Sphynx Café

This place did not disappoint. Came in at 6 on a Wednesday evening and it was pretty dead, but it sounds like it gets busy late. The owner was there by himself and was really friendly and helpful.
We ordered the avocado hummus, lamb shawarma, and the falafel wrap. Everything was great! Best hummus I’ve ever had, and the pita bread was perfectly toasted on the outside and warm and soft on the inside with seasoning on top. The lamb was tender and thin and the sauce flavorful with just hint of spiciness. Portions were big enough that we brought half of the shawarma and falafel home to finish later.
I asked for the mango tea, but he said they only serve that in the warmer months. Instead he suggested African tea with milk and cinnamon. It was served hot with a frothy top with the cinnamon sprinkled on top. Really yummy, but very sweet. I like sweet, but my companion was put off by how sweet her Egyptian tea was and didn’t drink much. It was spiced very nicely though. Big servings too — pint glasses full — not those tiny ones some places use.
If I had any complaint it would be that the tables and chairs are pretty grungy and a bit rickety. But the food made it easy to overlook that. I’ll be back!

I love this place! Great food late at night. The Egyptian tea is a must if you have not been here before. Whatever you order, get the Avacado Hummus and pita bread. Parking just what you can find on the street but it is worth it.

The Wisconsin steak here is amazing! Their Egyptian Tea is very tasty! I would highly recommend checking this place out! If you haven’t tried baklava, try it!

Five stars for the ridiculously delicious fries, friendly service, and very convenient hours and overall ambiance/​environment. Tried this place for the first time when my boyfriend and I were in need for some good late night eats. We saw this place was open til 4am and had a perfect Unilocal rating, so we figured, WHY NOT?! Not to sound overly Unilocal cliché but we are so happy we decided to go here because Sphynx Café did not disappoint. I’ve probably driven past this restaurant while exiting from 35W onto 4^th about a million times so who knew this corner joint would be the home to some crazy flavorful fries and great tasting middle eastern/​Mediterranean food.
Some of the things we’ve tried are the falafel sandwich, chicken shwarma, lamb pita, and of course — the fries! If you’re a fan of the Bun Mi or Baldy’s fries, you’ll like these because they have the same texture, crispy on the outside soft, light and airy on the inside, but with middle eastern spices sprinkled on top. The seasoning on the shwarma was good though the chicken cut itself seemed like it was those ready made Tyson grilled chicken breasts you get in the frozen food section at the store (SO not exactly Wally’s level shwarma).
The guy working the counter was super friendly and the place itself is very chill and inviting. There’s lots of comfy chairs to lounge around in in addition to the basic café seating options. Maybe I have a soft spot for this place because this is where my boyfriend and I had our first meal together but I hope it continues doing well because it’s an all around great spot to try!

Here is how my Sphinx Café experience played out.
I went to the Café in the later hours of the evening, excited to see what all this Unilocal hype was about. It was a Friday night around 10, yet all of the lamb was out. How does a Mediterranean joint run out of lamb?
Nevertheless, I settled with the Chicken Shawarma. I was pleased with the result and it was quite delicious. I concluded that the Sphinx indeed met their expectations.
However, around 3 am I woke from my bed to violently puke for the next two hours, ostensibly from the chicken shawarma. It’s impossible to know with complete certainty that the Sphinx was the direct cause, but I am nearly 100% sure it was.

The short story: good customer service, not so great shawarma.
More details:
DID IT LOOK LIKE SHAWARMA? Sort of. It was a pita filled with stuff that was wrapped up and then heated under a press. So I’ll give them that.
DID IT TASTE LIKE SHAWARMA? Not really. It tasted more like a sad and boring wrap you would get from the low-​calorie section of a typical American chain restaurant. The chicken shawarma contained too much lettuce and lots of bland hunks of chicken that clearly did not come from a spit. The lamb shawarma had better flavor but the overall taste was more like a gyro.
DID THE SHAWARMA INCLUDE THE INGREDIENTS LISTED ON THE MENU? Nope. The chicken shawarma was missing the pickles and barely had any garlic sauce. When we asked for pickles, we received what looked like store-​bought dill pickles chips sprinkled with grass clippings. They were not the type of Arabic pickles usually found in shawarma. The lamb shawarma was missing the onions and had cheese and chopped peppers in it. We asked the manager if we accidentally received the Wisconsin steak wrap but he insisted that we did not. Hmm… I question whether the employees know the difference between the various menu items.
WERE THE EMPLOYEES FRIENDLY? Yep. The manager was very nice and thanked us for stopping by.
DID THE EMPLOYEES TRY TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT? Yes. Our order was delivered to the wrong table and they dug in right away. So we had to wait longer. We didn’t have to say a word though– the manager brought us a plate of the avocado hummus and a large pita that was seasoned and lightly toasted with oil. The hummus was creamy and light and had good flavor. The avocado was unexpected, but we enjoyed it. The pita– it was huge, probably a foot in diameter. And it was tasty. Actually, it was the best part of our meal. It was toasted, but the inside was still soft. Ultimately, it was nice gesture by the manager to make things right. And we appreciated it. We might have left with a sour taste in our mouth, but it certainly wasn’t due to the customer service.
DID SPHYNX CAFE LIVE UP TO ITS RATINGS? Unfortunately, no.

Amazing food and very nice staff. Try the Lamb Shawarma. Just do it. Thank me later. And you get a free drink with your meal! Everything is cheap and well worth the money.

Step 1) Stop reading the reviews and checking other possible options
Step 2) Get your little rear in your quickest form of transportion
Step 3) Move like a blaze of fire spitting from a gun
Step 4) Proceed to promptly get your flesh inside this place
Step 5) BUY THEIR FOOD!
Step 6) Quickly put it in your mouth and enjoy it!
Step 7) … Told you. Your welcome.
Now carry on in the enlightenment of this new found gem.

This place is incredible!!! Everything about it. Food, service, etc. try all of the foods and make sure to try their tea.
I really love their burgers and Schwarma

Amazing!!! Nicest staff and great food all for a incredible price. Definitely one of my new favorites. Loved the Wisconsin! Also all of the humus is great. The chicken pesto is also delicious.

I had a SUPER delicious Chicken Shwarma wrap here. Wonderful blend of flavors, and enough food to have extras… at a super decent price. And we got free (and yummy) mango iced tea with our meals. I’m really surprised that I had never heard about it before. Just moved in a couple of blocks away from it, so I think I’ll be there pretty often.
My friend got one of the pita pizzas… I tried a bite and it was really yummy as well.

Delicious wings, I can’t wait to come back and try the shawarma next time! The service is wonderful, he gave me 4 extra wings for nothing and the tea that comes with your meal is a perfect compliment.

Great and authentic middle eastern food. Also has very reasonable prices. Would recommend!

Ooh, lordy. I don’t even know where to begin. This place is such a gem that I don’t even know if I should get the word out about how good it is. First, the food there is A-​MA-​ZING. I mean, it’s especially good when one considers the portion size. My friend and I went there for a quick bite after our long laborious day and got a plate of the sphynx combo plate. The chicken was great and the basmati rice was so nicely seasoned with light lime juice and spices. The beef looked more like slices of spam but it tasted pretty damn good that I didn’t really think of questioning it. Oh, and did I mention that we were there at midnite-​ish and they were still open until 4AM? Or that the owner hooked us up with pita bread with avocado hummus on the side? For drinks, I got a piña colada smoothie and my friend got a mango one. We both loved everything there and thought the experience was the perfect ending to our tiring day. As for the décor, I loved the vibrant shades of the furnitures there. Interestingly, they also had a belly dancing marathon of sorts on TV the whole time we were there as well. From what I heard from the owner, they’ve only been open for about 8 months. I would hope that they’d continue to be a presence in that area for years to come, so I’ll be back again for sure.

I’m not even finished with my first meal there, and this is now one of my top 5 (maybe top 3) favorite restaurants. Amazing and phenomenal — and I can’t describe it any other way!

Chicken kebab was excellent. Huge portion! Avocado hummus was some of the best hummus I’ve had. Wonderful service, very welcoming. Outside seating let us bring our dog. I look forward to going back.

Great place to find middle eastern food. The place look awesome and is very comfortable. Owner is very cool too. It’s a great place for all the college students in the area! Much better then fast food around. Once you try his food, you’ll become hooked! From the pizza to the chicken shawarma, it’s awesome!!!

Had great food here. The portions were enormous and the service exceptional. We brought an entire meal home– just couldn’t eat that much! Great beverage came complimentary with the meal. What fun!

I’m staying at the University Inn and found this on Unilocal very close by. Food was great, priced reasonably and plentiful. And fast service.

So good. The small staff is so kind and gracious. The atmosphere is very chill and welcoming, and the food is DELICIOUS. I highly recommend the Oreo milkshake as well.

Delicious food! I had the Lamb Shawarma sandwich with fries and it was so good and filling. Everything came out nice and hot. The service was also fast and pleasant. The environment was also nice and cozy. I would highly recommend this restaurant.

A well kept secret near the dinkytown area! Good atmosphere, fantastic service, and incredible food. The owner is the most deserving entrepreneur I’ve ever met. He runs a fantastic business and you can always find him here.
At the this moment I am sipping some delicious complementary tea after having enjoyed the generous Sunday buffet, watching the house belly dancer do her thang!

The Sphynx is the most underrated place near the U of M campus. Their avocado hummus is TO DIE FOR. My friends and I ordered a ton to eat during the Super Bowl. Best decision I’ve made all year.
We eat here on a designated night of the week every week. It’s that good. Come and you will not be disappointed!