Cafe Shawreen

Tasty burgers. I had a hamburger that was juicy and cooked perfectly it looked that the burger that Uma Therman picked up in Pulp Fiction in that super cool restaurant with John Travolta. Remember when she came out of powdering her nose and she picked up that think burger and said «don’t you just love it when you come back and your food is waiting?» That is what it reminded me of. Thick Kaiser roll and basket wrapped in wax paper. I Prefer parchment paper though but was a pretty good lunch place. Burgers are highly recommend and the staff is beyond helpful.

I really wanted to give this little shop a glowing review but my experience just wasn’t up to it. We were 15 minutes to closing so our only option was a take-​out. We got 2 falafel in pita and a side order of Shoor (pickled vegetables). When we got home we discovered the falafel tasted old — like it was made hours before or perhaps came from a frozen packet. The pita was wholewheat — not my choice. The Shoor consisted of just plain raw vegetables (cauliflower, carrot slices, diced celery) in a spicy clear liquid. The vegetables were definitely not pickled. Perhaps they gave us something else. Overall, we were disappointed but are willing to give this café one more try.

Run, don’t walk, AWAY from this place. Looks and sounds authentic. Ordered shawarma in pita. Got a «veggie» sandwich with no more than a ¼ cup of diced chicken in the soggy bottom of a cold limp pita. Chicken? Cold??? I thought shawarma was made with sliced lamb or beef and served hot! Rest was a creamy mix of diced pickles and cucumbers. Fries were right out of the freezer, as was the latke, dropped in the deep fryer. How do they stay in business???

I was randomly craving gyro after our work-​out at the gym, so we stopped by Café Shawreen 30 minutes before they closed for dinner and left with a lot more than just a gyro!
The staff member, Crystal, was so sweet. Seriously, she had excellent customer service skills and was just plain wonderful.
There were two diners eating-​in and two more ordering carry-​out like us. Food took a while to cook, about 25 minutes, since it was just Crystal and the owner taking orders and preparing the food. It was well-​worth the wait.
I got my gyro (comes as a platter with fries and soda) and loved how the pita pocket was filled to the brim with tender, thick slices of beef, veggies, sauces, and packed with flavor. I did add hot sauce, but other than that, it was perfection and exactly what I wanted. The fries were also made to order. They were addictive and not at all greasy. I swapped out my soda for a lemonade. It was sour, yet refreshing!
BP ordered the falafel (came with the fries) and I loved how crispy the pieces of falafel were. The sandwich did not fall apart and was not soggy.
I also ordered the aush (soup) and it was different than what I usually have at Afghani restaurants. It was spinach based and had garbanzo, red, and pinto beans. It was warm and filling, but I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I thought it could have used more salt and the spinach overpowered the other ingredients. Worth a try though!
BP also ordered the special of the night: Fesenjan (sweet and sour curry with puréed walnuts and pomegranate and chicken) and it was quite a treat! Since I had never had anything like this, I had no expectations. The curry was tart and the strong aroma of the walnut added to the allure. I was relieved that the dish did not have chunks of walnut, I loved how well they were blended in the curry. The pieces of chicken were cooked exceptionally well. Nothing gross about the meat, it was not fatty or tough. The rice was a bit plain on its own, but tasted good with the curry, of course.
I am glad we spontaneously decided on the café and had such a wonderful experience!

Good food, I enjoyed the falafel and sampled my friend’s gyro. The falafel was crispy and the pita was fresh and chewy. However the food was pricier than I would have expected for the quantity.

Food was great, but serving sizes are a tad small for the price. Minimum credit card charge of $ 10 is also a bit of a nuisance. Got the beef gyro and sampled the falafel — might go again.

Don’t bother stopping here even if it’s convenient. This place is really subpar compared to max’s and Amsterdam falafelshop. My bf had been here years ago (under different management probably), and this place was nowhere near as good as he remembered.
I had the falafel pita, where the falafel was in small patties and too hard (cooked too long?) there wasn’t much softness to it. The toppings were pretty limited and we had to blindly choose them in advance, you can’t see the toppings in the kitchen (not like at max’s or Amsterdam where they are laid out in front of you). It took us about 10 minutes to get our pitas, so it’s not that quick, and we were the only ones in the place. I also had the steamed veggies which were probably frozen before. I won’t return.

Best food ever and it’s kosher too I have the kabob and it’s amazing I will return to their place again

My family and I have been going there for some times now, and we are impressed with the food and the service every time. It’s absolutely worth the trip. HIGHLY recommended!!!

Falafel was OK with a tomato/​cucumber «salad» & tahini. No lettuce or other sauces to offer = nothing special. Yes, the place smells like a deep fryer, as other Unilocalers mentioned, plus the lady behind the counter was cranker pants. Wish I had stuck to my original plan, to go to Panera.

Unpleasant visit. Not a good sign when you walk in and there are not one or two but three dirty tables waiting to be cleaned up. Only one other patron was there and seemed like at least three people were doing something but the site of all these dirty table should of sent us on our way. Behold son is hungry…
Order the shwarma and falafel, then watch as this huge freezer is opened and a worker removes a huge bag of frozen fries, sure lots of places use frozen fries but do we want to see that? All the prep is open so one sees exactly how things are prepared, not appetizing at all.
Food comes and the falafel seems like it had been frozen to, not fresh and not good. The pita is good but the tehina has already been put inside of the sandwich, not served on the side and it becomes a huge mess. Too bad because we really wanted to like this little place

Small portions for the money… I got there and saw the portion was so small I tried to upgrade to the next bigger combo with another kebab but they couldn’t just charge me the 2 $ extra difference between the two combos, they said I needed to pay 6 $ for an extra kebab! I said the next combo up with the extra kebab is only 2 $ extra, can’t i just buy that? They said no. They don’t even include bread, or any other side-​and they forgot to include the white sauce, I had to ask for it on my way out. Not impressed… Go to moby dicks… More food for less money! Presentation is bad… See pic

I keep kosher and appreciate this place. My husband and I like to go here when we crave Iranian food or falafel. Its pricey, but all kosher food is. It comes with the territory. I knew the waiter back from pita hut years ago and have always been treated nicely. I love the daily specials! You can also print out coupons from their website.

I go to Shawreen’s as often as possible and my favorite is the grilled talapia, rice and and salad. Tonite I tried the Tuesday veggie specials and they were fantastic! Perfectly spiced, especially the black eye pea rice with grilled onions! The owner is so nice, and the ingredients are always healthy. I recommend Café Shawreen for anyone who is looking for a tasty, cozy and friendly dinner place. And it’s kosher!

Hubby n I stopped by here as first timers we read online that it was halal so we thought it was muslim owned but ended up finding out it was a whole Jewish food place. Same slaughtering standards so technically halal/​kosher the server or owner was very nice and welcoming. We had the grape leaves they were ok I think the wrapping could use a lil more help n I just felt like the filling was a lil bland the burger was nice and juicy but just needed more flavor. Their fries were in dire need for salt but overall I get the concept. I do however feel that the good is overpriced for what you get but hey I could be wrong .I do not think I will run to come back to this place just because the wow factor was just not there for me but as always I support my halal/​kosher places so maybe until next time

great hamburger
would have offered five stars if they would have made it as I ordered it (medium rare does not mean cooked all the way) but it was still good

Café Shawreen was my go to lunch spot for awhile, although I thought it was a relatively expensive lunch for what I was paying: $ 8.99 for a lunch special. The lunch special comes with your choice of sandwich, drink, and side.
For the sandwich, I’ve tried the falafel sandwich and shwarma sandwich. I’ve always gotten the jerusalem salad as a side, and their home-​brewed ice tea for the drink.
The falafel sandwich came with at least four falafel balls that were nice and crispy, topped with jerusalem salad, and stuffed into a pita. I was disappointed that I got the jerusalem salad as a side seeing that it was also in my sandwich. Also, a couple of hours later, I felt sick from the falafel, which was probably because it was too oily.
The shwarma sandwich was not what I was expecting as the lunch menu at the counter did not say it was CHICKEN shwarma. I hoped it would be beef. The sandwich was okay, also topped with jerusalem salad and hummus in a pita pocket. I noticed that the distribution of items in the sandwich wasn’t great as I ended up eating all of the chicken only to have my last bites be of jerusalem salad in pita.
The pita for each sandwich was colder than I would have preferred.
The jerusalem salad is light with some olive oil, cucumbers, red onions, and other spices.
The homemade ice tea is unsweetened, iced tea. I believe it is black tea.
Warning if you eat here, you will smell like cooking oil.
Free parking available in the back.

Having come here a number of times for lunch, I have finally made my decision to give this place a 2-​star rating. Don’t get me wrong… the 8.99 lunch special (entrée, side, and drink) is not bad, but I have been spoiled by the open assembly line concept of Cava Mezze and Pit Hut when it comes to quick service [pita/​falafel/​Mediterranean meat] restaurants.
This place would be a 3-​star, A-​OK quick service restaurant; however, I had to lower the rating due to the following:
— $ 10 minimum credit card charge (I am from a large coterie of small business owners, myself, and we do not follow this business practice)
— the gyro meat looks like it is from Restaurant Depot which means that it is frozen
— my clothes always smell like fried food or grease when I get back to the office
***would be nice if you guys shaved off shawarma/​gyro meat from a vertical spit like other restaurants
On my final note, could someone give me a detailed explanation of what makes this place kosher?

Phyllis and I where on the way somewhere and walked in on a whim.
We had the falafel platter and it was great.
The place is not fancy and certainly not expensive.
The service was great.
What more can I say besides. I’ll be back.

Maybe it wasn’t just me…
I dunno. I decided to give this place a try. The staff was nice enough. Then again the other customers seemed a little too interested in me. (Nope, I looked. No mohawk, no day-​glow clothes. So I don’t know what their deal was.) The place had no ambiance, didn’t make me feel like relaxing. And when the food came… Hmm. Not as good as I hoped. Maybe it was the wrong dish? I wound up taking my food to the car and eating there. I’ve been in a lot of places but only a few have made me feel like I was in someone else’s club. Strange.