Cafe Efendi Mediterranean Restaurant — Restaurant in Alpharetta

If the food is truly fresh you don’t need to second guess it. If it doesn’t taste fresh but you claim it is, you are either don’t know how to cook, delusional or lying. We moved to Alpharetta one year ago and first few times our experience was as good as all 5 star reviews describe it. Then we observed a quick and drastic decline downhill and today was clearly the last time we have ever eaten there. We have ordered to go, went out by ourselves and brought in multiple friends - all together about dozen of times, seeking that initial experience but it just kept getting worse. Parts of our orders were missing and each time same kabobs tasted like they were completely different items. Often under/overcooked or not fresh. We still kept giving this place another chance until today. In short: Stuff is incompetent and food is sub par.

Today (Memorial weekend Sunday) it was 7 of us (4 adults and small kids) for an early dinner. I cannot count the number of mistakes our server made. After we ordered a lamb gyro, she arrived few minutes later to say that they will be serving us chicken gyro instead, because they didn’t have a lamb one. After mentioning that we’d still prefer the lamb we had to agree for substitution to later receive an order of lamb because they miraculously have found it in the kitchen. I ordered chicken kabob and it was raw in the middle and thus inedible, the rice was old/mushy an oily, vegetables looked reheated and adana kabob - was not fresh; food tasted as it was from the day or two ago. Another guest of ours have ordered a Doner kebab because it was listed in a menu as a mix of lamb and beef and the server delivered it pointing out that it is a lamb dish; we asked for a confirmation and she confirmed that there is no beef, causing us a complete confusion. We checked with the menu and showed her the item we ordered, to which she quickly retracted saying that in this case it does have a beef in it. We asked if she could double check with the chef, but she refused to do so. Bread was stale, we asked for a fresh one to which our server also tried ensuring us that it was absolutely just baked. Kids order was delivered with french fries even though she checked with us twice before that we wanted a side of rice. None of us enjoyed or even finished the food, and we did make our server aware of the food quality, then received the bill with one meal deducted and 20% gratuity included. If the food is fresh you don’t need to second guess it. Needless to say we will not...

Beautiful atmosphere outdoors, mini international mart at the entrance, attentive staff, darling bar and dining area, and delicious food! I'm blown away with this hidden gem's many benefits. It is hidden for sure, it's quiet and located in a quaint neighborhood on a subpar traffic route. The owner was present, and he warmly welcomed. I was seated under festive lights, and it brought a unique charm to my experience.

The menu is exceptional! As many Mediterranean places I've visited, many items on this menu I've never seen nor heard, so I felt it was authentic, and the taste proved the authenticity. I could taste the freshness in the recently brewed Turkish tea, pita bread, appetizers, and meat. The falafel is undeniably the best I've ever tasted and possibly in the metro area! It's soft and moist and paired very well with their yogurt sauce! As I'm writing this, I'm contemplating paying a visit for the falafels. My least favorite of the many foods I explored is the sigara borek; it had a very salty ending, and I found melted feta to be peculiar tasting.

I visited before the influx of bodies, so naturally, there was much attention to my table, but I trust the staff is usually friendly. Ultimately I enjoyed the night; there's live music, good food, and good people. Café Efendi is my new Mediterranean go-to :-)

UPDATE: I returned a few days after my first visit for falafels. The falafels were the same great taste but the other foods, not so great! I had the lentil soup. It wasn't fresh; it was surely sitting on a burner for some time before served. It may have even been warmed in a microwave because it was lukewarm. The eating utensils were not clean. I requested a plastic instrument. I'm disappointed, but I trust this is not a...

**Food: If you like the flavor of tomatoes you'll like this place as they use a strong tomato base for many dishes (I had 3 different types). My previous experience at another such restaurant close by was better( I'm not listing that name here). Portion sizes are disappointing- Not worth the price!

**Service: I had a person in his 50's wearing a red turkish hat who served food at my table and he wasn't helpful. If you request him to bring anything (for example- extra breads, bread dipping oil) that came free, he would frown and then surprisingly told me that he would charge me extra for the bread dipping oil where in I only requested him for a single top-up!!. Well that's a first for me specially at a restaurant that's not a cheap eat. Towards the end I mentioned to him that it was my wife's birthday and if there's a small cake that I could get- to which he asked me to buy a cake from the Menu (but that demands me to buy a full cake, which I can buy from a pro cake store). I understand these don't come free, but restaurants which have a decent billing rate make customers feel good by offering birthday surprises and so on. He could've just charged me an extra on the bill and added a surprise- that would've made this more memorable rather than bluntly make it look awkward for his customer.

**Price: It was two of us and we ordered about 3 items on the Menu and the bill turned upto approx. $90. There's a flat 18% tip that is mandatorily added to the bill.

For the service I received, I wouldn't waste a dollar to tip that man(person wearing red turkish hat) at all.

Over all- 2/5 (factors- Portion,...