Cleopatra Grill and Hummus — Restaurant in Federal Heights

I've come here twice. I am really easy going when it comes to food and I am easily appeased. With that said let's get on to the review. Cliffnotes: Overcooked falafel, could not sub rice for salad even with a $60 order, poor service, average quality food, felt nickel'd and dimed.

First time I went, ordered lentil soup for my son, gyro combo for me and a falafel and hummus plate for my daughter. The lentil soup was clearly from a can (you can taste the difference), the gyro was decent with a generous amount of meat, fries were good. The falafel was overcooked, waaaay too crunchy and hard but otherwise good flavor. The hummus is excellent.

So our first trip was average, we spent about $40 so it was OK.

Fast forward a couple weeks, my wife wanted to try falafel so back we went. My son wanted soup, after pointing to 3 different soups pictured the waiter finally got exasperated and said they no longer carry those all they have is lentil. Ok, could they sub a small cup of soup if we ordered a gyro combo for fries? No.

I ordered 2 falafel plates and asked if they could sub rice in favor of the the super sour citrus-ey salad. Again, no but for $5 dollars more they could give me a plate of rice or he could take off the salad but nothing off the price. And again, falafel was overcooked, gyro portions were good but others were not. The meat was not seasoned at all.

We paid over $60 that trip and they could not sub soup for fries or rice for salad. The overcooked falafel, can based lentil soup and sub par services means we will never go back.

We have since found a much friendlier place not too far. It is amazing how much more satisfied you are when you drop $60 for dinner and the staff doesn't nickel and dime you over small (cheap) substitues. Not like I was asking for steak in place of salad. Also, falafel is much much more enjoyable when it isn't crunchy like a tortilla chip. Honestly I am glad Cleopatra's nickel'd and dimed me since it drove me to a better tasting friendlier place to get my...

This place gets either 5 stars or 1. So what is the deal?

Why the mixed opinions?

I think people are expecting a Midwestern American style experience and are shocked when they find out that there are other ways to cook things.

They don't know, for instance, that kabobs are grilled and will have a little carbon scoring as part of the process -- like anything you put on a grill. What a shock!

And some people only have experienced salad with American Ranch dressing and have no idea that a vinaigrette exists.

Some one star reviews I've seen are a little harder to explain away. So we need to investigate first hand.

I have eaten here many times. I have never, NEVER been disappointed.

If you want me to complain, then I will say the pitas they use to go with the hummus are not as nice as the pitas they use for their sandwiches. But I don't really care because the hummus is the important part.

The desserts are to me the shining jewels in the crown. Somebody complained about the baklava. I can only blame neurological damage for that. I've had theirs several times and found it sublime.

I do honestly prefer their cakes just because I know of nobody else who makes anything remotely like them and they are superb.

I have not tried a single meat based dish here that did not delight me. I like grilled seasoned meat. If you don't, then order something else. Why whine about it?

I have found one place that makes falafel I prefer to this -- but that is an Egyptian style falafel that includes fava beans, so that is completely different and much harder to find. For a chickpea-only, conventional falafel, you will find few rivals for what Cleopatra's offers. Again, I could complain that there isn't a fava bean option if I wanted to be jerk. Well, not tonight. I like these falafels, I think they are perfect as they are, and I am grateful they are available to me.

So yeah. I think you can ignore the few crazies and narcissists in the reviews here and trust that the 5 star reviews are reliable. This...

I discovered this amazing Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Greek restaurant by accident a few days ago in strip mall across from Chick fila, and so thankful that I walked in to check out their menu, and welcomed with a bit of "Southern Hospitality" by the owners! If you spent any time in southern states you know what I'm talking about. I was having stomach issues today and they were able to make me a specialized meal for my restricive diet. The rice topped with the best fresh, home-made, lightly seasoned, moist chicken was best I've had in 10 yrs of living in Colorado(Honest to Goodness)! Their prices are so reasonable there's no reason not to see for yourselves! Everything is made fresh, not frozen and can't wait to try their gyros and lamb shank when I feel better. They even gave me a cup of their mint tea to settle my stomach which actually worked like they said it would. Very humble Restraunturs who go out of their way to make their customers feel special. Their recipes eased my abdominal pain which my expensive rxs couldn't...