The Mediterranean Chef Cafe — Restaurant in Austin

I cannot RAVE enough about Niki, the owner, the food, & the culture. I stopped by as I came across this spot upon happenstance and it couldn’t have been more perfect. This spot recently opened its doors to the public again… and I truly wanted to cry from the compassion & hospitality expressed to me as a customer. I came after hours, however the owner, Niki, accommodated me and provided me a falafel wrap to-go on the house. I just found out about cancer/brain tumor and I stopped here because I needed food before proceeding to drive. She did not know this— but her open heart and willingness to accommodate and show compassion without knowing my story made my day, truly. Having moved from Houston and experiencing lots of middle eastern cuisine, this hole in the wall will NOT disappoint. It is truly authentic Mediterranean cuisine, that at times can be difficult to find in Houston/USA even. If you are Arab or love Mediterranean food as much as myself, come here. I had the falafel wrap to-go, and it tasted amazing. I can only imagine what it tastes fresh or dipped with babaganush or tabuleh. You MUST...

A meal at the Med Chef is truly a unique experience. The location is basically a hummus production facility with a few tables for guests-- if you're lucky enough to be one. If you're not intimidated by pallets of chickpea cans or buckets of Hummus ready for distribution, then you will love the fare here and the reasonable prices.

Phil ordered the falafel wrap and loved it. He said it was the freshest he'd ever had and it was served on a generous wrap with multiple falafel balls. The tzatzki sauce was perfect!

I had the Nikki Special -- a salad covered in lamb shwarma, served on a large wrap, and I really enjoyed the flavor mix.

We topped it off with a couple of baklava pieces which were just sweet enough with a generous filling of spiced walnut pieces.

In addition to our meal we left with a deli container of Grandma's Hummus, which turned out to be delicious. We were happy to discover HEB carries their brand.

The owners were truly friendly and obviously love what they are doing. We hope to return next time we're in the area to sample...

My husband and I ate here several times pre-covid. It was enough that he became physically dependent on the greek dressing. They closed for remodeling just before the pandemic, and he literally lost sleep thinking they might not re-open. But they did, and today (the day I wrote the review) I brought him a greek salad with lamb and beef gyro meat, greek dressing, and extra feta. I'm not sure he was that happy on our wedding day.

I had the falafel wrap with chicken, and if I'm being honest, it took me twice as long to eat as it should have because I was using expletives to describe the bliss in each bite to everyone sitting at the table with me. My BIL had the lamb and beef Med Chef Gyro, medium spice, and inhaled it. The cinnamon in the dolmas provides a fantastic little variation in flavor when sampled throughout the meal.

Added bonus: The people that work there are super nice, and the owner will go to the ends of the earth to make sure you're happy with your food. I love little Austin...