Cafe Landwer — Restaurant in Boston

I have become increasingly familiar with Cafe Landwer at Cleveland Circle, which is always a treat to go to. Entering the Landwer at Audobon Circle, I had very high hopes given my previous experiences. I left extremely dissatisfied and grateful for my positive experiences at Cafe Landwer Cleveland Circle. There are several stark differences between both locations. First, I must discuss the cleanliness of Audobon Circle. The floor was covered in dirt, gum, and even leaves stuck BENEATH table legs. When wiping the tables after service, I noticed cup stains and crumbs still left after "cleaning" tables. Another element which disappointed me was the staff friendliness, where no one came to serve water after our pitcher was left empty, no "how is everything tasting," or anything remotely similar. In one observation, at a different table, the pair had ordered a dish not to their liking. In this case, a Karen employee showed up and dictated, "that's how we make it," and proceeded to defend the kitchen's actions valiantly without offering a solution for the error which had occurred. I must now remember, the customer is always wrong. And finally, my last point of comment, before I no longer return to Cafe Landwer Audobon Circle, is the quality of the food. The dishes ordered were both tasting flat compared to the Cleveland Circle location. Maybe it was an off day for the kitchen or maybe the milk was too sweet for my espresso that day. But, what I can tell you, is that the food, which is typically not very greasy and very well prepared, was certainly not. This is location is very disappointing, and I hope that no one goes to this Cafe Landwer as their first time. If you do, I hope it flies by...

I used a Nift certificate to get take-out lunch for my wife and me. We got a falafel hummus bowl (which comes with two pitas) and a chicken shawarma entree (which comes with couscous and a salad). Overall, the experience was excellent. From the time I walked in and placed my order to leaving with it was only 10 minutes and the Nift certificate was handled easily.

The falafel was delicious - perfectly cooked and flavorful and the hummus was wonderfully creamy with just the right amount of tahini. It was WAY better than any store-bought hummus I've ever had. The pitas were small in diameter but thick, flavorful, and chewy, perfect for dipping into the hummus. The shawarma was also excellent and, when I asked if it was spicy (it was not) I was offered a small side cup of harissa which added just the right amount of heat. And the couscous was the best I've ever had - flavored with sauteed onion and spices. Having never been here, I was expecting a usual green salad but the herb salad is mostly parsley with some mint leaves, a few tomatoes, and a bit of red onion. Next time I come, I'll see if a more conventional salad could be substituted.

The service was friendly and helpful and, if my wife had been with me, we would probably have eaten on the patio. BTW, plenty of metered parking is right next to the Chestnut Hilll Avenue location.

My only nitpick is that the pricing seems to be the same for lunch or dinner and the amount of the main course (the shawarma and falafel (four smallish balls)) could be upped a bit at the price or the lunchtime pricing could be reduced a bit. But, I guess it's Brookline so that might explain it. Overall, though, for us, this was a find and we'll...

I ordered DoorDash. Chicken Shawarma Pure Belgian Hot Chocolate Chicken Shawarma sandwich Nutella Rosalach Mediterranean Energy Shake (PB) Salmon Benedict

Let's start at the top...

The Chicken Shawarma wasn't seasoned, it felt like they carved up a chicken, and put it into a bowl with flavorless rice.

The Hot Chocolate was in a kids cup, and didn't include whip cream as I asked. It also had enough air in it that it could possibly be classified as a Lays chip bag.

The Chicken Shawarma sandwich was dry, you can tell it's poorly made if the only thing I can taste in it, is cucumbers. Cucumbers are 95% water, if anyone wanted to know that random fact.

Nutella Rosalach was the only good thing out of this entire order, and half of this product isn't even made by the Cafe.

Mediterranean Energy Shake, felt like I was eating a frozen yogurt. A shake is not suppose to be so thick you can throw them against the wall, and not lose any of the contents.

And lastly the Salmon Benedict. I nearly vomited eating this. You're not suppose to base the produce in salt to try to cheese a freshly picked, salt water ocean taste, which is exactly what you did. Perhaps consider changing the menu item to "Salt Benedict, with added Salmon". I ended up throwing it away.

Look at all my reviews. I have never ever done a negative review of a restaurant. But, this mockery of the culinary arts is not only some of the worst food I've eaten, they steal your kidney to give it to you. The 2 cups of hot chocolate that I got was $7. Seven dollars. What the hell. Save yourself the money, because all this restaurant does is thrive on vanity, not actual skill. It's actually...