well to dial them down in favor of more mood lighting.
The menu is a mashup of Middle Eastern standards, with appetizers, kabobs, sandwiches and wraps. You’ll also find meat, veggie and a few signature pizzas here.
My friend and I started things off with a house standard, the Hummus ($ 4.99). The swirl of freshly ground chickpeas gave off a cool, almost peanut-​buttery flavor, with garnishes of diced tomatoes, chopped basil and green olives to change things up. The soft, warm pita triangles were a great complement.
If you’ve had Indian samosas, the Potato Sambusa ($ 5.99) will be a familiar bite. This appetizer features four turnover pastries lightly fried and stuffed liberally with potato and onion, served with a dill tzatziki sauce with lots of cucumber and garlic. It’s a hearty starter that could pinch-​hit as an entrée for some.
Speaking of which, my friend chose the Chicken Cube Kabob ($ 10.99) as her main course. All lined up were five grilled chicken chunks resting atop a bed of basmati rice with green salad and a grilled tomato garnish. The golden, juicy chicken chunks were lightly spiced and very nice.
My entrée, the Goat Cheese and Veggie Panini ($ 7.99), was a foil-​wrapped pressed sandwich with plenty of finger-​licking fillings, with a nice balance of crisp greens and goat cheese. Keep napkins handy when you unwrap this one: your fingers will pick up plenty of oil. The middle-​thick seasoned fries (also available a la carte, $ 2.99÷3.99) were amazing and addictive; try as I might, I could not get our server to share the seasoning secret.
While Suite has a small dessert section on its menu, the only available choices that night were ice cream and baklava. In keeping with the «When in Rome» theme, the artfully presented baklava sampler plate ($ 3.99) featured four pieces, anchored by a petit four, with plenty of ground pistachios and aromatic cardamom. One small gripe: while the pastries were flaky and delicious, our server delivered them chilled instead of at the customary room temperature.
Suite does not serve alcohol, but you’ll find fountain and bottled sodas, hot and iced tea, regular and Turkish coffee, cappuccino and a homemade, yogurt-​based drink.
Lunching types can order any of seven special platters and wraps for $ 6.99 daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Or if you choose to bring lunch back for the whole office, get the daily pizza special – two large pies with five toppings for $ 19.99.
One nice touch for a sit-​down place: Suite also offers free delivery to a limited area with a $ 30 purchase; orders under $ 30 come to you for $ 3.50.
Suite Café Grill delivers tasty Middle Eastern standards for a reasonable value. It’s right at home on Jacksonville’s international restaurant row.
Suite Café Grill
11 757 Beach Blvd., Units 1 – 2, Southside
(904) 379‑0692
Type of cuisine: Afghan/​Mediterranean
Hours: Sunday — Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Credit cards: All major accepted
Bar service: None
Children’s menu: Yes
Catering: Yes
Reservations: Yes
Price range: Salads and appetizers, most $ 5 – 10; sandwiches and wraps, $ 7 – 10; kabobs and combos, $ 11 – 20

Very authentic place. Big portions. Great service. Gyros are very good, kabob plates even better. Don’t let the name fool you. I actually advised them to change the name to «Kick Ass Kabobs» or something that better describes what they do. Very spacious, kid friendly, clean bathroom, the new tile and marble looks great.
It’s like a trip to Afghanistan… w/​out the cross fire :)
Incoming!!!

A very casual, low key, diner type of establishment. Food was just fine but they didnt have one of the items listed on the menu like the Veg soup «aash». Kababs and rice were fresh and well prepared with quick service from our 13yr old waiter.

Great food and great service. Highly recommend. Restaurant is very clean and the wait staff is friendly.

The chicken kebabs were cooked perfectly. When I’ve had them at other restaurants, they are often overcooked, but the chicken kebabs at Suite Café were very moist and tender! Of the other two kebabs that I tried, I really LOVED the kubideh one. The lamb one was ok. I’ve had salata before at turkish restaurants (I think it goes by a different name… well at least something nearly identical to it), but I loved the flavor of Suite Café’s much better. The brown basmati rice was great with the fruit (either it was cranberry or raisin). The waiter was friendly, made conversation, and answered questions that I had. I’ll definitely be back lots more.

Coming from NY area, Jacksonville’s middle eastern food scene is pretty boring. Most of the middle eastern food I’ve had in Jacksonville is mediocre at the best. A friend mentioned about Suite Café recently and I decided to give it a try. I was skeptical at first. But I am glad I visited this place.
Compared to the other middle eastern places in Jax, the food here is actually unexpectedly very good and authentic. The chicken and lamb kebobs that I tried were juicy, tender and flavorful. The afghani rice that comes with them was full of flavor by itself. I kept wanting more of it. The gyro sandwich came with double the quantity of meat than you would expect in a regular gyro. The food is made to order and definitely made of fresh ingredients.
The staff is very courteous. The only suggestion I have is to keep fresh desserts instead of the frozen ones, especially baklava. But I am not going to cut a star for it. I am very happy there is good authentic middle eastern food near me and I am definitely going back here.

As I am waiting on my food, I notice the person next to me getting into a very passionate conversation with the waiter about the way the chicken is cooked and the rice. He said it is the best he has ever tasted, and his girlfriend was going to be jealous that she did not get to taste how delicious this food is before her. It’s safe to say they are going on a date here, and I was in for something special. It’s safe to say that my chicken was grilled to perfection as well as the lamb. 5 stars all day.

My new favorite Mediterranean restaurant. It is spacious and has a great traditional Mediterranean atmosphere. Staff is polite and super friendly. Best part is the food, their chicken and beef kabobs are tender and juicy. Perfect for me since its minutes away from my school UNF. Recommend it to anyone looking to have great food.